I just bought Devonthink 3 and am not seeing a way to migrate all of my data from DevonThink Pro Office 2.11.2… what am I missing? Thank you!
DEVONthink’s database file format remains the same between version 2 and 3. This means you can easily open your existing databases in DEVONthink 3, with no “conversion” or “migration” needed. However, DEVONthink 3 will not open automatically the databases that were previously open in version 2. To quickly find and open them, do this…
- Make sure the DEVONthink 2 application isn’t running, or better yet removed from the machine.
- In the Finder, do a Spotlight search for kind:database dtBase2 . This will show existing databases on your machine.
- Select Show all in Finder and make sure This Mac is set in the window that opens.
- Now, just double-click the databases you want to open.
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done… thank you!
You’re welcome 
I only updated to DT3 a couple of days ago from DT2 and have found it a worrying process, especially as the first thing that happened after the invitation to load dtbase2 was a warning that this might cause me to lose all my data!! I think that I have now introduced all my databases to DT3 because I can see them and check their contents. Does this mean that the DT2 installation is no longer needed and I can remove it without risk?
While I have your attention, although I have changed the setting in my Scansnap s1330i scanner to DT 3 in Preferences nothing comes up on the DT3 screen other than a little note in the bottom left hand corner saying “adding document” that’s been there saying that for 30 minutes now. What else is there that I should have done please?
I’ve just solved the Scansnap problem by ticking the destination DT3 in File > Send to in the Scansnap Home bar at the top
Progress step by step!
was a warning that this might cause me to lose all my data!!
There is no such warning in DEVONthink. You at time may receive that a database appears to be already open, but it does not say you will lose all your data.
Does this mean that the DT2 installation is no longer needed and I can remove it without risk?
Yes.
Regarding uninstalling DEVONthink 2:
- Select Tools > Hide Sorter , if the Sorter is visible.
- Quit DEVONthink Pro (Office) 2.
At a minimum, you can delete the DEVONthink Pro (Office) application from the /Applications folder.
To do a deeper clean when moving from DEVONthink Pro (Office) 2 to DEVONthink 3…
Note: While it is not a prerequisite, we strongly recommend making sure your proper primary backups are current before starting this process.
Trash the following files and folders, noting the tilde (~) signifies the User Library:
- DEVONthink Pro (Office) application
~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink Pro 2
Note: If you have created custom templates or scripts, you can move Templates.noindex and Scripts to your Desktop before deleting this directory. You could then later add those resources to the appropriate folders in the DEVONthink 3 Application Support folder.~/Library/Preferences/com.devon-technologies.thinkpro2.*- All DEVONthink Pro Office-specific scripts in
~/ Library/Scripts/ - All DEVONthink Pro Office-specific workflows in
~/Library/Workflows/ - All DEVONthink Pro Office-specific scripts in
~/ Library/PDF Services/ - DEVONthink related Bookmarklets from your web browser
- The Inbox in the sidebar of your Finder windows
- Delete the DEVONthink Sorter from System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items , if present.
Then reboot the machine.
After the reboot, open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Security and enable DEVONthink 3 in the Full Disk Access section. You will also periodically get requests from macOS to allow DEVONthink 3 to control other applications. For the best experience and performance, you should always approve these requests from DEVONthink.
Also make sure not to delete that folder if databases are stored there (as someone in another thread mentioned theirs were).
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Regarding uninstalling DEVONthink 2:
- Select Tools > Hide Sorter , if the Sorter is visible.
- Quit DEVONthink Pro (Office) 2.
I deleted DT2 before I saw this. the sorter is still there. How do I get rid of it?
thx in advance.
I’m not sure that your comment re the threatening message is correct
I attach a screenshot of the message that I received when I reopened DT3 which is the same one I referred to earlier. The last time I clicked Cancel (unsurprisingly!!) and by memory managed to load the relevant database manually
What am I to do please?
Apologies. In the mix of all the development and changes, I had forgotten we changed this wording. 
Press Continue and do a File > Verify & Repair when it opens.
Quit the Sorter from the Action menu (gear icon).
Not sure what this means. When I clicked on the gear icon it offers the following options
New
New from template
Copy Database Link
Get info
Clicking on the dropdown from the first two doesn’t name Sorter. I’m obviously missing the point!
Can I offer a moan? On one of the screens that appeared it offered a link to Tutorials. Great, I thought, remembering how helpful the Tutorials had been when I bought DT2 5 years ago. What a disappointment - only 2 were offered neither of which were of any help. You guys have to appreciate that not all of us guys out in the boondocks are particularly techy and need some basic help to get started which, frankly, is extremely difficult to find. It’s great that you are there to help but instead of you firefighting there should be a resource somewhere where all our pathetic questions are answered. I think that it’s called FAQ!! If that is easy to find then I’ve failed miserably!
There is the built-in Help, completely reorganized and rewritten for DEVONthink 3.
PS: My reply was to @shadowboxer
Hi, thanks for your help. I’ve just upgraded and am trying to open my databases.
-
kind:database dtBase2 does not work in Finder for me. Nothing. If I search “dtBase2” in Finder they come up. Is that a problem?
-
When I try and open each database (after deleting the DevonThink 2) I get the dreaded: **Database ‘Inbox.dtBase2’ seems to be already in use! …Data loss data corruption" warning.
Is there a way to avoid this?
Many thanks,
Matthew
Hold the Option key and choose Help > Report bug to start a support ticket and please reference this forum post.
Hi, I’m not sure about deleting folders e.g. ~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink Pro 2 (which contains my Global Inbox - inbox.dtbase2), when I can’t open the databases win Pro3 without a danger of corruption.
I fully admit I am not an expert, but is there a step-by-step guide for this upgrade which includes the problems I and others are having?
Many thanks,
Matthew
Thanks, have sent.