Mail to Evernote

Looking for ways to get Apple Mail messages into Evernote?

Here are a few options for you…

***

Email Them In

One fast way to get items into Evernote is simply to email them. Brett Kelly’s eBook, “Evernote Essentials” provides a solid guide to how this works (See the chapter called “Evernote, Email and You”) along with some other great email-related tips.1

Use AppleScript

If you’re moving a lot of emails at once (or just want more control while you move them), you can set up an Mail/Evernote AppleScript which allows you to archive items directly between the apps with a keystroke. Version 2.0 of the Apple Mail to Evernote AppleScript is now available: It includes support for HTML messages and also more configurable settings to customize it to your workflow. Click here to check it out!

Drag-and-Drop

You can drag-and drop a message into Evernote if you’re okay with it being an .eml attachment to your note and not the actual message text.

  1. Note: This requires your information to pass through email servers which, depending on what it is, you might not want to do. []

43 Responses to “Mail to Evernote”

  1. Lauren April 23, 2009 at 4:35 pm #

    Great!

    • Justin April 23, 2009 at 4:39 pm #

      Glad you liked it!

  2. pandaren May 29, 2009 at 4:15 am #

    Hi,

    First of all, this is a very nice script and it helps alot.
    May I suggest if you could prepare a version with lesser interaction with evernote?? I am using mailActOn and would like to use a short-cut key to copy the mail to evernote, but the tagging box and the notebook box is a bit meaningless to me and it interrupt my process. Any chance?

    Thank you very much.

    • Justin May 29, 2009 at 11:34 am #

      Glad you like it!

      There are a few options I am considering for the next revision — I’ll count your comment as one vote for “fewer boxes”.

      Anyone else have any suggestions for changes that would make the script more useful to them?

  3. Ken June 11, 2009 at 5:57 pm #

    Hi,
    Probably a numpty question but I’ve never used scripts – there is no scripts folder in my library . . .
    Appreciate your help
    -ken

    • Justin June 11, 2009 at 8:01 pm #

      Hi Ken,

      No problem — we’ll get you started straightaway!

      I was going to type up my own explanation of how to do it, but then I remembered that Smashing Magazine recently wrote a feature that was a good primer on AppleScript (and ways to use it). The first section (called, appropriately enough, “First, Where To Put Your AppleScripts”) should answer your question. I think it would also be worthwhile to skim through the rest of the article and see some of the ways people are using AppleScript….

      Come back and let me know if you have any trouble installing and running the script or, more optimistically, come back and let me know how it’s working for you!

      • Ken June 12, 2009 at 12:33 pm #

        Hi Justin,

        Thanks a lot! That article was a great place to start. I have got the script there and working now, just need to figure out the k/b shortcut process but even without it is very simple. You have opened the door for me to something I did not even know existed & now i can see many more uses – I thank you for that.
        Life is an education!
        kind regards
        -ken

        • Justin June 12, 2009 at 12:55 pm #

          I felt the same way when I discovered AppleScript — it was one of those “Eureka!” moments where I felt I could really see a distinct difference between the Mac and PC ways of doing things.

          Allow me to provide some additional encouragement: The next time you find yourself saying “I wish that [INSERT PROGRAM NAME] could do [INSERT FEATURE HERE]”, see if writing an AppleScript would solve your problem.

          Philosophically, I like the idea that we can take a more active role in shaping the tools we use. Instead of waiting around / complaining to developers about a program, we can customize it to our particular needs!

          It’s really not that hard to get started! The very first script that I ever wrote was to help a client streamline her workflow, and it worked so well that it piqued my interest to learn more.

          In any event, let me know if you need help with the keyboard shortcut — my guess is that, once you get it working, you’ll start loading up Evernote pretty quickly! ๐Ÿ˜‰

          • Francisco July 25, 2009 at 10:20 pm #

            Hi. This script helped me a lot! It’s very useful, but I’d change something.

            First off, note that I’m completeley newbie about this scripts stuff, so let me know if I can do, by myself, what I need.

            Delete the notebook selection panel. Anyway of send an email directly to the default notebook in Evernote?

            Thanks in advance!

      • Daivd October 25, 2010 at 8:44 am #

        You said: “”Keyboard shortcuts can also be assigned to AppleScripts in the script menu using the System Preferences โ€œKeyboard & Mouse Settingsโ€.””

        Thanks BUT having trouble setting up this short-cut. I try to add it (in sys pref —>kybd&mous setting—>+Application) but it doesn’t take.

        What am i doing wrong please?

        -David

  4. Justin July 26, 2009 at 12:03 am #

    Francisco,

    Try the new 1.2 release of the script and tell me what you think!

    • Francisco July 27, 2009 at 1:58 pm #

      Great! Just I wish. ๐Ÿ˜€

  5. Carlos Zatara July 28, 2009 at 6:21 am #

    Found a bug…
    The script does not currently work with RSS, the bug seems to be on the variable myTitle. I will have a look at it later to see if I can fix it.

    Great work by the way!

    • Justin July 28, 2009 at 10:22 am #

      Carlos,

      That would be fantastic!

      Part of why I began posting these scripts publicly was in the hopes that other people would “roll up their sleeves” and help me make them better.

      If you’re able to figure it out, just let me know your changes and I’ll update the code. This comment section lets you post code inside; just use the “code” “/code” tags (inside the naturally) around the block of code:

      It will look like this if you do it correctly.

      Keep us all posted on your progress!

      Kind Regards,

      Justin

  6. Mark Fowler September 22, 2009 at 4:43 am #

    Hi, I’m having problems downloading this script with your tracker.

    bash$ wget http://veritrope.com/mint/pepper/tillkruess/downloads/tracker.php?url=http://media.veritrope.com/scripts/Apple-Mail-to-Evernote-1.2.zip&remote
    bash$ cat tracker.php?url=http:%2F%2Fmedia.veritrope.com%2Fscripts%2FApple-Mail-to-Evernote-1.2.zip
    // You cannot download this file

    Direct downloads seem to work.

    HTH.

    Mark.

    • Justin September 22, 2009 at 9:21 am #

      Hi Mark,

      Thanks for the report!

      I’m certainly no BASH expert, but perhaps WGET is choking on all the dashes in the filename. For the next revision, I’ll try using underscores and see if that is more broadly compatible.

      In the interim, anyone with the need to download from the command line is welcome to do as Mark did and go to the direct link. Feel free to also provide me some “manual download tracking” on this comment thread (e.g., “Hey – I just downloaded your script!”)

      Hope you enjoy it and, as always, let me know if you have any other thoughts and suggestions.

  7. Chadwick October 20, 2009 at 3:30 pm #

    In Snow Leopard, can this script be turned into a Service using Automator? I’ve tried dumping the script into the “Run AppleScript” box in Automator, but I keep getting an error when I try to run the Service in Mail.

    Any thoughts?

  8. george December 7, 2009 at 4:31 pm #

    did everything just like it says, get the dialog, but nothing ever gets into evernote

    • Justin December 7, 2009 at 4:37 pm #

      Hi George,

      Let’s try a few things to locate the issue here:

      1.) When you have received the dialog box, have you tried to “Select Notebook from List”? Did an additional dialog box with a list of your notebooks appear when you pressed it?

      2.) Assuming that you are able to select a notebook, try a different one than you normally have selected. Do your notes arrive now?

      3.) Which version of Evernote are you using? Which version of OS X?

      • george December 11, 2009 at 4:33 pm #

        I does work if you select a notebook, but it does not work if you leave with the default one

        • Justin December 11, 2009 at 4:41 pm #

          Okay — now we’re zeroing in on it! ๐Ÿ˜€

          1.) What happens when you select your default notebook from the Notebook list? Does the note arrive? If so, you should verify the status of your default notebook in Evernote (e.g., that Evernote shows that it is the default notebook);

          2.) Which version of Evernote/OS X?

  9. Harris June 14, 2010 at 4:17 pm #

    Excellent script! I second the motion of integration with Mail Tags/Mail Act-on by Indev. Currently, I just print as pdf to evernote from apple Mail, and then have to add the tags in evernote. If the mail tags could be picked up in the transfer from mail to evernote, using mail act-on keystrokes that would be amazing! Keep up the great work!

  10. Pandaren August 20, 2010 at 7:02 am #

    Again I am very glad with this script. One little suggestion – instead of copy the HTML to evernote, would you consider to copy the mail in PDF format to evernote? Would that be easier for scripting?

    Thanx

    • Justin Lancy August 20, 2010 at 11:53 am #

      I would check back here in the next few weeks: Some new scripts are coming… and I think yours may be one of them!

      So — PDF Archive , Mail Tags support….

      Who else has suggestions for the next round of improvements?

  11. Mark November 26, 2010 at 12:29 pm #

    Good app – thanks; tried to donate but Paypal says: This recipient does not accept payments from non-US PayPal accounts.

    Better change that!

    • Justin Lancy November 30, 2010 at 7:02 pm #

      Fixed — and I’m now prepared to be showered with money from all corners of the globe! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  12. mike March 29, 2011 at 10:49 pm #

    I had an interesting idea that is related to this script and wanted to get your take on it. I would like to set up a local evernote folder and have a script that forwards all email from my mac mail to this folder. This way it does not overload your evernote quota, but gives you the ability to then move and categorize your email from there to synced folders. All the time have the ability to use the power of evernote search features. So basically this local folder can act as you email inbox of sorts. Is this similar in script to what you have written here?

    Thanks
    Mike

    • Justin Lancy March 29, 2011 at 11:30 pm #

      Hi Mike,

      It would certainly be possible to set up the Script to work with a Local Folder!

      Once you’ve created the Local folder in Evernote, you’ll need to make one minor change to the AppleScript. At the beginning of the script, you’ll see this line:

      property EVnotebook : ""

      Just put the name of your local folder in between the quotation marks and you should be all set… ENJOY!

  13. Bruce May 11, 2011 at 5:40 pm #

    Nice, but it is just as simple to get mail tags and have the email forwarded to the clipper address assigned to you. One stroke gets it into Evernote. Just a thought.

    • mike May 11, 2011 at 6:36 pm #

      I’m not sure I understand what you mean?

    • Justin Lancy May 11, 2011 at 9:48 pm #

      Hi Bruce,

      When it comes to archiving individual notes, I think that getting stuff from Mail into Evernote via your account email address is probably just as easy!

      But mailing in multiple notes combines them *into a single note*, which isn’t desirable in many cases. Let’s say you want to archive a folder’s worth of emails, tagging and directing each one individually to the proper notebook. The clipper address doesn’t do that, but the AppleScript will.

      Also any tags you assign via MailTags will not automatically transfer over to Evernote via the email clipper address — you manually have to add them to the subject line of the email. The AppleScript “pre-populates” the tag field with the item’s MailTags for your convenience.

      One of the things I like best about technology is that people usually figure out more than one way to accomplish things. We can each pick the tools or methods that make the most sense to us. This script works for me but, then again, I’m a little Script-happy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  14. Josh July 2, 2012 at 6:42 pm #

    This site has got me all excited and pumped about getting into my desired workflow. Your explanations have been great and very easy to follow. I am having one issue and have a suggestion as well.

    My issue: Using your keyboard shortcut of “cmd+E” is merely just selecting the Edit menu in Apple Mail. Did you disable that shortcut in Mail to allow it to work? Or did I miss something in set-up that causes the keyboard shortcut for my Automator script to override the default Mail shortcut?

    Suggestion: Any way you could post a script that does not have the Growl references already in there? I didn’t like the new growl and so I never purchased it. With Mountain Lion coming, many of Growl’s features will be replaced.

    Finally, a suggestion for anyone using this script: There is a service called “The Secret Weapon” that benefits greatly from using this system on the Mac. It is an Evernote, Mail, and GTD system that brought me here looking for a simple solution to make it work!

    • Justin Lancy July 3, 2012 at 7:33 pm #

      Hi Josh,

      Glad you’re enjoying the scripting and advanced “Mac-fu” we talk about around here! ๐Ÿ˜‰

      First things first: The “Cmd+E” shortcut was specific to the FastScripts setup I was describing. There’s a few other ways to launch scripts with a keyboard shortcut and, if you haven’t already found one, just use the search on Veritrope to find a post about it.

      I am thinking through the upcoming notification changes in Mountain Lion and will likely release an update when it’s released which doesn’t use Growl (along with a few more changes).

      Stay tuned!

  15. Chris January 17, 2013 at 4:41 am #

    Nice script. But there is a failure in coding my emails.
    I receive emails with the german umlaut “รค” “รผ” “รถ”.
    If i transfer this mail to evernote i lost these characters.

    Is there a workaround for this?
    Thanks in advance,

    Chris

    • Justin Lancy January 20, 2013 at 4:30 am #

      Hi Chris,

      Right now, full international character sets aren’t working well. ๐Ÿ™

      No workaround yet, but it’s a known issue to me and something I hope to find a fix for in the future!

  16. Steve September 21, 2013 at 3:22 am #

    I would love mail tags support – do you have a link to the earlier version with mail tgs support included?