I have always considered the sidebar a collapsable tool (like the side panes in Lightroom) that are accessible when I need them (working among multiple databases, etc.) but hidden away 99% of the time. The new UI makes it even more useful for this workflow.
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Using the Widescreen evolution I find what I miss is now with the 2nd pane only the filenames appear (List View) now and not (for instance) the Creation Date etc. I can still sort the whole list by Creation Date, but I can’t see the dates of each file as they relate to each other. Only when I select an individual file can I see its Date information.
Using DT3 I didn’t realize how often I compare Dates of files to each other.
This option would be missed.
Beta 2 will support this. In addition, the columns of List views can be always customized (e.g. via View > Columns).
Thanks for pointing that out! When nothing has been picked in the View menu, there’s no title bar to Option/Click for view options. Which is what I was used to doing.
Another vote for the 3 pane view!!!
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If the Three Panes view can return, it should !
… although, a bit like apoc527 pointed out above, if you use list, widescreen, the sidebar itself acts as the first of the three panes - though stanblues999’s points are still pertinent…
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I’ve only briefly played around with the new view introduced in beta 2 (I’m at my iPad right now, but think it was “show documents only” or something similar), so could have missed something, but the biggest issue for me with it is that I can’t hide my other databases, short of closing them all.
I commonly used the old 3 pane view during depositions or in the courtroom, often with a client or another person sitting right next to me, because it was the most conducive to that environment. Now, with someone sitting there, they will see the names of my other databases, which is a small nitpick, but I’d still prefer them not to see them (especially if I create databases like “FluffysBigParty” . . .)
One of the other views sort of worked, but there was no way to have it sort my groups alphabetically, but the contents of the group by date, which is a pretty common method of organization in the legal industry.
Evan, while I understand where you are coming from on the issue of client confidentiality, after opening the database you want to use, why not just turn off the Sidebar in Navigation.
My beefs with the 3 pane view are that columns should retain a line separator as in DT2 (rather than the slightly increased padding between columns now evident in beta 2) and the ability to reduce the size of thumbnails to aid in navigating a document.
I’m referring to the new view introduced in beta 2, where the database sidebar is also used to navigate groups.
The sidebar can be used to navigate groups. But you can still hide it, and navigate groups in the regular list view (this is my default).
So why have two similar navigation methods, side-by-side? I say ‘similar’ and not ‘identical’, because with navigating in the sidebar you can only get down as far as the lowest sub-group, and then the items are actually displayed in the second pane (which is what the missing third pane should be doing).
I’ll go back and look at that, but I recall not being able to sort groups by name while at the same time sort files in those groups by date.
Revisiting this now that we’re a couple more betas further along, has anyone found a good way with the new interface in DT 3 to sort groups alphabetically, but sort the contents of those groups by date? The only way I can find to do this is to use the main sidebar to view the groups, but that requires me to have my other database names visible (which in a legal setting, I can’t always do for privacy reasons if I have my client sitting next to me, so I would need to close my other databases).
My use case: I put client’s cases into DEVONthink, and documents within that case are broken down into groups (Correspondence, Litigation Files, Investigation, etc.). I sort those groups alphabetically. But within a group, I sort by date. So, for example, my Litigation Files will show the most recently filed legal documents at the top.
Surely sorting groups alphabetically but sort content by date is fairly straightforward?
By way of example, I attach screenshot.
By prefixing the content with the date, it can be sorted most recent first or last. I use Text Expander for prefixing dates so that I can create them to my spec, eg adding - at the end of the date to separate the date from the entry title.
Personally i don’t like the date added, date created, date modified, date opened columns - not because they aren’t useful, on the contrary, but that I don’t necessarily always need the time as well.
As for using the main sidebar to view the groups, you could hide the list of groups by clicking the arrow to the left of a database, for example:
Clever idea, but I’m not looking to rename all my legal filings to gain that ability. But nice suggestion, and thank you. And I can hide the list of groups, but not the list of databases without closing them.
You don’t have to rename all your legal filings. You could prefix all new additions with the date then update the undated filings when working on that particular case.
I am a commercial property surveyor (UK) specialising in business tenancy law so 50% of my work involves legal documents but I don’t use DT for all my legal filings. Instead I use Finder folders, pdfs and my template word processor files for non-email communications. I attach screenshot. .
As you can see I have numbered folders for key information, prefix dated pdfs for letters etc and my identifier for the other files. Unlike yours which I guess would be client names, my identifier are memorable abbreviations for the whereabouts of the property.
What I do use DT for is notes of telephone calls, emails, and anything associated with the task. Using my first screenshot for example. I’d create a folder ‘Denbigh’ and a smart folder ‘Denbigh’ which I’d position immediately underneath the folder. All entries are tagged Denbigh and where I’m doing more than one job for the same client a separate tag for the client’s initials so that when the client contacts me I can either look in the smart folder for the particular job or the smart folder for the particular client so that anything to do with that particular client is all in one place.
Whilst a job is active, I don’t use the group folder for the task: only when the matter is completed would i put all the items into that group folder. If after completion an item has tags for other matters for the same client I duplicate the item.
I work on the principle that when a client contacts me it’s not impressive to keep the client waiting whilst I try to find something that’s relevant to the subject of the communication: even if I’m simply working on the client matter I don’t want to waste time faffing around looking for something that really ought to be at my fingertips. I want a (filing) system that doesn’t involve much or any effort on my part where I can find whatever I’m looking for instantly.
Where I find DT comes into own is not merely the speed of searching for an item, but the ability to add tags to the search result(s) so that future searches shouldn’t be necessary. It is also invaluable I find for processing law reports etc. In combination with Scrivener which I also use for my law library, importing pdf transcripts and articles etc into a DT database then creating smart folders for tagging and/or finding topics, key phrases and/or terminology enables me to find whatever legal support I’m after.
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If you mouse over the “Open Databases” heading, a “Hide” option appears, which will hide the list of databases and just leave the heading behind. Mousing over again brings up the “Show” option.
It’s not all that discoverable, I admit, but is that what you were looking for?
It’s actually the standard sidebar behaviour, see e.g. Finder or Mail too.
Thanks for the suggestion. That won’t do the trick, unfortunately, because showing the sidebar is the only way I can see to be able to view groups alphabetically (by viewing them in the sidebar) while at the same time sorting the contents of the group by date. Any other view method, as far as I can tell, uses the same sort method (by name or by date) for both the list of groups and the contents of groups.
Right now, my solution when going into a deposition or court will be to close all my other databases, unfortunately, and reopen them when I’m done. Cumbersome, but I think that will do the trick, if we don’t get another solution at some point.
You could use a workspace to easily reopen them.