Moving to a new computer via Thunderbolt

DEVONthink Tips
1

Hi, I am planning to transfer DTPO to a new computer.
I read the excellent article from Bluefrog as
Note: This is assuming you’re importing, not indexing files into your databases. If you are indexing files, you’ll have to locate and move those items independently.

On the old machine…

  1. In the Finder, select the ​Go ​menu while holding the ​Option key​, then choose ​Library​.
  2. Go into the Application Support folder and copy the DEVONthink 3 folder ​to an external drive.
  3. Do a Spotlight search for ​kind:database name:dtBase2.
    Select ​Show All in Finder ​in the results to see all the DEVONthink databases you have. (Ignore Inbox.dtBase2 if it appears in the results.)
  4. Copy these files to the external drive.
  5. Properly eject the external drive and connect it to the new machine.

On the new machine…

  1. In the Finder on the new machine, select the ​Go ​menu while holding the ​Option key​, then choose ​Library​.
  2. From the external drive, copy the ​DEVONthink 3​ folder to the Application Support folder.
  3. Move the database files from the external drive to the Databases ​folder in your Home directory.
  4. Download a new installer from here: DEVONtechnologies Downloads and install DEVONthink 3 in /Applications.
  5. Double-click each database file to open them in DEVONthink 3.

Now can I simply do it all through a Thunderbolt cable tying the two computers? It might be the fastest solution (40Gb/s promised), much more than copying databases of 10Gb or 20Gb to a USB stick?

Any possible problem? I will try to do it on Monday, so your help or suggestions will be highly appreciated. Thanks!

2

For TimeMachine users, you can use Migration Assistant
It installs the files and databases from the latest backups

3

Yes, it’s certainly possible provided you have the appropriate cable. Many people don’t and the process is less obvious than using an external drive, so it’s not something we generally recommend. Also, there is the potential for permissions issues – not a guarantee, but a possibility. You can ignore permissions on an external drive, so it alleviates that concern.