Send Gmail to Evernote: an overview of the tools

Updated 28 June 2013: both Evernote Web Clipper and Powerbot have new versions, the table refers to these new versions.

In the creation and development of the Google Apps script to send Gmail messages to Evernote, I have looked around what other tools are available. These are the other tools that I found:

  • forwarding to the Evernote email address and using the InQloud service;
  • the Evernote Web Clipper (only tested on Windows/Chrome);
  • PowerBot, an extension for Chrome (also others versions available, e.g., for Firefox and Safari)
  • IFTTT and Zapier, tools that enable you to connect between other web services

I have looked at how well these tools keep the formatting of the message, whether they keep attachments, have a link back to the message in Gmail, whether they can be automated using Gmail filters, and whether you can select the notebook or tags, and edit/comment on the message before sending.

Tools

I have found and looked at the following tools.

Forwarding

Each Evernote account comes with an email address. You can forward messages to this email address, and they will be placed in the default notebook. Using ‘@’ and ‘#’, you can send it to a specific notebook or add tags.

InQloud

InQloud is similar to direct forwarding, but it creates additional mail addresses, added to your contacts, one address for each notebook in Evernote, so you can more easily send it to a specific notebook.

Gmail to Evernote script

The Gmail to Evernote script (gm2en) also forwards the gmail messages, but it does it in the background, after you have assigned certain labels, to select the notebook and to assign tags. It also inserts a link back to the message in Gmail.

Evernote Web Clipper

As each Gmail message can be seen as a web page, the web clipper can add this to Evernote. The web clipper has been updated in June 2013 and now includes the complete message thread, as well as attachments. Note: only visible messages are clipped, so if you want to clip the whole thread, expand all messages first.

Powerbot for Gmail

Powerbot for Gmail adds a button to Gmail, with which you can add the message to Evernote. In a dialog box, you can specify which notebook you want to use, and which tags to apply. You can also edit the title, and add comments. Powerbot has additional features than just forwarding messages to Evernote.

If This Then That

In If This Then That (IFTTT) you can create recipes or rules, that based on a trigger perform some actions. In this case, if a new email arrives, it can create a note in Evernote. You can filter on  labels, and specifiy what parts of the message you want to put where in Evernote, e.g. use the subject line as title for the note, or the sender, and also place these parts in the body of the note. There are many recipes available to forward Gmail to Evernote, either based on starring a message or assigning a label.

Zapier

Zapier is similar to IFTTT. For this specific purpose, the main difference is that IFTTT has already many recipes to choose from, I could not find any such ready-made recipes for Zapier. Zapier has a wider range of web applications, but both include Gmail and Evernote.

Criteria

I compared the tools on the following criteria:

  • Format: Will the format of the email message be retained in Evernote?
  • Attachments: Can attachments be copied into Evernote?
  • Link back: will the note in Evernote have a link to go back to Gmail?
  • Automation: can forwarding be automated using filters in Gmail?
  • Notebook/tags; can you easily assign notebook and tags for each message?
  • Editable: can you edit the title and/or add comments before sending to Evernote?

Results

See the table below:

Tool format attachments link back automation notebook/tags editable
Forward yes yes no yes both yes
InQloud yes yes no yes only notebooks yes
gm2en script yes yes yes yes both no
EN web clipper yes yes yes no both yes
Powerbot yes yes yes no both yes
IFTTT no no no yes no no
Zapier no yes yes yes no no

With forwarding, you can not directly assign notebook or tags, and with InQloud, you can not directly assign tags. However, you can edit the subject line of the forwarded message, and therefore add notebook and tags using the ‘@’ and ‘#’ prefixes.

With IFTTT and Zapier, you can assign a notebook for each recipe. If you want to sent messages to different notebooks, you have to create a separate recipe for each notebook.

Conclusion

I am not going to give a verdict here; by showing the differences you can make your own choice, as only you know what is most relevant for you.

I might have overlooked other tools, and perhaps features in the tools I described here. If so, please comment below. Also if you find that there are relevant criteria not discussed here, please let us know.

 

19 thoughts on “Send Gmail to Evernote: an overview of the tools

  1. CJ de Heer

    I just switched to Google Apps so I could use the Mailbox iOS app. It has a feature where it allows you to assign labls that are nested in a label called [Mailbox]. Is it possible to add an Evernote label as a sublabel to [Mailbox] use your script with that label?

    By the way, loved hearing your Dutch accent in the video. My father was born in den Haag.

    Reply
    1. Harry Post author

      Thanks for the suggestion and the feedback.
      I am planning this for a next version, currently it is not possible to use nested labels.

      Reply
  2. DC

    In your table, the Forward row is a little misleading, at least for Gmail.
    Yes, it can be automated using Filters.
    Yes, you could modify the Subject to tell Evernote which Folders and Tags to apply.
    But no, you cannot do both.
    You can automate the forwarding OR you can manually modify the Subject.
    But Gmail filters do not give any way to modify the Subject.

    Reply

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