Sync to work computer while maintaining privacy

DEVONthink
1

Hi, I am using CloudKit to sync some personal databases between my two personal Macs and iOS devices.

I’m a programmer and would like to have a DT database with programming notes that can sync between my personal Macs and my work Mac (I have a 3rd license). But I think I would need to log into iCloud on my work computer to make this happen, and I would rather not have all my personal iCloud files on the work Mac.

I thought of making a work iCloud account and putting the programming notes database there, but I think if I added another iCloud account to my personal Macs, it would only allow things like calendars and notes etc to sync.

Thoughts on a way to solve this problem (preferably with iCloud)?
Thanks,
Joe

2

Make a work iCloud account and log the work Mac into it.
Share a development notes iCloud folder on the personal Mac between the personal and work iCloud accounts.
Index this development notes folder into DEVONthink on both machines.

You may need to use File > Update Indexed Items to refresh the groups in DEVONthink.

I am successfully testing this between two Apple IDs.

3

Thanks for the solution! I’ve hit a roadblock though when I try to create a new DT database.

In the Create DB dialog, on my root iCloud drive or in the Documents folder the folders are greyed out for me to select a folder to put it in. And if I just try to create the database (not in a subfolder), the Create button is active (not greyed out), but the dialog just sits there and does nothing when Create is pressed

4

Can you use a different sync mechanism for the work computer? So that the work computer simply doesn’t have access to the tool that contains the personal data?

5

You cannot put a database in the cloud (see page 12 of the current DT handbook, quote: “Note: You cannot create or store a database in a cloud-synced folder, e.g., iCloud Drive or Dropbox. This is not data-safe so the behaviour is explicitly disallowed.”); reading carefully that isn’t what Jim suggested either:

So the suggestion was to create a folder in iCloud (using macOS tools) and to index that folder to DT.

6

Correct on both accounts.

  1. You’re just using iCloud Drive to house a folder with your notes.
  2. That folder is indexed for use in DEVONthink.
  3. It’s also shared with your other Apple ID so you can have that folder on the work Mac.
  4. The shared folder on the work Mac can also index it’s local copy into DEVONthink.

So while you can’t technically sync between Apple IDs with DEVONthink, this is one way to accomplish something akin to it with iCloud.

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