I am trying to get my database going and i want to know how to set it up only on the cloud (not on my hard drive)
the challenge that i am trying to address is the fact that when i will keep importing large files into the database, it will also take up a lot of storage on my computer hard drive.
What happens if your database gets too large on your hard drive.
i want to sync my ios phone and mac app together
thank you,
DEVONthink uses always local databases, it’s not cloud based. Cloud services (and other options) are only used to synchronize the various computers & devices.
Re this question … at that point, probably what I would do is first delete (and clear the “Trash”) of stuff saved but no longer really needed. If still “too big”, then create another database, move less important stuff into that database, and then move that database onto a new attached USB drive (or buy a new computer with a bigger disk drive).
USB drives are not risk free. You need to be very careful about ejecting them correctly so as not to corrupt the disk. Wait until the drive is ejected before disconnecting.
Don’t store on a local NAS unless you have VERY fast network speeds. DEVONthink will not work if you store the databases on remote internet-based fileservers, e.g. “cloud”.
Finally, make sure you have system backups, especially for your DEVONthink databases residing on your computer and/or your USB/NAS drives. If something can go wrong with your computer, it will.
I am fortunate in that I’ve never had a “too large” DEVONthink database (and I have about a dozen of them now), nor do I have a shortage of disk space on my two Macs. I am careful not to try to sync “too much” onto an iPhone … just what I’m working on and what I need on that little thing. “Too Much” synching will take too long, consume too much of the precious space on the iPhone, and normally for me un-needed. If I need “everything” when on the go, I take the MacBook.
Hello,
Thanks for your answer. Just another quick question: where does the main databases get stored?
I have DT3 and I have DTTG on my iPhone. I created a database from my iPhone and then made my Mac sync with it. Is the main database on the phone or the Mac?
What would you suggest for best practices when creating databases? Is it best to create on Mac hard drive or iPhone? How does the syncing work and how much space do you need for syncing?
Lastly, if I created my database on the iPhone and it gets full, are both synced databases automatically the same size?
I’m new to this software, I literally just discovered it and I like it, but I’m trying to make a few details clear.
Thank you,
Well done…
Before going into details on all this here, and replicating what is already covered so many other places well better than I can do as I have my first coffee of the morning…
Read the ebook “Take Control of DEVONthink”, courtesy of DEVONtechnologies on their web site.
Also on the web site is the outstanding “DEVONthink Handbook”, available for both DEVONthink and DEVONthink ToGo. Skim them to be at least familiar what is there so that as you explore, you’ll maybe remember something might be in that document to help you.
I would advise you to consider (using your way of thinking) the database on the Mac as the “main” as the product is fully functional. DEVONthinkToGo on the iPhone is a subset of that available on the Mac for all the obvious reasons.
Synching fully described in the resources noted above, including the various methods to do it (Bonjour, third-party services, etc.)
Synching the databases makes them have the same content. How iOS and MacOS translates that into “size” is not known by me.
As I said above, only sync if you must, and if you sync, keep stuff on the iPhone only if needed. Compared to the DEVONthink on the Mac, DEVONthinkToGo is less-feature rich and the iPhone fewer capabilities than your real computer, Mac.
As noted previously, our apps deal with local databases. Each syncing device - Mac or mobile - has its own copy of the database(s). So logically, plan for the same space usage for each syncing database on each device.
Note: In DEVONthink To Go there is the option of doing a shallow sync, i.e., Download Files: On demand. This syncs the metadata of files in a given database and allows you to download contents on demand. This setting must be chosen for the sync location. If it is, databases syncing with this location will be shallowly synced. However you can choose to use Download Files: Always in the Info popup for a database or a group in a database, if desired.
Thanks, I will consider your suggestions and read the e-books and follow the instructions accordingly. You just are awesome
If it helps, I have shallow sync set up for 3 databases on my iPhone. I’ve set DTTG to only “store” the last 100 items downloaded (which is usually pdfs or markdown for me), and I’ve just looked and the app size on my phone is <1GB. Someone with a much more resource heavy database and iPhone use may be able to chip in with their usage, but certainly from my point of view with the settings I’ve chosen I can’t realistically see my DTTG app size creeping above 10GB - my databases just aren’t handling enough individually large files to make that a risk.