Sometimes I’ll close a database and open another one, and get the message “Database is already open”, though there’s nothing onscreen, and the Windows menu doesn’t show anything. I get where I need to be by quitting DT and reopening, but that’s not a solution.
As a new user, I’ve done a couple of trial databases, duplicating some in the Finder as backup, but since the database name which is displayed in DT is determined by Database Properties… rather than by file name as determined in the Finder, it’s easy to get the wrong file and have no obvious way of telling which is being displayed or which path is being used.
I’ve gotten myself in the situation of having entered data into the wrong database, which I want to migrate to the most recent/inclusive version. Compare documents, which was mentioned by another poster as being a useful part of e.g. Acrobat, Word, and others, isn’t an option in DT. My default approach in other programs would be to display the two in separate overlaid windows and toggle them back and forth by command-` … almost a light table technique, which works well, but DT doesn’t seem to permit more than one database to be open at the same time, which (if so) seems inexplicable as design intent, and massively irritating, though I’m sure I’m overlooking something, and there was a design rationale.
You’ve probably duplicated databases in the Finder while they were used by DEVONthink Pro. Trying to open them afterwards results in the “Database already in use” warning which can be ignored.
But nonetheless databases should never be copied while they’re used. The copies might be incomplete/invalid.
Nevertheless, the apparent inability to have more than one database open at once (perhaps this amounts to a feature request) is an obstacle, especially in combination with the fact that Compare Documents isn’t a feature.
My comment regarding window titling wasn’t addressed:
“… since the database name which is displayed in DT is determined by Database Properties… rather than by file name as determined in the Finder, it’s easy to get the wrong file and have no obvious way of telling which is being displayed or which path is being used.”
I’m sure there’s a rationale for having an independently assigned window or database name (independent of the Finder file name), but it’s not obvious what it is. I’m only aware of the problems it causes. Occasionally I’ve run across other programs that do this, sometimes when autosave or scratch files are generated, but the other information is usually displayed at the top of the window as well, appended in parentheses or beyond a colon or slash or within brackets, such as:
Databasetitle / [filename]
or
Databasetitle : \user…\desktop…\Abcd.dtBase
One or both of those approaches would seem to be easy to implement, and useful.
The database file name and path is displayed at the top of the Database Properties panel. That’s the database name that’s remembered by File > Open Recent.
That database name is automatically entered into the Name field of Database Properties (less the suffix) when you create, name and save a database.
But I sometimes find it useful to modify the Name field, which is displayed on view windows, without changing the file name. Example: I’m going on travel and load a database on an external hard drive. Perhaps I’ve got copies of that database on two computers. To remind myself of the source (as there might be differences in content of the copies) I’ll change the Names field of the copy on the external drive to, e.g., Name-ModBook so that I’ll remember the source computer (my ModBook). On return, I can simply copy the database back to my ModBook and any changes made are now on the ModBook computer.
So I rather like the freedom to change the displayed name without changing the file name. I suppose I could confuse myself if I tried, but as a practical matter that hasn’t happened. On the contrary, the example case helps me avoid confusion.