You know – that strip across the top that reads:
HOME>DOCUMENTS>WORK>INVOICES>OVERDUE
Or whatever. You can click on any stage in the descent to be taken to that level. Ideally, you should be able to click and hold to see a drop-down menu with all of its ‘siblings’.
As it is, with DT you have to go all the way back to Home, then click back down the requisite number of levels, then find the appropriate sibling, then double click on that. Several steps, that could be telescoped into one.
You don’t have to do the steps you described. Try experimenting with various view. In either the Vertical Split or Three Panes view I have no trouble navigating hierarchies.
If you have a document open in its own window, press Command-R to switch to a view with the item highlighted in the hierarchy.
This is a semi-acceptable workaround, but it loses focus of the window I’m working in (presuming I’ve got multiple windows open) and changes what’s on the main window.
The problem with breadcrumbs comes with replicants. I use replicants heavily (and wish it was easier to do so!), so what would it put for the breadcrumbs? Which replicant? If I have something replicated in four places (not uncommon), would it use four rows to show the path(s)? When I press command-R now, which replicant does it choose?
I like the idea of breadcrumbs, but I can’t fathom how to make it work in the complex world of DEVONthink.