Is my way of using smart groups..uhm..highly not recommended

DEVONthink Scenarios
1

Well, I’m just wondering if I’m making a horrible mistake, the way I manage my info in DEVONthink…

I have 5 databases, 4 of which are topical, but the fifth is my writing-projects research database where I keep a large variety of documents, not all of which are thematically related. For instance, it might hold info about fanny pack holsters, Kamia Native Americans, lightning bugs, US law…you get the idea. I don’t create a different database for each writing project since I tend to reuse info in different projects. I place all the database documents at top level instead of inside groups. Each document is tagged. Inside the database, I use “groups” as sort of “chapter headings”, that is, just to categorize my smart groups. Each smart group is tag-based. And thus each document belongs to a smart group, or to more than one smart group, based on its tags alone.

I guess I could sum it up this way:
DATABASE (contains all documents at its topmost level)-> GROUPS (=as topical chapter heading to categorize the smart groups) -> TAG-BASED SMART GROUPS

I think I’m doing it all wrong. Should I place documents within groups instead of placing them at the topmost level of the database and relying on tag-based smart groups?
(I have a knack for complicating things, so if I didn’t manage to explain myself clearly in this post, I apologize :slight_smile: ).

Cheers,
Cady

2

Instead of smart groups & tags you could also use groups & replicants. That way a document or group can also belong to multiple others groups.

It’s not necessary to move your documents to groups but it’s at least recommended if you’re going to use See Also/Classify a lot.

3

Thank you for your comments, they helped! Found the relevant paragraphs in the help menu.
Cady