Hey! I don’t think this is currently a feature, but I am looking for some workaround to achieve something like this.
An advantage of Obsidian over DT is its super quick sync, which might be related with the Markdown-only format.
I keep both my own notes (RTF/TXT/MD) and other files (particularly huge PDFs) in my DT Databases. I use Tiago Forte’s PARA Method of organization (separate my files into active Projects; Areas of responsibility; Resources and Archive) and to optimize RAM use I have separated my PARA into 3 Databases (Projects & Areas - Resources - Archive). P&A is open at all times; Resources most of the time; and Archive only every now and then. All databases have both huge PDF files and tiny RTF/TXT/MD.
I want to keep all the text notes (RTF/TXT/MD) synced across devices, without having to sync all other file types.
Is that possible? If not, is there any workaround to achieve something similar? Perhaps via Smart Folders/Replicates?
Thank you! Replicates might do the trick, although I would have to set up a script to automatically create them. I have always seen replicates as an Alias; would they still sync?
PDFs are very important, but they are mostly reference materials and accessed now and then, mostly from the office, so no need to sync them. The text-only notes in the other hand, are my own distillation of such reference materials and notes on active projects, which I need readily available in all devices.
As @chrillek mentioned, why don’t you just have a separate database for your notes so you can limit your syncing and the space you’re using on the mobile device?
A separate database would be a hassle: I want to preserve the same folder (Group) structure for my reference materials (PDFs) and personal notes (TXT/MD/RTF).
I rely on groups a lot to keep related material together. Each Project (Ex. Paper on Torts), Area of responsibility (Ex. University) and category of Resources (Ex. Contract Law) results in a Group, with both reference materials (Ex. Previous papers on the topic; communications with the University; entire books on Contract Law) and personal notes (my notes on such previous papers; drafts of such communications; extracted highlights from such books…). Separating them would be hard to manage.
A “light sync” (sync only text files) option would be a killer feature! Or the ability to replicate across databases, which would allow me to keep all of my reference materials in the “Resources” Database and keep the “Projects & Areas” lightweight.
Thanks anyway! And if anyone has additional ideas I would greatly appreciate them.
Are you trying to sync to DTTG on iOS? If so, there is an option to only download “on demand”. The meta-data sync should then be really quick. As long as you are connected to the net, the text files would download one by one quickly as well. But you can get stuck e.g. in a plane without your files.
What do you mean by huge files? I have more than 10 GB of DBs synced between one Mac and several iOS devices. Some of the pdfs are 100 MB or a bit larger. But once the initial sync is done (at home or work, on a fast connection), I have no issues with keeping the sync up-to-date (using CloudKit syncing, which after some weird issues about a year ago, is now rock solid).
Yes! iPad and iPhone. I will try the “on demand” option; it might do the trick.
I meant huge files in comparison with the personal notes. Some PDFs are 100-200MB, although the problem is mostly the quantity of 3-5 MB PDFs. My work “Resources” database for example is around 30GB and adding up the rest of them we are talking of around 100 GB. Even with the “on demand option”, keeping it synced might take a toll on my iCloud storage.
A “light sync” (sync only text files) option would be a killer feature!
This is the first request I can recall.
Or the ability to replicate across databases, which would allow me to keep all of my reference materials in the “Resources” Database and keep the “Projects & Areas” lightweight.
Replicating across databases is not technically possible at this time.