Using bookmarks to navigate between DT groups

DEVONthink
1

I may be using this feature incorrectly, but I wanted a way to link groups and the content together. I’ve found that adding bookmarks creates a way of navigating between related folders (groups) of content.

Questions:

  1. When clicking on a bookmark, it opens another DT instance - is there a way of changing this behaviour so that the UI takes me to the link destination in the same instance?
  2. Is there a better way of achieving this type of navigation between groups?

GIVEN that I have two related groups of information
WHEN I add a bookmark in one group using the desired destination “…Item Link” data as the URL
THEN double-clicking this bookmark takes me to the destination group

2

This shouldn’t happen as long as only one copy of DEVONthink is installed on your computer. Or do you mean another window?

3

Yes, it’s a window (the full interface).

4

Hello Andrew

A new “instance” is something different – it’s not to be pedantic :wink:

Just to check that I understand you correctly. You are using New > Bookmark with an x-devonthink-item link to a group in the URL field?

I actually never tried this. General bookmark behaviour: If I select a bookmark to a website, it opens in the view pane. If I double click it, it opens in a new (document) window. I just tried with a DEVONthink group, and the behaviour is consistent. When I select it, I get a gallery-style “Icon View” of the contents of the group in the view pane. I actually didn’t know this, pretty cool! (Even if I can’t immediately think of where I might use this). When I double click to open, it opens in a new window like any other bookmark.

Can you describe your use case in a bit more depth? A couple of options come to mind.

You could use replicants. But if you intend to have the same group referenced many places, it might get confusing. I would prefer to replicate the same document in different groups, where I want to “link” stuff together. Or you can use tags as a way to “link” similar items.

The simplest way to approximate what you describe is probably to use a text document (markdown, RTF). If you click the item link from here, it will take you to the linked group in your current window.

In a text document, it is also easier to add links compared to creating bookmarks. If you hold ⌥⌘ while dragging a group or item into the text, it will automatically create a formatted item link for you. You can also use the Insert Link popover: ^⌘E or Edit > Insert > Item Link. (See Windows > Popovers in the manual, they’re pretty handy.) Or wikilinks, but they are less stable if you rename things a lot.

PS: you might want to check the different parameters for x-devonthink-item links in the manual under Automation > Items Links. They mainly apply to documents, though. For example, if you add the reveal=1 parameter in a link to a document, it will show in the current (database) window instead of a document window.

5

When clicking on a bookmark,

Are you clicking or double-clicking?

6

Thanks for taking the time to reply and share your journey .

This recording might illustrate better than I’m able to type an explanation - Navigating Between Tutorial Windows | Loom

To be clear, what I’m trying to achieve is a navigational movement of the UI through the data structure so I can explore the structure around the folder, rather than simply looking inside a distant folder.

7

Did you add a reveal=1 parameter to the item link as suggested by @troejgaard? See chapter Automation > Item Links of help.

8

For me, the reveal parameter has no effect in this scenario. When I double-click a Group.inetloc bookmark with the URL x-devonthink-item://...?reveal=1 it still opens in another database window. It makes no difference if I close the view pane. Is it supposed to work?

@CoachKidd I might prefer to use tags or replicants for this.You can create a text document called “See also” in the group and click those links instead of using bookmarks.

But I discovered a workaround for what you want! If you select an item (single click) when you look “inside a distant folder” in the view pane – and use the Reveal command (⌘R), you get what you want.

9

Just noticed that it’s currently only supported if the item link was opened by another app.

10

Yeah, I remembered BLUEFROG saying something like that before somewhere. That’s why I added a qualifier about the parameters. Anyways – Data > Reveal should be a nice solution here.

11

Use Data > Launch URL or Control-Command-U. With the ?reveal=1 parameter it reveals in the same window. You can also use the Launch command on the URL field’s flyout menu in the Info popover (not the inspector).

2 Likes
12

It didn’t occur to me that the Launch command would yield a different result – but absolutely, that works! :smiley:

I think it’s still nice to be aware of Reveal. If you bookmark a group, Launch will then show the group in it’s context in the hierarchy, while Reveal will take you directly inside the group – to see subgroups, which are not available in the view pane, but without the surrounding hierarchy.