Hello, I am a relatively new DTTG user that is migrating from Evernote. Learned of the app from Gabe Weatherhead over at macdrifter.com
macdrifter.com/2016/09/the-a … r-ios.html
I thought it might be fun to connect here with any other iOS only users to share ideas and discuss challenges based on our specific use case.
Take care, David Beckwith
Hi. I use it a lot on iOS, but not exclusively. I think DEVONthink (and Evernote) on iOS are designed to be supplements, and even though they can function on their own, I think that tends to be an edge case. For example, if you want to take advantage of the AI offered by DEVONthink (and Evernote), the only way to do this is on the desktop (Evernote used to have it in iOS, but stripped it out one day, and we haven’t seen it since).
Anyhow, I’m working with the app on iOS nearly 24 / 7 and I am quite pleased with it. Glad to hear there are other users who are also enjoying it.
[EDIT]
By the way, that was a great article, and I think it will help a lot of people figure out whether the app is a good fit for them. Personally, the security features are what have kept me hooked on DT over the years. They take the issue seriously and they work in plenty of options for the security-conscious (bluetooth, ad-hoc, and wifi syncing are amazing). I’ve written a little about this on my blog.
christopher-mayo.com/?p=2883
In my experience, it’s the most robust, secure app available on iOS. This stands in stark contrast to Evernote, which is a great app (I am a Premium user), but has barely any native encryption abilities (only blocks of text on a note-by-note basis) and (as far as I know) no ability to do even this rudimentary encryption on iOS. I am at a loss to explain why Evernote would resist encryption options. OneNote has them and Apple Notes has done a really impressive job of incorporating encryption, so it isn’t as if this kind of feature is technically impossible. It seems to me that DEVONthink is on the cutting edge here compared to the other options (OneNote is pretty clunky and you’ll need to buy into the subscription model to get the most out of it; Apple Notes is a gorgeous implementation, but you’ll have to encrypt everything one note at a time, the encryption doesn’t work with PDFs in the note, good luck getting anything in or out of that locked down app, and don’t even get me started on syncing conflicts). That’s pretty cool for a relatively small outfit. It just goes to show, I think, what people who take security seriously can accomplish.
Thanks. I admire Gabe’s work on his blog and podcast, etc. I appreciate the link to your blog and agree with the article you shared. Being iOS only does mean some loss of functionality and features as compared to the more robust Mac apps. However I’m excited for what the future holds with DTTG’s ongoing development and am pleased to support it. Another article on your blog highlights the security of DTTG. For me the enhanced security plus the portability of my data as compared to Evernote has been worth any trade off in functionality so far. Look forward to reading how you use the app going forward. Take care.
Really? If you are an iOS-only user of DEVONthink (to Go) then your data are no more portable than if you were an iOS-only user of Evernote. Perhaps less. Sure, you can sync DTTG to a remote location, but that remote sync store does not easily (or doesn’t at all) give you access to the data you synced outward from DTTG. The sync store is meant for use only by DEVONthink on the desktop.
Evernote, at least, gives you a web interface to access your data. If your iPad went south without a backup, you’ve just lost all your data in DTTG.
I wouldn’t consider the ability to export one document at a time from DTTG much in the way of portability, unless you had small databases. Unlike GoodReader, or Documents, or other apps, which sync with Dropbox, Box, etc., DTTG does not sync with an cloud in an open-access way. Personally, I wouldn’t use DTTG if I didn’t use DEVONthink on the desktop. I would use GoodReader.
Korm, can you add notes to GoodReader?
Yes, either directly (Manage Files > New Text) or sent via share sheets from other apps.
Thanks, Korm. I hadn’t seen that.
Korm, thanks and you make great points. I did not express myself very well, but what I meant about portability was that Evernote proprietary format makes it more difficult to export your notes. The notes I have in DTTG are now all PDF or text files. I am concerned about the lack of a true sync with DTTG and hope that this can be addressed in the future. I appreciate your suggestion of Good Reader and I will explore it further. Take care, David