If I import a RTF file containing Finder tags into DT per drag and drop, the tags are preserved and shown in DT as expected. I can also add tags directly into the tag field (at the bottom of the window) using Edit > Tags…
However, if I open the file in an external word processor and try to add new Finder tags to that very same RTF in DT via the word processor’s toolbar (see screenshot), the new Finder tags are not shown in DT.
The same applies if I
(1) select the file in DT, then
(2) click on the “Show in Finder” button in DT’s toolbar, then
(3) select the file icon in Finder and execute “Get Info” to enter the new Finder tags.
By this method, the Finder tags are added to the file in Finder, but they NEVER show up in DT.
And by the way, the same applies also to Keywords which are added to RTFs AFTER they have once been imported; they also don’t appear in DT.
Is this a known issue?
It’s not an issue. It’s a misunderstanding on your part.
Imported files are copied into the internals of a DEVONthink database.
Tags applied in DEVONthink are (1) not Finder Tags, and (2) are not applied to imported documents at the filesystem level. Even if they were, Spotlight won’t index them because it doesn’t index the contents of package files (which is what DEVONthink database are).
DEVONthink only applies the tags to indexed documents or when exporting a tagged document out of the database, even via drag and drop.
PS: Keywords and tags are not the same thing.
Thank you Bluefrog for this clarification. Much appreciated.
I know. I use Nisus as a word processor, and by “keywords” I meant the keywords one can create in Nisus by going to File > Properties [in Nisus]:
Luckily, all keywords—and perhaps all ‘properties’, I haven’t tested that yet—are preserved when a Nisus document is imported into DT.
PS: The more I dive into DT, the more I like it!
I know. I use Nisus as a word processor, and by “keywords” I meant the keywords one can create in Nisus by going to File > Properties [in Nisus]:
I have just verified the document metadata applied in Nisus Writer Pro does get imported into DEVONthink.
Keywords – which should be separated by commas at this time (this should change to allow semicolons in the near future) – are detected. However, they’re not applied as DEVONthink tags unless…
-
You used Data > Tags > Convert keywords to tags on the document in DEVONthink.
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You have enabled DEVONthink’s Preferences > Files > Import > Tags > Convert keywords to tags
Also note, the rich text format from NWP has proprietary features and therefore is not editable in DEVONthink.
PS: The more I dive into DT, the more I like it!
Glad to hear it 
I see now that adding keywords later to a Nisus file in DT is indeed possible.
Thanks for drawing my attention to the menu command:
Data > Tags > Convert keywords to tags
