macOS
3.6.15
Joplin Cloud
The second issue I'm having is that I cannot even access PDF's on the Joplin App (I have it sinked to Joplin Cloud so I can access my desktop notes). An error message pops up saying it is an "unsupported link" and "item not found." I'm trying to solve this too.
Hi,
What process or system did you use to import from evernote?
I also came from Evernote.
Are you having trouble specifically with PDFs that you had in notes in Evernote or are you having trouble with PDFs that you put into new notes in Joplin independent of Evernote? Or both?
Attachments are stored in a separate folder from where your Note is and inside your Note is a link to that PDF file stored in that attachments folder. The PDF file and it's linked to Joplin it would have to be in that folder.
Joplin does not store attachments (such as PDFs, images, Word documents, ZIP files, etc.) inside its SQLite database.
Instead, it stores them separately:
Notes, notebooks, tags, and metadata are stored in the SQLite database (database.sqlite).
Attachments (called "resources" in Joplin) are stored as individual files in a resources folder.
For example, in a typical Joplin profile:
Windows: %UserProfile%.config\joplin-desktop\
Linux: ~/.config/joplin-desktop/
macOS: ~/.config/joplin-desktop/
Inside that profile you'll find:
database.sqlite — the SQLite database containing notes and metadata.
resources/ — a folder containing all attached files. The files are renamed to long hexadecimal IDs rather than their original filenames. The database keeps track of which resource belongs to which note and what its original filename was.
This design has several advantages:
Large attachments don't bloat the SQLite database.
Syncing attachments is more efficient.
Backups are simpler because you can back up the entire Joplin profile folder.
If you're backing up Joplin manually, you need both the database.sqlite file and the resources folder. If you use JEX Export, Joplin packages both the notes and all their attachments into a single archive file.
When you import an Evernote ENEX file into Joplin, PDFs that were attached to Evernote notes are normally imported correctly.
Here's what happens:
The note text is imported into Joplin.
The PDF attachment is imported as a Joplin resource.
The PDF file is stored in Joplin's resources folder with a unique ID as its filename.
The note contains a link to that resource, so clicking it opens the PDF.
For example, if an Evernote note looked like:
Meeting Notes
(attached: Budget.pdf)
After importing into Joplin:
The note will still contain the meeting notes.
The PDF will appear as an attachment (or embedded link, depending on how it was stored in Evernote).
The actual PDF file will be in the resources folder, while the note's database entry points to it.
In practice, Joplin's Evernote importer handles:
PDF attachments
Images
Office documents
Audio files
Other file attachments
The only caveats are with unusual Evernote content, such as handwritten ink, certain proprietary Evernote widgets, or complex formatting, which may not translate perfectly. Standard PDF attachments are among the most reliable items to import.
If you're planning a large migration from Evernote to Joplin, it's a good idea to import a small ENEX file first and verify that the PDFs and other attachments appear as expected before importing your entire notebook collection.
So it seems like I am now only having an issue accessing the PDF's in the Joplin App, specifically those that were imported from Evernote (I used ENEX files, markdown). I tested adding a new PDF and it opens in the app just fine in the Joplin App. However, before I could click on the PDF link in the App and it would give me an error message. Now I can't click on the PDF link at all; it just has this download image next to it and its unclickable (see attached screenshot from my phone).
Did you get this error immediately on the device where you imported the Evernote file? Because it's unclear if you have an import issue or a sync issue.
Because operating system is "macOS" but screenshots are mobile. So first please check if the problem occurs on macOS too
The problem is only occuring on my phone app = mobile; no issues on the desktop (MacOS). If it is a sync issue, how to fix? Thanks!
It probably means that the device is not fully synced. Is there any error in the log?
So I changed note downloader option to "manual" and that seems to have unstuck the issue somehow. PDF's are appearing normally in the mobile app now. Thank you for all your help.
I just installed Joplin server for the first time and imported a huge number of notes from Evernote. PDFs open on the Mac client but do NOT open on my phone iOS iPhone 14. Same Unsupported link error as the OP but after a full sync the notes are loading.
Looks like it just takes some time for the sync to go through fully to the mobile app. When I switched to "manual" downloads for attachments, it started working from there but that may have been a coincidence. I'm glad to see it is now working for you as well 
