Apologies if this horse has been beaten to death, but I’m a new Devonthink user and am a bit overwhelmed by some of the jargon. I use Dropbox to store all my data files so I can work at home and at work with the same file structure. Naively I thought I’d just put my Devonthink database in a folder on Dropbox. Is this not possible or advisable?
This is neither possible nor advisable. Databases should never be stored in cloud folders (iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive etc.) contrary to documents. But it’s possible to synchronize databases via Dropbox, see Settings > Sync
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Thanks for the quick reply, I appreciate the education.
Why is it not possible to point Devonthink to the Dropbox folder? Why not advisable? I use this method to manage my other data folders and it works well.
Welcome @idickers
Why is it not possible to point Devonthink to the Dropbox folder?
That’s not what you asked about. You can link to external files while still having the same functions as you do with imported files. But before you jump in thinking this is the solution, read the In & Out > Importing & Indexing section of the built-in Help and manual.
Why not advisable?
Because the mechanisms used by cloud services are not data-safe for our databases. This is also mentioned in the documentation.
I use this method to manage my other data folders and it works well.
Those other applications are not doing technologically what DEVONthink is doing.
And regarding syncing DEVONthink, see the In & Out > Sync Explained and Sync: Dropbox sections of the documentation.
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I’m not sure what you mean by “data folders,” but aside from all the other advice given, documents stored in some folders—which is what I’m guessing you mean—in the cloud is not the same as a database package stored in the cloud.
I guess I’m just confused about what Devonthink is doing that is different from any of my other software. As far as I know DT takes data in, does an operation, and stores he output in its database. For a long time now I’ve used Dropbox in my workflow to backup and also to sync my desktop between work and home. So on my desktop is a Dropbox folder and it contains about 10 subfolders for Word docs, experimental data, Endnote bibliographic files, etc. I work on these files from my desktop and Dropbox is only used to backup and sync. Wouldn’t the least complicated route be for me to just point DT to a dedicated folder on my Desktop which is within the main Dropbox folder? That way any work I’ve done at home will be reflected on my computer in my office, and vice versa.
It sounds like you’d want to index the Dropbox location, rather than import docs into the DT database. You do not want to store the actual database file in Dropbox. Perhaps that is what you meant earlier and it just wasn’t clear. In any event, as @BLUEFROG said, check out In & Out > Importing & Indexing for info.
I’ve said in these forums before that I used the index method with OneDrive for many years and never ran into any serious issues. Other people have had various problems that you can read about as well via searching here. Probably anything with “index” in it will bring up some relevant posts in that regard.
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I guess I’m just confused about what Devonthink is doing that is different from any of my other software.
This is discussed in the Getting Started > DEVONthink Simplified section of the help. And don’t spend a bunch of time trying to compare DEVONthink to other apps. Find out what it does and go from there.
Off to the side: I hope you’re not relying on Dropbox as your primary backup. We strongly recommend a local backup with an external drive and at least Time Machine.
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The short answer is that the component files in the database package are related to each other in a way that, say, a folder full of Word files is not. There’s metadata, there are links, there are potentially rules and smart groups. If you allow those component files to get out of sync with each other – which is extremely likely with incautious use of cloud services – then all kinds of bad things can happen, up to and including data loss.
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Virtually every new user interested in syncing content between machines asks pretty much the same question. I suggest searching the forums for articles on sync. You’ll find no shortage of them. The TL;DR from my own experience is that the best and most reliable way to sync DT databases across multiple machines on multiple platforms is using your own WebDAV store. I have one set up on my home NAS and have had close to zero issues with it.
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Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I think this represents Devonthink’s biggest weaknes. It’s overly complex to carry out fundamental processes. For example, I’ve been using computers since the first PC in the 80’s, and yet I had to look up what a WebDAV store was. I started using Devonthink back in 2010 and used it for a couple of years but didn’t really get much extra from it. Recently I thought I’d give it another try, but just need a simple way to sync between computers.
I recommend you use Bonjour reliable and easy to setup with the terrific instructions in the DEVONthink Manual is Bonjour. For many the quickest and most reliable. I use it. Follow the instructions exactly.
I also have good success with Dropbox.
For those not familiar with WebDAV, or don’t have available locally or via a commercial services on the Internet, IMHO, WebDAV not a good approach. [Full disclosure: I have a Synology WebDAV server and I have DEVONthink setup with it and it works fine, but I don’t recommend it for most people without access to local or commercial WebDAV services.]
See DEVONtechnologies’ FAQ, Sync Section, at DEVONtechnologies | FAQ
Also some more information about Bonjour at Bonjour Simplified
It’s really not that difficult to setup and operate without issues.
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Yeah, I get that. I started with iCloud, which if I recall correctly had a couple of different approaches (CloudKit vs ?), and had sync errors. I tried the Bonjour method I see others have suggested and had issues with that as well. I didn’t really want to use WebDAV, but I think since switching to that I’ve had like one issue in years compared to the weekly or monthly fiddling I had with other methods. I do wish the landscape were “simpler”, particularly for new users, but in DT’s defense they are accommodating a lot of different ways to sync data. I think it’s a bit of a smorgasbord because so many different users have different needs. And of course, you’re not dealing with a v1 product built in 2025, DT has a long legacy. I think I started using 1.x decades ago? Not really sure.
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Are you referring to sync as a “fundamental process”? Well, that is technically complex. As you can see when you look at the problems people have/had with CardDAV or CalDAV. How do you consolidate changes to the same document on two devices? What do you do when a document is modified on one device and simultaneously deleted on another one?
For reliable sync, you need some kind of infrastructure. DT is able to use different incarnations of that (Dropbox, WebDAV, iCloud, Bonjour). Each of them comes with their own requirements, setup subtleties, and weaknesses, which DT cannot influence.
Sync is, IMO, not overly complex. As long as one invests the time to understand the pros and cons of the different options and the details of the method chosen in the end.
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Sync is not complex at all. In fact, it’s quite simple, philosophically and technically. See the In & Out > Sync Explained section of the aforementioned Help, with this specific note…
One of the major structural changes I made in the DEVONthink 4 documentation was to consolidate and distill many of the posts and replies I’ve made over the years into this section. I also split out each sync method into their own sections…
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Take the word of a former marketing guy: when you have to write a summary article because you offer a user five different ways to do the same thing, it’s a complex choice for a user to understand and make—especially new users.
Your point?
From the many posts here, we learn that people seem to have their own preferences (which are not the same) including preferences for sync methods which are not known to work. Oh well.
Bluefrog literally just said it’s “not complex at all”, which is clearly false. I’m a long-time user. I appreciate the options and mostly (?) understand them. But I don’t think it’s helpful to kid yourself or put users off by telling them the thing that is complex isn’t complex.
Ok. We can, I hope, agree to disagree.
If setup, one-time, per the instructions, with a reliable sync method, it’s forget about it except for the vagaries of the service (or not) provided by the third party service providers–nothing to do with DEVONthink, really. I prefer Bonjour to avoid these vagaries, frankly. Some love to use internet services. Bless. And sync really isn’t required to gain the benefits of DEVONthink unless a person wants to add the complexity of multiple devices. Oh well.
Just my two bits.
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I really don’t think there’s anything to disagree about. It’s a complex thing, hands down. Consider the questions a completely new users asks upon encountering the subject:
- Why are there five different methods?
- What are the tradeoffs for each of those?
- Does any of them do something different? Or more? Or less?
- Which is easier to use?
- How am I limiting myself with each choice?
- How hard will it be to switch to something else if I don’t like it?
- Which one(s) support all the devices I want to use?
I could go on for another 10+ questions without much trouble. A non-complex choice would be enabling a check box for sync and calling it done. Five different options and a summary article is complex. Period.
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