STORAGEFORMAT in DT3

I put everything in DT3 as it comes. BUT what is the optimal Format for DT?

I have read that people convert notes or eg. Pages-Notes to PDFs.? What is the reason and the getting more through this?

I myself save a lot of Websitelinks - Bookmarks - often to find out they are gone or changed - and as far as I know DT3 is not checking Weblinks if the are broken . What format would be the best to save. PDF? Webarchive? What is the benefit from both?

is it better to convert everything into a PDF- Database? Because of possibility of annotation?

What serves DT3 tho most in finding docs? I know it can ready everything except weblinks?

What is your workflow and why you are using your formats ? reasons - benefits - preventing

Your post has a wide range of scope
For note creation, look at this ongoing discussion What's your most commonly used writing format?

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yeah I’ve seen that. But I am also or more concerned about the Websitelinks/Bookmarks or in general all docs.

Does it make sense and does it have a reason to convert everything in a PDF ?

Converting everything to PDF might make sense. As might make Markdown. Or bookmarks. Or pretty much anything. It very much depends on your requirements and the kind of documents you’re working with.

I guess that you’d have to tell a bit more about that before you can expect any useful answers. Also, the various options for web documents have been discussed in depth here several times. Since the technologies have not changed, I wouldn’t expect any new takes on that.

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I just thought how to use DT best and give the search engine the best material. and maybe I do not see all benefits of PDF storage 100% + .md.

I did not see any about this here?

I try to learn about others workflows to create mine. cause I dont have experience with data usage yet, I just put everything in the bid DT3. And I am Sure I miss the power of DT3 by doing so ( even its built for that) or there isa workflow from you folks which I can copy to get advanced in using DT3.

Its more a learning question and designing my database new. and which formats that should be.

i will do a looooooot of research and linking and try Zettelkasten ZK and produce content out of my PKM. I try do go deep on my data and see connections of everything. this is why I was asking a lot here about DT3 and obsidian and .md and how to built up a SMART note system or database - future proof from the method of design.

And here cam the question how to store or reformat new/old data to work with it properly.

So annotating and excerpting, notes taking, highlighting, auto - summaries, ZK, heavy linking cause I research the Daoist philosophy and books, web,artikels about it and then make my own work out of it. so also referencing bibliography is important… lets call it research work … with target getting content out of it for video, blog, vlog , courses, etc…

it would be also nice to know if DT3 is good as foto or video database cause that is something real different I guess than normal data.

There’s some good discussion on the use of DT3 for things like a photo/video database in the Take Control book “Take Control of DevonTHINK 3” available for free on Devon Tech’s web site. Some of your other questions are addressed as well.

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Again, you need to spend time working out how YOU think about these things.

I wouldn’t do “a loooooooot of research” on something like Zettelkasten unless it appeals and makes sense to you. It doesn’t for everyone.

I try to learn about others workflows to create mine. cause I dont have experience with data usage yet, I just put everything in the bid DT3.

There’s nothing wrong with that approach.

And I am Sure I miss the power of DT3 by doing so ( even its built for that) or there isa workflow from you folks which I can copy to get advanced in using DT3.

A word of advice: Crawl, then walk… then run. :slight_smile:

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@BLUEFROG sounds fair. good advice to get my nerdy geek mind in shape.

by reading the manual I got caught in so many features which are so powerful and nice but yet so difficult to understand the deepness of the features and possibilities. this got me asking.

and since I am not a coder, I dont know about the possibilities DT3 Hase to transform nearly everything into anything. but that sounded more work to start better in first place. another things was I see soooo many people changing their system often and in the first 2 years - and start from scratch - shaping tools all the time… I did not want to do that in future

… but I got caught up in analysis paralysis ( I love analyzing and thinking) I think… DT3 and combinations ( obsidian etc…) offers so many nice tools, its really hard to keep the finger off it. ( but I need to dooooooo stuff now and get going… :innocent: )

:rofl:

I understand the temptation all too well, but I’ve been teaching and training people in a variety of industries in many different applications for 30+ years and everyone always wants to run ahead before they’re ready to. DEVONthink is like Photoshop. They are both deeeeep* applications with many functions available.

I’ve got over 30,000 working hours in DEVONthink and have run Photoshop since 1995, but I still wouldn’t say I’ve mastered either. (@cgrunenberg is the only person on the planet that could rightly make that claim :smiley: ) So I know a ton about how to use both but there are things I don’t necessarily use often. And that’s okay, for me as well as you and anyone else.

Use our apps as you need to use them, but leave some time to play and explore occasionally.

Also, there’s no shame in using a system then later changing it. I do most of my support in a DEVONthink database and have since I started almost 11 years ago. I am currently working with a third version of a support database, the first being used for five years, the second for about three. No harm, no foul, no shame in it. Just part of the journey as I evolve my thinking and approach, retaining the parts I constantly use and letting go or varying those I don’t.

And because it’s an excellent vignette of someone working through these things, I will point you back to this excellent post from @IvanPsy …

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Wow - right click a bookmark and you can convert it to PDF, freezing it at the version of the web page you want.

I also just learned you can highlight some text, right click it, and either search for the phrase or search related text.

Very cool!

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Always some little function to learn in DEVONthink. :slight_smile:

It depends upon how you want to use the documents after they have been saved. My ultimate use is for research. I do a lot of highlighting so I use, and prefer, pdfs. Also, pdf documents are completely searchable. I do also save html docs for what I consider “source” documents (when I want easy access to much or all of what any given web site offers). PDF’s can also easily be converted to searchable pdfs (using OCR) so you can always get the text back in in whatever format works for you. This all works in DT and DT2Go. But we have only touched on the surface of what these apps are capable of.

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