# DT4 - Devonthink 4 version?

**URL:** <https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514>\
**Category:** DEVONthink\
**Tags:** dt4\
**Created:** [March 25, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514 "2025-03-25T16:52:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![apb123](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@apb123](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/apb123)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/1 "2025-03-25T16:52:06Z")

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I’m aware that DEVONthink has a policy of not commenting on future releases. I wouldn’t expect them to.

However if in some hypothetical future DEVONthink was developing a version 4, I would love to be included in the beta testing group.

I don’t know what it is. I kind of sense that there’s something in the water, but maybe I’m wrong.

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**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/2 "2025-03-25T18:28:45Z")

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Yes, we are hard at work on the next major version.  
Just hold tight.

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**Author:** ![anonny](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@anonny](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/anonny)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 1:36pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/3 "2025-03-27T13:36:43Z")

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Yeah, there was a book mentioning that the new version is coming out soon. It’s the manual one. 🤣

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**Author:** ![macfixer](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/macfixer/32/23892_2.png) [@macfixer](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/macfixer)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/4 "2025-03-28T17:10:06Z")

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They’re never going to hear the end of it! 🤣

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**Author:** ![StephenUK](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/stephenuk/32/30539_2.png) [@StephenUK](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/StephenUK)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/5 "2025-03-28T21:10:55Z")

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I really really hope that version 4 will have thumbnails as in version 3. Because thumbnails are only a hidden option, it seems they are not valued, but for me they are the best feature in Devonthink because much of my data is visual. The ability to change the thumbnail size is also very useful.

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**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/6 "2025-03-28T21:41:15Z")

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> [@StephenUK](#):
>
> Because thumbnails are only a hidden option,

I don’t know what you mean by this.

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**Author:** ![StephenUK](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/stephenuk/32/30539_2.png) [@StephenUK](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/StephenUK)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/7 "2025-03-28T22:56:19Z")

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Hi Bluefrog

# In the hidden preferences options there is the following:

# DisplayGroupsInPreviewPane: DEVONthink will display the contents of selected groups, smart groups, and feeds in the view/edit pane of main windows. The preview only displays files, not groups. On | Off

If I don’t have this correctly selected, then in the configuration I use, I don’t get to see the contents of groups as thumbnails. It’s highly valuable to the way I work, but not available without setting this hidden option. It might just be relic from Devonthink 2, but it’s really useful. In widescreen view, I have my databases in the left hand column, a tree with groups and files in the centre column, and the ability either to select a file in the tree so as to see it in the right hand pane at full size in that pane, or to select a group in the tree to see all the files therein as thumbnails. I can vary the size of the thumbnails, depending on how many thumbnails I want to display. For me it’s perfect functionality, but seemingling only an afterthought in Devonthink 3. Hence my anxiety about what might happen in Devonthink 4.

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**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/8 "2025-03-29T02:21:04Z")

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Yes, that hidden preference has been removed for DEVONthink 4.

It’s now a non-hidden preference 😉

And **NO** , I am not letting out any more secrets.

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**Author:** ![StephenUK](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/stephenuk/32/30539_2.png) [@StephenUK](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/StephenUK)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 10:42am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/9 "2025-03-29T10:42:27Z")

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That’s made my weekend!! Thank you for the advance disclosure, Bluefrog. Very much appreciated.

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**Author:** ![Silva](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Silva](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/Silva)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/10 "2025-03-29T17:06:05Z")

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Jim, when are we going to see DT 4? Before or after June?

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**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/11 "2025-03-29T17:45:51Z")

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You’re been on these forums for almost five years so you should know we don’t give out development timeframes. 😉

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**Author:** ![Silva](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Silva](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/Silva)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 8:07pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/12 "2025-03-29T20:07:00Z")

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Jim, I know it, but there’s no harm in asking 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/13 "2025-03-29T20:57:26Z")

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True and it’s a definite No if you don’t ask… even if it’s still a definite No 😉

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**Author:** ![Phileosophos](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/phileosophos/32/16214_2.png) [@Phileosophos](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/Phileosophos)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/14 "2025-03-30T19:26:09Z")

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FWIW, I would love to be included in that hypothetical beta testing group too. I’m glad to hear a new release is growing close. I think I’m actually pretty satisfied with the application as it is, but the team has been finding ways to add additional value as long as I’ve been with the product. So this should be fun!

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**Author:** ![davem](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/davem/32/4919_2.png) [@davem](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/davem)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 7:26am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/15 "2025-04-01T07:26:17Z")

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I hope discussion of continued support for CoverFlow will not be under NDA for testers of any hypothetical updates.

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**Author:** ![sardonicfireplace](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@sardonicfireplace](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/sardonicfireplace)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 3:16pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/16 "2025-04-01T15:16:28Z")

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What a missed opportunity to not announce DEVONthink 4 on April 1st…

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 4:33pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/17 "2025-04-01T16:33:21Z")

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Trust me, this was discussed 😉 However, not everyone has a sense of humor and given how we’re all chin-deep in work, we opted to avoid the flak.

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**Author:** ![SlickSlack](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@SlickSlack](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/SlickSlack)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/18 "2025-04-01T17:56:06Z")

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If it were me I would have pitched this as a starting point…

New, from the people who brought you the end of NeatReceipts, Evernote and Paperless, it’s the faceless mob of Private Equity Investors here to gut your favourite software with meaningless changes and never ending quests to shift you to a monthly fee for ever-diminishing functions and evaporating stability. Their first product is available now.

**DevonThank v1.0**

- “Never write a report or read a PDF ever again” **Fully ChatGPT integrated**
- “No menus no shortcuts” **Ask ChatGPT to open your file, ask ChatGPT to type your notes, Ask ChatGPT to close your file**
- “Tired of wrestling with your cloud providers and getting your DEVONthink Databases on more than one device? Still looking for a good excuse for why you didn’t have that list of notes from last weeks meeting? Blame it on Google!” **GoogleDrive only sync**
- “Still trying to figure out whether to learn JXA or AppleScript but don’t want to learn either of them?, and you want your automations to be easy to cobble together but actually be only partially effective or useful?” **MacOS and iOS Shortcuts automation**
- “Tired of some software coder telling you what THEY think is appropriate metadata for your precious little files? No more!” **All metadata is custom metadata**

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**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/19 "2025-04-01T18:14:36Z")

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Well, DEVONthink 4 is **entirely voice-controlled** already! It’s quite shocking, honestly. No more menus or buttons at all. You literally speak all your commands to it. And due to macOS’ dictation mechanism, you have to speak more loudly than normal but we can’t fix that for Apple. But all commands work from what we’ve tested. So it’s no longer _File \> New Database_ but “Hey, DEVONthink! NOW MAKE A NEW DATABASE NAMED PERFECTLY NORMAL IN THE DATABASES FOLDER. AND PLEASE IMPORT MY ICLOUD EMAILS FROM TODAY INTO IT!!”

_(… and yes, April Fools 😉 )_

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**Author:** ![uimike](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/uimike/32/37894_2.png) [@uimike](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/uimike)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/dt4-devonthink-4-version/82514/20 "2025-04-01T18:31:35Z")

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Hey DEVONthink, make me smarter

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