Convert ENEX to ENML

Understanding ENEX and ENML file formats

ENEX (Evernote Export) is an XML-based file format used by Evernote to export entire notes or notebooks. It preserves note content, metadata, and attachments, making it ideal for backup or migration. ENML (Evernote Markup Language) is a specialized XML subset used internally by Evernote to represent the content of individual notes. While ENEX can contain multiple notes, each note's content is stored in ENML format within the ENEX file.

Why convert ENEX to ENML?

Converting ENEX to ENML is useful when you need to extract the raw note content for integration with other applications, custom processing, or for use in third-party Evernote-compatible tools. ENML files are more granular, containing only the markup for a single note, making them easier to manipulate programmatically.

How to convert ENEX to ENML

Since ENEX files are XML containers holding one or more notes, each with its own ENML content, the conversion process involves extracting the <content> element from each note in the ENEX file and saving it as a separate ENML file.

Step-by-step conversion process

1. Export your notes from Evernote as an ENEX file using File → Export Notes....
2. Extract ENML content:
   • Open the ENEX file in a text editor or XML editor.
   • Locate each <note> element.
   • Within each note, find the <content> tag. The content inside is the ENML markup.
   • Copy the ENML content and save it as a new file with the .enml extension.
3. Automate with scripts: For batch conversion, use a script (Python, Node.js, etc.) to parse the ENEX file and extract each note's ENML content automatically.

Recommended software and tools

• Python with xml.etree.ElementTree: Ideal for scripting the extraction of ENML from ENEX files.
• Notepad++ or VS Code: Useful for manual extraction and editing of XML content.
• Evernote2Onenote: While primarily for OneNote migration, it can help extract ENML content.

Summary

Converting ENEX to ENML involves extracting the <content> section from each note in the ENEX file. For batch processing, scripting with Python or similar tools is recommended for efficiency and accuracy.