Deleting Indexed Files

DEVONthink
1

I have been using indexed folders for the first time and it seems that there is some asymmetry in deleting.

If I create a item in indexed folder in DT, it appears in the Finder. If I create an item in the finder it appears in DT.

If I delete an item in the finder, it disappears from DT, but if I delete an item in DT it does not get deleted from the finder.

Is that intentional?

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2

The Trash is still a location in a database, so yes.
If you empty the database’s Trash, the file will be removed from the folder in the Finder.

And due to the tighter integration with the Finder, you should be extra thoughtful about what you’re indexing.

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3

Oh yes, of course :slight_smile: Didn’t think about the Trash.

4

This does not seem to work for files that are in iCloud Drive. Upon emptying the DT3 Trash, the files still remain in the Finder. The ‘Empty Trash’ dialog does not appear, either (the one that presents the message: “Some items are indexed, external files and/or folders. Also remove these files & folders? This cannot be undone!”)

I do see an empty Trash folder is created in the MacOS Trash/Bin.

If I do ‘Update Indexed Items’ then usually nothing happens. However, if I keep doing it then eventually the ‘deleted’ files are re-indexed in DT3.

I have manually given DT3 ‘Full Disk Access’ and this has not helped, nor does emptying the MacOS Trash/Bin and thereby deleting the empty folder.

A folder in ‘Documents’ does not present the same issue. I see the Empty Trash dialog window and this allows me to delete the files.

Do you perhaps know why, or is this a known issue with iCloud locations?

5

That’s correct and intended.

DEVONthink does not modify data of third-party apps in iCloud Drive, maybe that’s the case here?

6

To be clear, I believe the intended behaviour is the files should be moved to the MacOS Trash/Bin when emptied from the DT3 trash? This is what happens for non-iCloud files. Instead, I get an empty folder called “Trash” in my MacOS Trash/Bin (which would ordinarily have the files that were emptied from the DT3 Trash). The files in question remain in the original location in Finder.

The files in question are .md files in the iaWriter folder in iCloud Drive, accessible in Finder and which I am indexing in DT3. Other apps have no such issues deleting files from his location, e.g. in Obsidian I have indexed the same iaWriter folder. By the way, DT3 does save changes made to files and can create new files so this statement is not necessarily true:

What is the rationale behind not allowing DT3 to delete such iCloud files? They end up getting reindexed back into DT3 eventually so this hardly seems to be respecting the user’s intention to delete the file, nor can I see what use case this is serving. Perhaps I’m missing something or we have a misunderstanding somewhere?

7

What’s the path of these files according to the Info panel/inspector of DEVONthink 3? The Finder doesn’t show the real path.

8

So.

When (why is it never, ever “if”???) I have failed to be extra-thoughtful (again!)…is there some way to preserve Finder files/folders which have been (unthoughtfully) indexed into DT3, when one wishes to delete them from DT3 but not from the Finder?