In DEVONthink’s Preferences > Sync, right-click the sync location, hold the Option key and choose Verify Location Thoroughly.
The results will appear in Window > Log.
Thanks, this is a great tip to know about, I will try it right away!
Meanwhile, I did try another thing that didn’t work: deleting the database and re-importing it.
You’re welcome!
- Did the file originate in DEVONthink or DEVONthink To Go?
- If DEVONthink To Go, are you seeing the file in there?
- If so, duplicate it, then sync DEVONthink. Do you see the file in DEVONthink now?
- If DEVONthink To Go, are you seeing the file in there?
- Tried the “verify location thoroughly” step, didn’t make a difference
-
File originated in DT3
-
fwiw, DTTG has the same behavior as DT3, btw, in terms of not being able to download “some files” (including this one), but I somehow have a lower bar about DTTG retrieval.
- Is it an indexed file?
- If so, do you have Synchronize contents of indexed items disabled in the Info popup for the sync location in DEVONthink’s Preferences > Sync?
More details:
-
This is the file details in list view
-
These are some attributes in inspector
-
This is what the ‘download’ spinner looks like (briefly, before nothing happens)
And which device did you create/modify this document? Is it available on any device?
Yes, I can see it on one device, but not the other.
Modify & save the file on this device & synchronize the database. Is it available on the other Mac afterwards?
Finally got around to trying it and it worked, for just that file!
(Others exhibit the same behavior though)
Does this mean DT3 thinks it’s synced the rest but hasn’t?
Also, when I open it in DTTG I see the contents and I wasn’t seeing it before but … I see a gray square flash with “complex document, opened read-only” … does that help?
It’s hard to tell whether DEVONthink 3 didn’t receive or DEVONthink To Go didn’t send the data without having a copy of the same sync store.
That’s not related, it’s a limitation of DEVONthink To Go and its current editor.
I tried it for more files, and it worked perfectly each time
i.e. the following steps:
- [on mac-2] find the file, unable to view or download
- [on mac-1] modify file (add some whitespace)
- [on mac-1] synchronize
- [on mac-2] synchronize
- [on mac-2] file the file and download
Given that this works on an ad-hoc per-file basis, is there a clue to what might be wrong that would resolve it for all files in the database ?
Thanks in advance!
It’s obviously a sync issue. But it’s still unknown when and why this happened, which versions of DEVONthink & DEVONthink To Go were used and which is to blame and whether the bug has been already fixed. The easiest fix is probably to clean the sync store and to upload & merge the database again.
You’re right, what finally fixed this, in the two databases that were giving me issues, is doing the following:
- close the database on the ‘bad’ macbook
- delete the database file
- clean the sync store from the ‘good’ macbook
- re-upload from the ‘good’ macbook
- re-import from the ‘bad’ macbook
All good now!
1 Like
I’m running into this same issue but unfortunately don’t have a machine with the files downloaded into their database. Is there a way to resolve this if there is just one machine in play with files allegedly synced to the remote location?
I’ve gone through all of the applicable steps outlined in this thread and the “Download” button still fails to download remote documents.
That sounds intriguing – shouldn’t files in the database be in that database on at least one machine? How else do you know that they’re in a database?
And what sense does make synchronization with only one machine in play?
Perhaps I’m using the incorrect terminology here. I used to have two Macs and have iCloud (CloudKit) setup. I assume the files that I’m unable to access were imported on the machine that I no longer have. I also have syncing setup as a form of backup. As I understand it, if I were to lose my current machine I’d be able to setup DT3 on a new machine, configure the sync store, and be squared away.
Here’s an example of what I’m currently seeing in my global Inbox:
Clicking the “Download” button disables it and shows an activity spinner for about 1 second then reverts its state.
iCloud is unreliable as a sync service for a lot of people, which might be what you’re seeing now.
I’d suggest that you restore the databases on your Mac from a backup. Sync is not backup and not advertised as such.
2 Likes
on the machine that I no longer have.
- Were you indexing files in the machine?
- Do you actually know if the files were in the database on that machine?