Using DEVONthink as free form database

I imagine many will wonder how it could not be obvious to me, but I would like experience and thoughts about this.

For a long time now I have been using some form of free form database to keep track of contact info and other miscellaneous kinds of information. When I was on DOS/Windows it was InfoSelect, which I still think is the best app of this type I’ve encountered. More recently I have used TiddlyWiki http://tiddlywiki.com, another amazingly versatile piece of software that has many other uses.

I would stick with TiddlyWiki, but security issues have developed for the way I use it, and I think I need to find an alternative. What Im looking for is something that would make it easy to record and retrieve brief snippets of text, e.g., contact info, reminders, etc. Also to move text to files created with other applications. And something that’s likely to be around into the indefinite future.

I suspect there are DEVONthink users who have made extensive use of DEVONthink in this way. I’d be interested in hearing about your experience and/or any other suggestions you may have.

Thanks,

This topic seems like it belongs in the DEVONthink: Usage Scenarios subforum; maybe a moderator can move it there …

Something different than what can be done with the Take Note pop up (see Preferences > Sorter to set the hot key), the Copy Selection hotkey (also set on that preference panel), the various Take/Append Rich/Plain Text services, dragging text snippets to Sorter or to the DEVONthink icon in the dock, etc., or the Clip DEVONthink extensions for browsers? I think one or more of these existing features in DEVONthink will meet all of your requirements.

I’m not sure what this means. In DEVONthink you can edit plain text and rich text files that were “created with other applications”. “Edit” includes “mov[ing] text to files”. Is there something else that needs to be done?

Since the future is always indefinite, this requirement is nailed! :laughing:

Thanks, Korm. I imagined that those would be among the things that are relevant, but I haven’t used them much. I’ll have to check them out.

Regards,