I installed DT4 and apart from the obvious improvements of the software I was very disappointed: I was hoping for a modernization of the graphics that instead remained old and without appeal. It’s a real missed opportunity. We will have to wait another 6 years to have something more modern?
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Welcome @gaspare
Aesthetics are very subjective as is the term “modern”. Graphics are not an indicator of the power or usefulness of an application. There are many “pretty” applications that aren’t very powerful or useful compared to DEVONthink.
What specifically would you have expected?
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Sorry, I expressed myself badly, there is no question about the power of the application that I place at the top of all productivity applications and with which I have been managing my entire professional and private life for many years, but a touch of overall graphic improvement would have been appreciated.
No worries at all!
I am curious what kind of improvements you hoped for?
May I chip in?
I’ve been an enthusiastic user of DEVONthink since 2008 and have always purchased the latest versions as they’re released. It holds a permanent place on Desktop 2 of every Mac I’ve used since then and version 4 is no different but while I’m pleased with the many impressive new features and refinements of DEVONthink 4, its interface doesn’t do them justice—it ‘hides its light under a bushel’.
The subjective component of aesthetics is commonly overstated. Yes, personal preference and cultural learning are factors in how individuals perceive the aesthetics of a thing I’d argue that objective criteria play the dominant role. Our perception of a thing isn’t fixed, it’s affected by the changing world around it and today DT4 doesn’t look as modern as it is under the surface. It’s not just me: David Pierce, in the latest issue of The Verge’s Installer recommends DT4 but comments that the ‘design’s a little ’90s for my taste…’ and I see what he means.
Perhaps this should be a separate post or feature request (I think appearance and interface are related) but for me, the lack of a customisable inspector is frustrating. I am constantly switching back and forth between inspector views and wish I could build my own arrangement of the panels I use the most. My suggestion would be to look at applications like Affinity Designer 2 and, specifically, it’s Studio Presets feature which allows users to save multiple workspace configurations to suit their needs for different activities. I’d use one ‘workspace’ for filing and sorting and a substantially different one for searching and writing.
I hope that after the development team has taken a well-earned rest they can turn their attention to subtly updating the interface without disrupting what long-time users enjoy about DEVONthink.
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While I agree that the UI layout is unrelated to the “power” of an app, it certainly has a lot to do with “usefulness”. There are numerous command line tools which are powerful but useless for the “average person with a computer”, like me. The Calibre app is long known as the most potent ebook manager, but its ugly UI has turned away many potential users with only one grievance about that app.
I’m surprised that DT4 does not:
- unify the
viewer windowand thedocument window, or - find a way to display more than one of the 8 info-laden right sidebar panes (some of them even containing multiple sub-panels) at a time.
I’m aware of the logic behind many of the current UI implementations. They are characteristic of well-designed software belonging to a prior era. As the functionality of your own app evolves along with user expectation, old UI layouts could become an impediment to the (new) user.
A coincidence: Calibre also distinguishes between “manager” and “reader” windows.
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Ich bin seit 13 Monaten begeisterter Nutzer von DT3 Pro Server und freue mich sehr über die Version 4 und die finale Version. Die V4 Beta habe ich bereits gekauft und teste diese ausgiebig. Beruflich nutze ich sehr viel unterschiedliche Software und freue mich jedesmal über intuitive, nicht überladene, selbst erklärende und im Design nicht erschlagende Oberflächen. Weniger ist für mich hier ein Mehr an Bedienfreundlichkeit und genau das hat DEVONthink für mich. Das nicht für jeden alle Menüpunkte für den eigenen täglichen Gebrauch optimal sind, ist nachvollziehbar. Aber das kann kein Entwickler leisten. Ich gebe 5 Sterne und ein weiter so und freue mich auf die finale Version.
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And so does e.g. Apple Mail.
I agree that there is intrinsically nothing wrong with having an additional “reader” window aside from the normal window.
The problem is, in DT’s viewer window, it happens very often that the content record of the active tab does not match selected record 1. I can see it is not unintended behavior, but it’s deeply confusing. I often don’t know whether my keyboard shortcut will be applied to the record I want to move, or which record the right sidebar is currently associated with.
Using DT’s document window solves the headache, but I would have to switch windows constantly, for the database management functions are accessible only in a viewer window.
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Settings > General > Interface > Automatically reveal items.
That unfortunately does not work (as of 3.9.9) when you open a document via the See Also & Classify pane, or when you Go Back in the document list.
There is also the scenario of replicated documents.
It wouldn’t make sense for replicated documents either way since they have multiple parents. Which one would be revealed?
That’s why I said
It’s one of the features that (1) makes good sense from the programmer’s perspective, and (2) confuses the user at the same time.
modern like what? 3d? immersive experience? neuralink? It’s software on a pc… it works.. I’ve seen some horrible software with “modern” bubble like junk.. I do hope the DT team never goes that route.. just make it work without bugs
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