I know this issue is being worked on, but in the meantime…
Not being technologically savvy, I feel myself aging every time I try to understand some of the more basic tips and tricks often suggested. I basically use DT as a large filing cabinet, and I constantly add information to several of my databases in a single sitting. I am an ethnography of communication student, and when subject matter interweaves itself (history of a particular language, etc.) I constantly have to close a database and open a new one, only to need to return to a previous database. My thoughts are leaning in the direction of having one major database with folders representing each of the current databases, to make my life a bit easier. What does the general pop. think about that idea? Or should I keep doing what I have been and just wait for this issue to be resolved…
Sounds like time for an experiment. Depending on the content of your databases, you may well find that the overall subject you work with will perform well in a single database – although you might still keep separate databases for quite unrelated collections such as tax data.
It’s quite easy to merge or split a database.
For example, create a new Finder folder for each of your databases and export each into it’s folder.
Now create a new database and import those folders. You will now have a database that contains groups, each of which was formerly a separate database.
Depending on how large that new database is, and how much RAM your computer has, it may well still be responsive.
On my MacBook Pro my main database remains reasonably responsive with about 24,000 references and 24 million total words, with 2 GB RAM. It reflects my professional interests in environmental science and policy, but covers a wide range of scientific disciplines as well as law, economics and policy issues.