Saving documents already imported into database...?

DEVONthink Tips
1

I have just spent a couple of weeks importing all my folders, and folder structures, into DTPO 2. I have just started using the features of DTPO in ways I haven’t before. In other words, I am taking the plunge!

I have several questions about managing and moving my data between apps:

  1. I received an email from a colleague, and imported it directly from Mail into DT by dragging it into one of my database groups. This was a .docx document.

I opened it via the toolbar icon, in Pages, edited, and tried to save. Of course, I saw no folder tree within DT, and did not want to drop it into the Global Inbox. So I dropped it into the corresponding Finder folder, which had originally been imported, and then dragged the saved file into the same group. Not the most efficient.

I then tried opening it via the “Open with Pages” toolbar icon, and saved it back to the Finder folder after another edit. While the doc is still in the DT group, it is not updated.

I played for a while, and found that if I opened in Pages and SAVED in Pages (to the Finder folder), the version in my DT group would be updated with the new changes. But .docx and .doc documents do not update.

Could someone please explain these rules to me, or perhaps what I should expect when working entirely out of DT?

  1. I have used Default Folder X for some time, and love it. Is there a way to use this to save documents to DT?

  2. In Finder, I have created a simple macro (using Keyboard Maestro) to select a document, and then to create an email with this document as an attachment. In DT, I would love the same, since I quite frequently just find a specific doc at someone’s request, then flash the email back to them with the requested doc.

I know that the contextual menu contains this action, but I would like to do two things:

a. Create a keyboard shortcut to do this;
b. Not have all the text of the document show up in the body of the email. Is this a preference of some sort?

Overall, I would like to be rid of the Finder folders that I have imported into DTPO, but would like to know that I can achieve the same filing, finding, sending actions that I am used to.

What fine points am I missing in the following actions?

File/Import an email attachment
Edit an email attachment and save the edited version within my DT database
Create a new document (Pages, Numbers, etc) and save it to my DT database
Reply to an email by selecting and sending a file from within DT
Selecting a file within DT and creating a new email using the file as an attachment

Sorry for the multi-point post…I am loving my first real in-depth use of DT, and am hoping to make it the focus of my data.

Cheers!

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Overall, you don’t want to put things into the folders inside a DT database package yourself. DT should manage adding/deleting/moving itself. DT will never “see” documents you save to folders in the package. Use the global inbox in the Finder sidebar, or run Sorter and drag your stuff into that.

I use Default Folder X and have a favorite for the global inbox. Never had a problem with it. Periodically I go to DTPO and cull whats in the global inbox and put the documents in their places.

Though there is no menu item for sending by email, there is a Send by Email item available to put on your toolbar(s). Customize the toolbar and look at the icon list. Check the script forum for work people have done on DT-to-email scripts – these can be added to the script’s menu and a keyboard shortcut assigned.

Composing an email with a selection from a document (i.e., “Not having all the text show up…”) can be done using the New Email With Selection service that you can add to the OS X services menu. (Methods and shortcuts vary with 10.5 and 10.6).

I didn’t quite follow the breadcrumbs in your first question. Short answer is that documents opened in an external editor from DT (whether the doc is internal to DT or indexed) will have their changes shown if you use the “Save” (not Save As) function of that external editor. Sometimes it is necessary to change the focus away from and then back to that doc in a DT doc list in order to refresh the quicklook view and see the changes.

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Thanks for the response! I see where my story got long-winded and confusing. I will try to break it down to some simpler points.

  1. I have moved most of my data from Finder to DTPO via import, then performed conversion to PDF. I am loving the search function, and when I scan in a new document, the auto classify is very handy.

  2. I have a large group of files I scanned into a Finder folder, mostly before I had a handle on DT, and all PDFs. These are a largely disorganized bunch of files, that replace my equally disorganized papers (now thankfully shredded!).

I would like to find the best workflow to import and convert these to searchable PDFs in DT, so that the auto classify will subsequently help me out.

  1. Perhaps a bigger question: having read a lot on these forums, including the teachings of Master Bill, I find myself replacing a lot of the functions of Finder, in terms of storage and organization of data and files. I have been busily converting dates to the ‘YYYYMM’ or 'YYYYMMDD" format suggested by Bill, and wonder why I didn’t think of this before.

Are other people storing most, or all, of their searchable data in DT? Of course, there is still a place in Finder for music, photos, video, but I think the power of DT exceeds that of Finder for data. Just tell me that all my work so far isn’t going to waste!

  1. Unfortunately, using Default Folder X to save to the Global Inbox, and then moving from this Inbox to a second and final resting spot, seems a bit redundant. I do understand the necessary processing of DT during its intake of files and data, and have been bringing items in appropriately.

  2. Regarding email: If I drag a file from DT to the Mail icon, it does what I want: new email with just an attachment.

If I use the contextual menu, there is also text added to the email, which I do not want. Is there a way to eliminate this behavior, or to use a script to accomplish this? I highly prefer keyboard shortcuts to mouse manipulation.

I hope that clarifies some of my questions. Thanks for any guiding lights!

Cheers!