DTP 3.9 and Scrivener

DEVONthink
22

Thanks.

They said to ask here!

23

But your latest question is about how Scrivener saves things. Why would DEVONthink give a view to this?

You are probably in a very small group of people in the world trying to use these two tools this way.

24

If Scrivener does save (dependent) files ‘outside’ its package, I can see why Christian would warn me not to try and reply on DTP to include all such files, and am grateful for his advice.

I use DTP as intended - as a document management system. Scrivener files are documents :slight_smile: .

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Yea, but please do all you can to not permit DEVONthink manage those documents. Don’t want your documents broken before you ask Scrivener to manage them.

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Thanks, @rmschne - not sure I understand :slight_smile:

???

On the Scrivener forum I am told:

The potential exceptions are Research files imported as Aliases, and linked images.

So that really helps. (Though I don’t think it applies to me.)

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Let Scrivener manage the files. do not put your Scrivener projects into DEVONthink. I said that up at top.

28

I guess everyone uses DT(P) differently :slight_smile:

For me it’s a document management system. (The best one I have ever used, BTW.)

I have a carefully worked-out hierarchy (as I said in my OP) in which I keep all my documents - classified by ‘area-of-interest’… ‘household’, ‘finance’, ‘writing’, ‘software’ etc.

Within (DTP’s) ‘science’ hierarchy, for example, is a Group, ‘biochemistry’; within that ‘virology’ and within that ‘Covid-19’.

In all my 50+ years of computer use, I haven’t discovered a better way to classify and group documents.

When I took notes - at the beginning of the pandemic - on virology, immunology and the statistical logic behind the disease, I did so in Scrivener - because of its ability to cross reference notes, definitions, images, graphs etc.

Rather than just dump that (and other) Scrivener project(s) in some - subsequently - obscure, unlocatable, or difficult-to-locate folder in ~, I wanted to rely on the amazing functionality of DTP.

If I can do so by importing my notes into DTP, I’d be happy - even if I am in a world minority :slight_smile:

1 Like
29

Scrivener and DEVONthink are my two core working programs. My workflow is pretty much the same as @rmschne’s and to no surprise my advice is the same too: Don’t store packages in packages. If for no other reason than to keep the option open to sync one day.

… rather than that you could name the folder “Scrivener” and keep it quit high in the Finder folder hierarchy.

I’m not sure if I got right how you use Scrivener. If all your projects result in a final draft you could compile it to, say, PDF and store that in DEVONthink. Then you always have access to it in DEVONthink, can reference to it, etc. without risking any damage on the project file.

That will work less good when you use it more like an always in use notebook though. A purpose DEVONthink with its ability to cross reference notes, definitions, images, graphs etc. is more apt for by the way.

2 Likes
30

Thanks very much, @suavito !

Your help much appreciated.

I would export a Scrivener package/project if I ever needed to synch. So I’m really attracted to the idea that I can (could) keep like with like: all my texts on, say, C20th music and Physics in the same place… in DTP.

So I try to have as few sub-directories under ~/Documents as I can. I want to make the most use of DTP.

Yes, I am using Scrivener as an ‘always in use notebook’ (great description!); that’s exactly how I use it.

Note taking app which can cope with more resources and better, more flexible, formatting than Obsidian, whose Vaults I index into DTP.

But the weight of opinion on both this and the L&L forum is to avoid import.

Why ask if I don’t then follow the advice I’m given! I shall.

Much appreciated :slight_smile: .

1 Like
31

Hi there

Apologies that I’ve only just seen this thread. I can only speak from my experience, but I have been keeping Scrivener packages inside DevonThink databases for some time and have not experienced any problems.

My usage is that I have a DevonThink database for each cohort of the research students I supervise. Each student has their own group in DevonThink database, and one of the items included in each student’s group is a Scrivener package. I do this because I find Scrivener the easiest way to maintain and comment on the multiple research drafts sent to me as Word documents by the student. (I use Scrivener’s ‘import and split’ to move the Word text into Scrivener.) I open the packages in Scrivener directly from DevonThink.

I have never had any problems with this approach, but I only use these DevonThink databases on one computer (an iMac) and nothing in either DevonThink or Scrivener is indexed or aliased.

with best wishes
Claire.

1 Like
32

Thanks, Claire!

That’s more or less how I would use Scrivener inside DTP… no synching, no updating. As a document repository. And fully imported. I can see how indexing its packages and then trying to move them would be problematic.

I’m tempted because I happily use DTP for almost every other document I have; and am using Scrivener more and more… it truly is a remarkable piece of software (as is DEVONthink) :slight_smile: !

Appreciated.