Ah. Gotcha. That’s a shame. So, I’m guessing you don’t have a work around solution – you just use the two apps independently of each other? Or is there some way to export some of Tinderbox’s output into DTP?
Thanks!
I don’t use them together at all.
It’s definitely not the case that these two product do not work together. XML is not the issue. Many users have workflows that incorporate Tinderbox, DEVONthink, Scrivener, etc. The internet knows. Do your research 
.
For example, on the DEVONthink side, there are scripts that I posted here in past years, and others that Charles Turner posted, to export an OPML file containing data from DEVONthink. The file is opened, copied, and pasted into Tinderbox, creating notes. The notes have attributes (Tinderbox’s term for metadata properties) that include links back to the DEVONthink file, and other useful information.
On the Tinderbox side, there are scripts posted in Eastgate’s Tinderbox forum that work in the other direction.
Simple examples: text content can be dragged from DEVONthink to Tinderbox. A document’s item link can be copied from DEVONthink and pasted into the body of a note or into the URL attribute of a note – clicking the URL icon in Tinderbox will open the file. Experiment. DEVONthink is a hard product; Tinderbox is a harder product – but if you experiment diligently you’ll surely find very effective ways to work with them together. 
Example of what my script does – you’ll find the original script back a few years in the forum;
Top of the image is what I selected in DEVONthink before export. Bottom is the result of dropping that OPML file onto a Tinderbox document.
Mind. Blown…
Wow.
Ok, I’ll scour the DTP forums for the DTP->TB scripts you referenced, and will experiment away. For the record, I did research this, but did not find a lot of info about integration between the two apps. Hence the question. Thanks.
greetings,
i’ve been checking out the devonthink & tinderbox forums, and i’m trying to get a sense of how best to use the two apps together. this post is especially intriguing. i’m rethinking the way i annotate my files, and process and organize my notes. i’ve read through some of the ways that devonthink users are annotating files, and my sense is they’re still deliberating over the best approach with new scripts and apps. this is one demonstration of how how tinderbox users break down notes in atomic parts: vimeo.com/8772338 though it could be too involved & labor intensive for most users.
i’m just curious to hear how some of the devonthink users have found the best way to interface tinderbox. and if there’s a suggested way to do so with annotated notes and file organization. thanks.
@NZT-48 I’ve been looking at that same video, and admire the way Tinderbox can be used in that regard. I’ve been experimenting w/ various annotation and tagging methods and
I find this to be among the most useful scripts (written for DTP usage):
[url]Make an Annotation with Links, Notes, Tags v2 - #39 by jprint714]
I also use an app called Highlights to reference my annotations while I’m putting selecting and tagging sections of text from the PDF document (although I’m hoping that app gets developed further…and would even include some kind of tagging system - something akin to the best features contained in another app called TagNotate).
Anyway, I’m still reading about ways to successfully use DTP and Tinderbox together (you should check out Tinderbox’s forum).
Quick question for other folks who use both: Is there a way to incorporate the “Make annotation files for each citation plus notes+tags” system into Tinderbox? I ask because it seems like it would be really neat to have a mapped out representation of those tags in Tinderbox.
Thoughts? Ideas?
Thanks!
that’s interesting. thx for the advice. that does look like a good script, and approach to organizing annotation. is it possible to somehow transfer devonthink tags into tinderbox? or the devonthink tags and tagged files? i’m not sure how tinderbox responds to tags. thx again for the tip.
The short answer to the tag question is “yes but not automatically”. Tinderbox does not know about tags or most extended attributes of files. You have to teach it what to do.
There are various methods to get the result, and you’d have to invest time to code and test. One method would have you find or create a script that exports records from DEVONthink into OPML format. Your OPML would have a field for “Tags”. Separate the tags with semicolons (a;b;c). When that OPML is imported by Tinderbox it will create a “Tags” attribute. (This attribute is not built into Tinderbox.) You’d then have to modify the type of the $Tags attribute and make it into a “set”. Sounds like a lot of work. It is. There are some DEVONthink-to-Tinderbox scripts posted in the forum by me and @cturner – I think none of them handle tags, but that’s an easy fix.
i see. thx for that explanation. very helpful. so, with the scripting that you mentioned would tinderbox be able to replicate tags - as devonthink is able to do? also, I assume this would all have to be done through repeated imports, instead of through a synced process in which the devonthink - tindbox tagging would be automatically updated as tagged files & their contents are added, removed, edited, etc. is that a correct assessment? obviously, the latter is desirable, though i fully understand how tough that might be to acheive. anyway, once i have further clarity on that, and what to expect out of such a tagging relationship between devonthink and tinderbox, then i’ll start looking into the scripts you mentioned. thank you very much.
You would need to do periodic imports. There is no sync between DEVONthink and Tinderbox.
Get a trial copy of both software and experiment.
i see. what about replicating tags? would the scripts you mentioned be able to replicate devonthink tags in tinderbox? thx for the trail suggesting. i’ve already got devonthink, but am evaluating if it’s worth interfacing with tinderbox. and whether it’s best to use tinderbox at all. thx.
Tinderbox is very expensive, and, IMO, should be tested carefully before buying. It is difficult to understand for new users, but is very powerful once you understand how it works. Don’t buy Tinderbox if all you need is tagging. I’m not sure what “replicate” in means in this context, apart from the export/import already discussed above.
ok, thx. to be clear, i wouldn’t be buying tinderbox for tagging - but from what i understand, it doesn’t exactly do alias or replicants. is that a correct assessment? i ask because it seems that some of devonthink’s tagging systems are great for my workflow, but might not translate well into tinderbox - provided that’s the case. i’m also concerned that the consistent updating and important might prove to be problematic over time. yet you’re also saying it’s a powerful and important research tool. other colleagues i respect have said the same thing, so that’s why i’m intrigued and eager to try it. question is, how best to do so with devothink. thx so much for all of your helpful replies.
I’ve been trying to explain this, above, but obviously failed so far. 
Tinderbox is a “note”-oriented application. It is not for storing files or documents, which is what DEVONthink does, or for attaching properties to documents, which is what tagging in DEVONthink and the filesystem are about. Tinderbox does not have an out-of-the-box concept of tagging – at all. You can create an “attribute” (i.e., a property) for your notes and call it “tag”, or “fooph” or anythng else – but that has nothing at all to do with what DEVONthink or the filesystem consider a “tag”.
Tinderbox supports “aliases” but, again, what Tinderbox calls an “alias” has nothing to do with DEVONthink’s replicants or the filesystem’s aliases.
Once again, if you are interested in Tinderbox it’s really important to get a demo and work with it. Chatting about it in a forum is not a substitute for hands-on evaluation. Tinderbox and DEVONthink are about as apples and oranges as you can get – and you explore that for yourself to grasp the difference between these programs.
i see. at least i think i do. thx for all of that. ok, so. i’ll tinker with tinderbox and see how it goes. i’ll also do a search for your name and the other one you referenced for devonthink -tinderbox scripts. are there any in particular you’d suggest - esp. after getting a (albeit admittedly jumbled) understanding of what I’m seeking to do between the two apps? thx again. for everything.
quick question…
what’s the best way to export a section of highlighted text from an RTF file (stored in DEVONthink), and export it to Tinderbox so that it also links to the DTP document & section of the highlighted text?
(i’m using Tinderbox 6.)
i’ve dragged the highlighted passed from an RTF (in DTP) to Tinderbox – it copies the text, but doesn’t link the to DTP document & section of the highlighted text. i’ve also tried converting highlighted text to links, and dragging them to TB but it’s still a bit glitchy. is there a better approach?
i’ve been looking on the forum for scripts, but there might be an easier solution.
thanks.
yes, i know. sorry about that. thought i scoured all the forums on Tinderbox-DTP scripts on this topic, and then i stumbled on that one. bad form to re-post from another thread. apologies.
anyway, is there another, suggested solution to what i’m seeking to do that you (or other users) could recommend?
thanks.