I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I'm starting to feel Evernote fatigue. I'm the guy who wrote the Evernote MakeUseOf Manual How To Use Evernote:The Unofficial Manual How To Use Evernote:The Unofficial Manual Learning to use Evernote on your own takes a lot of time. That's why we've put together this guide to show you how to get the most out of Evernote's most important features. Read More But I'm tired of paying the yearly Premium price (which has gone up), and the desktop app can be too much of a hassle. So what should I do?
I briefly considered setting up a private wiki on my website, but the thought of sifting through nearly 6,500 unclassified Evernote files made me cringe. When I saw that Microsoft brought a note importer to transfer notes from Evernote to OneNote How to migrate from Evernote to OneNote with an easy tool How to migrate from Evernote to OneNote with an easy tool Want to switch from Evernote to OneNote? This Microsoft tool makes moving as easy as possible for you. Read More
Why not? OneNote is free OneNote is now truly free with more features than before OneNote is now truly free with more features than before Evernote no longer rules the heap of note-taking apps. Microsoft recently announced that OneNote would be freer than ever. Let us show you what this means in terms of features and functionality. Read More Evernote vs. OneNote:Which Note-Taking App Is Right For You? Evernote and OneNote are amazing note-taking apps. It is difficult to choose between the two. We compare everything from the interface to the organization of notes to help you choose. What works best for you? Read more . Besides, it's always good to live life dangerously once in a while. Last year, Justin showed you how to migrate, using third-party software How to Migrate from Evernote to OneNote, and why you should migrate from Evernote to OneNote and why you should. Do you think Microsoft OneNote is better than Evernote? Or maybe it just suits your project management style. Either way, here's how you can easily migrate all your notes from Evernote to OneNote. Read more . But personally, I feel more comfortable with the official software from the company itself.
Today I'm going to show you how to use the import tool in case you're in the same boat as me.
Update: This article covers the OneNote importer for Windows. Meanwhile, Microsoft has released a OneNote importer for Mac. We have covered it in the article How to Migrate Evernote to OneNote on Mac How to Migrate Evernote to OneNote on Mac Easily How to Migrate Evernote to OneNote on Mac Easily The OneNote Importer for Evernote is now available for Mac users. If you've been waiting for a full-featured note-taking app that's free and cross-platform, give OneNote a try. Read more.
It's a bit cheeky of Microsoft to swipe Evernote customers this way, but you have to admit, it's also a smart marketing move. Someone in my position, with a lot of Evernote files, would be very reluctant to start moving thousands of files to OneNote. But the Importer tool makes it a doddle.
What's nice is that OneNote's import tool simply makes copies of your notes. So if you decide you don't like OneNote, just delete everything. Your Evernote notes will still be there.
So let's start transferring.
First, you need to have the desktop version of Evernote because this won't work with the online version. If you need to install the desktop version of Evernote, you can get it here.
Copying files from Evernote online to the desktop app is super easy and super fast.
Once the Evernote desktop app is open and all notes have been copied over completely, it's time to open the OneNote Importer tool. Get started by following the steps.
When it asks you to select Evernote content , You need to avoid the mistake I made. I just assumed that the Importer tool would detect my Evernote file and start copying things over again. But what it actually did was just copy the newest note!
To prevent this from happening, and to get them all moved, you need to click on the message at the top (the newest message, in my case), then go to Edit> Select All at the top.
If you got it right, all the notes will be highlighted and you will see the total number on the right side. Make sure the number matches the actual total number of notes.
Keeping those notes highlighted, go back to the OneNote Importer tool and in section 2, you can choose which notebooks you want to copy, or you can take the huge Evernote file on your computer, which contains all your notes.
If you prefer the latter method, keeping the Evernote notes highlighted, go to File> Export and when the box appears, verify that the number of files is the same and choose the first option (the .enex proceedings). It will then start to export your Evernote notes to an .enex file. The time it will take to make this file will depend on how many notes you have.
When you have the file, in OneNote Step 2 5 Ways to Be Productive with Microsoft OneNote 5 Ways to Be Productive with Microsoft OneNote Feel the need for an offline organization tool that also exists on the web? Surprisingly, Microsoft has found the perfect solution:OneNote. Read more importer, click Import a file instead . Then browse to the location of the file on your computer and click Next .
You will now be prompted to sign in to a Microsoft account. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Microsoft Account with Windows Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Microsoft Account with Windows A single Microsoft account lets you sign in to a wide range of Microsoft services and applications. . We show you the pros and cons of using a Microsoft account with Windows. Read more . If you don't have one, you can sign up for one. If you're using Windows 10, you may already be using a Microsoft account to sign in to your system How to delete your Microsoft account and create a local Windows 10 sign-in How to delete your Microsoft account and create a local sign-in of Windows 10 a Microsoft account in the cloud? Here's how to create a Windows 10 local sign-in account instead. Read More
Once you're logged in, the next step simply explains how everything will be formatted when copied. You can also choose whether or not to keep all Evernote tags. 20 Evernote Search Features You Should Be Using. 20 Evernote Search Features You Should Be Using. It's one thing to use Evernote, but it's another thing entirely to master Evernote. If you're new to Evernote, I don't want to come across it as something complicated. In fact, it is not… Read more .
When you're done, click Import to start the process.
Again, the time it takes to import depends on the size of your Evernote file. With 6,475 files to go through, I think I can go make a cup of tea and visit the dog. Back in two ticks.
OK...and I'm back. The dog says hello.
The files have been completely moved. Now you will (hopefully) see an All done! notification, and a list of notes that failed to transfer. It seems that my big fonts OTF vs. TTF Fonts:Which is better? OTF fonts vs. TTF:Which is better? Most fonts these days are either OTF or TTF, but what does that mean? What are the differences? Should you even care? The Read More folder was too large for OneNote. Hmmm... hit one against Microsoft then.
You will then be invited to View notes in Evernote . When that happens, your Windows operating system will automatically open the OneNote app. When it opens, you'll see all your notes in all their splendor and glory (he says, fingers crossed).
And... no, not yet. The first thing you will see is a note saying “ Where are my other notes? “ . Yes indeed. Where are they?
The note tells you where to look, depending on the version of OneNote you're using. For Windows 10, you need to click on the hamburger icon in the top left corner (the three horizontal lines). A black slider will appear and you should see a notebook called Evernote (Evernote Import) , Or something like that. If it doesn't, click the More notebooks link and choose the Evernote file. But in general, they should already be there in the Pages tab.
The messages have moved, but the formatting isn't exactly great. As long as links and other formatting are maintained, everything gets squashed. Paragraphs have been culled and my business card section has been fully perforated. Someone calls the war crimes tribunal.
Since OneNote Importer only copies the notes, and it only took 10 minutes to complete, I haven't lost anything by taking a look.
OneNote is pretty good in some ways, especially if you use the Windows operating system a lot. But since it messed up my formatting a bit, and I'm more of a Mac guy, I'm not tempted to go over to the dark side of the web. I think I'll stick with the green elephant and pay for another year of Evernote.
But that doesn't mean you'll feel the same way. You can import your notes and love them 5 Reasons Why You Should Take Notes With OneNote Anywhere 5 Reasons Why You Should Take Notes With OneNote Anywhere Few things are as important as the ability to take good notes, especially for students. OneNote is perfect for course notes. We think you'll find it's great for organizing other information, too. Read more . Or you may have time to sit down and reformat everything. 12 Tips for Taking Better Notes with Microsoft OneNote 12 Tips for Taking Better Notes with Microsoft OneNote These 12 tips show you how to take better notes in MIcrosoft OneNote. Today, digital note taking is as much about the skill as it is about the tool. Read More Each person's situation is totally different. 10 Amazing OneNote Tips You Should Use All The Time 10 Amazing OneNote Tips You Should Use All The Time Microsoft OneNote is just as good as Evernote. OneNote is the digital equivalent of a folder, giving you more organizational control. We show you the effective settings for taking notes that you will love. Read More Try it yourself and see how yours turns out..
Share your experience with us! How was the migration from Evernote to OneNote? And what prompted you to move? Did you run into any problems??
I'll be on call in the comments ready to answer all your questions. Because that's what I do..
