I set up an automation in Zapier that takes notes from a specific Evernote notebook and creates cards in a Trello board. The automation works great for any new notes I add, but I have a bunch of old notes in that notebook that I want to process too. When I was testing the automation during setup, it managed to pull in about three of my existing notes. Is there a way to make the automation go back and handle all the notes that were already there before I created it? I really need those older notes to be added to my Trello board as well.
Yeah, you’ve hit one of Zapier’s biggest limitations. It’s designed to handle new events, not existing data. Those three notes from your setup? Just a one-time sample when you connected the apps. I ran into the same issue migrating project data last year. Ended up writing a simple script using Evernote’s API to export notes, then Trello’s API to create cards directly. Took about an afternoon to build, but I processed hundreds of old notes without any issues. If coding isn’t your thing, some premium Zapier plans have bulk import features. You’ll need to format everything as CSV first, which is annoying but works for moving historical data.
Zapier doesn’t work backwards on old data - it only handles new stuff going forward. Those few old notes you caught during testing? That’s just Zapier sampling existing data when you first set up the connection. For your existing Evernote notes, you’ve got a few options. Easiest is to manually edit each old note slightly - Zapier will see it as new activity and trigger the automation. Tedious if you have tons of notes, but it works. You could also export and reimport your notes as new entries, but then you’re stuck cleaning up duplicates. Some people try disconnecting and reconnecting Evernote hoping to grab more old data, but that’s hit or miss. Bottom line: Zapier’s great for ongoing automation but sucks at handling historical data. Your best bet is probably the manual edit approach.
been there too with the google sheets to airtable mess. zapier just doesn’t do retro stuff well. try exporting your old evernote notes as .enex files and reimporting in small batches. zapier will treat them as ‘new’ and start your automation. tedious, but better than manually tweaking all those notes!
Nope, Zapier doesn’t do retroactive stuff. Those few notes you saw during setup? That’s just Zapier grabbing samples to test - happens once and that’s it. I ran into this same problem moving customer data from Salesforce to Slack. Zapier ignored thousands of existing records.
Here’s what actually worked: I used the modify date trick. Go into each old Evernote note, make a tiny edit (add a space or period), then save. Zapier thinks it’s a new update and runs your automation. Yeah, it’s tedious if you’ve got tons of notes, but it works every time and you don’t need any fancy tools or coding.
Zapier’s useless for bulk historical data. You’re stuck with those three notes because that’s all it grabbed during the connection test.
I’ve hit this exact problem multiple times at work. Last migration involved 500+ documents - Zapier only pulled maybe 5% of them.
Manual editing works but takes forever. API scripting’s solid if you code, but who’s got time?
What fixed it for me was switching to Latenode. It handles batch operations on existing data without Zapier’s weird limitations. You can process your entire Evernote notebook at once instead of hoping for scraps.
Set it up once and it pulls everything - old notes, new notes, doesn’t matter. No workarounds or crossing fingers needed.
Saved me about 20 hours compared to messing with Zapier alternatives.
Zapier sucks for existing data. It only triggers on new stuff going forward. You might catch a few old records during setup, but that’s it.
People try turning the Zap off and on to grab more old records. Sometimes works, mostly doesn’t. You’ll miss most of your data.
Hit this same wall last year with thousands of existing records. Zapier couldn’t handle it.
Switched to Latenode and it fixed everything. Actually has batch processing that works with historical data. You can pull old records and process them with new ones.
Night and day difference. Instead of crossing your fingers with Zapier, you control what gets processed and when.