No longer see alert when I delete indexed files

:grin:

Dear DEVONthink:

Same for me:
Screen Shot 2021-01-11 at 18.58.05

I know rufus123 resolved this issue, but now I’m having it–with this difference: when I delete the indexed files in DT (when I click OK) they ARE deleted in Finder, but I want them to remain in Finder.

I also did this:

Preference > General > Alerts: Reset
restart DevonThink
reboot my Mac

Still happens. Is there a solution to this?

(I just downloaded the latest version (3.6.1). Is it perhaps a glitch in the upgrade?)

Are the files located in an indexed group?

It occurs regardless of whether it is a single file or a folder (that’s indexed group right?)

But are these items (no matter whether file or folder) which you want to remove located in an indexed, enclosing group?

Did you read the Help > Documentation > In & Out > Importing & Indexing > Indexing and the filesystem section?

Well, I did now haha! (I read a book about DT before which covered the basic idea, but this seems to me like a better discussion–so thanks!)

So my goal is to be able to delete indexed files in DT and have it NOT delete in Finder.
Given my goal, and given the text you referenced, it seems like that kind of delete behavior I need will require that I index files, folders, and parent folders “individually.” (Since it says “When deleting indexed items, you will see one of two warnings when you empty the database’s trash, depending on how you’ve indexed the item. With individually indexed files, an indexed folder, or a parent folder, you will see a warning prompting you to choose whether to delete the item from the filesystem or just the reference in the database.”)

First question: Is that right? If not, what is the right way for me to index them?

Second question: How does one index files/folders/parent folders “individually”? (So far I’ve just been navigating File > Index Files and Folders > then select the files and folders and click Open. However, the delete behavior is incorrect, so I deduce that this is not the way to index files/folders/parent folders “individually.”)

Yes, you’d be correct. If you want to preserve files in the Finder, it’s best to index individual folders or files rather than a large parent folder. This will give you warnings about deleting indexed items if you delete the individually indexed groups or files.

You can certainly use the File > Index Files and Folders command, but it’s a common practice to Command-Option-drag items from the Finder into DEVONthink.

Taking stock: I asked two questions, 1 about whether it is individually indexed files that will behave as I would like, and 2 about how to index files “individually.”

Ok, great, I take that as an answer to my first question.

Am I missing something about the second question? I somehow am not seeing an answer to my query (“How does one index files/folders/parent folders “individually”?”) that penetrates the myst in a way that would allow me to use DT for my purpose.

You note:

Command-Option-drag items from the Finder into DEVONthink

Do you mean to suggest that this is the way to index files “individually”? (Is this equivalent to saying one must move files over one by one to get DT to index them “individually”? In other words, there is no way to get DT to index files individually—so that DT will behave as I would like (stated before)—unless one indexes files one by one?)

I answered both your questions and your response after the second blockquote is in response to indexing items individually.

If you want you can select multiple items and Command-Option-drag them to index them individually.

You cannot index a parent folder and have the contained items indexed individually as part of the built-in mechanism.

Sorry for being dense! And thanks for your help!

From reading Help > Documentation > In & Out > Importing & Indexing > Indexing and the filesystem and experimenting to test DT behavior, I am coming to the view that it will not be possible to do what I want with DT–which is to be able to delete indexed files in DT and have them NOT delete in DT, like, as if DT were a mere card catalogue.

Below I state my reasons and the conclusion I draw. Please let me know if I’m wrong–and if so, how.

FIRST, DT has been designed so that indexed files are very closely bound to Finder (which has obvious advantages, but that’s the opposite of what I want).

SECOND, one can technically index files one-by-one so that they are indexed “individually” in DT (which would make it so they behave how I want). But in practice there is no way of doing this at scale. One would have to recreate the entire structure of folders and parent folders within the relevant DT database, and drop the individual files within the folders, selecting only those files that correspond to the particular folder for each individual indexing, in order for the individual files to be indexed in the way I want. Assuming we are not going to do that (time prohibitive), it is impossible to index individual files. That is, you can’t batch-index files/folders/parent folders.

I draw this conclusion because I tried indexing files using all possible ways that I am aware of, and none of the methods succeeded at batch-indexing files/folders/parent folders. My understanding is that there are two ways of indexing: either via the File menu, or cmd+option and then drag and drop. Regardless of which one you choose, you can select files/folders/parent folders in one of two ways. You can either select the folder, like this (let’s call this selection #1):
Screen Shot 2021-01-12 at 22.57.23

Or you can select everything in the entire nested folders, like this (let’s call this selection #2):
Screen Shot 2021-01-12 at 23.07.22

Regardless of whether you opt for selection #1 or selection #2, only the top level folder will be indexed in the way I want, and so if you delete any file beneath that in DT it will therefore delete the file in Finder as well. This stands regardless of whether one makes the selection via the File menu or cmd+option and drag and drop.

THEREFORE, it is in practice not possible to use DT the way I intended to index files.

=====================

Am I wrong?

[I only have lingering doubts because I thought I got different behavior around deleting-indexed-files from the behavior noted above (in other words, the window asking if I want to delete only from DT database or from Finder) when I tinkered with some files that had been in a database for a long time, and the fact that I didn’t wait for a long time for DT background process to do a whole lot of indexing before I tested behavior in the way described above. In other words, I wonder if somehow I botched my tests and there really is a difference between selection #1 and #2.]

No worries!

You understand things correctly. If you are making a multiple selection, including the groups, the items contained will not be indexed individually.
And yes, the integration with the filesystem is much tighter due to years of people asking for it.