If you’ll allow me to throw in some unasked for advice…
is there a possibility of a shared doc of approved tags that would help with this? I.E. for users to cut and paste from? Maybe the list is in DT, maybe it’s sitting on the windows desktop.
Or a simple windows utility or app that would have the approved tags and once selected would copy to clipboard to be pasted into the web interface.
Just spitballing here. It’s hard to get around the friction of asking employees to do such things but it might be worth a shot.
I was also brainstorming ideas but with 500+ tags, the ideas were less feasible.
Thanks for the tips - advice from experienced users is always welcome!
Could you please elaborate on how “approved tags … would copy to clipboard to be pasted into the web interface”? I’m not aware of how that can be done.
Sorry if I implied that I could write any of this software. That’s beyond my skill level. I could maybe scare up an iOS shortcut as a proof of concept. I’ve developed more than a passing familiarity with the quirks of iOS shortcuts.
What’s the delimiter separating tags in the web interface for DT server? A comma, I assume.
How about this for a workaround? Select Tags in Devonthink and export them with File->Export->Metadata (JSON).
Filter for Kind is Tag, because the metadata export will include the tagged files and groups, not just the tags. Look for tags with too-new creation timestamps. Curate the rebels.
For a snazzy way to peer into JSON, take a look at an application called Easy Data Transform. I have no connection with that product other than as a happy user.
I believe JavaScript bookmarklets can update page content e.g. insert specific tags into a field, but is there a way to present a user with a list or tree of tags to choose from? Better still could those tags be read from json file?
Potentially users click on the bookmarklet which reads the json of approved tags and presents a menu. User selects the required tags and they are inserted into the tags field.
A challenge for JavaScript gurus?
Not really a challenge JS-wise. But with 500 tags, it’s a UI nightmare.
In my opinion, they are trying to use a hammer to play a piano. There will be sounds, but it won’t be pretty.
If they need control over their “tags” (which are in fact attributes and their values), they should use the right tools.
People will not adhere to a list of attribute values unless they have no other choice.
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Just as an example: instead of educating the users that they have to enter four attribute values, use a tool that forces them to do that… And allows only those values that you decided on.
Hoping that people will remember and not take shortcuts or invent their own values if they can’t remember the original one (was it “Auto” or “PKW”?) doesn’t get you anywhere.
And employees will not like the additional, useless burden.
We have computers to make live easier. Not to force mindless memorizing tasks on users.
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Thanks to all for your feedback and suggestions. My takeaways are as follows:
- My company’s decision to transition to Windows did not adequately address the issue of knowledge management - especially the reduced capabilities of DT-Server compared to the Mac standalone version.
- The missing synchronisation of existing tags between the master DT-Database and the Web Interface severely limits our current file tagging concept without the creation of specific OSX scripts, JSON exports, Javascript routines etc.
- Our small engineering firm has neither the competence nor the budget to develop new tools - which would also complicate our existing processes.
As a result, I will most likely develop a completely new Windows-based knowledge management concept. An Internet search for “DT-like” solutions came up with no comparable off-the-shelf software, and the export of our DT-database as well its re-import into another system is not really how I would prefer to spend my (unpaid!) time. Based on the current state of knowledge, time and budget, I would probably create a logical directory structure and let users play with the search functions of Sharepoint.
(Any tips on how to migrate our roughly 2’500 documents out of DT would be appreciated!)
It doesn’t sound like you’re looking for an open source solution and you’re not the first person I’ve heard off struggling with the lack of DevonThink equivalent in the windows space. (I’ve wrestled with SharePoint myself). I’ve trawled through all the SharePoint add-ons that one could access but you run into issues of which level of SharePoint your beancounters have shelled out for. Power Automate promises to be a good automation front end that MS has recently made available to more SPoint users. In classic MS style it’s incomplete on Mac desktop but does have an iOS app.
Whomever makes a version of DevonThink that runs in the SharePoint app space gets some sort of prize.
Outside of MS there is Paperless NGX which promises to come close but it’s an open source project that has already forked a couple of times. Not a slam dunk but it’s a place to start.
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Further to @SlickSlack’s comments which matches my experience, you should be able to export all the files to the local file system, then bulk import them into SharePoint. Probably not all the metadata and I have no idea about the tags, but experiment.
Most Mac metadata is not cross-platform… and vice versa.
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