I’ve indexed a number of folders and just noticed that a PDF file has been duplicated across many directories. I don’t believe this is a DEVONthink issue, but regardless, I’ve just updated my Google Drive.
I would like to update DEVONthink so that it rescans my files and no longer references this PDF everywhere, since I have deleted it.
How can I do this? Thank you.
You deleted it from where?
Have you read and understood the In & Out > Importing & Indexing section of the built-in Help and manual?
I’ll be honest, I haven’t looked at any help files or guides yet. I’m trying to understand how this application works on my own during the testing period before diving deeper into it.
I want to see if the basic usage is clear and accessible to me before going any further. Thanks for your help.
Why does “on your own” exclude reading a manual?
And what is “the basic usage” for you?
I must admit that I find your questions rather aggressive. I made the choice to test the software on my own initially, and I am sorry if that bothers you.
Personally, when I discover new software, I don’t dive headfirst into reading the manual. I take things one step at a time.
Regarding your second question:
I hope my response satisfies you; otherwise, there isn’t much more I can do.
How did you decide to use indexing?
PS: You didn’t respond to this: You deleted it from where?
I’m not bothered. I’m just wondering why someone trying out a complex piece of software that comes with good documentation would not consult the manual. Perhaps you haven’t found it.
In any case, it’s advisable to check out its sections on importing and indexing. The latter is not what many people would consider “basic usage” in DT since it is more complex than importing. As you may inadvertently have found out.
While I’m a bit of a “dive in and look around” person myself, I also work on the support side. (Not for DevonTech.) Answering questions that are clearly addressed in tutorial materials is extremely frustrating.
(Although, admittedly, not as frustrating as questions that start with “ChatGPT said…”)
It’s even more frustrating when – as here – there’s potential data loss involved.
To index my files, I went to “Files” and then “Index Files and Folders.”
To answer your question, I deleted the duplicates in my Finder and then went to DEVONthink, clicked on “Files,” and then “Updated Indexed Items.”
I understand, thank you for your explanation.
You should know that I am French, so the book in epub format, imported into Books on my Mac and iPhone, is not translated. I would need to have this document in PDF format to try to translate it.
I will look at certain parts of the documentation first if I can get it in PDF format and translate it to better understand what is blocking me.
The main idea here is to get some “quick” answers to guide me through my first steps before going into more detail, because I am already won over by DEVONthink, which is indeed complex at first.
I haven’t lost any data at all, so everything is fine.
I understand what you’re saying, but I’ll dive into the documentation once I’ve decided to buy the software. That seems logical to me, even though I can also see that reading the manual helps you understand the application better and decide whether you want to buy it.
Everyone has their own way of doing things, but perhaps it should be specified on the forum that you shouldn’t ask questions if you haven’t read the documentation in its entirety.
The manual is available in PDF format, along with a “free” (paid for by DEVONtechnologies) “Take Control of DEVONthink” at:
I guess when the DEVONthink Manual (same content as in Help) covers the answer to something specific, it’s better that responders here point to the manual rather than repeat it here.
At minimum, look at the Tutorials and “skim” the Manual to at least be aware of what’s there already so that when needed you can hopefully think to yourself, “I read something about that already”, or something like that.
From where in the Finder did you index the files, e.g., in iCloud Drive?
Noted, thank you for your time despite everything.
Yes, most of my data is on iCloud Drive, and I also have some on two Google Drives.
As i suspected. Cloud-synced locations generally need to be manually updated.
Manually? But I created files from my indexing and they arrived in DEVONthink without me having to do anything…
Strangely, I deleted the file that was in multiple copies, and everything is up to date in DEVONthink, except for one directory, which I can’t explain.
If I have to update manually, unfortunately there’s not much point in using this application, much to my regret 
Do you have access to external AI set up in DEVONthink’s Settings > AI > Chat ?
Yes, why?
Choose Help > DEVONthink Help and you can use the Help assistant to ask questions about the documentation. You can even ask in French.