Problems with synchronize indexed folders

I’m somehow puzzled, because DevonThink Pro Office 2.0.3 does not always do what I’d expect it to:

triggered by kallovsky’s question about aliases http://www.devon-technologies.com/scripts/userforum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11285 I understood that I don’t really understand how DTPro works and created a small test database to experiment a little.

What I found, confuses me:

I’ve read many of the recent discussions about “import or index” and also what the fine manual says about those topics.

For my setup (like many others too) I need to retain the finder structure of my files, so I can not import and “live only in DTPro”.
So my problems are about understanding what happens with indexed folders if something changes in DTPro or in the finder.

So I created a test folder with some content (subfolders and files) and indexed it with DTPro. Then I tried some modifications and some of the results surprised me:
(all actions were performed during the Database was open in DT Pro)

  • If I rename an indexed (sub)folder in DTPro, nothing happens to the folder in Finder
  • However: If I rename a file in an indexed folder in DTPro, the file in Finder is also renamed! (I was not aware of that, but I admit, that’s written in the manual.
  • If I move a file in DTPro, even after sync it does not appear again in the original folder (only if I trash it in DTPro and empty the trash, it comes back at the next sync).
  • If I move a file or folder in the Finder within the indexed folder, it also gets moved in DTPro.
  • If I move a file or folder in the Finder from the indexed folder to a location “outside”, it disappears in DTPro after the next sync.
  • If I delete a bookmark file in Finder or a folder containing bookmarks (".webloc" files), the file or folder is NOT removed from DTPro after the next sync.
  • if I move the indexed folder in the Finder (top level) to another location, it disappears from the database at the next sync! (this is NOT what I would expect! :open_mouth:)
  • if I have moved the indexed folder in the Finder (top level) to another location and don’t sync, I get an error message “file does not exist” for the files. I tried to edit the path information of the toplevel folder in the info pane, but it can not be changed - couldn’t this be an easy way to “repair” moved folders and the objects in their path?

Could someone from the DevonTechnologies Team please clarify the following points:

  • What happens to assigned Tags or Replicates or internal Wikilinks in DTPro, if for some reason an indexed folder has to be removed from the DTPro Database and then is indexed again?
  • What DevonThink information could get lost if indexed files or folders are modified in the Finder?
  • Will this change in future versions of DevonThink Pro?

Kind regards

Martin

Tags are usually retained (depending on the way the files have been tagged, meaning that OpenMeta tags are required), replicants not.

Cross-links break but automatic WikiLinks (based on MashedWords, names and/or aliases) usually don’t.

Any information might be lost after operations changing the path/filename, except the information stored inside the files/folders (name, content, comment, meta data) and in the extended attributes (e.g. OpenMeta tags).

Maybe.