Stopp indexing iclouddrive

DEVONthink
1

I have indexed icloudDrive in DT. Is there a way to undo this==> I no longer want DT to index this

2

Yes, there is a way. Best at this juncture that you read about deleting indexed items in the outstanding “DEVONthink Manual”, page 54 in the 3.8.7 Version in section titled “Deleting Indexed Items:”. More words there that I think appropriate to repeat here.

3

Hi. I don’t know if there is anything specific to icloud that you need to consider, but what I usually do if I need to stop indexing (Dropbox folders and ones on my HD, in my case) is:

  1. Sync everything (computer and mobile devices)
  2. Move all inbox items on computer into groups in my database.
  3. Select all relevant groups on computer, right click, and “”move to external folder” to make sure all items in DT match what is on my HD.
  4. Select the database and “update indexed items”
  5. Sync the database
  6. Sync everything else again, just in case (mobile devices)
  7. Perform a backup of my computer’s hard drive (do this before making any significant changes)
  8. Uncheck synced location and then delete that from my computer (leave the sync store intact in icloud)
  9. Delete the database—now, nothing is syncing and nothing is being indexed

Did I miss anything here? I hope not.

If you have “replicants” mixed in with your indexed files (not recommended), the process should still work fine, but it might be a good idea to export the folders and files in your database to an external drive just in case. Arguably, only a few of these steps might be needed (maybe just #1 and #9), but if you follow them all, you end up with a copy of your database in icloud (to be deleted at a later date) and in your backup (just in case something went wrong). Step #3 also catches any stragglers—files that you might have created on mobile, for example, that only exist in your database and are not being indexed, even if you can see them in the groups within indexed locations.

However you do it, I have learned through unpleasant experiences to make regular backups, always make backups before any major changes, and to check that everything looks OK (a matching number of files in the folders on your HD, for example) before “pressing the button” that will make irrevocable changes. This has been a useful rule of thumb for any application.