If you press and hold on a document, you get a popup menu that say Copy Links to Page. At other times you just get Copy Link.
I’ve tried doing this and then pasting to the text of a blank newly created note in DTTG. I’ve also tried pasting to other link aware ipad applications. Nothing seems to happen. I do notice that whenever I hit the Copy Links to Page button I do get a link added under bookmarks.
How does this feature work and what is the purpose.
After all this time, it is well known that DTTG is still a “work in progress” with a lot of people experiencing chronic crashes and syncing problems.
After all this time, there is no manual for DTTG or any other information that I can go to for an answer - only this forum.
And after all this time, the folks from Devon haven’t even bothered to reply even though this post has been looked at over 40 times.
I don’t mind paying for quality. I own Pro Office and I was one of the first to purchase DTTG, having faith in the folks at Devon.
So I’ve shelled out over $175 to you. I’d be happy to not bother you if I had only had a manual and an app that didn’t keep crashing on me.
Any possibly of getting an answer?
There are actually 3 variations of the “Capture” action. Each of them creates a new record in DEVONthink To Go, but do not copy anything to the pasteboard for pasting in other apps.
[]Capture Link to Page: This appears when you tap and hold on some documents (bookmarks, RTFs, iWork and MS Office documents are the primary examples). As you noticed, this will create a bookmark to the file you are currently viewing. Unfortunately, the bookmark will only work on iOS devices). Due to this limitation, I will probably change this behavior slightly so that it will work with DEVONthink as well as DEVONthink To Go.[/]
[]Capture Link: This appears when you tap and hold on a link when viewing a bookmark. This creates a bookmark to that link in the Global Inbox. In my testing, selecting that bookmark didn’t seem to properly load the link, so I will be investigating.[/]
[]Capture: This appears with the system Copy/Cut/Paste options for text. This takes the selected text and creates a new text file in the Global Inbox.[/]
Thanks for demonstrating that there is still someone alive and working on DTTG.
Obviously, I was hoping the copy link command did something more useful, like create a hyperlink that could be used in other applications (similar to a feature that GoodReader and Notebooks already have).
For what it’s worth, here are the three top things, in order, that would make DTTG a truly useful tool on my iPad2:
fix the syncing and stability issues.
give the copy link command the ability to paste hyperlinks within DTTG and into other EXTERNAL applications on the iPad (like Todo, Omnifocus, OmniOutliner, Notebooks, etc). This is so I can use DTTG as my reference database for other applications.
allow documents to be moved around in DTTG (into different folders) so I can use DTTG while I’m on the road to organize my Devonthink Pro databases.
I will be waiting patiently (well maybe not) for an update.
Thank you.
Jack
This is an interesting one. YOu may or may not be aware that Apple is purposely trying to de-emphasize the file system not only on the iPhone/iPad but also even on the Mac. In this respect these links may be going the way of the dodo.
I’m guessing that most applications on the mobile devices are supposed to be going the press and hold and pick “Open in…” route. This in theory does the same thing - allow you to open the file in any application which associates itself with it. This poses a particular problem for organizer/database programs like DT. Nevertheless perhaps it would be better to implement an improved version of this paradigm?
Tom S.
The feature that JackN is mentioning is not the same thing as using ‘Open In…’ to pick an external application. You are not going to use ‘Open In’ with your calendar application to open a PDF document in the calendar, but you can put a link to the document in the note field of the calendar app. As the filesystem is de-emphasied by Apple, I would expect that the ability to create file linkage among applications without using the Finder will increase rather than go away.
I don’t think the calendar in iOS allows this but maybe I missed it.
In any case, its a good point and its one of the many problems with this. But I’d bet money that Apple’s going to try to implement a less transparent solution, at least on the mobile apps. Links would seem to be simpler for those who think that way (like me). But they’re definitley not Apple’s style. They’re thinking about the people who wouldn’t know what a link is. I doubt they like the way appointments are associated with emails the way it is.
Perhaps “Send to…” -> “iCal”, at which point you pick an appointment or create a new one? Certainly in the case of DT would you associate it with every type of file? So that the “Send file to…” menu would have it as an option in every program that opens the file?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot and the problem isn’t trivial. I’m sure Apple has a plan, though. Its just speculation.
Tom S.
I don’t think that the iOS calendar supports this either, but it is supported on the Mac. I can put a link in the notes field of an appointment that will open the document in DEVONthink. One example that I use a lot, and is supported on the iOS, is linking documents in DEVONthink/DEVONthink To Go with tasks in OmniFocus (Mac and iOS). The ‘Open In…’ functionality works well with documents and apps that work with documents as it eliminates navigating a filesystem to find and open a document. However, I don’t see how it would be feasible at all when establishing a connection from a document to any iOS app. I personally don’t want to click and hold on a document in DEVONthink To Go, select ‘Open In…’ or ‘Send To…’, and see any apps other than an app that can open, and work with, that document. That would not be a simplification of what I need to do to get stuff done at all!
I’m going to guess that the OS would handle all that on the backend. You tell it you want the menu. It automatically populates it only with the programs in the list which are associated with the document type.
Again, its all speculation and imagination on my part. I know nothing. 
Tom S.
Which is exactly why this will not work for what JackN proposed. There is no document type associated with OmniFocus, or Things, or The Hit List, etc., so I’ll never see OmniFocus (or Things or The Hit List, etc.) proposed as an option to ‘Open In…’ or ‘Send To…’ when I click and hold on a document in DEVONthink To Go. The same situation also exists on the Mac today-I cannot (nor would I want to) right-click on a PDF document in DEVONthink Pro Office and have OmniFocus appear as an option from the ‘Open With’ menu.
But I do appreciate that I can create a task from a document using the included Reminders script, or copy the link to the document in DEVONthink and paste the link in the note field of an existing OmniFocus task. The script is totally automated and copying/pasting the link is no different than copying a passage of text. None of these actions require the user to interact with the filesystem, which the use of is what Apple wants to de-emphasie.
I can’t speak for the others but the Omnifocus files are part of a package (with a file extension) in your ~/Library/Application Support/Ominfocus directory. Indeed the “omnifocus://” part of the address doesn’t say “open this generic file with Omnifocus”. What it says is “This is an Omnifocus file or part of an Omnifocus file”. The difference is subtle but real.
You could be right about the links. I just don’t agree but I also know that I’m just guessing. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Tom S.
Of course the difference is real-which is exactly my point. The OmniFocus ‘omnifocus:///task…’ is a pointer to a location in an XML file that is in a .zip file inside the .ofocus database package. I don’t open zip files with OmniFocus. I don’t open XML files with OmniFocus. I don’t want to see OmniFocus to be proposed as an ‘Open In/With’ option when I select a zip file or an XML file in my OS either. The only way to accomplish the desired connection among documents in DEVONthink and apps such as OmniFocus, even with iOS 5 and Lion, is with links.
Agreed. I have already fixed some issues and am addressing others as quickly as I can.
Noted.
I’m working on this and hope to have it implemented within a few releases.