DEVONthink 4 truncates long file names with more than 256 characters

DEVONthink Feedback
1

Over the years, for various reasons, many files and groups have been created in my DEVONthink databases that have more than 256 characters. Even though this is probably a practice that is discouraged anyway, so far there has been no problem with this within DEVONthink. However, DEVONthink 4 now truncates these file names, but only as soon as I edit the file names (within DEVONthink 4).

I am now using DEVONthink 3 again, where this is not the case, i.e. the filenames with more than 256 characters remain in full length, even after editing. Even though it is probably not considered a bug in the true sense of the word, I wish I could continue to use my “too long” file names in DEVONthink 4 without them being forcibly shortened during editing.

I also wanted to warn other users - if there are any other users who use such long file names - who might encounter the same problem and might not even realize it at first.

2

Actually both versions use the same limitation, version 2 already did. Using version 3.9,9 or version 4.0beta1 therefore shouldn’t make a difference in that regard. Do you remember when and how you created these too long titles?

3

Thank you for the very quick reply. I was using version 3.9.4 before version 4 (and am now using 3.9.4 again), and there is no such limitation. Many of the files are several years old, but I was able to both create and edit file names with more than 256 characters without truncation in DEVONthink 3.9.4 even at this moment for testing.

4

In that case this was actually a bug, not a feature. The names should be limited to 256 characters for a long time now. Actually we recommend even shorter names to improve the compatibility to most filesystems. For longer information other metadata, e.g. comments or custom metadata, might be more suitable.

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5

Is there a way to find the relevant files using a smart group or a similar approach, so that I can systematically and sensibly shorten them without losing information (as would happen by simply truncating the file name at the end)?

6

Only via AppleScript, e.g.

tell application id "DNtp"
	set theDatabase to current database
	set theResults to {}
	repeat with theContent in contents of theDatabase
		set theName to name of theContent
		if length of theName ≄ 256 then copy theContent to end of theResults
	end repeat
	set search results of main window 1 to theResults
end tell
7

The script still gave an error message about ‘main window’:
Syntaxfehler: „Klassenname“ kann nicht diesem „Identifier“ folgen.

But I’m sure I’ll find a solution based on your script, I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Thank you for the great support.

8

Do you still use version 3? This script is intended for version 4. In case of version 3 replace main window with viewer window

1 Like
9

Great, that works. - Yes, I am now using version 3 again, I will gradually change the file names there and then test version 4 again later. Thanks again!