Opening a PDF creates a new PDF ever time

[d0_do 4]

Hi,

Every time I open an attached PDF from an Evernote note into a third party PDF annotation app, a new copy of PDF is created in the attachments folder and that is opened. The PDF file that is attached to Evernote note stays there as usual.
I am on windows 10 and have tried three different PDF apps (Drawboard, Xodo, Foxit) from the windows store. The behavior with the Evernote is the same in all the three apps. It doesn't happen when I directly open a PDF file from a disk and save it automatically. 

Let me know if you need more information from my end.

[gazumped 11,666]

Hi.  You may be overthinking this.  It's a 'feature' of Evernote,  Windows and all PDF editors that the attached PDF file is encoded into the Evernote database and is therefore unreadable by any editor.  So Evernote helpfully decrypts a temporary copy of the file into the attachments folder so that the editor can open it.  If and when the editor is closed and the file re-saved,  the updated version goes back into the note.

If you edit a file several times,  there a number of copies are created in the attachments folder - myfile.PDF / myfile(1).PDF and so on.  This sometimes causes a problem in that the original note attachment is not replaced,  usually because the user changes the name 'back' to the orgnal by removing the (n) from the name.  You'll always find the up to date changes in the attachments folder,  and be able to add it back to the note if necessary.

Easy fix - every so often,  just delete the attachments folder contents.  Evernote say they can't do this automatically because Windows doesn't know whether you just finished with the file completely,  or intend to go on working.

It's all part of the wonderful world of Windows..

[CalS 5,280]

4 hours ago, gazumped said:

Easy fix - every so often,  just delete the attachments folder contents.  Evernote say they can't do this automatically because Windows doesn't know whether you just finished with the file completely,  or intend to go on working.

Yeah, it's a bit of a "random act of negligence".  Sometimes the temp file gets deleted from Attachments, sometimes it doesn't.  But as @gazumped states, periodically shut down EN and delete the files in the Attachments folder.

One thing to be careful of though, if you add an Excel file that uses pivot tables to a note, sometimes EN opens the copy in attachments if one was left there.  Not a good thing at that point since Excel thinks it has external files. Since I don't care about searching my Excel docs like that, I moved them go G Drive and put a link to the local G Drive copy in an EN note.

[d0_do 4]

9 hours ago, gazumped said:

Hi.  You may be overthinking this.  It's a 'feature' of Evernote,  Windows and all PDF editors that the attached PDF file is encoded into the Evernote database and is therefore unreadable by any editor.  So Evernote helpfully decrypts a temporary copy of the file into the attachments folder so that the editor can open it.  If and when the editor is closed and the file re-saved,  the updated version goes back into the note.

 

I did not see this behavior ever on my windows 7 laptop with the PDF-XChange viewer. I would have been fine with having multiple copies in the attachments folder but the thing is my Evernote note does not get updated with the update/annotated pdf that I just edited in the external editor and saved.
 

Quote

If you edit a file several times,  there a number of copies are created in the attachments folder - myfile.PDF / myfile(1).PDF and so on.  This sometimes causes a problem in that the original note attachment is not replaced,  usually because the user changes the name 'back' to the orgnal by removing the (n) from the name.  You'll always find the up to date changes in the attachments folder,  and be able to add it back to the note if necessary.

Easy fix - every so often,  just delete the attachments folder contents.  Evernote say they can't do this automatically because Windows doesn't know whether you just finished with the file completely,  or intend to go on working.

It's all part of the wonderful world of Windows..

 

That's the main issue that the original is not replaced with the annotated copy. This is the first time that has happened to me and the only change that I have made is the switch to Windows 10.

An easy fix is easy enough for a technical/power user. A regular user only sees whether a software is getting the task done right or not.

 

[CalS 5,280]

38 minutes ago, d0_do said:

but the thing is my Evernote note does not get updated with the update/annotated pdf that I just edited in the external editor and saved.

Not true if you open a PDF that is in a note, either by double clicking the PDF or clicking the "eye" icon in the floating PDF bar.  

When I make any changes to a PDF stored in an EN note, I am prompted with a save dialog and the PDF is saved to the note with the changes.  

EDIT:  Where did you open the PDF in the above example?  From within EN or by double clicking the PDF in the Attachments folder?

[DTLow 5,736]

33 minutes ago, d0_do said:

the thing is my Evernote note does not get updated with the update/annotated pdf that I just edited in the external editor and saved.

That is definetly a bug.  
Evernote is doing some magic to identify the pdf has been updated and that the note has to be updated
I'm sure support would be interested; contact information below in my signature

Some self help.

• Reboot your device
• Delete and reinstall the Evernote app

 

[d0_do 4]

26 minutes ago, csihilling said:

Not true if you open a PDF that is in a note, either by double clicking the PDF or clicking the "eye" icon in the floating PDF bar.  

When I make any changes to a PDF stored in an EN note, I am prompted with a save dialog and the PDF is saved to the note with the changes.  

EDIT:  Where did you open the PDF in the above example?  From within EN or by double clicking the PDF in the Attachments folder?

2

I quickly investigated it a bit more. You can open the PDF file the way you want to. Double click, right click -> open with, click on eye icon. I am not prompted with any save dialog as such. I have set my PDF software to auto save setting after editing.

On Windows 10 + Xodo/Foxit/Drawboard PDF:

1. Evernote does update the PDF file in the note. I was at mistake here.

2. There are multiple copies of that PDF now in the attachments folder. Five attempts led to five different PDF files in the attachment folder.

On Windows 7 + PDF Xchange viewer:

1.  Evernote does update the PDF file in the note.

2. There are no multiple copies of that PDF in the Attachments folder.

 

[d0_do 4]

27 minutes ago, DTLow said:

Some self help.

• Reboot your device
• Delete and reinstall the Evernote app

 

1

Thank you. I think rebooting the device has changed the behavior from what I was seeing last night. I'll see if I need to go to support. 

[CalS 5,280]

1 hour ago, d0_do said:

There are multiple copies of that PDF now in the attachments folder. Five attempts led to five different PDF files in the attachment folder.

I would prefer EN NOT do this, but it does.  Though this is an annoyance that doesn't impact my workflow at all.  But until/if EN does anything about it, the fix is to empty the folder from time to time if it is bothersome.  

[d0_do 4]

30 minutes ago, csihilling said:

I would prefer EN NOT do this, but it does.  Though this is an annoyance that doesn't impact my workflow at all.  But until/if EN does anything about it, the fix is to empty the folder from time to time if it is bothersome.  

But then I do not see it with Windows 7 + PDF-XCHANGE VIEWER

[CalS 5,280]

1 minute ago, d0_do said:

But then I do not see it with Windows 7 + PDF-XCHANGE VIEWER

Don't know what to tell you.  It would seem to work with that app.  Does not work with Adobe, this I know, Win7 or Win 10.

[sschuldenzucker 6]

FTR, I just found this thread googling because I saw the exact same behavior d0_do described, with Drawboard vs PDF XChange.

No big deal for me right now, I'm just using XChange, but really confusing until I noticed it + could've easily lost a lot of annotations.

[d0_do 4]

Yeah evernote did agree it is an issue. But I never heard back from them nor did they care to update me whether they will work on it or if they have even added it on to their issue tracking boards.

Sometimes I strongly feel that I pay for premium only because of clipper.  

[DexterDuck 1]

I had this issue for ages and then a couple of months ago it just started working correctly - I could open a pdf from the note in drawboard edit and save back into the note no problem. 

Now I have had to restore Windows 10 and when I downloaded Evernote I have moved to 6.9 and it doesn't work any longer. 

I have deleted the files in the attachments folder but this hasn't made a difference.

Any other ideas as it is such a messy experience to have to re save and then attach to the note after editing. 

[gazumped 11,666]

28 minutes ago, DexterDuck said:

I could open a pdf from the note in drawboard edit and save back into the note no problem. 

Hi.  Just to confirm.  When you edit a copy of mydoc.pdf and save it again,  you get something like mydoc_1.pdf being created in the attachments folder?  Can you open and save your PDF in any other editor to check whether or not drawboard is part of this?  If you notice a name change and use Save As to exit the file - changing the name back to the original "mydoc.pdf",  will it allow you to do so?

I don't have any problems with saving documents back to their parent note.  Just trying to work out what's going wrong here...

[DexterDuck 1]

4 hours ago, gazumped said:

Hi.  Just to confirm.  When you edit a copy of mydoc.pdf and save it again,  you get something like mydoc_1.pdf being created in the attachments folder?  Can you open and save your PDF in any other editor to check whether or not drawboard is part of this?  If you notice a name change and use Save As to exit the file - changing the name back to the original "mydoc.pdf",  will it allow you to do so?

I don't have any problems with saving documents back to their parent note.  Just trying to work out what's going wrong here...

It seems to depend on whether the pdf is showing as an attachment or being viewed in the note. If I open from the attachment everything works as expected but if I open from the in note viewer then it opens as a different named file as you suggested. I am able to save as the original file and that works but I think the best route forward is to view as an attachment before trying to edit. Thanks for your help