I use DTpro with different databases, e.g. one for my clients, one for all data relating to coding and scripting, one for family matters etc. Sometimes I have the wrong database open when I create a new entry. Sofar I did not find a way to easily move the data from one database into another.
I do not want to link the data but truly move it and then delete it in the original one. Do I do that via > export > files & folders ? If so, does that make a duplicate of the original files and images etc. and can I then “delete them from drive” after importing into the other database? I have my preferences set to just link to files and not to import into database nor to copy to database folder.
Also, I often need to move files and folders around and it seems that DT looses then track? Does “touch” scan the drive for the broken link?
To move data from one database to another, first create in the Finder a target folder to receive the export. Back in DT PRo, select the material to be exported (groups and/or documents), and go to File > Export > Files & Folders, navigate to your target folder, and perform the export.
In DT Pro, switch to the database to which you wish to transfer the material. Go to File > Import > Files & Folders and choose the folder to which the export was done.
Now: You can delete the Finder folder that had received the export; its job is done. You can delete the exported groups and/or documents that were in the first database, as they have been moved. But DO NOT delete the original files on your drive, because you have only linked to them.
No, no, no! You do NOT need to move files and folders around, if you have previously imported content from them into DT Pro. Forget that, because moving them will break the links. If you plan to move around your Finder files and folders, do that BEFORE you import material into DT Pro. No, Touch won’t restore broken links. It could take you hours of manual labor to restore broken links.
OR change your DT Pro preferences for unknown file types, PDF & PS files, images and movies to make copies of the files inside your database folder. In that case, you can move the original files (or delete them) without harm (although I have some reservations about importing some unknown package file types). But remember that if you have MS Word files, you capture only text and the files remain external to the database – don’t move them.
Thanks for the answer, that clears up the questions I had.
Ah, bummer. I do NEED to move my files around on my drive, it’s the nature of how I work - so I guess I’ll do the COPY TO DATABASE approach (had hoped of being able to avoid that due to bloating the hard drive with duplicate stuff, but nowadays with big drives it’s not such an issue, and obviously as long as I only linke to unknown file types it will stay all pretty safe).
Good to know, though I usually have nothing “MS” on my drive
this is only true of imported files, not self-generated notes, yes?
What I do is import a site, and retain that structure in an “archive” – then I replicate the pages I’m interested in – or all of them – in a folder heirarchy that reflects my emergent thinking on the material. So you can have both, right?
When I want to organize material, I do it inside DT/DT Pro. That also lets me take advantage of the Classification feature, which is useful for suggesting where new material should logically go. That way, if I’ve got externally linked files, I don’t worry about organizing them in the Finder (which, by the way, doesn’t ‘help’ me organize material. So I generally put externally linked files in one of two or three big catchall folders in the Finder, e.g., “Fodder for DEVONthink”.
If by self-generated notes you mean notes you have written inside DT/DT Pro, they currently remain in the database itself and are not found in the Finder unless you export them to the Finder.
No, no, no! You do NOT need to move files and folders around, if you have previously imported content from them into DT Pro. Forget that, because moving them will break the links. If you plan to move around your Finder files and folders, do that BEFORE you import material into DT Pro. No, Touch won’t restore broken links. It could take you hours of manual labor to restore broken links.
OR change your DT Pro preferences for unknown file types, PDF & PS files, images and movies to make copies of the files inside your database folder. In that case, you can move the original files (or delete them) without harm (although I have some reservations about importing some unknown package file types). But remember that if you have MS Word files, you capture only text and the files remain external to the database – don’t move them.
BTW, I like your blog.
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Strange…
I move files (PDF, MS Word) and folders from Desktop to Documents after importing them into DT Pro all the time but have never had links broken !
