Some issues I have experienced with DT

DEVONthink Feedback
1

Hi

I have been using Devonthink for about a month now and thought I would provide some feedback on the issues I have had with it on the hope you can fix them in future releases:-

  1. Issue When No WebDav Connection for Sync

If DT cannot connect to the Webdav when sync starts, then the DT sync windows and status appear and never close. The active sync does not have the close button. If you close using the red close top left then I think it still is syncing in the background because Sync is greyed out. When you then go to close DT it wont Quit (probably due to active sync) so you need to Force Quit. So this issue has a few issues:-

  1. No error messages or timeout appears when DT cannot connect to the WebDav

  2. Cannot manually cancel an active sync that cannot connect to the Webdav

  3. Cannot Quit DT during this active (but not connected sync)

  1. First Sync After Initial Import Reports Over 10% Changed

When a database is imported, then an initial sync. run, it states over 10% is changed and do you want to continue. Well, I would have thought the database should be exactly the same as I just imported it from the WebDav that I am syncing with.

  1. Occasionally 10% Change Reported When No Changes Made

Very often I start DT and sync. and although nothing or very little has been updated it states: “There are significant differences between the local database and the remote store. More than 10% of the records in the local database and remote store will be changed.”

NOTE: I think this happens when I leave DT open on my iMac in work all the time, and I sync that, and I then sync. on my Macbook. Because now I close them both when finished I dont get this anymore.

Also Note: Please see the RSS section below, this might be related to that instead.

  1. Scheduled Sync Not Running

I have setup a scheduled sync for every hour on my iMac and on my Macbook but it does not seem to be working. After many hours, my Macbook does not show files I imported into my iMac.

  1. RSS Not Refreshing Automatically

I have set RSS Feeds to check for updates every day, but its not working. All my RSS feeds say 0 articles. But when I manually refresh each feed they refresh.

Also, RSS feeds by their nature change all the time so I constantly get file syncing with these RSS files. I guess DT is not a very good RSS reader when using it with sync. it treats them all as separate files which are changing all the time of course.

Its also possible that these RSS files contribute to the above 10% change reported.

  1. RSS Sync. Causes Conflict Warnings/Actions

Everytime I sync. I now get warnings that require an action due to conflicts. I believe they are related to RSS. It asks me if I want to choose the Local or WebDav version for the conflict. This is so annoying I cannot use Devonthink for RSS.

This has stopped now I stop using DT for RSS reading.

2

Which version of the plugin are you using?

3

Sync Plugin Beta v1.0pb2

I downloaded from a blog post I found as it was not in any product download area.

4

This is the second instance of someone with PB2 that I’ve had today. We need to make sure people can’t access this build any more.

5

The problem is you seem to put the links to it on your blog, and the way to find that is google search, so you take what you get… I would not know there is a newer release. So I think you need to make the latest version available in the downloads, juts make sure to show its BETA.

Where is the latest version link?

Also…

  1. Sync with a new computer deletes any unsynced notes on Devonthink To Go

I just took a picture of a receipt in a DTToGo Note, and my confidence in your app is so high I then shredded the receipt. I then synced with my main computer which stated I was pairs with another computer, do I want to replace all notes on my mobile with the ones from the new computer? I said yes because I know they are the same… after which the new note that was unsynced on my mobile was gone! So in fact this did not actually sync, it replaced all notes on myt mobile with the notes on the machine. I think this needs to be made clearer, I thought it was a sync action in which case it would then copy the new note back to the computer not delete it.

8 ) Weird symbols instead of folders

See attached screenshot. Goes on a simple re-start so not bothered, but thought I would mention it. Maybe not even a DT issue, but a Mac one.
Screenshot 2013-01-21 at 09.13.11 AM.png

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Or go to devontechnologies.com/ and then click the “BLOG” link in the upper right. It’s much simpler than accessing the forums.

I would resist this. The point of releasing via blog posts is to update users in a format that they might conceivably read. Even if they’re using a clearly-marked beta (it’s in the post title, the file name, and the documentation accompanying the release), they still won’t read the documentation.

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but then I think people (like me) end up finding an older post/version and getting that. Is there a later version to Beta v1.0pb2? because this version blog.devontechnologies.com/2012/ … ic-beta-2/ states version 1 public beta 2, which I assume is what I have, v1.0pb2, BUT Bluefrog implies this is not the latest??

So hope you can see the confusion with having the different versions on the blog. Would be good to have just one page that links the latest version to download.

I cant find a later one than version 1 pb 2.

8

Did you look at the Blog? Public beta 3 was posted 19 December.

As suggested in the accompanying release notes, please use the recommended procedure to submit a problem report to the developer.

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  1. Deleted Database starts syncing/importing after a period of time

I had an issue importing a database called “Archive”. So I split this into little databases, and all OK. I no longer have a database called Archive. Its deleted. It appears no where in DT. BUT… after opening DT and syncing the open databases, after a period of time (like many tens of minutes, even longer) all of a sudden the Sync pop up pops up stating it is Importing the Archive Database (its on the WebDAV as no one seems to know how to delete it from there). I have no idea how to stop DT from initiating an import of a deleted database!

The problem then is, it does not add this database to the list of databases for me to delete… this is the issue I had originally, I could not open or import it. So it continues to pop up and import 20Gb from the WebDAV.

Interstingly I actually renamed this Archive database to “Old” before deleting it. The WebDAV has it named as Old, but this random regular import is naming it Archive, the old name.