Saving files from another app to Devonthink database

DEVONthink
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I almost feel the need to apologise :see_no_evil:

I actually think your question “what problem does this fix for you?” is very valuable - not just in this circumstance. At work, I don’t think I do anything without an answer to that question available. But outside of work I feel “dunno, I just wanted to” can be a fair response :wink:

I certainly use DT to file documents I can’t read - take this exhausted horse/tortoise/thing as an example.

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But going back to @Dorothy (and I’m amazed that handle wasn’t already taken): DEVONthink is stunningly flexible; this thread shows you two typical approaches for getting data into DT (that is via the Inbox in finder as per my post) or by saving it elsewhere and importing e.g. by drag&drop. @rmschne’s suggestion is a little different, namely indexing - that is storing files outside of DT but with a reference to them in DT; indexing is explained in more detail in the handbook. Both are valid approaches; if you want more on that, please ask and possibly provide more details on what you are doing. Else just come back here with any more questions you have. Enjoy weaving into DEVONthink :slight_smile:

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Wow ! Many thanks for such swift replies !
I had done the add-on thing and already have an in-box in Finder. The message in my log though said the file name wasn’t recognised and it didn’t save it there. Can I somehow change that ?
My reason for using DT for this purpose is partly because I like things all in one place but also it gives me the chance to annotate the file which is easier in DT than on Pro-weave.
I haven’t as yet embraced the indexing concept !! Need to read up on that. Hope you will be impressed to know I have mastered smart rules and automatically file all my receipts etc. I was a hazel user so had a head start !
Thank you so much for your help. Dorothy

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Interestingly my file has suddenly appeared in my in-box within DT ! Not sure how it got there but perhaps ours is not to reason why !!! Dorothy

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With due respect, I think you should work through how the file got there so as to avoid file loss in future (which isn’t fun).

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Yes, I will, I was just joking !

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If that recurs, please post the message verbatim.

Great :+1:t2: So on the best way to harnessing the power of DEVONthink :smirk:

In case you haven’t yet, please consider whether you have a backup strategy suited to the value of your data. Amongst other sources, there is a thread on the topic here.

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Thanks @Blanc I’m using Time Machine at the moment to an external disk. Will add in another back up very shortly !
This is a copy of my log

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I have DT to go on my iphone and ipad syncing through Bonjour but it doesn’t always work ! I guess that is what the other error messages are about.

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To my knowledge (@BLUEFROG can you confirm?) the unknown format error shown in your log is for information only and should not inhibit import of the file.

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If that’s the case it must have eventually come through to my DT inbox I didn’t go back and look in the finder inbox after I got that message ! @rmschne will be pleased I’ve found the answer.

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I’m not sure whether you need any of my advice - you may only just have started using DT, but there’s a good bit of tech savvy already there, isn’t there? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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No matter how tech savvy we are some new advice is always very welcome. If you look at my profile you will see I’ve been around a while ! Started with a Commodore 64 so that dates me !! This is such a helpful group so I may have more questions as I get into this !!

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Me too! With a tape drive! I haven’t been dated yet, but C14 dating may be required :crazy_face:

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Oh that’s funny ! We bought our first 64 in Florida but when we got it back to Scotland it wouldn’t work on the TV !! We had to buy another one here so in all it cost us quite a bit !

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PAL vs NTSC IIRC :roll_eyes: That must have been one giant painful leap towards becoming tech savvy - those things were seriously dear in the day.

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That’s correct. If a file isn’t imported it would be reported as having Failed or having been Skipped.

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It certainly was but so worth it looking back. Definitely early adopters ! Failed to persuade by other half to be a Mac person though he’s still a pc person.

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Thank you for clarifying. Looks like I can ignore that message and just be patient as the file certainly appeared eventually !

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You’re welcome :slight_smile:

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Hi @Dorothy, glad to see you have worked most of this out already. You clearly sound a lot more clued up than I was when I was new to DevonThink!

You already know these things but, as they weren’t explicitly addressed in the other answers, I thought I’d cover a couple of basic points in case you don’t or are unclear about them.

As you may already know, DT has 2 ways of keeping track of your files; either importing copies of those files into the database, or by indexing files, so they stay where they are in your usual file system but DT maintains a link to that file location. From what you’ve described you have imported your proweave files, as the folders ‘under the hood’ of DT are usually named with letters (but you don’t see that if you just interact with the file through the main DT interface). If you move the file from this folder within Finder it will cause a problem for DT (see below).

You also mentioned:

Blockquote
My reason for using DT for this purpose is partly because I like things all in one place but also it gives me the chance to annotate the file which is easier in DT than on Pro-weave.
Blockquote

What has me confused here is how you are able to annotate these files using DT if they are not a compatible file type, or do you mean that you use the DT Info dialogue box to type some information as notes about what’s in these files, rather than editing/annotating the file contents directly?

If it’s the latter then note that you can still do this even if you Index the the files into your DT database rather than physically importing the file. That way you can still have all your proweave files in one place (and just index the folder they’re in), do your annotations as before, and still see the ‘normal’ folder in your file system to open the files directly within proweave etc without any confusion. However there are some limitations of Indexing files you need to be aware of:

First, DT can only keep track of each indexed file provided that you do not change its location or name from within Finder or other applications like proweave. If you break this link however you can fix that by showing DT where the missing file is.

Second, that means that if you index the parent folder of these files DT won’t automatically see any new files you add to it; you will either need to tell DT to update the indexed folder or manually index each proweave file after it is created.

Sorry for the long answer (or I you already knew this) but hopefully that helps fill in any missing gaps in the basics :+1:

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Your reply worries me. I have been highlighting (selecting) a database in DT before saving from another app. That way the file is saved directly to that location, i.e. not the Global Inbox. Am I going to regret this? Is there a remedy?