Constant crashes & design annoyances

I bought DT & DA a week ago. Installed on my 4 different macs (2 imacs,macbook, macbook pro)
I have all machines running Sierra 10.12.3. All totally updated. Everything else running smoothly. I have omnifocus, evernote, etc no problem at all. BTW, I consider myself pretty technically savvy.
Never had a problem with Evernote despite some issues that I consider design flaws like tag hierarchy, UX design, etc.

Decided to try DT and found that since day one it crashes quite often. Like 4 to 5 times everyday on all my instances on every mac I have, seriously, no kidding.

As a tech guy dealing with software support I try to find a pattern that explains this behaviour but could not find it yet. I’m syncing using dropbox. It apparently works fine, the crash does not seem related to sync activity…but who knows. Local database is at the user root folder and it’s not been synced by dropbox itself, if you know what I mean.

I filled a support ticket but…very disappointed as of now.

My question is: where can I look for properly diagnose what’s going on…logs, safe mode, etc. before I give up and ask for a refund.

Thanks in advance,

Eduardo.

Frequent crashes on DEVONthink are not normal. I’ve run all versions of this app 12 to 15 hours a day every day for 10 years and had a handful of crashes – all caused by some other process on the Mac. And, as a tech guy, you’d recall that sending Support your crash reports is the best way to get a speedy and accurate diagnoses. I’d suggest attaching them to your ticket.

Can only chime in that I’ve been using it daily since early in 2013, through various iterations - and think it would not be a stretch to say I could count on both hands in all that time that I have been hit by crashes - easily my most stable application, possibly along with Scrivener.

Hope you get something sorted, but figured I would add that what you are seeing is certainly not the norm - and feel most long-term DTP users would agree. Good luck!

What can I say…thanks for you input. I’ll wait for an answer from DT support.

Wondering if there are conflicts with other services/apps running on all my macs. I have Trickster, Evernote helper, Keyboard Maestro, f.lux, smart scroll, slack, etc…
Who knows. I’ve researched the forums to find something similar with no luck.

EDIT: As I’m writting this note, DT crashed again in the background…I wasn’t performing any task in it, just writting this.

I’ll keep you updated in case is something worth knowing…

Have you tried to run Disk Utility and check your drives for problems?

I’ve been experiencing the same kinds of crashes, the latest one earlier today. I can’t determine what the cause might be, but I’ve now gotten in the habit of closing all my databases after synchronizing them and running an AppleScript to verify and optimize each database that was open at crash time upon relaunching the app and reopening them. I do, however, have the crash log from this afternoon. I’ll paste it here on the off-chance that (beyond opening a support ticket) someone might spot something:

Process:               DEVONthink Pro [32808]
Path:                  /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/MacOS/DEVONthink Pro
Identifier:            com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2
Responsible:           DEVONthink Pro [32808]
27  com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2	0x000000010ad58360 0x10ad18000 + 263008
       0x10ad18000 -        0x10af22ff3 +com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2 (2.9.10 - 2.9.10) <3B492180-E294-32F0-BA3F-1ABCBAD74CDC> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/MacOS/DEVONthink Pro
       0x10afbe000 -        0x10afcdff7 +net.wafflesoftware.ShortcutRecorder.framework.Leopard (1.1) <393C8DEF-4C3E-3545-9ADF-344BABCB0282> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/ShortcutRecorder.framework/Versions/A/ShortcutRecorder
       0x10afe8000 -        0x10b025fff +org.sparkle-project.Sparkle (1.14.0 git-168c769 - 1.14.0) <E5E2F945-0789-3199-901A-1B4EDAE23F5F> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/A/Sparkle
       0x10b065000 -        0x10b06fff7 +net.sourceforge.skim-app.framework.SkimNotes (1.3.3) <717AADF6-2B6F-7338-26DC-9AA5FCF3BD0E> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/SkimNotes.framework/Versions/A/SkimNotes
       0x10b07e000 -        0x10b0a2fff +com.brandonwalkin.BWToolkitFramework (1.2.5) <85E1E899-1294-426C-CC42-1C2732D4123D> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/BWToolkitFramework.framework/Versions/A/BWToolkitFramework
       0x10b0d9000 -        0x10b100fff +com.binarymethod.BGHUDAppKit (1.0) <24708552-C39B-4AE3-6FA3-E0F60E63360F> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/BGHUDAppKit.framework/Versions/A/BGHUDAppKit
       0x10b121000 -        0x10b1befff +com.devon-technologies.foundation (104.3 - 104.3) <8C11A26A-FB6F-37B3-BF40-C7A939C812E6> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/DEVONfoundation.framework/Versions/A/DEVONfoundation
       0x10b210000 -        0x10b2dbff7 +com.devon-technologies.AppKit (104.3 - 104.3) <89F014BE-31DC-30B6-983B-044386133E7D> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/DEVONappkit.framework/Versions/A/DEVONappkit
       0x10b367000 -        0x10b39cfff +com.devon-technologies.webkit (104.3 - 104.3) <A8744D8A-FCE7-36FC-ADDE-07611C71F01D> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/DEVONwebkit.framework/Versions/A/DEVONwebkit
       0x10b3c3000 -        0x10b470fff +com.devon-technologies.kernel (104.3 - 104.3) <834AC3DD-5FF1-3501-9407-2EC5B2B2178D> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/DEVONkernel.framework/Versions/A/DEVONkernel
       0x10b4b7000 -        0x10b4d6ff3 +com.devon-technologies.pdfkit (104.3 - 104.3) <9C508E3D-ADDB-3849-BD0A-6D45006A58F9> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/DEVONpdfkit.framework/Versions/A/DEVONpdfkit
       0x10b4f5000 -        0x10b539ff7 +com.collaboration-world.Pantomime (Pantomime version 1.2.0.11 [DEVONtechnologies LLC] - 1.2.0.14) <92367A57-4855-3022-9460-C4DDCE448369> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/Pantomime.framework/Versions/A/Pantomime
       0x110434000 -        0x1104e2ff7 +com.devon-technologies.DEVONthink.Sync (1.3.10 - 1.3.10) <B222FC3F-02D5-31B9-9415-0174669C0FA9> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/Cloudy.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Cloudy
       0x11054a000 -        0x110551ff7 +com.devon-technologies.ExportFiles.plugin (2.9 - 2.9) <517D036F-88CC-3C53-A949-F68D1E02627A> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/ExportFiles.bundle/Contents/MacOS/ExportFiles
       0x110590000 -        0x110596ff7 +com.devon-technologies.ImportAddressbook.plugin (2.8.9 - 2.8.9) <2361E3DF-5D93-3A43-B916-823C4BA3198D> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/ImportAddressbook.bundle/Contents/MacOS/ImportAddressbook
       0x110631000 -        0x11065bff7 +com.dropbox.DropboxOSX (1.0 - 1) <E178B798-B8D5-34CC-BF34-EB1D3D4A8AE8> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/DropboxOSX.framework/Versions/A/DropboxOSX
       0x11067d000 -        0x11068fffb +com.devon-technologies.framework.DTKitchenSink (2.9.6 - 2.9.6) <DB0ED526-B18A-3966-8394-E6D4E2201C9D> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/DTKitchenSink.framework/Versions/A/DTKitchenSink
       0x1106a5000 -        0x11073bff7 +com.devon-technologies.ExportSite.plugin (2.8.6 - 2.8.6) <9C7F0314-6A47-3415-9EEC-F8E8F48BE8BE> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/ExportSite.bundle/Contents/MacOS/ExportSite
       0x110755000 -        0x110764ff7 +com.devon-technologies.ImportData.plugin (2.9.9 - 2.9.9) <2F463EB4-B364-3482-816A-D772057BCE01> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/ImportData.bundle/Contents/MacOS/ImportData
       0x110773000 -        0x110777ff7 +com.devon-technologies.MetaDataImporter.plugin (2.9.1 - 2.9.1) <CB70CFF9-A1FE-37CC-A99E-63F415793AF6> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/MetaDataImporter.bundle/Contents/MacOS/MetaDataImporter
       0x110781000 -        0x11079eff7 +com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2.plugin.OCRPlugin (2.9.9 - 2.9.9) <EB0B827A-B11B-356C-9DB7-D74517BAD999> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/OCRPlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/OCRPlugin
       0x1107ed000 -        0x1107f3ff7 +com.devon-technologies.OPML.plugin (2.8.9 - 2.8.9) <420DBBF2-7971-34D0-80BB-3747BE709DA4> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/OPML.bundle/Contents/MacOS/OPML
       0x1107ff000 -        0x110804fff +com.devon-technologies.SaveToInbox.plugin (2.8 - 2.8) <02A0F061-007A-312E-B202-C01CB7185AE4> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/SaveToInbox.bundle/Contents/MacOS/SaveToInbox
       0x110810000 -        0x110817fff +com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2.plugin.ScanAppSupport (2.9.8 - 2.9.8) <001E7553-4341-3235-A3E1-0D0C36B2AC2B> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/ScanSnapSupport.bundle/Contents/MacOS/ScanSnapSupport
       0x110823000 -        0x110828fff +com.devon-technologies.think2.plugin.ShareByMail (2.8.7) <3C490820-5AE4-3363-B5D1-3571280E5C8B> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/ShareByMail.bundle/Contents/MacOS/ShareByMail
       0x110834000 -        0x110839ff7 +com.devon-technologies.sierra.plugin (2.9.8 - 2.9.8) <2396B30C-3D63-3928-B638-B28A11C10899> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/SierraPlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/SierraPlugin
       0x1108b1000 -        0x110950ff7 +com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2.plugin.ScannerPlugin (2.9.7 - 2.9.7) <3E1B244C-6A66-3296-B138-F1BE222356E4> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/DTScannerPlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/DTScannerPlugin
       0x1109f9000 -        0x110a37ff7 +com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2.plugin.MailImport (2.9.9 - 2.9.9) <B854F858-CCC8-307A-85F6-C0C2E5BD6C6F> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/MailImport.bundle/Contents/MacOS/MailImport
       0x110a65000 -        0x110a6bfff +com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2.plugin.Sorter (1.1 - 1.1) <78A93295-1954-3446-8734-8BD7C104F450> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/SorterPlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/SorterPlugin
       0x110a77000 -        0x110a9afff +com.devon-technologies.syncagent (2.9.1 - 2.9.1) <316CD51A-8A06-3A65-96DE-925BEE23BFB9> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/Sync Agent.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Sync Agent
       0x110ab7000 -        0x110ac0ff7 +com.devon-technologies.think2.plugin.TakeNote (2.8.9) <E2786179-5A30-3662-B26B-7717B6AFBF94> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/TakeNote.bundle/Contents/MacOS/TakeNote
       0x110ace000 -        0x110b72fff +com.devon-technologies.WebServer.plugin (2.9.8 - 2.9.8) <FC6A95E1-E046-3581-B113-199D12E8A94A> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/PlugIns/WebServer.bundle/Contents/MacOS/WebServer
       0x1122c3000 -        0x1122cdffb +com.devon-technologies.DEVONthink.Sync.Preferences (1.3.10 - 1.3.10) <E4208F2B-426B-3842-9FF9-640E72BC6988> /Applications/DEVONthink Pro.app/Contents/Resources/Cloudy.prefPane/Contents/MacOS/Cloudy

Open a support ticket and attach your logs.

An update,

I’m still experiencing constant crashes every day on all my machines. I’ve installed the latest updates, both from apple & devon with no progress at all.

Some of the crashes are easily reproducible, I’m attaching a short video for you to look at it. In the video you’ll see me just browsing groups in DT and when I switch to list view after a few second DT freezes so I have to force quit the app, all the time, everyday. On all my machines !
EDIT: can’t upload video.
.
Most of the times when I leave my computer for sometime and I return back I find DT crashed, on all my machines.

Support hasn’t been useful at all, they said it’s Apple problem. That was their answer, period.

It’s a month since I spent a lot of money for this product and the experience it’s been horrible since day one.

Any recomendations?

Devonthink freezes when switching to list view.

Here is the video if you are curious: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wmxlwxmwbpyggoj/Untitled.mov?dl=0

Before you ask, yes I’ve checked disk for errors, repair & verify database, rebuild, etc, etc.
I can confirm it is not related with the database nor data inside as this is the third time a start from scratch.

When DEVONthink is frozen, please launch the Activity Monitor.app (see /Applications/Utilities), select DEVONthink in the list of processes, press Command-Option-S to save the sample. In DEVONthink, hold the Option key and select Help > Report Bug and include the process sample.

Thank you BLUEFROG, I have done it right now.

A little update, I’ve notice the following pattern:

Suppose I make a new smart group to filter documents I worked on this week.
Once I have the smart group filter working I start to configure the columns I want in this view. I remove and add columns to fit my needs. Suddenly DT freezes with the spinning beach ball. From this point on, no matter what I do if I try to go back to this smart group DT freezes all the times I try. (in my home & work imacs) It happens in list view and happens in three panels view as well.

I hope this gives you some clues as to what it may be happening.

Thanks in advance.

I am experiencing the same consistent crashes, not just with DevonThink Pro Office, but with DevonAgent Pro as well. I have contacted support and sent crash reports for both. I hope this help isolate the problem. I am not as tech-savvy, but the fact that multiple Devon apps have the same frequent crashing suggests something other than a user or hardware issue.

Did you already update to 10.12.4? Especially bugs of 10.12.2 and 10.12.3 could cause such random issues.

Yes, updated to 10.12.4. Like Turko, I recently purchased DEVONthink and downloaded it post the 10.12.4 update, therefore bugs with the 10.12.2 or 10.12.3 wouldn’t affect the performance now. I did get a response from Support stating that this is an Apple issue and they are working to resolve it. I hope it can be fixed soon.