Is there no “auto save” function to DTPO? If there is where do I find it?
Thanks,
Jeff
Yes and no. If you are editing a rich text file and then select another document in a view window, your changes will be automatically saved.
But DT is using editing based on Apple’s Cocoa text – essentially, TextEdit – and TextEdit doesn’t do auto-Save. So get in the habit of pressing Command-S once in a while, just as you would do in TextEdit. And pay attention to the prompt, if any, when you close the document you are working on.
I find an upside in this, though. When I’m editing a draft I’ll have the original version open in the text pane of a view window and the copy I’m editing in a separate document window. After making changes I can compare the two versions. If I don’t like an edit change I can close the document window without saving; the original remains untouched. If I like the change, pressing Command-S changes both copies of the document. I like that better than Undo.
Thanks, Bill. My “saves” seem to take a loooong time now that DTPO has grown into a rather large database. I suppose the answer to faster saves is smaller “documents,” eh? No need to reply unless the long saves indicate some problem that DTPO isn’t telling me about. The database says it’s in working order when I ask it to “verify and repair” and “back up and optimize.”
Jeff
I’m on a MacBook Pro working with a large DTPO database. Saving documents is slow. Real slow. So an autosave feature – unless it was purely a background operation – might get annoying!
A similar feature to TextEdeit’s autosave (a Preferences option to save periodically) under Leopard is likely in version 2.0.
Bill, any comment on the slow saves?
Second, your thoughts on buying Leopard now, or waiting until it “cures” a bit and gets debugged for DTPO, or visa-versa.
I’ve got a rich text "journal’ file in my database thats approaching 200 KB in size. It takes a few seconds to save.
That should become less apparent in version 2.0, as a text file will be saved individually in the Finder, rather than to the “monolithic” database.
I didn’t immediately upgrade to Leopard, as I had a project I wanted to finish first.
But I’ve been running under Leopard since 6 November and have had no problems. I really like Time Machine and other features. All the apps I use regularly are running well, although several had to be updated.
As I’ve often noted, I try to keep to a pretty stock OS X operating system. A number of OS hacks that depended on input managers don’t currently run under Leopard. Apple deliberately restricted input managers, which was probably a wise move as many of them cause problems for Mac users. Anyone planning to move up to Leopard should assume that input managers that are located in the User Library won’t run. Currently, for example, the Unsanity hacks are not compatible with Leopard.
Thanks, Bill. Since, I’ve been using a Mac as long as I’ve been using DTPO, I’m new to all this. So, I have been wondering how cleanly early versions of new Mac operating systems took to work themselves into the market. It sounds like Leopard is in shape. If I’m not mistaken, “Time Machine” sounds much like XP’s ability to reconstitute itself backwards in time, should problems arise.
Maybe so – but wait until you see Time Machine in action. 
Is auto save a possibility these days? In the last week, I’ve lost notes that I was typing twice due to Devonthink crashing. I would usually just leave the rtf document open because Im so used to other programs auto saving for me.
I just did a quick buzz through the DTPO manual and found nothing about autosave. I assume you’ve already done the same thing. I’m certain there’s someone out there who has figured out how automate autosave into DT.
However, if I were you, I would be more interested in DT crashing.
I’ll say this, I’m no geek and a lot of the talk around DT is lost on me. However, the only problems I’ve ever had with the program were of my own creation. DT is robust, and it’s only gotten better. So, ask yourself, if this is a reliable program, what am I doing wrong to cause it to crash?
I just want to bump this thread to support the sentiment that DTPO needs an autosave feature. It really is the only application I use that has data loss issues due to crashes and such. Even web applications have started to autosave data, and for good reason. I’d like to humbly request that such a feature be reconsidered for implementation.
Is there any news about the autosave feature? I lose material on a regular bases, either because of crashes or because of my own stupidity. A smart program like DTPO should be idiot-proof. Please let my notes by autosaved…
I use ForeverSave http://www.tool-forcesw.com/foreversave/ for many apps that don’t have an autosave. I have not used it with DEVONthink. It is not listed as an incompatible application, but I’m not sure if it would be okay to use with DEVONthink. Does anyone have any such experience?
The software is well worth the $15 and there is a free light version that may be adequate.
The ForeverSave backup feature appears to write to folders inside the DT database package. Perhaps it can be configured to not do this. Or, with DT just use the autosave feature and not the backup feature. Behavior is configurable on a per-application basis.
So today, after a small crash of my MacBook, yet again, I have lost a considerable amount of the work I have done yesterday. I saved, but apparently I haven’t saved enough or not all saves were actually saved. In any case: the lack of the auto save functionality in DTPO is a big problem for me and I cannot get my head around why they do not implement such a simple function.
I have decided to no longer use DTPO for note taking. From now on, I will take my reading or other notes in a program that does have an auto save functionality. I might then copy these notes in DTPO but frankly, that seems a real hassle. Archiving my notes and searching through them later was one of the main reasons why I bought DTPO. If I cannot take notes directly in DTPO the program loses a lot of its functionality for me. I have recommended many fellow researcher to use DTPO to archive their reading notes, annotations, etc. but I regret this now.
Ok, as an update: the lack of an auto-save function can be resolved by ForeverSave. It does a good job.