Syncing items indexed on an external drive

I have DEVONthink 3 installed on a Mac mini that runs as a home server and on my iMac. I created a database on the Mac mini and had it index the contents of a folder on an external drive. This database is synchronized to a WebDAV server, with the “Synchronize contents of indexed items” option checked. I can open the indexed files in DEVONthink To Go on my iPad, which would seem to indicate that the files are being uploaded to the WebDAV server.

The database is synched to DEVONthink 3 on my iMac. While the indexed files show up in DEVONthink, when I try to open them, it says, “Volume not mounted:” followed by the path to the file on the external volume on my Mac mini and a grayed out button that says “Mount Volume”. If I right-click on an indexed file and select Get Info the Path field also shows the path to the file on my Mac mini. If I right-click on an indexed file and select Show in Finder I just get a beep.

At this point, my speculation is that when DEVONthink 3 on my iMac syncs it is trying to put the indexed files in the same relative spot as they are on my Mac mini. However, since the iMac does not have an external drive attached to it, the files are not getting downloaded. Is this the case? If so, is there some way to tell DEVONthink on the iMac to put the indexed files in a different location than they are on the Mac mini?

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Have you tried (remotely) mounting that external drive so that the path does exist on your iMac?

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my speculation is that when DEVONthink 3 on my iMac syncs it is trying to put the indexed files in the same relative spot as they are on my Mac mini.

That is exactly correct.

What you’re trying to do is not recommended. You should only index items on external drives if the drive is accessible to both Macs, i.e., on the same network.

However, since the iMac does not have an external drive attached to it, the files are not getting downloaded. Is this the case?

Yes.

If so, is there some way to tell DEVONthink on the iMac to put the indexed files in a different location than they are on the Mac mini?

No. Indexed files use an absolute path. The only way you could potentially resolve this is to attach an external drive to the other Mac, making sure you format it with the same name. It would then resolve as /Volumes/my external disk - with the name you gave it, obviously - on both machines.

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Mounting the external drive connected to the Mac mini over the network has fixed the issue, with respect to my iMac at least. This will obviously present some issues when traveling and working on my MacBook Pro away from my home network. Before trying the external hard drive trick, I’ll probably see if I can rely on DEVONthink To Go on my iPad and connecting to the Mac mini via SFTP when I need these files on my laptop.

Thank you both.

You’re welcome.