Agreed - and they have no issues with posts on their forum which state adverse opinions, as long as they are done politely. That shows class.
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The database is rock solid - more so than most SQL databases I have used.
One exception, however, is the use of indexed files rather than importing files into the database. If you choose indexing you need to really understand the software and the operating system and their inherent gotchas extremely well.
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Very important point. I canât even tell you how many things I messed up with index vs import and getting them all confused. It still catches me on occasion.
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Hmmm⌠Iâm a very heavy DEVONthink user. Itâs maybe the most important app I own. I am on v3 since it came out and really like it. No really big issues here
I sometimes have the problem that sync falls apart on iCloud and some files that are on one device sometimes donât show up on a different one. Using Verify Location Quickly gets rid of this usually but besides that I havenât noticed bugs
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Long-term user of V1, 2 and 3. Would mirror most of the positives above. The only issues Iâve had were with indexed files and, as I have to work with about 10 different work and professional databases in 3 locations, I just stopped using the indexing feature as indexed data is local only.
Use for virtually everything. If data has to be Dropbox-shared it stays in the Finder, otherwise my entire digital life has been in DT for the past 16 years. Have been using Bear for quick notes though.
No bugs for ages with V3. I have had to, over the years, rebuild individual databases from time to time. But that process takes barely a few minutes even with large databases. And support is quick and to the point.
Should I be a gent of a praying disposition, I would pray fervently for the long-term financial happiness of this amazing group of software makers.
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I second SteveJ, while have not used DT for quite as long I can say only issue was when I played with indexing external drives/folders probably my fault. Hoping for very long term stability of developer(s).
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DTPO2 and now DT3 are used daily this side, since 2012 â and Iâve yet to have data loss across several fairly large DBs. I have also found it to be very solid and reliable.
Not suggesting anything by that, OP â systems are so different and user-unique! But glad you have managed to retrieve what was lost.
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To my memory, DevonThink has never, ever asked me to leave a review or take a customer satisfaction survey. Those things alone endear me to them.
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Sync (iCloud or Dropbox) works fine on iOS, but seems to always be delayed and eventually stops when it comes to the Mac. I went many rounds of email with the support man (and really appreciated the time and timeliness of his support) but he basically washed his hands of this, saying I should just switch to local Bonjour sync. Iâve never had sync problems on iCloud with 3rd party apps like BusyCal or OmniFocus or Grocery and Iâve come to expect sync to be rock solid ⌠of course, those apps are syncing with Appleâs own databases, not someone elseâs, but this level of sync service is unacceptable, whether or not itâs DEVONâs fault.
I found my sync via iCloud was slow, frankly not a big deal for me, but when I set up a new Mac (main machine) some months back I went local sync via bonjour and have been very happy. Sync to two iPhones, and two iPads and have not had an issue. Though my main use on iOS is for retrieval of info as opposed to creation.
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Yeah, I am fine with him. And the app in general is excellent, I have had no problems with it.
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I use it extensively and have had no problems. There was one with the Safari extension and that seems to be a general problem with Catalina though. However like every user of an app with the broad range of options DEVONthink 3 has, I use, really a subset of its full capacity. I donât use indexing of exterior files for example. There is no need for me to keep files outside the databases really. I didnât like it much when I had Ulysses sheets in DEVONthink 3, it was way to complicated and again, unnecessary really. I have had a problem with DEVONsphere which I stopped using because it wouldnât read Ulysses sheets. Neither DEVONthink 3 support or Ulysses could help though they both tried hard. I still donât know what the issue is and I stopped using it for now.
Having begun my DEVONthink journey in 2006, my initial reaction is always to empathize with a new(er) userâs difficulties. The phrase âI feel your painâ quickly comes to mindâŚ
To be honest, there were many timesâespecially with DEVONthink 1âwhen the time-and-effort I was putting into the app didnât begin to compensate for what I got in return. (ROI comes to DT users much more quickly these daysâespecially with DT3 and the capable DTTG on IOS.) IMHO: This is an app to marryâand anyone looking for a âquick flingâ will likely be happier with something less âhigh-maintenanceâ. To belabor this analogy: If a couple years of living with DEVONthink hasnât convinced a user that he cannot live without it, perhaps this software just isnât the one for him.
Was my DT relationship âtestedâ by the transition to DT3? Sure. I found aspects of DT3âs design that I initially didnât like as well as the previous version? That said, I personally found the period of actively missing the old version didnât last long.
In terms of DEVONthink support, my experienceâboth in general and regarding Jim âBluefrogâ Neumann in particularâhas been nothing short of excellent. Having interacted with Jim for several years now, I have to say the he is the single most knowledgeable, professional, and helpful tech support partner I have ever encountered. Ever.
Even when I presented gnarly issues that clearly were self-inflicted user errorsânot software flawsâBluefrog helped me get back to work. (He may well have been privately shaking his head and wondering at my ineptitude; if so, he didnât show it. Instead, he analyzed the evidence, diagnosed the problem, prescribed a fix, then stuck with me until the problem was solved.) Had it not been for Jim Neumannâs knowledge, professionalism and tenacity, I likely would have abandoned DEVONthink long ago. (Today, I am most grateful that I did not.)
I have gone on here MUCH longer than was my intent. (The apparent strength of my loyalty to the DEVONthink brand surprised me. I have never before written a comment like this.) So let me close by echoing the commenters who âprayâ for this firmâs sustainability and success. Somehow this small company (just a handful of developers and staffâin Germany, UK, and US) carved out an innovative niche and made it work. Not merely surviving, but actively evolving their unique software solutions. I simply cannot imagine how they do it. But I do hope they keep doing it for a long, long time.
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You must have read my mind. Iâve been dithering over DevonThink for literally two years. I use it some of the time, then stop, then go back. Yesterday I decided I have not been giving it a fair trial because I have not really COMMITTED to it. So that is what I will do, and if itâs not paying off for me after a few weeks I will be done with it.
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Mitch,
The most important thing is to have a personal âneedâ for which DEVONthink will help with.
ârms
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True!
Iâm a journalist and need to track notes and research documents and often work on them on my Mac as well as the iPad. Sometimes even the iPhone. The question for me is whether DT is too much horsepower for my needs, particularly with alternatives available like Keep It, and with the Files app on iOS/iPad OS getting better and better.
I expect Iâll know more in a few weeks. Iâm working on a project now which should prove if DT is worthwhile for me.
Also, having already paid for DT and taken the time to learn it, it might be worthwhile to continue using it. Or use it with indexed files and use its desktop RSS capabilities.
(To be more accurate, I should say that I HAVE BEEN a journalist and may be one again. Laid off in February and finding work scarce at the moment. Maybe a career change in my near future.)
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@MitchWagner sorry I gotta ask. Do you pronounce your surname âWag nerâ or âVog nerâ? Funny thing is my mother in law has the same surname through marriage and iâll be damned if Siri understands both. I can use them interchangeably with no issues.
Hey Mitch:
With only so many hours in a day, we are always trying to place well-informed âbetsâ on where to invest our time; yes? After all, it is risky to make a large time investment when the expected return (productivity, in this case) seems uncertain. (Thatâs not a criticism of DT3; itâs a recognition that any applicationâs value is highly subjective. DEVONthink simply may not âgrokâ with your personal workflowâor you may not find that it solves the problems that are most important to you.)
As software âbetsâ go, however, I find DEVONthink highly attractive: The technology is mature, but far-from-stagnant; the IOS companion app now is capable and reliable; thereâs a vibrant user baseâdrawn from a wide variety of backgrounds; DTâs flexibility is remarkable; and oneâs info is not stored in a proprietary format. IMHO, that makes a compelling value proposition.
That said, your time is valuableâand limited. (We are especially mindful of âthe ticking clockâ these days.) So if you DO choose to commit, I wish you every success!
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One issue is that DT still doesnât sync fast enough for me.
This used to be true for me. I made my large database smaller (and more useful!) by splitting it up into more purposeful databases. I also switched to local network syncing (using iCloud as secondary option that will still work when Iâve left my desktop behind). Itâs orders of magnitude more stable and quicker this way.
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