# How to setup DevonSphere?

**URL:** <https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528>\
**Category:** DEVONsphere\
**Created:** [April 27, 2023, 11:14am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528 "2023-04-27T11:14:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 14\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tinksquared](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/tinksquared/32/39350_2.png) [@tinksquared](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/tinksquared)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 11:14am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/1 "2023-04-27T11:14:08Z")

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I’m feeling like an absolute moron here. I just purchased and installed DevonSphere Express. I see it in my Applications folder. But when I click on it, nothing happens. Since I can’t seem to open anything, I don’t have a help manual.

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**Author:** ![NickLowe](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/nicklowe/32/38937_2.png) [@NickLowe](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/NickLowe)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 11:21am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/2 "2023-04-27T11:21:39Z")

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Look for the leaf icon in your menu bar, click on it, and from the gearwheel at upper right in the little search window that appears choose Help =\> Welcome.  
 ![Screenshot 2023-04-27 at 12.20.06](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/7/a/7a9fdb73172c8bc5cb3329f64a539835b478794c.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![tinksquared](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/tinksquared/32/39350_2.png) [@tinksquared](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/tinksquared)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 11:25am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/3 "2023-04-27T11:25:14Z")

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Got it thank you!

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**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/4 "2023-04-27T13:48:58Z")

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A few tips…

1. In **Preferences** , enable **Categories** that make sense. Don’t just enable every option.
2. Add focused **Locations**. Do **not** drop your Home folder or entire hard drives into Locations.
3. Folders on locally networked drives can be searched but are performance-limited by the network conditions.
4. Check out the built-in Help foudn under the Action button _(gear icon)_.

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**Author:** ![tinksquared](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/tinksquared/32/39350_2.png) [@tinksquared](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/tinksquared)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/5 "2023-04-27T15:00:45Z")

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Thank you! Yep, found the categories in the user help and set them up already 🙂

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**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 3:10pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/6 "2023-04-27T15:10:10Z")

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You’re welcome 🙂

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**Author:** ![Ja\_acov](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/ja_acov/32/36676_2.png) [@Ja\_acov](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/Ja_acov)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/7 "2023-04-27T16:57:02Z")

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Forgive my ignorance, but I do not see the leaf icon on my menu bar. Thoughts & thank you

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**Author:** ![NickLowe](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/nicklowe/32/38937_2.png) [@NickLowe](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/NickLowe)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/8 "2023-04-27T17:04:35Z")

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It sounds as if it’s either not installed or is hidden. Try double-clicking on the DEVONsphere app, which should launch it in the menu bar, and then if you’re still not seeing it there, check whether it’s hidden by other menu-bar icons or by a menu-bar management utility such as Bartender.

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**Author:** ![rmschne](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@rmschne](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/rmschne)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/9 "2023-04-27T17:13:49Z")

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It looks like that attached:

![Screenshot 2023-04-27 at 18.13.07](https://devontech-discourse.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/original/3X/5/9/59fa1bf38a887bce006f09f0aff42f9b72e7c927.png)

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**Author:** ![Ja\_acov](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/ja_acov/32/36676_2.png) [@Ja\_acov](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/Ja_acov)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/10 "2023-04-27T17:47:17Z")

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I am good to go, Nick! Thanks for all your help! 👍

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NickLowe](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/nicklowe/32/38937_2.png) [@NickLowe](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/NickLowe)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/11 "2023-04-27T17:50:02Z")

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Great! And if you check “Start at login” in the General tab in its Preferences, it’ll load in the menu bar on startup in future. (I think this option is checked by default anyway.)

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**Author:** ![JPC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@JPC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/JPC)\
**Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/12 "2025-06-29T00:55:24Z")

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This helped me also ~ I bought DS years ago and am only now really getting into the Devonthink space.  
Kourosh Dini’s book “Taking Smart Notes with DT” was the game changer for me and now I am well into and pretty well versed in DT3-\>4

I don’t know how you keep across all this Bluefrog ~ but I’m glad you do ~ thanks  
JC

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**Author:** ![careybalboa](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/careybalboa/32/38182_2.png) [@careybalboa](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/careybalboa)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2026, 8:16am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/13 "2026-03-15T08:16:42Z")

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I also do not see the leaf and have been looking in many, many places and following this conversation, and still do not see the leaf, and find the mystery of the leaf to be a very loud user communication. Hint, hint.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NickLowe](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/nicklowe/32/38937_2.png) [@NickLowe](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/NickLowe)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2026, 10:47am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/14 "2026-03-15T10:47:50Z")

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And this didn’t help?

> [@How to setup DevonSphere?](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/how-to-setup-devonsphere/75528/8):
>
> It sounds as if it’s either not installed or is hidden. Try double-clicking on the DEVONsphere app, which should launch it in the menu bar, and then if you’re still not seeing it there, check whether it’s hidden by other menu-bar icons or by a menu-bar management utility such as Bartender.