This article in TidBITS explains how to move from Evernote to Apple Notes, so I thought it would be a good idea to document how to move from Evernote to EagleFiler:
The easiest way is to select the notes in Evernote and then (while EagleFiler is running in the background), press EagleFiler’s capture key. This will import each note into the current EagleFiler library as an HTML file. Any files attached to the note will be saved in a folder next to the HTML file, as separate EagleFiler records.
You can also use Evernote’s “File ‣ Export Notes…” command, although I don’t recommend this because it seems to fail if the note’s title is too long or if it uses certain characters.
EagleFiler’s capture key imports from Evernote using the HTML file format because that preserves all possible data from Evernote. However, HTML files are not directly editable. If you want to edit your imported notes in EagleFiler, you can use the Convert for Editing command (requires EagleFiler 1.8.5b1 for use with HTML files). I’m also working on an importer that avoids the HTML and image files entirely.
EagleFiler is safe for long-term storage because it stores your files in regular folders using standard formats. Your data (and any metadata that you add) is all stored on your Mac and is fully accessible even without using the EagleFiler app.
Update (2018-12-06): EagleFiler now has an improved Evernote importer that creates editable rich text (RTFD) files instead of HTML files. You can also import previously exported .enex files from a command in the File menu.
More newbie comments. I am likely doing stuff wrong, and invite any feedback!
I followed these instructions, and since I’m not running EF beta, I saved as html. Problems:
I wound up with a jillion separate oddly-named graphics files, per your warning. And they sort oddly in “Recently Added” because of EF’s (understandable and preferable) habit of preserving all source files’ modification dates, which will be widely different from the current mod date of a newly imported note.
The bottom/right pane of the EF window parses the HTML nicely, so that’s useful. But it’s still not a completely comfortable way to browse/read (e.g. full screen would be nice, plus see #4, I need to access on mobile). I’m trying to figure out how to actually make use of this data in a way close to how EV originally intended. In my case, fwiw, these are recipes with photos.
I can double click a record to open in BBEdit and send to browser, but that’s clunky too. As you say, HTML is clunky to edit, but I look forward to the next update helping with that.
I can’t figure out how to access this stuff on Mobile (per #2…actually using this data).
Yes, I can see how that would be annoying. Eventually they will fall out of Recently Added as you add/create more files. This problem will be eliminated when the new importer (that only creates one file in EagleFiler per note) is ready.
You could use Record ‣ Quick Look (or, holding Option) Record ‣ Slide Show to view it full screen.
Thanks, awesome help. And I don’t mind waiting for the new importer.
BTW, the capture itself was beautiful. Much more faithful than any previous attempt at exporting from EV (and leagues better than Evernote’s own XML export.
I meant very specifically THIS STUFF…i.e. html and graphics files saved to a file directory that I don’t want to “work on”, but passively/conveniently browse.
One option would be to convert to PDF, but that would of course make editing even tougher.
Unfortunately, Dropbox and the Apple Files app don’t load images when displaying a local HTML file, but Readdle Documents does. Or you could use Convert for Editing to make an RTFD file.
Anyone have tips on how to get out of Evernote. I’ve absolutely hit the wall of tolerance for the tool. The interface gets worse with every update, and my team is about to explode with frustration.
Any thoughts on how to get out? I’d like to be able to export into something useful, but the XML and HTML export options aren’t exactly easy to work with or useful. (Thanks Evernote - one more reminder that it’s time to get out.) I might move to Google Drive, or just Dropbox for now, but I want the notebooks in something more useful. Anyone found an easy path?
I just tried to import into Eaglefiler from a test enex file but ran into an error with an invalid filename. None of the 700+ evernote entries were imported as a result:
>>The item couldn’t be saved because the file name “Kollektor/ Thermics srl, Vacano GmbH, Waterway, Würth - Alles für Ihre Solaranlage im Direktvertrieb/ Vakuumkollektoren mit Heatpipe oder direktdurchströmt, Pufferspeicher, Solarspeicher, Hygiene-Kombispeicher, Solarregelung, Pumpenstation, Ausdehnungsgef.rtfd” is invalid.: DIY + Home + Garden.enex<<
There is no way of finding and properly naming these entries in Evernote, so I’m hoping that Eaglefiler provides a workaround?
Sorry about that. It looks like there is a bug handling very long titles that are too long to be filenames. I will get this fixed in the next public beta. In the meantime, you can rename the one that it complains about to have a shorter title in Evernote. (Hopefully there are not too many with long titles.)
with the update I was able to import a whole notebook with 1000+ notes to Eaglefiler. That’s a good start
Of course, as always, one fulfilled wish instantly creates a new one:
What I like about Evernote is that it has a grid view of all notes, where the title and a preview is shown of each note.
This is way more practical to work with than a simple list of notes.
Any chance this could be a feature for Eaglefiler?
How did the import to Evernote go?
AlisonAnderson-I am in the same boat as you. I have been looking for an alternate program for Evernote. I wanted to see if you had any tips or suggestions or such for me. Judy
My comment is that it’s a slow process for me. I have SO many notes in Evernote. Some notes I don’t want saved in EF as PDFs since I can’t add to or edit them. I’m kind of picky when it comes to format and how it works for me. BUT I do like EF for my receipts, my owner manuals, techy stuff (like if I get tech support I will put that email/note in EF for the future), personal stuff (like how to clean bathroom tile-fun stuff like that), etc…
I am glad that I made the switch though! If you have any specific questions, just ask me. I used Evernote heavily for my genealogy/DNA notes and those are the ones that I am very picky about the format.
