Is there any way via Smart Rule or Applescript for me to detect which users are currently logged into the web server?
Alternatively is there some way for me to have a sign-in/sign-out system that is accessible to web server users?
If I could display custom meta data in the web server this would be easily done via a checkbox list. But that is not possible now.
The big picture here is that I would like to figure out a way to send email or SMS alerts for various events to staff who are on duty but not when they are off duty. Can that be done?
There’s usually a chance but so far it’s not planned (the feedback during the last months could easily keep us busy for many years, therefore stuff has to be prioritized & filtered)
OK fair enough - we will make that simply a “nice to have.”
What would be super super important if you can prioritize it is to be able to display custom metadata in the Web Server. Both of these are terrific new features for DT3, but the fact that they don’t work together is really an issue. If I create a custom metadata field it can only be edited or viewed by those who have access to DT3 desktop - it really takes away much of the utility of the web server if users of the web server do not have access to all of the data in the database.
Feasibility and required development resources to accomplish a task, if found feasible
The breadth of need or desire for a particular function. The larger the pool of people who will benefit from it, the more likely it will be prioritized higher on the list (and no, that’s not a jump to the top of the list).
We aren’t developing for a handful of people, but a very broad user base with many differing opinions and requests.
Also, realize the Forums are not the only place we receive feedback and input on these matters
Don’t misjudge the number of responses on the forums - whether many or few - as more significant than they may be.
For what it’s worth, perhaps this only applies to me and not to others. But this feature would be immensely helpful more than any other. I am using DT3 full-scale in my consulting practice with staff supporting me with uploading documents and various metadata about each case. Staff do not have Macs, nor would it be realistic for me to support them in syncing their own databases. They are using the Webserver but that limits me in terms of what information they can upload since they do not have access to custom metadata.
If the web server cannot edit/display the custom metadata, my only Plan B may be to host multiple user accounts on my main Mac and have them use Teamviewer or GotoMyPC or similar to access it - that is doable but quite complex and quite expensive to do.
This would be an ideal situation for the web server if only the custom metadata could be part of it. Is my situation unique? I don’t know. But I certainly see that there are a good number of attorneys using DT3 - I would think that they could make similar use of the web server if this feature were added -with custom metadata for things like due dates, special instructions from a client, co-counsel on the case, etc.
Your situation is unique in that custom metadata is new, not something that’s been around in DEVONthink for a long time. We have no idea of the adoption rate of the feature.
Additionally, the web interface has been completely recreated so that’s also new so there is no precedent to say whether it is useful in a broad way.
I also can’t speak for any clientele, litigators or otherwise, as to how they’re using the feature, if at all.
Well for what it’s worth, if you can get the custom metadata to display and edit on the web server, then you may well expand your target market considerably. Lots of small professional practices use a dedicated relational database server for centralized document management - I have done so for a decade. DT3 with its web server and custom metadata would create a convincing business proposition to those potential users- software that is both more capable and notably less expensive to operate. The ability to search and edit documents and create new derivative documents right inside DT3 is a huge benefit compared with downloading data from a database, making edits, and then uploading the new version. Hosting the database on my main Mac is also a nice benefit in that rather than my having to reach out to the SQL server to get the documents my staff uploaded, instead the data is right there on my computer. Those are major improvements in the workflow. Plus the time and money involved in maintaining DT3 is so much less than having to maintain a Windows SQL server.
This may not have been an intentional target market for you; indeed it wasn’t my initial intended use case for DT3. But it turns out that it works really well for that purpose.