Import folder structure and update new files

Hi there,

I am pretty new to DT4, so its very possible that I miss the obvious.

I have a folder structure on my local NAS where I store lots of PDFs like invoices in dozens of folders. Over time, new documents get added.

I would like DT to import the documents (not just index them), so the documents stay where they are and I have duplicates in the database where I might want to add e.g. tags.

What I wonder is, how could I (manually) update the import, like import new files at a later time?

Or would the process be to import all documents again and let the smart rule remove duplicates? And would e.g. tags in DT survive this cleanup, like would the documents without tags gets removed?

Thx for your help in advance.

Harry.

What you describe might be feasible but it’s not trivial. IMO, you have two better options:

  • index the relevant NAS folder(s), or
  • Import into DT and remove from NAS.

You try to mix these two approaches, it seems.

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Yeah, that’s what I’d like to have, so I can have a copy in DT and work fully independent on it.
But it would save me to have two steps to archive new documents (into DT and onto the NAS).

As suggested by @chrillek you are adding redundancy and probably complexity. If it were me I’d pick one place–imported to DEVONthink database or indexed from the NAS–not both. I would pick import and work only in DEVONthink.

What is the purpose of storing on NAS? What added benefit?

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I also have a Windows Machine, where I usually scan the documents and store them on the NAS. Moreover I like to keep raw documents as a fallback in case something happens to the application handling “everything”.

The app doesn’t do anything to the documents. They’re as “raw” in it as they are on the NAS. Also, they are stored in the fire system, so that they’re really retrievable.
Having the same data inside and outside DT is just a waste of space. What’s worse: if you add metadata to the documents in DT, they will not reach the NAS. Which make the files there outdated compared to those in DT.

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This is technically possible but I also ask the same questions about the use case and the lack of parity between the database and the repo in the Finder?

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Thanks for the exchange and your advice guys! I’m going to import my files and from now on keep them in DT.

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