We’re glad to have you here, paying customer or not. 
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The files are organized in a database but are accessible in their “normal” file format within the finder. You can also find them with every search engine working within the finder.
The only “downside” might be that the files are organized within their finder folders in a rather “wild” way. I never understood this, but as I do not need the structure there, I do not really care.
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It’s true, imported files can be accessed via Finder
however this access method is missing the folder and tag metadata
Indexed files are stored with folder and tag metadata intact
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But you are aware of the many problems indexed files could cause if you do not handle them properly, are you?
I generally do not recommend using DT with indexed files, even if there are special cases where that might be necessary for single users.
But if you want a hazel-free system and the ability to handle your files within DT without continuously considering what might happen to the index and the connection with the indexed file, I would never use indexed files with DT!
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Yeah I don’t think my bud knew that and I really didn’t realize this until sometime last night as I was working through the manual and other notes I made around this forum. I am pretty slow regarding some things even prior to my head injury!
Not sure what I was thinking regarding what I was going to do after importing files. I think I was considering keeping copies outside of DT (I realize there are use cases for this) and then over time bringing some more traditional folder structure to them, while I enjoyed quick wins in DT and over time more emergent pattern recognition also within DT.
Then I realized last night, I can also just import and not manage those files outside of DT. In fact, I do not necessarily need them at all . . .
Mindblown moment.
Since then I have had a few more of those.
Indeed! While the choice to keep the unrelated originals in the Finder depends on the specific circumstance, you don’t need to keep them.
The only “downside” might be that the files are organized within their finder folders in a rather “wild” way.
I hope you’re not getting into the database’s internals to access the files. That is not a good idea.
In that case, you should immediately delete the Menu item “Show in Finder” (or however it is named in the English version) from your App because you are endangering your customers’ databases with it!
That command is actually for use with indexed files or in troubleshooting situations.
Why would you need to get inside the database?
I regard the show in finder function as sort of a safety net. I can’t say I wouldn’t use Devonthink if it hid my data in a database, but I can say that’s one of the reasons I stopped using certain other products.
If Devonthink didn’t have the reveal feature, the basic nature of DT would still allow direct access to files, just with less guidance. Disaster recovery would be a little more difficult.
I guess. I’ve never had a disaster with Devonthink.
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I won’t be hacking the database
My backups include a full export of my data using
Devonthink>Export>Files&Folders
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I’ll be saving this post to read through slowly & thoroughly later on. I’ve been using Devonthink for many years, and I know I’m barely even touching the surface of what it can do, and my databases are all pretty messy, but I think as long as I’m cramming stuff in the there, I’ll eventually be able to excavate what I need. I’m self employed, and doing lots of short coursework, as well as managing finances, medical, work, personal, family history, household, an insane amount of disability related data - much to justify my existence in regards to disability funding, I also keep information about pretty much anything I want to remember.
I’ve done part of the McSparky course, I must get back to it. I find videos easier to absorb than reading much of the time. I’ve been living with MS (among other things) since 2000, and I believe David Sparks was diagnosed with MS a few years ago; how fortunate he is to already have so many systems in place.
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I hope you find something useful in the thread.
Your situation sounds close to mine, outside of disability benefit. And I had been failing at it pretty spectacularly.
Getting DT3 has been a game changer for me so far. I’ve not ‘done a lot’ with it but it has done a lot for me already. My instincts were quite right regarding some of its soft benefits. Having resources like David Sparks or better yet this community here has been great.
I could provide a number of practical benefits it has already yielded for me, but I’ll just provide a few.
Recently, I had to make a major purchase I had been putting off. So as I went through some slow migration to DT3, I just started adding the information around that purchase to DT3. An issue came up and I needed to provide some details around communication regarding the purchase from disparate communication channels to avoid a cost I wasn’t supposed to pay. Historically at best this would be a chore and it would have taken me a lot of time; some times, I would have just paid the cost than deal with it. This time everything was right there. Easy.
Do you need DT3 for that? Of course not, but maybe I do.
I had been putting off dealing with changing out a major appliance. A ton of stuff to track and coordinate for me. I just placed everything into a DT3 database and it went well.
Again do you need DT3 for that? Of course not, but maybe I do.
As things electronic (and some paper) have gotten into better order, I’ve noticed other things getting into order around me. I’ve a clear desk for the first time since I moved here. Some kitchen drawers look less like junkyards. My sleeping has been noticeably better.
I doubt anyone needs DT3 for that. But maybe I do.
Lastly, there has been a business opportunity I had been mulling about. But it just seemed like too many things to track and relied on historic information I had no idea where to begin to find. And next week, I will deliver my first invoice.
No one needs DT3 for this. But maybe I do.
My instincts proved true. I needed a huge reset in a part of my life. And there are hundreds of ways I could have gone about doing it. But it seemed to me, that DT3 had some real practical advantages and some soft ones:
The cost: $149 (thanks Summer Sale). That puts a little skin in the game. It’s not enough for me to have to commit to something but it’s a start.
Novelty: I enjoy new things. DT3 is sufficiently different from the other methods I had been considering that it seemed less of chore and more of a interesting thing to play with.
The community: Maybe this can help you. As I go through a video, or read the manual, and I come across a topic that’s still a little fuzzy for me, I search the forum here. Every time I have found an excellent thread. The users here are incredibly helpful. It removes a lot of the burden from me to think something through. I get real use cases and clear answers.
And of course the tool itself. It’s great. I am ‘barely using it’. I’ve only moved a little bit over to it. I only have a few databases. I am adding a little more organization to the databases than I thought I would. And it’s just working. Those GBs of files I didn’t want to look at. Those mounds of paper I didn’t want to go through. I actually look forward to migrating them.
Sure I could have used a ‘simpler’ system (I am not sure what could be simpler than moving files into a database). But clearly I had been failing at that. For the reasons above along with others, DT3 has turned something that was becoming a real problem, financially, medically, socially, etc. into a bit of a game. I needed a radical reframing of this part of my life and DT3 helped provide that.
Now all that reads like a manifesto from a cult member. I wouldn’t recommend DT3 to everyone per se. But for me, it has been integral on following-through on what I had committed to doing.
Just some thoughts and a bit of a thank you to everyone here.
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