Having some trouble with Finder tags. According to the documentation, “DEVONthink also supports tagging in your databases (including preserving Finder tags on imported and indexed items).” Some files that I have indexed seem to bring their Finder tags over as DT tags, others don’t. In particular, many (but not all) of the standard “color label” tags are not converting to DT tags. Is it possible that tags applied some time ago when they were still “labels” do not work the same way as those applied as tags? [EDIT: It looks like this is the case – see my reply post below.]
I’m working with a test database that is indexing a small subset of files/folders copied from my full file structure. If I copy an old file with, say, a Green tag into a folder already indexed in my test database, the file automatically shows up in the database group, but without the Green tag (though the tag is still visible in the Finder). But if I add a Green tag in the Finder to an untagged file in that indexed folder, then it transfers in to the item in the database.
Having done some more experimentation, I have concluded that this issue is almost certainly related to the age of the tagging, i.e., before labels became tags, and after. In the Finder Preferences tag list, the “color” labels/tags had a dash in the checkbox for including in the sidebar (instead of a checkmark). I tried renaming a tag – changing Green to Gree temporarily – and then after the change was complete, naming it back to Green. The dash turned into a checkmark, and the files that I had indexed in DT3 which had not previously displayed the Green tag that they had in the Finder, now showed the Green tag in DT3. I “converted” the rest of my color labels in the same way, by renaming twice, and now whatever I bring into DT3 brings its color tags along.
I surmise that the dash in the checkbox may have indicated that there were two kinds of, say, Green tags – original label Green, and new tag Green – and only one kind (presumably the newer “tag” version) corresponded to the tag displayed in the sidebar. My files go back to 2012 or so, and while they may or may not have been tagged so long ago, I’m sure I must have started color-labelling well before I finally upgraded to OS X Mavericks (I am not an early adopter).
Did items in DEVONthink 3 whose tags were not fully imported automatically get a label?
Not that I noticed. It’s possible that they did get a label which was subsequently removed when I “updated” the color tags by renaming, but I think I would have noticed a label in the Inspector when I was checking for tags.
Could you zip some files exposing this issue and send the archive to cgrunenberg - at - devon-technologies.com? Thanks!
Unfortunately, since I “updated” all my color tags, I don’t have any affected files left. I’ll have to see if I can retrieve some from a Time Machine backup that will display the behavior.