files disappearing

DEVONthink Tips
1

Just spent an hour copying and editing a dozen files into new NATIVE text and RTF docs within DevonThinkPro. I realized I needed to group some so I created a new folder which promptly disappeared all the files except for the new folder. As I recreated one of the disappeared files, the program advised that I had another version but it wasn’t until I opened a new file that two versions of the old file appeared.

I tried rebuilding the database (nothing), deleting the app and reinstalling it. No change. Looked for the com.devon*.think file to delete but only have these in my App Support folder:

com.devon-technologies.think-sorter.plist
com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2.feeds.stylesheet.css
com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2.plist

How do I recover the missing files? How do I prevent this from happening again?

2

Those would be found in your Preferences, not your App Support directory.

Please post a screencapture of what you’re seeing. There is no versioning in DEVONthink.

You created a new folder where - In the database in DEVONthink or in the Finder?

3

I created the file in DevonThink, in the database I had been adding files to. There’s no value in a screenshot because the folder shows no files, just a sub-folder. The folder had 8 or 9 files before making the sub-folder.

4

Also you’re right, those files were in my Preferences folder not App Support. There are no com.devon* files in Prefs.

5

I went back to see if I could do any kind of screenshot. Restarted the app and now the entire folder (with files, sub-folder) is gone. This is frustrating.

6

You are describing abnormal behavior. Where did you put your databases on the machine?

7

All databases are in my Documents > Projects > DevonThink folder

This morning I was able to Open the missing database and the files and sub-folder were there, including one file I deleted (after converting from text to RTF, I deleted the txt file).

8

Do you use (High) Sierra and the Documents folder is synchronized?

9

This computer is still using Sierra (not High), version 10.12.6. It’s a new iMac (2017). The Documents folder isn’t synchronized with anything other than my backup program.

10

Is the Documents folder synchronized via iCloud Drive (see System Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Options)?

11

No, iCloud Drive is not checked.

Following your line of reasoning, I looked to see if anything else might be affecting that folder. Nothing that has write privileges touches it.

12

Are you still able to reproduce the issue?

13

I don’t know how to reproduce the first two instances of disappearing files (different databases). The files were there, then they were not. Then some were. If I knew how to reproduce, I’d have a better description for understanding and addressing the problem.

Thanks for your suggestions about what to look for. Not inclined to trust the platform with important docs (without backups) until I can find a way to resolve this mystery.