I am using OCRed PDFs or are OCRing them within DEVONthink to go. Search within the PDFs works fine.
However, when doing a global search for the same words, the PDF is not displayed in the results list. Re-indexing does not help.
So, what do I get wrong here? Are OCR and global search somehow separate?
In DTTG the index is not searched until you tap the search or enter key.
@eboehnisch the question mark referenced in the screenshot above does not appear in the entry field in the global inbox (as you can also see from the screenshot); it is present in the entry field when searching from within any database. Is that intentional?
@Blanc yes, that is clear. Hitting enter doesn’t work. No results. I only get the results based on OCR when searching within the file. Some search terms are recognized in global search, however. Which makes it even stranger from my perspective.
When doing a search, there is an assumed wildcard at the end of the last search term.
Pressing Return removes this wildcard and the last term is treated as a single word.
This means you need to manually add an asterisk or type the full word.
Thanks, but I think that does not address my question. Let me try again.
I have an OCRed PDF that contains the word “invoice”. If I search within the PDF, the word “invoice” is detected and marked in yellow.
If I do a search for documents (all, database, group level) by entering “invoice” in the search field (top left) and hitting enter, I get no results.
Try this…
If you can’t find items in a search in DEVONthink To Go, select ? > Help > Appendix > Utility URL Commands and click the Execute link under reindex. Then quit and relaunch the application.
Just going to jump in here with a related question.
I did this routine to track down another issue I was having.
What would be helpful is to know how long the re-indexing takes.
When I did it there was no indication of a process happening that I could discern. I assumed it was instantaneous or would happen in the background once I restarted.
Looking for some clarity on when the indexing happens: right after you initiate it, after restart and what might be a length of time to expect it to take?
From the first post I gather the OP has already tried that.
It’s not instantaneous and I can’t estimate a time. It’s all dependent on what is in the database. The more text-based files you have, the longer it will take.
Is there a progress indicator anywhere?
By instantaneous I was (unclearly) trying to ask if it starts right after you hit the button or does the process only start after you restart the app?
i.e. should you wait a bit before quitting the app?
If there is a lot of indexing to be done, you would see the pie chart indicator at the bottom of the item list or under the databases on DEVONthink To Go’s home screen.
No, that is not intentional 
Thanks for letting me know!
Yes and no. I had tried re-indexing the metadata, but without success. Now I will try re-indexing. Seems more difficult than anticipated, as every a time one changes app focus or the Lock Screen appears due to inactivity, the process halts and one has to restart it.
Regarding that behavior: what helps with this is to change the security settings so that it waits before locking. There is a slider for the time duration in the DTTG Settings (go to the top level of the app, looking in the bottom right for the icon that looks like 3 vertical sliders, and in the panel that appears, tap the word “Passcode” or whatever shows up next to SECURITY). It sounds like yours may be set to “immediately”. I personally use 5 minutes but it can be set longer.
I have tried this on multiple iOS devices. No success. The same search works just fine on MacOS. I guess I will have to get back to using Evernote for mobile use cases.
In DEVONthink To Go, select Help > Contact Us to start a support ticket. Please include the invoice PDF you’re failing to find. Thanks!
