How to Move 12,000 Notes from Evernote to Apple Notes (with Tags): A Step-by-Step Guide 

Same here! Glad you found the video.

Go for it!

I was with you, but stopped using Evernote for scanning years ago, when I needed to share lots of scans (receipts) with a tax consultant on a regular basis. Exporting scans from Evernote is actually a nightmare. So, I reprogrammed my original Evernote ScanSnap (still have it with the Evernote logo on it) to scan to a folder. There I would give it a proper file name using YYYY-MM-DD - Sender name - Type of document as a format and keep it in monthly folders. Then I can easily zip the month and send it to the tax consultant. And since Mac has the excellent Spotlight search I find all documents just as quick as with Evernote. I switched something like 8 years ago and never regretted it.

Yeah, same with me. I entered Evernote in their first year and have used them extensively throughout the years, but the direction they are heading is a no go for me. Glad I could help you.

Good to hear. About the color preferences, yes that takes some getting used to. And I suppose changing that is not very high on their priorities. But as with everything after a while your eyes adopt to it ;-)

So glad I could help you.

Sound like a lot of Evernote folks end up with that many notes ;-) Happy to help you.

I am still using the case, even after leaving Evernote and I am still using the scanner. Never thought that both of them would last longer than the software.

Wow, thank you. Especially since I am not a native speaker thank you for the compliment.

Sorry for not pausing on this point. The video was more about the thought process behind selecting what you should and shouldn‘t import. The actual steps (although shown in the video) are described as an example here (www.macrumors.com/how-to/migrate-from-evernote-to-apple-notes/).

Glad I could help you. It is sad to see such a beloved app die such a slow and painful death.

Schön das ich Dir helfen konnte.

It is indeed a great app, especially if you are more visually / handwriting inclined.

If Evernote ever becomes attractive to me, sure ;-) But that is a BIG if!

Yes. In Apple Notes the concept of notebook/stack does not exist, the all become classical folders (and you can nest as deep as you want). So a stack in Evernote becomes a top level folder in Apple Notes. But yes, you export the notebooks as ENEX files and import them into folders in Apple Notes. Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, I know - another painful nail in Evernote’s coffin for me. It is a limitation of the new Evernote client. If you install the Legacy version that should allow you to export without limitations. You should get it here: help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052560314-Install-an-older-version-of-Evernote

@@patrickstoeckmann Thank you! DO you happen to know if the legacy version is supported on Ventura?

I have the old V9 running on Ventura. Some visual errors, but for exporting it is fine. You can install it alongside the new Evernote. I have V9 and V10 on my Mac running side by side.

Unfortunately these won’t be imported. So, if you depend on this and would like to leave Evernote, you need to search for another app. Check out Joplin (joplinapp.org) I think I read somewhere that they are importing source URLs.

@@patrickstoeckmann Wow, thanks for the instant reply! Sadly this will make moving my notes from Evernote to Apple Notes so much more time consuming, if not even impossible 😢

I gave up on the idea of 1 app for everything. I think that is actually a mistake. Now I use the app for what it is best suited. So, real notes go into Apple Notes. Files actually go into the file system. So, i scan PDFs actually directly into the file system. I started it, when I needed to share my invoices with my tax consultant and being apple to effectively file the invoices into folders for year/date/account has been a game changer. And searching even text within a PDF is just as good on my Mac. Also when it comes to projects and areas I have a file folder, a notes folder, a folder in my task manager. I created a shortcut to create this with one tap. So, everything now is in the bucket of the app that is best suited for. And you can connect all of them if needed, but often just naming them the same is enough. That move alone was the biggest game changer and aha moment for me. Especially, since the Files app on IOS and iPadOS has become great and I can scan directly into the file system on the go. Also, I can drag mails, websites, and all kind of documents directly into the files app. So, now I only use Apple notes for "real" notes and not as a storage container. Maybe, that is why uploading takes so long. Do you have many attachments in there? I had no problem with my 1200 or so notes. But I haven't had many attachments in there. Otherwise, it can take some time I suppose. And, my folders in Evernote where already structured and not filled with 1000+ notes, so what I imported where several smaller sized buckets any way. I had one notebook with 200+ notes and needed to use Evernote V9 to export it, but it went smooth into Apple Notes. Uploading took a while but after some hours, everything was fine. Hope you'll get there too.

@@patrickstoeckmann Thank you very much, Patrick. I was just thinking of that: to give more usage to the Files app as the storage centre, which is basically what it was designed for. The possibility of inserting files into the notes drives you to generate a notes graveyard, as you say. I am still struggling with Apple Notes. Most of the notes imported contain files in them, which makes the first syncing event really troublesome. I hope I will get somewhere, too!

That is why I decided not to bring over 10.000 notes from Evernote. All those old receipts etc. would be a ton of hassle and work to bring them over to the file system. I made the decision to start from scratch with my receipts etc. with the beginning of I suppose 2018 and made the decision to leave those in Evernote. You have access to those even on the free tier. So, I leave the graveyard for reference purpose and only focussed on the active notebooks and documents which made up probably 10% of the notes. I moved only those over to Apple Notes.

@@patrickstoeckmann makes a lot of sense

It should work (all of my PDF docs were imported). Could it be that the notebook with those notes has a lot of notes. The new Evernote Client has some problems exporting notebooks with more than 50 notes. Could you try with a notebook with only a handful of notes. With larger folders you could try to get the old Evernote V9 Client. This could export bigger notebooks.

Well accessing my notes on a windows computer is possible through iCloud.com. And as long as I am in the eco system, then the Share menu gives me all I want from a web clipper. But if either WIndows or cross-platform is a daily reality for you, then of course Apple Notes is not the way to go. Then Evernote might be still a valid option for you.

How did it go? I also have thousands and want to switch.

The move went great and I haven't switched back. As described in the video I wouldn't move over a whole graveyard of notes. I would pre-select what is still relevant and leave the rest. For some larger notebooks you might need to use the old V9 version of Evernote for export, since the new (crappy) client has a limit (100) on how many notes you can select.

Not really, it worked for me. Have you tried it with a small notebook of around 10 or so notes for testing. Can you try importing it on Mac and on iOS or iPadOS?

Sorry, worked for me. I've heard that some people needed to use the old Evernote V6 (WIndows) oder V7 (Mac) client. You can find them here and try to install them side by side using the same credentials. Windows: evernote.de.uptodown.com/windows/versions Mac: evernote.de.uptodown.com/mac/versions

I agree - Apple Notes is only a viable option for those who live 100% in the Apple ecosystem. Otherwise the hassle outweighs the benefits. I got comfortable enough using the Share function in Safari for most of my web clippings. But yeah, the functionality of Evernotes web clipper is unsurpassed. If only the rest of the app would be that good.

It is not and to my knowledge there is no way to do it. Apple included this as a way to move people to Apple Notes, not to link back to the old version on another system.

@@patrickstoeckmann not backlinking to Evernote. But in Evernote if I added a page from browser to Evernote, there is also the original source url in the note informations. That are not imported to Apple Notes and get lost.

Ah ok. Unfortunately these won’t be imported either. So, if you depend on this and would like to leave Evernote, you need to search for another app. Check out Joplin (joplinapp.org) I think I read somewhere that they are importing source URLs.

Can‘t say, because I never used Evernote for this use case. I would say the max I have is maybe 4-5 pictures in a note. Never was a fan of super-long notes and never used it as a collection tool for images either.

I had no such problems but googling your error message leads to others having the same problem since MacOS Sonoma (I did the video prior to Sonoma). Could be a bug on Apples side. Maybe you want to try importing those ENEX files with an iPad or so. Check out the description here: support.apple.com/en-us/102223

@@patrickstoeckmann thanks for the prompt reaction. I will sure try it with the ipad and post the result here.

@@arthurvdlek I am having the same problem here - while exporting notes, the ones with attachments/pictures are not exported 😞 Stil can't find a solution for that.

Haven’t tried it, but according to Apples support doc, you can export from Evernote on a PC and then import to Apple Notes using Mac, iPad or iPhone. See here: support.apple.com/en-us/HT205793

Valid points. If these are important points for you, you should stick with Evernote. The photo size should have at least a „mid size“ option I agree. I‘ve stopped exporting mail to EN a long time ago (again it was cluttering my notes graveyard). With drag and drop on iPad and IOS you can either create a link to the mail (which for me is a better option). Alternatively, for important project mail, I drag those into the files app in a project folder. This has the advantage that I can hand these folders with all project material (documents, spreadsheets, images and mail) to someone else without a problem.

The export and import function is straight forward. There is even an official document by Apple for it: support.apple.com/en-us/HT205793

I had no problem exporting my notes, but I had them separated in several folders and each an individual export (like I mentioned in a video). Not sure whether one of your folders was to big, but glad you found an app that works for you. Upnote looks like a solid app. Hope they be around for some time. When it comes to exporting notes out from Apple Notes, there is a free tool called Exporter on the App Store (Mac only). Here is the link (I am not affiliated with them): apps.apple.com/de/app/exporter/id1099120373?l=en-GB&mt=12

Still, sad to see EN deteriorate so badly. Glad you found a way out.

@@patrickstoeckmann yah, sad. I had been with them from the early days, Premium subscription. Was even an EN beta tester for a while under the impression I might influence some long over-due big fixes. Instead they farted around with accessories like EN paper?!? A company that lost its way.

I just tested it with a small folder (43 documents) and it worked without a problem. Maybe the folder is to big? Although I had no problem importing bigger folders (200+ notes) before. Do you import on iOS/iPadOS or on a Mac. Maybe try another device using this doc from Apple: support.apple.com/en-us/HT205793

Lots of reasons for some people. Some (quite a lot) don‘t like the direction the Evernote clients have taken (Electron Plattform) and focus on business applications which are not used by lots of people. I think if you use this functionality as a team it might still be worth paying for it, but just taking notes and syncing it on your private devices can be done just as good or better with the build in software (like Apple Notes) now for a lot of people (but not all).

It is true that I focused more on the decision making process behind moving such a huge collection than the straight forward 2 click process of exporting and importing, because I found that all the other videos lacked this. If you need a 5min video to see just what button to click to ex- and import, then others might be better suited. But I think most people don't have a problem finding this out even when watching a 10sec run through. Thanks for the comment though. Next time I take a bit more time for it.

Because the actual moving is the least important part if you have such a large collection. It is actually only one click on each side. But planning what to move and re-thinking the concept of data-collection to avoid another note-graveyard is what the video is mainly about. Sorry, if this wasn‘t what you were looking for.