Batch FIND / REPLACE

[labbrenner 2]

I have been using Evernote for several years as my notebook in a laboratory setting.  I love it.  I make it so easy to attach protocols, data files, summary slide decks, etc within a single experiment.

I have been under the impression that the "data labels" I've been using were de-identified (since Evernote is not HIPPA compliant).  However, there appears to be a lack of consensus where I work.  

To simplify matters, I would like to do a find / replace in my hundreds of experiments to add another level of de-identification.  The thought of doing this manually seems extremely time draining, not to mention at high risk of mis-labeling a sample.  

Is there a tool for being able to perform BATCH find / replace through hundreds of entries in a notebook?  Ideally I could make up a flat-file with a column for current name and a second column for the replacement name.

Thoughts?

[gazumped 11,667]

Hi.  There's nothing within Evernote to offer this facility,  though if you can create a list of all experiments it should be possible to copy and paste the current note titles into a spreadsheet to give you a start for your conversion table.  I'd imagine that an automation app like AutoHotKey should be able to do the rest,  or if you're Mac-based,  there will be scripting alternatives...

[labbrenner 2]

Unfortunately I am PC based.  I have text within the body of like I said hundreds (well, nearly 200) notes with attached excel spreadsheets, powerpoints, images, etc.  This has turned into my worst nightmare.  The current nomenclature should be de-identified enough as even I can't get any information on the samples.  I've considered exporting all of those notes to an HTML format and then moving them to a secure location - but there are formatting issues in doing that (yes, I've tried).

Thanks.

 

[DTLow 5,736]

3 hours ago, labbrenner said:

Is there a tool for being able to perform BATCH find / replace through hundreds of entries in a notebook?  Ideally I could make up a flat-file with a column for current name and a second column for the replacement name.

As @gazumped said; nothing in Evernote
How about exporting your notes to enex (flat-file)
You can then use external tools for the batch find/replace
Then import the notes

[gazumped 11,667]

Hmmn.  The ENEX option might be a good choice.  Export your notes* - the originals will still be in your account - process carefully the find and replace,  then re-import the files to a different and local notebook to check that the operation was successful before replacing the original notes.  You will lose all note history - be unable to revert the notes to an earlier version - up to the date of the import.

Granny,  eggs and all that,  but you might want to try this on a few notes at a time initially to make sure the process is foolproof before attacking the whole database.  And take a separate ENEX backup of everything first just in case something very bad happens...

* make sure you export with tags (see options),  and one notebook at a time.  The export doesn't record the source notebook.

[labbrenner 2]

Sounds good except for one fact.  I have exported as *.enex files, but I've only been able to "see" them when I import them back.  I have no idea how to go about find/replace working in a flat-file document like that.  I can ask our IT experts I guess.  But this doesn't sound too easy for a novice.

[DTLow 5,736]

33 minutes ago, labbrenner said:

I have no idea how to go about find/replace working in a flat-file document like that.  I can ask our IT experts I guess.  But this doesn't sound too easy for a novice.

A Windows user can reply with a more specific answer.  At one time I used the UltraEdit app; there are many alternatives 

The Mac includes a TextUtil app to do this type of edit; I have also bought the Textastic app.

Please take note of @gazumped's post on the implications of .enex export/import.  This solution works but you need to know the downsides

 

[gazumped 11,667]

I use Notepad++ for plain text editing - and ENEX files are just plain (but very busy) text.  It (N++) will also handle find and replace,  but I'm not sure about batch operations.  You might be better off looking at a macro running between a spreadsheet and Evernote directly;  "find item a,  replace with item b,  rince and repeat..."  It is not a novice level job though.  Unless you have some expert help knocking around (or these days a handy 11-year-old) you may need to brew some coffee - or your beverage of choice - and start changing things manually...

[eric99 980]

1. export your notes to .enex files

2. multi-select the enex files and drop them in notepad++

3. just replace the tag(s) with the anonymized tag(s) in all opened documents at once

4. save all files

5. import the changed enex files in evernote again

[labbrenner 2]

Thanks everyone.  This is helpful.  I guess where I need to help is in finding/replacing a few hundred items.  For example:

Sample1 replace with Sample SF001

Sample 2 replace with Sample SK1001

Sample 3 with SF010

Sample 4 with SK999

Is there a bulk way to find and replace??? 

Thanks.

[DTLow 5,736]

2 hours ago, labbrenner said:

Is there a bulk way to find and replace??? 

Your question has been answered in previous posts.

Evernote doesn't support bulk find/replace

You can export your notes and use an editor app to do bulk find/replace