You’re welcome, it’s a pleasure. Going into the weeds – defining syntax highlighting for a document type is simple, especially if the dev has access (which they do) to a .json-based grammar for that document type. E.g., a syntax highlighting grammar for markdown. The way is easy; the will (as we’ve seen with DEVONthink) is not.
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Good to know. I know something are harder than others to do.
I run my life off Devonthink (DT3).
I have 16 GB of data in ten DT3 Databases. I import everything. I would never Index things at this point. I have decided I prefer DT over the finder and I want to maintain and use one file system, not two. I would also worry about inadvertently moving or deleting something that would cause a DT index based system to have issues. I hate time-wasting tech issues 
All my personal stuff (bills, financial stuff, manuals for home appliances etc) is in a DT database. I scan everything and try to be paperless except for handwritten notes I may take when on the phone. Those then get scanned as well.
Former Evernote user and DT3 is far more useful - not even close. I find using DT on OSX to store, file and look at files far more efficient than the finder, even with all of the add-on productivity stuff MacSparky talks about on his various podcasts. That’s before you start using the search, OCR and other smart things DT lets you do.
I sync DT via a dropbox syncstore - no issues ever. I religiously back up all my computers (three sets of complete disk images via Chronosync, 1 always offsite).
I travel a ton, sometimes with a portable Mac, sometimes with an iPad. I’m often in 3rd world countries in areas with no internet access. I always buy lots of memory in any iOS device I get, so I can sync everything (all 16GB of data in ten DBs) to each iOS device. That way, wherever I am I have immediate access to everything. I never want to be memory constrained - that just leads to lots of wasted time doing workarounds.
I still use Evernote but only to share trip info with my wife (easier to share stuff via Evernote than DT3 as it has a superior shared sync). We have an Evernote folder for each trip so we both always know where the other is and the details of any travel info. Evernote also has a neat web publishing feature which lets you give others links to Evernote pages. I share event and trip info with many others this way - one link and they have access to a “living” document about an upcoming event.
Sure iOS memory is pricey. Having a hardware based triplicate backup system is as well. I use OWC Thunderbay 4’s as JBODs with 30 Terabytes of Hard Drives in each one. Chronosync does incremental backups overnite - a serious photography hobby is where 16 Terabyte of data comes from. I’m starting to do more 4k video so my backup system has some extra headroom. Having each Backup system in it’s own small self-contained box makes it super-easy to use as well as swap the offsite backup regularly.
Over the years I have found I spent tons of time trying to deal with the constraints of synching limited memory devices and backing up data in many places. Backblaze or any online backup is out for me because of the amount of data I keep. So I came up with this system to simplify things.
For me, the payoff is huge in terms of simplicity and time saved. The extra few thousand dollars in investment up front in memory and hardware pays for itself many times over.
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Thanks @BermudaAI, I have been using DT for years, but still feel like a beginner. I’m trying to up my game with it, but am hitting the workflow wall. The incoming materials exceed the time I have to get them into DT. My DT inbox is overflowing with items that I want to file. That’s problem #1.
#2. Some items are in DT, some are in Finder. I get frustrated when I look for something that should be there, but I only find in the other app. I feel like I am using two apps for one job. Maybe there is no way around this. Some things need to remain in Finder and the rest can go into DT.
Can you or anyone suggest a reliable workflow? Or point me in the right direction in this forum? I’m sure its been covered.
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Avoiding this problem is why I index rather than import files to DT.
When I index, everthing is in one place. And, if I add a “native document” in DT that points to an indexed iCloud folder, the document also shows up in Finder. The process is a two-way one. However, although this works well when files are indexed from iCloud it does not work the same way if you index Google Drive, for example. Anything created in GD will show up in DT but new documents created natively in DT will not show up in GD.
I reading your post here: Significant changes to apps and final 2021 workflow
I thought you decided against indexing in favor of importing…?
That is correct but only because I was in error. First time this year. 
I thought that native documents in DT would not sync back to iCloud. I thought this was the case because of my experience trying this with Google Drive. With GD, the indexing only works one way—from GD to DT.
But, iCloud works in both directions. Anything created and residing in an indexed folder in iCloud will show up in DT and any document created in a DT group that is indexed to iCloud will show up in iCloud/Finder. I tested with plain and rich text files and PDFs.
I use Dropbox. Will that work?
P.S. I feel your pain: I, too, spend a lot of time on method and processing when I might be better served actually getting the work done. I’m still looking for the philosopher’s stone of workflows.
I only use Dropbox to share the occasional file. I don’t want to have to pay a subscription to DB when I’m paying several already, including iCloud.
I can’t speak for others but I believe there are several reasons why I have struggled on settling on my workflow, but I’m almost there.
- I like tech so it is tempting to experiment and tinker.
- Listening to MPU and other tech podcasts keep blaring the siren call of new apps and workflows–perhaps I should listen to more music!
- New apps are being created (think of the recent development of PKM apps!) which deserve at least a look.
- There is no perfect workflow or app so we keep looking. I am increasingly convinced that this is a fool’s errand.
I am absolutely committed to setting in on my workflow and apps. If fact, I have except with note taking (mainly because I ran into problems with Apple Note syncing issues) and I wanted to give Craft and Obsidian trial runs.
They are fine, in fact I really like Craft, but as I shared in one of my post, the ability to drag an email message into Craft to create a link is broken. The developers told me it should be fixed in two weeks. But, I decided to just avoid this problem and master DT due to its stability on the Mac, and now on iOS, and all of its power features. It is the closest thing I’ve found to the “one app to rule them all.”
So, I’m close… 
Notwithstanding what I said above, everything being equal, I’d prefer that approach as well. Unfortunately, my organization uses Google Docs extensively so I have to have that for collaboration and sharing. IF I use DT exclusively, I would also lose the collaborative features of iCloud, which I use, e.g, when my EA creates Keynotes for me.
Thanks! I’ll study your 2021 workflow.
Yes, MPU encourages one to tinker and explore.
I am in education too and I think we have similar work flows… I Need for my docs to be “sharable” with colleagues and students etc… So I need to stay with Gdocs. Are you indexing your Google Drive Folder?? I tried a ton of things and settled on InSync and so far its great for indexing in DT and my M1 MBP… Thoughts ?
@Robejazz I do index GD but doing so is of limited use because although creating a doc in GD does sync and populate to DT when I update the indexed folders, if I create a doc in DT it does not populate/sync back to GD, whereas iCloud syncs in both directions.
I had not heard of insync until your post. I looked it up and it looks promising.
When using Insync, if you are indexing Google Drive and create a document in DT, does that doc sync back to GD using Insync so that both GD and DT have the same documents with all versions synced? If so, that would be fantastic and a no brainer. The price is right to, no subscription.
I thought you had an M1 MBP?? I didn’t think GD worked on the MBP yet?? I have the M1 and GD doesn’t work so that’s why I went searching for different solutions… To answer your question, its early days (I am about a month in), but the indexing works great so far and docs populate in both directions as do tags etc…
Thanks! GD is working for me in that it is syncing on the M1 but as noted above it does not sync in DT in both directions. I’m going to purchase Insync based on your experience. Thanks for the tip!
It’s simple to import files into DEVONthink and then from there do your organising to the extent you wish. I don’t quite get why you think that to move stuff will require some juggling of files and folders, but that your choice. That being said, I find that it is NOT necessary to do as much organising into Groups (sort of like Folders in the file system) in DEVONthink since with Smart Groups and Searching being as great as it is, you can easily find things. Inside databases, basic high-level groups is all that is required to get started. You can enhance as you go. You’ve already got the basic segregation of three databases each with a specific goal/deliverable/purpose in mind.
The files that I keep “indexed” are those files that I need to share with others for collaboration or other reasons to share. Those files are kept in Dropbox. Other cloud service providers probably work, but I find Dropbox works best. Your mileage may vary. Then my collaborators can see and use the sync-ed Dropbox file and their changes will automatically sync back to me and be re-indexed in DEVONthink.
It’s all down to what it is you wish to achieve. You didn’t really say that in your posting above, but I trust there is a goal in mind.
I recommend you read “Taking Control of DEVONthink Pro” e-book, and then scan the DEVONthink Manual another time. Both documents available on DEVON Technologies’ web site.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is simple to import files to DT, in fact, it is simpler than indexing. I have two reasons for indexing rather than importing:
- Because my institution uses Google Suite for collaboration, I have to ensure that documents I create for work purposes are available in GD. If I import everything to DT, they will not be. This means that if I create a document in DT, which I do often, it will not sync back to GD because GD and DT do not sync in both directions.
- For my personal files, all of which are in iCloud, I could import them to DT but then, unless I delete them from iCloud, I am using twice the disk space because my files in iCloud are synced to my MBP and I’d have those files also in a DT database. I don’t want to use up that much disk space.
However, @Robejazz pointed me to iSync. I’ve downloaded the trial version and created multiple documents in both GD and DT, revised them, and deleted them. All of my changes synced perfectly across GD and DT. It works perfectly syncing in both directions between DT and GD–so my problem has been solved. I am now able to create the documents in GD, iCloud or DT and they sync across all platforms and apps.
So that I understand … when you put a document INSIDE DEVONthink (not into the file system directly), you are expecting Google Suite to reach into DEVONthink and sync? Yes, I can see how that’s not possible. That is why if I wanted the file to be in Dropbox (or Google Suite file system for you), I would put the file there and then it would show up in the DEVONthink index. Maybe I’m missing something?
- For my personal files, all of which are in iCloud, I could import them to DT but then, unless I delete them from iCloud, I am using twice the disk space because my files in iCloud are synced to my MBP and I’d have those files also in a DT database. I don’t want to use up that much disk space.
Why not delete them if disk space a concern? If in DEVONthink, then they would sync up to wherever you have your sync location, and then on the other machine (presumably running DEVONthink and setup to sync), those files would move over. No?
What you are doing is much different than what I’m doing, but the results seem to be the same with your successful addition of iSync. So job done, I guess.
thanks,
That is accurate but it requires extra steps. I would have to create the document in DT and then send it to GD. A big deal? No. But, I create a lot of documents in DT (my primary note taking app at this point) so I would prefer to just create documents and forget about them. There is another issue. I love using the DT sorter. I drag files into that sorter all of the time, which are then uploaded to DT’s inbox. I have smart rules that then process and move those files into the appropriate GD or iCloud indexed folders. Because GD does not sync two ways with DT, the file does not show up in Google Drive. This means that for GD related files, I cannot use the DT sorter. I lose efficiency.
Yes, I could delete them from iCloud but I have two reasons for not wanting to do this:
- iCloud is a form of “secondary backup.” I know it is not a true backup. I back up all of my files to external drives weekly and those drives are in two separate physical locations. But, I still like the iCloud alternative.
- More importantly, as I noted in prior posts above, I often use iCloud’s sharing/collaboration feature, especially with my EA. If I delete the files in iCloud I lose that function.
That said, I realize that perhaps I’m missing something. Am I wrong in understanding the implications of importing given my workflow needs and preferences?
That’s what I do. I have a database with indexed files from GD (via in sync), indexed files from Dropbox and imported files … it’s pretty great