I am just trying the demo version of DevonThink Pro. I’m very pleased to find how quickly it pulled documents having select keywords from a large citation database. I have an immediate question. The manual and the forums here do not seem to have an answer. I may be querying the wrong way. So I’ll ask up front.
Suppose that I have set up five smart searches to find documents with specific aspects from within a database.
Set A
Set B
…
Set E
How do I set up a search that finds the documents in the combined set of Set A AND Set B AND Set D only? Do I have to redo a smart search with each criteria included?
I’m versed enough in AppleScript if this might be a faster approach. I would hope however that I am just missing something rather obvious.
Currently you cannot make a Smart Smart Group (ie. one who’s searchScope is another Smart Group). A new Smart Group will all encompassing criteria from the three would be the quickest way about it.
In this case, I’m pulling content from my citation database for a publication. The sets are different topics relevant to the publication. The combination search is to be the core set that I will highlight in the introduction. It won’t be a global smart group.
As Jim and korm noted, there are no documents within smart groups, but you want to search documents (text and/or their metadata). The content of a smart group is merely a search query. When opened, the smart group lists the results of that search – but the documents listed are not “there”.
You could kludge a group that holds the documents listed in a smart group by selecting all the listed results and replicating them into a new group created to hold the replicants of the documents. Then you could perform a search on that group, or perform other actions on its contents. But that kludged group isn’t “smart” and so won’t update as new content that meets the smart group query is added to the database. Still, that approach might let you accomplish your task.
… The content of a smart group is merely a search query. When opened, the smart group lists the results of that search – but the documents listed are not “there”.
That explains it well. I understand what is happening. Thank you.
I’ll leave with the comment that, it would be great to be able to combine smart searches in selective ways to make new search criteria without having to regenerate the individual search criteria anew each and every time. Again, I hope the word “currently” in this thread is a foreteller of things to come.
