Workflow question - use of home / root area.

DEVONthink Tips
1

Currently I use the inbox as a review/drafts folder. When an item is properly edited and complete, I drag the item into the empty space of the sidebar. This gets the item out of the inbox and into this global area that is accessible by clicking into the empty space of the sidebar.

What I am searching for is:
a) What is the area called?
b) Is there a keyboard shortcut to ‘archive’ an item into this area from the inbox?

2

The sidebar is a feature of DEVONthink Pro (Office) but probably you’re talking about the left pane of three-pane views or split views, right?

This area doesn’t have a name but in the end it’s the “top group” (or home/root) of the database.

No. But you could also the “Move To” submenu of the contextual menu to achieve this.

3

Christian,

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, it’s the left pane of the three-pane view.

Is there a way for me to create a script around the “Move To” submenu so that I can create a shortcut?

There’s something that leads me to believe that I’m doing something fundamentally wrong by using the home/root of the database as a storage area, given that there are no keyboard shortcuts for it while there are shortcuts for grouping, classification, and deletion. Is there something I’m missing in regards to the proper use and function of DEVONthink Pro?

4

I tried to post this already but it does not seem to have appeared, so I’ll try again. You can try


tell application "DEVONthink Pro"
	set sel to selection
	set berlusconi to (root of current database)
	repeat with curItem in sel
		move record curItem to berlusconi
	end repeat
end tell

to which you can also assign a shortcut. If it doesn’t do what you want, I can try to fix it.

Personally, I think of it in the same way as the root of my OS’s filesystem and treat it accordingly. I don’t know if there is any particular reason to treat it any differently than other places (apart from the inconvenience of selecting it).

5

Thanks, the script works great. I put it in DEVONthink’s scripts folder and assigned it a shortcut through OSX’s Keyboard Prefpane and it works like it’s a built-in command.

Much appreciated!

-Mike