How can I back up notes from the Apple "Notes" app to my computer?

Keith Doherty3 wrote:

Why do you not trust iCloud ?

Okay, that is not productive to this question that I even said that. Please let's leave that out and I'll open another topic to discuss this separately in detail.

Why do you not use the USB cable or activate Wifi sync process so the notes are transferred into either MS Outlook or Apple Mail on your PC/Mac.

I am using USB cable to sync, I have looked in Apple Mail (I'm on a Mac) and most of my notes are gone, they have never transferred over completely and only about 1/8th of my notes, only those from years ago are there.

Why not use differing software such as Evernote that allows syncing with PC/Mac and has a host of other uses over and above the basic notes app.

This is the way I need to go. The Apple 'notes' app has never functioned depenably and there is no way to back it up dependably, by my experience anyway. I have just purchased an App called 'Note Anytime, which is overly complicated for what I want which is just straightforward note taking capability with straightforward backup that I can use like any other files that need to be backed up, not through a mail pogram that I never use and does not work anyway.

I'll look into Evernote and thank you for that tip.

If your doing other stuff document creation etc you should be using Pages or something like Documents to Go.

I am a publisher by profession and use the full Adobe CC suite including InDesign for publishing. I also use Microsoft Office for the Mac for the times I need to work with Word documents. So, I'm covered in that department. Once I am able to save Notes as text files on my computer, I may have use to import those notes into publishing or word processing software also.

If paranoid or have sensitive data that you don't want sent via a conduit then you shouldn't be using a tablet of any discription as these are by definition Internet devices.

No paranoya here, just looking for a dependable note taking app that doesn't use a convoluted process to make a backup and doesn't 'drop' notes or lose them mysteriously.

Thanks for the tip on Evernote, I'll go check that out now.

Ken

The app Evernote does the job for me, expensive, and probably overkill, but it does give me a note app that I can trust, that makes backups possible because it updates as a backup with Evernote and is available on all of my machines.

Thanks Keith,

Ken

Meg St._Clair wrote:

Kenneth Nielsen wrote:

The app Evernote does the job for me, expensive, and probably overkill.

Expensive? The app and the basic service are free. If all you'e doing is replacing the features of the built in Notes app, it wouldn't cost you anything. And premium service is only $5/month.

I do agree that it's a fantastic program. 🙂

I'm learning, I'm learning, I'm hooked! This is great. The free app is doing everything and more, wow, syncing across devices is great. I was able to save ALL of my notes as the iPad retained notes that were lost on the iPhone, and now all is well. Whew.

If you woldn't mind, tell me, as a user, what is it about the premium service that you like and what it does. I want to know more. Is the annual billing by Evernote preceeded by an email that lets you know they are going to take money from your account? I absolutely have to have advance warning and this reminder is also the professional way to deal with accounts when there is auto-deducts going on.

Lawrence Finch wrote:

You do get an email alert before your annual premium is charged.

This is key to me. Thank You. There is nothing like a recommendation from a user and I'm hearing nothing but positive about this app. Thanks Lawrence.

Meg St._Clair wrote:

Premium also gives you the ability to put store notebooks on your iOS device instead of just in the cloud, requiring an active data connection.

Also, I just think the service is fantastic, especially since my work phone gets switch out for a different one every 3-4 months and I have a personal phone, an iPad and an MBA. So, I'm more than happy to support the productc.

So very important to have everything 'device independent' I'm very interested in keeping backup files of everything on my computer, This would be worth the price of admission to me if it is only available in premium service. For now, I'm small potatoes and can copy and paste my notes into InDesign documents as my computer backup versions. Does the backup to your computer just write to your hard drive?

Meg St._Clair wrote:

Evernote keeps a local copy on your computer which you can and should include in your overall back up stragegy. You might want to check out the Evernote discussion forum (discussion.evernote.com) for more ideas and advice. There are some pretty smart, helpful people there, too!

This is wonderful, just the way it should be. My last question here is, where is the local copy placed on my computer. How can I find it?

TIA,

Ken

My Big Thanks to everyone here. My life has been improved greatly through your help here.

Ken