What if evernote cancels their application

[Big D 51]

This may be a dumb question, but I am curious before dedicating time to go digitcal with evernote.

I am considering using dropbox with multiple folders as directorys for going digital. Then for note taking, I would create a doc file using office app for ipad.

What if you you go digital with evernote and they quit making the application or something. Would all these files be lost since they are only open through evernote?

Does this even make sense what I am trying to ask? lol it's early.

Thank you.

 

[MacDawg]

Evernote dropping their app is about as likely as Dropbox dropping their service
Neither is very likely IMO

 

[Big D 51]

Evernote dropping their app is about as likely as Dropbox dropping their service
Neither is very likely IMO

Ok, if you say so. Thank you for your answer and your contribution to the forums.

I guess I am going to give it a shot.

 

[Evgenyy]

This may be a dumb question, but I am curious before dedicating time to go digitcal with evernote.

I am considering using dropbox with multiple folders as directorys for going digital. Then for note taking, I would create a doc file using office app for ipad.

What if you you go digital with evernote and they quit making the application or something. Would all these files be lost since they are only open through evernote?

Does this even make sense what I am trying to ask? lol it's early.

Thank you.

Even if they ever decided to drop their application (which is very unlikely), they will most certainly allow you to export all your notes to another service or your computer.

 

[palpatine]

This may be a dumb question, but I am curious before dedicating time to go digitcal with evernote.

I am considering using dropbox with multiple folders as directorys for going digital. Then for note taking, I would create a doc file using office app for ipad.

What if you you go digital with evernote and they quit making the application or something. Would all these files be lost since they are only open through evernote?

Does this even make sense what I am trying to ask? lol it's early.

Thank you.

Evernote has millions of users around the world, considerable funding, and a strong track record of investing in their product. Still, things happen.

Evernote is set up to keep a copy of the material on your local drive as well as in their servers on the cloud. You can choose to export this data anytime as an HTML file. So, you have no fears. The data is yours, you have total control of it, and you can bail on Evernote at any time.

I would STRONGLY recommend you visit the message board for Evernote (search for "paperless"), read the case studies on their blog, google around for Evernote uses ("paperless" and "evernote"), or even read some of the threads I have started on this forum about going paperless. I would definitely not try and go paperless through Dropbox.

Dropbox is great, I use it every day, and I am a big fan (I plan to switch from Sugarsync to Dropbox when my contract finishes in the spring). It does what it does well. Evernote is something entirely different, and the fantastic organizational functionality it offers is so far beyond the old days of files in folders that you will be amazed.

 

[Big D 51]

Evernote has millions of users around the world, considerable funding, and a strong track record of investing in their product. Still, things happen.

Evernote is set up to keep a copy of the material on your local drive as well as in their servers on the cloud. You can choose to export this data anytime as an HTML file. So, you have no fears. The data is yours, you have total control of it, and you can bail on Evernote at any time.

I would STRONGLY recommend you visit the message board for Evernote (search for "paperless"), read the case studies on their blog, google around for Evernote uses ("paperless" and "evernote"), or even read some of the threads I have started on this forum about going paperless. I would definitely not try and go paperless through Dropbox.

Dropbox is great, I use it every day, and I am a big fan (I plan to switch from Sugarsync to Dropbox when my contract finishes in the spring). It does what it does well. Evernote is something entirely different, and the fantastic organizational functionality it offers is so far beyond the old days of files in folders that you will be amazed.

Fantastic post. Thank you for taking the time for that. You have a very valid point about it being "beyond the old days of files in folders" because that is where I was heading. In addition, knowing you can covert to another file format if all hell freezes over is a nice reassurance too.

 

[nutmac]

My main issue with Evernote is the proprietary format notes are stored as. While notes can be exported as HTML (or Evernote's proprietary XML), I wish unformatted text gets treated as text (or better yet, Markdown). Yes, I realize it is possible to strip HTML or XML tags fairly easily. But most of my notes are plain text and Evernote shouldn't apply any formatting for plain text notes.

 

[palpatine]

Fantastic post. Thank you for taking the time for that. You have a very valid point about it being "beyond the old days of files in folders" because that is where I was heading. In addition, knowing you can covert to another file format if all hell freezes over is a nice reassurance too.

You're welcome

My main issue with Evernote is the proprietary format notes are stored as. While notes can be exported as HTML (or Evernote's proprietary XML), I wish unformatted text gets treated as text (or better yet, Markdown). Yes, I realize it is possible to strip HTML or XML tags fairly easily. But most of my notes are plain text and Evernote shouldn't apply any formatting for plain text notes.

I think it is pretty standard for programs to store the content in a proprietary format, especially ones as complex as Evernote. I also wish they provided a way to export as txt, but I can see why they don't, because that would require a whole lot of programming (what do you do with a note that has a pdf file, image, and recording attached to it?). There are solutions (Voodoopad, for example, does a good job pulling apart all o fthe bits and pieces in notes), but I think it isn't a huge concern for me. An HTML file really easy to deal with.

 

[Dillenger]

I think they would be bought out before they closed up shop.

 

[Big D 51]

You're welcome

I seen your thread where Evernote lost some your data. Are you still confortable, after your experience, that it is the way to go?

 

[palpatine]

I seen your thread where Evernote lost some your data. Are you still confortable, after your experience, that it is the way to go?

yes.

just to clarify (i think i was unclear in my past thread) the application (not the evernote cloud service) lost my data. in other words, the application failed to save the changes / new notes, so there was nothing to sync, and the data was "lost."

the app is considerably improved since then. but, more importantly, i save regularly to make sure i don't have that happen. i got lazy, and even though it wasn't my "fault," better work practices would have prevented the problem from happening. we should all be doing this with every app anyways (just like the old days).

 

[Big D 51]

yes.

just to clarify (i think i was unclear in my past thread) the application (not the evernote cloud service) lost my data. in other words, the application failed to save the changes / new notes, so there was nothing to sync, and the data was "lost."

the app is considerably improved since then. but, more importantly, i save regularly to make sure i don't have that happen. i got lazy, and even though it wasn't my "fault," better work practices would have prevented the problem from happening. we should all be doing this with every app anyways (just like the old days).

Thank you for replying again and you contribution to the forums. You have some great threads with a lot of valuable information about this. You seem to have mastered this. To me, going digital is really valuable for people traveling a lot for work. In addition, it's great having ALL your files with you all the time, and knowing your files all secured for life (water and fire damage free). I'm sure this list goes on; however, these are some key reasons I'm considering it.

It is going to take a while to get me away from paper books for reading though, but I'm willing to try it. If I can't adjust, I'm at least going fully digital with files for my business, personal files, and notes. The book part is going to be hard for me. I guess it would be strange if we all wanted/ liked the same thing eh?

Thanks again. Cheers.

 

[palpatine]

Thank you for replying again and you contribution to the forums. You have some great threads with a lot of valuable information about this. You seem to have mastered this. To me, going digital is really valuable for people traveling a lot for work. In addition, it's great having ALL your files with you all the time, and knowing your files all secured for life (water and fire damage free). I'm sure this list goes on; however, these are some key reasons I'm considering it.

It is going to take a while to get me away from paper books for reading though, but I'm willing to try it. If I can't adjust, I'm at least going fully digital with files for my business, personal files, and notes. The book part is going to be hard for me. I guess it would be strange if we all wanted/ liked the same thing eh?

Thanks again. Cheers.

Glad to hear I could be of some help. I haven't mastered it, and most of the stuff I do has come out of the great ideas others have given to me. I think the big thing is getting started. After that, it's just a matter of time

 

[Tomorrow]

Even if Evernote dried up and disappeared tomorrow, you'd still have all your notes and the software - they just wouldn't sync.

Think of it this way - if you unplug your computer from the Internet, you'd still have your email app and all the messages in your inbox.

 

[Big D 51]

Even if Evernote dried up and disappeared tomorrow, you'd still have all your notes and the software - they just wouldn't sync.

Think of it this way - if you unplug your computer from the Internet, you'd still have your email app and all the messages in your inbox.

Very valid point. I didn't think of this either. Your guys are brilliant. At least all your files would be there, and you could relocate the information or whatever the situation may be. I know the chances of this are slim; however, it seems to be a reasonable consideration when you think about ALL your documents, tax records, etc. being in one location.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[palpatine]

I'd like to stress that if you are going paperless then it is really, really important to have multiple backups in different physical locations. This has nothing to do with Evernote.

But, using Evernote as an example, let's say an angry ex-wife/girlfriend logged into your account and deleted everything. As a premium member, you might be able to get it back (note histories), but it would be a nightmare, because it would erase everything from your computer as well (synced). A backup of your hard drive (I do this every day) will ensure that this is never a problem. For me, it is about peace of mind.

Anyhow, one good thing about Evernote is that even if your computer is lost/stolen/destroyed/broken you just log in from another computer and can download it all right away. That is some powerful peace of mind

 

[Mac In School]

Every day more and more of my life gets tied to Evernote. So much that I pay for a premium subscription that I don't *really* need (I do appreciate full syncing).

If they went under and shutting down their servers wiped out my stuff locally, I'd be major league screwed.

But I have faith in them, or I wouldn't keep using it.

 

[palpatine]

Every day more and more of my life gets tied to Evernote. So much that I pay for a premium subscription that I don't *really* need (I do appreciate full syncing).

If they went under and shutting down their servers wiped out my stuff locally, I'd be major league screwed.

But I have faith in them, or I wouldn't keep using it.

You don't need to have faith

As long as you have everything either synced to an offline folder on your mobile device or synced to your regular computer (this is the more likely of the two) your work exists independent of Evernote. Backup your computer (as you ought to be doing anyway) and you are even more secure.

If EN goes out of business today (extremely unlikely) your stuff can be exported and loaded into some other program. Nothing will be lost.

 

[Big D 51]

As long as you have everything either synced to an offline folder

You have been so helpful that I hate to get bothering, but I want to make sure 100% I'm good to go.

What do you mean by synced to offline folder because I don't think I have this set up yet? I use time
Machine to back up computer to external and I have Evernote synced to mobile phone as you mentioned. Is there a way to since files to an outside folder as well other than insides Evernote's program?

 

[palpatine]

You have been so helpful that I hate to get bothering, but I want to make sure 100% I'm good to go.

What do you mean by synced to offline folder because I don't think I have this set up yet? I use time
Machine to back up computer to external and I have Evernote synced to mobile phone as you mentioned. Is there a way to since files to an outside folder as well other than insides Evernote's program?

No worries

Evernote has applications for many platforms (Android, iOS, Windows, etc.). On your home computer (OSX) all of your files are stored in the app. There is nothing you need to do. As far as I know, Time Machine will backup these files. Then, if your computer dies/gets lost/gets stolen you have your data in that external hard drive.

Normally, mobile devices DO NOT save all of the files. I think this is at least in part because they suffer from memory restrictions. As a premium user, you can designate a folder in your mobile device as one for "offline" use. This will tell Evernote that you want to have files in it saved on your device. This is very handy.

Periodically, I export my notes as HTML files and save them into a folder that I have backed up in Time Machine and manually on a separate hard drive. Having multiple backups is always a good idea. Even if Evernote's servers all went bad, my computer was stolen, and my time machine external drive failed, I would still have my files

Normal people do none of this! Just turn on your computer (Evernote will make sure all notes are synced and stored there), plug in your drive occasionally to perform the time machine backup, and you will be fine.