YMMV, of course. In my case, I’m pretty sure the overlap between my personal info database and my main research database approaches zero. If you search a database and no results are returned, does it make a sound?
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You never search on tags such as “Important” or “Completed” etc?
You could index rather than import your files. That would give you access to your files when Devonthink was closed.
The complicating factors would be the need to periodically tell Devonthink to update its view of indexed items, but only if you accessed them independently of Devonthink.
There are also implications with syncing indexed locations between systems.
Sync stores have the option not to include indexed files, for example. Whether or not you need that probably depends on your usage.
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Not across multiple databases, no.
That’s not the OP’s issue. They want to use DT to search individual databases that are closed.
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Make a reference from a (new) note or other (external) file to an existing DT item, as it’s known in the general / universal index (universal link).
If those were the only two databases you use, then yes, it’s clear. But just like work-life balance, things sometimes get a bit more complicated.
I’m working with a lot of files (also media) and have the need to store those and other related files into one single ‘Project XYZ’ repository (DT database). Next to that I use other databases like ‘Administrations’ (personal, business, tax related, financial, etc.), ‘Accounts’ (like a CRM with clients, related information), ‘Imagery’, etc…
On the go (laptop or DTTG) I need to have access to ‘Project X or Y or Z’ and for instance ‘Imagery’. Or I would like to gain insights and knowledge based on information from different projects or ‘that imported article from Evernote in 2014’.
DevonAgent is also great for this, but it also can only work with information from “databases currently open”.
Another reason I don’t want to let databases growing too large, is for backup and restore purposes. Databases sometimes get corrupted and in worst case need to be rebuild. A database that’s closed can easily be copied to another location for backup.
Next to that I use separate ‘Archive’ databases that mostly hold information archived per periode, i.e. ‘Projects 2023’, ‘Photos 2022’ or ‘Emails 2015-2020’. Those archives are ‘encrypted DT databases’ and stored on NAS and a backup on Cloud storage.
Back to my initial question:
Even though not all databases are available locally or active / opened, I would still like to use DevonThink search to find or reference the objects stored within those databases. Is this even possible? And if so, how should I set things up?
So,
I was wondering, how can I create and maintain a General Index? So one large index that contains titles, keywords and meta data of all databases I use with DT? Even when they are closed / offline.
I can understand this request, and understand that each of us has preferences for having databases open or not, and that no one need explain their rationale for their operating style. Obviously, a stand-alone “general index” of all, or specified, DEVONthink databases does not exist. Might never exist.
But – as mentioned, There’s Spotlight.
It’s always annoying to have a question answered with “you can’t do that, but go buy some other software and you can”. But, being annoying, I’ll suggest a couple of solutions: Houdah Spot (or Fox Trot Pro), and Hookmark.
If databases have Spotlight indexes – always a good choice – then Houdah Spot (or Foxtrot) do a much better job of facilitating searches than Finder. So, either of those apps when combined with the Spotlight indices is in essence a “general index”. Houdah Spot and Foxtrot provide pretty good front ends to that Spotlight-based “general index”.
Maybe not the one the OP conceived, but workable. Depending on what the OP means by “keywords and meta data”, some meta is viewable. And, with Hookmark, a link to the found item can easily be created for use in other software. (Unfortunately, Hookmark doesn’t appear to work with Foxtrot.)
Just a thought.
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