I’m currently using one iMac (1TB storage) and a new Macbook Air M1 (256GB Storage), with 2TB iCloud subscription.
And I’m just beginning to use DT3, and I have a large size of database, about 200GB and it’s increasing. The files are mostly scanned books, so I’d like to keep them all in one database for DT’s powerful contextual search.
So, the database can stay in a local storage in my iMac, but not in my Macbook Air M1.
So, I initially set up to sync my two macs through the iCloud cloud kit, without synchronizing the content of indexed files, so that I can use that huge database on Macbook Air M1 as well, the files being “on demand” status. First it seemed to be working, but there occurred a lot of verification errors due to missing or empty files. And after researching posts here, I realized that DT3 doesn’t fully work with mac’s on-demand files on the cloud.
So, isn’t there any way currently to use my database on both devices?
I really wish to use DT3 for my research, but at this moment it seems to me that I need to have a 1TB macbook to use the database both in my desktop setup and my laptop.
Yes, that is how it works. I think you are considering sync as an “online” version of your database. It’s not. It is as it is named: a set of files for synchronisation between devices.
You are correct in the knowledge you shouldn’t index non-local data, i.e., files stored only in iCloud, not downloaded to the local machine.
You don’t have to store the database in the boot drive. You can put it on an external drive on the Mac with limited drive space. You could even use an external drive on each Mac.
I have some folders where I periodically create Pages files, so I wish them to be indexed, rather than imported, so that they can be globally accessed.
Is there any benefit of importing except for potential database corruptions that can be made by the user, for example, by modifying or deleting files or folders? Is it because the cloud sync sometimes doesn’t go seamlessly?
I’m wondering if I just can have the files in local storages of both my devices, and index them and sync them.
What I meant by “globally accessed” was that I just wanted to access files outside DT3.
And when I asked if I could have the files in the Air’s local storage, I was referring to a smaller database. Due to the storage limit, I decided to split my database into three, and I’m planning to sync just two of them.
For example, I just want to create Pages files in a specific folder, but if I import the whole working folder into DT3, it seems to me a little bit tricky.
Yes, I know what you mean. But what I was thinking was creating a Pages file in Page and saving the Page file. If I imported the whole folder, I may be confused at where to save the file. If I have to import a new Page file to DT every time I create it, that seems to be an extra work, causing a clutter in my workflow.
You can add a Pages file as a template in DEVONthink, either a blank one or one you pre-formatted in Pages.
Then you would choose Data > New From Template and choose your template to create a new Pages file in the current group in the database.
I haven’t thought about that. Thank you. It sounds like a plan. And I just tried it, making a template file from Page and putting in DT3’s template folder. But when I opened the Page template file in the Finder it creates a new Page file, but when I tried it in DT by choosing Data > New From Template, it won’t open, saying it is an invalid format. Do you have any idea?
Using a template in an indexed Finder folder shouldn’t cause an issue. However, if the files are not remaining local to the machine in the Finder, that may cause an issue. (We don’t use macOS disk management to push our files remotely to iCloud Drive.)
I know what you mean. But what I was thinking was creating a Pages file in Page and saving the Page file. If I imported the whole folder, I may be confused at where to save the file. If I have to import a new Page file to DT every time I create it, that seems to be an extra work, causing a clutter in my workflow.