Scrivener and Evernote: Better Together
I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Scrivener. They all add up to: Scrivener is the best app out there for writers. All kinds of writers. Screenwriters, novelists, short story writers, playwrights, songwriters, copywriters, technical writers, college students…
Read the rest at <placeholder>
John Castle 
A perfect combination! And after a few clicks, Clearly usually tags it correctly for you, too.
LikeLike
unfortunately on the mac side, you can’t really drag and drop notes from notebook directly to Scrivener research folder. there’s a system message that says the file can’t be imported. You have to clip sections from each note you want to add to Scrivener and paste it inside a new doc in Scrivener.
LikeLike
You can copy the notes link and clip it directly into Scrivener. The link can be activated in Scrivener, so that’s really a fine solution to this problem.
LikeLike
Um, why not just use the built-in clipping feature and go directly from web page to Scrivener? What does the Evernote step get you?
LikeLike
The Evernote step allows you to clip more stuff than just a whole web page.
LikeLike
I use evernote for research notes all the time and then simply cut and paste the information I decide is the most important to my project into Scrivener. I use Windows 7 and Scrivener for Windows.
LikeLike
That’s how I use it, as well – as an information “shaping and filtering” step between web and Scrivener.
LikeLike
In Windows, OneNote would probably be a better tool. You can also use the Windows Snip Tool, which is native to the OS. All you do is use the mouse to drag a clip from the screen, whether it’s a web page or any screen, and copy to OneNote or anything, including Scrivener. Way better than holding down all the keys and such that you have to hold down while dragging to do a screen grab with Mac.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have only one issue with OneNote, and that is that OneNote is not (to my knowledge, anyway) platform-agnostic. That’s important in a setting where I use multiple desktop and mobile operating systems.
LikeLike
So, is there any way to move folders or files wholesale from Evernote to Scrivener on a Mac? I have over 1200 files for my WIP in Evernote and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to transfer them to Scrivener to organize the writing phase–without doing it 1200 separate copy-and-paste times. Please–somebody…!
LikeLike
Speaking candidly, Cynthia, I just don’t have the answer to this question. As I mentioned upthread, I use Evernote to not only gather research data, but to filter it, as well. Much of the information that ends up in any given research folder never gets shifted into Scrivener, so I’ve never had occasion to try moving an entire folder from one app to the other.
But because your question intrigued me, I decided to give it a try, just as an experiment — and no, apparently, it’s not possible to shift an entire folder and all its notes into Scrivener via drag-and-drop. And I’m not sure what changed, but it now seems that even notes themselves won’t drag-and-drop from one app to the other properly.
I remember it being quite different one or two releases ago, and I’m not sure what’s changed or why. Needless to say, I’m more than somewhat embarrassed that the information I provided seems to have become inaccurate, and I apologize for that.
However, copy-and-paste is still a valid transfer technique, and Scrivener seems to be very good about maintaining layout and formatting with regard to copy-and-paste shifted material.
LikeLike
Thank you so much for responding so quickly, John. There’s certainly no reason for you to apologize! I’ve been experimenting with exporting Evernote files within folders as HTML to my desktop and then importing them into Scrivener, which *might* work. If it does, then all I have to do is learn how to use Evernote!
LikeLike
I tried to drag and note per your instructions and received an error. Is there an efficient work around?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve noticed this same problem in subsequent months. My workaround has been less than elegant, but it does get the job done.
1. Create a new document in your “Research” folder in Scrivener. Have this new document open.
2. Command+Tab to your note in Evernote.
3. Command+A to select the entire content of your note.
4. Drag the highlighted contents.
5. Command+Tab back to your open Scrivener document.
6. Drop the contents into your Scrivener document.
LikeLike
Another workaround is to Control-click on the note in Evernote, then select Share > Copy Share URL to Clipboard. Then Control-click on the Research folder in Scrivener and select Add > Web Page …
LikeLike
Another workaround is to Control-click on the note in Evernote and select Share > Copy Share URL to Clipboard. Then Control-click on the Research folder in Scrivener and select Add > Web Page…
LikeLike
Hey, that’s a pretty spiffy solution, there, Garrett! Thanks for that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad I read this. Just made my day!!!
LikeLike
There are also some other ways:
a) Evernote can export a note (or a folder of notes) as HTML file(s). Preferably, I guess, when each note is a different file, even though it can compose the whole folder into one HTML page. Then in Scrivener, in a Research folder you right-click, choose Add – Files and then choose the files. It will add them as “media”.
This is when the default setting is used, with HTML not transferred to plain text.
This way then the Evernote notes are added as Research notes, and can be added in a split editor in Scrivener, convenient.
b) If you open in Scrivener Tools – Options – Import/Export, and check the box next to “Convert HTML files to text”, then Scrivener will even give you the possibility to Add Files into the Drafts folder in the binder! Which for me is excellent, since before I discovered Scrivener, all my books structure and sections etc., was in Evernote.
I’ll be glad when they add an option to import files preserving the formatting, but to add to Drafts, is already great.
Will be glad to know if you discovered some other ways, too. 🙂
LikeLike
OMG I was wrong!!! I now tried a note with a rich text in it, exported it from Evernote as an HTML file, then imported it into Scrivener – it worked, and saved all the richness!! Wow, I thought, Scrivener’s “Convert HTML files to text” converts everything to just plain text. I was wrong. How pleasant!! :))
LikeLike
Nice, right? 😀
LikeLike
Very nice! 🙂 I even saw that I could just drag and drop a folder of those files to the binder, and it worked beautifully, too, adding it all together, and with the folder and its name. Beauty and power! 🙂
LikeLike
Don’t ya just love it?
LikeLike
Absolutely 🙂
LikeLike