Synchronize Creating Duplicates

Sorry to crosspost, but I haven’t got an answer to this yet in the Troubleshooting forum. I’m running into obstacles with DT and I really want to get them resolved before my demo period runs out. Otherwise I’ll have to make a decision to purchase not knowing if DT will work for me.

I indexed a folder and later made changes to it (just moving files into other folders). When I selected Synchronize from the file menu, it synchronized the moved files into the new folder locations, but it also left a copy of the moved files in their original location (the file name is blue so it is a duplicate). How do you synchronize the folder so it appears in DT exactly as it is in the Finder and does not create duplicates that don’t really exist in the Finder?

Thanks

Did you make changes to the folder in DT or the folder in the Finder?

It looks like synchronize (between a DT folder and an imported/linked Finder folder) captures additions but not for deletions.

I made changes to the folder in the Finder. From what I understand, synchronize is a one-way function–from Finder to DT. I had moved a few files into existing folders in the Finder. When I performed the sync, I assumed it would do a one-way sync and make the DT folder exactly match the Finder. Instead it left the files where they originally were and created duplicates of them in the folders where they were moved. For example:

Pre-Sync Finder and DT
/Folder/Doc1
/Doc2

In the Finder I move Doc2 into the same folder as Doc1 then I perform a sync.

Post-Sync Finder
/Folder/Doc1
/Folder/Doc2

Post-Sync DT
/Folder/Doc1
/Folder/Doc2
/Doc2

auctoris:

The synchronize procedure is one-way. If you place files into a synchronized folder, they will be imported into DT/DT Pro.

If you later move some of those files into another synchronized folder, they will be imported into DT/DT Pro again. You will get duplicates. That’s what one-way synchronization means.

Personally, I don’t use synchronized folders, although I do sometimes use Action Folders to automatically import into DT Pro new items added to the Action Folders. That can be convenient, for example, if I’m quickly downloading a bunch of PDFs from the Web.

Most of my download files intended to go into DT Pro go into one of two enormous Finder folders: “Stuff for DEVONthink” or “Fodder for DEVONthink”. I do my organizing in DT Pro.