How to work from two Macs with Documents on Server/NAS?

Hi,

I’m using DevonThink Pro Office.
I have two Macs (iMac / MacBookPro) and i have a NAS (Synology)

To be able to work (search/add Documents) from both Macs, i currently do it this way:

  • Database(s) and Dokuments (mainly PDF) are stored on my NAS
  • DTPO on both Macs are configured to open the Database from my NAS
  • New Documents are stored on the NAS - because the Database is located there

This works (yes, i only open DTPO on one Mac at a time) but is very slow (opening the Database via WLAN takes a long time) which is annoying.

QUESTION:

Is there way (maybe via the Sync function) to work faster from two macs on the same Database WHILE DOCUMENTS are ON THE NAS ONLY?

I don’t like to sync the whole Database with all Documents to my MacBookPro or my iMac (both have rather small SSD and i have plenty of space on my NAS, don’t need the documents on the road)

So, is it possible (and how) to change my setup in a way, that the Databases with Metadata are synced (hopefully the database will open faster then) but Documents are read an written to the NAS?

Thank you

Boris

Storing databases on network servers (especially NAS) is indeed not recommended due to the poor performance and lower reliability.

But if all your documents are indexed and located on the server and both Macs access the server the same way, then you could disable the synchronization of indexed items so that only the search index & metadata is synchronized.

Currently all Documents are inside the “Database”

Is there a recommended way to make them become indexed files in a NAS-Directory?

One possibility is to export the items to the server, to remove them from the database and to index the exported files/folders afterwards.

Another possibility is to index an empty folder on the server, to move all items into the indexed group in DEVONthink and finally to move them to external folder (see command “Move to external folder” in contextual menu).

Thank you!

OK, in theory this would work

  • Indexed an empty folder on my NAS
  • Drag&Dropped Folders into that DT-Group
  • Context-Menu to move all items to that external folder

Fine to this point.

But in real live this handling of indexed files would be a bit… Cumbersome…

  • In the end i like to add new documents from different Macs; I’ve tested with the first
  • I have a PDF, i drag&drop it to the sorter which puts it to the inbox of my database (that’s fine, so i can sort them in DT later)
  • Now i open DTPO and it imports everything from the sorter - Now the documents are inside the database
  • I use cmd+ctrl+s to selected foders to move the documents into - which works (folders inside the indexed group are selected) - but the documents are STILL INSIDE the database

So now i would have to:

  • Import new documents (i use sorter because DTPO is not always open when i get new ones)
  • Rename/Move the documents (like always; that’s fine)
  • NEW: DON’T FORGETT to select context-menu MoveToIndexedFolder every single time! (otherwise the documents would be inside the database as before)

I’m 100% sure that i won’t remember the last step every time… so the database will grow again or i will end up with mixed databases that holds some files directly, some indexed…

Hm… not convinced yet.

There is no option to move documents to the indexed folder automatically when they are moved to such group?

What would happen if i move a document into two different Folders inside an indexed group?

There is no real server-version, is it? I mean: running a MacMini or MacBook as a server with DTPO always on and connecting to the server from the clients?

No, not automatically. You could attach a triggered script to the indexed group so it would move the files to the external folder when you select the group in DEVONthink.
script attached)

  1. Unzip the attached file.
  2. In the Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste: ~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink Pro 2/Scripts/
  3. Drag and drop the AppleScript from Step 1 into this window (or a subfolder in it).
  4. Relaunch DEVONthink Pro (Office).
  5. Select the indxed group in DEVONthink and choose Tools > Show Info.
  6. Press the Select button and navigate to the App Support folder mentioned in Step 2. Note: You can use the same shortcut from Step 2 to jump to that folder.
  7. Select the Deconsolidate script.

You could use the WebSharing option (see Preferences > Server) to access the database via a browser, but no - multiUser access of the database file is not supported (and not advocated. We advocate a decentralized data model).
Deconsolidate.scpt.zip (2.9 KB)