(Archived) Lost data on sync

[Frank.Sposito 0]

I'm new to evernote. I installed it on my home PC and on my android tablet. I use both actively.

Whenever I sync from my PC all new text that I've entered on existing notes is lost. New notes are saved properly, but anything that had been previously created in Android resets to the original note on sync, wiping out everything I'd written. I have lost *tons* of work because of this problem. It is absolutely debilitating - not to mention baffling. I find it amazing that evernote doesn't even warn of the possibility of lost data on sync. (As in, "are you sure you want to do this? all of your current work will be lost" type of message box.)

What am I doing wrong? Is there any way besides sync to save work as you create and, more importantly, edit it (as you would in any word processor like microsoft word)? It seems to me that evernote should *never* wipe out user text without warning the user first.

Can anyone tell me what I should do to make sure this never happens again?

[jefito 5,589]

You're not supposed to lose data on sync, which is why they don't warn on sync. Are you also syncing the notes from the Android? In any case, you should file a support request; see the link in my signature.

[Frank.Sposito 0]

@jefito, Thanks for your quick response.

Is this is a known bug with Evernote? I can and will file a support request, but what I actually need is a functioning note-taking program that works off the shelf. If the issue is indeed technical (as opposed to some bone-head mistake that I'm making), then the most practical solution is to find an application that has been fully debugged and works as advertised. As it stands, Evernote is not that application. Lost work is extremely frustrating and seriously undermines confidence in the software.

I was really hoping my incompetence was the problem, not the application itself.

[jefito 5,589]

I use the Android and the Windows client both (though the latter more than the former) and I've never experienced any such problem, but there have been some reports of note loss with respect to mobile vs. desktop clients (and I don't really track these, so I don't know what the answers are) . But if it's a known problem, then the tech support folks will know about it, and hopefully have some better answers.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

@jefito, Thanks for your quick response.

Is this is a known bug with Evernote? I can and will file a support request, but what I actually need is a functioning note-taking program that works off the shelf. If the issue is indeed technical (as opposed to some bone-head mistake that I'm making), then the most practical solution is to find an application that has been fully debugged and works as advertised. As it stands, Evernote is not that application. Lost work is extremely frustrating and seriously undermines confidence in the software.

I was really hoping my incompetence was the problem, not the application itself.

Hi. Welcome to the forums.

You'll definitely want to work with support on this, but one thing you can do is try to troubleshoot and see where the error is occurring. This will at least give you a better sense of what the problem is.

(1) Put your Android device into Airplane mode. Edit a note on your PC. Press the sync icon. Go to www.evernote.com and login. See if the edited version is there. This is the version that Evernote has on its servers. If it is there, this will tell you that the note has gotten that far.

(2) Bring your Android device out of airplane mode and sync. Did the corrected version appear there? If so, then repeat the process in reverse to see if the sync is going the other way.

(3) Let's assume you have confirmed that the syncing is working. Now, try variations with all of the devices on and connected to the Internet. What I think might be happening is that you have the note open and being edited in Android while it is open on another device, so the sync (it looks for the newest version) is getting messed up.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[Frank.Sposito 0]

@grumpymonkey, Thanks for your detailed suggestion, especially for alerting me to the Evernote web interface.

I followed the procedure and the sync failed again - the edits are not shown in the cloud version. The new notes I created "2 hours ago" are accurate, but all old notes are unchanged and show a status update from "last week."

So apparently the problem is between my PC and the cloud. I'm currently running Evernote on a Windows 7 x64 machine, fully updated. I do not use a firewall or any other internet traffic control application. Every time I sync, a box in the lower right corner says "synchronization complete". There is no suggestion that any kind of connection error happened. The edits simply vanish into the internet void.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I realize that I'm not supposed to lose data on a sync, but clearly I am. Which means someone at Evernote ought to put in some kind of warning or double-check so that the user can at least save locally if there is any suspicion that an error has occurred. The option to preserve a backup copy on the local drive makes sense no matter how confident one is in the web synchronization technology.

Thanks again for the help. I really wanted Evernote to work. The design and functionality of the app are perfect. It's unreliable performance however renders all of that meaningless.

[jefito 5,589]

If this is on Windows, you should be seeing popup windows on your screen to the effect of "Sync failed". You should also see some indication of a problem in your activity log (Help / Activity Log). Your notes should be saved on your local hard drive in any case.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

@grumpymonkey, Thanks for your detailed suggestion, especially for alerting me to the Evernote web interface.

I followed the procedure and the sync failed again - the edits are not shown in the cloud version. The new notes I created "2 hours ago" are accurate, but all old notes are unchanged and show a status update from "last week."

So apparently the problem is between my PC and the cloud. I'm currently running Evernote on a Windows 7 x64 machine, fully updated. I do not use a firewall or any other internet traffic control application. Every time I sync, a box in the lower right corner says "synchronization complete". There is no suggestion that any kind of connection error happened. The edits simply vanish into the internet void.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I realize that I'm not supposed to lose data on a sync, but clearly I am. Which means someone at Evernote ought to put in some kind of warning or double-check so that the user can at least save locally if there is any suspicion that an error has occurred. The option to preserve a backup copy on the local drive makes sense no matter how confident one is in the web synchronization technology.

Thanks again for the help. I really wanted Evernote to work. The design and functionality of the app are perfect. It's unreliable performance however renders all of that meaningless.

This sounds strange, and I cannot remember ever having had it happen on Windows. I would contact support and see what is happening. Can you make a note in Evernote on the Web and sync it to your PC? What seems especially odd to me is that you said you could create a new note, but not sync an old one.

I have seen behavior something like this (syncing some things but not others) on iOS (), and what you are describing sounds similar, but not quite the same.

[Frank.Sposito 0]

@jefito. Thanks for alerting me to the activity log.

A popup window appears in the lower right corner, and it says "synchronization complete." There is nothing about "sync failed." Where can I find the local version of my notes?

Here are the contents of the activity log:

Evernote for Windows 4.5.9.7465 (267973) Public

OS: Windows 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1

User: fsposito

Memory: 30.8MB

Created: 2012/10/25 14:30:33

---

Bootstrap info: loadedDatabase

<bootstrap_info><profile name="Evernote"><settings account_email_domain="m.evernote.com" enable_facebook_sharing="1" enable_gift_subscriptions="1" enable_linkedin_sharing="1" enable_shared_notebooks="1" enable_single_notesharing="1" enable_sponsored_accounts="1" enable_support_tickets="1" enable_twitter_sharing="1" marketing_url="http://www.evernote.com" service_host="www.evernote.com" support_url="http://www.evernote.com/contact/support/"/></profile></bootstrap_info>

---

14:29:52 [4304] Can't save HTML note content uid=289, error: ITEM_NOT_FOUND

14:30:13 [4304] Note 289 ENML Validation error: EntityRef: expecting ';'

14:30:13 [4304] Can't save note uid=289

14:30:13 [4304] Can't save HTML note content uid=289, error: ITEM_NOT_FOUND

14:30:13 [3128] 0% Connecting to www.evernote.com

14:30:13 [3128] 0% * loaded updateCount: 68

14:30:14 [3128] 0% Usage Metrics: sessionCount=0

14:30:14 [3128] 0% Client is up to date with the server, updateCount=68

14:30:14 [3128] 0% * saved updateCount: 68

14:30:14 [3128] 0% Session terminated normally, elapsed time: 1s

14:30:14 [3128] 0% * sent: 256B, received: 149B

14:30:14 [3128] 0% * 0s (71%) spent in EDAM RPC

14:30:19 [4304] Note 289 ENML Validation error: EntityRef: expecting ';'

14:30:19 [4304] Can't save note uid=289

14:30:19 [4304] Can't save HTML note content uid=289, error: ITEM_NOT_FOUND

14:30:19 [4304] Note 289 ENML Validation error: EntityRef: expecting ';'

14:30:19 [4304] Can't save note uid=289

14:30:19 [4304] Can't save HTML note content uid=289, error: ITEM_NOT_FOUND

[jefito 5,589]

You local versions of your notes reside in a database located in the directory that you can determine by going to Tools / Options, General Tab, and selecting Open Database Folder.

[GaryLKing 46]

This problem may be related to the problem in this thread, http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/30692-problems-with-latest-windows-evernote-update-added-text-disappears/

Regards,

Gary

[mbnicolas 4]

yeah, the '&' bug is a killer, evernotes need to send out an e-mail to people so that they are aware of this...

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

yeah, the '&' bug is a killer, evernotes need to send out an e-mail to people so that they are aware of this...

Good catch. The OP definitely ought to check their notes for ampersands (often found in URLs).

[Frank.Sposito 0]

@GaryLKing: That was it. The problem was ampersands. I use them all the time. I just tested a sync without ampersands and everything worked as it should. Thanks very much for your help.

There is a larger issue here. According to the activity log buried under the help menu, the sync clearly failed. And yet there was no direct notice of the failure to the end-user. In fact, just the opposite is true. The feedback says "synchronization complete," when in fact it was far from complete. This should alarm anyone using the application.

So it appears there are two bugs, the second more significant than the first:

1) Evernote fails to properly encode data posts so that ampersands (and possibly other special characters?) don't interfere with data server calls (which is rather shocking, given that this error is normally covered in database programming 101)

2) Evernote does not provide accurate status reports about syncs unless you hand-check the activity log. This strikes me as unforgivable. The fact is that the application knew that something had gone wrong. The word "failure" appears in the activity log. Yet it was not brought to my attention on the main screen. I lost a couple of hours of work believing that Evernote was functioning as it claimed. One can't help but wonder: what else besides ampersands could cause an unreported sync fail? Must I check the activity log after every sync?

Thanks in any case for solving the problem. I still wish the error were mine and not the unreliability of Evernote itself. I really wanted to use this app.

[Dave the Painting Guy 0]

Last night I meticulously copied details, screenshots, etc. during and following a WordPress install for someone, saving account info, passwords, etc. all into one note (good practice,yes?)

I SAVED, then I SYNCED. Everything was there.

I quit the MacBook Pro version of Evernote (latest, on a MBP with OS 10.6.8)

This morning, I found something I wanted to Save, so I clipped it with the Safari Elephant Icon, which opened Evernote, created a new note with content, but revealed that all the other data I added to my last note last night was gone.

This has happened several times, now.

This makes me very suspicious of using Evernote for a Paperless Lifstyle, especially involving a shredder.

[jefito 5,589]

If you think that you lost note content, then you should file a support request.

[Dave the Painting Guy 0]

How would the nature of that support request differ from what I have posted here? Do the developers not read the user forums?

[jefito 5,589]

How would the nature of that support request differ from what I have posted here? Do the developers not read the user forums?

This is a user forum, not an official support forum.

Evernote staff (even Evernote developers) do read the forums,and do comment occasionally, but it's unlikely that they're going to spend a lot of time trying to debug your issue over the forum -- no guarantees, anyways. They're mainly paid to develop software, not do support. The best way to get support for Evernote is via the official support facility.

[Dave the Painting Guy 0]

I discovered just now that Qutting Evernote App in Mac, seem sto be the problem. I duplicated it the following way:

1. Downloaded a PDF document (a manual) I want.
   
   
2. With Evernote App "closed" I went to the Finder to locate the downloaded PDF.
   
   
3. Clicked on the document
   
   
4. Issued a Command-C Copy command.
   
   
5. Issued Paste to Evernote: control-command-V, which opened Evernote and showed me the new Note.
   
   
6. Saved
   
   
7. Synced
   
   
8. Quit Evernote
   

Next, I

1. Issued the Find in Evernote command: control-command-E, to invoke Evernote without a Paste function
   
   
2. This opened up Evernote, highlighted my last note, displayed a Find drop-down, and
   
   
3. I watched the contents of my last note disappear as the App did an auto-sync, all at the same time.
   

My workaround:

1. paste twice before shutting down quitting
   
   
2. when I reopen with control-command-E, the last one will empty
   

Can anyone else reproduce this?

[craftyalice 0]

This is fascinating.

I use both OneNote and Evernote.

The last time I used Onenote it synced and lost half of what I had written. I frantically wrote up in the meeting, then it synced and lost data again.

I've not yet had the problem on Evernote, which by the way types with less lag on my Samsung Galaxy Tab2 7 Android tablet.

[frwebb 0]

I use Evernote on my PC, my iPhone, and my iPad.

I have been using it to track my hours on a consulting project.

three times (at least) I have added hours to my note, and had them removed on sync.

At least twice I added to the note while using my ipad or iphone, a third time from the PC.

I have lost my billing data for several weeks worth of billable work.

This is absolutely unacceptable.

I will have to find an app whose builders understand the meaning of the word "sync".

[gazumped 11,663]

I use Evernote on my PC, my iPhone, and my iPad.

I have been using it to track my hours on a consulting project.

three times (at least) I have added hours to my note, and had them removed on sync.

At least twice I added to the note while using my ipad or iphone, a third time from the PC.

I have lost my billing data for several weeks worth of billable work.

This is absolutely unacceptable.

I will have to find an app whose builders understand the meaning of the word "sync".

 

Do you sync the device you're using before and after each edit?  A note should only be overwritten by a newer version of the same note - if you're using several devices you may have to sync each of them a couple of times to ensure they all have the same note version,  then ensure you sync-edit-sync in the future.