I see that there is a menu item for syncrhhonization. Is this a feature that will make it into the final version of DT2?
File > Synchronize has been a command in DEVONthink for a long time. It is used to update information from a group or document that was Index-captured to the database. It can also be used to update information from a file that has been Import-captured, after it has been edited by an external application.
Is there an association made between files and/or folders in each location that is independent of the other elements of the path? That is, if I synchronize a Project A folder in my DTPO database with a Project A folder in my Documents folder in Finder, can I relocate the Finder Project A folder and still maintain the synchronization connection? In my case, I always import my files to the DTPO database. Thanks!
The File > Synchronize command, both in DEVONthink 1.x and DEVONthink 2.0, is primarily intended to be used for Index-captured files and folders.
The Path link to files in the Finder will be broken if the external file or folder is deleted or renamed. It may break if the external file or folder is moved.
If a document within an Index-captured group is moved to another location in the database, it will be recreated in the Index-captured group next time the Synchronize command is invoked. The result will be creation of a duplicate document.
In DEVONthink 1.x, group that was created by Import-capture of a Finder folder retained a Path link to the external folder. However, the documents contained within that group did NOT retain a Path to the corresponding external files (with the exception of Word and Open Office files); instead, those documents maintain a Path to a copy of the corresponding external file, which is stored in the Files folder inside the database package file.
I didn’t like that behavior in DT 1.x, because if misunderstood, a user could make mistakes. If the Synchronize command were invoked on such a group after new content had been added to the corresponding external folder, the new content would be captured into the group. However, modification of the files in the external folder would NOT result in modification of the database documents. So the synchronization of a folder to a group did not mean full synchronization of corresponding group contents.
DEVONthink 2 no longer retains Paths in groups created as the result of Import-capture of folders from the Finder. I’m glad to see that, as it saves users from potentially serious mistakes.