I haven’t run into the problem you identify with Houdah (yet). The problem I do have is that Houdah Spot can no longer search Apple Mail.
Does Find Any File search Apple Mail (MacOS Sequoia or what ever was the previous version)?
A question here: when I tell DT to index a folder so I can search in it, does it also keep that folder indexed (meaning: regularly indexing it again) or just once when I tell it to index?
This is discussed in the In & Out > Importing & Indexing section of the built-in Help and manual.
I think (I may be wrong) that might be something wrong with Spotlight indexing of your mails, cause Houdah just works off what Spotlight has.
FAF, I don’t think it searches Apple Mail. It will find .eml files outside.
Just wondering about the concerns with searching mail
I use various mail services; but only to send/receive
For mail archives, I export to Devonthink for storage/organization
Searches are done with the Devonthink tools
I’m not clear on what rules are applied to syncing a database with indexed folders, using a sync store with the option to sync the contents of indexed items enabled.
That’s an edge case Devonthink’s remarkable documentation doesn’t cover, at least as far as I’ve found.
It’s truly an edge case for me. I have one database with an indexed location of video editing files and I don’t use that on my laptop, and it’s synced to a sync store that doesn’t synchronize indexed content.
1 Like
What rules are you referring to?
Not smart rules - the logic. If the indexed files don’t exist on a system you download the database to, I’m not certain how paths are handled. Or how moving the files and reducing is handled.
I don’t have an immediate need, so count my questions as more a suggestion for future documentation than anything else.
The files are reproduced on the machine you’ve downloaded to. It has worked this way for a very long time.
1 Like
I use DT on three Macs that are synced, so their user filesystems are essentially identical. Files that I prefer to view or edit outside of DT I index in DT when I want to group content topically or for a project; this includes PDFs and most of my Markdown files. DT finds this indexed content across the synced machines without incident (and I’ve been doing this for years, starting with DT 2). I will sometimes import web page content into DT, but mostly the content actually in the DT database are rich text and Markdown notes on specific topics that I’ve organized in DT.
I store lots of web bookmarks in DT; I suppose in a sense that content is indexed.
I use DevonTech’s free app, EasyFind for simple searches along these lines; it’s quite zippy! For complex content-specific searches, I use HoudahSpot; I haven’t experienced any Spotlight-related system loading so it serves my purposes.
EasyFind is in DevonTech’s “Needful Things” collection: DEVONtechnologies | Needful Things.
For really simple searches (using part of a known filename), I use Alfred (a Spotlight-like launcher/multitasker, which I believe, like Houdah, relies on the Spotlight database).
1 Like
I don’t know about HoudahSpot, but items in DEVONthink are still findable using Spotlight. I don’t know why you’d want to use Spotlight indexing if you have DEVONthink’s search available though.
When I first started with DT I thought a database per topic was a good idea, but I quickly switched to one giant database for my research and have been happy ever since. To my mind, it doesn’t make sense to split your “library” across multiple databases. It limits how you can interact with them, and as you’ve already identified a lot of topics have some overlap. I’m a folder person so I rely on replicants if I need a paper to be in more than one place, but most the time I don’t need this. Filing by main topic is enough for me. If you like organising by tag, this issue is eliminated since you can assign multiple tags to the same file.
I’m all in on importing. DT is not ‘a layer over Finder”. For me, it is a replacement for Finder. All my research is in a DT database, and I only interact with it through DT’s interface. I run searches, create notes and read papers all through DT’s interface, which makes it the single most powerful app on my Mac. All my new papers are imported/downloaded into the global inbox, and then sorted from there. Managing things this way majorly reduced the mental overhead of thinking about file management - I have one process and it works for all research (= it goes into DT, and I sort, read and interact from there). Ultimately it’s working with the research that’s the important bit, so streamlining your workflows to make that part possible is the key action.
3 Likes
Every user’s needs and situation are unique, but I will share mine in case it is of interest or use.
I started using DEVONthink about three years ago. I bought it initially as a replacement for Evernote without fully understanding DT3’s power. My use has evolved with experience.
I have retired, but continue to maintain an interest in my previous industry (minerals processing) and collect other information relevant to my life and hobbies.
Leading up to retirement I used a Fujitsu ScanSnap to digitise over 40 year’s worth of accumulated paper files. I organised these and previously scanned but not OCRd PDFs into a hierarchical file structure. At that stage, not all the files were tagged. When I learnt about indexing I included these files as a separate database within Devonthink. This not only helped me find files easily, but also to bulk tag and OCR files where necessary. I use a label to indicate which is particularly important and custom metadata in special cases. This has allowed me to create smart groups to select quite specific files.
I use DEVONthink’s clipping and New features to capture information daily from the web etc. This may be information for temporary use that I will delete after a while, and I can add a reminder to review.
Over the last year I have created “Tables of Content” for frequently required documents by copying their link and creating a linked entry in the ToC. This also works with items outside DEVONthink using Hookmark links. It is a very helpful feature enabling me to access important data immediately (on a second monitor), for example when on a video call.
I saw some comments about Houdah. I use it when needed, and it finds items in DEVONthink quickly, as does Alfred.
I hope this helps.
To my mind, it doesn’t make sense to split your “library” across multiple folders
If you like organising by tag, this issue is eliminated since you can assign multiple tags to the same file.
I use tags to organize my data; it’s not papers
Then you have everything in one folder (or in the inbox?). Your folder structure is the tag structure? I mean, just like others click on a folder to see the “content”, you click on a tag?
Confirmed; Inbox for collection, then moved to basically a single database/group
And yes, I make use of the tag tree in the Devonthink sidebar
Smart. Why not? I’ve never thought about it before. Probably because I’m also a folder person. 
And before you move a file, do you tag it? Or is the tag assigned automatically?
I use an AppleScript to assist with processing Inbox entries
It handles file naming, tag assignment and file movement
I rely on Groups, Replicants, and searching. While i do Tag, never really use them. I also use Classify all the time to put stuff into groups.
Am I correct in assuming that application of Tags not a part of Classify-ing, as it does with Groups. Hence my reliance on Groups and Replicants to enable Classify-ing.