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I would like to place the notes that I take at my office to my home computer.  I have a mac and use devonthink at home.  When I drag and drop an evernote document to devonthink, all it transfers is the URL to the document.  I would like to have the actual pdf file since the url may eventualy get erased.  Will the premium version allow this?

TIA

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I would like to place the notes that I take at my office to my home computer.  I have a mac and use devonthink at home.  When I drag and drop an evernote document to devonthink, all it transfers is the URL to the document.  I would like to have the actual pdf file since the url may eventualy get erased.  Will the premium version allow this?

TIA

 

Hi. Welcome to the forums.

 

Evernote keeps notes in a web page format called .enml, and so it is relatively easy to move into other apps by exporting your notes as .html. I don't use DevonThink anymore, but if I recall correctly, it easily imports .html files. 

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Here is a link to Justin @ veritope's wonderful applescript for evernote->devonthink exporter. The page ihas a full description as well as installation instructions.

 

I found the link today on DEVONthink's support page (they were talking about the devonthink->evernote script from the same site). If you want to have install it, you can easily do so from the devonthink application. Go to: help->support assistant->get extras. You'll see a list of scripts to install. Once the send to evernote script is installed, you'll find it in the scripts menu->export.

 

one note: the page states that tags are set to "OFF" during export, but the script appears to be set to "ON" now. It must have been updated recently :)

 

hooray!

 

hrm (one hour later). I just tried the script and it failed. After reading through the comments (page 6 of 6), it appears something stopped working after the newest Evernote update. Regardless, it should be working soon (if not now for you- not all users are having problems)

 

I know I just handed you a bag of maybe, but I hope it helps- now or in the future! If anything, use the rest of his fabulous scripts!

 

-ash

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I also have been looking for a simple workflow between Devonthink and Evernote for a long time. Unfortunately, Evernote is a kind of lock-down app. There is no way of direct syncing without exporting. The exporting script mentioned above couldn't export longer and complex pages even when it is properly working. it converts some of the pages into image-like format, YOU CAN NOT EDIT IT any more then.

 

So, the sync between Evernote and other apps is a kind of hopeless so far. I am personally trying to keep myself away from Evernote and  use more of  Simplenote (simple text files)&Devonthink mainly because of this constraint (though the clipping feature is still a way better in Evernote than in Devonthink). Note that devonthink keeps the html clippings in its database without converting them to any other format. So, you can directly access them in finder, and syn them to any other app (Scrivener, for example, for composing some article) without the hassle of exporting. 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Could you explain in more detail what you mean by "sync" rather than "export?" You're asking for two different databases, which store files in distinctly different ways, to send content between one another. That inherently requires exporting, or at a bare minimum, converting content. I believe you can use Devon's "capture site" function by sharing your Evernote document as a link, and then capturing the web page in Devonthink. You can then deactivate the share link if you're concerned about security.

 

If that' isn't sufficient, could you give a better example of what you're trying to do? I'm unclear why you're looking for two-way synchronization between Devonthink and Evernote. The two apps seem to fulfill roughly the same function. Why not just commit to either Evernote or Devonthink on all your computers?

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Could you explain in more detail what you mean by "sync" rather than "export?" You're asking for two different databases, which store files in distinctly different ways, to send content between one another. That inherently requires exporting, or at a bare minimum, converting content. I believe you can use Devon's "capture site" function by sharing your Evernote document as a link, and then capturing the web page in Devonthink. You can then deactivate the share link if you're concerned about security.

 

If that' isn't sufficient, could you give a better example of what you're trying to do? I'm unclear why you're looking for two-way synchronization between Devonthink and Evernote. The two apps seem to fulfill roughly the same function. Why not just commit to either Evernote or Devonthink on all your computers?

I don't think you need to build two different databases to make the

files available for other apps. Look at reference managers like Sente

and Mendeley. They keep everthing in their propriety databases, but,

they are still able to make the PDF files accessible to other functions.

If you import a PDF file into Mendeley database, the PDF file still has

life of its own. You can access it by its file name directly in Finder;  you can then sync it to Dropbox, you can index it to Devonthink.

The same is true to devonthink. If you a clip this blog to it its

database as a web archive, for example, you can directly search "sharing

evernote to devonthink - Evernote General Discussion" directly access it in Finder. By syncing the folders in the Devonthink (via symbolic link)

to dropbox, you can directly access the file from other computers.

 

The problem with evernote is: the .enml format locks all these possibilities. If I clip this blog into Evernote, there is not way of directly accessing it in Finder (explorer).

 

The reason, why I want the two way sycing is because of the strengths and

weaknesses of each of the apps. Evernote is bettter in two areas: the

clipping function is supperior and it is cross-platform. I can not use

Devonthink in Windows pc. I love Devonthink in all other areas.

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On the Mac, everything in Evernote is indexed and available via Spotlight. .enml doesn't lock you out of anything. On Windows, it is a little more difficult to access, but it is all there. On Windows, have you tried http://www.bitqwik.com/ ? I think it might solve your problem, though ultimately it would be nice to see some kind of devonthink + evernote integration.

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On the Mac, everything in Evernote is indexed and available via Spotlight. .enml doesn't lock you out of anything. On Windows, it is a little more difficult to access, but it is all there. On Windows, have you tried http://www.bitqwik.com/ ? I think it might solve your problem, though ultimately it would be nice to see some kind of devonthink + evernote integration.

Thank you. I just phrased my reply wrongly. I know it can be searched in Spotlight. But, I was talking about directly accessing these files in Finder (explorer). That would open the possibility to integrate the two apps; as devonthink can index the files of Evernote if they are directly accessible in Finder.

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On the Mac, everything in Evernote is indexed and available via Spotlight. .enml doesn't lock you out of anything. On Windows, it is a little more difficult to access, but it is all there. On Windows, have you tried http://www.bitqwik.com/ ? I think it might solve your problem, though ultimately it would be nice to see some kind of devonthink + evernote integration.

Thank you. I just phrased my reply wrongly. I know it can be searched in Spotlight. But, I was talking about directly accessing these files in Finder (explorer). That would open the possibility to integrate the two apps; as devonthink can index the files of Evernote if they are directly accessible in Finder.

I'm unfamiliar with Finder (don't use it much, because it doesn't seem to index Evernote!), but I think if a third party could make an integration that would make the contents accessible to Finder or directly accessible to devonthink, that would be fabulous. The good thing about a Mac is that you don't have everything buried in a database. The bad thing? I can't think of anything at the moment :) That said, I am headed to the store again to take a look at the Surface Pro. I doubt I'll get it, but I keep think about it as a solution to other issues I have. But, then I lose easy access to my Evernote data from outside the app...

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On the Mac, everything in Evernote is indexed and available via Spotlight. .enml doesn't lock you out of anything. On Windows, it is a little more difficult to access, but it is all there. On Windows, have you tried http://www.bitqwik.com/ ? I think it might solve your problem, though ultimately it would be nice to see some kind of devonthink + evernote integration.

Thank you. I just phrased my reply wrongly. I know it can be searched in Spotlight. But, I was talking about directly accessing these files in Finder (explorer). That would open the possibility to integrate the two apps; as devonthink can index the files of Evernote if they are directly accessible in Finder.

I'm unfamiliar with Finder (don't use it much, because it doesn't seem to index Evernote!), but I think if a third party could make an integration that would make the contents accessible to Finder or directly accessible to devonthink, that would be fabulous. The good thing about a Mac is that you don't have everything buried in a database. The bad thing? I can't think of anything at the moment :) That said, I am headed to the store again to take a look at the Surface Pro. I doubt I'll get it, but I keep think about it as a solution to other issues I have. But, then I lose easy access to my Evernote data from outside the app...

I am not sure if you are using Mac. If u r in Mac, Finder is the main file explorer of apple coming with every Mac for the last few decades; as Explorer is for windows. Anyways, the major culprit for the problem is the design of Evernote. These bucket applications are generally horrible; they lock our files in their own propriety format; they poorly communicate with other apps; and finally, if they die, the pain will remain with the end user.i have seen many People who have deeper experience in computing advising to avoid propriety bucket apps like Evernote. I have also suffered when I migrate from windows; Ms Onenote has eaten my notes. the more i learn about the incidents of the death of multitudes of apps that were so popular in 1990's, the more i am inclined to avoid locking apps as Evernote.

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On the Mac, everything in Evernote is indexed and available via Spotlight. .enml doesn't lock you out of anything. On Windows, it is a little more difficult to access, but it is all there. On Windows, have you tried http://www.bitqwik.com/ ? I think it might solve your problem, though ultimately it would be nice to see some kind of devonthink + evernote integration.

Thank you. I just phrased my reply wrongly. I know it can be searched in Spotlight. But, I was talking about directly accessing these files in Finder (explorer). That would open the possibility to integrate the two apps; as devonthink can index the files of Evernote if they are directly accessible in Finder.

I'm unfamiliar with Finder (don't use it much, because it doesn't seem to index Evernote!), but I think if a third party could make an integration that would make the contents accessible to Finder or directly accessible to devonthink, that would be fabulous. The good thing about a Mac is that you don't have everything buried in a database. The bad thing? I can't think of anything at the moment :) That said, I am headed to the store again to take a look at the Surface Pro. I doubt I'll get it, but I keep think about it as a solution to other issues I have. But, then I lose easy access to my Evernote data from outside the app...

I am not sure if you are using Mac. If u r in Mac, Finder is the main file explorer of apple coming with every Mac for the last few decades; as Explorer is for windows. Anyways, the major culprit for the problem is the design of Evernote. These bucket applications are generally horrible; they lock our files in their own propriety format; they poorly communicate with other apps; and finally, if they die, the pain will remain with the end user.i have seen many People who have deeper experience in computing advising to avoid propriety bucket apps like Evernote. I have also suffered when I migrate from windows; Ms Onenote has eaten my notes. the more i learn about the incidents of the death of multitudes of apps that were so popular in 1990's, the more i am inclined to avoid locking apps as Evernote.

 

 I don't know why Evernote is not accessible directly through Finder. As I said, though, I don't use Finder much. This won't help your devonthink problem, but if you search in Spotlight for a note, open it with Finder, and you will see it is completely accessible. Double click on it, and you are good to go.

 

(1) Proprietary format

- Yes. It is .enml, but .enml is basically the same as .html. 

 

(2) Communication

- I suppose it doesn't communicate much with other apps, but that is at least partly a function of its design. It is a cloud-based service and devonthink is not.

 

(3) You won't lose your data if Evernote goes away.

- Export your notes as .html and migrate to another app. It is no big deal. I do it all of the time. In fact, just last week I took about 10,000 notes, exported as .html, imported those into VoodooPad, and was working on my notes within about 10 minutes. Don't like VoodooPad? nvALT is a nice option as well (http://www.christopher-mayo.com/?p=51). The fact that I can get my notes out, even if I don't, is a key feature that drew me to Evernote in the first place. 

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On Finder integration: Here is an AppleScript that will create a desktop shortcut to an Evernote note. This does not save the content, just a link. The links are, however, fairly sturdy things in Evernote, and can survive re-categorization and editing.

 

http://blog.nik.me/post/44311282771/create-a-desktop-shortcut-to-an-evernote-note

 

Regarding the "lock-in," this is totally mis-stated. The advantage of these "junk drawer" applications is that they add functionality that isn't available in the Finder. These include cross-device syncing, rapid search, OCR, clippers, etc. Furthermore, it is anything but locked in, and is in many ways more open than virtually any other file format.

 

First and foremost, it is a desktop application, not just a web service, and will be usable for some time after the Evernote service might end. (Given that I'm still running OS 9 apps in an emulator, this could be a very, very, long time indeed.)

 

Secondly, the Evernote file format is well documented and easy to parse (it's XML/XHTML based) and it has a powerful local API for batch actions. I can export the data into a variety of formats without any loss of fidelity/metadata beyond the limitations of where I migrate the data to. (Yes, even the OCR results are available in the XML format!)

 

Thirdly, Evernote has proven itself to be a conscientious and trustworthy company, so I have every expectation that my data will not be locked in any time in the foreseeable future.

 

In all ways, Evernote is actually an extremely open and future-proofed document format. More so than any other rich formats on the Mac (RTFD is a proprietary standard, PDF is basically inaccessible without helper applications, and I don't begin to know how to do something with a Safari web archive). Unless you're going with plain text, you can't do much better.

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  • 4 months later...

On Finder integration: Here is an AppleScript that will create a desktop shortcut to an Evernote note. This does not save the content, just a link. The links are, however, fairly sturdy things in Evernote, and can survive re-categorization and editing.

 

http://blog.nik.me/post/44311282771/create-a-desktop-shortcut-to-an-evernote-note

 

Regarding the "lock-in," this is totally mis-stated. The advantage of these "junk drawer" applications is that they add functionality that isn't available in the Finder. These include cross-device syncing, rapid search, OCR, clippers, etc. Furthermore, it is anything but locked in, and is in many ways more open than virtually any other file format.

 

First and foremost, it is a desktop application, not just a web service, and will be usable for some time after the Evernote service might end. (Given that I'm still running OS 9 apps in an emulator, this could be a very, very, long time indeed.)

 

Secondly, the Evernote file format is well documented and easy to parse (it's XML/XHTML based) and it has a powerful local API for batch actions. I can export the data into a variety of formats without any loss of fidelity/metadata beyond the limitations of where I migrate the data to. (Yes, even the OCR results are available in the XML format!)

 

Thirdly, Evernote has proven itself to be a conscientious and trustworthy company, so I have every expectation that my data will not be locked in any time in the foreseeable future.

 

In all ways, Evernote is actually an extremely open and future-proofed document format. More so than any other rich formats on the Mac (RTFD is a proprietary standard, PDF is basically inaccessible without helper applications, and I don't begin to know how to do something with a Safari web archive). Unless you're going with plain text, you can't do much better.

Thanks for the link.

I think  you have missed my point. I am not worried that Evernote will go away or sth. I am rather dissatisfied with the design of the Evernote and some other propriety apps that they are converting my data while it would have been possible to develop these functionalities without locking down to their own formats. Syncing and working with other apps would have been smoother; the original file format would have been maintained. Look at how Devonthink does things; I bet you it has more functionalities than Evernote. STill, it doesn't have to convert your files into its own format. You give a gold to Devonthink, you will get back your gold.  perfect:

You give your gold to Evernote, you will get sth similar to gold (may be even nickel). I am not here to attack Evernote, but, I really believe the conversion is a bad design. 

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