# Will DEVONthink's Woeful Interface Ever Be Updated?

**URL:** <https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377>\
**Category:** DEVONthink\
**Created:** [January 20, 2024, 6:50pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377 "2024-01-20T18:50:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![N\_M](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/fbc32d/32.png) [@N\_M](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/N_M)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/41 "2024-01-26T15:42:28Z")

</div>

> [@pete31](#):
>
> defaults write com.devon-technologies.think3 ShowAdditionalInfoInPathBar -string yes

Thanks again. It needed a reboot to take effect! I am using the trial version and have not yet entered my registration key, maybe that has something to do with it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2024, 3:43pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/42 "2024-01-26T15:43:11Z")

</div>

There is not such limitation in the trial. And see my note.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![N\_M](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/fbc32d/32.png) [@N\_M](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/N_M)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/43 "2024-01-26T20:37:26Z")

</div>

Just semantics - but should a `-bool` value not be `TRUE` or `FALSE`?  
Also DEVONthink’s manual mentions `ON|OFF` as values.  
Are these all treated as equivalent: `-string YES` and `-bool YES`?  
Thanks again.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![davidrobertparker](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/davidrobertparker/32/29333_2.png) [@davidrobertparker](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/davidrobertparker)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 9:31am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/44 "2024-01-27T09:31:49Z")

</div>

Yours is a personal opinion that is not shared by the majority of DEVONthink users.

The DEVONthink developers, over the years, have devoted almost all of their creative ability to making DEVONthink probably the best tool in the Apple ecosystem for managing your information. There have been some improvements to the user interface and not all have been well-received, but it remains functional without being flashy.

I have been using DEVONthink for over six years and it’s my primary interface for everything I do on my devices. I would be lost without it and wouldn’t change one bit of it though the team behind it continue to improve it in ways I would never have thought of.

David

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sherifmitch](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@sherifmitch](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/sherifmitch)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/45 "2024-01-27T16:14:33Z")

</div>

I appreciate the way you accept users wishes.😡

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Amontillado](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Amontillado](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/Amontillado)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 6:02pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/46 "2024-01-27T18:02:49Z")

</div>

It’s not as bad as you think, @sherifmitch . User suggestions are noted.

More importantly, support is really quick through this forum.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cali310](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Cali310](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/Cali310)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 6:48pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/47 "2024-01-27T18:48:04Z")

</div>

Very helpful tip! But I’m also not seeing anything in the Information Bar after confirming that ShowAdditionalInfoInPathBar was switched to ON.

Is there another visibility setting here that is necessary?

[Edit: solved!]

Step 1:  
defaults write com.devon-technologies.think3 ShowAdditionalInfoInPathBar ON

Step 2:  
defaults write com.devon-technologies.think3 ShowAdditionalInfoInPathBar -string yes

Step 3: Quit/Restart

Thanks to all above!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![FrankT](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/a3d4f5/32.png) [@FrankT](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/FrankT)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/48 "2024-01-27T18:54:26Z")

</div>

If you have a village bakery, you depend on people who live near your store to buy your rolls. If these customers say they want different rolls, the baker has to change his recipe if he wants to survive.

But if you sell something all over the world, it doesn’t matter what a single customer wants. For every customer who doesn’t like something, there are 1000 customers who want it exactly like that.

To make things worse, people who have been using a piece of software every day for years and consider it indispensable in their lives often succumb to a frustrating illusion. At some point, they believe that the software belongs to them. They believe that everything has to be developed in the way they want it to be. But the software belongs to the developers. We can buy it and use it if we want to. Or we don’t. Nothing more.

Developers are often like artists. The smaller the company, the more likely this is to be true. They have precise ideas about how something should be. Nobody would think of telling a painter what his pictures should look like. If you don’t like these pictures, just don’t buy them. If a painter ever takes someone else’s “advice”, it’s because he thinks it’s a good idea himself and not because someone asked him to.

Recently a user listed about 20 apps that, in his opinion, do almost everything much better than DT.  
This is where the most absurd frustration is revealed and I even experience it myself (but not with DT).

If other apps are much better, why don’t we use one of these? Because the app we’ve been using for years is “our app” and it should do everything exactly the way we want it to. Which brings us back to the beginning. 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DTLow](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/dtlow/32/18161_2.png) [@DTLow](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/DTLow)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/49 "2024-01-27T19:39:22Z")

</div>

> [@FrankT](#):
>
> it should do everything exactly the way we want it to

Devonthink is my base for storage/organization of my notes/documents/files  
Integrated Applescript allows me to create customized workflows

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/user_avatar/discourse.devontechnologies.com/bluefrog/32/135_2.png) [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/50 "2024-01-27T23:14:43Z")

</div>

> [@Will DEVONthink's Woeful Interface Ever Be Updated?](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/40):
>
> This works defaults write com.devon-technologies.think3 ShowAdditionalInfoInPathBar -bool YES but it’s not going to automatically update the current window’s selection, which I think is what you’re expecting. Open a new window or reselect an item and you’ll see the effect. PS: Copying and using the link is the preferred method of making such changes unless a command specifically needs a Terminal command.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mmoran](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@mmoran](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/mmoran)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2024, 2:04pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377/51 "2024-02-01T14:04:13Z")

</div>

Interesting thread. I’ve been a DT license holder for 10+ years. The power of it is unmatched and has me in line to renew my licenses the next time I’m asked to. But I agree the user interface is very spartan. The analogy describing this software’s UI is it’s more Windows-like than Mac-like (not quite as valid today as it used to be because the aesthetics of both have come closer together) and ironic as it is one of the few pieces of software I use that is MAC/iOS only. I’ve been pulled away by “shinier” interfaces (Keep-it and Evernote, to name a few), but I’ve returned to DT. I wish I had more acumen for UI to make solid positive suggestions rather than just saying: “I agree the DT interface is very utilitarian.”

[Previous page](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/will-devonthinks-woeful-interface-ever-be-updated/78377.md?page=2)