Something important - you can only back up one folder at a time for the simple method #1. This is why it is good to keep as few folders as possible. I have 50 folders and so it is just too tedious for me to back them up one at a time. So I just don't back up. I just wing it.

There are several ways to back up your Evernote notes, depending on how thorough you want the backup to be and how you’d like to use it later:

1. Export Notes from the Evernote App

On desktop (Windows or Mac):
1. Open Evernote and select the notes or notebook you want to back up.
2. Go to File → Export Notes….
3. Choose one of these formats:
  - ENEX (.enex) – Evernote’s own export format; keeps text, images, tags, and attachments, and can be re-imported into Evernote.
  - HTML (.html) – readable in any browser, but won’t re-import cleanly into Evernote.
  - MHT (.mht) (Windows only) – a single web archive file.
This is the most direct way to create backups you can re-import later.

2. Back Up the Entire Evernote Database

On Windows: Evernote stores data in C:\Users\[YourName]\Evernote\Databases\. Copy this folder to another drive or cloud storage.
On Mac: The data is usually in ~/Library/Application Support/Evernote/.
This creates a full local backup, but you’ll need Evernote to read it.

3. Use Evernote Web + Cloud Backups

If you log into Evernote Web, you’ll always have a copy in the cloud.
To be extra safe, you can regularly export your notes and store them in Dropbox, Google Drive, or another cloud service.

4. Third-Party Tools

Some tools can automatically sync or export Evernote data (e.g., Backupery for Evernote on Windows).
These can automate regular backups to ENEX or HTML.

5. PDF Backup (for Archival / Sharing)

For long-term preservation, especially genealogy or historical notes, you can export or print individual notes/notebooks as PDFs.
PDF is easy to read and archive but won’t re-import well into Evernote.

👉 If your goal is safety + future portability, I’d recommend doing both:

Export important notebooks as ENEX (so you can restore them to Evernote).
Also export or print as PDF/HTML for long-term readability outside Evernote.

Perfect — here’s a step-by-step guide to set up automatic Evernote backups so you don’t have to think about it:

🔄 Automating Evernote Backups

Option 1: Scheduled Manual Export (Easy, Built-In)

This keeps control in your hands but uses your OS scheduler.

On Windows

Open Evernote desktop app.
Select the notebook(s) you want → File → Export Notes….
Save as ENEX to a folder like C:\Backups\Evernote\.

Create a batch file (.bat) with this command (replace path):

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Evernote\Evernote\Evernote.exe" /export "C:\Backups\Evernote\backup.enex"

Use Task Scheduler (built into Windows) to run this .bat file weekly.

On Mac

Export notes manually once as .enex to ~/Documents/Evernote Backups/.
Create an Automator workflow that repeats this export.
Use Calendar app or launchd to run it weekly.

Option 2: Use Third-Party Backup Tool (Easiest)

If you don’t want to tinker with scripts:

Backupery for Evernote (Windows only): Runs in the background, exports ENEX or HTML automatically (daily/weekly).
Evernote2Onenote / Evernote2Markdown: If you also want to keep backups outside Evernote’s ecosystem.

Option 3: Cloud Sync Safety Net

Even if you forget exports, you can:

Store your Evernote database folder (Windows or Mac) inside Dropbox / Google Drive / OneDrive.
Cloud service automatically keeps old versions in case you delete something.

Option 4: PDF / HTML Archival Copies

For genealogy & historical notes you want permanent readability:

Export as HTML or Print to PDF.
Save to a “Permanent Archive” folder in your cloud storage.
Run a weekly/monthly sync tool (e.g., FreeFileSync, GoodSync, or built-in OS sync).

✅ Suggested Setup for You

Since you care about long-term preservation & genealogy, I’d recommend:

Weekly automatic ENEX backup (to restore in Evernote if needed).
Monthly HTML/PDF archive (so it’s readable 50 years from now).
Store both in Dropbox/Google Drive/Archive.org folder for offsite safety.

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Collaborating in Genealogy back up your Evernote