Revisiting this topic. Quick Look in Finder, or in any app other than DTP, does not reveal a preview of any file type stored in DEVONthink. Am I missing something?
DT 4 beta 3
Mac OS 15.5 (24F74)
Are you referring to Spotlight search results?
Yes. Search results in Spotlight, as well as results in other apps (e.g. HoudaSpot, Ammonite). All results appear as a generic DT icon, and do not provide a Quick Look preview.
There is no bug at all and this is actually the correct behavior. You are not looking at the files in your databases. You are matching Spotlight metadata files (.dt3 files) in those apps, so youāre not going to get a QuickLook preview of a file thatās one step away from the file you found.
DEVONsphere Express searches open databases directly and can provide a small previewā¦
Thanks. I was not suggest this is a bug. I was just wondering if there might be a solution. Certain workflows require searching within a DT database from the finder or a third party app. It would be helpful to be able to have a preview in these cases.
Such asā¦ ?
Most, but not all my documents reside in or are indexed in DT. Therefore, I often use Spotlight (or Houdah Spot) to search across my entire system. Not being able to have a preview of search results within DT requires opening those results. That defeats the purpose of Quick Look.
I take it that text preview in HoudahSpot is not sufficient for your purposes, then. I have found it a reasonable substitute, but it depends on what one wants.
Yes, HoudahSpotās text preview provides some information, but does not allow previewing non-textual data.
If I understand correctly, a solution would require DT to create previews for each file and store them in the Finder. Probably a path DT would rather not take.
If possible, it might be worthwhile considering going down the route of indexing your files in-situ by Devonthink. That way, the multitude of utility apps that require files items to exist in the macOS file system such as HoudahSpot, function without fault.
Indexing in-situ, of course, comes with caveats. The DT documentation, discusses both core approaches to indexing your file assets. Test with a small subset of file content first, and see if it works for you.
1 Like
Thanks, @jonmoore. I use indexing extensively, but it does not cover all use cases.
Perhaps describing here the āuseā cases that are not covered might result in some suggestions by others here.
I think you misunderstand me. The primary way of indexing your file assets is for DEVONthink to ingest them into itās database so the original file no longer exists in MacOS file system, e.g. you can view it in DEVONthink, but you can no longer view it in the Finder.
However, you can also index your file assets by DEVONthink without importing them into the DT database. The index exists in the DT database so you benift from DTs search smarts, but the files still exist in the core macOS file system, that way you can still Quick Look them in the Finder directly of via HoudaSpot and Ammonite.
1 Like
Thank you. I do understand how indexing works (I have been using DTP since around 2007). An example scenario where items reside only in DTP (and, therefore, no Finder previews are generated for them): Documents DTP collects automatically (via RSS, for example).
And thatās the core of what Iām telling you. There is no reason for your files to only exist in DTP. There can be scripts that automatically ingest your files into the DTP database or as you state RSS feeds. Or if you use the DT Sorter, thatās another of those ingest only workflows. But there are always ways of working where youāre only indexing your fles, and not ingesting them to DTP.
The whole of the In & Out section of the built-in help covers the subject fully, but the Importing & Indexing section covers both ways of working in detail, and any caveats you need to be aware of when indexing your files in-situ.
Itās a pity that Devon Technologies donāt publish the documentation in HTML format that one can link to from a support forum, but hereās some of the pertinent info from the docs. However, do read the whole of the In & Out section of the documentation, as itās both comprehensive regarding the subject, but a breeze to read through as it states exactly what you need to know, without any waffle.
INDEX
Creates links to files outside the database. This allows more direct access to the files in the Finder by other applications or people. A common example is people using a cloud service like Dropbox and indexing folders in the local Dropbox folders. DEVONthink indexes the content and metadata for use with classification and other content-related functions, just as it does with imported items. Do note while indexing doesnāt copy the contents of the files, the full text of text-based documents is stored. This can still take up a considerable amount of space.
Finder files and folders can be indexed using File > Index. You can also hold ā„ā while dragging and dropping into your database. When you do, you will see a curved arrow on the cursor while dragging, indicating the items will be indexed. Indexed items will have a small square Finder icon to the right of the itemās name.
INDEXING AND THE FILESYSTEM
Indexing is not the default option for getting files into your databases. This is not only because importing creates a singular, portable database, but also due to some technical things that must be considered when indexing. Here are a few behaviors you should know and understand before indexing.
With indexing, the integration with the filesystem is very tight. When you rename a file in DEVONthink, the fileās name changes in the Finder. If you rename in the Finder, the change should be automatically reflected in the database. DEVONthink tries to keep the group in the database and the folder in the Finder in the same state. Also, if you move a non-indexed file into an indexed group or create a new file in an indexed group, the file will be moved to the external indexed folder, a process we call ādeconsolidationā.>
1 Like
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation!