Sync question Global Inbox / Mac and iPad

DEVONthink
#1

Hi,

I‘ve been a DEVONthink user for many years, and I increasingly used DTTG as well (since version 2) on my iPad Pro. What I have only sparingly done so far is real integration between the two through syncing.

Last summer I tried a first, limited experiment with a database for an article I wrote. I set it up on the iPad and used a WebDAV-based sync store to share it with DT3 on my MacBook Pro. It worked really well, and so I thought I should expand this integration. DTTG 3 with its additional capabilities is another incentive.

Most of my data on the iPad I keep in the Global Inbox which - so far - is not synced between iPad and DT3 on my MacBook. On the MacBook side, I have emptied the Global Inbox, on the iPad no fewer than 1333 objects (with 2.8 GB!) populate the Global Inbox.

Needless to say I want to be careful when syncing so that no data is lost. So my question is whether I should first switch on syncing from the Mac (where essentially nothing will be uploaded to the sync store) and then the syncing from the iPad (with lots of data), or whether it would be better the other way round (iPad with lots, then Mac with nothing)?

I‘d be grateful for any suggestions (and remote handholding!).

Thanks for any help or advice you can give. I use DTTG 2.7.9 on the iPad and DT3 3.6.3 on the Mac. I thought that I should sync first and then update to DTTG 3, but if there’s a reason to proceed otherwise, thanks for any hints!

#2

The data loss issue happened right when DTTG 3 was introduced and has been fully resolved.

That said, if you want to be 100% comfortable that things are OK, then just set up a new database only for syncing; populate that database by duplicating items from your current production database(s) and convince yourself that the sync works well.

#3

Thanks for your advice. I was not referring to (or am afraid of) the initial DTTG 3 data loss problem. It was more a question of general best practice regarding the sequence in which I should sync. Any ideas about that?

#4

Further to your answer: how would I (on an iPad with DTTG 2) copy everything from the Global Inbox to a separate database? There’s lots of items, and I don’t know how to mark them all…

#5

If you two finger slide on the item list to select items. If you continue dragging, the view will scroll. When you have your selection, tap the Organize button in the bottom toolbar and choose Move.

#6

Many thanks for the hint - but I‘d be interested whether you think this cautionary step is necessary, or whether I could just sync - and if so in which of the two sequences I suggested in my original question?

#7

It shouldn’t matter but I’d sync DEVONthink To Go first as it has more data. Then import/sync the database to the Mac.

1 Like
#8

Thank you! That’s what I‘ll do. And then upgrade to DTTG 3.

#9

You’re welcome :slight_smile:

1 Like
#10

Sorry, have to come back to this. For if I select multiple items (using two finger swipe), there is no organize menu visible. I am at a loss - both because trying to mark 1333 items with two finger swipe does not work (scrolling down is slow and interruptions in marking are the consequence), and because there is no organize menu.
The reason I try this route (instead of simply syncing) is that when I try syncing the Global Inbox, DTTG 2.7 complains that the database has “not been completely downloaded to this device. Uploading it to another sync store will lead to problems as some items are missing.”
Screenshots attached - any help appreciated!

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#11

Sorry if I draw your attention to this again, @BLUEFROG and @cgrunenberg, but it is quite an urgent matter for me.
Can you point a way out of the problem of neither being able to sync the Global Inbox nor managing to move 1333 items with 2.8 GB to a temporary database on DTTG 2? I describe it in detail above.
Many thanks for your help!

#12

I am not seeing any issue - though I don’t have 1300+ items in the Global Inbox…

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In your second screen capture, are you connecting to the same sync location you imported from (which I think would be the WebDAV connection you mentioned)?

#13

Thanks for your help!
On the first screenshot you will notice that while your screen shows an organise button, mine shows an add item button in that space. I use DTTG 2.7.9 - do you use DTTG 3? And, further question, should I perhaps upgrade before I move the data?
On the second screen shot, there was never anything imported or synced in the Global Inbox through that (yes, WebDAV) connection. I simply accumulated the 1333 items over two or three years of intense use of my iPad Pro as a bucket for my work. So I find the dialogue box puzzling, but sufficiently threatening to scare me off.
Should I ignore it?

#14

Yes, I would personally suggest moving to DEVONthink To Go 3, for a variety of reasons.

If those items were created in DEVONthink To Go, they should have their contents and you should be able to sync without incident. You could spot check for any shallowly synced items by looking for a cloud property icon under an item’s name, like so…

IMG_CBE89F1751D0-1

#15

Did as you suggested.
Two problems:

  1. Yes, I have several “shallowly synced” items with a cloud symbol (although I didn’t really sync anything). The dara are missing (usually pdfs), and the metadata (e.g. file size) are present. I’m being asked to “download” the data, but not being told how to achieve that.
  2. I managed to transfer (in several batches) about a thousand items from General Inbox to a temporary database. But am having trouble to move the remaining ca. 300, because after selecting them and pressing the organise button, it is impossible to choose anything other than the Global Inbox (where these items already are). All the other databases are greyed out (before, there used to be a “recent” (or similar) button guiding me to the previously chosen database.
    Any ideas how to solve the problem? I should also mention that doing a “check and repair” on the Global Inbox resulted in some 240 orphaned files with names like “54fed2c63d37af1de7d37bd1c2749ad43fe7dfde0fb6222921c2492b1da0b5cc“ which are not very helpful…
    Thanks for any ideas you can come up with!