DEVONthink

VERSION 3.6.2
DOCUMENTATION

© 2001-2021 DEVONtechnologies
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

GETTING STARTED 5 IN & OUT 50

Installing, Updating, Uninstalling 5 Importing & Indexing 50

DEVONthink Simplified 7 Drag & Drop 53
Building Your Database 11 Sorter 54
Tagging 14 Archiving Email 55
A Word About Backups 19 Sync 58
Tutorials, Screen Casts, and More 19 Capturing Paper (Image Capture) 67
Capturing Paper (Other Options) 69
TASKS 21
Extensions and Bookmarklets 70

Analyze Text Documents 21 Web sharing 71

Archive Your Messages 22 Services 75

Archive Printed Documents 23 PDF Services 76

Browse the Internet 23 Third-Party Applications 76

Capture Data From the Web 25

WINDOWS 77
Catalog Your SD Cards or DVDs 26
Catalog Your Photos and Media Files 26 Main Window 78
Collect Text Snippets and Other Valuable Sidebar: Navigate 84
Data 26 Sidebar: Filters 89
Index Files on Your Hard Drive 27 Sidebar: Smart Group and Rule Editor 92
Manage Your Bookmarks 27 Sidebar: Reading List 93
Share Project Data 28 Sidebar: Image Capture 93
Read News Feeds 29 Sidebar: Email 96
Take notes 29 Sidebar: Extras 97
Write Texts and Outline Projects 30 Document Window 98
Download Manager 99
DOCUMENTS 32
The Sorter 101

General 32 Preferences 106

Document Linking 34 Database Properties 106

Plain and Rich Texts 35 Popovers 108

PDFs 38 Web Sharing 110

Markdown Documents 40 Support Assistant 112

HTML-Based Formats 42 Log 114

Sheets 45 Activity 115

Images, Audio, and Video 47

Office Documents, Email, and Others 48

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 2

INSPECTORS 116 TROUBLESHOOTING 174

Info pane 116 Problems importing files 174

Annotations & Reminders 118 Email import does not work as
Content 122 expected 175
Document 123 Unlocking a database 176
Concordance 124 Problems using Services 176
See Also & Classify 126 Sync Issues 177
Search 127 Repairing a defective database 181
DEVONthink crashes 184
MENUS 129
DEVONthink behaves irrationally 184

The Application Menu 129

AUTOMATION 186
The File Menu 131
The Edit Menu 135 AppleScript 187
The Data Menu 137 Basic AppleScript Terminology 188
The Format menu 140 Internal Scripts 191
The Tools menu 142 Triggered Scripts 191
The View menu 145 Reminder Scripts 192
The Go menu 147 Toolbar Scripts 192
The Window menu 149 Smart Templates 193
The Scripts menu 149 Smart Rules 195
The Help menu 150 Smart Rule Scripts 196
The Dock menu 151 Apple Mail Rules 198
Application Scripts 199
PREFERENCES 152
Folder Actions 200

General 152 Automator 201

Editing 155 Item links 202

WikiLinks 156 URL Commands 203

Import 157
Sorter 158
Media 158
Colors 160
Web 160
RSS 161
Data 162
Email 163
OCR 164
Imprinter 166
Server 168
Sync 170

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 3

APPENDIX 205

Glossary 205
Iconology 208
Toolbar Items 208
Keyboard Shortcuts 211
Contextual Menu Items 212
Search operators 215
Search Prefixes 218
Templates 222
Metadata 224
Placeholders 226
Smart Rule Events and Actions 228
Scripts 232
Web site export templates 234
Hidden preferences 235

READ ME 237

Version History 237

License Agreement 268
Credits 268

TECHNOLOGY 273

General Concept 273

Features 273
Structure 273
Applications 274

OTHER PRODUCTS 275

Overview 275
DEVONthink 275
DEVONagent 275
DEVONsphere 276
Needful Things 276

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 4

 GETTING STARTED

IN THIS CHAPTER available in higher editions. You can find

a list of the editions and their features
Installing, Updating, Uninstalling 5
online.
DEVONthink Simplified 7
Building Your Database 11 Warmest Regards, The DEVONtechnologies
Tagging 14 Team
A Word About Backups 19
Now let's get into it…
Tutorials, Screen Casts, and More 19

Welcome to DEVONthink, a powerful

INSTALLING, UPDATING,
assistant in your quest to organize many
UNINSTALLING
kinds of information. From recipes to
your dissertation, hobbies to health, for INSTALLING
work or home, DEVONthink can help you
gather, organize, and connect your data. If you haven't already installed DEVONthink,

This manual will help get you familiarized here are the easy steps to accomplish that:

with DEVONthink's concepts, interface, and

Download an installer from the Download
options. We begin with simple overviews,
page.
move into descriptions of the essential
If your browser isn't set to open safe
controls, then conclude with the deepest
downloaded files, double-click the ZIP file
details in the appendix.
to decompress it. You will see a disk image

Note this manual is meant as a handy file.

reference, not as a series of mandates on how Double-click the disk image to open it.

you must use it. DEVONthink can be used Drag and drop the application from the

very simply or in very complex ways and each disk image to the Applications folder

person brings their own personal approach shortcut.

to using it. To that end, this document can't After the application has copied, press ⌘E

be an exhaustive guide to everything you to eject the disk image.

could ever do with it. With the flexibility

Note: Please note that macOS Services
and capabilities built-in, that would be an
and the connection to DEVONagent
impossible task. We hope you find this guide
work only for applications installed into
helpful.
the Applications folder, and that logout

Note: Text in blue color (besides hyperlinks and login or a restart is suggested after

that might get colored in blue by your

ebook reader) refers to functionality only

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 5

 installation to make all parts of macOS ~/Library/Application Scripts/
aware of the additional services that come com.devon-technologies.think3
with DEVONthink. ~/Library/Preferences/com.devon-
technologies.think3.*
UPDATING All DEVONthink-specific scripts in ~/
Library/Scripts
Updates to DEVONthink are done per the
All DEVONthink-specific workflows in ~/
schedule set in Preferences > General > Check
Library/Workflows/
for Updates.
All DEVONthink-specific scripts in ~/

If you need to manually update the software, Library/PDF Services/

follow the previous installation instructions, Uninstall the DEVONthink browser

but allow the Finder to overwrite the extension, following the uninstallation

old version. Your database(s) will not be process for the particular browser.

affected. To avoid any potential problems, do Bookmarklets from your web browser

not use a third-party uninstaller utility. Just The reference to the global inbox folder in

replace the current version, as directed. your Finder's sidebar

Keychain entries containing devoncloudy

UNINSTALLING in the name

If for some reason you need to fully uninstall The DEVONthink .mailbundle in the ~/

DEVONthink from your Mac, trash the Library/Mail/Bundles directory.

following files and folders (~ stands for your

Note: In troubleshooting situations, please
account's home folder):
do not uninstall the software without

DEVONthink talking to our support team beforehand.

~/Library/Application Support/ Most issues can be resolved without

DEVONthink 3 uninstalling the software.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 6

DEVONTHINK SIMPLIFIED

DEVONthink is a very flexible application, DEVONthink has two main window types: a
appealing to a broad range of people and main window (seen immediately when the
accommodating many different working software opens), and document windows.
styles. Since people use it in such diverse These windows are used in already familiar
ways, it often leads people to believe there ways, supporting drag and drop, sorting on
is a "steep learning curve" associated with different attributes, full screen views, etc.
it. The truth of the matter is DEVONthink is Whether you are working (or playing) in
a powerful application built on simple, and DEVONthink, you will be using one or both
often familiar components and concepts. window types.
Here we'll cover the basics.
DEVONthink supports different ways of
viewing your items, e.g., in lists or as icons.
INTERFACE
You can show or hide many details in the
At its core, DEVONthink is a multi-window, window, allowing you to work in very simple
document-based application. Multi-window or complex views of your data. Specifics
merely means you can have more than one about windows and their component panes
window open. Document-based means it and bars are discussed in more detail in the
supports viewing, and in some cases editing, Windows and Inspectors chapters.
documents. Apple Notes is an example of a
document-based application without multi-
window support.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 7

DEVONthink also has a powerful array of In a similar fashion, open databases appear
tools found in its menus. Many of these are in DEVONthink's sidebar and behave in much
also found in the contextual menus when the same way.
Control-clicking items in the software. And
Global Inbox: Displayed as , when you
to fine-tune some of the options, it also has
launch DEVONthink, you will immediately
extensive preferences.
see a database called Inbox. This is a special
database and a core component of the
DATABASES
software. As a core database, you can't
Beyond the interface, DEVONthink has only a delete or close it, as it provides an always
few core working components: databases and open database for quickly storing unfiled or
items. Items are comprised of two essential transient data.
components: groups and documents.
Imagine you are reading about fission
Note: Throughout the documentation, we reactions and someone sends a link about
use item to represent both groups and a vacation place in Bali. You jump to the
documents. Things that only apply to one website and quickly clip a webarchive of
or the other will use the appropriate term. the page. But instead of putting it in your
research database, you add it to the Global
Displayed as and shown only in the
Inbox and get back to work. You can go
Navigate sidebar, databases are the
back later and read or sort things to other
fundamental unit in DEVONthink, filled with
databases. If you are familiar with Getting
items. No matter if your content is grouped,
Things Done you'll recognize the concept.
ungrouped, or a mix, it is all housed in a
database. You add, remove, organize, and The Global Inbox is also special as it is the
search for files within DEVONthink, just as only database you can add a shortcut to
you've done in the Finder forever. Simple. in the Finder's sidebar. This allows you to
save a file into the Global Inbox from other
When you create a database, it is made
applications.
as a self-contained package in the Finder.
Packages are technically folders that are All databases also have an Inbox group with
handled like single files by the Finder. the same purpose as the Global Inbox. It just
allows you to save unfiled data to a more
DEVONthink databases are not merely a
specific database, as needed.
series of files and folders in the Finder, but
are isolated from each other and function
GROUPS
a bit more like disks. When you plug in an
external drive, it appears in the Finder's One of the two basic items are groups. No
sidebar isolated from other disks, but still different than the folders and groups found
capable of moving and organizing data on it. in many other applications, they merely
serve as ways to keep certain bits of data
together. But within the DEVONthink groups

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 8

are a few variations. They are all simple to properties, any group you create will function
recognize and understand, but they bear this way. For individual groups, you have the
being introduced. option of choosing Exclude from Tagging from
the contextual menu or Info inspector.
Ordinary Groups: Displayed as , these are
analogous to folders in the Finder. Except for As you add items to a group tag, they are
underlying technology, groups operate in the automatically tagged with the parent folders'
same fashion. Creating, adding and removing name. Similarly, removing items from a group
contents, and deleting are all essentially the tag will remove the parent tags. Also, if you
same. Just as in the Finder, you can create create sub-groups, these will also be created
subgroups to suit your needs. as group tags. This can be useful if you're
using a group for staging purposes, e.g., a
Looking and behaving like folders you've used
groups for unassigned, in progress, and done
in the Finder, groups are the simplest way to
items. Moving files between these groups
segregate data. DEVONthink allows you to
would change the tag to its current parent
create deeply nested hierarchies or simple
group.
top level groups, whatever you need to keep
things organized in a way that makes sense to Smart Groups: Displayed as , smart groups
you. should be familiar to anyone using saved
searches in the Finder. Similar to them, smart
New empty groups can be made with the
groups don't actually contain anything. They
Data > New > Group command. Groups
merely show you items matching the criteria
of selected items can be easily made and
you specify. Sometimes broadly used in
unmade via the Group Items and Ungroup
situations where deeply nested groups are
Items commands in the Data menu. These
not used, you can create as many as you'd like
commands are also in the contextual menu.
no matter your approach.

Groups are also the target of DEVONthink's

These special groups allow you to create
classify function. The AI compares
virtual groups based on any number of
document contents and locations and offers
matching criteria. These can be simple, e.g.,
suggestions for where items may best be
"all PDF files in a database", or complex, like
filed. As documents are filed, manually or
"all unread documents with a specific color
taking the AI's suggestions, it becomes more
label added in the last week but excluding
and more adept at helping you file more
HTML files". If you like to use a looser filing
efficiently.
method, using smart groups allows you

Group Tags: Displayed as , these are to file your items with less concern about

created and operate like ordinary groups, with where they're located in the database.

one extra function: the name of a group tag is With smart groups you can also have items

applied as a tag to its contents (sometimes appear in more than one smart group without

referred to as "children"). By unchecking replicating or duplicating files explicitly. For

Exclude Groups from Tagging in a database's example, a smart group could show items

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 9

tagged with "taxes". You could then create thesis. Maybe some photos from your
another smart group with items tagged with vacation you want to link to in a Markdown
"taxes","business", and "2018". document you're working on. They're all just
documents.
Local smart groups, i.e., ones applied to
a specific database, can be created and DEVONthink supports adding many kinds
edited via the Data > New > Smart Group of files to your databases, but note the
command. You can also find this command in type of file determines its usefulness in the
the contextual menu when Control-clicking database. For example, images can easily
in the item list. Smart groups can also be be added but searching for them is limited
created when doing an Advanced search. to searching by attributes like file type or
filename. Remember DEVONthink excels at
When you create a new database,
text-based operations, so files like rich text
DEVONthink automatically adds a few
or PDFs are very well supported.
of predefined smart groups for your
convenience: Note: More information on the types of
files you can create or import can be found
All Images: Shows all images.
in the Documents chapter.
All PDF Documents: Shows all PDF
documents. While not types of document per se, there
Duplicates: Lists all duplicates. are two variations on documents available to
you: duplicates and replicants.
Note: Smart groups filtering on dates or
unread status are shown with special icons. Duplicates: Displayed with to the right of
a document's name or the name optionally
Smart Rules: Displayed as and found only
shown in blue type, there are two ways to
in the Navigate sidebar, smart rules are a
get a duplicate in your database. Firstly, just
type of smart group with an extra function:
as you'd expect in the Finder, select a file
they not only match items by the criteria you
and press ⌘D: a duplicate is made. Secondly,
specify, they can also act on them. These
if DEVONthink examines the contents and
actions can even trigger when certain events
determines it has another file with the same
happen. For example, you could have a smart
content, it will mark them as duplicates.
rule matching PDFs in the Global Inbox and
Duplicates are separate files, and changes
have newly added PDFs be added to the
to the content of one should remove its
Reading List.
duplicate status.

DOCUMENTS Replicants: Displayed with to the right of

a document's name or the name optionally
The second basic item in DEVONthink are
shown in red type, replicants are conceptually
documents. No different than the Finder,
similar to aliases in the Finder or a second
documents are any files you add or create in
phone book entry for the very same person.
your databases. Perhaps you are importing
Replicants are one file showing up in more
spreadsheets for work, or PDFs for your

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 10

than one location. However, they consume THE DETAILS
no more space than a single file. Since they
We hope this has given you some insight
are clones, changes made to any instance
into the basics of DEVONthink. DEVONthink
of a document apply to all instances. This
is deep and powerful, but understanding
makes them useful when you want to file a
these basic concepts and seeing parts you
document in more than one location, but
are already familiar with will hopefully dispel
don't want to have to update each document
some of the "fear" that it's complicated and
individually. It can also be useful if you have
hard to learn.
larger files you want filed in more than
one group. A 10 MB PDF, replicated in ten That being said, we also have more in-depth
different groups, would only use 10 MB of information for you. From simple overviews
space in the database. of menu commands to details in the appendix
can be found in the remainder of this guide.
There is also the possibility of having a
document that is both replicated and a
duplicate. This will display this icon to the BUILDING YOUR DATABASE
right of the name:
The first step in starting your own custom

It's important that you understand how database is to create a new database with

replicants work before you begin making File > New Database. Give your database

changes to documents. Any changes to a an easily recognizable name, and choose

replicant are carried over to all replicants; as where you want to save your database. We

you might imagine, this means that you can advocate putting them in a folder in your

to do some very powerful (and potentially home directory, like ~/Databases. With your

negative) things with your database's new database created, you are ready to add

contents via replicants. Duplicates, on the information.

other hand, allow you to change the files

Encrypted Databases: If you have databases
without modifying the original document
containing sensitive or private information,
or group. Duplicates are less powerful than
you can create an encrypted database. This
replicants, but no less important in the grand
is specialized AES-256 encrypted disk image
scheme of database organization.
that will not appear in the Finder or your

On a technical side note, when you add an desktop when it's open. In the Navigate

ordinary tag to a file, a replicant is made in sidebar, you will see a key icon to the right

the appropriate tag group. of the database's name, denoting it is an

encrypted database. Quitting DEVONthink
Note: Replicants cannot be created in the or closing the database unmounts the disk,
same location as the originating file, nor so you are always required to enter the
can they be made across databases. password to access it.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 11

Choose File > New Encrypted Database and more selective in what you add (especially
enter a password that will be used to unlock in the beginning). Having a large, "dump it all
it. Enter a reasonable anticipated size for in" database can contain a lot of files that
the database, in megabytes or gigabytes. will do you no practical good (for example,
This is how large you think the database will DEVONthink can't read your Microsoft Office
get. Since the encrypted database functions user profile files), and weeding these files out
like a connected drive, you define how large after-the-fact can be both time-consuming
it is and "fill it up". You can choose to let and frustrating. Also remember, DEVONthink
Spotlight index the contents, but bear in has to index metadata and contents of any
mind the Spotlight index is stored locally and compatible files. This will be less productive
isn't encrypted. This means someone could if you add files you'd never want to use or
find a document in the database exists via search for.
a Spotlight search. However, they wouldn't
Here's a practical example: Your iTunes
be able to open and access the database
database runs over 22 gigabytes. There's
without the proper password.
nothing to be gained by simply copying
Note: You cannot create or store a that into a DEVONthink database. Copying
database in a cloud-synced folder, e.g., the iTunes database into DEVONthink
iCloud Drive or Dropbox. This is not data- would result in a large, inefficient, and slow
safe so the behavior is explicitly disallowed. DEVONthink database, and would cripple
The advocated location is a folder in your DEVONthink's ability to manage and use
home directory, like ~/Databases. If you content in a well-designed manner (much
try to open a database in one of these less perform simple search and organizational
locations, you will be prompted to let tasks).
DEVONthink move the database, or reveal
As your growing databases use RAM,
it so you can manually relocate it.
processor time, etc., smaller, more focused
databases are often a more effective
ADDING YOUR FILES
approach than using singular, monolithic
After you've created your database, you'll databases. Separate databases generally
add your files to it. Often it's a simple perform better, sync faster, and in the rare
matter of dragging and dropping files into case of a catastrophe, can help avoid data
your database, but we've covered several loss since you're not keeping "all your eggs in
additional methods in the In and Out chapter. one basket". Another benefit of this approach
Also, please take a moment to review the is the ability to conserve some machine
Import and Index section to familiarize resources. With a single, large database all
yourself with these two options. the information is always using resources,
even files unrelated to what you're working
While you may be tempted to dump every
on at the moment. With separate databases,
file on your hard drive into DEVONthink
you can close and open specific databases as
and sort it out later, you're best off being
the need dictates.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 12

One way to effectively create separate sense to you. There is no right or wrong way
databases is to use a topical database to organize it. This is something you've likely
approach. Create multiple databases, with already been doing in the Finder, making
each holding only related information: a bird folders and filing things in them. Apply the
watching database full of birding articles and same personal choices to DEVONthink. You
newsletters; a quantum physics research can also use smart groups to create virtual
database with research briefs and email. groups.
This method can improve the effectiveness
Remember that creating databases isn't an
of DEVONthink's artificial intelligence
inviolable commitment. Create and destroy
(AI) features with each database. The AI
them as you see fit. Start with one way of
work best within a database that contains
organization and decide later to re-organize
contextual relationships among many
your databases. With DEVONthink you can
documents; clogging your new database with
keep multiple databases open simultaneously,
everything from A (apple pie recipes) to Z
easily moving documents from one database
(Zengobi user documents) will only hamper
to the other at any time. As you work with
the AI's ability to work effectively.
your databases, new ideas may spark new
Having topical databases can help down the approaches which can easily be tried and
road as well. You may be collaborating on a adopted or discarded.
database, syncing between machines in a
group. Imagine having just one database: You CASE STUDY: BILL'S DATABASE FARM
decide to share your painstakingly researched
Bill DeVille, formerly DEVONtechnologies'
academic articles with colleagues, only to
Evangelist, worked in a number of scientific
find that you've mistakenly also shared
areas. Bill's main database covered
personal financial records and chats. Not
environmental science and technology
hard to imagine how that has the potential to
topics, with related interests in science
be both dangerous and embarrassing. Having
and technology exchanges with developing
multiple, topical databases will allow you to
nations. The database even contained some
keep your data separate and private.
projects dealing with graduate education
in environmental sciences and engineering.
ORGANIZING
There's a broad topical relationship among
Database organization depends on the these subjects and the database covers
parties involved. For collaborative work, disciplines ranging from chemistry, toxicology,
you'll want to organize it in a manner that's statistics, risk assessment, and engineering
understandable to all parties using it. This is to economics, legal, regulatory, and policy
especially important as our sync technology issues. These disciplines fit together and
is a mirroring sync, meaning changes to one combinations of these topics are necessary in
copy of the database gets synced to the many real-world cases.
other copies. For personal work, just set
up your database in a manner that makes

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 13

As you can imagine from the above TAGGING
description, Bill's main database was quite
Tagging is a common method of creating
large, containing about 20,000 documents
contextual relationships between documents.
and over 20,000,000 total words. Because
For example, you can apply a "hobby" tag
of the relationships knitting together all
to a woodworking article and a sewing
these scientific, technical, legal, and policy
machine PDF manual. You would then
issues, the artificial intelligence features
find both documents when searching for
of DEVONthink worked very well for Bill in
the "hobby" tag. Used in the Finder and
researching the database and contextualizing
many other applications, DEVONthink also
the information.
supports tagging in your databases (including
In addition to his main database, Bill had preserving Finder tags on imported and
seven additional databases (so, eight total). indexed items). Tags are either ordinary tags
For example, he had one database for Apple or group tags, each discussed below.
Newton literature he has accumulated over
the years. It's almost as big as his main
database, but the topical coverage has no
practical relationship to the main database,
so Bill kept the Apple Newton literature in its
own domain. If he were to keep this unrelated
information in his main research database,
the result would be a larger, slower database,
with poorer performance by the artificial
intelligence.

Occasionally, Bill added topical materials to

it that are not related to its main purpose.
ORDINARY TAGS
However, when those "unrelated" topics grew
large enough in volume, he spun them off into Similar to tagging methods used in other
to a new database in order to preserve AI applications, ordinary tags are added to
accuracy and relevance. items by you.

If you'd like to follow Bill's method, start by Creating tags: When you add a tag to an item
creating a database with some collections for the first time, a tag group is automatically
of files that interest you, but don't be afraid created in the Tags section for the current
to create other databases that contain database. However, if you want to proactively
"different" material as your interests, and create tags to be used later, you can select
main your database, grow. And if you need the Tags section for the database and choose
to search across databases, simply open the Data > New > Tag command. You can
all of them at the same time. DEVONthink
searches all of them almost simultaneously.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 14

also choose New Tag from the contextual FINDER TAGS
menu when Control-clicking the Tags for the
Finder Tags: DEVONthink supports reading
database.
and writing macOS' Finder tags. If tags are
Applying tags: When you apply a tag to an present on an imported or indexed files, they
item, a replicant of that item is created in the will be preserved in the database. When
Tags section for the current database. For tagging imported files, tags are not written to
each tag you apply, you will have a replicant the filesystem. Instead the tags are recorded
in each tag group. These are not the original in the Spotlight metadata when the Create
items, but only instances of the items. If Spotlight Index option is enabled in Database
you delete a tag group, the group and the Properties popover. This allows searching
replicants it contains are removed. The for tags in Spotlight using the tags:myTag
original items in the database remain intact. syntax. If you export or drag and drop files
to the Finder, macOS tags will be written
Ordinary tags are most commonly applied to
to the exported file. When tagging indexed
items by these methods:
files, the tags are immediately written in the

Type tags into the Tag bar under a filesystem and searchable, just as they would

document's View/Edit pane. be if you tagged them directly in the Finder.

Type tags into the Tags section of the

Note: If you would like to disable the
Info inspector or the Info popover for a
tag exchange between DEVONthink
document.
and the Finder, click the On link under
Drag items to a tag in the Tags section
DisableFinderTags in the Hidden
of the Navigate sidebar. Note: If you drag
Preferences. Bear in mind this option
an item to a tag in another database,
inhibits importing and exporting Finder
that item will be moved to the receiving
tags globally.
database.

In the case of multiple selected items, any TAGGING SOURCES

tags common to all the items will be shown

Beyond the tag exchange with macOS, the
in the Info inspector and Info popup. Tags
following options in DEVONthink's Import
unique to specific files aren't displayed.
Preferences or RSS preferences control other
However, you can add tags common to all the
tagging mechanisms. The options in the
selected items using these views.
Import preferences can also be manually

Tags can also be applied by more automated applied via the commands in the Data > Tags

means, e.g., scripting and smart rules. see the submenu and the contextual menu in the

Automation chapter for more information. item list.

RSS: In the RSS preferences, the Convert

categories and hashtags to tags option
converts categories detected in the feed
articles or hashtags in the contents into tags.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 15

In conjunction with the previously mentioned Image Tags: The Add tags to images option
Finder tags or Spotlight data, this can lead to in the Import preferences, will use machine
a large number of macOS tags being added learning to attempt to add subject matter
automatically in the Finder. tags to selected images. There are no user-
definable controls for this option.
Hashtags: Popularized in social media,
hashtags are a type of tag prefixed by a #. If
NESTED TAGS
enabled in Preferences > Import, DEVONthink
can detect hashtags in the contents of Sometimes referred to as "hierarchical tags",
text-based files and convert them to tags nested tags are a series of related ordinary
for the file automatically. Removing the tags, combined under a parent tag. When
hashtags from the content will remove the you add a child tag, the item automatically
tags from the file. Hashtags do not support inherits the parent tags. In the example
spaces in them and they should be listed on shown below, adding a tag of "Casper" to an
a separate line. They will not be detected item would automatically add the "Wyoming"
within existing paragraphs. Of special note, and "US" tags.
hashtags supports creating nested tags
A special mechanism in DEVONthink allows
as noted here. The first tag just needs to
you to create nested tags automatically:
be prefixed with the # to be detected as a
enter the tags separated by a forward
hashtag..
slash. For example, type a tag of software/
Keywords: When enabled in the Import productivity to create a parent tag of
preferences, DEVONthink will convert the software with a child tag of productivity.
keywords of PDFs and rich text documents Use this option in the places where tags are
into tags. entered, e.g., the Tags bar, Tags field of the
Info inspector and Info popover, and the Tags
Properties: Also found in the Import
column in the item list.
preferences, DEVONthink will attempt to
convert certain properties to tags, e.g., the Note: If you are having trouble deleting a
names and email addresses of the sender and tag from an item, check to see if you are
recipients of emails. adding a nested tag.

Geolocation: Enable Convert location to Caution: Tags for a database can have the
tags in the Import preferences to convert same name. This may seem illogical, but it's
the applied geolocation of a file into tags. something more commonly seen that you
The Geolocation can be viewed in the Info may expect. For example, say you have a
inspector. travel database with points of interest like
restaurants tagged in different locations. You
may find yourself with a tag structure like
this…

Example:

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 16

 US GROUP TAGS
  Wyoming
    Casper Previously discussed in the Groups section
      Restaurant earlier in this chapter, group tags allow
  Minnesota
you to dynamically assign tags based on
    St. Paul
their location. As you add files to a group,
      Restaurant
they have tags of the parent groups' name
If you added a tag Restaurant to an item, assigned to them. Similarly, if you move
what tag would it go to? It actually would go the items to a new group, the tags are
to the most recently entered instance of the removed and new ones applied relative to
Restaurant tag. the new location. Whether used statically
or dynamically, group tags can be used
So how is this resolved? Tags are meant to
creatively. They also work in conjunction
be unique, so eliminating redundant tags is
with ordinary tags, so you can employ both
first priority. Restaurants aren't specific to a
methods in one database.
geographic location. Create the Restaurant
tag as a top level tag. If you had a need Example:
for hierarchy with the tag, perhaps for tax Imagine you have a work database with
purposes, you could move it into a parent groups for different stages of a project:
Tag of Entertainment. Then you would get Unreviewed, Assigned, In Progress, On
both tags when you added Restaurant. But Hold, and Done. At the beginning of
again, if you anticipate wanting to use the tag the process, you'd put the item in the
without the parent tag, you should make it a Unreviewed group and it would be tagged
top level tag. as such. After reviewing, you could move
the file into the Assigned group and
Also, you shouldn't view the tags as a group
the previous tag would be removed and
structure in and of itself. Nested tags are just
replaced with Assigned. As the project
meant to group tags specifically related to
moves through the staging groups, the tag
each other, so they can be applied en masse.
would change.
Note: Tagging methods and philosophy is
And of course you can use ordinary
full of strong opinions. Many people feel
tags, e.g., Reviewed or a client identifier,
tagging should always be flat; only top
on these items. Those tags would be
level tags and no hierarchies. DEVONthink
preserved no matter where you move them
accommodates both approaches. However,
in the databases.
if you want to used nested tags, we hope
you carefully consider the caution we've Groups tags are applied by DEVONthink
presented and use a hybrid method to automatically. But you can also use do some
avoid unexpected behavior. automatic filing by entering existing group
tags manually. If you enter the name of an
existing group that is not excluded from
tagging into the Tag bar or an Info panel or

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 17

popover, the item will be replicated to the IP to the In Progress group. Now, type
appropriate group. You can also drag an item IP as a tag and it will be replicated to the
to a group tag in the Tag Cloud at the bottom In Progress group. When you view the
of the Navigate sidebar. file, you will see the proper group tag was
automatically added.
Considerations: When you enable using group
tags for a database, it starts as an all-or-
SEARCH AND GATHER
nothing situation. All groups in the database
function as group tags. Finally, tags have two main functions:
segregating data and searching for data. You
If you want to use group tags for most groups
use tags to gather items together in certain
in a database, you can Control-click specific
contexts. You also use tags to search for
groups and choose Exclude from Tagging. You
those items.
can also choose this option in the Exclude
from… section of the Info inspector or Info Searching for items by their tags is easily
popup for a specific group. However, note done in a few ways:
you must change this setting on all individual
Tag cloud: The Tags Cloud allows you to
groups you'd like to exclude.
filter the current list of files by clicking on
If you only want a limited number of tags, it available tags. As you click, only related
would be advisable to exclude groups from tags are shown so you can fine-tune the
tagging for the database and use ordinary items displayed in the item list.
tags instead. Search field: The search field at the top of
every main window allows you to search for
AUTOCOMPLETION tags by using the advanced options for a
search. You can also search for tags using
When you are typing tags, an autocompletion
a simple tags: prefix. Multiple tags can be
list will appear. In the Global Inbox, tags
specified, separated by commas. You can
from any open databases are shown as
also use tags!:, to exclude tags.
potential tags. In other databases, the items
displayed are only from the tags of the Gathering similarly tagged items is powerfully
current database. achieved with Smart Groups. Smart groups
allow you to use the smart group editor
While group tags aren't added to the Tags
controls to set criteria to be matched.
group for a database, they are displayed in
Included and excluded tags can be added as
autocompletion suggestions.
criteria. Files matching the parameters of the

Tags and Aliases: DEVONthink also honors smart group are shown, regardless of their

aliases added to groups. You can add location in the database. This way you can

"alternative names" to a group using Info leave your files where they are and create

popup or inspector and later use these virtual folders for specific purposes.

alternative names as a tag. Continuing the

previous example, you could add an alias of

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 18

A WORD ABOUT BACKUPS about. Online backups such as Arq Backup
are an alternative if you don't want to own
For many users, the value of the data is much
another piece of hardware to care about.
greater than the value of the computer that
hosts it. There are many things that could As a secondary backup option, you can create
go wrong. Your notebook computer could be an optimized and compressed copy of the
dropped, lost, or stolen. Your hard drive will whole database that you can then save on
fail (it's not a matter if, but when). A power a server or other media. Use File > Export >
outage could corrupt the files on your hard Database Archive or Scripts > Export > Daily
drive. For the truly paranoid (remember, Backup Archive to create a ZIP file of the
paranoia is sometimes justified), how database. The former option allows you to
significant would the loss of your database choose specific place; the latter creates it in
be if your house or office were to burn down? a Backup folder in your home folder.
Avoid insomnia and back up your database(s)
Lastly, as events such as house fires and
frequently. Your data stored in DEVONthink is
natural disaster frequently prove, valuable
valuable, so back it up.
data should probably be kept at more than
one location. Consider saving a copy of your
INTERNAL BACKUPS
backed up information at a secure, off-site
DEVONthink backs up its database index location such as a bank safe, or put the
every week, either immediately after opening exported ZIP files of your database in your
the database (if the backup is overdue) or cloud account.
during the day when appropriate.
Note: As noted in our FAQ, sync is not a
Note: The internal backups are mainly a backup, neither advertised nor advocated
troubleshooting mechanism for use in the as such. While database restoration may
application. Backing up your files, including be possible with sync data, it is not meant
your DEVONthink databases, is up to you. to be relied upon or used in lieu of proper
primary backups.
FULL BACKUPS

We strongly recommend you get in the TUTORIALS, SCREEN CASTS,

habit of triggering backups whenever you AND MORE
have invested substantial time and effort In addition to this help resource, explore
into modifying the database. Apple's Time tutorials and install pre-made scripts and
Machine and an external drive is an easy templates that extend DEVONthink's
way to do this. Simply connect the drive and functionality in the Support Assistant. Also
let Time Machine do its thing. With the low new tutorials are shown in the Extras sidebar.
cost of portable external drives, it's even
feasible to take a 1 TB drive that can fit in a For a great resource of tips, promotions,

shirt pocket for backups when you're out and and release announcements, check out our
company blog.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 19

And if you feel like talking to other people Take time to learn how to work with the
using our applications, you'll find discussion, software — and to decide how you want the
camaraderie, and well over a decade's worth software to work. You'll be rewarded with a
of information at our Forums. powerful assistant for all your information
organization needs.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 20

 TASKS

IN THIS CHAPTER

Analyze Text Documents 21

Archive Your Messages 22
Archive Printed Documents 23
Browse the Internet 23
Capture Data From the Web 25
Catalog Your SD Cards or DVDs 26
Catalog Your Photos and Media Files 26
Collect Text Snippets and Other Valuable
Data 26
Index Files on Your Hard Drive 27
The Concordance function allows you to
Manage Your Bookmarks 27
view a list of all the words contained in a
Share Project Data 28
document or database. Selecting a word
Read News Feeds 29
highlights the word in the current document.
Take notes 29
Additionally, a graph of related words is
Write Texts and Outline Projects 30
shown at the bottom of the Concordance.
The number of possible uses for DEVONthink Right-click a word in the list or graph to
is nearly endless. In this chapter we've tried exclude them. And if you're wondering about
to outline a few typical use cases that show other documents containing a word, double-
how you can use DEVONthink in your daily life click one to start a search for that term.
and work.
Other functions of the AI's analyses include
the Classify function. This examines the text
ANALYZE TEXT DOCUMENTS content and locations of other documents
in your database and makes suggestions for
With its built-in artificial intelligence (AI)
filing the current document. Additionally, See
functions, DEVONthink can be used to
Also lists documents with a similar content to
analyze the documents in your databases.
help find connections you may not have found
otherwise.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 21

Possible uses: Continue to read here:

Analyze the complexity and focus of a Import documents from the file system
specific document collection Use the See Also & Classify Inspector
Find relationships between documents or Use the Concordance Inspector
snippets quickly
Clean up large collections of documents
ARCHIVE YOUR MESSAGES
DEVONthink is the repository for emails you
want to save.

Its hierarchical groups structure, automatic attachments, are preserved when possible.
classification function, and powerful You even can reply to messages directly from
search engine are perfectly suited to DEVONthink's contextual menu commands!
adding, sorting, and finding emails in
Possible uses:
your databases. DEVONthink comes with
advanced email archiving functions that Archive important correspondence
transfer selected messages or mailboxes Archive invoices, offers, purchases, or
from Apple Mail, Microsoft Outlook, and software licenses
any email applications using standard Store interesting news bits from
Unix mailboxes, e.g., Thunderbird, to newsletters
a DEVONthink database. The original Keep project-related emails and other
structure of the message, as well as all documents together

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 22

Continue to read here: When you are working in a team, use the
embedded web server to give your colleagues
Archive email messages
access to your data using an interactive web
Reply to archived emails
interface. Even friends using Windows are
Organize data using Classify and See Also
invited.

Possible uses:
ARCHIVE PRINTED
DOCUMENTS Archive your important correspondence

DEVONthink is the "paperless office" solution Archive invoices, offers, purchases, or

for the Mac, a central hub for all your paper software licenses

and electronic documents. Store printed documents together with

electronic documents
Keep project-related emails and other
documents together
Keep a central repository for all team
members

Continue to read here:

Scan paper documents

Scan with the Fujitsu ScanSnap
Import existing files with OCR
Organize data using Classify and See Also
Using the integrated scanner support you Share data with your team
can directly scan documents, make them
searchable through OCR (optical character
BROWSE THE INTERNET
recognition),and file them in a database. Of
course, you can also make existing scanned Besides being a knowledge and information
documents searchable. If you own a Fujitsu database, DEVONthink has built-in web
ScanSnap or other compatible document browsing capabilities. This allows you to
scanner, you can use the fast auto-feeder to browse and capture online information
scan batches of sheets in one go. directly in a database.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 23

DEVONthink enables you to treat web pages Grab data from web sites and store it in
the same way as you treat documents. DEVONthink
Whenever you select a bookmark, Capture and archive complete web pages
DEVONthink immediately loads and displays
Continue to read here:
its content live from the internet in the
View/Edit pane. You can also open a page in Capture data from the Web
a separate document window. Archive the Create new bookmarks or HTML
complete page for offline viewing, add a new documents
bookmark, or drag elements from the page View "live" and local HTML pages
into your database. Integrate news feeds with your data

DEVONthink also handles RSS, RDF, Atom,

and JSON news feeds, either through feed
documents or by simply displaying them
via the built-in web browser. Stay up-to-
date with your subject and clip important
information right away.

Possible uses:

Visit frequently used web sites in a

convenient interface
Integrate "live" content from the web with
your other documents

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 24

CAPTURE DATA FROM THE All of these options, except the bookmark,
WEB capture the text content of the page (or a
selected area of it) and hyperlinks if present,
and preserve the text information for
searches in DEVONthink.

Note: There are a number of web sites

that prohibit use of some of the capture
options described above. A secure banking
site or a university portal to journals may
direct a bookmarklet or script capture
option to the login page, which will be
captured instead of the desired content. A
capture option that requires re-download
of the page on such sites will capture only
Increasingly, information is provided not the login page. The page always can be
on paper but directly through web sites, selected and captured as rich or plain
blogs, online news sites, social media, and text. The viewed page can be captured by
user forums. DEVONthink offers a variety of "printing" it as PDF to the database.
options for conveniently capturing data from
Possible uses:
the web:

Capture important news in an easily

Bookmark: Captures only the address (URL,
searchable database
uniform resource locator) of the page.
Collect all relevant data for your project in
HTML page: Saves the source code of
one place
the page to the database, but images are
Collect links to web pages and captured
downloaded from the web each time the
data about the same subject in one group
page is displayed in the database.
Save data from the web in future-proof
Web archive: Saves both the HTML code
formats such as PDF
and all resources, like images, necessary to
display the page. Continue to read here:
Rich/Plain text: Grabs selected text/
Capture data using Services
images and hyperlinks, but avoids saving
Capture data using scripts
unwanted areas of the page to the
Capture data with bookmarklets or
database. A plain text capture will not
browser extensions
include formatting, images or links.
Add the global inbox to the Finder's sidebar
PDF: "Freezes" the web page, just like
"Print" any web page or document as PDF
printing to paper. PDFs from web pages can
to your database
be paginated or non-paginated.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 25

CATALOG YOUR SD CARDS OR CATALOG YOUR PHOTOS AND
DVDS MEDIA FILES
By using the Index function, you can use Besides storing text documents and
DEVONthink to set up a catalog for your data PDF files, DEVONthink can also contain
DVDs, SD cards, or other removable volumes. multimedia data such as photos, illustrations,
Create a group for each disk by using the music, or movies in your databases.
index function, and organize your disks/
While not designed to replace Photos
groups in any way you like. When you need
or Music, DEVONthink can be used as a
a specific file, search for it in DEVONthink,
repository for images you frequently use or
insert the volume, Control-click the file in
as an interface to your music library (if you
DEVONthink, and select Open With to open
don't like other music software). If you do not
the original file on the removable volume.
want to import these files, leave them where
Note you will only see a thumbnail if the they are in the file system. You can index the
disk or volume is not available. A message files instead and access them from within
to Mount Volume will be shown if a server DEVONthink See also p. 131ff
volume is unavailable. Clicking this button
Possible uses:
should remount the volume, if possible. For
removable disks, DVDs, etc., you will have to Create a dedicated database for photos
reinsert the media. only
View your images in full screen mode
Possible uses:
Include project-related images, audio, and
Find files even when they're on a removable video in your databases
volume that is not currently mounted Play your music from within your work
Create a virtual library of SD cards and environment
other media
Continue to read here:
Integrate static documents with other
project-related data Import or index files
View files as thumbnails
Continue to read here:
View images and movies
Import or index files Search your database
Search your database
Launch the original file of an index item
COLLECT TEXT SNIPPETS AND
OTHER VALUABLE DATA
Use macOS's handy Services menu for
collecting and organizing information bits and
snippets to DEVONthink.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 26

 Continue to read here:

Capture a note quickly using the Services

menu
Use the Sorter
Drag text clippings to the Groups panel

INDEX FILES ON YOUR HARD

DRIVE
Besides importing documents, DEVONthink
can also index files. When indexing files,
DEVONthink reads the contents of the file
Select any piece of data and capture it to
and stores it for internal reference, but leaves
the currently open database with a keystroke
the files in place in the Finder. Use indexing
or a quick visit to the Services menu. Most
for easily accessing information stored on
true macOS applications such as TextEdit,
removable volumes, creating a library of all
Safari, or DEVONthink itself support this
important documents regardless where they
mechanism.
are physically stored, or integrating files

DEVONthink automatically sets the title of stored elsewhere with your documents in

the newly created snippet to the first line of DEVONthink. See also p. 50ff

text, so there's a good chance that you won't

Possible uses:
even need to rename it. New snippets are
created in the global inbox or the location you Keep the folder structures you've created

choose. Also, DEVONthink can help classify in the Finder, while allowing access to

and file the items using its built-in artificial DEVONthink

intelligence. Create a front-end for your document

collection
Possible uses:
Integrate indexed items with imported and

Collect recent news from your favorite web items you've created in DEVONthink

sites
Continue to read here:
Keep important information from any
source and your other project-related Import or index files

documents together Search your database

Create an info collection for a specific topic Launch the original file of an indexed item

MANAGE YOUR BOOKMARKS

With its integrated, document-based
web browser, DEVONthink can be used
as a bookmark manager. Organize all your

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 27

bookmarks as bookmark documents and visit SHARE PROJECT DATA
the web sites by simply selecting them with
With its built-in synchronization, DEVONthink
a preview visible. DEVONthink loads the page
allows you to have your databases on
and displays it in the View/Edit pane.
multiple Apple devices. Changes made on one
machine propagate to the others, keeping
them in sync. It can also be used to manage a
shared project workspace.

If you want to open the web page in your

default browser, simply Control-click the
bookmark and choose Launch URL from the Keep all your project-related data in an easy
contextual menu. to structure database and share it with
your team members. Use a shared WebDAV
Possible uses:
volume, a shared cloud account, a local file
Manage your bookmarks server, or direct connections to propagate
Keep project-related web pages and other new data to the team automatically.
documents together
Visit frequently used web sites in a
convenient interface
Integrate "live" content from the web with
your other documents
Grab data from web sites and store it in
DEVONthink

Continue to read here:

Create a new bookmark

View "live" and local HTML pages And if your coworkers don't use a Mac give
Drag URLs to the Sorter them access via DEVONthink's built-in web
server. You can set up web users and fine-

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 28

tune the access permissions so that visitors In addition, its integrated web browser
only gets access to what they should see. supports news feeds and displays them
SSL/TLS encrypts all data in transit. like any other web page. Use its document-
oriented structure to organize bookmarks and
Possible uses:
store news feeds like internet-updated smart

Organize project files, use advanced groups.

feature such as tags and smart groups

Mix live news feeds with static documents,
Add new data from any team member's
e.g., in your project materials.
computer or even iOS device running
DEVONthink To Go Possible uses:
Integrate "live" data, e.g., web pages or
Read your daily news in a convenient
newsfeeds, with your other documents
interface
Give your colleagues using Windows or
Integrate "live" newsfeeds with your other
Linux access to your knowledge with web
documents
sharing
Grab interesting information easily and
Continue to read here: store it in DEVONthink

Set up sync to share data with your team Continue to read here:
members
Create a new bookmark or HTML
Set up the local web server
document
Add smart groups to organize data
View "live" web pages and news feeds
automatically
Create a news feed document
Add newsfeeds

TAKE NOTES
READ NEWS FEEDS
DEVONthink is perfectly suited for taking
notes and organizing them.

DEVONthink comes with built-in support

for RSS, RDF, Atom, and JSON news feeds,
which makes it a reliable basic news reader.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 29

 full screen mode, DEVONthink is perfectly
suited for writing many kinds of documents,
from notes to whole books.

Quickly create new notes and file them in

your database using DEVONthink's Tools >
Take Note command to open the Sorter (or
an independent Take Note panel, if the Sorter
is hidden). Alternatively, use the Take Note
command in the Dock menu. Notes can be
created in plain or rich text, Markdown, or Create new documents with just one click,

formatted note formats. find related documents in your database,

and connect them with Wiki-style or static
Possible uses:
cross-links. Working these documents in

Write down ideas before they vanish your databases, you can switch from one

Take quick phone messages document to another with just one click, and

Keep project notes and your other project- manage even large projects with ease.

related documents together

Utilize markers, like flags or color labels to

Continue to read here: help visually distinguish items, by importance

or other criteria using label names. And
Create new documents similar to the Finder, you can create groups,
Create a new note using the Dock menu as deeply (or shallowly) nested as you'd like.
Revise notes and documents using the
built-in rich text editor Possible uses:

Write notes, white papers, and letters

WRITE TEXTS AND OUTLINE Write and organize book chapters
PROJECTS Organize your ideas or projects in outlines
Create a network of information for your
With its hierarchical group structure,
projects or interests
organization, and navigation functions, as well
as its advanced text editing capabilities and

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 30

Continue to read here: Use the See Also & Classify Inspector
Use the Concordance Inspector
Create new documents
Use the built-in rich text editor

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 31

 DOCUMENTS

IN THIS CHAPTER view/edit area and the navigation bar. These

will always be available when working with
General 32
a selected file. Additionally, there are a few
Document Linking 34
optional components available: the editing
Plain and Rich Texts 35
bar (for compatible formats), the tag bar,
PDFs 38
and the contextual menu.
Markdown Documents 40
HTML-Based Formats 42
VIEW/EDIT PANE
Sheets 45
Images, Audio, and Video 47 The view/edit pane is where you can see or
Office Documents, Email, and Others 48 edit the current document (with compatible
files). Each file type you view has its own
As DEVONthink is an information and
tools, contextual menu commands, and
document management application, it
keyboard shortcuts.
supports importing many different file
types. While not all formats are editable, if a
NAVIGATION BAR
QuickLook plugin is installed on the machine,
the files should be viewable. Also, if a At the top of the view/edit pane,
Spotlight importer for these files is installed, DEVONthink shows a navigation bar that
the files should be indexed by DEVONthink gives you access to some additional tools
and searchable. In addition, DEVONthink that deal directly with the contents of
supports creating some common types the document. Which tools are available
directly in the application. depends on the type of the document you are
viewing. The options below are shown in the
In the General section of this chapter, we will
navigation bar for most file types. Specific
discuss the essential window components
options are shown in the separate sections:
you'll use when viewing or editing these
documents. Following that are chapters for Navigates back to the last visited
the types of files DEVONthink supports. document after following a link.
Navigates back to the next visited
document after going back.
GENERAL
Reloads the displayed page in a web view.
When working with files in DEVONthink, Only visible for, e.g., bookmarks.
they can be viewed in the view/edit pane of Shows an action menu with options for
a main window or in a separate document opening the shown page in Safari, copy its
window. When viewing a document, there address, or capture the page in a variety of
are two essential components visible: the formats.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 32

 Shows if the document is locked or This offers quick access to some editing tools
editable. related to the file type you're working on. See
Scrolls to the previous highlight, e.g., a the appropriate file type section for more
search term occurrence. info.
Scrolls to the next highlight, e.g., a search
term occurrence. TAG BAR
Scrolls to the next page of the displayed
The tag bar, which can be shown or hidden,
document.
shows all tags associated with the document.
Scrolls to the previous page of the
Click the tag bar and type to add tags; select
displayed document.
a tag and press the ⌫ Backspace or ⌦ Delete
Switches to Text Alternative mode. Useful
key to remove it. See also p. 14ff
for selecting text in uneditable formats,
e.g., Word documents. When you type the name of a tag,
Switches to Best Alternative mode. For DEVONthink offers automatic completion.
Markdown documents, this is the rendered Choose the right option with the mouse
HTML view. or the arrow keys and press ↩ Return or
 Enter to accept it. Press ⎋ Escape to use
Word Count: Shows the number of
whatever you entered. Auto-completion
paragraphs, words, and characters of the
prefers ordinary tags (tags represented in
displayed text.
the Tags group) over groups used as tags,
URL: Shows the URL associated with the
and also matches sub-strings. Press ⇥ Tab to
displayed item, if one is present. If a PDF
enter another tag.
annotation is selected the URL field shows
the associated URL if available. Click to Note: The tag bar is also visible for
launch the URL in its default application. multiple selected documents when all the
Hold the ⌥ Option or the ⌘ Command documents have the same tags attached.
key to open the URL in a new tab. Holding Use it to change the tags on multiple
⇧⌥ or ⇧⌘ opens the URL in a new tab and documents.
selects it.
Page Count: Shows the number of pages CONTEXTUAL MENU ITEMS
as well as the page number of the currently
If you Control-click in many types of
displayed page. Click the page number in
documents in DEVONthink, you are presented
PDF or PostScript documents and enter a
with a contextual menu showing many
page number to jump directly to that page.
options. The options displayed depend on
what you're clicking; e.g., selected text, and in
EDITING BAR
whether you're in an editing or preview mode.
For some formats, e.g., rich text or sheets, As many of these commands are the same
there is another bar available: the Editing for most formats, we have provided a list
bar. If you click this icon , the editing bar
will appear in place of the Navigation bar.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 33

in the appendix. Items specific to a format on the method chosen in the WikiLinks
are listed in their respective sections in this preferences. Note these are not item links.
chapter. Make Link: In rich text files, you can select
words and choose Format > Make Link to
TOOLBAR & SHORTCUTS create an active hyperlink of the selected
words. Clicking on the hyperlink will
DEVONthink can display documents in
generate a new WikiLinked document.
separate windows when you double-click the
Relative and Absolute Links: Often used in
documents in a main window. Depending
Markdown documents and also supported
on the type of document, the tools in the
in HTML-based formats, these are usually
toolbar can change. Even though not all tools
links similar to what is seen in the source
are always present in the default toolbar for
code of web pages; e.g., /stylesheets/
a particular type, you can easily add some by
styles.css. These are not item links.
choosing View > Customize Toolbar. Changes
Copy and Paste: Select an item in the
made to the toolbar will be persistent for
item list and choose Copy Item Link. This
that file type, but are independent of the
captures the item's unique link to the
toolbars of other types.
clipboard so you can paste it into another

Please find a list of toolbar items and document or even another application.

shortcuts in the appendix. Some other types of links can be captured,

e.g., page links. Refer to the Contextual
Note: Documents are automatically
menu section for the appropriate file
saved every five minutes after the last
format in the Documents chapter.
modification, when deactivating the
Add Link: For text in rich text and
window, or when quitting DEVONthink.
formatted notes, you can select words and
choose Format > Add Link. You can then
DOCUMENT LINKING add a URL, including an item link, to create
an active hyperlink of the selected words.
Documents in DEVONthink are independent
Drag and Drop: You can Option-Command-
items but often have contextual relationships
drag and drop a file into a compatible
with other documents in your databases.
document to insert an item link.
Here are a few ways to make links in the text
Insert Link: Edit > Insert > Item Link opens
of editable documents and establish those
the Insert Item Link popover, allowing you
connections:
to add an item link to a document.
WikiLinks: WikiLinks are specialized
Of the methods listed above, the ones
links found in plain text, rich text, and
utilizing item links are of special note.
Markdown documents. Use them to link
to existing items or create documents
on-the-fly. For existing items, these links
are automatically detected depending

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 34

INCOMING AND OUTGOING ITEM LINKS PLAIN AND RICH TEXTS
Incoming and outgoing links are item links
DEVONthink has detected. The two types of
links function as sides of one operation. If you
create an item link to an image, the file will
have an outgoing link detected. The image
you have linked to will have an incoming link
detected since the file has a link pointing to
it.

Documents with incoming or outgoing links

will have a special property icon displayed to
the right of the filename in the item list. See
also p. 208ff . You can display a sortable
Incoming Item Links and Outgoing Item Links
column in the headers of the item list in List
view. There also are incoming and outgoing PLAIN TEXT
item link criteria usable in toolbar searches,
Plain text files may seem too simple to be
smart groups, smart rules, and AppleScript.
truly useful. No styling. No images. Nothing
but text. But the reality is these simple files
VIEWING LINKS
are underlying a lot of your daily experience.
See the Document > Links section of the From the HTML code instructing your
Inspectors chapter for information on viewing browser how to display a web site, to the
the links of a document. code DEVONthink is written in, plain text is
very powerful. DEVONthink supports plain
text files as a native, editable format.

Plain text files can be imported or created via

Data > New > Plain Text.

RICH TEXT

Word processing applications brought

us text with flair. Need some bold and
italic text? How about adding a photo to
the page? And color? These applications
were providing it all. But their formats are
proprietary so if you don't have the creator
application, you can't open the file or you'll
have to convert it first. The rich text format

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 35

provides a useful text format that supports Highlight selected text. This uses the
formatted text. These files are generally currently selected highlight color.
cross-platform compatible and editable in Add or edit a link applied to the selected
many applications. DEVONthink uses the text.
same text engine found in Apple TextEdit, so Convert selected text into an active link.
it's an easy transition if you're already familiar This can be used to dynamically create Wiki
with it. documents.
Show or hide the ruler. Place tab stops with
You can attach other documents to rich
the mouse, then remove them by dragging
text documents simply by dragging them
them off the ruler. Drag new tab stops (left
into the text. Technically the rich text
aligned, centered, right aligned, or decimal
document becomes an .rtfd package and
aligned) from the repository at the right
the dragged file is saved as part of the
side to their desired positions on the ruler.
package. Using the contextual menu, you can
Use the mouse to adjust the left and right
show an attachment's content in a Quick
margins and indent.
Look preview. Also, if you double-click an
Show the Fonts panel.
attachment, it will open in the system default
Show the Color Picker.
application.

Rich text files can be imported or created via THE FORMAT BAR

Data > New > Rich Text.

In addition to formatting options in the
Format menu and the simple controls in the
EDITING BAR
editing bar, DEVONthink provides another

The navigation bar for rich text files includes toolbar just for rich text editing. Select

the Editing Bar. Click this icon and Format > Show Format Bar to display a set of

the editing bar will appear in place of the rich text controls under the toolbar in main

navigation bar. The tools available here or document windows. Similar to TextEdit, it

consist of: provides the following options:

Edit the formatting of a list. Styles: Select a predefined text style from

Edit parameters of a table. the pop-up menu. To define your own

Increase the size of the font. styles, choose Other to open the standard

Decrease the size of the font. macOS style editor. In the style editor,

Set characters to be subscript. navigate back and forth through the styles

Set characters to be superscript. of your document or the stored favorite

Adjust the line spacing of selected text. styles. (Use the radio buttons to switch

Set bold on the text. between document and favorite styles.)

Set italic on the text. Click Select to select all occurrences

Set underlines on the text. of text with the displayed style in the

Set strikethrough on the text. document, click Apply to apply the style
to selected text, or click Done to leave

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 36

the style editor. To add a style from your CONTEXTUAL MENU
document to the favorites, click Add
In addition to the contextual menu items
To Favorites; to remove a favorite, click
available with text selections, rich text files
Remove From Favorites.
also feature these specific commands:
Font Controls: Displaying three dropdown
menus for, choosing the font face, font Copy Paragraph Link: Copies a link to the
weight, and font size. current document, but appends a pointer
Colors: Two buttons are available for to the selected paragraph.
setting the text and background color. Insert > ...: Inserts special characters or
Basic Styling: Allows you to choose bold, items into the document.
italic, or underlines. Quick Look Attachment: Opens a Quick
Alignment: Align the current paragraph Look panel for the selected attachment in
(the one with the insertion caret inside) a rich text file.
left, centered, justified, or right by clicking Split Document: Splits the document
the according alignment buttons in the at the current insertion position. A new
ruler. document is created for the text after
Spacing: Choose the desired spacing for the cursor position and removed from the
the current paragraph from the Spacing current document. This can be used in rich
pop-up menu. Choose Other to enter text and plain text, including Markdown
values other than the ones shown. content in edit mode.
Lists: Make the current paragraph a list
(indented and with a bullet or numbered)
by choosing the desired list style from the
Lists pop-up menu. Choose Other to define
your own list style.

Note: The built-in "mini outliner" is a nice

feature of the macOS rich text editor. On
any blank line in a rich text document,
type ⌥⇥ Option-Tab to create a bullet
point (macOS shows dashes instead of
bullets). Press ↩ Return for the next item,
and so on. Additional ⌥⇥ will increase the
indentation; a ↩ on a blank list line will
decrease it. The mini outliner uses hyphens
to indicate list items by default.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 37

PDFS In the Tools menu there are several PDF
related commands, including access
to Annotation tools (also found in the
Navigation bar). Additionally, there are
commands for changing the display, e.g.,
single to two pages, in View > PDF Display.

PDF files can be imported. They can also be

created by capturing web content, directly
in DEVONthink or via our browser extension,
Clip to DEVONthink. You can also use the
PDF Service Save PDF to DEVONthink 3 in
the PDF dropdown of the print dialogs of
most macOS applications. This will print a
paginated PDF to your database.

Inspector Panes: There are two inspector

panes with information specifically
pertaining to PDF documents: the Content

PDFs are a very common format, from Inspector and the Document Inspector.

academia and online bill payments to The Content Inspector allows you to see a

equipment manuals. Fortunately, they list of thumbnails or an available table of

are first-class citizens can be viewed contents. When this inspector displays the

and annotated within DEVONthink. The thumbnails, Tools > Split Document and the

annotation tools should be familiar and same contextual menu command becomes

include options like arrows, text, and link available to split the PDF before the current

annotations. While DEVONthink may not page. The Document Inspector gives you a

have some options found in specialized PDF view of PDF metadata, e.g., keywords, a list

applications, it is still a very capable PDF tool. of annotations, and a list of links detected in
the document. Please refer to the Inspectors
PDFs often come directly from text chapter for more specifics.
sources, like word processing or page layout
applications. The content of these files NAVIGATION BAR
should be indexed and searchable on import.
You can also acquire PDFs from scanned In the navigation bar for PDFs, the number of

documents. These files will only have a text pages in the document is displayed. Clicking

layer if OCR is done on them. on this navigation bar item opens a Go to

page function so you can quickly jump to a
For scanned PDFs, you can do OCR directly in specific page. In addition, there are options
DEVONthink when needed. to move to the first, previous, next, or last
page.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 38

EDITING BAR AND ANNOTATIONS Rotate the current page left (counter-
clockwise).
The navigation bar for PDF files includes the
Rotate the current page right (clockwise).
Editing Bar, providing access to editing and
Add a new blank page before the current
annotation tools. Click this and the editing
page.
bar will replace the navigation bar. The tools
Delete the current page.
available here consist of:
Reverse the page order of the document.

Select text for copy or highlighting.

The annotation tools in the editing bar are
Select annotations on the page. Double-
also available in the Tools > Annotate menu.
click an annotation to edit its properties.
Press the ⌦ Delete key to remove the
CONTEXTUAL MENU
annotation.
Move or scroll the current page. In addition to many common contextual
Underline selected text in the document. menu items there are also a few PDF-specific
Strike through selected text in the options:
document.
Automatically Resize: When checked, the
Apply or remove highlighting on selected
zoom factor adjusts to the width of the
text. The highlight color will be the color
view/edit pane or document window.
selected in Format > Highlight Color.
Copy Page Link: Copies a URL to the
Alternately, click and hold to select another
clipboard pointing directly to the shown
color.
page of the document.
Add a link to a selected area. Click and
Delete Annotation: Deletes the selected
drag over an area to establish a hotspot
annotations.
for the link to be active. For the Link
Single Page/Two Page (Continuous):
Type, choose Link within PDF, navigate
Displays the PDF as single or double
to another page and click Set to create a
pages. Use the Continuous option to allow
link between pages within the same PDF.
quick scrolling through the pages as one
Alternatively, choose URL and enter a URL
continuous document.
to an external item. This can be a web site
Previous/Next Page: Jumps to the previous
address, or drag files from the Finder or
or next page.
your DEVONthink databases into this field.
Rotate Left/Right: Rotates the current
Add a rectangle annotation.
page 90 degrees in the selected direction.
Add an oval annotation.
Insert Blank Page: Insert a new blank page
Add a line annotation.
before the current page.
Add a note annotation.
Delete Page: Delete the current page.
Add a text annotation. Drag to create
Reverse Page Order: Reverses the order of
a text box. To change the font, choose
the pages in the entire document.
Format > Font > Show Fonts.. Note only one
font can apply to each text annotation.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 39

MARKDOWN DOCUMENTS Internal styling: <style type="text/
css"> … </style>
HTML Link: <link rel="stylesheet"
type="text/css" href="css/
styles.css" />
XHTML Link: CSS: css/styles.css.
XHTML headers must be placed at the very
top of the document.

Note: If no specific styling is applied, the

font choice in Preferences > Editing >
Rich Text & Note Font will be used when
previewing Markdown documents.

Linking: You can reference local images,

Markdown is a simple formatting language
scripts, and other resources using item links,
invented by John Gruber that has gained in
downward-relative (traveling subgroups;
popularity over the past few years. It allows
it's not possible to travel up with '..' as
you to write in plain text, using some easily
documents can have multiple parents) or
learned control characters, to produce nicely
absolute (start with a forward slash) paths.
rendered HTML output. With some styling
Here are examples of linking an image:
and ingenuity, you can create a wide variety
of documents. : Use this when
linking to an item in the same group as the
Markdown files can be imported or created
Markdown document.
via Data > New > Markdown text.
: Use this when

Writing Markdown is essentially the same linking to an item in a sub-group of the

as writing plain text documents. As you're group containing the Markdown document.

writing you can switch easily between a plain : Use this when you

text editor and the rendered view or even are linking to an item in a group outside the

view both simultaneously using the side-by- group containing the Markdown document.

side view. For example, if you have common resources

in a specific group, you can link to them
Styling: Styling your Markdown documents
using this format.
can be done with internal styling or externally
referenced stylesheets. If you have a specific If you have enabled automatic WikiLinks >

stylesheet you'd like to use globally, you can Names & Aliases, documents can be detected

specify one in Preferences > Media > Style as you write your Markdown. These WikiLinks

Sheet.. Here are the options: are active when previewing the file and
are also preserved in a website export or
conversion to other formats.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 40

Drag and drop items into a Markdown Note: DEVONthink supports many features
document to add the appropriate links. Drag of MultiMarkdown 6, but not all of them
and drop documents while holding ⌘-⌥ will (e.g., no file transclusion).
create a URL with an item link. Dropping
an image with create a properly formatted MARKDOWN EXTENSIONS
Markdown image link. Drop .mp3 or .mp4 files
To support some features in Markdown
to insert a playable multimedia link.
that aren't built in, DEVONthink supports a
Another option for inserting links into handul of known and widely used extensions.
Markdown documents, Control-click while The first option below requires no user
editing and choose Insert Link To from the interaction. The following three can be
contextual menu. A Markdown formatted enabled in Preferences > Media > Markdown, if
link will be automatically inserted for you. desired.
For images, just add an exclamation point
Highlighting, strikethrough, …: Text notations,
before the link if you want it to display in the
e.g., for noting changes are sometimes
rendered document.
necessary in documents. DEVONthink
You can learn more about Markdown and its supports the features of the CriticMarkup
syntax on Gruber's Markdown pages or the extension of Markdown. It also supports
MultiMarkdown syntax guide. a few alternate highlighting syntaxes, like
==text== and ^^text^^, found in some other
Metadata: One of the features of
Markdown-enabled applications.
MultiMarkdown is metadata headers. These
allow you to add non-displaying information MathJax: Markdown is often used
about the document, like authors, dates, and in academic situations, many using
even linked stylesheets. To use the feature, mathematical equations in their writing.
format the first line of the document with a DEVONthink supports the Mathjax extension
colon, e.g., Author: DEVONtechnologies. This that will beautifully render LaTeX coded
must be the first line of the document. Other equations in your Markdown documents.
metadata fields you wish to add must follow
Mermaid: Diagrams can be created in
immediately after this first line.
Markdown documents using the Mermaid
However, if you would like the first line of your extension. There are several diagram types
document to contain a colon, perhaps adding available and discussed on the Mermaid,js
notes like Developer: A. Edwards and Re: website.
OCR, just add a single blank line at the top of
For those writing code in their Markdown,
the document and the subsequent lines will
DEVONthink supports Lea Verou's Prism
be treated as normal paragraphs.
extension. Just add a line of three backticks
Emoji: For a little extra personalization, you ```language- and the language you're
can type Slack-style emoji, like :grinning:, writing about. For example, ```language-
directly in the Markdown document. applescript. Remember to add a line of

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 41

three backticks under the code to close it. HTML-BASED FORMATS
This displays syntax highlighting of code
blocks in the rendered output. Note it does
not affect the Markdown source as you're
writing, only the rendered output.

Note: Not all languages supported by Prism

are available. Additional languages may
be added in the future if there's sufficient
interest in them.

NAVIGATION BAR

When working with Markdown documents,

you can switch between Preview and Source
modes. There also is a special icon present
in the navigation bar. This switches to Side- HTML-based files in DEVONthink include

by-Side mode, allowing you to edit and bookmarks, web archives, formatted notes,

preview the current document in two side-by- and RSS articles. These are formats that

side panes. are viewable in web browsers and are also

mobile-native.

CONTEXTUAL MENU
BOOKMARKS
In addition to the contextual menu items
available with text selections in the Bookmarks are exactly the same as the

document source, Markdown documents have ones found in your web browser. With

a special command: Copy Section Link. This DEVONthink's ability to act as a browser,

copies a link to the current document, but bookmarks can be a valuable part of your

appends a pointer to the selected paragraph. experience. When using File > Import >
Bookmarks, you can bring your bookmarks
into DEVONthink easily. Though this depends
on the capability of the individual browser,
you may be able to drag links directly into
your database. You can also capture them
with DEVONthink's browser extension, Clip to
DEVONthink.

Note: If you import your bookmarks from

a browser, this is a copy operation not
a sync, i.e., if you modify bookmarks in
your browser, this will have no effect on
DEVONthink's contents. However, you

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 42

 can do another import to add the new Bear in mind, the underlying markup
bookmarks to your database without in formatted notes can't be edited in
duplicating the previous ones. DEVONthink. However, you can open the files
in a compatible external editor, if you'd like.
In addition to importing bookmark files, they
can be created via Data > New > Bookmark. Note: Since images are completely
Just provide a URL and title. If you don't enter embedded in the documents, the resulting
a title, DEVONthink will attempt to detect file size can grow large very quickly. Resizing
and use the page title. images before adding them is encouraged.

HTML Files: are similar to formatted notes,

FORMATTED NOTES AND HTML
but they do not preserve the state of
Formatted Notes: allow to write simple checkboxes and form fields. You also cannot
formatted text including embedded images add images by dragging them into the live
that can be viewed on any system with editing view. However, you can edit the
just a web browser. While the range of underlying HTML code using the Source and
formatting options is smaller that that of Side-by-Side modes found in the navigation
rich text they are much more compatible to bar.
today's standards. You can find all available
Formatted notes can be imported or created
formatting commands in the Edit and Format
via Data > New > Formatted note. When
menus. When creating new formatted
using the Notes from Evernote or Folders
notes, DEVONthink will use the font set in
& Attachments from Notes options in the
Preferences > Editing > Rich Text & Note
File > Import menu, the imported notes are
Font. Captured or imported formatted
formatted notes. HTML files can be imported
notes, e.g., from Evernote, use the font set in
or created via Data > New > HTML page.
Preferences > Web > Standard Font

Technically formatted notes are based on WEB ARCHIVES

HTML, the language of the world-wide web.
Web archives are a special HTML file format
Images are embedded directly into the
intended to create offline archives of
HTML code so that formatted notes are
individual web pages. The downloaded data
completely self-contained. The HTML code
preserves the look and feel of the page very
is also cleaned from unnecessary tags and
closely. It is often a more useful capture
an identifying meta tag is inserted that lets
option when a PDF would generate a very
DEVONthink distinguish formatted notes
long page since web archives always view at
from normal HTML pages. Form tags, e.g., for
the size determined by the browsing area.
checkboxes and input fields are not removed
and the status of checkboxes and form fields They function in a similar fashion as
is retained. formatted notes, so you can actually edit the
captured contents and save your changes.
This can be very handy for highlighting

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 43

passages or removing unwanted elements, controlled by an internal CSS stylesheet
e.g., ads, in a captured web page. Also, since specified in Preferences > RSS > Feed Style
they are HTML files the underlying markup Sheet. Other formats will get their styling
can be edited using the Source and Side-by- from the source they're downloaded from.
Side modes found in the navigation bar.
Note: When using an option other
Note: Web archives can be very useful with than Automatic as the feed format,
web pages using statically linked content. DEVONthink must download the linked
However, some popular and monetized content and convert it to the appropriate
sites get their contents dynamically from format.
other sources, so the actual data is not
RSS feeds can be created via Data > New >
in the underlying HTML. These pages may
Feed. Provide a URL and title. If you don't
have missing content due to this, require
enter a title, DEVONthink will attempt to
an internet connection to display content,
detect and use the feed's title. You will also
and run JavaScript. If you encounter this, a
notice a special feed in this menu: Twitter
PDF may be a better archiving option.
Feed. This can be used to import feed articles
Web archives files can't be directly made. from a specific Twitter account.
They are the result of capturing web content,
either in DEVONthink or using our browser EDITING BAR
extension.
Like rich text files, editing HTML-based files
Note: Web archives made on macOS (excluding bookmarks) includes the Editing
Mojave aren't necessarily compatible with Bar. Click this icon and the editing bar will
earlier versions of macOS. appear in place of the navigation bar. The
tools available here consist of:
RSS
Increase the size of the font.
RSS feeds are special "web pages" that don't Decrease the size of the font.
show as pages but as a stream of news Set characters to be subscript.
articles. DEVONthink allows you to keep that Set characters to be superscript.
news flowing directly into your databases. Set bold on the text.
Supporting RSS, RDF, Atom, and JSON feeds, Set italic on the text.
DEVONthink functions as a basic newsreader. Set underlines on the text.
Set strikethrough on the text.
RSS feeds are treated as a special type of
Highlight selected text. This uses the
file that functions as a group. Feed articles
currently selected highlight color.
are downloaded to the feed and saved
Add or edit a link applied to the selected
in a format you specify in DEVONthink's
text.
Preferences > RSS > Feed Format. The default
Show or hide the ruler. Place tab stops with
is Automatic and saves summary files as
the mouse, then remove them by dragging
HTML. The styling of the HTML articles is
them off the ruler. Drag new tab stops (left

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 44

 aligned, centered, right aligned, or decimal Update Bookmark: Updates the URL of this
aligned) from the repository at the right document to the current one, e.g., after
side to their desired positions on the ruler. navigating to a sub-page.
Use the mouse to adjust the left and right Update Captured Archive: Updates the
margins and indent. contents of a web archive file with the live
Show the Fonts panel. version on the Internet.
Show the Color Picker.
Add Page to Downloads: Adds the page
address to the Download Manager.
CONTEXTUAL MENU
Download Video: Downloads the video
In addition to the contextual menu using the Download Manager.
commands available with text selections in
a document, HTML based files often include
SHEETS
these items:

Add Page to Reading List: Adds the current

page the Reading List as a bookmark.
Capture …: Captures the Control-clicked
frame, image, link to the inbox of the
current database.
Capture Page: Captures the current page
in the selected format to the inbox of the
current database.
Copy … Address: Copies the frame URL of
a Control-clicked frame, image, page, or
video to the clipboard.
Insert > ...: Inserts checkboxes into the
document.
Sheets contain text in a table and can be
Open … in New Tab: Opens a Control-
used to store any kind of tabular data from an
clicked image, page, or video in a new
address book to recording health statistics to
DEVONthink tab.
employee timesheets. They are made up of
Open Image in PhotoStickies: Opens the
records, defined by parameters displayed as a
image in PhotoStickies.
form or columns. For example, a simple sheet
Open Page in Browser: Opens the current
could contain a table of peoples' name, title,
page in your default web browser.
and department.
Open Page in DEVONagent: Opens the
current page in DEVONagent Pro. When you create a sheet or make changes
Reload: Reloads the page from the Internet. to the sheet columns via the Column Editor,
you will specify the column names and their
types. An explanation of the data types can
be found in the Data section of the appendix.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 45

Sheets can be displayed as a table or a form EDITING BAR
via the View > Document Display menu or
To make working with sheets even more
using the and buttons in the navigation
efficient, DEVONthink includes the editing
bar. The table view is similar to standard
bar with some basic tools:
spreadsheet views. Form view is similar to
the record view e.g., in FileMaker. Add a new record to the sheet.
Duplicate the current or selected records.
Delete a new record from the sheet.
Add a new column to the sheet.
Displays the Column Editor to allow editing
and managing the columns.
Delete a column from the sheet.

In Text Alternative, there is one more option

in the editing bar: Delete Selected Column
Use sheets like any other document. Add
allows you to delete a column. Just click on
new rows using Tools > Sheets > Add Record,
the column header you want to delete, then
delete rows by selecting them and using Edit
this option is enabled.
> Delete. Alternatively, use the contextual
menu. Click a cell to edit its content, press
CONTEXTUAL MENU
the ⎋ Escape key to stop editing, and use the
Tab or Return keys to navigate from cell to There are a few sheet-specific contextual

cell. Hold the ⌘ Command key to activate a menu items available when you're Control-

link in a cell. clicking in a sheet.

If you import tab or comma-delimited files, Cut/Copy/Paste: Cuts, copies, or pastes

e.g., CSV or TSV files, they will be imported whole records in a sheet. Use them, for

and displayed as sheets. Sheets can also be example, to duplicate records. Pasting

created via Data > New > Sheet. You will just always pastes as the last record in the

need to provide starting column headings, sheet.

which you can certainly add or take away Delete Records/Columns: Deletes the

from later. selected record(s) or column(s).

Edit Columns: Displays the Column Editor

NAVIGATION BAR to allow editing and managing the columns.

New Column: Creates a new column in the
The Navigation bar displays the current
sheet.
record and the total number of records in the
New Record: Creates a new record in the
sheet. Clicking on this information opens a
sheet.
Go to record function so you can quickly jump
Duplicate Record: Duplicates a selected
to a specific record in the sheet. In addition,
record in the sheet.
there are options to go to the first, previous,
next, or last records.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 46

 Note: Despite any visual or behavior adding a sepia tone, etc. The Effects tab
similarities with Microsoft Excel, sheets provides some simple pre-defined image
are not spreadsheets and therefore do not effects. The Details tab displays metadata
provide functions and formulae. about the image, including EXIF metadata
and a map of the geolocated origin of the file.

IMAGES, AUDIO, AND VIDEO

NAVIGATION BAR

For audio and video files, there is a special

option available in the navigation bar: the
playback time. This displays the current time
of playback (audio and video only). Also,
if you click the time it shows a Go to time
function so you can quickly jump to another
time in the playback.

CONTEXTUAL MENU

There are a few media-specific contextual

menu items available, excluding common
ones related to magnifying the image. In
addition to the standard controls, e.g.,
DEVONthink uses macOS core technologies volume, playback position, etc., some of the
to display images and videos, and also play same contextual menu options are found in
audio. Interacting with images uses the same the action menu for these files.
controls you are used to, like pinch to zoom
in and out, two-finger tap to zoom to width, Rotate Left/Right: Rotate the image

and even two-finger rotation in 90 degree left and right. The image is saved in an

increments. Audio and video files display the uncompressed TIFF format.

familiar macOS controls. Flip Horizontal/Vertical: Flip the image on

the chosen axis. The image is saved in the
Images, audio, and video files can be lossless TIFF format.
imported. Also in DEVONthink's Sorter you Edit: Opens the Edit panel.
can capture the screen to an image, as well as Copy Frame Link: Copies a URL linking to
record audio and video notes. the current playback time in the file.
Copy Image: Copies the image or current
EDIT PANEL video frame to the clipboard. When used

When working with images, double-clicking

opens an edit panel with three tabs. The
Adjust tab allows you to do some basic image
editing, like adjust exposure, saturation,

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 47

 with an image, an uncompressed TIFF file OFFICE DOCUMENTS
will be captured.
Word processing, spreadsheet, and
Set As Thumbnail: Makes the current frame
presentation applications are common in
the thumbnail of the video (only available
many situations. When using the proprietary
when the video is not playing).
formats from these applications, like
Note: Edits to or copying an image via Microsoft Word documents (.doc, .docx)
contextual menu items produces an instead of rich text files, these formats aren't
uncompressed TIFF file. These files can directly editable in DEVONthink. However, it
be quite sizable, but are also saved in a does support importing and indexing these
lossless format. particular document types:

Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote from

OFFICE DOCUMENTS, EMAIL, Apple's iWork suite
AND OTHERS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from

DEVONthink is the central hub for many Microsoft's Microsoft Office suite.

environments, from home to office, and you Files from supporting applications, like the

are likely using several other applications OpenOffice or LibreOffice suites.

along side it. As often mentioned, Files from the popular macOS Mellel word

DEVONthink supports importing many file processor.

types; some editable, some not. If a format

These formats can only be imported, however
is text-based, like XML files, they may be
it is possible to add template files of these
directly editable. But even if a file is not
formats. For example, you may have a
editable, it may be searchable. This section
boilerplate Pages document you often use.
is obviously not exhaustive in what kind of
This could be added as a template to quickly
files can be added to DEVONthink, but if
add to your database, then opened and
you have a format we haven't discussed, the
edited in Pages. See the appendix for a bit
easiest thing to do is just try importing it.
more information.
Any failures will be reported in Window > Log.

EMAIL
EPUB
Imported email messages have their
EPUB files (.epub)are popular format,
contents indexed (excluding the contents of
commonly used for digital books (including
attachments). This makes them searchable
our manual). While they can't be edited
and a valuable asset, whether you're archiving
in DEVONthink, their contents are fully
email for personal or professional reasons.
indexed and searchable, making them a viable
resource in your databases.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 48

TEXT AND BEST ALTERNATIVE Text Alternative mode for these files, some
but not all contextual items related to text
For some document formats, e.g., email
selections are available. See also p. 212ff
messages or Word documents, DEVONthink
only allows you to select and copy text in
LINKED FILES
the Text Alternative view. If DEVONthink is
able to interpret and convert the document On occasion we get an inquiry about
format, you can use the and buttons importing files with linked assets, like Adobe
in the navigation bar to switch between a Illustrator or InDesign files. While it's certainly
view that allows you to select, copy, and drag possible to import these, the links will be
text or the Quick Look view showing a more broken if you try to import a folder structure
"accurate" view of a file. containing the links. Groups in DEVONthink
do not exist in the file system, so the groups
Also note you will have text-related
that are created when you import a folder
contextual menu items available when
structure from the Finder don't exist as
you can make text selections in the Text
real folders in the database. The files inside
Alternative view of a file.
the folders are imported into the internal

Note: For uneditable formats, DEVONthink structure of the database, so their paths are

uses Quick Look to display the file, not pointing to the groups in the database.

provided an appropriate Quick Look plugin

If you want to include these kinds of files in
or application providing one is installed. If a
your databases, you could keep the linked
document you want to view in DEVONthink
files external and only import the documents.
does not show a Quick Look preview, you
You could also index the complete folder
may need to contact the maker of the
structure containing your files into the
source application and ask them to add
database, leaving them where they are in the
Quick Look support.
Finder. Since the paths aren't changing, the
links would be preserved when you open the
CONTEXTUAL MENU ITEMS
documents.

Contextual menu items aren't available

in Quick Look views, e.g., Control-clicking
in a PowerPoint file. Also, when using the

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 49

 IN & OUT

IN THIS CHAPTER When you drag-and-drop files or choose File

> Import > Files and Folders, files are copied.
Importing & Indexing 50
This does leave the originals in the Finder,
Drag & Drop 53
which you can choose to keep or delete. But
Sorter 54
note there is no connection between the
Archiving Email 55
files any longer. Editing the file in the Finder
Sync 58
after importing has no effect on the file in
Capturing Paper (Image Capture) 67
the database, as the database has a copy of
Capturing Paper (Other Options) 69
it. If you want to access and edit the files, do
Extensions and Bookmarklets 70
so from inside DEVONthink.
Web sharing 71
Services 75 If you hold the ⌘ Command key when you
PDF Services 76 drag into DEVONthink, the file will be moved,
Third-Party Applications 76 not copied, into the database. If you are using
File > Import > Files and Folders, you can
DEVONthink is not an island. It integrates
click the Options button and enable Move
with the rest of your Mac and iOS devices
Originals to Trash.
in a variety of ways to make it easy for you
to add data to DEVONthink. There are even
INDEX
some options that allow you to share your
data with friends and colleagues. Creates links to files outside the database.
This allows more direct access to the files in
the Finder by other applications or people.
IMPORTING & INDEXING
A common example is people using a cloud
When it comes to getting data into your service like Dropbox and indexing folders
databases, there are two fundamental in the local Dropbox folders. DEVONthink
methods to consider: importing and indexing. indexes the content and metadata for use
with classification and other content-related
IMPORT functions, just as it does with imported
items. Do note while indexing doesn't copy
Importing copies files into the internal
the contents of the files, the full text of
structure of the database. This creates a
text-based is stored. This can still take up a
portable, self-contained database that can
considerable amount of space.
be moved as a single file. This is the default
behavior of DEVONthink. Finder files and folders can be indexed using
File > Index. You can also hold ⌥⌘ while
dragging and dropping into your database.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 50

When you do, you will see a curved arrow folder and could be indexed with all its
on the cursor while dragging, indicating the contents included. You could also index an
items will be indexed. Indexed items with individual folder, e.g., the "Data" folder, which
have a small square Finder icon to the right of would be treated as a parent folder for its
the item's name. contents. And you could also index individual
files within or outside of any folders. Each
INDEXING AND THE FILESYSTEM of these options has specific behaviors you
should be aware of, covered below.
Indexing is not the default option for getting
files into your databases. This is not only Moving Indexed Items: DEVONthink stores
because importing creates a singular, individually indexed items by its absolute
portable database, but also due to some path in the filesystem. If you move an
technical things that must be considered individually indexed file or folder, it will
when indexing. Here are a few behaviors you disappear when the database updates or be
should know and understand before indexing. reported as missing. This is because the item
no longer exists in the indexed location, so
With indexing, the integration with the
the absolute path points to nothing. If you
filesystem is very tight. When you rename a
move a file or subfolder inside an indexed
file in DEVONthink, the file's name changes
parent group, the change should be reflected
in the Finder. If you rename in the Finder, the
in the database or the Finder. The parent
change should be automatically reflected in
folder still exists in the same location and
the database. DEVONthink tries to keep the
DEVONthink can adjust for the changed
group in the database and the folder in the
relative paths within it.
Finder in the same state.

When indexing items into DEVONthink,

you can index a file, an individual folder,
or a parent folder, i.e., one containing
subfolders. In the image shown, the
"DEVONtechnologies" folder is the parent

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 51

 If you delete a subgroup or a file in an indexed
group and empty the database's trash, you
will be shown the standard trash warning
shown here. If you accept this, the item
Deleting Indexed Items: When deleting will be moved to the system Trash from
indexed items, you will see one of two its location in the Finder. In this situation,
warnings when you empty the database's DEVONthink is modifying the content of the
trash, depending on how you've indexed indexed parent to ensure both the Finder and
the item. With individually indexed files, an database's contents match.
indexed folder, or a parent folder, you will see
Duplicating Indexed Items: When you
a warning prompting you to choose whether
duplicate an indexed item, the behavior
to delete the item from the filesystem or
depends on if you're duplicating with
just the reference in the database. In this
a database or across databases. if you
instance, DEVONthink is prompting you to
duplicate the item in the same database,
make sure you aware of the potential removal
a copy will be created in the Finder in
of a top level indexed item.
anticipation of potential changes. If you
duplicate the item into another database, no
copy will be created in the Finder. However,
changes made to the item - in either
database - will affect both databases as the
indexed item is pointing at the same item in
the Finder.

Note: While you cannot replicate files

across database, the duplication of an
indexed file across databases can provide
you with a similar behavior. However,

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 52

 the files will not be marked as duplicates Note: While DEVONthink can handle large
since duplicates are not detected across amounts of data, it is inadvisable to import
databases. or index uncurated data, like entire hard
drives or your Home directory. You should
Replicating Indexed Files: Replicating indexed
be judicious in what you put into your
files within a database, individually or within
databases.
parent folders, has no effect on the files in
the Finder. Replicating only adds a record
of another instance of the file. However, if DRAG & DROP
you delete a replicant of an indexed file and The Mac has always been an an environment
empty the database's trash, this will have with rich drag-and-drop support.
no effect on the files in the Finder. They will DEVONthink is a well-behaved citizen in this
remain intact. regard. Here are some ideas:

Indexing Cloud-synced Folders: One of

IN
the common uses of indexing is to keep
a local folder in a cloud-synced location, The easiest way to add data to DEVONthink,
e.g., Dropbox, and have access to the files other than creating the documents directly
within DEVONthink. While this is certainly inside the application, is to drag files or
supported, be aware that changes made to selected data, e.g., text, images, etc., into a
the local folder, especially when the cloud DEVONthink window.
service syncs changes to the local folder,
the changes may not always be detected Drag files from the Finder into a database.

by DEVONthink. In that instance, you can Holding certain command keys will allow

manually update the indexed group by you to copy, move, or index them. See also

selecting and hoisting it via the disclosure p. 50ff

triangle or choosing the File > Update Indexed Drag files from the Finder to DEVONthink's

Items command. Also, you should only index dock icon. Files will be sent to the default

local data, e.g., on the local hard drive or destination.

connected drives. DEVONthink doesn't With applications supporting drag-and-

support indexing data that resides only in the drop, you can drag data between them

cloud. and DEVONthink. For example, you can

drag messages from Apple Mail into your
Lastly, if you are indexing content and want database or DEVONthink's dock icon.
to sync the databases between devices, Inside DEVONthink, you may be able to
please review the Indexing and Sync section. drag content from a file into the database.
If you have an email message with an
Due to the flexibility of DEVONthink, it's
attachment imported into your database,
possible to have a database containing both
imported and indexed files.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 53

 you can drag the attachment out as a Dragging: Moves items, by default.
separate file. Option-Dragging: Duplicates items to the
With some file types it's possible to select dropped location.
text and drag it out to create a new file. Option-Command-Dragging: Replicates
DEVONthink will attempt to create the items to the dropped location. Note you
most appropriate file type. cannot replicate a file to the same location
as the dragged file.
Note: With the last two options, you may
be able to drag-and-drop content between
files. SORTER
The Sorter is a multi-purpose utility built into
OUT DEVONthink providing options for adding
files and creating various types of notes.
DEVONthink isn't just a receiver; it also allows
When enabled in Preferences > Sorter, it
drag-and-drop of its files too.
is found in the menubar at the top of your
For email applications lacking good screen — displayed as DEVONthink or the
automation support, drag a document onto nautilus icon — or docked to the side of
its dock icon or into a draft email to attach your window. Details about the views and
it. controls of the Sorter are covered in the
Drag documents or groups to the Finder as Sorter section of the Windows chapter.
a quick export option. When you do this,
DEVONthink will apply tags you've added to
the documents also to the exported files as
Finder tags.
If you need to upload a document to
a website, drag the document in the
database to the page or the upload sheet,
if the site requires it. Note that groups
can't be added this way. You'd need to drag
the group to the Finder first, then to the
site.

INSIDE
The first view of the Sorter is the Navigation
And obviously DEVONthink allows view. Access your favorites, or browse and
dragging database items inside itself for search for groups in the open databases.
reorganization. Double-clicking a found group will open it in
a new DEVONthink window. Drag and drop
files on the Sorter to quickly file them in a
favorited group, an inbox, or a location you've

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 54

found in a search. When docked, the Sorter applications. It also allows you to import
will lock open during a search so you can UNIX mailboxes (.mbox files) that can be
easily drop files into the desired location. exported from some other email clients.

The Sorter's other views allow for quick and

easy note creation. It supports these note
types:

Take Note: Create text notes in plain or

rich text, Markdown, or formatted note
formats.
Voice Note: Record an audio note.
Video Note: Record a video note with the
built-in camera.
Screen Capture: Snap screen captures with
the option of adding metadata, e.g., tags,
Beyond dragging and dropping emails from
rating, etc. directly into DEVONthink.
an email client, you can select the View >
The Sorter allows you to clip web content as Import command to show the Import sidebar.
well. It also functions as the interface to the DEVONthink currently supports the following
Clip to DEVONthink browser extension. email applications:

Clip content from the current page in your Apple Mail

default web browser. Microsoft Entourage
Clip content from a URL detected on your Microsoft Outlook
clipboard.
The imported email messages are saved
Clip content via Clip to DEVONthink or
in their original file format (.eml) and
enter information and a URL manually, if
are displayed using QuickLook. MailTags
desired.
metadata on the messages is preserved as
All these methods give you the option of tags. In addition, the "read" and "flagged"
capturing the content in a variety of formats, status of email messages are transferred
with or without extra metadata, directly into from Microsoft Entourage and Microsoft
your DEVONthink databases. Outlook independently from your settings in
Preferences > Email.

ARCHIVING EMAIL DEVONthink communicates with your email

application using either AppleScript or, if
Email is an important item in many
you are using Apple Mail, through a special
situations, both professional and personal.
plugin that implements a direct link between
DEVONthink allows you to import email
Mail and DEVONthink. If the plugin is not
messages directly from supported email
automatically installed select DEVONthink >
Install Add-Ons to install it.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 55

In addition to speeding up the transfer imported emails are excluded from the
of email messages from Apple Mail to mailbox view, subsequent visits to the
DEVONthink, the plugin adds an Add to Import sidebar will only show newly
DEVONthink 3 command to the Mailbox received emails. Using the Archive Mailbox
and Message menus of Apple Mail. This option will import only those new emails
allows you to directly archive selected into the existing Emails group in the
messages or mailboxes to your DEVONthink database.
database while inside Mail. When accessing
Depending on the settings in Preferences
a supported mail application via AppleScript,
> Email > Conversations, DEVONthink can
automatic fetching of new mail is disabled.
attempt to import complete conversations
This does not happen when you use Apple
and optionally group them.
Mail with the DEVONthink plugin installed.

Note: Email threading is not an exact

Note: We highly recommend you install
process. There has also been no standard
the Apple Mail plugin as the AppleScript
defining relationships between messages
implementation in Apple Mail is slow.
for a very long time. DEVONthink will
Also, due to limitations in the AppleScript
attempt to thread the conversations, but
interface of Mail it's not possible to archive
cannot guarantee all related emails will be
complete conversations from Apple Mail
detected.
without the plugin installed.

IMPORTING UNIX MAILBOXES

IMPORT OR ARCHIVE

UNIX mailboxes (.mbox files) exported from

When it comes to archiving email, the
some email applications, e.g., Thunderbird
question arises: "Do I use import or archive?"
or Postbox, can be imported into your
Here's the simple way to understand it:
database. There is no mailbox structure in
Import Email: While Import can be used on these exported files so multiple mailboxes
a mailbox, it is generally used on selected, have to be exported and imported separately.
individual emails. This is especially useful They can be imported into DEVONthink in
when using a filtered view, e.g., filtering one of two ways:
by a date range or recipient. You'd select
File > Import: Use File > Import > UNIX
those files and use the Import option.
Mailboxes, then select the .mbox file in
Archive Mailbox: As the name implies, this
the Open dialog and press Open. This will
command can only be used on selected
import the messages into a group in the
mailboxes. The mailbox will be imported
current location.
into a special Emails group. DEVONthink
Drag and Drop: Drag and drop the .mbox
will attempt to preserve the mailbox
file onto DEVONthink's dock icon to import
structure shown in the email application.
the messages into your database.
This is very useful for archiving a mailbox
and keeping it up to date. Since previously

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 56

PROBLEMS IMPORTING OR MOVING EMAILS as replicants. However, this still will not allow
moving messages into databases already
Briefly discussed in the Appendix, the UUID
containing those emails.
is a value given to each item in DEVONthink.
It is unique to each item and more than one
REPLYING AND SENDING
item can't have the same UUID. When email
messages are imported, they are given such To reply to an archived email message,
an identifier based on metadata from the Control-click it in the item list and choose
actual email. This means you can't import the Send Reply. A draft message will be
same message into a database more than composed in your default email application.
once, as that would result in more than one
Choose Send by Email to email a selected
file having the same UUID. This will be shown
document from the item list.
in DEVONthink's Window > Log. It can also
cause issues when moving messages between Note: The inter-application communication
databases. If you already imported messages capabilities of the email client you are using
into a database and forgot you did, trying to determine how well these two commands
move the same email into it will fail. work. If the commands aren't producing
the expected results, check with the
In Preferences > Email you can enable
developer about what kind of interactions
Previously imported will become replicants to
they allow between applications.
import the messages into the same database

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 57

SYNC

Before we discuss particular details of sync of a database. Changes are made locally
methods, take a moment to check out the then synced through the sync location to the
Preferences > Sync section. This gives you an connected devices.
overview of the preference pane where syncs
The only variations are:
are set up. Additionally, you will find a short
glossary of sync-related terminology in the If the second machine already has a
Appendix. opened copy of the database, you will have
the option to merge with the sync data in
SYNC SIMPLIFIED the sync location.
Using a Bonjour sync, in which you'd import
Sync is an incredibly simple concept. You
and sync directly between devices.
have a database on one machine. You want
that database on another machine. From That's it. Every sync is conceptually the same.
the machine with the database, you upload The differences you find are the requirements
the database to a sync location accessible of the particular sync method, e.g., Dropbox,
from both machines. On the machine without and are covered below. Bonjour and local sync
the database, you'd access the same sync stores show a few more specific (but simple)
location and import the database. This way, steps, but they all follow the same essential
every device, Mac or mobile, has a local copy pattern shown here:

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 58

 Enable a location (with or without an If you copy the database (.dtBase2 file)
encryption key). between machines, that is clearly a true copy
Upload a database to the sync location. of the database. Also, importing a database
Enable the same location in DEVONthink via sync logically yields a true copy of the
on another Mac or DEVONthink To Go in database. True copies are databases that
iOS (using the same encryption key, only if have the same internal identifier (UUID).
specified).
What is an encryption key?: Regarding
Import from or merge a database to the
the privacy of your synced data, all sync
sync location.
methods allow you to specify an optional
Repeat as needed.
(but recommended) encryption key for a
sync location. The key is an alphanumeric
BASICS AND HOW TO
string of your choice and length. This key
This sync section isn't long because it's is used to "scramble" or "descramble" the
complicated; it's long because of the variety sync data using AES-256 encryption and
of options available. While the basics of sync the data is stored in an encrypted state.
are very simple, questions will arise and there All databases synced to a location using an
are details to be covered. Below we answer encryption key will sync encrypted data. If
some common questions, then describe you specify a key when syncing, you must use
specifics per sync method. the same encryption key when setting up the
same sync location on other devices running
What is a sync store?: A sync store is a folder
DEVONthink or DEVONthink To Go.
on a server or service (the 'sync location')
that DEVONthink uses to store sync data Note: Bonjour syncs don't allow you to
for your syncing databases. Give it a name explicitly specify a key, but the sync data is
made only of alphanumeric characters. A encrypted by default.
concatenated name, e.g., Research_01 can
Can I encrypt after I've already synced?: It
be used. Note this folder is only for use by our
is not possible to simply add an encryption
sync engine.
key after syncing as DEVONthink cannot
What is a 'copy of the database'?: One encrypt already synced data. Indeed, if you
detail to understand about syncing: Only add, remove, or modify an encryption key
true copies of a database will sync together. post-sync, you will see Invalid encryption
Two databases having the same name but key warnings in the Log window. In order to
created independently are not the same switch to an encrypted sync, you'll need to
database. These databases will never sync clean the sync location first. Control-click
together. This is also why you shouldn't the sync location and choose Clean Location.
create a database on the receiving machine, After the clean has been successfully
hoping to "fill it up" with data from the source reported in the Log window, Control-click the
database. sync location again, modify the encryption
key as desired, then enable databases to sync

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 59

again. However, remember that changing or throttled, the speed of the sync will be
removing the key will require making that affected. Syncs on your local network, e.g.,
change in DEVONthink or DEVONthink To Bonjour, are much less likely to be affected.
Go if they are syncing with the same sync
location. INDEXING AND SYNC

What are the Local and Remote sections Often people index content from the local
for?: As noted above, a database must repository of a cloud service like Dropbox.
be local to the machine so it must either The question then arises: "If I have my data
be open in DEVONthink or imported from on Dropbox' servers and I sync to Dropbox
the sync location. For a non-Bonjour sync via DEVONthink, aren't I just using twice the
location, Local section of the Databases space?" The answer is practically, yes. In the
list displays all local open databases. For a Show Info for a sync location in Preferences >
Bonjour location, the Local section displays Sync there is an option Synchronize contents
databases that are open both on the local of indexed items. Unchecking this will sync
machine and the Bonjour server machine. only the metadata for the files, not the
The Remote section displays any databases contents. However, you should only disable
that aren't open locally or those that have this option if:
never been imported to the local machine.
You are syncing another Mac, linked to
You cannot sync to a remote database. It
your Dropbox account, and having the
must be imported locally, then you sync the
local Dropbox folder in the same relative
local copy.
location. The default location is ~/Dropbox.
How quickly will it sync?: DEVONthink's If the locations are different, the files will
sync does not run constantly. To balance appear as missing on the second Mac.
performance and reduce unnecessary You are not syncing with our mobile
network noise, it syncs on an interval. While application, DEVONthink To Go.
the interval can vary by sync method, a good DEVONthink To Go does not support
standard to consider is: sync will initiate indexed items. Also, if you are using
up to 45 seconds after a change is saved the Download Files: On demand option
in a database and every 4.5 minutes of idle in DEVONthink To Go, you could never
time when set to Automatic. You can set a download the contents since the contents
different interval, noting a longer interval, are not present in the sync location.
e.g., Hourly, can help lessen the resource load.
For the most flexibility, it is advisable to
Another consideration with a remote sync ensure you have enough storage space for
is the quality of the network and server syncing.
responses. If your network is slow or poor
quality or the remote servers are slow, not
responding quickly, or bandwidth is being

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 60

BONJOUR Note: Bonjour does not function over
VPNs. This is a technical limitation of the
technology, not DEVONthink.

Bonjour Setup:

Step 1: On the machine acting as the

server, open Preferences > Sync and press
the Bonjour Options button.
Step 2: Click Enable Incoming Connections
to use this Mac as a Bonjour server of
its databases. Optionally, have closed
databases open when a client initiates a
sync.
Step 3: Enter a mandatory password. This
Bonjour (also called a direct connection) is
password is required for other devices to
technology you are almost certainly already
act as a client of DEVONthink's. If you are
acquainted with. If you have a wireless printer
working with an IT department who has
or scanner and notice how your Macs and
assigned a port for you, or you have a port
mobile devices can see those devices by
you'd specifically like to use, enter it in the
name with no setup by you, they are using
Port field. Otherwise, leave this blank and
Bonjour. Bonjour is a way for devices, or
DEVONthink will assign one for you.
services like DEVONthink's sync, to broadcast
its presence on a network without requiring The Mac with Bonjour enabled should now
technical know-how by the user. be visible as a sync location to other devices
on your local network. On the other devices,
When it comes to syncing, a Bonjour sync
enable it, enter the password, and you can
deals directly between devices. One device
import databases or sync existing databases
acts as a server, the other a client to that
directly with it.
server. The participating devices must be
on, running DEVONthink or DEVONthink Note: You should never use more than
To Go, and on the same network. There one device as a Bonjour server for a given
is no intermediary location where data is database.
stored. This is much faster than uploading
all data to some server on the internet and LOCAL SYNC STORE
downloading it again on another device. But,
A local sync store is a specialized folder
when you leave your office and you haven't
containing sync data on your local machine or
synchronized your databases, you'll need to
connected drives and servers. This is a very
wait until you come back another day.
fast and reliable sync method for Mac-to-Mac

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 61

syncing. You can use one sync store to sync Note: Due to technical limitations, a local
multiple databases or create more than one, sync store currently cannot be used for
e.g., one for a particular group of databases. Mac-to-mobile syncing. iOS doesn't have
the ability to mount file servers.
Setup a new local Sync store:

Step 1: Open Preferences > Sync and enable ICLOUD (LEGACY)

the Local Sync Store option. If you already

have one created, click the + button and
choose Add Local Sync Store.
Step 2: In the sheet that appears, navigate
to the location you want to save the
sync store. Enter a name and an optional
encryption key, if desired. Then press Add.
Step 3: When the location is created,
select it and enable the databases you
want to sync in the Databases list on the
right.

Setup an existing local sync store:

As most Apple devices are logged into your
Step 1: Locate the local sync store
Apple ID, iCloud is the simplest method to
(.dtCloud) file in the Finder.
set up and sync with. Since it's logged into
Step 2: Double-click the sync store or drag
your personal account, it can only be used
and drop it into the Locations pane in the
for syncing with your own devices. If you
Sync preferences.
want to keep your databases in sync but
Step 3: If you used an encryption key when
not share them with others this is a great
you first synced to the existing location
choice. We strongly recommend an iCloud
from another machine, select the sync
plan with enough storage. Here are the simple
location and press the Info button to open
instructions to set it up.
the Info popup. Enter the appropriate
encryption key. iCloud Setup:
Step 4: When the location is created,
Step 1: Open Preferences > Sync and enable
select it and you should see any importable
the iCloud (Legacy) option.
databases listed in the Remote section of
Step 2: Enter an optional encryption key, if
the databases list.
desired. If you are already syncing to this
Step 5: Double-click a database you want
location from another machine, you must
to import, saving it to a safe location,
enter the same key you used. Leave it blank
e.g., the Databases folder in your Home
if you didn't use an encryption key.
directory.
Step 3: Select the sync location and enable
the databases you want to sync in the

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 62

 Databases list on the right. If you already
synced from another machine, double-click
a database in the Remote section, saving it
to a safe location, e.g., ~/Databases.

One thing to realize with iCloud syncing, the

sync is done locally. After sync is finished,
iCloud uploads to Apple's servers, then to
devices using your Apple ID. This means
databases may not be immediately available
to sync on the other devices. The initial
sync requires patience, as DEVONthink has
no control over the speed and reliability
CloudKit Setup:
of iCloud's process. It syncs to the iCloud
folder, iCloud does the rest. See the CloudKit Step 1: Open Preferences > Sync and enable
section below for an alternative option. the CloudKit (iCloud) option.
Step 2: Enter an optional encryption key, if
CLOUDKIT (ICLOUD) desired. If you are already syncing to this
location from another machine, you must
Utilizing the same active iCloud account, the
enter the same key you used. Leave it blank
CloudKit option offers a single-stage sync
if you didn't use an encryption key.
with the same simple setup as the iCloud
Step 3: Select the sync location and enable
(Legacy) method. However, with this option,
the databases you want to sync in the
the sync is directly to Apple's servers. This
Databases list on the right. If you already
can appear to be a bit slower than the legacy
synced from another machine, double-click
option, but once the sync is finished the
a database in the Remote section, saving it
files are already uploaded without having
to a safe location, e.g., ~/Databases.
to wait for iCloud to sync on its own. This
also conserves space as no sync data is
temporarily stored on the local machine's
hard drive. The instructions are essentially
the same as setting up iCloud (Legacy).
You're just choosing the CloudKit (iCloud)
option instead.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 63

DROPBOX done on other devices you are setting
up this same Dropbox sync location.
Once the authentication is allowed, you
subsequently can add and remove other
Dropbox sync locations in DEVONthink.

If you are using a Dropbox sync and also the

Dropbox application, it is advisable to exclude
If you have a Dropbox account you can use the DEVONthink Packet Sync folder inside
it just like you'd use WebDAV. DEVONthink the Apps folder from being synchronized with
creates a private folder for its sync stores your Mac. This keeps the Dropbox app from
and so keeps its data separate from your wasting valuable disk space and bandwidth
photos and other documents. Of course it by re-downloading all changes you've made to
does not get access to anything except its your databases, and from spamming you with
own files. Dropbox and DEVONtechnologies notifications.
respect your privacy.
Step 1: Click the Dropbox icon in the
The setup for a Dropbox sync location is menubar at the top of your screen,
essentially the same as for iCloud. However, then click the account icon and choose
there are two differences of which to take Preferences.
note: Step 2: Select the Sync tab and click the
Choose folders to sync button.
Sync Store Name: You will have to enter a
Step 3: Select the Apps folder, and uncheck
Sync Store Name. This is where the sync
the DEVONthink Packet Sync folder.
data will be stored in the Apps folder of
Step 4: Click the Update button and okay
your Dropbox account. You can add more
the removal of the local data.
than one sync location, if desired.
Authentication: Since the Dropbox sync Note: Due to Dropbox' API restrictions,
connects and syncs directly with the you cannot sync between Dropbox
Dropbox servers, you are required to accounts, .e.g., between yours and a
authenticate the connection. When you colleague's account. Also it is not possible
first enable a Dropbox sync location in to connect DEVONthink to more than one
DEVONthink your default web browser Dropbox account at a time.
will open and ask you to allow access
to our sync engine. This will need to be

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 64

WEBDAV DEVONthink to connect to the WebDAV
server.

Note: A typical complete path would

be similar to: https://myWebDAV.com/
WebDAVvolume/WebDAVFolder. The volume
and folder are generally case-sensitive.
Specifying a WebDAV folder may be
required if the server doesn't allow you to
write to the root of the volume. Check with
the manufacturer or provider.

If you run your own WebDAV server, your ISP

offers it as a service, or you have subscribed
to an online service such as CloudMe, this
might be for you. Generally, if you can access
the WebDAV server with Go > Connect to
Server in the Finder, you should be able to
connect DEVONthink to it.

Your data is stored in encrypted sync stores

on the server. You can keep all your devices in
sync at any time as long as you have internet CloudMe: A European cloud service offering
access. WebDAV services, there is a built-in template
for syncing with it. Just enter the username
Setting up a WebDAV connection follows
and password you use to log into the service,
the same simple pattern and allows you to
enter a store name, and DEVONthink with
specify a sync store name. But there are a
connect with a proper WebDAV URL for you.
few parameters that must be entered to
make the connection: Other cloud services: If you are interested in
other cloud services to sync with, services
URL: This is the address of the WebDAV
offering WebDAV connections should be
server to which you are connecting. Make
supported. Check the FAQ or Support pages
sure you use the proper protocol of http
to see if it's supported.
or https. Also make sure the URL is a
complete path, as required by the server or Rolling your own: It is possible to run
service you're using. a WebDAV server on your own. Some
Username/Password: Enter the defined or NAS drives, e.g., Synology, have WebDAV
provided username and password to allow capabilities and you can run a WebDAV server
by repurposing an older Mac. Even some

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 65

more full-featured packages like OwnCloud and DEVONthink To Go. You cannot go into a
or NextCloud can be set up for WebDAV sync location and retrieve a specific file, and
services. However, these options can provide neither could anyone else, friend or foe.
more technical challenges in setup and
Should I use one sync store per database:
administration beyond the scope of our
This is either a personal choice or a
support.
requirement of your specific situation. A sync
Note: With Dropbox and WebDAV location can be used with one, several, or
connections, if you are connecting to a all databases. However, if you'd like to use
location you've already synced to, a list of one sync store per database, it may lessen
existing sync stores is displayed in the Sync the time in troubleshooting in case of a sync
Store Name dropdown. This way you can issue. In situations where you need to sync
quickly add the proper sync store instead certain databases to certain individuals, you
of trying to remember the exact name you can use one sync store for each subset of
gave it. databases.

I want to sync a database with multiple

Q&A
sync locations.: While using a Bonjour or a
I'll just put my databases in (name your cloud local sync store sync as a secondary option
service): This is not data-safe and never should work, this is not suggested generally
has been. The mechanisms used by cloud when using a remote sync option like iCloud
services are not compatible with package or Dropbox. Multiple sync stores are best
files, like our databases. Due to the number used only for different databases and/or
of broken databases we've seen over the different devices, e.g., to synchronize specific
years, DEVONthink will neither sync nor open databases via one sync store for personal use
databases stored in these locations. We and sync others via a second sync store for
suggest keeping them in a folder in your home business purposes. Otherwise unnecessary
folder, like ~/Databases. duplicates might be caused, especially if
the Conflicts setting in sync preferences
I want to access my databases from one
is set to Duplicate documents. Each sync
location: Along with the previous note, this is
location is updated independently so changes
not possible. Databases are stored locally and
may not be received on one before it syncs.
must be imported to the current machine.
Also, syncing a database to multiple remote

I want to find my files in the sync location: locations can waste space and bandwidth.

Your databases do not "live in the cloud". Sync

does not copy your databases and files into TROUBLESHOOTING

any sync location. It transmits raw, chunked,

Generally, syncing is a transparent and
and optionally encrypted DEVONthink-
reliable process. However, poor network
specific data, only useful to DEVONthink
conditions, unreliable servers, etc. may cause

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 66

unexpected issues. Please refer to the Sync DEVICES
section of the Troubleshooting chapter for
some possible fixes.

CAPTURING PAPER (IMAGE

CAPTURE)
DEVONthink comes with built-in support for
Image Capture compliant scanners, as well as
for the Fujitsu ScanSnap.

OCR: DEVONthink optionally makes scanned

documents searchable by using optical
character recognition (OCR). OCR adds an Select your connected scanner or camera in
invisible text layer to the scanned file that is the Devices section of the sidebar to run a
computer-readable and searchable; a layer scan or download images from a connected
that is recognized by DEVONthink's AI engine. iOS device or camera. The main pane shows
OCR on scans is generally enabled by default. an interface similar to what Apple Image
For best results we recommend scanning at Capture uses.
200 dpi in color and with 100 percent quality.
Choose the scan destination in the To pop-
Note: If you are using a Fujitsu ScanSnap, up menu. Either send the scan directly to any
see the next section. of your databases, add them as single files
to the Imports section, or choose any binder
To capture paper using an Image Capture
that you have created there.
compliant scanner open the Import sidebar
using View > Import or selecting the icon over Scanners: DEVONthink generates an overview
the sidebar. It is divided into a sidebar and scan of the current page in the scanner,
a main pane, which changes depending on and allows you to select which parts of the
your selection in the sidebar. The options page you want to capture and set the scan
in the sidebar are arranged from top to options. Click Scan to capture the page.
bottom according to a typical scan workflow:
Scan, check the scanned pages, arrange the Cameras: DEVONthink shows the available

pages in a document, and save them to the images. Select the images you want to

database. import, rotate them if necessary, and click

Download or Download All to download the
If you are using a scanner with an automatic images to your computer. You can also delete
document feeder (ADF), you can also use a images from your camera with the Delete
Queue to prepare a pile of sheets for batch button.
processing and scan them in one go.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 67

IMPORTS click or Control-click images to add them
to an existing or new document using the
contextual menu.

QUEUE

The Imports section contains scanned pages

or binders of collected scans. Create empty
binders here to which you add your scanned
pages. Alternatively, use the Create new
Binder button at the bottom of the sidebar.

If you are using a document scanner with

Add pages by dragging them from to the
automatic document feeder, you can use the
desired binder, in the current view or the
queue to add multiple pages or even multi-
sidebar. Rearrange added pages if desired
page documents to the feeder and scan them
and set the document properties by clicking
in one go.
the Properties button. Use the Sort button
to reverse the sort order or shuffle pages, Choose your scanner in the pop-up menu
e.g., when scanning all front pages first, then above the list. Then use the Add and Delete
the back pages. Choose Sort and Merge buttons to add or delete steps and rearrange
Documents to merge two documents where them by dragging. Edit the fields to set a title
one contains all the odd pages and the other or tags, or to change the document type or
all even pages. destination. Check OCR to convert a scan to
a searchable PDF after import.
Note: You cannot save multi-page
documents as images; therefore, PDF is the To scan a batch of paper, set the Separator
only option for the file type here. either to Page Count and the number of
pages in the document or to Blank Page to
TRASH begin a new document every time a blank
page is encountered.
This is where you find images that you have
deleted from Scans & Images or Imports. Before starting the batch run, adjust your
Empty the trash using the Empty button scan settings by clicking the Configure
at the bottom of the window or right- button. If you want to convert the scans
to searchable PDFs, you should choose a
resolution of minimum 300 dpi. Then click the

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 68

Start button to start scanning. Finished steps USING AN UNSUPPORTED SCANNER
are marked as "Sent". To remove finished
You can also capture paper using an
items from the list, select the ones to remove
unsupported scanner and import the finished
and press the minus button at the bottom of
scans into DEVONthink. To do this, use the
the window. Alternatively, click the dropdown
scan application that came with your scanner
button and choose Remove Sent or Remove
or a third-party scan application. Check
All.
the scan application's preferences and look
out for an option that allows you to open
CAPTURING PAPER (OTHER the finished scan with another application,
OPTIONS) e.g., an image editor. Change the default

DEVONthink works with the Fujitsu application for the scan to DEVONthink.

ScanSnap, ExactCode ExactScan, and other

DEVONthink knows the identifiers of many
scanners that are not directly supported.
scan applications and will convert the

In addition, you can add already scanned incoming scan to a searchable PDF if possible.

pages to your DEVONthink database and If DEVONthink does not recognize your scan

manually convert them to searchable PDFs. application, please create a Zip archive of
the application and send it to us so that we

USING A SCANSNAP SCANNER can add its identifier to a future release of

DEVONthink.
DEVONthink recognizes scans sent to it from
the Fujitsu ScanSnap Home application or Note: In the settings for the scanning

the older ScanSnap Manager software. To application you're using, it is best to leave

send scans automatically to your databases, the default location for the output path,

simply add DEVONthink to ScanSnap Home often ~/Pictures. Do not set the path to

or ScanSnap Manager as the application DEVONthink's Global Inbox, as this can lead

to use for opening completed scans. The to errors when DEVONthink tries to import

scanner app will send the created PDFs to a scan that is not completed yet.

DEVONthink which in turn will import the

document. The files will be imported into IMPORTING EXISTING FILES WITH OCR

the Global Inbox or a selected location,

If you already have an archive of documents
depending on the option set in Preferences >
that have been scanned without OCR, or
Import > Destination.
if you cannot use the capture function for

ScanSnap's scanning software can provide whatever reason, you can import image files

already OCR'd PDFs. However, if you don't while applying OCR.

enable this option, DEVONthink can perform

To import an image file while applying OCR,
the OCR on the incoming scans if you've
choose File > Import > Image with OCR. Click
enabled Preferences > OCR > Convert
the Options button to choose the output
Incoming Scans.
format and whether to send the original to

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 69

the system trash after importing. The image an option, Add to DEVONthink that allows
will be processed with DEVONthink's OCR you to send data from the application to
engine and be imported to the database DEVONthink.
in the format chosen. If you have enabled
Installation: Just as other sharing extensions
Searchable PDF: Set metadata after
are installed, open System Preferences >
text recognition in the OCR preferences,
Extensions > Share Menu and enable the
DEVONthink will show the metadata entry
option for DEVONthink. It should now be
window when the OCR process is completed
available in any sharing-enabled application's
(before the file is actually imported to the
Share menu.
database).

Note: The data being sent is controlled by

The date of the created document is set to
the sending application, not DEVONthink.
the date of the original file. Thus, for archival
If there are issues with the data received
purposes, the searchable document is
in your database, please contact the
identical to the original one. The modification
developer of the application to report your
date is set to the current date and time to
findings.
reflect the addition of the searchable text
layer. If you're importing a PDF, any keywords
BROWSER EXTENSIONS
in the original file are retained and used as
tags. Browser extensions add functionality to your
favorite web browser. DEVONthink's Clip to

EXTENSIONS AND DEVONthink extension usually appears as a

BOOKMARKLETS nautilus icon in the web browser's toolbar.

When clicked, the Clip to DEVONthink will
DEVONthink provides a sharing extension
identify data about the current page in the
(requires OS X Yosemite or later), a web
browser and open the Web Clip section of
browser extension, as well as bookmarklets,
the Sorter. Here you can simply select the
for conveniently clipping information from
location to clip the content or add optional
other applications into your DEVONthink
metadata, like tags, label color, etc.
database.
Installing: The Clip to DEVONthink for Safari
SHARING EXTENSIONS extension is installed by DEVONthink by
default. The extensions for Firefox and
Sharing extensions let you "share" data with
Chrome can be installed from our Extras
other applications or web services such
download page. You can also access these
as Twitter and Facebook. Extensions are
pages via the DEVONthink > Install Add-Ons
mainly intended for the sandboxed App
panel.
Store environment where applications can
no longer easily communicate with each
other. When you access the Share menu in
a compatible application, you should see

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 70

 Note: While there is no direct support for browser extension or bookmarklets. Other
other browsers, some allow you to install browsers allow you to make a persistent
Chrome extensions. This may allow you choice about this behavior.
to install our browser extension in those
browsers as well.
WEB SHARING

BOOKMARKLETS DEVONthink allows you to give others on the

local network access to your databases using
Similar in function to a browser extension, a standard web browser on any operating
but much simpler, bookmarklets are special system (including Windows and Linux). The
bookmarks that execute some JavaScript embedded web server provides an interactive
to capture the current page or selection in web interface that allows defined users to
the browser. To use one of the bookmarklets, interact with the shared databases. Here are
load the page you wish to archive or clip the first steps to getting started using this
text from in your web browser. When the powerful feature.
page is fully shown, select the bookmarklet
in your bookmarks bar. Instead of loading
another page as normal bookmarks do, the
bookmarklet adds the selected text or the
whole page as text, bookmark, HTML code,
web archive, or PDF to DEVONthink's default
destination.

Installing: Bookmarklets can be installed

from our Extras download page. Typically,
the bookmarklet can just be dragged and
dropped to the browser's bookmarks toolbar. SECURING YOUR SHARED DATABASES
However, you may need to Control-click
the bookmarklet and copy the code to Before you start sharing your data it's a good

add it manually, if the browser requires it. idea to check the security settings.

We have provided separate bookmarklets,

To enhance the security for the databases
one for each type, currently supporting
you broadcast, you define users and give
capturing: bookmark, web archive, HTML,
them per-database permissions. You will
PDF (paginated or single page), plain text, or
also set a certificate for the server, so the
the selection as plain text.
connecting users can validate they are

Note: Due to increased security in macOS, connecting to a safe server. These items

Apple Safari will prompt you to allow are set in Preferences > Server. Users will

launching DEVONthink when using the only be able to interact with the databases

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 71

based on the permissions you give them, in the preferences, your users may be able to
including disallowing them even to see certain add a bookmark to their browser for quick
databases. access.

Note: Depending on the certificate settings Note: We believe in data privacy and
specified in the preferences, a warning hope you do too. Browsers may present
about an invalid certificate may be shown options to save login credentials. Some
when users access the web sharing. This may even save the credentials by default.
is especially true when using a self-signed We are cautious of the first and not a fan
certificate. While this warning is something of the second. If the user is on a shared
to be suspicious of when browsing in computer, consider what access other
general, you and your users can accept it in users could have if using these options to
this case. save credentials.

SHARING A DATABASE USING THE WEB INTERFACE

Start and stop the server: Once the The interactive web interface imitates the
certificate and users have been set up to look-and-feel of DEVONthink in many ways,
your liking, press the Start button to start but in a condensed form. Contrary to a static
the server. You can also select the Tools > web site, it only loads once; clicking buttons
Start Server command or choose the Start or links does not reload the whole page but
Server option in DEVONthink's dock icon. If dynamically updates it. This also means you
the server is running, these will display Stop should use the Back and Forward controls in
instead. the user interface instead of the ones in your
browser's toolbar.
Share your server's address: Once the web
server is started, you will see links at the Similar to the DEVONthink, the web interface
bottom of the preference pane. These are is divided into panes: toolbar, sidebar, item
the active links you will share to individuals list, and view/edit pane. But note some
you have defined as users. One option is operations, e.g., deleting or organizing items,
to Control-click the link, select Share from are dependent on the permissions you've
the contextual menu, and share it via your been given for the specific databases.
preferred method. You can also use Copy Link
Sidebar: The sidebar is where you can
and paste it where you need to. Lastly, you
navigate the databases' inboxes, groups, tags,
can click and drag the link directly to many
and trashes in the sidebar. You can even drag
applications, like Apple Messages.
items from the item list to reorganize things.
The person who receives your link will open
Item List: Selecting items in the sidebar will
the page, login with the username and
display the contents in the item list. When
mandatory password you've defined for
using the standard preview position, the list
them, and have access to the databases you
can be sorted by clicking the column headers.
want them to see. If you have specified a port

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 72

There are options to enable or disable access to the computer. Lastly, it gives you
them in the contextual menu. Items can be access to two powerful options: the See Also
dragged, handily for filing loose documents pane and the search field.
into groups. Double-click groups to display
See Also: When you show the inspector
their contents in the item list. For quick
pane, the second view is a See Also view. This
navigation, press the < and > arrows to go
displays potentially related files in the current
back and forward to visited locations in the
database you are viewing.
databases. You can also click the locations in
the path bar above the item list to jump to a Search: Searching the viewable databases
parent location. can be done in the search field. Enter search
terms, including using search prefixes to
View/Edit pane: Displayed below the item
focus the searches. For example, you can do a
list or to the right, depending on the preview
search for text:housing tags:government.
choice made in the toolbar, this pane will
If you want to restrict where you're searching,
attempt to display the contents of the
select All Databases or a specific database to
selected file. Clicking and dragging the divider
search in.
bar allows you to resize the pane, relative
to the item list. A select number of file Descriptions of the controls in the user
types, e.g., plain text, formatted notes, and interface can be found in the Web Sharing
Markdown files can be viewed and edited in section of the Windows chapter.
this pane. When the Info inspector is shown it
will display as a pane on the right side of the ACCESSING YOUR DATA OVER THE
view/edit pane. INTERNET

Note: Due to the limitations of browser Web sharing is best used on a local area
technologies, some file types cannot be network (LAN). But there may be situations
displayed. where you want to share the database to
users that aren't on your network. While we
Toolbar: Some handy options are available
can't provide specific support due to the
in the toolbar, including switching the
differences in equipment and environments,
position of the view/edit pane, adding
we have provided a simple guide you can try.
some metadata, e.g label or rating, to a
selected item, and creating groups and a To access your database from outside your
few document types. It also has controls for network, you need to make your Mac "visible"
uploading new documents and downloading to the outside world. In general, when you
currently selected ones. A user menu allows a using a DSL or cable modem, you are also
you to switch between English and German using a router. Routers create an intranet that
language and also provides a Log Out option your Mac is connected to and "route" traffic
for more security when allowing others between the internet and your personal
intranet. Now, you need to create a route
from the outside leading to the Mac sharing

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 73

your database. This offers a port on the interface you are using (usually Built-In
outside that is directly connected to the port Ethernet or Wi-Fi).
on which DEVONthink is publishing. Step 4: Decide on a public port for
DEVONthink. The port should be in the
If everything goes well, you will be able to
range 1025-65500. We suggest that you
access your database using an address like:
use port 8080, which is traditionally a
http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:port, where
default port for private web servers.
xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is your current public IP
Step 5: Configure port forwarding on
address. (Note: This is your router's address
your router. The steps to do this vary
on the internet, not your Mac's.) Next, port
from router to router, but all of them
is the outside port number leading to your
require you to provide these details: Public
published database.
port, private destination IP, and private

Port forwarding done manually: The following destination port. You found the private

is only a rough outline of the steps needed destination port in step 2, and the private

to configure port forwarding manually. The destination IP in step 3, and you selected

precise way to do it varies from router to the public port in step 4. If you are in doubt

router. You will need to consult the manual for about how you configure your router to

your router in order to determine exactly how do port forwarding, you need to consult

to set things up. To configure port forwarding, the manual that came with your router.

follow these steps: It is usually done through a web-based

interface or custom-built administration
Step 1: Begin by determining your Mac's
application. For instance, AirPort routers
public IP address. This can be done
can be configured using the AirPort Admin
by visiting a web site like https://
Utility.
www.whatismyip.com from your machine.
Step 6: Save the configuration changes
Step 2: Determine the port on which
on your router, and restart the router if
DEVONthink published on your Mac. You
required. At this point, you are ready to
set the port in Preferences > Server.
connect to your DEVONthink from the
To publish on the internet, enter a port
outside.
number here and do not let DEVONthink
Step 7: From the remote computer, open
set it automatically as the port number
a web browser and enter the address as
may then change every time you open the
follows: http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:port,
application.
where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the public IP
Step 3: Determine your Mac's private
address you found in step 1, and port the
IP address. The IP address is usually of
public port you selected in step 4. Press
the form 10.x.y.z, 192.168.y.z or
↩ Return and you should get presented
172.16.y.z. You can find your Mac's
with your database's web interface.
private IP address by going to the Network
preferences panel in System Preferences
and looking it up under TCP/IP for the

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 74

Setting up port forwarding can be tricky, but This service is also available in the Finder's
the difficult part is mainly in determining contextual menu.
how to configure your particular router. If you Capture Bookmark: Adds a bookmark to a
are in doubt, search online for your router's URL selected in text.
name and combine it with a search for "port Add to Reading List: Adds a bookmark to a
forwarding" or "port mapping." URL selected in text to the Reading List.
Take Plain/Rich Note: Adds selected text
to the global inbox as a plain or rich text
SERVICES
note from any application that support
The DEVONthink > Services menu gives services. Taking a rich text note also copies
you access to special commands provided images and clickable links. If the source
either by other applications, such as TextEdit document is a web page or a news feed,
or Safari, or by services extensions such DEVONthink tries to capture the address
as DEVONtechnologies' WordService or of the page or feed as well. This only works
CalcService. Also, DEVONthink publishes its with applications that support this feature,
own services in the Services menu. such as Safari, DEVONagent Pro, and other
web browsers.
Append Plain/Rich Note: Adds selected
text as plain or rich text to the last note
taken using the DEVONthink Services
menu items.
Lookup: Opens the search pane in
DEVONthink with the selected text copied
as search term.
Summarize: Creates a new note in
DEVONthink's inbox with a summary
of the selected text. DEVONthink uses
all documents in the open database
for determining what's important and
what's not. The summarization settings
in Preferences > Editing, define whether
the summary are be based on sentences or
DEVONTHINK SERVICES
paragraphs.
DEVONthink installs several services for
If you want to assign hotkeys to services,
copying or summarizing selected text,
go to System Preferences > Keyboard >
capturing a web page, or searching for
Keyboard Shortcuts > Services. Do note that
documents in your databases.
application hotkeys can override hotkeys set
Add to DEVONthink 3: Adds selected files, here. Try to make sure to specify unused key
bookmarks, or images to your database. combinations in your shortcuts. Also, due to

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 75

the way macOS loads menus, you may need Note: This requires an installed printer to
to show the DEVONthink > Services menu work properly.
once before the hotkey will become active.

THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS
PDF SERVICES
DEVONthink offers many standard ways to
Another way to get files into DEVONthink is integrate with third-party apps including
using PDF services. Installing DEVONthink's drag-and-drop of common data formats,
service adds a Save PDF to DEVONthink copy-and-paste, and AppleScript. In
option to the PDF button of the print dialog addition DEVONthink comes with special
in any Mac application. This allows you arrangements for applications often used
to print a paginated PDF directly to your together with it.
database.
Bookends: Choose File > Import >
To install the PDF service, select DEVONthink References from Bookends to import
> Install Add-ons and check PDF Services in Bookends references as rich text
the dialog window. Then click Install and the documents with a back link to the original
option should now be available. item in Bookends.
Evernote: Choose File > Import > Notes
Printing to your database: To "print" (save) a
from Evernote to import selected Evernote
document to DEVONthink as a PDF, open it
notebooks.
in its creator application (this could even be
Tinderbox: Copy notes in Tinderbox and
DEVONthink itself). Then, do the following:
choose Data > New > With Clipboard to

Select File > Print. create plain or rich text copies of the notes

In the appearing print dialog window, click in DEVONthink including backlinks and

the PDF button at the lower left corner tags.

and select Save PDF to DEVONthink from Yojimbo: Choose File > Import > Items from

the menu. A PDF will be printed and sent Yojimbo to import all items from Yojimbo.

to DEVONthink. Depending on your choice Items without URLs are backlinked.

in Preferences > Import > Destination, the

Apple Mail: DEVONthink adds its own menu
file import into the Global Inbox or let you
commands into Apple Mail to facilitate
choose the destination group.
importing selected message or mailboxes
into your databases. See also p. 55ff

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 76

 WINDOWS

IN THIS CHAPTER DEVONthink uses a number of windows to

present information. These windows are
Main Window 78
used for displaying and manipulating groups
Sidebar: Navigate 84
and documents, finding information, editing
Sidebar: Filters 89
metadata, analyzing text, and changing the
Sidebar: Smart Group and Rule Editor 92
properties of your database.
Sidebar: Reading List 93
Sidebar: Image Capture 93
Sidebar: Email 96
Sidebar: Extras 97
Document Window 98
Download Manager 99
The Sorter 101
Preferences 106
Database Properties 106
Popovers 108
Web Sharing 110
Support Assistant 112
Log 114
Activity 115

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 77

MAIN WINDOW

The main window is split into simple sections, You can can toggle the pane's visibility in the
some of which will be familiar from other View > Preview menu or via a toolbar button.
applications. In fact, as we introduce the
Layouts:
components of the window you'll see
DEVONthink has many familiar elements in Widescreen: The View/Edit pane is
it. We start off with the fundamental panes displayed to the right of the item list, an
you'll use. option common in many Mac applications.
Standard: The View/Edit pane is displayed
VIEW/EDIT PANE under the item list. This is a bit more
traditional but very useful on smaller
When You launch DEVONthink you will see
screens, e.g., MacBooks.
an empty pane at the bottom of the window
None: Hides the View/Edit pane. Note you
reading Nothing Selected. This is the View/
can still select any file and press the space
Edit pane, a preview pane displaying the
bar to preview it in a Quick Look pane, as
currently selected document. This pane gives
needed.
you a view of the content of compatible
documents. It also allows you to work on As noted above, DEVONthink allows
compatible files directly in the main window displaying and editing, and even creating,
when the pane is shown. Or you can hide the some file types. Please refer to the
preview, perhaps if you want to concentrate
on information about a group of documents.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 78

Documents chapter for more information on opens groups in a new window checkbox
this and other components related to the in Preferences > General. Note this view is
View/Edit pane. best used without a preview or in standard
layout.
ITEM LIST List: Behaving much like Finder's List
view, the List view shows a list view
When you open a Finder window, you are
of the items with metadata columns.
presented with a list of files in a certain
Drag the columns left and right to reorder
location. The view may be icons or a list, etc.
them to your liking. Sort them by clicking
but you are still just viewing the contents of a
the column headers, switching between
folder, hard drive, etc.
ascending and descending each time you
DEVONthink is no different in this respect. click. Control-click the headers to add or
When you open a main window, you will see a remove columns. Or make these choices
list of groups and documents in the current from the Tools menu.
location. Clicking on or opening other groups Columns: The Mac OS X Finder received
shows their contents. Smart groups, just like the Columns view from its NextStep
the Finder's smart folders, also display their counterpart, then iTunes adopted it for
contents in an item list. The item list also browsing music. DEVONthink's Column
supports familiar operations like drag-and- view functions in the same way. This option
drop between groups, copy and paste, group works best with a preview in standard
and ungroup, contextual menu items when layout, for quickly viewing selected files,
you Control-click, etc., just as you've done in but you can also use Show Details to
the Finder. display metadata and the file's thumbnail.
Expanding the width of the column by
Views: Again, taking a cue from the Finder,
dragging the separator will scale the
the item list allows you to display your
thumbnail, if desired.
documents in some familiar views:
Cover Flow: An iTunes feature that found

Icon: For the more visual folks, we have the its way to the Finder and DEVONthink is

Icon view. This displays the thumbnails Cover Flow. Similar to the Icon view

of the documents with just their name. You but with dynamically created thumbnails,

can choose Show Details to display some i.e., the displayed image is generated from

additional metadata in a widescreen view. the contents of the file. This side-scrolling

Change the size of the thumbnails with item list can be useful when making visual

the slider in the information bar, noting assessments of documents. It is best

this will affect the amount of metadata used with a standard layout or without a

shown as well when details are shown. preview displayed.

Double-clicking groups behaves just as

double-clicking a Finder folder, displaying
the contents in the current or a new
window, depending on the Double-click

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 79

All these views can be easily changed in the will appear in this column. If you have a group
View > View options, as well as the quartet of containing a mix of flagged and unflagged
icons on the right-hand side of the items, a dash will appear in this column,
Information bar. showing an indeterminate state.

Sort: In addition to sorting the item list by Additionally, DEVONthink displays special
clicking column headers or using the View icons to the right of item names for
> Sort menu, you can also choose a sort attributes like Spotlight comments,
method in the Sort dropdown menu in the reminders, etc. A key of the item icons can
information bar. By default it reads by Name. be found in the Iconology section of the
Also, notice there is a Customize Metadata appendix
command in the Tools > Columns menu, the
Contextual menu items: When you Control-
contextual menu, and this menu. Select it
click in a Finder window, a contextual menu
to fine tune what columns are available to
appears with a host of commands for you to
display, including any custom sets you've
choose from. DEVONthink's item list also has
created yourself.
a contextual menu available. The commands
Visual Cues: DEVONthink provides a few shown depend on what is selected and
visual cues applied to items in an item list. in what pane you're using. A list of the
commands can be found in the Contextual
Menu Items section of the appendix.

Note: To keep visual consistency and

make some functions more broadly
accessible, item lists are used throughout
DEVONthink's interface, so you'll see

Duplicates: Duplicate files display their them in some other panes. But note some

name in blue or the icon, depending on functions, like specific contextual menu

your setting in Preferences > General > items, may change, depending on the

Mark duplicates and replicants in color. specific pane you're using.

Replicants: Replicant files display their

name in red or the icon, again depending TOOLBAR

on the preference setting.

At the top of most Mac applications you
Unread: Unread items, including groups
encounter, including the Finder, you will see
with unread items in them, display their
the toolbar. For people who prefer working
name in bold.
with tracking devices, e.g., mice, trackpads,

The Flag column shows the state, flagged etc., the toolbar allows you to have quick

or unflagged, or the unread status of access to some functions without having

items. Clicking in the flag column toggles the to go through the menus. DEVONthink also

flagged state. If an item is unread, a circle provides a toolbar in main and document
windows.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 80

The toolbar comes pre-installed with a handy INSPECTORS
default set of buttons, including the search
In some applications, extra information about
field (see below). It can be customized via the
files is shown in a pane on the right side of
Tools > Customize Toolbar command. You can
a window. DEVONthink also provides such a
also Control-click the toolbar and choose this
pane in its main windows with individual sub-
command from the contextual menu. Add,
panes called Inspectors. For example, data
remove, and reorder these items to suit your
about the name, tags, type, etc. of a selected
particular needs. On a side note, if you want
file are available in the Info Inspector. Unlike
to quickly reorganize items on the toolbar,
other applications, it gives you multiple
hold the ⌘ Command key and drag the item
inspectors presenting more information
to its desired location, or off the toolbar to
and functions, all docked in the inspectors
remove it.
panes. This gives you quick access to all the
If you're looking for a little more space for inspectors in one unified window, especially
your toolbar, or even a little less, you can helpful on smaller screens.
choose to display the toolbar as Icon and
The inspectors are individually discussed in
Text, Icons Only, or Text Only. Do bear in
the Inspectors chapter.
mind, the Icon Only view will not show the
current document's title or icon.

A list of the available toolbar items is

available in the Toolbar section of the
appendix.

SIDEBARS

Seen in scores of applications for many

years, a sidebar is a top level organizational
structure, typically found on the left side
of an application window. The Finder or
Apple Mail sidebars are perfect examples
of this. Looking at them, you should
see the immediate similarities with
DEVONthink. However, unlike most other
apps, DEVONthink has multiple sidebars,
each with their own special functions covered
a bit later in this chapter.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 81

SEARCH PANE

Storing information is a useful thing, but Live while typing: Enable this option to
it's more useful when you can find things search while typing or disable it to search
too. DEVONthink offers a strong search only when you press ↩ Return.
function for finding items in your databases, Partial matches while typing: This option
all integrated into a main window. assumes an asterisk wildcard at the end of
the last search term.
In the toolbar is a search field for entering
Ignore Diacritics: This allows you to ignore
your search terms. Type in a word and the
special marks on letters, like umlauts or
search pane appears showing any matched
accents.
items — and yes, it's another item list
Fuzzy: This uses fuzzy-logic to expand the
supporting the different views and sort
possible matches DEVONthink makes.
methods discussed above. Additionally, the
For example, hello and hullo would be
View/Edit pane can be shown to display
matched.
selected results. For contents-based
searches, the search terms will be highlighted Search prefixes: Anything you type into
in the preview, whenever possible. the search field will be treated as searching
in all possible attributes. However, if you
Search options: In the search field, you will
want to focus on specific attributes, e.g.,
notice a magnifying glass icon. Click this
file types or tags, the search field supports
icon to see where to search, list the ten most
prefix operator searches, similar to Spotlight.
recent search queries, one choose among the
Common examples are searches like
following options:
name:DEVON or tags:tech;sync, separating

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 82

multi-valued attributes like tags with a Searching inboxes or all databases creates
comma. There are a wide variety of prefixes a global smart group, shown in the Smart
available, as well as different prefix operators. Groups section of theNavigate sidebar.
A complete list of these items is included in
Note: The search index contains
the Search Prefixes section of the appendix.
alphanumeric characters as well as the
In addition to search prefixes, DEVONthink following symbols: $€£¥%§
supports Boolean operators, parenthesis for
grouping terms, and quotes to match specific PATH BAR
terms. Read more about operators and how
On the left side of the main window, just
to use them in the Search Operators section
below the toolbar, is the Path Bar. This is
of the appendix.
a specialized bar displaying a crumb trail
Search scopes: After you've done a search, of your current location in a database. For
you will also see a bar above the search example, if you are in a nested group, it will
results allowing you to choose the scope of show something like Coding > AppleScript
the search. The scope is the "where" you're > WWDC > 416, beginning with the current
searching. You will be shown All Databases, database.
Inboxes, the name of the current database,
Each item in the crumb trail is a live link, so
and the name of the current group, if you're
you can click it to jump to any parent folder
currently viewing one. Choose one to expand
or back to the top level of the database.
or limit where DEVONthink is searching.
This bar also has < and > buttons so you can
Advanced and save: To the right of the search navigate back and forth between locations
scopes, you will see two buttons. Clicking the you've visited in this window. As an added
Advanced button displays the criteria of the feature, click and hold one of these buttons
current search. You can modify the search to be shown a list of previous locations you've
with the same kind of controls used in the visited, just like in a web browser.
Finder's smart folders, as well as some other
applications with advanced search methods. INFORMATION BAR
Note these controls are also used in creating
Another specialized bar, the Information
smart groups and smart rules.
Bar displays the number of items selected
If you have done a search you'd like to use and the total number of items in the current
again, press the Save button. Enter a name location. As mentioned previously, this
and DEVONthink will create a smart group bar also hosts the Sort dropdown and the
for you. If your search scope is in a group, view icons.
the smart group will be created there. If you
are searching a specific database, the smart
group is created in the root of the database.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 83

SIDEBAR: NAVIGATE UNIFIED ELEMENTS

The Navigate pane is the default sidebar By default, specific parts of databases are
where you will access to your databases, tags, shown gathered in specific sections, similar
items located in Favorites, etc. Additionally, to how Apple Mail displays the inboxes of all
you have access to some specialized items: accounts in the same section.
global smart groups and smart rules.
Globals: The Globals section provides quick
access to three locations common to all
databases: the Inbox, Tags, and the Trash.
If you click a top level section, e.g., Inboxes,
you will see a combined view of items in the
inboxes of all open databases. This can be
especially handy if you want a view of all the
tags you're using in your databases. Click the
disclosure triangle next to each section to
show the locations for each open database,
allowing you to access the locations on an
individual database level.
Each section in the Navigate sidebar has its
own specific purpose: giving you access to
frequently used files, navigating database
groups, or viewing a list of similar files. The
sidebar will only show databases and groups.
Selecting one of these items will display
its groups and files in the item list. This
allows a clear view of the group structure
in the sidebar, while still allowing you to
interact with the contents in the item Inboxes: The inbox of a database, like the
list. Alternatively, you can view the group real-world counterpart on an office desk,
hierarchies directly in the sidebar. Excluding is where incoming, unfiled items are kept.
smart groups and smart rules, selecting Every database has one by default and you
multiple items will show a union of their can see the name of the database each inbox
contents in the item list. belongs to. The Global Inbox, shown just as
Inbox, is a special, always-open database
The sections in the Navigate sidebar can
present in every installation of DEVONthink.
be dragged to reorganize them as desired.
This is highly useful when quickly capturing
Sections you don't need to use as often
data, e.g., web clipping, screen captures, etc.,
can be collapsed to reclaim the space or to
without stopping to file things. You can then
provide a bit of privacy.
go back later and file these items at your
leisure.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 84

 item list as well. One thing to note: When you
delete a tag, the original file in the database
is preserved. What you see in the database's
trash is the replicant that was created in the
tag group when you added the tag.

Tags: The Tags section provides quick access

to all the tags you are using or tags within
individual databases. If you click the top level
tags, the item list will display all the tags
you've created. Open this group and click on
a database's name to show its tags. If you like
Trash: Every database has its own individual
to create nested or hierarchical tags, you can
trash. This allows you to see, and potentially
drag and drop existing tags in the sidebar or
retrieve, items you've deleted from your
the item list.
individual databases. Just as with the real-
Typically you will use the Tags bar in the world trash bin, we do suggest you empty
View/Edit pane or the Info Inspector or your databases' trash regularly. It is not
Info popup to apply or create tags. You can meant as another filing location, and items
also drag items in your database to the marked as missing will still register as a
individual tags. When you create a tag it will problem for a database. Select the trash,
automatically appear in the Tags group of the the top level or individual database's trash,
database you're in. If you want to create new and choose DEVONthink > Empty Trash. The
tags to be used later, select the Tags group command is also available in the contextual
for the database and choose Data > New > menu, when Control-clicking a trash. Trashed
Tag. Or from the contextual menu, Control- files are not deleted completely from the
click the database's top level Tags group or an machine but are put into the system trash.
existing tag and select New Tag.

If you find yourself in a situation with multiple

tags you'd like to merge, select the Tags group
for the current database to view the tags in
the item list. You can then select the tags
there and choose Tools > Merge Items.

Removing entire tag groups can be done by

dragging and dropping to the sidebar's trash.
From the contextual menu, you can choose
Move to Trash. You can delete tags in the

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 85

 Note: With Unify Inboxes and Tags both
disabled, the database's contents will
appear similar to how DEVONthink 2
displayed databases.

Open Databases: This section is where you

see and access any databases you have
currently open. Click the database's name
to display items in the root of the database.
Clicking the disclosure triangle allows you to
show groups, and subsequently sub-groups in
the database. As mentioned above, selecting
Databases: When disabled, DEVONthink
a database or group will display its subgroups
displays a database's name in the Open
and files in the item list.
Databases section of the sidebar but the
contents will be shown in a separate section.
NON-UNIFIED ELEMENTS
The current database will be marked on the
As the unified views may be less comfortable left by an asterisk (*) and its groups will be
for some people, DEVONthink allows you to shown in a separate active database section
decide what database elements you want to in the sidebar. This creates an isolated view
unify. Controlled by options in Preferences > of that database regardless of the number
General > Sidebar, you can enable or disable of databases that are open. Interacting with
unifying: Inboxes, Tags, or Databases. elements in the active database section
displays contents in the item list, similar to
Inboxes: If you disable unifying the inboxes,
the Three Pane view from DEVONthink 2.
only the Global Inbox will be shown in the
Globals section. The inboxes of individual For switching between active databases,
databases will be shown in the item list when select another database and the active
the database is selected. database section will display only the groups
and smart groups of that database. Also,
Tags: Similar to the inboxes, disabling this
there are Previous Database and Next
option will display the Tags group with other
Database commands in the Go menu.
elements in the selected database.
When using the keyboard, hold the Command
key and press the up and down arrows to
view the contents of another open database
in the item list while showing the contents of

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 86

the previously active database in the active access any of these kind of items. Drag a
database section. Press ⇧-↩ to change the group or a document to this section's header
active databases section to the currently and you'll see a curved arrow on the cursor.
selected database. Drop the file and you have a new favorite. An
option to Add to Favorites is available in the
CONTEXTUAL MENU contextual menu commands of most items
in DEVONthink. Use Remove from Favorites
There are a few specific contextual menu
when Control-clicking on already favorited
items found in these sections of the Navigate
items to remove them.
sidebar. These commands are also found in
the File or Data menus: Select an item in Favorites to quickly access
it. If an item was last viewed without a
Copy Database/Item Link: Copies a link to
preview, it will be displayed in its own
the selected item.
window. If you see a favorite is greyed out,
Database Properties: Displays information
it means the containing database isn't
about the chosen database.
open. Double-clicking the item will open the
Close Database: Closes the chosen
database, if possible, and display the item.
database. In the case of encrypted
databases, the encrypted volume will be Drag items in the section to reorder them.
ejected as well. Groups in Favorites behave as normal groups,
Delete Database: Deletes the chosen so you can drag items into a favorited group
database to the system trash. This includes for quick filing. This includes using ⌥ and ⌘⌥
its cache and Spotlight index as well. to duplicate or replicate items while dragging
New Window: Opens a new main window and dropping to them.
for the chosen database.
Note: Favorites only support one level of
Rename: Change the name of the chosen
content, so you can't group or nest items
database. This can also be done in the
here.
Database Properties.
Show in Finder: Reveals the database file in
RECENT DATABASES
the Finder.

The Recent Databases section provides quick

Any section-specific contextual menu items
access to reopen closed databases. This will
that may require explanation are discussed in
list the last ten recently closed databases.
their respective sections below.
Double-click any databases you'd like to open.

FAVORITES
SMART GROUPS
There are many times we have specific
The global smart groups function the same
databases, groups, or documents we return
as local smart groups, i.e., the ones in your
to, again and again. Shown at the top of the
individual databases, but generally their
sidebar by default, the Favorites section
scope is all open databases. This allows
allows you to create shortcuts to quickly

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 87

you to have reusable searches targeting all For more information on editing smart group
your open databases, e.g., all Markdown properties, global or local, see the Smart
documents in all databases created in the Group Editor section of this chapter.
last month. These global smart groups can be
modified to target more specific locations, SMART RULES
but such a smart group would be better
Similar to smart groups, smart rules are
suited as a local smart group, i.e., in the
created, edited, and behave in a similar
particular database. DEVONthink comes with
fashion. However, they have one distinct
some pre-installed global smart groups:
difference: they can act on the items
Today: Shows all documents added or matched. The smart rule matches items just
modified today. as a smart group does but they perform
Recently Added: Shows all documents actions when certain events take place. This
added in the last week. makes them a very powerful way to add
Due This Week: Shows all documents with automation to your DEVONthink life.
a due date set for this week.
DEVONthink provides a few useful example
Top Hits: Shows documents opened more
smart rules to get you started:
than five times in the last 30 days.
Unread: Shows all documents marked as Automatic Locking: Locks unlocked
unread. documents (excluding RSS articles), that
haven't been modified in the last 30 days.
You can create a smart group from the
This requires user intervention.
contextual menu or the + button at the
Bates Number: A specialized rule that adds
bottom of the sidebar. By default all open
the current database's name and a Bates
databases will be targeted. However, if you
number to a filename. The original name is
have an item selected in the Globals or Open
preserved as a document alias.
Databases sections, the smart rule will use
Filter Duplicates: Automatically puts
that location for the matching.
duplicated items in a database's trash
Control-click a smart group to Edit, Rename, when you import them.
Duplicate, or Remove it. You can also copy a Reminders: Displays the name of a
link to a smart group, export it to the Finder, document and plays the system "glass"
or import previously exported ones. If you'd sound when a reminder on a matched item
like to convert an existing smart group into triggers.
a smart rule, ⌃-click the desired smart group,
If you Control-click a smart rule and choose
hold the ⌥ key, and choose Duplicate as
Edit, you will see the criteria, event trigger,
smart rule.
and actions for that rule. Like smart groups,
If you have exported smart groups in the you can create a smart rule from the
Finder, double-clicking them will import them. contextual menu or the + button at the
You can also drag them to the smart rules bottom of the sidebar. The target of the
section of the sidebar. smart rule also follows the same behavior

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 88

as a smart group: all databases are targeted on to the smart rule and the date would
unless you have an item selected in the be prefixed to the name, even though the
Globals or the Open Databases section of location and file type do not match the rule.
this sidebar.
For more information on editing smart
Control-click a smart rule to Edit, Rename, rules, see the Smart Rules section of the
Duplicate, or Remove it. You can also copy a Automation chapter.
link to a smart rule, export it to the Finder,
or import previously exported ones. Double-
SIDEBAR: FILTERS
clicking exported smart rules imports them,
and so does dragging them to the sidebar. Providing yet another way to isolate files
in the item list, the Filters pane allows
In the contextual menu for a smart rule, you to only show files that share common
notice there is also a smart rule-specific attributes. This pane, displayed at the
command: Apply Rule. This runs the clicked bottom of the Navigate sidebar an be shown
command on any matching files. This means or hidden via the Tools > Filter menu or the
it will performs its actions, even if the event trio of icons at the bottom of the Navigate
trigger is not set to On Demand. Be cautious sidebar. The pane can be resized by moving
about using this command unless you are the divider at the top of the pane.
certain you want to affect all matched items.
There is also an option to copy the item link INFO
for a smart rule by choosing Copy Rule Link.
Displayed by selecting Tools > Filter > Info, the
There are two commands in the Tools menu Info filters pane let you shows only files that
related to smart rules: share common dates, ratings, color labels,
etc.
Tools > Apply Rules: This runs the actions
of a chosen rule on selected items, but only
ones matched by the smart rule.
Tools > Perform Rules: This performs the
chosen rule as defined, not acting on the
selection.

Drag and Drop: Lastly, you can drag and drop

items onto smart rules to apply their actions
to them. Dropped items will be acted on,
ignoring the location and criteria specified in
the smart rule. For example, you may have a
smart rule to add the date to the beginning
of the name of images imported into your
Global Inbox. However, you could drag and
drop a rich text file from a separate database

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 89

 File Location: Click the dropdown to choose
whether to display Imported, Indexed, or
both with Any.

TAGS

Choosing the Tags filter via Tools > Filter >

Tags displays a tag cloud derived from the
tags on the current list of files. The cloud
shows the tags in varying sizes depending on
the number of occurrences of each tag on
these documents. The more files with a given
tag, the larger it displays. This makes it easy
to identify commonly used tags. If there are
no tags on the files in the current item list, No
Tags will be displayed. Additionally, Control-
click in this pane to sort the tags by Name or
by Count.
Dates: Click the Date dropdown to choose
the type of date you want to filter on: Added,
Created, Modified, Opened, or Due. Click on
a date in the calendar display to only show
files related to the day and type of date
you selected. Use the small arrows to move
backward and forward through time, and click
the circle between them to quickly return to
the last selected date.

Marks: Choose the type of mark, or a

combination of them, on which you want to
filter. For example, you can click the flag and
a rating of 3 to show only those files. You can
filter on these attributes:

Flagged or unflagged
Read or unread
Locked or unlocked
Rating To filter the files, click any tag. You will
Label immediately see the tag cloud reduce in
number and only related tags are shown. This
allows you to drill down into files that share

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 90

common tags, but also exposes tags that
have been used with the previously selected
tags.

Note: The tags you choose will also be

shown in the Information bar above the
item list. Hovering over one of these tags
displays a close button at the right side
of the tag. Click it to stop filtering on that
tag. You can also press the Reset button to
clear all filtered tags.

Control-clicking a tag in the tag cloud shows

these options:

Reveal Tag: Displays the Tag group in the

list of tags from all open databases.
Remove Tag: Removes the tag from the
Tags groups and also from any document it The map functions similar to Apple or Google
was applied to. Maps, allowing you to use familiar pinch
Related Tags: Displays the top two tags gestures or double-click or Option-double-
most commonly used with this tag. click to zoom in and out, panning, etc. The
Selecting a tag from this list filters the files map shows pins for all documents with
on that tag. geolocation data in the selected location in
View>: Allows you to switch between cloud the Navigate sidebar. Selecting a pin in the
and list view. map displays the files with that geolocation
Sort: Allows you to sort the tags by name data in the item list.
or count.

MAP

Utilizing geolocation data from your files,

the Maps filter shows documents related by
location. Show this filter pane by selecting
Tools > Filter > Maps. By default, the pins on
the map show the place a document was
created. However, the geolocation data can
be manually changed to a relative location,
like the site of a historic event. (See the Info
Inspector for more information on this.)

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 91

SIDEBAR: SMART GROUP AND the terms in the text of selected search
RULE EDITOR results, if possible.

PREDICATES

The second section of the editor shows the

search predicates. These define criteria you
want to match. Criteria may be content- or
attribute-related, e.g., documents containing
a specific word or groups added this week.

Note: The predicate editor is also shown

When you create or edit a smart group or when using the Advanced options when

smart rule, a sheet appears with options for searching your databases. It is also shown

specifying options, like the criteria to match in a similar sheet when you run the Tools >

or from where to match items. Batch Process command.

The list of predicates consists of a list of

OPTIONS
blocks, each beginning with All or Any,

The top section of the sheet contains a defining whether all (Boolean AND) or any

mandatory name and search location, as well (Boolean OR) of the contained predicates

as a few optional items. need to be true for the document to be

returned as a result. Predicates themselves
Name: Enter a name for the smart item.
consist of the field to search (like "Content"
Search in: Select where you want this
or "Tag"), and the condition and the data that
smart item to search.
needs to be matched.
Exclude Subgroups: Enable this to ignore
items in subgroups of the location selected Add as many criteria as you need. Use the +

in the Search in dropdown. and - buttons to add more predicates to your

smart group or to delete them. Predicates
In the Comparison section, you will see these
can be rearranged with drag-and-drop. Hold
options:
the ⌥ Option key and click a ... button to

Ignore Diacritics: Check this to treat create a "compound predicate" also called

letters with diacritics, e.g., umlauts or "branch". Each branch also has its own All or

accented characters, the same as their Any option as well. This allows you to create

regular counterparts. very targeted searches.

Fuzzy: Check this to apply fuzzy logic to

Example: To find all Microsoft Excel files
contents-based criteria, ignoring simple
use the condition Filename ... ends in ...
typos so that instances of "hello" and
xslx. To find items created in the last 7 days
"hallo" are both found.
use the condition Date created ... is ... Last
Highlight Occurrences: When used with
Week.
contents-based matching, this will highlight

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 92

 Note: In some predicates you can use Items in the Reading List can be moved to
wildcards, Boolean operators, phrases, and other locations by dragging them to any item
parenthesis, too. See also p. 215ff list in a main window. The drag operations
also allow you to duplicate or replicate the
files, holding ⌥ or ⌥⌘, respectively.
SIDEBAR: READING LIST
Similar to the section found in Safari (and CONTEXTUAL MENU
now many other browsers), the Reading
List provides a place to access documents The contextual menu (which appears when

and groups you've "set aside" for later you Control-click an item) offers these

consideration. The items are listed in All commands:

and Unread views. Newly added items are

Open in New Tab: Opens the clicked item in
displayed at the top of the list.
a new tab.
Open in New Window: Opens the clicked
item in a new document window.
Mark as Read/Unread: Changes the read
state of the clicked item.
Reveal Item: Reveals the item in its current
location.
Move to Trash: Moves the item to the
database's Trash. Emptying the Trash
removes the file and its reference from the
Reading List.
Copy: Copies the selected item(s).
Select/Deselect All: Selects all or none of
Add files from the item list via drag and drop
the items, respectively.
when this pane is visible. Alternately, choose
Remove Item: Removes the clicked item
the Data > Add to > Reading List menu item.
from the Reading List.
This command may also be available when
Clear All Items: Removes all Reading List
Control-clicking in an item list or in images
items.
and PDFs.

Note: The last two options cannot be

Items added to this pane will automatically
undone.
appear in the Unread view. Selecting an item
with the View/Edit pane visible will treat the
item as read and the item will only be shown SIDEBAR: IMAGE CAPTURE
in the All view.
The Import sidebar pane gives you access
to two common sources of external data:
scanning and email. Each section in this
sidebar provides controls to import from any

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 93

supported scanner or a compatible email efficiently. This interface should be familiar
client, e.g., Apple Mail or Outlook. This makes to anyone using Apple's Image Capture
DEVONthink a reliable companion at home, application or scanning in Preview.
in an office, in the hands of an archivist,
Overview: The overview of what's being
and many other scenarios. We will cover the
scanned. When using a Custom Size you
scanning controls in this section. We have
will define the scan area in this pane.
also provided a more practical overview in
From: Choose where you'll be inserting the
Capturing Paper section of the In & Out
paper into the scanner.
chapter.
Mode: Choose the color type: Black &
White, Grayscale, or Color.
Duplex: Enable double-sided scanning, if
available.
Resolution: Set the desired resolution
of the scan. 300 dpi is the suggested
resolution for most cases.
Size: Choose a pre-defined page size or
check Custom Size and manually change
the scan area in the overview. Resize the
scan area or even drag multiple scan areas
on the same scan. You can also enter
Archiving documents is an important specific measurements. Switching to a
function in many situations. The Image pre-defined size will clear any custom scan
Capture section of this sidebar allows you areas.
to control compatible scanners or import Orientation: Change the orientation of the
images from connected cameras or iOS final document.
devices. Name: Enter a name for the final
document. If left empty, a date stamp will
DEVICES be used as an automatic name.
To: Choose where to send the document:
The Devices section allows you to choose
Imports, create a new binder or use an
an input device. Choosing a scanner offers
existing one, or choose a destination in a
different controls and options than selecting
database.
a connected iOS device or camera.
Destination: The chosen location in a

Selected Scanner: If you select a scanner you database will be shown here. You can also

will be presented with controls and settings choose a location to send binders to when

to scan your documents. This allows you to saving.

use your scanner directly in DEVONthink very Kind: Choose the format for the final
document.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 94

 Tags: Enter optional tags to be applied to finished document. This section can be very
the document. useful when batch scanning. The following
OCR: Enable OCR for the scan, if desired. controls are shown in this view:

Camera or Mobile Device: Clicking on a Scanner: Choose an available scanner.

connected camera or mobile device displays Flatbed/Document Feeder: Choose where
an item list of photos to import. These you'll be inserting the paper into the
items can be imported for a variety of scanner.
uses. Additionally, for documents you've Document List: Defined documents and
photographed, the images can be added their parameters are listed here.
to a scanning document (described below) Add/Delete: Add or delete new document
and OCR can be done to create searchable definitions.
PDFs. This can be very useful for everyday Remove Sent/All: Contained in a popup
things like receipts to archiving historical menu, remove already processed or all
documents. documents from the list.
Configure: Global scanner settings for
To: Choose to import items to Imports, into
color type, resolution, page size, and duplex
a new or existing binder.
scanning (double-sided, if available).
Thumbnails/Details: Switch between a
thumbnail or a detailed list of photos.
IMPORTS
The size of thumbnails is controlled by
the slider at the lower right corner of the Containing individual scans or Binders,
window. collections of scanned pages. Create or
Delete: Shown as a stop symbol, use this to access existing binders and scanned pages in
delete selected images from the connected this section.
device. A warning will be displayed this
Document List: A list of thumbnails of
action cannot be undone.
scanned images.
Download: Download selected items to the
Create new Binder: Create a new empty
location set in the To dropdown. Optionally,
binder.
you can double-click items to import them.
Properties: Change properties of a
All: Download all the items on the
selected scan or binder, e.g., where the
connected device.
scan will be sent, the title, type, tags, and
optionally enabling OCR. You can also add a
QUEUE
Author or Subject for PDF output.
Select the Queue option to display the Edit: Change the orientation or make
scanning queue where you can pre-define image modifications of a selected scan.
documents to scan. Define parameters for Double-click a scanned page to display the
each document, including: Title, Destination, image modification pane.
Type (PDF or Image), Separator, whether Play: Play video imported from an iOS
OCR is enabled, and optional Tags for the device.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 95

 Delete: Delete the selected scan(s). Open the pane pane by choosing View >
Save: Sends the selected scans or binders Import. Here we discuss the controls used in
to the To set in the Properties for each. this section. For a more practical overview
of the email archiving process, check out
Select a specific binder in the sidebar to
the Archiving Email section of the In & Out
show a thumbnail view of the pages it
chapter.
contains. Rearrange the pages by drag-and-
drop or drag pages from one document to
another. Press the Sort button to use these
options:

Reverse Order: Reorder all pages from last

to first.
Shuffle Odd/Even Pages: Automatically
switch odd and even pages
Sort and Merge Documents: Choose two
documents to merge their contents. One
document is chosen as the starting odd
page, the other as the starting even page.
The pages are then interleaved into the ACCOUNTS AND MAILBOXES
current document.
The lefthand section of the Email section
displays the active accounts and mailboxes of
TRASH
Apple Mail or Microsoft Outlook. Select your
Any scans or documents you've deleted from email client, then click the disclosure triangle
the scanning interface will appear here. When to show the accounts then its mailboxes.
you have this selected, empty the trash with
Mailbox View: When you select a mailbox in
the button at the lower right corner of the
a specific account, the window will display
window.
more controls for filtering and importing
messages from that mailbox. The central view
SIDEBAR: EMAIL shows the contents of a chosen mailbox. This
is where you can select individual messages
In addition to scanning, the Import pane also
to import, if desired.
provides the controls to archive emails from
Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook. While you This view is separated into columns that can
can drag email messages individually from be sorted by clicking the column headers.
your email client, the Email section of this The columns include From, Subject, To, the
sidebar also allows you to import individual Flagged state. If you are choosing to show
messages or archive mailboxes directly into already imported messages, there is a special
your DEVONthink database. column showing those items. For emails
marked as high priority, the flagged column

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 96

will also show two exclamation points and the Imported: Enabled by default, this hides
subject, etc. will show in red. Control-click in messages you've already imported into the
the Mailbox view to refresh its contents. current database. As you can't import the
same message into a database multiple
FILTER AND IMPORT times, changing the Destination changes
what messages are displayed when this
When a mailbox is selected, the righthand
option is enabled. If you disable it, already
side of the window shows options for filtering
imported messages will show a checkmark
the messages displayed. It also lets you
next to their name
choose the location where the messages will
Deleted: Hide messages you've put in the
be imported.
account's trash.

Destination: Choose the destination for the Junk: Hide messages moved to the

imported messages or mailboxes. account's junk mailbox.

Search: Use this search field to search for The last two items are buttons for importing

messages by the sender or recipient's Name, selected emails in the Mailbox view or

email address, or the subject line. Note this archiving the currently selected mailbox. See

only allows for a single term to be used. also p. 55ff

However, the search is matching substrings,

so a search for jun would match "junk", SIDEBAR: EXTRAS
"jungle", and "jejune".
The Extras sidebar gives you a place to check
Show: Select options in this section to for current information from us. It's an easy
further fine-tune the list of importable way to stay up to date with some of the
messages, if desired. You can use: goings on at DEVONtechnologies.

Read: Show emails messages have been Support: Here you will find our recently
read, unread, or either. published tips, scripts, smart rules, and
Flagged: Show messages that have been templates.
flagged in the email application.
Priority: Show messages that have an
assigned priority
Date Range: Choose a range of dates to
display messages received between them.

Hide: Use these controls to hide certain items

from the mailbox view. All these options are
enabled by default, but can be selectively
disabled, if needed. However, when these
options are enabled it makes it easy to see
only new messages, ready for import.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 97

 DOCUMENT WINDOW

Tips & Tricks: This shows recent blog posts

of handy tips about all things DEVONthink,
presented in a RSS feed style. To read the
full article, click the article's title. You can isolate a document in its own
Scripts and Smart Rules: From time to window, known as a document window. These
time, we publish publicly available scripts windows are convenient for split screen work.
and smart rules. You will see a brief For any editable file formats, you can open
description and a link that allows you to a document window by double-clicking a
install the script directly from this section. document in any view of a main window.
Templates: We also offer templates for a Alternately, you can choose Data > Open or
broad audience. This section lists recently Open from the contextual menu to open
published ones. As with the scripts and any document in a document window. For
smart rules, a description and installation most file types that can't be edited directly
link is provided. in DEVONthink, double-clicking the file will
open it in the system default application. For
If you'd like to quickly mark all items as Read,
example, double-clicking a Word file will open
⌃-click and select the Mark All as Read from
it in the same application that opens if you
the contextual menu.
had opened the file in the Finder.
For a view of all available scripts and
See the Documents chapter for a detailed
templates, as well as easy installation and
description of the various document types
uninstallation, see the Support Assistant.
DEVONthink supports.
DEVONtechnologies: This section provides
Note: Command-clicking the window title
a list of blog posts regarding updates and
shows the document's location including
promotions.
the database it's stored in.
Note: For the sake of transparency,
DEVONthink does connect to our web
server to bring you this information.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 98

TOOLBAR ITEMS A list of a items to be downloaded
A status bar at the bottom
Similar to the main window, a document
A button for adding items to and a
window has a toolbar at its top. The default
button for deleting selected items from the
toolbar buttons may vary, depending on
list
the type of file being viewed in the window.
A reload button
You can customize the toolbar via View >
A Start/Stop button to enable or disable
Customize Toolbar, but note there are fewer
downloads.
options than you have with a main window.
An Action menu
A list of available toolbar items is available in
the Toolbar section of the appendix.
ADDING FILES

To download a web site or any other file,

DOWNLOAD MANAGER
simply add it to the Download Manager by
Window > Download Manager opens dragging its URL to the Download Manager
DEVONthink's Download Manager panel. panel. Alternatively, you can click the in
Using the Download Manager, you can the panel and add the URL manually, as well
download files or complete web sites from as a referrer, user name, and password. If
the internet, and either store the information Automatic is checked, DEVONthink creates
in your database or as files on your hard a referrer automatically when downloading
drive. Offline archives stored in DEVONthink whole web sites.
are also used when you visit bookmarks or
open a link in a new tab and your computer is You can also paste one or more URLs (copied

currently offline. Safari bookmarks, DEVONthink links,

or copied links from DEVONagent Pro's
Download Manager), or add files to the
Download Manager by using the contextual
menu in web and HTML views in DEVONthink.

Note: You can also copy URLs in the

Download Manager to the clipboard or
drag them to other applications (like the
Finder or Safari's bookmark manager).
The Download Manager also supports
URLs for local files (POSIX path, a file://
localhost/ URL, or a file:/// URL).

PANEL ELEMENTS

The Download Manager panel consists of:

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 99

ACTION MENU For your convenience, DEVONthink comes
with predefined option sets that you can
Most actions are available through the Action
directly select from the action menu.
menu or the contextual menu. Click the
gear button or Control-click an item in the Only Added Files: Downloads only the files
Download Manager panel to display more you have manually added to the Download
commands: Manager.
Offline Archive: Downloads the files you
Add: Manually add a URL to the list.
have added to the Download Manager
Edit: Edit the parameters of a selected
including embedded images, style sheets,
item in the list.
and scripts. Use this option set to archive/
Retry: Attempts to reload an item that
download web pages with everything
failed to download.
necessary to display them properly.
Remove: Removes the selected items from
Alternative: Create a web archive.
the list. Alternatively, you can press the
Subdirectory (Complete): Downloads the
⌫ Backspace or ⌦ Delete key.
files you have added to the Download
Enable/Disable: Checks or unchecks the
Manager including all embedded or linked
selected items. Only checked items will be
files. This option set follows all links leading
downloaded.
to (items in) sub-directories. For example,
Start/Stop Queue: Starts or stops the
use this option set to download a complete
download queue. Same as the play/pause
web site for offline archiving.
buttons at the bottom of the panel. Note
Subdirectory (Images & Multimedia):
this will only pause queued items. Any in
Same as above, but downloads only
progress downloads will continue.
linked images, linked multimedia files
Purge Queue: Removes all items from the
including Flash and QuickTime movies,
list that have been completely downloaded.
and embedded images in the item's
Only Added Files to Thumbnail Gallery:
directory and all sub-directories. Use this
Offers various predefined option sets (see
set to download a complete web site for
below).
offline archiving (without all linked Office
Import Files to Database: Selects which
documents, PDFs, etc.)
database the downloaded files shall be
Thumbnail Gallery: Downloads the files
stored in. Select Folder to save them
you have added to the Download Manager
directly to the file system.
including linked images, embedded images,
Options: Opens the options dialog sheet,
style sheets, and scripts. Use this option
which allows you to specify in detail what
set to download a thumbnail gallery
to download, which links to follow, and
including all full-size images linked to each
where to store the downloaded files (see
thumbnail for offline archiving.
below).
Note: Downloaded items are by default
excluded from classification and tagging.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 100

OPTIONS control what gets downloaded--only the
actual pages or a complete web site.
The options dialog defines which file types
DEVONthink supports the following options:
the Download Manager downloads, which
links it follows, and where it stores the files. Off: Does not follow any links.
On Same Host: Follows links, but only as
Files: Check all file types you want the
long as they refer to the same web server/
Download Manager to download (plain
web site. Files on other web servers will not
texts, rich texts, Office documents and
be downloaded.
PDF files, style sheets and scripts, images,
In Same Directory: Follows links, but only
embedded images, multimedia files, mark-
as long as they refer to items in the same
up language files, etc.) Use the Follow
directory as the downloaded HTML page.
Links pop-up menu to define how far
In Subdirectories: Follows links, but only
DEVONthink should follow links on the
as long as they refer to items in the same
downloaded HTML pages (see below).
directory as the downloaded HTML page or
Check Overwrite existing to update an
its sub-directories.
existing archive.
One Level: Follows all links regardless of
Folder: When you choose Download to >
where they point, but only one level deep.
Folder in the action menu of the Download
Links on pages linked to from the original
Manager panel, DEVONthink stores
page are not downloaded.
all downloaded items in the directory
Two Levels: Follows all links regardless of
you specify. Click Set to choose your
where they point to, but only two levels
preferred location. Use this option to
deep.
use the integrated Download Manager
for downloading software archives or Note: Following links two levels deep can
other files you don't want to store in your result in very large downloads.
database. Double-click any part of the
location to reveal it in the Finder.
THE SORTER
Download: Define how many connections
the Download Manager opens at the same The Sorter is a multi-purpose popup that

time. (Choose fewer connections for allows you to quickly add content to your

slower Internet connection, more for DSL databases, even when DEVONthink isn't the

or broadband.) Also, check Automatically active application. Depending on the option

purge queue to have previously downloaded you choose in Preferences > Sorter, it will

items automatically removed from the appear in the menubar at the top of your

queue. screen or docked to the left or right side

of your screen. When shown as a menu bar
The Follow Links options defines how far icon, you can choose to display it as the word
DEVONthink follows links on the downloaded DEVONthink or a space-saving nautilus icon.
HTML pages. This feature allows you to

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 101

It supports several views, each providing section of the global sidebar. Drag items
handy shortcuts to getting data into your onto your favorites to import them.
databases. Switch between these views by Control-clicking a group or database gives
clicking the icons at the top of the pane. you the option to Reveal or Open the item.
Below we cover the different views the You can also double-click an item to open it
Sorter provides for quickly capturing data. in a new window.
Databases: Provides a list of open
NAVIGATION databases and access to their groups.
Behaves in the same way items in your
The Navigation view provides a convenient
Favorites do.
list of the databases and groups in
DEVONthink. Hotkeys: The Navigation view supports these
hotkeys:

Tab: Switch the cursor focus between the

search field and databases list.
Command-Option: Hold these keys when
dragging Finder files or folders to index
them.
Command: Hold this key when dropping an
item to move it into the database, putting
the original in the system trash.
Up/Down Arrows: Navigate up and down
through the database listing.
Left/Right Arrows: Open and close groups
To add files in the Sorter, drag over the containing subgroups. Hold the ⌥ Option
docked tab or menu bar item. The Sorter will key while pressing the right or left arrow to
spring open. then drop items into specific fully expand or collapse all the subgroups,
groups to quickly import them. Also equipped respectively.
with a handy search field, you can search
for and isolate groups for more targeted Note: The ⎋ Escape key can be used in all

importing. This view is composed of three views to quickly close the Sorter.

sections:
CREATING FILES
Search Field: Use the search field to help
quickly locate specific groups. This uses The remaining views are focused on creating

substring matching, so you can enter files, whether that's a simple plain text file,

parts of words to find matches. The a screen capture of an application's window,

view updates while you type for efficient or some recorded video. Each of the following

searching. views support the following options:

Favorites: Provides a convenient list of

the groups you've added to the Favorites

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 102

 Add: Saves the file in the specified format create a title from the first sentence of the
in the chosen location. You can also press body.
⌘S to save the current content. Body: Enter your note text here.
Reset: Displayed as a backward pointing URL: If there is a URL you'd like to associate
circular arrow, click it to clear the view to with the file, perhaps a link back to a
its default settings. source, enter it here.
Control-Tab/Shift-Control-Tab: Move Info: Add metadata about the file here,
the cursor between fields, e.g., between including: read status, locked state, flagged
the body and URL. Hold Shift to cycle state, rating, or color labels.
backwards through the fields. Tags: Enter tags for the file. Tag
suggestions will be made from the tags of
TAKE NOTE all open databases.
Format: Choose the format of the saved
The Take Note view is for those times when
note. Choose from: plain text, rich text,
you just need to quickly write a note but don't
formatted note, and Markdown.
want to go back into your databases to create
Location: Choose the location to save your
a new file.
file from the dropdown list. The location of
the last saved file will be preserved for the
next note you create.
Add: Saves the file in the specified format
in the chosen location.

Take Note Panel: The Take Note panel is

displayed when the Sorter is set to None
in Preferences > Sorter. It has the same
functions as the view in the Sorter and also
will be pinned over any open windows.

VOICE NOTE

Allowing you to write notes in several Use this view to record a voice note directly
formats, the text will be displayed in the font into your database. This creates an AIFF-C
defined in Preferences > Editing. Make your file in the location you choose. With simple
note taking a little faster by defining a hotkey controls, it's easy to record impromptu audio.
with the Preferences > Sorter > Take Note
Hotkey. This view supports these attributes:

Name: The title of your file. If left as

Automatic DEVONthink will attempt to

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 103

 VIDEO NOTE

Use this view to capture a video from your

Mac's built-in camera. Videos are saved as
MP4 files for convenient compatibility across
platforms and devices.

This view has a few simple sections:

Audio Levels and Timer: At the top is a

sound meter to help visualize your audio
level as you record. The elapsed time
is shown as it records, convenient for
projects like rehearsing a presentation.
Begin/Stop Recording: Press the red
circular button to begin recording. Press
the black square button to end recording.

When you've stopped recording, you will be Like the audio note, this is presented in very

shown: simple controls:

Playback and Volume: Playback your audio Begin/Stop Recording: Press the red

to ensure it's good before you save it. Press circular button to begin recording. Press

the Reset button to clear the audio and the black square button to end recording.

record again. Source: Choose the video and audio

Name: Enter a name for the audio file. If no source in the small downward facing caret

name is provided, a date and timestamped next to the record button. Any attached

name will be automatically given. compatible audio-visual devices should be

Info: Add metadata about the file here, available here.

including: read status, locked state, flagged

When you've stopped recording, you will be
state, rating, or color labels.
shown:
Tags: Enter tags for the file. Tag
suggestions will be made from the tags of Name: Enter a name for the video file. If no
all open databases. name is provided, a date and timestamped
Location: Choose the location to save your name will be automatically given.
file from the dropdown list. Playback and Volume: Playback your video
before you save it. Or press the Reset
button to clear the video and record again.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 104

 Trim: Shown as scissors, click this to access
simple editing tools. You can drag the ends
of the yellow frame to change the start
and end of the video. Click and drag inside
the frame and a red line will appear. This
displays the time above the line.
Info: Add metadata about the file here,
including: read status, locked state, flagged
state, rating, or color labels.
Tags: Enter tags for the file. Tag
suggestions will be made from the tags of
all open databases.
Location: Choose the location to save your
file from the dropdown list. This view has one simple section with three
options:

SCREEN CAPTURE
Screen: Capture your entire screen.

Screen captures are a common way to Window: Capture a specific window by

quickly gather information about things on hovering over a window a clicking once. The

our computers. While the Apple provided window being captured will be highlighted

mechanisms still work, the Screen Capture in blue.

view allows you to quickly snap a screen Selection: Capture a specified area by

shot, add some metadata, e.g., tags or labels, dragging a bounding box around the

then direct it to a specific location in your desired area. To reposition the area, hold

databases. The captures will be saved as the space bar. To stop the capture action,

JPEG files. press the ⎋ Escape key.

As with other views, name and information

options will appear after the screen is
captured.

Name: Enter a name for the screen

capture. If no name is provided, a date and
timestamped name will be automatically
given.
Info: Add metadata about the file here,
including: read status, locked state, flagged
state, rating, or color labels.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 105

 Tags: Enter tags for the file. Tag timestamped name will be automatically
suggestions will be made from the tags of given.
all open databases. Info: Add metadata about the file here,
Location: Choose the location to save your including: read status, locked state, flagged
file from the dropdown list. state, rating, or color labels.
Tags: Enter tags for the file. Tag
WEB CLIP suggestions will be made from the tags of
all open databases.
Use the Web Clip view to quickly clip the
Location: Choose the location to save your
current web page, a URL from your clipboard,
file from the dropdown list.
or enter a URL manually.

PREFERENCES
The Preferences window, opened using
DEVONthink > Preferences, contains all
available options, which you can modify to
adapt DEVONthink to your personal needs.

Because the preferences are so important,

we have created a separate chapter for them.

DATABASE PROPERTIES
The Database Properties popup displays
Default Browser: Displaying the icon of preferences for a specific database. Select
your default browser, click this to capture a database and open the properties popup
the current page. This shows the same using File > Database Properties
options as the Clip to DEVONthink browser
extension.
Clipboard URL: If you have copied a URL,
click this option to detect and capture it.
Manual: Click this to manually enter a URL
to capture.

After clipping, you can add other information

to the item:

Name: Enter a name for the screen

capture. If no name is provided, a date and

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 106

 A database has two names: the displayed
name, set here in the properties, and the
filename, the name of the database file in
the Finder. When you create a database, the
names will be the same. If you change the
displayed name in the database's properties,
the name of the database file will also
change. However, you can close the database
and change the filename in the Finder,
should you choose to. This can be used in
any situation, including office, health care,
and litigation environments where clients
or cases have a unique number associated
with them. A database could have a filename
of 10459.dtBase2 but the displayed name
of Company A in DEVONthink. When you
close the database, the filename will be
shown in the Recent Databases section of
GENERAL
the Navigate sidebar.
Location: Shows the location of the database
Comments: Add comments about this
in your filesystem. Note you can double-click
database. These comments are only used in
any part of the database location to reveal it
DEVONthink, i.e., not exported to the Finder.
in the Finder.

Exclude Groups from Tagging: Excludes all

Create Spotlight Index: Check to make this
groups in this database from being used as
database available to Spotlight. Checking this
tags. Ordinary tags can always be added to
option lets DEVONthink create a folder in ~/
items using the Tag bar.
Library/Cache/Metadata that Spotlight
uses for accessing the documents in the Inherit Tags of Groups: Applies tags added to
database. If you are having issues finding a group also to the group's children.
DEVONthink documents in a Spotlight
search, you can click the Rebuild button to Case Insensitive Tagging: Check this option

recreate this folder from scratch. to disallow tags with different capitalization.

Protection: To add a layer of protection

OPTIONS
when syncing your databases, you can add

Name: Enter a name for your database here. a username and password to the database.

It will appear in the title bar of every main Anyone trying to import the database from

window of this database. a sync location will need to provide these

credentials. Click on the padlock button to
unlock the entry fields, enter a user name

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 107

and password, and then click on the padlock INFORMATION POPOVERS
button again to lock your changes and hide
the password.

Note: For a locally secured database, create

an encrypted database via File > New
Encrypted Database.

STATISTICS

This section displays some basic statistics

about the contents of the database, e.g.,
counts of some different file types, total size
of the contents, and number of words in the
index of the database.

POPOVERS
Popovers are a specialized panel that
appears on command and disappears
Info: The Info popover shows information
after interacting with it. These are usually
about the currently selected item. It displays
used for quickly viewing information about
the contents of the Info, Annotations &
a selected item but can also be used in
Reminders, and Properties inspectors. Open
some other ways. For example, Database
this popover via Tools > Get Info, ⇧⌘I, or
Properties is an information popover you may
pressing the toolbar button.
already be familiar with. Here are a few more
DEVONthink offers, starting with information
popovers and followed by utility popovers.

Log: The Log popover displays any

information available in the Log window. This
allows you to quickly glance at any messages
without having to open a separate window.
Open this popover via the toolbar button.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 108

Note this button will only be enabled if there location within the same database. Note the
are messages available to be viewed. You can text in the popver will change to reflect the
clear the log or press the Save button to save kind of operation will take place.
the log, usually to send to our support team.

UTILITY POPOVERS

The utility popvers provide extra functions

for moving files, navigating databases, or
linking documents. Each popover has a search
field at the top for helping to narrow the
results. You can use an abbreviated search
syntax matching the beginning of words to
help speed the process. For example, if you Go to Group: This popover allows you to
are looking for a group named "Household quickly jump to another location. Open this
Expenses" you could type hou exp to find popover via Go > To Group or ⌃⌘G. One
matches. After tsearching, double-clicking special property of this popover is the ability
a result will move the file to the selected to act as a floating pane. Open the popover
location. For keyboard navigation, you can then click and drag it away from the toolbar.
press ⇥ Tab to put the focus in the results list It will remain open as a searchable floating
then navigate with the arrow keys. Pressing ↩ pane you can use for quick navigation. You
will accept the choice and close the popover can also drag and drop files to it, similar to
automatically. There is also a plus (+) button the Navigation view of the Sorter.
for creating a new group in the current
location when needed.

Go to Document: This popover allows you to

quickly navigate to a specific file. Open this
Move to: This popover allows you to organize
popover via Go > To Document or ⌃⌘O. Note
selected files quickly. Open this popover via
this popover does not support abbreviated
Data > Move To or pressing ⌃⌘M.
syntax, i.e., matching substrings or non-
The default behavior of this popover is contiguous words, as the fuzzy matching
moving files. However, the behavior can be would lead to far too many results. Given
changed using command keys. Hold the ⌥ a filename of DEVONthink sync timing
key to duplicate files to a selected location. tests.md, timing tests would match;
Hold ⌘-⌥ to replicate the files to a selected DEVONthink timing would not.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 109

Insert Link: Used when editing text-based
documents, e.g., rich text, this popover allows
you to search for and quickly insert a link to The layout of the web sharing should
that file in the current document. The type immediately be familiar to users of
of link inserted will be appropriate to the DEVONthink. While not as full featured as
current document type, e.g., a Markdown the native application, it behaves in ways
document will have a properly formatted similar to DEVONthink's main window. Here
Markdown link. Open this popover via Edit we will give you an overview of the parts of
> Insert > Item Link or the Insert > Item Link this interface.
command in the contextual menu while
editing a compatible document. There is Note: The permissions given by the

no shortcut for this command but you can administrator of the shared databases

assign one yourself. See also p. 211ff determine database visibility as well as
what actions you can take. Due to this,
some actions, e.g., creating new documents
WEB SHARING
or downloading documents, may not be
DEVONthink comes with a built-in server available. If you do not have permissions
for broadcasting your databases on a to modify the database you're browsing,
network. While the operation is covered the cursor will change to show the option is
in the In & Out chapter, here we cover the disallowed.
interface shown when accessing shared
databases in a browser window. Also note the SIDEBAR
preferences for setting up shared databases,
A condensed version of the Navigate sidebar
including setting up users and per-database
found in DEVONthink's main windows, this
permissions are covered in the Preferences >
provides access to the contents of any
Server section of the Preferences chapter.
shared databases. Some basic contextual
menu items, e.g., New Group, New Feed,
Rename, and Move to Trash, are available
when Control-clicking in the sidebar.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 110

Move files by dragging from the item list over Mark: Toggle the Flagged, Unread, or
a group in the sidebar to file them in a new Locked state of a selected file.
location. Holding the ⌘ Command key allows Rating: Adjust the rating for a selected file.
you to copy the file instead of move it. Upload Document: Use this to upload a new
document to the database.
If you hover over a section in the sidebar, you
Download Document: Download the
can hide the Globals or Shared Databases
currently selected file(s).
section. Also, you'll notice this interface
Move to Trash: Move the selected file(s) to
has been built in a responsive manner. This
the database's Trash.
causes the sidebar to disappear when the
browser window becomes to narrow for it be While you can't reorder the items manually,
effective. You can still use toolbar buttons to the item list can be sorted by clicking on the
toggle the visibility, as needed. column headers. Click the header again to
toggle between an ascending or descending
ITEM LIST sort. Control-click the headers to enable and
disable individual headers.
The item list, like it's DEVONthink
counterpart (See also p. 79ff ), shows items
VIEW/EDIT PANE
in the current location. Items can be selected
and reorganized by drag-and-drop, to the When an item is selected in the item list, a
sidebar or groups in the same location. Above preview of any compatible file will be shown
the item list is the path bath with active here. Many non-proprietary text-based
links to parent locations. Click on them to formats commonly can be displayed. Plain
quickly jump back to a parent location. To and rich text, Markdown, JPEG or PNG files,
navigate back and forth through locations PDF, etc. are easily searchable and viewable.
you've visited, use the and buttons in There is also support for editing plain and
the path bar. rich text, formatted notes, and Markdown
documents directly in this pane. Just click in
Again, taking its example from DEVONthink's
the preview and begin editing.
main window, Control-click items in the
item list to show these commands in the Navigation bar: The navigation bar above the
contextual menu: pane varies what it displays, based on the
type of file it's displaying. If an item has a
New: The submenu allows you to create
URL, it will be active and displayed here. The
new items: plain text, formatted note,
bar also allows you to move back and forth
Markdown, Bookmark, RSS feed, and
through previously viewed files via the and
groups.
buttons.
Get Info: Shows the Inspector pane for the
selected file. Of special note are the behavior of formatted
Label: Apply or remove a color label to a notes. They are displayed with a handy
selected file. toolbar providing some editing options, like
adding bold or italic type. You can also select

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 111

text and create a hyperlink with it. Lastly, Show/Hide Sidebar: Toggles the visibility of
you can choose an image to insert into the the Globals sidebar.
document. Preview: Toggle between standard and
widescreen view, with the preview on the
For the Markdown fans, you will see the
bottom or right, respectively.
same navigation bar options, showing Edit,
Action: Displayed with a gear icon, this
Preview, and Side-by-Side modes.
shows the same options as the contextual

Note: While it is a force of habit — and in menu in the item list.

general, a good one to be in — you do not Add: The submenu allows you to create

need to press ⌘S after editing a file. The new items: plain text, formatted note,

changes are saved automatically. Markdown, Bookmark, RSS feed, and

groups.

INSPECTORS Move to Trash: Put the selected item in the

database's trash.
Info: A simplified view of the Info Inspector
Refresh: Manually refreshes the current
pane found in a main window. Shown by
item list.
clicking the right-most toolbar button or
Download Document: Downloads the
choosing the Get Info command from the
selected items in the item list and
Action button, this shows basic metadata
downloads them to the downloads location
about the item selected in the item listing.
for the browser you're using. For some
If you have permissions to make changes to
formats, a ZIP file may be created and
the current database, it is possible to change
downloaded.
some of the metadata, like ratings or labels.
Language: Switch the interface language

See Also: The second view of the inspector between English, French, and German.

shows the See Also pane. This gives you some Search: Search for files in the open

suggestions about other documents that may databases by entering search terms.

be related to to the currently selected item. Search prefixes can be used and are

Clicking on an item in the results will display covered in more detail here: See also p. 82ff

that document in the view/edit pane. Show/Hide Inspectors: Toggle the

Inspectors panes.

TOOLBAR

SUPPORT ASSISTANT
There are a handful of toolbar tools in the
web sharing interface. Note a few items will The integrated Support Assistant combines a
be discussed separately. welcome screen with a first launch assistant,
tips, installable extras, and a support page
that guides you through the available support
options.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 112

WELCOME first steps of using the application: creating
a new database, installing the add-ons, and
This screen welcomes you when you start
adjusting the preferences.
DEVONthink for the very first time. It offers:

The option to subscribe the free GET SUPPORT

DEVONtechnologies newsletter, as well as a

The Support screen guides you through the
number of welcome tips
three common steps for troubleshooting
The tip of the day
DEVONthink. In addition, you can update
The extra of the day
your details in DEVONtechnologies' customer

Click the links at the bottom of the window database, or buy an upgrade or a second

to access the other Support Assistant license.

sections. You can also check or uncheck the

Show this window when DEVONthink opens INSTALL EXTRAS

checkbox at the bottom of the window to set

On the Extras screen, DEVONthink lists all
whether to show the Support Assistant each
available extras that you can download and
time DEVONthink is launched.
install from DEVONtechnologies' server:

FIRST LAUNCH ASSISTANT Scripts

Templates
The first launch assistant opens
Smart Rules
automatically the very first time you open
DEVONthink, and guides you through the

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 113

Browse the list of extras and install them Templates menu the extra will show up after
with the Install button. The last line of the installation. Remove installed extras with the
description shows where in the Scripts or Remove button.

The extras are updated live from TIPS AND TUTORIALS

DEVONtechnologies' server so it's a good
Here you can find the latest tips and
idea to check back from time to time. The
tutorials to help you squeeze the best out
latest extra is also always mentioned on the
of DEVONthink. Tutorials can be slideshows
welcome screen. If you check the Install &
describing basic tasks in DEVONthink or
update extras automatically checkbox at the
screencasts.
bottom of the window, any updates to scripts
or templates you've downloaded here will be Both tips and tutorials are updated live from
updated as needed. DEVONtechnologies' server so it's a good idea
to check back on a regular basis. The latest
Note: If one of these categories does not
tip or tutorial is also always mentioned on the
show up in your copy of DEVONthink, there
welcome screen.
might be no extras of this type currently
available.
LOG
The Log panel displays messages and
warnings when importing files and folders,
results of performing maintenance routines,
and AppleScript errors from script actions
in smart rules or reminders. The panel shows

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 114

the date of the message, any affected > Log. For important notifications, the log
files, and a little information about what is always shown automatically, ignoring this
happened. If you feel you are having sync setting.
issues, this panel is the first place to look.
Also, when doing any database or sync
ACTIVITY
location maintenance, this is where the
results are shown. The Activity panel shows a list of currently
running background processes, e.g.,
converting scans to searchable PDFs,
refreshing news feeds, downloading PDF
documents and web archives via our browser
extension, or sync activity. You can manually
open this pane via Window > Activity. You
can manually stop them to free computer
resources or for other reasons.
You can save the list to a text file with the
Save button, and clear the log with the
Clear button. To sort the log, click a column
title to sort on that column, changing from
ascending to descending each time you click
it. If you Control-click individual log entries There is also an Activity pane at the bottom
you will be shown options to reveal the of the Navigate sidebar. Providing a less
item in its location or move it to the trash. intrusive experience, this pane will appear
Alternatively, double-click the entry to reveal and disappear quietly on its own.
the file.
Note: The Activity window is only used if
Uncheck Show log automatically to prevent it was opened by the user or if there is no
the log popping up automatically. You can main window to show an Activity pane.
open the Log panel at any time using Window

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 115

 INSPECTORS

IN THIS CHAPTER name to comments and other metadata.

Open the Info pane by selecting Tools >
Info pane 116
Inspector > Info > ….
Annotations & Reminders 118
Content 122 Note: When you have multiple items
Document 123 selected, some editable attributes can be
Concordance 124 modified. For example, tags can be applied
See Also & Classify 126 to multiple files at once. However, if you
Search 127 add tags to the same files separately, only
tags common to them will be shown if you
the Inspector panes displayed on the right
select them together again.
side of a main window provide an incredible
amount of information and functionality
GENERIC
when working with files in DEVONthink.
Covering a range of options, from basic The Generic view shows additional basic
metadata to setting reminders to in- information about a selected document or
document search and replace functions. Each group, similar to what is shown in the Get
of the Inspectors is individually covered in Info window in the Finder. Additionally, it
this chapter. shows some other attributes like ratings,
color labels, and geolocation data. Here are
the attributes shown:
INFO PANE
Icon and Name: Displays the name of the
selected item. To change the icon of the
item, select it and paste any image you
want over it. To change the name of the
item, use the Name field below.
Name: Displays the name of the selected
item. This is an editable attribute.
Aliases: Displays any aliases for the
selected item. Enter one or more words
here, separated by semicolons, as
alternative targets for Wiki links. Generally,
Wiki links refer to the name of contents,
The Info pane, just like its counterpart in the
and aliases make this system even more
Finder, displays additional information about
flexible.
a selected document or group, from icon and

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 116

URL: Displays a URL associated with the Location: Displays the location of the item
selected item. This is an editable attribute. in the database. This is an active item;
While it is typically used for web addresses, hovering over items will display their full
it also may contain other types; e.g., file names and clicking them will navigate to
URLs, URL with custom schemes, etc. Click the clicked group.
the down arrow and choose: Launch to Instances: Displays how many duplicates
open the URL or Copy to copy the URL to or replicants of the selected item are in
the clipboard. the database. Click to show a pop-up menu
Path: Displays the item's file's path in the listing all instances and duplicates and their
Finder. This is not an editable attribute. enclosing groups. Select any item to reveal
Click the down arrow and choose: Launch it.
to open the file in the system default Format: For news feeds you can set the
application; Show in Finder to open a default format in which new articles are
Finder window with the file selected, and saved.
Copy to copy the file path to the clipboard. Color: Allows you to set a color for a tag.
Attached Script: Displays the name of an Only available when a tag is selected. Click
AppleScript script attached to the object. the title Color for options to clear or copy
This is a script that is triggered when you the color.
select the item in the database. Click the Geolocation: Displays geolocation data
down arrow and choose: Select to choose based on the creation origin of the file;
a triggered script to attach, or Remove to i.e., the geographic location when the file
remove the script from the item. See also was originally created. This is an editable
p. 191ff attribute and can be changed if you'd like
Added: Displays the date an item was the location to be relative to something
added to the database. This is not an else, e.g., the site of a historic event.
editable attribute. Marks: Displays these attributes for the
Created/Modified: Displays the date an selected item: Flagged, Read, Locked,
item was created or modified. These are Rating, and Label.
editable attributes. Click the calendar icon Tags: Displays the tags applied to the
to choose a date and time. You can also current item. Click the + button to add a
select individual parts of the date or time new tag. Tags will be suggested from the
and type or modify them with the up and existing tags in the current database. If the
down arrows. When typing, press the ⇥Tab item is selected from the Inboxes in the
key to commit the change. sidebar, suggestions will come from the
Size: Displays the size of the item. For tags of all open databases. Click an added
groups and news feeds, this field shows the tag to reveal the Tag group, or remove it
size of all contained items. from the selected item.
Kind: Displays the kind of the selected
item. For documents, the file type will be
shown, e.g., Markdown.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 117

Exclude From…: These checkboxes allow available fields you have defined are shown in
you to exclude an item from being used in this pane. Note some fields may be specified
various ways. For example, you can exclude as data types that include some extra actions
temporary groups from classification to in this view. For example, if you create a
increase the accuracy of the built-in artificial custom parameter with an Item Link data
intelligence. You can exclude an item from type, you will have an option to reveal the file.
these operations:
Item Link: Click the down arrow and
Classification: When enabled on a group, choose: Reveal to reveal the item in the
this will keep DEVONthink from suggesting database.
or using the group as a possible filing Single-line Text: Type in a value or click the
location. dropdown menu to choose from a list you
See Also: When enabled on any file, defined in the preferences .
DEVONthink will not include it as an item URL: Click the down arrow and choose:
potentially related to the current file. Launch to open the URL or Copy to copy
Search: When enabled on any item, it will the URL to the clipboard.
no longer appear in toolbar search results,
smart groups, or smart rules.
ANNOTATIONS & REMINDERS
Tagging: Used with group tags and Tag
groups, this inhibits the Tag from being
applied to any item.
Wiki Linking: When enabled on any item,
it will not be detected by automatic
WikiLinking, neither by name or alias.

CUSTOM

This pane contains Reminders, Finder

Comments and information about
Annotations. It can be shown Tools >
Inspectors > Annotations & Reminders.

REMINDERS

While there are many reminder applications,

The Custom view displays custom metadata including Apple's own Reminders, sometimes

fields and their values. These custom fields you just want to set a quick reminder for an

are defined by you in Preferences > Data. All item, or multiple items, in DEVONthink. The

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 118

Reminders section allows you set a reminder, reminder, e.g., 1 for every year. Choose
even a recurring one, as well as an optional which months you want a reminder. Also,
alarm. choose On the … to choose a regular
interval like the last day of those chosen
After choosing a schedule, set a date and
month(s).
time for the reminder or to begin a recurring
reminder. For recurring alarms, the data or Alarm: Reminders are most useful when
time you set will be the beginning of the you have an alarm to, well, remind you of
alarms. Reminders can be set to: something. There are several alarms available
for a reminder:
Once: Only trigger an alarm once.
Hourly: Set an hourly reminder, triggering No Alarm: —
at the minutes of time you set, e.g, 10:15, Bounce Dock Icon: Bounce the icon in the
11:15, etc. Set an interval for how many dock. This will only occur if DEVONthink is
hours should elapse before the next not the active application.
reminder, e.g., 4 for every four hours. Display Notification: Displays a notification
Daily: Set a daily reminder, triggering at using the Notification Center, appearing
the hour and minutes you set, e.g., daily at at the upper right of your screen. The
9:35 AM. Set an interval for how many days message shown can be a combination of
should elapse before the next reminder, static text and placeholder text. It defaults
e.g., 2 for every other day. to the Name placeholder. Control-click
Weekly: Set a weekly reminder, triggering and choose Insert Placeholder to add
at the hour and minutes you set. Choose additional placeholders. Note System
a day of the week the reminder should Preferences > Notifications > DEVONthink
trigger on. Set an interval for how many > must be enabled for this alarm to
weeks should elapse before the next display. Notification are also only shown
reminder, e.g., 3 for every third week. when DEVONthink is not the frontmost
Monthly: Set a monthly reminder, application.
triggering at the hour and minutes you set, Display Alert: Displays an alert dialog when
e.g., daily at 9:35 AM. Set an interval for DEVONthink is or becomes the active
how many months should elapse before application. If it's not frontmost, the dock
the next reminder, e.g., 1 for every month. icon will bounce until you switch to it.
Choose Each and set which days of the Like Display Notification, this contains
month you want a reminder, e.g., the 1st static and placeholder text, and defaults to
and 15th of the month. Alternately, choose Name.
On the … to choose a regular interval like Speak Text: Using the Mac's speech
the second Thursday of the month. synthesis, this alarm will speak the
Yearly: Set a yearly reminder, triggering specified static and placeholder text.
at the hour and minutes you set, e.g., Play Sound: Choose one of the system
daily at 9:35 AM. Set an interval for how alert sounds found in System Preferences >
many years should elapse before the next Sound > Sound Effects.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 119

 Send Mail: Enter email addresses to which FINDER COMMENTS
to send the matching items. This can be
Similar to the Comments in the Get Info pane
a comma-delimited list of addresses,
in the Finder, the Finder Comments field
names, or enter the name of a group you've
can be used to store miscellaneous bits of
defined in your contacts.
information about the selected objects.
Add to Reading List: Add the file to
DEVONthink's Reading List. Note: These comments will not appear in
Open Externally: Open the document in the the files in the Finder unless the files are
system default application. indexed or exported from the database.
Launch URL: Opens the URL associated
with the document, if present. ANNOTATIONS
Execute External Script: Run a selected
This pane displays or allow you to create
script. External scripts are stored in
annotation files for a selected document.
~/Library/Application Scripts/
Annotation files are separate files where you
com.devon-technologies.think3/
can store notes about a specific document.
Reminders. Add your own scripts to this
These files can link back to the original file for
location to make them available for use
quick access. Commonly used with PDF files,
with reminders.
they can actually be used for making notes
Execute Embedded Script: Run an ad-hoc
with any document in your database.
script written for the current reminder.
Press the … button to display a popup Note: Annotation files are created in an
prepopulated with a core script. Edit this Annotations group at the root of the
and press the compile button at the lower database. However, you can move the file
left. Embedded scripts are only available to another location, if desired.
to the reminder they are created in. If you
want to use the same script with other If an annotation file doesn't exist, you can

reminders, use an external script instead. make one with commands from the down
arrow in this section.
Note: When setting a reminder on multiple
items, alarms are delivered individually. For New from Template: Opens a submenu

example, an alert notification will show for containing three options: Create an

each file, even if they were set for the same Annotation file from the default template,

time. choose a custom template added to

DEVONthink's internal Annotations folder,
If you are interested in the use of scripts in or open the Annotations folder to access
alarms, please refer to the Reminder Script any custom templates you've added.
chapter of the Automation chapter. New from Clipboard: Choose this option
to create an annotation with content from
the clipboard.
Insert Back Link: This inserts a back link
to the original file into a new annotation

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 120

 file. If no annotation file exists, one will be or created in DEVONthink and exported
created with this command. via File > Export > as Template to the
Insert Quote: This inserts both the Annotations.noindex folder.
selected text and a backlink to the page
To create backlinks to the original file, there
or paragraph in the original file. If no
are two placeholders for use in the body of
annotation file exists, one will be created
your template:
with this command. This option is only
supported by PDF, plain text, and rich text %documentName%: Resolves to the name
documents. of the original document.
%documentLink%: Resolves to the item
If an annotation file is detected by
link of the original document.
DEVONthink or you've just created one,
an editable preview of the file will appear Rich Text: To create the backlink in a rich
here. Clicking the down arrow reveals these text template, use the %documentLink%
options: placeholder and the document name will be
added as the link's text.
Open: Open the annotation file.
Reveal: Reveal the annotation file in its Markdown: To create the backlink in
current location. a Markdown template, use the form:
Insert Back Link: Insert a link back to [%documentName%](%documentLink%).
the original document in the current
Plain Text: Since plain text files don't support
annotation file. With audio and video
live links, you can use WikiLinks to create a
files, the back link will include the current
backlink. For example, if you are using the
playback time. With multi-page PDFs, the
Square Brackets WikiLink syntax, you could
back link will include the current page .
use [[%documentName%]] in the body of the
Export: Exports the current annotation
plain text.
file to the Finder in one of these formats:
PDF, rich text, plain text, or Word (.doc)
formats.
Remove: Moves the annotation file to
the database's Trash and removes the
reference from the original document.

Creating an Annotation File: DEVONthink has

a built-in default annotation file in rich text
format, suitable for general use. However, you
can create your own custom template in plain
text, rich text, or Markdown formats. These
files can be created externally and added
to ~/Library/Application Support/
DEVONthink 3/Annotations.noindex

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 121

CONTENT single column but they can be displayed in
multiple rows if the sidebar is expanded. This
view allows for actions like these:

Jump to or select any page by clicking on it.

Extend a range of selected pages by holding
the ⇧Shift key to select consecutive pages.
Hold the ⌃ Control key to select non-
consecutive pages.
To quickly remove unwanted pages, press
the ⌫ Backspace key.
If you want to reorder some pages, select
the page(s) to move and drag and drop
Navigating PDF documents can sometimes them within the thumbnails. A blue line
be difficult when you are just scrolling will appear at the place the pages will be
through endless pages of documents. inserted. This will also work if you drag
The Content Inspector shows two views, thumbnails from one PDF to another.
similar to what you see in Apple's Preview Drag selected pages to another location in
application: Table of Contents and your database and DEVONthink will create
Thumbnails. a new PDF containing only those pages.

You also have several options available in the

TABLE OF CONTENTS
contextual menu when you Control-click in
The Table of Contents view will display the the Thumbnails view:
outline of a PDF document, provided that
Cut/Copy: Cut or copy the selected
PDF contains one. Click on the disclosure
page(s) to be pasted into another PDF.
triangle to show or hide sections within
Copy Page Link: Copies a URL to the
chapters. Click on any section heading to
clipboard pointing directly to the current
jump directly to the beginning of it.
page of the document.
There are two contextual menu items in the Reverse Page Order: Reverse the page
Table of Contents view: Copy Page Link for order of the document.
use with PDF documents, and Copy Section Split Document: Splits the document
Link for use with Markdown documents. at the current page. A new document is
created from the preceding pages and
THUMBNAILS removed from the current document. This
item is unavailable when the first page of
The Thumbnails view shows a list of
the document is selected. Also, note this
thumbnails, one for each page in the
action cannot be undone.
document. This allows for a more visual
Insert Blank Page: Insert a new blank page.
approach to moving through your document.
By default, the thumbnails are shown in a

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 122

 Delete Selected Page(s): Delete the Comments
selected page(s). Organization
Rotate Left/Right: Rotate the selected
Depending on the document type, you may
pages left or right.
be able to edit or view these properties. More
Select/Deselect All: Select or deselect all
fields may be available depending on the
pages in the document.
document type.

DOCUMENT There are two parameters supporting extra

actions:

Click the Title button and select Copy, or

select Set Name As to quickly change the
document's name.
Click Keywords and choose Convert to Tags
to apply the keywords as DEVONthink tags.

ANNOTATIONS

The Document inspector provides specific

information about the current document.
This information is presented in three
specialized views: a view of RTF and PDF
metadata, a list of annotations in a PDF,
and a list of links found in certain document
types.

PROPERTIES
As PDF files are often used in DEVONthink,

The Document Properties section gives you annotating these documents is

access to all metadata stored for selected commonplace. The Annotations view displays

RTF and PDF documents. This metadata can a listing of the annotations in the current

include some of the following: document. Each annotation is listed with

the following metadata: page number,
Author
type, content or author, and the date
Company
the annotation was made. In the case of
Copyright
highlights, text, or note annotations, the
Title
content will be displayed. With graphic
Subject
annotations, e.g., rectangle or ovals, the
Keywords
author will be displayed. The list can be

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 123

sorted by clicking the appropriate header. open it in a new tab. Opening the contextual
Select an item in the list to switch to the menu in the Link list offers the following
proper page. The annotation on the page will options:
be selected. This makes it easy to navigate
Open: Opens the link in an external
via the document's annotations.
application.
At the bottom of the view is a Details Open in Tabs: Opens the link in a new tab,
section. For Note annotations, this will show when possible.
the text of the annotation. Details can be Copy: Copies the URL to the clipboard
added to other annotation types as well, but Delete: Deletes the link and the text.
only supports plain text entries. Select/Deselect All: Quickly select or
deselect the items in the list.
Opening the contextual menu in the
Annotations list offers the following options: In the Incoming Links section, the contextual
menu has an extra command: Copy Name.
Copy: Copies the metadata and any text in
Use this to copy the name of a linked file and
the Details to the clipboard as plain text.
paste it into another document as a WikiLink.
Copy Page Link: Copies a URL to the
clipboard pointing directly to the current
page of the document. CONCORDANCE
Delete: Delete the current annotation. The Concordance pane, opened in the Tools
Select/Deselect All: Quickly select or > Inspectors menu, gives you a tool for
deselect the items in the list. analyzing the textual contents of documents.
When the inspector is open, selecting
LINKS different items will show varying results.
If one or more documents is selected, the
For the selected document, DEVONthink will
results will be inclusive of the text in all of
attempt to determine if it contains links.
them. If there is no selection, the results
These may be web URLs, file URLs, item links,
will be based on the text of documents in
and even DEVONthink's WikiLinks. (You may
the current location, whether a group or a
be surprised by the number of links in many
database. This also applies to selecting items
documents.) The top section of the Links
matched in smart groups, both local and
view displays a list of any outgoing links, i.e.,
global.
links to other files, websites, etc. The bottom
Incoming Links view shows incoming links, i.e., These results are presented in three distinct
links in other files to the current document. views: List, Cloud, and Graph.

Select a link in the list to show it in the view/

edit pane. Double-click a link to open it in a
document window or an external application.
Option-click or Shift-Option-click a link to

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 124

 Select/Deselect All: Quickly select or
deselect the items in the list.
Show/Hide Excluded Words: Select this to
show or hide any excluded terms. Excluded
terms will shown with a strikethrough.

CLOUD

LIST

The List view displays the concordance

results in a list, separated by these
parameters:

Word frequency
Number of groups with items containing a
specific word The Cloud view present the concordance as
Word length a word cloud. The size of the terms is relative
Word weight (relevance, depends on the to the frequency in the selection or database.
contents of the database) Selecting terms highlights the occurrences in
Alphabetical listing the current document.

Click the column headers to sort on a

RELATED WORDS
given parameter. Select a word in the list
to highlight all occurrences in the current
document. Double-click a word to open a
database-wide search for the term.

Opening the contextual menu in the results

offers these options:

Copy: Copies the values for the selected

word to the clipboard.
Exclude/Include Word: Use this to define
stop-words or to include them again. Of special note is the Related Words graph
shown under the List and Cloud views. Select
a word in the list or cloud and it becomes
the central term in a graph of related words.
These are words found throughout your

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 125

database. Double-clicking a node initiates GROUPS
a database-wide search. The contextual
Based on analyzing the contents of the
menu provides options for copying the word's
current document, the AI cross-references
information, as well as excluding the word.
the contents and locations of other files
in the database. The results are shown in
GRAPH
the Groups section. This list offers a range
The frequency graph shows a graph of the of suggested locations, displaying a heat-
word frequency over the rank number of the mapped score of its relevance and the
word (see above). location of the group. The highest ranked
suggestion is presented first. Obviously,
Note: There are no contextual menu
you can choose any other them. If there's a
options in this view.
group you'd like to use, double-clicking the
suggested group will file the document for
SEE ALSO & CLASSIFY you. You can also click the Move to button,
press ⌃C, or drag and drop to file it in any of
the suggested groups. Lastly, if a suggested
group is in the same database as the selected
file, you can hold the ⌥ key and the Move to
button changes to a Replicate button.

Directly above the classify results is a

search field. If there is another group you're
thinking of that hasn't been suggested, type
part of the group name to filter the list of
suggestions. Then file into the location of
your choice.
The See Also & Classify inspector is the
On a related note, in the Data menu, you will
main interface to DEVONthink's brain, our
find two menu items: Move to … again and
built-in AI engine. This engine is analyzing
Classify to…. The first provides you the option
the contents and locations of all documents
to classify the current document in the group
in your database and making connections
into which you classified. If you filed into
between them. These connections can be
a particular group via the Groups section,
seen in this inspector pane.
this menu item would remember it and offer
This inspector will be shown when a that group as a place to classify the current
document is selected and you choose Tools document. The second menu item offers
> Inspectors > See Also & Classify. When the its top ranked suggestion for classifying the
inspector opens, you will be presented with current document, if you'd like to just follow
two sections: Classify and See Also. the AI's suggestions.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 126

DOCUMENTS SEARCH
Another benefit of the AI's content analysis is
the ability to offer suggestions of documents
that may be related to the current document.
These files are listed in the Documents
section of the inspector. Like the Groups
section, this list shows the location of the
document and heat mapped score of the
potential relevance. Hovering over a result
shows a tooltip displaying its full title and
location.

Select a document in the results to display it

The Search inspector provides in-document
in the view/edit pane. For your convenience,
searching. Using the same familiar ⌘F hotkey
DEVONthink always lists the original
you use in most macOS application, you can
document near the top of the list. This way
not only search, but replace found words.
you can select it to go quickly back to the
Additionally, DEVONthink provides a list
original document. Double-click a document
of the found words to help navigate the
to open it in a document window. Drag a
results. The results also show the search hits
document from the list to move it to another
in context, either in a sentence or paragraph,
location. When dragging, you can create
depending on the setting in See also p.
duplicates by holding the ⌥ Option key.
156ff .
You can also create replicants by holding
⌘ Command and ⌥ Option and dragging to Searches match substrings by default. This
another location in the database. means a search for "some" would also match
"something" or "worrisome".
CONTEXTUAL MENU
Something you may find useful is the live
The See Also and the Classify sections host updating when you select other files. If you
many of the same contextual menu items search for a word in the current document
as the item list. A list of these commands is and leave the Search inspector open,
included in the contextual menu section of DEVONthink will automatically search newly
the appendix. Also an alternative command selected files.
is available when holding the ⌥ key: Reveal in
New Window. SEARCH AND REPLACE

The Search and Replace section offers these

simple intuitive controls:

Find: Enter the word(s) you'd like to search

for. Note this matches substrings be

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 127

default, so entering "word" would match SEARCH RESULTS
"words" and "wording" as well. Use spaces
The results provide a convenient list of the
before or after the word to treat it as a full
found words. This includes the line number
word.
of each hit and the number of occurrences
Ignore Case: Ignores case-sensitivity when
found. It also includes part of the surrounding
searching.
text to help give some context to the found
Enable Wildcards and Operators: Allows
words. Additionally, there a some contextual
using wildcards and operators, e.g.,
menu options available when you Control-
DEVONthink NEAR sync. If this option
click in the results:
is enabled, the Edit > Find > Find Next/
Previous commands and next/previous Copy: Copies the paragraph fragment
buttons in the inspector are available. selected. You can optionally drag and drop
Previous/Next Arrows: Use these arrows this fragment into the database or another
to cycle backward and forward through the compatible document.
highlighted results. Copy Paragraph/Page Link: Copies a link
Replacement Text: Enter replacement text, to the current document, but appends
as desired. Note this field is only enabled a parameter pointing to the selected
when you have editable text in the current paragraph for rich text files or the page for
document; e.g., rich text or a Markdown PDF documents.
document in editing mode. Add to Favorites: Adds the current
Replace: Replace the currently highlighted document to the Favorites.
word and move to the next search hit in Add to Reading List: Adds the current
the document. document to the Reading List.
All: Replace all occurrences of the found Select/Deselect All: Selects all or none of
word. the items, respectively.
In Selection: If you make a selection in the
text, you can replace all occurrences of the
found word in that selection.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 128

 MENUS

IN THIS CHAPTER

The Application Menu 129

The File Menu 131
The Edit Menu 135
The Data Menu 137
The Format menu 140
The Tools menu 142
The View menu 145
The Go menu 147
The Window menu 149
The Scripts menu 149
ABOUT & CHECK FOR UPDATES
The Help menu 150
The Dock menu 151 About DEVONthink: Shows information
about DEVONthink including the version
A complete listing of all the commands
number to whom the software is registered.
available in the menu bar of DEVONthink, the
Services menu, and the contextual menu of Check for Updates: Checks if updates

the DEVONthink's Dock icon. for DEVONthink are available. By

default, DEVONthink checks for updates
automatically, however you can change
THE APPLICATION MENU
the update settings in the Preferences >
The DEVONthink menu is a utility menu, General. If an automatic update is pending
similar to those found in other Mac choosing this command shows a window with
applications. It has commands that allow you additional information about the update.
check the version via the splash screen or
Note: When checking for updates no
check for application updates. You can install
information is uploaded from your
our add-ons, access the preferences, access
computer to the DEVONtechnologies
the Services menu, empty your databases'
server. DEVONthink only downloads a file
Trash, and quit the application.
listing the most current versions to your
Mac. This option is not available if you have
purchased DEVONthink from the Mac App
Store. In this case, all updates are handled
by the App Store.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 129

ADD-ONS windows. Use it to save directly to the
inbox from any application. Note: The name
This command allows you to install, or
of the inbox is "Inbox" regardless of your
reinstall, some of our extra support files and
computer's language preferences.
scripts.
ABBYY FineReader OCR: Installs the
ABBYY Finereader OCR resources for use
with images and PDFs with no text layer.
Apple Mail Plugin: A plugin for Apple Mail
that allows you to archive messages or
whole mailboxes directly from within
Mail. On Mac OS Mojave you'll have
to manually activate the plugin after
installation. In Apple Mail visit Preferences
> General > Manage Plug-ins and activate
DEVONthink's plugin.

Note: The Safari browser extension is now

installed by default, but you'll need to go
The following options are available. into Safari's Preferences > Extensions
and enable it. Also while extensions for
Google Chrome Extension: Opens the
browsers like Opera, Vivaldi, and Brave
Chrome Web/Store page in Google
are not explicitly available, it is possible to
Chrome where you can install the browser
install them from the Chrome Web Store,
extension. You have to do this manually and
while in those browsers.
follow Google's rules.
Firefox Extension: Opens the Mozilla Add-
PREFERENCES, TRASH, CACHE
Ons page in Firefox where you can install
the Firefox add-on (similar to the Safari Preferences: Opens the application
extension). You have to do this manually Preferences.
and follow Mozilla's rules.
Empty Trash: Moves the contents of all open
PDF Services: Adds Save PDF to
databases' trash to your computer's file
DEVONthink to the PDF menu of print
system trash.
dialogs. This allows you to print a PDF
directly to DEVONthink. Empty Cache: Empties the web browser
Additional Scripts: Installs the mail rule cache. This frees up space and makes sure
scripts for Apple Mail, Folder Action scripts that all, when displaying a web page, all data
, and Menu extra scripts. is freshly loaded instead of using a cached
Global Inbox in Save Dialogs: Inserts copy.
DEVONthink's Global Inbox into the
Finder's sidebar and all "Save As" dialog

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 130

PURCHASE & LICENSES NEW & OPEN

Purchase: Opens the DEVONthink product New Database: Creates a new database in
page from where you can put the app the selected location.
into your shopping cart. If this copy of
New Encrypted Database: Creates an
DEVONthink is already licensed, you will be
AES-256 encrypted database file at a user-
presented with upgrade choices.
specified size. Technically this database
Enter License: Enter your purchased license uses an encrypted disk image but will not
code here. It is best to use copy-and-paste be visibly mounted in the Finder. Obviously,
for transferring the license code from the when you enable Spotlight for the database
email message to the appropriate field. the data that Spotlight needs to store will
not be encrypted. The anticipated size of the
Note: Enter License changes into License
database can be specified in megabytes (MB)
and Purchase License into Purchase
or gigabytes (GB).
License or Upgrade as soon as you have
entered a valid license code (and a paid Open Database: Opens previously created
upgrade exists). Available options depend databases. You can select multiple
on whether you have purchased your copy databases.
from DEVONtechnologies or from the Mac
Open Recent: Presents a list of recently used
App Store.
databases, which gives you quick access to
your frequently used databases. Choose
SERVICES
Clear Menu to remove all items from the
The Services submenu gives your access menu.
to special commands published by other
New Window: Opens a new main window for
Mac applications such as TextEdit or
the selected database.
Safari, or by services extensions such as
our own WordService or CalcService. Also,
IMPORT & EXPORT
DEVONthink publishes its own services. See
also p. 131ff Import: The Import submenu contains various
options for importing data, e.g.,selected files,

THE FILE MENU bookmark, contacts, and some data from

compatible applications. Some options will
The File menu contains commands creating
import files into their own special groups at
and deleting databases. There are options
the root of the database.
for adding or exporting files, as well
synchronizing them. Additionally, if you need Files and Folders: Imports selected files

to do database maintenance, you will find or folders. Files will be imported to the

those commands here.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 131

current location. Finder tags and Spotlight Images (with OCR): Imports images and
comments will be imported. applies optical character recognition (OCR)
Bookmarks: Imports bookmarks from to create a searchable PDF. This makes all
DEVONagent Pro, Firefox, Google Chrome, written text searchable and available to
or Safari as bookmarks. Bookmarks are DEVONthink's AI functions. You can change
imported into a newly created group the setting in Preferences > OCR. See also
bearing the name of the chosen browser. p. 69ff
Only new bookmarks are imported if you References from Bookends: Imports
use this command again. selected collections from the presented
Contacts: Imports Apple Contacts dialog into a newly created group named
addresses selected in the import dialog "Bookends". Already imported references
into a newly created group named are updated. The keywords assigned to
"Addresses". Contacts can be imported as a Bookends reference are added to the
a sheet, as vcards (.vcf), or as bookmarks. Document Properties of the created rich
Previously created groups are reused. text document. Use the optional script
Tip: To import all addresses, select all Scripts > Tags > Convert keywords to tags
addresses in the group "All" and import to convert the keywords to tags if needed.
them. Address card bookmarks link to the Unix Mailbox: Imports Unix mailboxes, like
original card in the Contacts application. those exported from Thunderbird. See also
Folders & Attachments from Notes: p. 55ff
Imports your notes from Apple Notes. Website: Opens the Download Manager
Items from Yojimbo: Imports all items from and downloads a complete web page/site
Yojimbo into a newly created group named for archiving and offline viewing. Make sure
"Yojimbo". Imported items retain their the download options are set correctly,
name, label, flag, URL, comments, tags especially the options that define which
and creation/modification dates. Items links DEVONthink should follow (if any).
without a URL link back to the original item All links within the site are modified so
in Yojimbo. that they point to the downloaded images
Notes from Evernote: Imports selected or other embedded objects. This ensures
notebooks from an import dialog into a that the page/site can be displayed at
newly created group named "Evernote". any time. By default, groups created by
Tags, dates, and URLs should be preserved. the Download Manager are excluded from
Notes are stored as formatted notes. This tagging.
option requires the Evernote application to Scan from ScanSnap: Scans a paper
be installed. document using an attached Fujitsu
ScanSnap scanner.
Note: The import from Evernote command
only works with Evernote's "legacy Note: Groups created when importing
version" as Evernote 10 no longer supports bookmarks, contacts, email messages, and
AppleScript items from Evernote or Yojimbo are not

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 132

 automatically excluded from classification embedded items (RTF) or with them
and tagging. This makes it easier to classify (RTFD).
them later. Text: Exports the selected items as one
merged plain text file.
Export: The Export submenu presents
Word 2007/97 Document: Exports the
options for exporting selected documents
selected items as one merged Microsoft
or groups to the file system. In addition,
Word .docx (Word 2007) or .doc (Word
the Export menu provides export methods
97) document.
based on plugins. DEVONthink comes with
Website: Exports the selected items as
a number of standard plugins for exporting
standalone web site that you can upload to
documents in different formats. For these
your web server and share with colleagues.
formats, the export creates a single merged
In the presented dialog window, choose
document when multiple files are selected.
the desired template, text encoding, and

Document: Exports the currently viewed whether DEVONthink should convert

document in its native format. For images diacritics and accented characters to

exported from a separately opened HTML entities or not. Check Create Index

document window, DEVONthink lets you Pages to create index.html pages with

choose the desired file format or image cross-links to all included documents.

quality; e.g.,you can export a PNG files as a Markdown and formatted notes are

JPEG file. rendered to HTML, other file types that

Files and Folders: Exports the selected cannot be displayed in a web browser,

documents in their native format. Groups e.g., Pages files, are converted to PDF

are exported as Finder folders, preserving if possible. Cross-links are converted

the group structure you have built in correctly. For the export templates are

DEVONthink. DEVONthink tags are used that you can modify yourself.

applied as Finder tags to the exported Template: Saves the selected documents

files. Internal metadata for the items is as a template, which can then be used

preserved in invisible .DEVONtech_storage to quickly create new documents using

files, used for reimporting into Data > New from Template. Export multiple

DEVONthink. If you will not be reimporting documents and/or groups at once to

the exported files, you can safely delete create e.g.,a project template. Data & New

.DEVONtech_storage files. from Template & Open Template Folder;

OPML: Exports the selected items as one can be used to organize templates.

OPML file. Database Archive: Creates an optimized

PDF Document: Exports the selected items ZIP file of the current database in the

as a paginated PDF. Hold the ⌥ Option selected location. This can be useful as a

key to change allow the command to PDF secondary backup strategy.

Document without Annotations.

Unix Mailbox: Exports all selected email
RTF/RTFD Document: Exports the selected
messages and saves them as Unix mailbox
items as one merged rich text file without

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 133

 file that can be imported into other email Note: Indexed groups are excluded from
applications. Note this only applies to tagging by default. For more information
exporting native email (.eml) files, not on importing and indexing, please see the
files that have been converted to other Import and Index section of the In & Out
formats, like plain or rich text. chapter.

Share: This shows the standard Mac share

SYNCHRONIZE
menu.
Synchronize: Synchronizes the selected
INDEX database with all its locations. Note, this
command will be disabled if the current
Index: Use this command to add external
database has no active synchronization.
files and folders from the Finder. This creates
Holding the ⇧Shift key shows the Synchronize
links to the files but leaves them in the
All option to synchronize all actively syncing
current location. Regarding see-also and
databases.
classification, DEVONthink treats these
files the same as imported files. To easily Download Pending Files: Downloads the files
distinguish indexed items, a small Finder icon of selected documents if they are available
is displayed to the right their name. through one of the database's locations. Only
necessary of none of the database's locations
Update Indexed Items: Indexed items are
is set to synchronize indexed files.
updated when you view them. If you need
to be sure everything is up-to-date use
DATABASE PROPERTIES & CLOSE
his command. If nothing is selected, the
enclosing group of the current group is used. Database Properties: Opens the Database
It also reads changes made to the Finder or Properties popup for the current database.
Spotlight comments of the to-be-updated This panel presents a few options, statistics
files and applies the changes to the files' about the database, and allows you to change
counterparts in the database. Finally, this the displayed name, add comments, and add
command removes indexed items that have a username and password.
lost their external counterpart. It does not
Close Database: Closes a selected database.
affect items moved manually to the group.
If multiple databases are open, use Close
Use Update Indexed Items to keep indexed All to close them all at once. If you'd like to
groups and their originating folders in sync keep the current database open but close the
or to manually update an item that you have others, use Close All Except. Note that closed
changed directly inside the database package databases will not reopen on launch. Only
when DEVONthink was not running. databases that were open when DEVONthink
quits will reopen on the next launch.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 134

DATABASE MAINTENANCE PRINT

Like any database, DEVONthink databases Page Setup: Sets your preferred page size and
need a bit of maintenance from time to time. printer settings.
All the commands you'll need for this can be
Print: Prints the current document or view.
found here.

Verify & Repair: Verifies all database

THE EDIT MENU
structures and repairs them if necessary.
Use this whenever you feel it is necessary. The Edit menu contains all commands and

By default, DEVONthink automatically options relating to editing. You'll find the

verifies the database structure every time classic Mac cut/copy/paste and find/replace

you open a database. If it finds significant commands here, as well as many more.

errors, DEVONthink will advise you to run this

command. UNDO, CUT/COPY/PASTE, …

Optimize Database: Creates an internal Undo/Redo: Use these commands to undo or

backup of the database and then optimizes redo the last action, e.g.,to undo deleting a

the database structure. Optimizing removes file. Undo and Redo work for most actions.

unnecessary internal elements from the

Cut/Copy/Paste: Do exactly what their
database and rebuilds the internal structure
names say.
to optimize performance. DEVONthink
also creates internal backups on a regular Copy URL: Copies the URL of the selected or
basis. Hold the ⌥ Option key to display the frontmost document to the clipboard.
Restore Backup option. This allows you to roll
Copy Item/Page Link: Copies a URL to the
back the metadata to a previous date. This
clipboard that links to the selected document
option would only be used in troubleshooting
or group. These links can be used to create
situations.
a back link to the document in applications
Rebuild Database: Completely rebuilds that support live hyperlinks. For PDFs, hold
the database by exporting all items to a the ⇧Shift key to reveal the Copy Page Link
temporary folder in the file system, creating option.
an empty database, and reimporting all
Paste and Match Style: Pastes text from the
items. This removes any structural problems.
clipboard, matching the styles in the current
Depending on the size of your database,
document.
this can take from a few seconds to several
hours. This option is typically only used in a Delete: Deletes the selected piece of text.
troubleshooting situation.
Complete: Tries to auto-complete the
Delete Database: Closes a selected database partial word before the insertion caret. This
and moves it to the Finder trash. standard Mac function uses the currently

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 135

active dictionary, chosen in the language language used for spell checking, or for
dropdown of the Spelling and Grammar > auto-completion (see above), open the
Show Spelling and Grammar panel. spell checker panel with Edit > Spelling and
Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar and
Select All/Deselect All: Selects or deselects
choose your language of choice from the pop-
the complete content of the frontmost
up menu.
document. Hold the ⇧Shift key to reveal the
Deselect All option. Substitutions: Shows the standard
Substitutions preference panel and switch
SUMMARIZE, TAGS, SET NAME the available options manually on and off:
Smart Copy/Paste, Smart Quotes, Smart
Summarize: Summarizes the selected piece
Dashes, Smart Links, Data Detectors, and
of text. Unlike the Mac's Summarize service,
Text Replacements. Data Detectors analyze
this command takes advantage of the built-
shown text and make context-sensitive
in AI of DEVONthink, and uses the complete
actions available, e.g., when you hover
"knowledge" contained in the open databases
the cursor over a phone number or postal
for improving the results. The better your
address.
databases, the better the results.
Note: The Spelling and Grammar
Tags: Use this command to quickly enter tags
and Substitutions commands can be
for the current document. This displays the
temporarily applied to the current
Tag bar, if necessary.
document. If you'd like these to be

Set Name As: Applies the selected text as persistent choices, you can make global

the document's name. changes in Preferences > Editing.

Transformations: Use this submenu to change

FIND, SPELLING, INSERT
selected text to all lowercase or uppercase, or

Find: This submenu contains standard to capitalize every word.

Mac find commands, like those available in

Speech: Starts or stops speaking the
TextEdit. Searches on the current document
selected piece of text.
are displayed in the Search Inspector. Two
commands of note are: Insert: Inserts items, like pictures,
checkboxes, bulleted lists, etc. The options
In Database: Brings the search field of the
available are dependent on the current file
frontmost window into focus.
type.
Scroll To Selection: In long documents, this
command scrolls the current document to
DICTATION & EMOJIS
selected text.
Start Dictation: Starts the Mac's dictation
Spelling and Grammar: Provides the standard
function.
macOS functionality for checking text for
spelling or grammar errors. To choose the

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 136

Emoji & Symbols: Shows the standard Special by pressing the ↩ Return key. Name the
Characters panel for inserting characters and columns and sort the sheets by dragging
emoji that you cannot enter directly with them with the mouse. Click OK to create
your keyboard. the new sheet.
Bookmark: Creates a new bookmark. Type
the URL and optionally name it to create a
THE DATA MENU
bookmark, just as any browser does. If you
The Data menu contains all commands that don't type in a name, DEVONthink will set
deal directly with documents or groups. Here one automatically.
you'll find commands for creating, labeling, Feed: Creates a new RSS feed document.
classifying or group new documents, and The feed behaves like a special type of
more. group that contains RSS entries published
by the feed's author. Type the URL and
NEW DOCUMENTS & TEMPLATES optionally enter a name. If you don't type
in a name, DEVONthink will attempt to set
New: This submenu provides access to the
one automatically. You can change the URL
built-in items DEVONthink allows you to
later by selecting the feed document and
create.
changing the URL field in the Info inspector.
With Clipboard: Creates a new document Twitter Feed: Creates a new RSS feed
based on the contents of the clipboard. from a specified Twitter account. Enter
Note: Some applications such as Microsoft the Twitter handle, e.g.,devontech, and
Word put data in multiple formats into an optional name, to get a feed of recent
the Clipboard. DEVONthink tries to use tweets from the account. If no name is
the most logical data when creating a new entered, DEVONthink will attempt to set
document. one automatically. As with other feeds, you
Plain Text: Creates a new plain text also can change the URL, if for example, the
document. feed isn't working as expected.
Rich Text: Creates a new rich text Group: Create an empty group. This option
document. appears as Tag if you are currently in the
Formatted Note: Creates a new formatted Tags group of a database.
note. Smart Group: Creates a new smart group.
Markdown Text: Creates a new Markdown This is a special group that shows items
text document. matching your specified criteria, similar to
HTML Page: Creates a new HTML page. the Finder's "Saved Search". DEVONthink
You can use the built-in macOS WYSIWYG opens the Smart Group Editor, which
editor to edit the HTML page or switch to lets you define your search criteria.
its source code (from the navigation bar) When saved, the contents are updated
and edit it directly. every time you display the smart group's
Sheet: Creates a new sheet. Add columns contents.
to the new sheet by using the + button or

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 137

New from Template: This submenu allows you Reveal: Reveals the location of the frontmost
to access any installed templates and add document in either the same main window, if
them to the current group in your database. possible, or by opening a new one.
There are two other commands to note:
Show in Finder: Opens a new Finder window
Open Templates Folder: Select this to with the item selected. Note this only works
open ~/Library/Application Support/ for documents and indexed groups.
DEVONthink 3/Templates.noindex in the
Send by Email: Creates a new message in
Finder. You can add your own documents to
the default email application and adds the
be used as templates here.
selected items as attachments. Supported
More Templates: Opens the Extras section
email applications are Apple Mail, Airmail
of the Support Assistant to install any
2, Microsoft Outlook, and Postbox, as well
available DEVONthink templates.
as some legacy email application . If the
Note: For more information on the selected item is an email message, the sender
pre-installed templates, check out the is automatically inserted as the recipient and
Templates section of the appendix. the text of the original message is inserted
instead of an attachment. Notes: Postbox is
OPEN, LAUNCH, REVEAL, SEND currently only able to send one selected file.
Unsupported email clients (e.g.,Thunderbird)
Open: Opens the selected document or
can only send the plain text of one selected
group in a separate document window. This
file.
command opens a second main window
for the selected group. If you have selected
SAVE, REVERT, DUPLICATE
multiple documents, hold the ⌥ Option key
to display the Open in Tabs command. If Save/Save All/Revert To Saved: Saves the
the View/Edit pane is visible, this opens the frontmost document or all documents
selected items in new tabs. If the View/Edit to disk. Hold the ⇧Shift key to show the
pane isn't visible, a new document window alternate menu item, Save All.
will open with each selected document in its
Revert To Saved: Restores the frontmost
own tab in the window.
document to the last saved version.
Open with: Displays a list of applications
Duplicate: Creates a duplicate of the selected
compatible with the current file type. Opens
items. The name of the new item ends in
the selected documents in the chosen
"copy", and because their contents are
application. If your desired application is
identical both items are marked with the
not listed in the submenu, choose Other to
icon for duplicates (or, depending on your
browse for it.
preferences, show their name in bold and
Launch URL: Opens the file, folder, or internet blue).
location indicated by the URL field in the Info
inspector.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 138

MOVE INDEXED ITEMS IN AND OUT > Properties inspector for PDF or rich text
files, into a DEVONthink tag.
Note: The following two commands are only
Convert Geolocation to Tags: Converts
for use with indexed files.
geolocation data, if present on the file, into

Move Into Database: Use this command to DEVONthink tags.

move an indexed file into the database. Use Add Tags to Images: Adds tags to selected

this command with caution as it moves the images using Apple's machine learning

file from its current location into the internals technologies.

of your database. It does not copy the file. Scan Barcodes: This option will attempt
to detect a barcode in a selected image.
Move To External Folder: Use this command
A successfully detected barcode will be
to move a non-indexed item, e.g.,imported
added to the custom metadata for the
or created in DEVONthink, out to an indexed
document.
folder in the Finder.
Note: The Add Tags to Images and Scan

FAVORITES, READING LIST, METADATA Barcodes options require macOS 10.13 or

later.
Add To: Commands in this submenu add
the currently selected documents to your
CONVERT, OCR, THUMBNAILS
Favorites or the Reading List.
Convert: This submenu contains commands
Mark: Allows you to mark the item as
for converting between some file formats,
flagged/unflagged, locked/unlocked, and
e.g.,between rich and plain text. Note the
read/unread.
options presented are dependent on the

Rating: Allows you to set a rating, from no type of the selected document. Also, due to

stars to five stars. differences in the formats, any formatting

in the source document may not be able to
Label: Allows you to mark the selected groups be perfectly preserved in the destination
or documents with one of seven labels, just document.
as in the Finder. You can define the color and
the text of the labels in Preferences > Colors. OCR: This menu contains options for
choosing an output format when doing
Tags: This submenu offers special commands OCR on a selected compatible document
for automatically adding some kinds of tags. (JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PDFs with no text layer).
The currently supported output formats
Convert Keywords to Tags: Converts
are: Searchable PDF, RTF, Word , and Web
keywords, found in the Document >
Archive. Additionally, there are two special
Properties inspector for PDF or rich text
commands: to Comment and to Annotation,
files, into DEVONthink tags.
which sets the Finder comment or creates
Convert Properties to Tags: Converts the
an Annotation file with the text. Neither
Author property, found in the Document
command alters the original file.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 139

Thumbnails: Use these commands to add, THE FORMAT MENU
remove, or update a thumbnail for the
The Format menu contains the commands
selected files.
and options dealing with all aspects of text
formatting. Here you'll find the standard font,
GROUP & UNGROUP
alignment, and ruler commands, as well as
Group Items: Creates a new group containing very special DEVONthink commands.
all the selected items. This is similar to
Note: Many commands in this menu
creating a new group and moving the selected
only work with rich text, Markdown, or
items into it. The alternate command Group
formatted notes. Plain text documents do
Similar Items, shown when the ⇧ key is held,
not allow formatting. (That's why they're
will attempt to file selected items with
called "plain" text.) Some formatting
similar content in groups.
options are also available for editable PDFs
Ungroup Items: The exact opposite of Group and web archives.
Items. Moves all items in the groups one level
up and deletes the now-deserted groups. FONTS, STYLES, ALIGNMENT, RULERS

Font: This submenu is responsible for

SEE ALSO & CLASSIFY
controlling the font and the document
The following commands use DEVONthink's background color (rich text documents only).
built-in AI to suggest good locations for the Open the fonts panel with Show Fonts, then
selected documents: increase or decrease the font size of selected
text with Bigger and Smaller, adjust the
Move (to): This command allows you to
text styles and the document background
quickly move other selected files to the last
color. Of special note are these two submenu
destination chosen in the See Also & Classify
commands:
inspector.
Copy Font: Copies the font formatting of a
Classify: Using DEVONthink's AI, this
selected piece of rich text.
command will move selected files to the AI
Paste Font: After using the previous
suggested location. This command is disabled
command, applies the copied font to
if DEVONthink is not sure enough about
another selection of rich text.
possible destinations.
Style: Commands in this submenu apply
MOVE TO TRASH a certain style, such as italics, bold, or
underlined, to selected text. Also, the
Move to Trash/Move All Instances to Trash:
commands give you access to some high-
Moves the selected items to the trash. If
end font control like kerning, baseline
you have selected a replicated item, hold the
⌥ Option key and choose Move All Replicants
to Trash to move the selected item and all its
replicants to the database's trash.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 140

shift, ligatures, and character shape LINKS, SPACING, LISTS, TABLES
(only applicable to Asian languages). One
Make/Remove Link: Converts the selected
command to take special note of:
text into an active link, or disables the
Styles: The Styles command opens the link. This command can be used to create
macOS styles editor. With it, you can step WikiLinks quickly.
through all the styles used in the current
Add/Edit Link: Use this command if you want
document. If there's one you'd like to reuse,
to add a specific link to some text. If the text
add them to your favorites. Use the pop-
is already linked, the menu will display Edit
up menu to select a saved style and, if you
Link, allowing you to change or remove the
don't need it any more, delete it. You can
URL. The behavior you'll see when clicking
use saved styles from the ruler (see below).
linked text depends on the target of the link:
Alignment: Align paragraphs left, right,
If the text was a valid URL, the URL will be
centered, or justified. Here, Asian or Arabic
the target of the link. Editing the link text
users can also change the direction of writing,
later does not change the target. Use the
if required.
Edit Link command of the contextual menu
Ruler: This submenu allows you to display to edit the link target.
the ruler above the preview of rich text Otherwise, DEVONthink treats the link as
documents. There are also two special a Wiki-style link. Clicking the Wiki-style
commands: link jumps to a document with exactly
the same name as the linked text (or any
Copy Ruler: Copies the current ruler
document with a Wiki alias of that name).
attributes (tabs stops, indents, etc.) of a
If there is no document of that name,
selected piece of rich text.
clicking the link creates a new rich text
Paste Ruler: After using the previous
document named after the linked text and
command, applies the copied ruler
pre-filled by the template you set in the
attributes to another selection of rich text.
Preferences > Editing.

HIGHLIGHTS Spacing: This command allows you to adjust

the line spacing of selected text in rich text
Highlight, Highlight Color: In rich text
documents. You can adjust the line height
documents, editable PDFs, and web archives
to an exact value or define a minimum and
use Highlight to highlight a selected piece
maximum height, adjust inter-line spacing,
of text just as you would using with a
and define the space before and after a
colored pen on a piece of paper. To remove
paragraph.
highlighting, select the highlighted piece of
text and choose Highlight again. Use the List: Creates a bulleted list. Select your
Highlight Color submenu to choose your prefix, bullet style, and suffix in the dialog
favorite highlight color. sheet and click OK to insert a new list. In the
list, press ↩ Return to insert new items, and

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 141

press ⇥ Tab and ⇧⇥ Shift-Tab to indent/de- the ruler, and displaying the color picker are
indent items, just as you would in any word shown. For sheets, tools to add/remove/
processor. duplicate records, as well as editing columns
are shown.
Table: Inserts a new table into a rich text
document and opens the table inspector Show Colors: Shows the color panel, e.g., for
panel. Use the table inspector to adjust the changing the foreground color of selected
number of rows and columns, cell alignments, text in rich text documents.
cell colors, border widths, and colors. Also,
Show Invisible Characters: Toggles display of
you can merge and split cells and create
invisible characters such as spaces, tabs, and
tables within a cell.
line feeds. Shown invisible characters appear
in light gray.
PLAIN & RICH TEXT, HYPHENATION,
LAYOUT
THE TOOLS MENU
Make Plain/Rich Text: Converts a rich text
document to plain text and vice versa. The Tools menu provides tools to get more

Converting a rich text to plain text removes detailed information about your documents,

all formatting, while converting a plain text as well as some specialized commands.

document to rich text applies default rich

text font settings to the document. INFO & FILTERS

Allow Hyphenation: Enables or disables Get Info: Opens an popup containing more

hyphenation for the current rich text detailed information about the currently

document. selected file or group. It combines frequently

used elements of the Info inspector and
Make Layout Vertical/Horizontal: Enables contains three panes:
orienting and editing the document text
vertically or horizontally. Info: The Generic panel shows basic
information including name, aliases, URLs,

BARS, COLORS, INVISIBLE CHARACTERS file dates, and kind. The Custom pane
shows metadata specified in Preferences >
Show Formatting Bar: Displays a toolbar of Data that has been applied to the file.
formatting tools under the toolbar, providing Annotations & Reminders: Shows a
access to styles, font and paragraph summary of reminders set for this
attributes, and lists. These tools are only document, Finder (Spotlight) comments,
used with RTF files. and Annotations.
Properties: Shows metadata specific to
Show Editing Bar: Displays tools above the
PDF and rich text files. This includes things
current preview pane for some file types.
like keywords, author, and subject that are
For example, rich text formats display
sometimes included with these types of
several common tools including increasing/
files.
decreasing font size, highlighting, toggling

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 142

Inspectors: This submenu provides access to by frequency, groups, length, or weight.
the inspectors panes. The data can be viewed in a List, Cloud,
or Graph. Additionally, selected words are
Show/Hide: Shows or hides the inspector
highlighted in the current text and a data
pane.
graph showing related words will appear in
Info: The Generic view shows basic
the List and Cloud views.
information including name, aliases, URLs,
file dates, and kind. The Custom view Filter: The commands in this submenu
shows metadata specified in Preferences > filter the list of files in the location you are
Data that has been applied. currently viewing. As you select options
Annotations & Reminders: This inspector in these panes, the list of files will change
shows a summary of reminders set for accordingly. The filters are also covered in the
this file, Finder (Spotlight) comments, and windows chapter.
annotations.
Info: Shows a pane with options for
Content: When viewing PDF files, this
filtering on dates, flagged state, unread
inspector provides a Thumbnails and a
status, rating, or color label. When using
Table of Contents pane. Note that the
the calendar, you can click Any Date to set
Table of Contents panel is only displayed if
which date you want to filter on: added,
the current PDF contains one. DEVONthink
created, modified, opened, or due.
does not generate the table on its own.
Tags: Shows a tag cloud, with frequency-
Document: Useful when viewing PDF
based sizing, i.e., more frequently used
and RTF files, this inspector displays
tags will be larger. Clicking on tags removes
Properties, Annotations, and Links.
unrelated tags from the cloud, only showing
See Also & Classify: This inspector is
tags that have been applied with the
the main interface to DEVONthink's
current tag.
brain, our built-in AI engine. This engine
Maps: Shows a small map showing pins
is analyzing the contents and locations
from geolocation data will be shown.
of all documents in your database and
Clicking on a pin will show you files created
making connections between them. These
in that location. The behavior of this pane
connections can be seen in this inspector
is similar to Apple Maps, e.g., pinch to zoom
pane.
in and out, etc.
Search: This pane allows you to search
the current document, displaying the Note: When Info or Maps is selected, the
found words in context and on what lines options will appear at the bottom of the
they occur. Additionally, you can use the sidebar. When Tags is selected, they will
Replace field to quickly replace selected or also appear there, but will also show in the
all occurrences of the found words. information bar above the item list if the
sidebar is hidden.
Concordance: The Concordance is a
specialized view showing data about the
words in a document. This can be sorted

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 143

ANNOTATIONS Columns,and Delete Columns. See the
Documents chapter for more information on
Annotate: This submenu provides access to
sheets.
the PDF annotation tools: Oval, Rectangle,
Line, Note, Text, and Link.
ROTATE & FLIP

Mode: Use the commands in this submenu to

Rotate Left/Right: Choose this to rotate
switch between three modes of interaction
images, or individual pages in a PDF
in PDF documents: Move, Text Selection, and
document.
Annotation Selection.
Flip Horizontal/Vertical: Choose this to flip
CAPTURE, IMPRINT, EDIT PDFS & SHEETS an image on its horizontal or vertical axis.

Capture: This submenu provides options for

CREATE, SUMMARIZE, MERGE, SPLIT
capturing the current document to a new
file in a few different formats: Bookmark, Create Expense Report: Creates a sheet
Plain/Rich Text, Formatted Note, HTML, Web summarizing custom metadata dates and
Archive, and PDF (One Page/Paginated). currencies of selected files. Totals for the
Captures are made to the current group. amounts will also be included.
There is also an option to use the Clip to
Create Metadata Overview: Creates a sheet
DEVONthink command. This allows you to
with records for each selected file. The
clip to a chosen location.
columns contain data from the generic and
Note: The available options in the Capture custom metadata of each file.
menu are dependent on the type of the
Create Table of Contents: Opens a submenu
current document.
to create a rich text or Markdown document
Imprinter: Choose an imprint you have with links to the currently selected
defined in Preferences > Imprinter to apply it documents.
to the current image or PDF.
Summarize Highlights: Creates a document
PDF Document: This submenu provides with all highlighted text passages of the
options for editing the current PDF currently selected documents. In case of
document: Insert Blank Page, Delete Selected items located in multiple databases the
Page, and Reverse Page Order. See the summary is created in the global inbox.
Documents chapter for more information on From the submenu, choose to create the
PDF documents. summary in a rich text document, Markdown
document, or a sheet.
Sheets: This submenu provides access to
the following tools for editing a sheet: New
Record,Duplicate Records,New Column,Edit

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 144

Merge Items: Merge the selected documents specifically defining a rule. This can be
into one. This creates a new file, preserving useful to modify multiple selected files.
the originals. Hold the ⌥ key to choose Merge
& Delete n Documents, removing the original START SERVER, TAKE NOTES
files after the merged document is created.
Start/Stop Server: Use this command to
When merging documents, the order of the start and stop the integrated web server. See
merge will be the order shown in the item also p. 71ff
list. The topmost selected document will
Take Note: Opens the Sorter to the Take Note
be the first page with the pages beneath it
view. If the Sorter is not shown, it opens the
following. The order of the documents can be
Take Note window.
controlled by the current sort method in the
item list. See also p. 146ff
THE VIEW MENU
Note: The resulting file type of a Merge
operation depends on the types of the The View menu contains all the commands

selected files. Selecting mixed formats, for modifying the way DEVONthink displays

e.g., a web archive and an image, usually groups and documents.

results in an RTFD file being created.

SIDEBAR & LAYOUTS
Split PDF into Chapters: Used on a PDF
containing a table of contents, separate per- Sidebar: The Sidebar view options allow you

chapter files are created. to switch between the four different sidebar
views in a main window. You can toggle the
Split Document: Splits the current document sidebar's visibility by selecting the same
(PDF, plain or rich text) at the insertion mark option again.
position in the document.
Navigate: This is the main sidebar view,

RULES giving you easy access to your databases,

favorites, and global smart groups. See also
These commands allow you to set or run p. 84ff
smart rule commands Reading List: Similar to Safari's Reading
List, this sidebar view allows you
Apply Rules: Apply the selected rule on
to maintain a list of items for later
selected items that match the rule's
consideration. See also p. 93ff
criteria, including the location defined in
Extras: This view gives you access to recent
the smart rule.
updates in tutorials, scripts, and templates.
Perform Rules: Run the selected rule at any
And if you want to keep up on updates
time or in any location. This is not isolated
to the documents in the current location.
Batch Process: Use this command to
quickly define and run commands without

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 145

 from us, it includes links to promotions and as kind, label, size, word count, creation
release announcements. See also p. 97ff date, and modification date. Available in all
windows using icon or column views.
Import: The Import sidebar view gives you
access to scanning and email archiving. See Show Only Documents: When checked, this
also p. 96ff hides groups and smart groups in List and
Icons views. Note this is a per-database
View: Choose one of the following options
setting, i.e., you can enable or disable it for
to switch between different layouts for the
each open database.
item list in a main window. All these views are
similar to options you find in Finder windows.
COLUMNS & SORTING

Icons: Displays items as icons.

Columns: This submenu lists all columns
List: Displays items in a list view with user-
available to be displayed as column headers in
specified columns shown.
the item list.
Columns: Displays the item list as a set of
columns. Sort: This submenu lists all the attributes
Cover Flow: Displays large thumbnails in a that can be used to sort the current item
side-scrolling view. list. Choose Unsorted to manually sort the
items. DEVONthink remembers sort settings
Preview: These options allow you to control
for every group separately and uses those
the position of the current document's
settings when the group is displayed in its
preview, or dismiss it altogether.
own main window

None: This creates a list only view.

Standard: This shows a preview under the FULLSCREEN & ZOOM

file listing.
Full Screen: Displays either the current
Widescreen: This shows the preview to the
document in a full screen mode optimized for
left of the file listing.
reading and editing, or the frontmost window

Quick Look/Slideshow: Opens the Quick Look in full screen. There are two options available

panel for the selected items which can be here:

useful for times when the view/edit pane

Document: Shows the current document in
isn't displayed. Holding the ⌥ Option key
full screen. Note this is a distraction-free
allows you to display the selected files in a
view, not the standard macOS fullscreen
Quick Look slideshow.
view.
Window: Shows the current window in a
SHOW TAGS & DETAILS
standard macOS full screen view.

Show/Hide Tags: Shows or hides the tag bar.

Zoom: Depending on the document type, you

Show/Hide Details: Switches between can zoom or out of the document's preview

displaying icons only or displaying icons to your needs:

together with detailed information such

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 146

 Actual Size: Displays the document PDF Display: This submenu lets you adjust
at actual size, calculated using the the way PDF documents are displayed:
resolution of the screen and the resolution
Single Page, Two Pages: Shows a multi-
information of the image or PDF.
page document as single pages or two
All Pixels: Displays the document at a 1:1
pages facing each other (as in a magazine).
ratio so that one pixel of the image equals
Continuous Scroll: When checked, shows
one pixel on the screen (PDFs and images
the pages of the PDF as one long scroll.
only).
When unchecked, only one page is shown
Zoom In/Out: Zooms in or out of the
at a time.
document.
Book Mode: When checked, facing pages
Zoom to Fit: Displays the document so
start with one single page (the title page),
that it exactly fits either the height or the
then facing pages. When unchecked, they
width of the window/preview pane (PDFs
start facing.
and images only).
Page Breaks: When checked, pages are
Zoom to Width: Displays the document so
shown with a small break between the
that its width fits the width of the window
pages. When unchecked, the pages appear
or view/edit pane (PDFs and images only).
as a continuous document.
Crop Box, Media Box: Crops the page to
DOCUMENT & PDF OPTIONS
the crop or media box. By default, PDF
Document Display: This submenu contains pages are cropped to the crop box.
commands for displaying alternate views of
some documents. Note there are alternate TOOLBAR
commands shown when used with sheets or
Hide/Show Toolbar: Hides or shows the
HTML and Markdown files.
toolbar of the frontmost window.
Best Alternative/Preview/Table View:
Customize Toolbar: Lets you configure the
Shows a QuickLook view, or a rendered
toolbar of the frontmost window.
view for HTML-based and Markdown files,
the Table view for sheets.
Text Alternative/Source/Form View: THE GO MENU
Shows a text-only view of some file types,
For people who prefer to use the keyboard
e.g.,Word or email. Also shows the page
for navigation, the Go menu contains all
source of HTML-based and Markdown files
commands for navigating the hierarchy
or the Form view for sheets.
of your DEVONthink database, all with
Side-by-Side: Shows a side-by-side view
keyboard shortcuts. Use these commands
of the rendered view and source for HTML
to go backwards and forwards through your
and Markdown files. Note this does not
documents, or to move back to the top level
apply to Formatted Notes.
of the group hierarchy.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 147

DATABASES Previous/Next Instance: Navigates
backwards and forwards through all instances
Previous Database: Selects the previous
of a replicated document. Use these
database in the Navigate sidebar.
commands to find out where the other

Next Database: Selects the next database in instances of a replicated item are.

the Navigate sidebar.

Previous/Next Highlight: Navigates
backwards and forward through all
GROUPS
highlighted passages within a document,

Top Group: Returns you to the top level of the regardless of whether these passages have

database (also known as the "root"). been highlighted by a search or manually

using Format > Highlight.
Enclosing Group: Changes the view to
the parent folder of the current group or Next Unread Item: Navigates to the next

document. item with an unread status in the current

database.
Selected Group: Changes the view to the
currently selected group. Go to Page/Time: Allows you to jump to a
specified page (PDF documents) or time
To Group: Opens a popup where you can
(supported video and audio files).
search for a group by name. Results are
shown as you type. The chosen group from Favorites: Displays a menu of items in the

the results will display as the current group. Favorites section of the Navigate sidebar,
allowing easy access to the items.

DOCUMENTS
WORKSPACES
Back/Forward: Moves backwards and
forwards through all documents/web pages Workspaces allow you to save the state of

you have visited by following cross-links or your open databases, as well as the contents

Wiki-style links. and positions of all open windows, so that

you can restore them later. This is ideal if you
First/Previous/Next/Last Document:
are working with the same set of windows
Navigates to the first, previous, next, or last
over and over again. Save these windows as
document of all documents in the current
a workspace and recall them whenever you
group. This is useful when you have opened
need them again.
a document in a separate window and want
to move to another document in the same Add: Saves the currently open windows as

group. a workspace.
Edit: Opens a window that allows you
To Document: Opens a popover to quickly
to edit saved workspaces. Click on a
navigate to a specific document.
workspace name to change it, reorder by
dragging, and delete with the - button.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 148

 Update: Updates an existing workspace Download Manager: This command opens
to the current state of databases and the Download Manager panel of DEVONthink.
windows. Using the Download Manager, you can
Workspaces: Choose a workspace from the download files or complete web sites from
list of saved workspaces to load it. the internet and store them directly in your
database.

THE WINDOW MENU Log: Opens the Log panel. The log lists error

Just like most every macOS application, the messages and warnings that occurred while

Window menu lists all open windows of the importing new documents. It also opens

active application and gives you access to automatically when an error occurs. You can

commands for managing them. save the log to a text file or clear it.

WINDOWS & TABS OPEN WINDOWS

Close, Zoom, Minimize: These three Window List: Select any open window from

commands resemble the red, yellow, and the menu to bring it to the front.

green buttons of any window title bar, and

consequently close the window, minimize THE SCRIPTS MENU
the window to the Dock, or maximize the
The Scripts menu is located left of the Help
window. No magic here. Hold the ⌥ Option
menu and shows a stylized AppleScript
key to change allow the command to affect
symbol instead of a normal menu title. It
all windows.
contains a collection of useful, predefined
New, Close, Select Next/Previous Tab: Opens AppleScripts you can use directly from within
a new tab, closes the active tab, or moves the DEVONthink.
focus to the next or previous tab.

Note: Tabbed browsing needs to be

enabled for these commands to work.

Bring All to Front: Brings all windows of

DEVONthink to the front. Hold the ⌥ Option
key to change Bring All to Front to Arrange in
Front.

ACTIVITY, DOWNLOADS, LOG

Activity: Opens the Activity panel. This panel

shows all running processes, e.g.,OCR or sync
activity, and allows you to manually stop
them.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 149

 DEVONTHINK

Use these commands to open the integrated

help pages, get directions on installing the
browser extension and bookmarklets, or
access the list of changes to DEVONthink.

Some of the scripts work without having

SUPPORT
selected a document, while others require
you to select the document you want the Your Account: Opens the login page for your
script to interact with. In general, the script DEVONtechnologies account where you can
will tell you what you have to do when you get information on your licenses and the
select it from the menu. devices they're registered to.

Use More Scripts to install additional Support Assistant: Opens the support
scripts and read more about scripts and screen of the Welcome to DEVONthink
DEVONthink's menu here. assistant with more direct links to the
DEVONtechnologies website, tips, and

THE HELP MENU tutorials. Note this function requires an

Internet connection.
The Help menu contains commands
for opening the integrated help pages, Tutorials: Opens the Tips and Tutorials

the support assistant, or visiting the screen of the Welcome to DEVONthink

DEVONtechnologies website. assistant. The tutorials help get you started

by explaining everyday DEVONthink tasks
in step-by-step detail. Note this function
requires an Internet connection.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 150

DEVONTECHNOLOGIES It also contains the generic macOS
commands and an Options menu common to
These commands take you directly to the
all macOS applications. DEVONthink-specific
corresponding pages on our website or send
items are listed below:
feedback directly us.

DEVONtechnologies, User Forum: Quickly

access our home page or our user forum in
your default browser.

Contact Us/Report Bug: Use this to draft a

general email to us. When you need to report
an issue, hold the ⌥ Option key to show the
Report Bug. This creates a new message
in your default email client or Apple Mail
containing the console log and all related
crash logs in a ZIP archive, ready to be sent to
our customer support.

THE DOCK MENU

The Dock menu appears when you click
DEVONthink's icon in the Dock with the
⌃ Control key pressed, when you right-click it, Recent Databases: Quickly reopen a closed
or when you left-click it and hold the mouse database from this list.
button for one second or longer. When items
Open Windows: Switch to any open window
are added to a database, a badge appears
from this list. The active window is displayed
on this icon. Longer tasks, e.g., importing,
with a checkmark next to it.
indexing, or running scripts, may show a
progress indicator on the dock icon. Take Note: Opens the Take Note panel.

Start/Stop Server: Starts or stops the web

server.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 151

 PREFERENCES

IN THIS CHAPTER GENERAL

General 152
Editing 155
WikiLinks 156
Import 157
Sorter 158
Media 158
Colors 160
Web 160
RSS 161
Data 162
Email 163
OCR 164 Use the General tab to set the general
Imprinter 166 settings for the user interface.
Server 168
Sync 170 GENERAL

The Preferences window, which you open Stricter recognition of duplicates: Check to
by selecting Preferences in the application have DEVONthink mark files as duplicates
menu, is the place to go to change global consider the file type and size, as well as the
settings for DEVONthink. In addition to content, when determining duplicate files.
global settings, databases also have separate
Enable reminder alarms: Enables or disables
settings in their Database Properties
using DEVONthink Reminders. This can be set
window that you open using File > Database
on a per-machine basis.
Properties.

There is also a number of hidden preferences, INTERFACE

intended for customer support, but maybe
These options control the behavior of
useful for you, too. See also p. 235ff
the interface, e.g., when double-clicking
documents.

Double-click opens groups in a new

window: This option allows you to open a
new window when you double-click a group.
If unchecked, the group will be selected

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 152

 and its contents will be replace the file list when revealing an item or opening a group
being currently viewed. in a new window.
Double-click opens documents externally: Unify Databases: When enabled,
Check this if you'd like documents to open navigate the groups of the root of all
in an external application when double- open databases in the Open Databases
clicked. DEVONthink uses the application section of the Navigate sidebar. When
set as the default application for the disabled, the groups of the root of the
file type in the operating system, e.g., active database are displayed in an active
TextEdit for RTF documents. If unchecked, database section in the sidebar. This allows
any document that can be edited in isolating the groups of a database. The
DEVONthink will be opened in its own active database will have an asterisk to the
window. left of the name.
Keep groups on top when sorting: Always Unify inboxes: Display the inboxes of open
display groups at the top of the item list, databases only in the Globals section of
independent of the sort method, e.g., by the Navigate sidebar. When disabled, the
Name, by Date Added, etc. inbox will be displayed in the item list for
Retain view: When enabled, the view the current database.
settings in the current main window, e.g., Unify tags: Display the Tags group of open
Icons in Widescreen, override the view databases only in the Globals section of
settings of other groups or databases. the Navigate sidebar. When disabled, the
If a change is made to the current view, Tags group will be displayed in the item list
that change will persist when switching. for the current database
If no changes are made, the previous view Keyboard Navigation: Enables keyboard
settings will be restored after disabling this navigation with typing selection, and arrow
option. key hoisting of groups in the Navigate
Enable tabbed browsing: When checked, sidebar.
click with ⌘ Command pressed a link in
web, PDF or text views to open it in a new ALERTS
tab. When unchecked or the ⌘ modifier key
Click Reset to make DEVONthink show alerts
isn't pressed, documents are opened in the
again that you previously dismissed with
same view, in the default application or in
"Don't show again" checked.
new windows. Check Always show tab bar
if you'd like to view the document title in a
CHECK FOR UPDATES
tab bar when only one document is open.

Change the settings in this tab to define

SIDEBAR when you want DEVONthink to check for new
versions: never, on startup, daily, weekly, or
Automatically expand & collapse: Check
monthly. DEVONthink only performs checks
this to automatically show the sidebar
for updates when the computer is connected
to the Internet.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 153

Click Check Now to immediately check for a Show filename extensions: Check this if
new version. you prefer to see the file type's extension
at the end of filenames.
APPEARANCE Use dark background for documents: When
enabled, compatible documents, e.g., rich
text, will display white text on a black field
when using macOS' dark mode. When
disabled, documents will display normally.

LABELS

Choose how you would like labels to be shown

in lists.

Classic: Tints the group/document icon

(like on Mac OS 9).
Modern: Puts the group/document name in
These options define some parts of the visual
a colored bubble (like on older versions of
appearance.
OS X).
Alternating row colors in views: Check Dots: Shows a colored dot in the list (like
to color every second row in item lists on macOS).
differently.
Display number of items inside groups: FONTS
Check to show the number of documents
Use Sidebar Text Size to set the font size
in groups. In the sidebar, the total number
DEVONthink uses in the sidebars. Use View
of items in the group is shown. News feeds
Text Size to set the font size used in the item
will show the number of unread items. In
list and the contents of sheets in table view.
the item list, this shows the number of
unread and read documents contained in
a group. For example, "2/10" shows there
are two unread documents out of ten total
documents.
Highlight Internet links in views: Check to
show bookmarks in the file list and links in
documents marked in blue and underlined.
Mark duplicates and replicants in color:
Check to highlight duplicates marked in
blue and replicants marked in red in most
views. When unchecked duplicates and
replicants display an special icon to the
right of a document's name.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 154

EDITING Smart links: Detect web addresses and
turn them into clickable links.
Smart dashes: Convert characters, e.g.,
two hyphens into a proper dash.
Data detectors: Detect dates, times or
addresses in text, and show possible
actions when the mouse cursor moves over
them.
Text replacement: Use the system-wide
text replacements when editing text.

AUTHOR, RULER UNITS AND FONTS

Author: Enter your name. It will be used as

The Editing tab defines all options that fine
default for metadata, e.g., for new rich text
tune DEVONthink's text editing behavior,
documents or PDF annotations.
from the ruler units to default font settings
Ruler Units: Select your personal
to summarization options.
preference for ruler units: centimeters,
inches, points, or picas.
GENERAL
Plain Text: Select your preferred font.

Display PDF attachments of rich texts: This is the font automatically used when

When checked, a PDF inserted into an you create new documents. Additionally,

RTFD documents will display its first page. specify the background and text colors to

Unchecked, you will see a link and the PDF's suit your taste.

filename. Rich Text & Note: Select your preferred

Scale image attachments: Images added fonts for new rich text formats. This is the

to rich text files and formatted notes are font automatically used when you create

scaled to the current width of the view/ new rich text documents or formatted

edit pane. notes. It is also the default used for

Check spelling while typing: Spellcheck rendered Markdown documents, if no

while you write. default stylesheet is specified.

Check grammar with spelling: Check

Note: Hold the ⌥ Option key to restore the
grammar as well as spelling while you write.
default fonts.
Correct spelling automatically: Correct
misspelled words automatically.
FULL SCREEN
Smart quotes: Convert straight quotes
("inch marks") to typographer's quotes Full Screen: Select your preferred font for

("curly quotes") while you type. reading and editing plain text files in full

Smart copy/paste: Insert or remove spaces

before and after cut or pasted text.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 155

 screen mode. Rich text documents will WIKILINKS
display their user-specified fonts.
To enable WikiLinking, check the Automatic
Background: Choose a background color for
checkbox and choose from the options shown
the full screen mode.
here:
Text: Choose a text color for the full screen
mode. MashedWords: Commonly used to avoid
Width: Choose a width for displaying creating links from individual words,
documents in full screen mode. This setting mashed words are document titles of
will apply wider or narrower left and right joined words. If you type a mashed word,
margins, based on a percentage of the it will automatically create a link. If a
screen width. matching document is detected, it will
open when clicking the link. If a matching
SUMMARIZATION document isn't detected, DEVONthink
will create a new rich text document,
Select whether you wish DEVONthink to
prepopulated with information defined in
summarize based on sentences or whole
the Template section below.
paragraphs.
Square Brackets: WikiLinked text can
be defined using square brackets. Type
WIKILINKS two opening square brackets and the
beginning of a document name. Then
press ⌥⎋ Option-Escape to show a list of
potential item matches in the database.
Choose a document and press ↩ Return to
complete the link.
Names and Aliases: Matches documents
based on their name or any aliases defined
in the Info Inspector.
All Items/Only Documents/Only Groups:
Choose whether to match only documents,
WikiLinks are a way to create interconnected groups, or both.
documents in your databases. When enabled, Case-insensitive Linking: Enable this to
DEVONthink attempts to detect other ignore capitalization when matching Names
documents matching the terms you've and Aliases, e.g., GlobalEconomy and
typed. This creates an active hyperlink to the globaleconomy both would match.
detected document, allowing you to quickly Open new documents in separate
jump to it by clicking the link. WikiLinked text windows: When clicking a WikiLink, the
displays with as underlined text. linked document will open in its own
document window.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 156

TEMPLATE Select group: A group selector is shown
that lets you choose the destination. The
Text and items entered here will be used to
group selector appears as a black panel
create a new WikiLinked document. You can
floating on top of all other windows. Use it
type any text you want as well as Control-
to select the group where you want to file
click and use Insert Placeholder to insert a
the items.
token that will be automatically replaced
Global inbox: The data is stored in the
when the template is created. The default
global inbox.
title contains several of these tokens already.
Check out the placeholders section of the
TEXT ENCODING
appendix for information on the available
choices. Choose the default encoding used for plain
text documents. Select Automatic to let
DEVONthink choose the best encoding.
IMPORT

TAGS

Imported files can have metadata that may

be useful as tags. Choose options to convert
specific types of information to DEVONthink
tags.

Convert keywords to tags: Check this to

convert embedded keywords from PDFs
and RTF(D) files to tags.
Here you can choose options for the location,
Convert properties to tags: Check this to
encoding, and tagging of files coming from
convert embedded properties from PDF
external sources, including bookmarklets,
and RTF(D) files to tags.
DEVONagent Pro, items dropped on the dock
Convert geolocation to tags: Check this to
icon, (external) scripts, or services.
convert proper names of geolocation data
to tags, e.g., "Orlando", "FL", and "United
NEW NOTES
States".
Check Select (and display) automatically to Convert Hashtags to tags: Check this to
automatically select and display the last note convert found hashtags to tags.
you have taken. Add tags to images: Check this to
automatically apply tags to imported
DESTINATION images.
Scan Barcodes: Check this to allow
Choose the default destination where
DEVONthink to try and detect a barcode in
incoming data is stored.
an imported image. The detected barcode
will be added as custom metadata

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 157

These options are honored by email archiving, To change the hotkeys, click the Click to
scanning and OCR, importing from Bookends, record shortcut button, then press the
Evernote, Apple Notes, and Yojimbo, as well hotkey that you want to use. Press the
as documents created via the Sorter and the ⎋ Escape key to cancel recording a new
web interface (Server edition only). shortcut.

Note: On macOS Mojave, you will be asked

SORTER to grant Accessibility permissions for Copy
Selection, and Automation permissions for
Clip to DEVONthink.

MEDIA
In the media preferences, you tell
DEVONthink how to display multimedia files,
images, PDFs and other documents. You can
also set options to generate thumbnails for
certain filetypes.

The Sorter preference allows you to choose

the window's appearance and location, and
assign a hotkeys for capturing data or taking
a new note. See also p. 54ff

APPEARANCE, LOCATION,…

Appearance: Choose to display the Sorter

as a menu extra, a docked tab on the side
of your screen, or not at all.
Position: Choose the onscreen position MARKDOWN

of the docked tab. These options will be

Choose options for the default mode when
disabled if Show as Dock Tab isn't selected.
selecting Markdown files, styling, or any
Menu Extra Title: Choose whether to
extensions to be used when rendering the
show the menu extra as text, or a space-
Markdown.
conserving icon.
Screen Capture: Check this to play the Markdown Display: Choose whether you want

system default screen capture sound. to open Markdown documents by default in

editing or preview mode.

HOTKEYS
Style Sheet: If you want to choose a default

Set system-wide hotkeys for: Take Note, Copy stylesheet to display your Markdown

Selection, Clip to DEVONthink, and Search. documents, click the Select button to access

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 158

stylesheets stored on your machine, e.g., desired background color for the selected
in ~/Library/Application Support/ media file.
DEVONthink3/StyleSheets or paste the URL Image Display: Choose a default zoom
of an online stylesheet. factor and a background color for viewing
images
Extensions: Check the desired options for
PDF Display: Choose the default display
Markdown extensions:
size background color for viewing PDFs in

MathJax support: Supports rendering windowed and fullscreen modes. Check

mathematical equations via the MathJax Automatically resize to automatically

extension. resize PDFs in the view/edit pane. Set the

Mermaid support: Supports rendering background color.

diagrams via the Mermaid extension.

Prism support: Supports syntax coloring
of rendered inline code and code blocks via
the Prism extension.

SHEETS

Choose the default display mode, Table View

or Form View, and background color for
sheets.
MULTIMEDIA

Choose options for media playback or the

default display mode of PDFs or images. You
can also choose a background color for these
media types.

Play Media: Check Play automatically to

play audio and video files automatically
when you display them. Check Loop if
you want to play the clips in a loop. Set a

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 159

 WEB

THUMBNAILS

Choose the file types for which DEVONthink

should automatically generate thumbnail
icons. For images, choose whether to The web preferences resembles the settings
generate the thumbnails from the actual of most web browsers. Use these preferences
image, ignoring any embedded thumbnails. to define how DEVONthink's displays web
documents and "live" web pages.

COLORS
WEB CONTENT

These settings define how DEVONthink

treats special web contents:

Enable ...: Check these options to use

installed third-party plugins, (such as Flash
or RealPlayer plugins), and to run Java
applets or JavaScript scripts contained in,
or linked to, a web page.
Label: Set the name of color for color labels Block ...: Check Block pop-up windows to
applied to files and groups in your database. block pop-up windows, which are often
advertisements; check Only automatic
Highlight: Set the name and color to be
JavaScript windows to block only pop-up
used for highlighting text in compatible file
windows opened by JavaScript. Uncheck
formats, like PDFs.
this option if the web page you're visiting

Note: These are global settings, i.e., you uses pop-up windows for actual content.

can't have per database label or highlight (Some web content management systems

colors. Also, following Apple's example, do this.) Check Block zooming to keep web

we only allow setting seven colors in each sites from automatically zooming windows

category. to full size. Check Block advertisement

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 160

 to block common inline advertisements FONTS
provided by some search engines.
Set the fonts you want to use for displaying
Zoom text only: Check to zoom only the
web pages; set separately for variable-width
text and uncheck to use Safari-4-style
and fixed-width text.
zooming.

Note: Hold the ⌥ Option key to restore the

IMAGES default fonts.

These settings define how DEVONthink

STYLE SHEET
displays graphics in web pages:

You can further control the way DEVONthink

Display images when the page opens:
displays web pages by applying a CSS style
Check this option to display web pages
sheet that changes the rendering on the fly.
with images. Just remember, if unchecked,
you may miss some information. Click Select and choose your style sheet to
Animate images, Loop animation: Check apply it to DEVONthink's integrated web
these options to run web graphics browser. Note: This is for experts since it
animations and to run animated graphics in modifies how all web pages are displayed and
a loop. can lead to undesired effects.
Scale images to fit: Check this option to
scale (large) images to fit. TEXT ENCODING

Select your desired text encoding for

ACCEPT COOKIES
displaying web pages. Automatic tries
Cookies are little text files with information to choose the best available encoding. If
that web pages store on your computer use this does not work for you, choose a more
to recognize you as a returning customer, appropriate text encoding for your language
among other things. While most cookies are group.
harmless, you may want to control what is
being stored on your hard disk.
RSS
Always: Accept all cookies.
Never: Don't accept any cookies.
Only from sites you navigate to: Accept
cookies, but only from web sites you
navigate to (not from other sites, such as
ad trackers).
Delete cookies on quit: Delete all stored
cookies when you quit DEVONthink.

DEVONthink comes with built-in RSS

capabilities that enable you to add RSS feeds
to your database and have DEVONthink

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 161

update them automatically. Use these DATA
preferences to define how often DEVONthink
checks for new articles, whether to skip
duplicates when updating feeds, when to
remove older articles, and which CSS style
sheet to use for displaying the articles.

Check for updates: Set how often you want

DEVONthink to refresh your feeds.
Convert categories to tags: Some RSS
articles have tag metadata to help people
more easily navigate the publisher's site.
Check this option to convert these to
DEVONthink tags. Note this can add a Here you can define custom metadata fields

great number of tags to your database. that can be assigned to your documents.

Remove articles: Set how often older

articles are removed from the feed. Check CUSTOM METADATA

Also unread articles to remove them, even

The Custom Metadata column contains a
if they're unread.
range of built-in fields, ready to use or modify,
Feed Format: Choose a file format for
as needed. These cover a variety of common
the downloaded articles. (RSS articles are
uses and a list of the pre-defined fields can
presented as HTML files, by default.) Check
be found in the Data section of the appendix.
Use clutter-free layout to try to remove
unwanted ads, etc. from the article. Enable any field by checking the checkbox
Feed Style Sheet: For HTML (Feed Format: next to it. Use the buttons below the Custom
Automatic) articles, DEVONthink comes Metadata column for extra options:
with multiple styles for displaying them.
Add: Click the + to create and name a new
You can use your own RSS stylesheets by
custom field.
placing them into ~/Library/Application
Remove: Click the - to remove any field.
Support/DEVONthink 3/StyleSheets.
When deleting a field, a warning will be
displayed. This warning can be suppressed.
Action: Select any field and click for
more options, including duplicating and
renaming the selected field.

The order of the fields is also the order in

which they appear in the Info inspector.

Note: These options are also available from

the contextual menu.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 162

PROPERTIES EMAIL
Use these controls to modify the properties
of the selected field.

Identifier: This is a special name used in

automating with AppleScript. The term is
derived from the field's name, and cannot
be entered or modified manually.
Type: This is the specific type of the
current field. Choose one of twelve data
types, such as Date, Boolean, Decimal
Number, or Languages.
Use these options to define how email is
Format: Only displayed with certain data
imported and displayed inside DEVONthink.
types, you can choose some pre-defined
formats, like Percent. With the Currency
CONVERSATIONS
option, you will have an option to enter a
currency symbol. Import complete conversations:
Values: Only displayed with the Single- DEVONthink can import not only selected
line Text and Set types, define a list of email messages, but also other messages
items to choose from. These choices will be related to a conversation. Check this box to
displayed in a dropdown menu when in use. let DEVONthink scan your Sent Messages
Add and remove the items with the + and - folder and import sent messages that
buttons. Control-click an item to change it. belong to the same conversation.
Group conversation threads: Check this
Note: Please refer to the Data section for
option to combine all messages belonging
more detailed information on the data
to a conversation thread into a group. This
types.
makes identifying conversations easier
and automatically adds structure to the
imported messages.

Note: These features only work if the email

program maintains references to previous
messages sent.

MESSAGES

Previously imported will become

replicants: Check this option to import
previously imported messages again as
replicants. When this option is unchecked,

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 163

 DEVONthink skips previously imported contain tables or footers formatted with
messages. spaces.
Use alternative view: Check this option to Color quoted text: Check to mark text
view email messages as text alternative by quoted from previous recipients in
default. messages. Click the color buttons to
change the color for first, second, and third
MESSAGE CONTENT level quotes.
Labels: Select which labels you want to
Fallback text encoding: When decoding
assign to messages that were flagged
an email message, DEVONthink uses
or marked as "high priority". Since items
the message's encoding information.
can only have one label at a time, flagged
When there is no encoding information,
messages are treated as more important
DEVONthink uses the encoding that you
than messages marked as "high priority".
set in this pop-up menu.
Download remote images in HTML Note: The first two options above only
messages: Check to store the image modify the display of email messages in
references required by HTML messages the text view. By default, messages are
in the database. Spammers and other displayed using QuickLook.
unfriendly agencies may use these images
to track if you have read the message.
OCR
Therefore this is unchecked by default.
Decrypt secure messages: Check this to
decrypt and file secure email messages.
This allows DEVONthink to search or apply
AI-based functions such as Classify or See
Also to them.

Note: The email message will be stored

decrypted in the database package.
Its contents are available from within
DEVONthink and to other applications or
Spotlight.
DEVONthink contains an optical character
recognition (OCR) module that allows you to
FONT, QUOTED TEXT, LABELS
import scanned documents and make them

Use fixed-width font for plain text searchable. These documents are "read" by

messages: Check to show plain text the embedded OCR engine and stored as PDF

messages using a fixed-width font such files that contain an additional (invisible) text

as Courier. This is useful if the messages layer with the recognized, computer-readable
text. Use these options to fine tune the OCR
process.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 164

You can import scanned documents, or scan When checked, the metadata entry dialog
them directly from within DEVONthink. will appear whenever you scan a document
or import an image file with OCR. You may
CONVERT INCOMING SCANS want to switch this option off when you are
scanning/importing multiple files in a batch.
Check Convert to searchable PDF to
apply OCR to file that have been sent Note: Information you enter in this dialog
to DEVONthink from a known scanning will be available to Spotlight and can
software, e.g., ScanSnap Home. Choose be changed in the Preview application.
the desired format of the resulting file: The title field will be used to name the
searchable PDF, RTF document, Word document, the keywords will go into the
document, or WebArchive. Comments field, and the creation date will
become the creation date of the document
ORIGINAL DOCUMENT in DEVONthink. You can access this
information in the Document Properties
Check Move to Trash if you want DEVONthink
panel.
to move the original documents to the trash
after they have been successfully imported Check Compress PDF to apply compression
using OCR. If files are converted by OCR to the resulting PDF, creating a smaller
within the database, the original document file. Compression only applies when
is deleted from the database. If files are adding metadata post-OCR or preserving
converted at import, the original document is annotations from an original PDF after OCR.
moved to the Finder's trash. Using this option
is a great way to prevent your incoming RESOLUTION
group/folder or database from growing
Set the desired resolution for the image layer
cluttered after OCR is done.
in the PDF. Only values between 150 and 300
Note: This option cannot delete files dpi are allowed.
received from the ScanSnap software.
AUTO CORRECT
SEARCHABLE PDF
Check Deskew to allow DEVONthink to
Check Enter metadata after text recognition attempt to straighten the resulting PDF.
to metadata entry dialog whenever a PDF is
Check Page Orientation to allow DEVONthink
imported using OCR. Use this dialog window
to detect and correct the page orientation.
to enter the preferred document name, the
author of the document, and any keywords
DICTIONARY AND LANGUAGES
describing the document. You can also adjust
the timestamp of the PDF to the actual date Custom Dictionary: Check Use Dictionary to
of the paper document. The dialog window use a custom dictionary of acceptable words.
is shown when OCR processing has been For example, you may have an unusual spelling
completed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 165

of someone's name in some documents. You IMPRINTER
can enter the name as an acceptable choice
for the OCR engine to choose from.

Click the Configure button to add custom

entries for OCR detection. Note you can
only have one dictionary, specified for the
language chosen in the Language dropdown.

Languages: The Languages section of the

OCR preferences lets you identify the
languages of the documents you scan
in. DEVONthink's OCR engines uses this Imprints are custom bits of data that can be
information to improve the accuracy of stamped onto images or the pages of PDF
the text recognition. DEVONthink comes documents. Imprints can be used in a variety
with more than 150 different language of ways, from stamping when an invoice was
dictionaries. paid to adding specialized numbering. With
the ability to include placeholders, you can
Select the languages you intend to scan or
create many kinds of watermarks for your
import with OCR. Set a primary language
documents.
and add one or more secondary languages
using the pop-up menu . Simply select the
CONFIGURATIONS
languages you want to use from the list
on the right (Available) and move them to This column lists any custom imprints
the left side (Selected) using the right-to- you've already created. Click an existing
left arrow button. To deactivate a selected configuration to change its appearance or
secondary language, select it from the list location on future documents, or click and
on the left and move it to the right using the release to change the name. Use the buttons
arrow button. You can select a maximum of below the Configurations column for extra
four secondary languages. options:

Note: The primary language and the Add: Click the + to create and name a new
secondary languages are treated equally. custom field.
Action: Select any field and click for
more options, including duplicating,
renaming, and deleting the selected
configuration. A special item in the menu,
New Combined Configuration is discussed
below.
Preview: Click this button to see an
example of the imprint, as specified by the
current settings.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 166

New Combined Configuration: Found in the can be reordered easily by dragging and
action menu, this option allows you to create dropping.
new imprints from your existing ones. This Font: In the Font options, choose the
extends the usefulness of existing imprints. font, weight, color, and other styling for
the watermark. If you choose the outline
From the action menu, select the New
style, you can choose the Thickness of the
Combined Configuration option. Two panes
outline.
will be displayed: Combined and a second
Border Style: Choose and style a pre-
Configurations pane. In the righthand pane,
defined border, if desired. When using a
select an existing configuration and click
border, you can also specify the border
the < button to add it to the Combined pane
Color and Thickness and an optional Fill
in the center. To remove an item from the
color.
Combined pane, select it and press the >
button. It will reappear in the Configurations Note: There is only one font style for the
pane on the right. Combined items will be watermark. You cannot have mixed styles,
displayed in the order you add them. To see e.g., displaying one word larger or in a
what the imprint looks like, press the Preview different color.
button.
LOCATION
Note: DEVONthink remembers the location
and styling of the individual imprints in a In the Location tab, choose and fine-tune the
combined configuration. position of the watermark, as well as on what
pages it will appear.
GENERAL OPTIONS
Position: Choose a general position for the
Check Duplicate item before imprinting to imprint to appear on the document.
duplicate the document before imprinting it. Offset X/Y: Fine-tune the position of the
watermark. Negative values are to the left
APPEARANCE (X) and down (Y). Positive values are to the
right (X) and up (Y).
Use these controls to define the parts of the
Rotate: Set your imprint on an angle, if
watermark, its font attributes, and the style
desired.
of a containing box, if desired.
Occurrence: Choose what pages the

Title: This is the body of the imprint. Type imprint should appear on. Use Custom to

any static text you want to appear in the have the imprint appear on specific pages.

imprint. Right-click > Insert Placeholder

to define sections of the watermark with
placeholders. Any of these items can be

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 167

SERVER To learn more about using web sharing and
how best to make your database available
from the "outside" internet, please read on
here.

GENERAL

Start on Launch: To automatically start

DEVONthink's web server as soon as you
launch DEVONthink, check this checkbox.
Convert images & PDF documents
to searchable PDF: Check this to
automatically convert all images and non-
DEVONthink features a built-in web server OCRed PDF documents added from web
that allows you to share documents on your sharing users to searchable PDFs.
local area network, and optionally, over the
internet. As soon as the web server starts, BONJOUR SETTINGS
other users can use a standard web browser
Use these settings to define your
to search your database, view documents,
DEVONthink server's identity, everything
and download them.
from the name and port, to creating a
Note: In order to operate properly, certificate vouching for the "safety" of the
DEVONthink needs to be running and will server's activity.
only serve open databases.
Identity:
Enter all necessary details in the General tab
Bonjour Name: Enter a distinct name for
and define users and permissions in the Users
your computer here that identifies it on
tab. Then click the Start button to start the
the local network using Bonjour. This name
web server available to users whom you have
will be shown in the list of Bonjour services
allowed access.
on other Macs on your network. Switch
As soon as the server starts, DEVONthink to the Bookmarks view in Safari or your
shows the name and two URLs for your preferred browser and select Bonjour in the
database at the bottom of the window. sidebar.
Use either the Bonjour services list of the Bonjour Domain: Set the Bonjour domain
Bookmarks view in Safari or enter the listed if necessary. Leave this field empty unless
URLs into the address field of your web you know what you're doing.
browser to access your database. Use the Port: If left empty, DEVONthink will assign
numeric address if the Bonjour does not work a random, unused port when the server
for your network. launches. If the server will be accessed
regularly, or from outside your network,
setting a static port is suggested. As non-

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 168

 standard ports can be prohibited on some USERS
networks, consult with your IT department.

Security:

TLS Certificate: If you have a TLS

Certificate, select it from this dropdown.
P12 Certificate: If you have been issued a
P12 file, import it by clicking the Load P12
file button.
Self-signed Certificate: If you have neither,
it's possible to generate a self-signed
certificate for the server. When this option
is chosen, users connecting to the server
User List: The Users tab on the left allows you
will be prompted the certificate may be
to add and remove individual users, as well as
insecure. Instruct them to accept your
set per database permissions for them.
certificate as valid to allow their browser to
accept your server's identity. Add: Click the + button to add a new user.
Allow insecure HTTP connection on Remove: Click the - button to remove a
port: DEVONthink's server runs on SSL user.
connections for secure browsing. If you Password: Enter a login password for the
have a compelling reason to use the older selected user in the Password field under
http protocol, check this box and enter the the Databases list.
port to be used.
Note: If you have DEVONagent Pro
Note: When using the server in installed, it will be added as a default user.
administered networks, e.g., public, This allows it to search DEVONthink's
corporate, or educational scenarios, databases in the same way it searches
you may need to consult with the IT other websites.
department for successful operation.
Database Permissions: The Databases list
on the right allows you to set per-database
permissions for the selected user. All open
databases will be listed in this pane, followed
by the permissions that can be set. When a
user is selected in the Users pane, you can
set specific permissions for that user. The
permissions are as follows:

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 169

 Read: Allow the user to access the SYNC
database. When unchecked the database
will not be visible to the user.
Download: Allow the user to download
documents from the database.
Add: Allow the user to add items to the
database.
Organize: Allow the user to move around
documents and groups in the database.
Delete: Allow the user to delete items in
the database.

Note: Right-click the database's name to

quickly enable or disable all permissions for
that database. DEVONthink allows you to keep your
databases in sync with multiple Macs and
Technical Info: If you need more information
iOS devices running DEVONthink To Go. Use
on the activity of the web server, you can find
these options to control which databases are
some deeper details here.
synced, how often they're synced, with which
Server Details: The section under the locations. Learn more about synchronization
Databases pane shows some basic and how to set it up in a separate part of this
technical data about DEVONthink's server documentation.
activity.
Log: In cases where deeper technical LOCATIONS
information about the server's activities is
The first column lists all sync locations you
required, click the Log button in the lower
have set up. In addition it lists available
right corner. The log file will open in macOS'
direct connections and templates for quickly
Console application.
setting up new locations. Active locations
are checked. Disabled, inaccessible, or
unactivated locations are shown in grey.
Locations that have an encryption key
specified show a key icon to the right of the
name.

Check any location to activate it. If it is

not yet set up, DEVONthink will show a
sheet requesting all necessary details. Only
a subset of the following fields is shown,
depending on the nature of the sync location:

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 170

URL: The URL of your WebDAV volume synchronized. This is generally only used in
including path to the folder where the sync special circumstances.
store is located or shall be created. Verify uploaded items: Check to verify all
User name: The user name for the service. uploaded items to make sure that they're
Password: The password for the service. intact. Usually only necessary on very
Sync Store Name: The name of the sync unstable network connections or in case
store. If you are setting up an already you experience troubles with defective
active sync location, e.g., you've already files.
synced from another device, click the
Use the tools below the locations list for
dropdown menu to choose from a list of
more options:
existing stores.
Encryption password: The password used Add Location: Click the + icon to add
to encrypt the sync store with AES 256 bit locations not listed by default, e.g., adding
encryption. another local sync store.
Synchronize label names & colors: Check Remove Location: Select a location and
if you want to bidirectionally synchronize click - to remove the location.
label names and colors using this location. Show Info: Select a location and click to
Be aware, changes to the colors and names show and change the location properties.
on any syncing machine will sync to the
Action (Locations): The Locations
others.
Action menu also is used for information,
Synchronize reading positions: Check if
troubleshooting, and removing chosen sync
you want to bidirectionally synchronize
locations. In addition to Show Info, and
reading and playback positions using this
Remove Location, it contains these special
location. This can help you keep your place
commands:
in PDFs you're reading or audio/video you're
playing. Reveal in Finder: Opens a Finder window
Synchronize custom metadata definitions: with the chosen sync store selected. This
Check if you want to sync any custom only applies to local sync stores.
definitions found in the Preferences > Data Verify Location: Used in troubleshooting
of the higher editions of DEVONthink and situations, this quickly verifies the integrity
actively used on items in your databases. of the sync data of the chosen sync
If you are collaboratively syncing, you may location. Hold the ⌥ key to select Verify
want to disable this option to avoid the Location Thoroughly.
other party from receiving your specific Clean Location: Used in troubleshooting
metadata definitions. situations, this removes the sync data for
Synchronize content of indexed files: all databases synced to the chosen sync
Check if you want to synchronize the location.
content of indexed files using this location.
If you uncheck this option only the All the commands listed above are also

metadata about the document will be available via the contextual menu.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 171

 Note: You can also add existing local you can double-click a remote database to
sync stores (packages with the file name import it.
extension .dtCloud) by dragging them into Synchronize Database: Select a checked
the locations list, DEVONthink's Dock icon, database and click to manually sync the
or by simply double-clicking them. database with this location.
Refresh List: Refreshes the list of remote
DATABASES databases for the selected location.

The second column lists all currently open Action (Databases): The Databases Action
databases as well as all databases available menu also contains commands for importing,
remotely in the selected location. The manually synchronzing, troubleshooting, and
Local section lists all open database and a removing sync data. In addition to Import
message about their sync status, e.g, the Database, Synchronize Database, and Refresh
timestamp of the last sync. The Remote List, it also contains these commands:
section lists all databases available for import
Import Encrypted Database: Import a
or databases that are currently not open on
database as an encrypted database. You
the machine. When attempting to import the
will need to specify the maximum database
latter, the local database will be opened by
size and an encryption key. See also p. 11ff
DEVONthink.
This option can be used when importing
Check any database that you want to have any database, but it will not encrypt an
synchronized using the selected location. If unencrypted database on the source.
the database is also already available through Verify Database: Used in troubleshooting
the location, both versions of the database situations, this quickly verifies the integrity
will be merged and conflicts solved using the of the sync data of the chosen database.
chosen conflict solving strategy (see below). Hold the ⌥ key to select Verify Database
Uncheck databases you want to discontinue Thoroughly.
syncing with the selected location. Clean Database: Used in troubleshooting
situations, this removes the sync data for
Note: Unchecking databases does not
the chosen database in the current sync
remove the sync data from the location.
location.
See the Clean Database command below or
See also p. 177ff All the commands listed above are also
available via the contextual menu.
Use the tools below the locations list for
more options: Note: If you have specific databases you'd
like to remove from a sync location, e.g.,
Import Database: Select a remote
old, no longer used or test databases, the
database and click to download the data
Clean Database command can be used on
of the database and save it locally. The
select databases in the Remote section of
database will be automatically configured
the Databases list.
to sync with this location. Alternatively,

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 172

OPTIONS BONJOUR OPTIONS

Change the general sync settings, noting they

affect all locations and databases.

Synchronize: Choose if you want to

synchronize automatically, manually,
or in fixed intervals. Check On Quit or
Deactivation to automatically synchronize
when you quit DEVONthink or when you
switch to another application.
Max. Connections: Choose the maximum Click the button Bonjour Options to control

number of connections DEVONthink if and how other instances of DEVONthink or

should open. The faster your internet DEVONthink To Go can connect to your Mac.

connection the higher you can usually go. Your Mac becomes the sync host or sync

The recommended value is 16. server, the other devices the clients.

Conflicts: Choose how to solve the conflict

Enable incoming connections: Check to
if an item was changed both locally and
let other devices connect to your copy of
remotely. Use latest document preserves
DEVONthink and synchronize.
the most recently changed document.
Open databases automatically: Check
Duplicate documents keeps both versions
to open databases automatically if the
of the conflicting item and appends "copy"
connecting side (client) requests it.
to the end of one's filename.
Port: If needed you can change the IP port

Note: The number of maximum number used for incoming connections.

connections used is controlled by the Leave empty to let DEVONthink choose the

service you're using. best port number for you (recommended).

Password: Set the password necessary to
connect to your instance of DEVONthink
(mandatory). This password is also used for
AES-256-bit-encrypting the connection at
all times.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 173

 TROUBLESHOOTING

IN THIS CHAPTER Also, while DEVONthink supports importing

many different file types, there are
Problems importing files 174
thousands of types and we can't guarantee
Email import does not work as
trouble-free importing or usefulness with
expected 175
every type.
Unlocking a database 176
Problems using Services 176
WHY DOES DEVONTHINK NOT DISPLAY MY
Sync Issues 177
DOCUMENT CORRECTLY?
Repairing a defective database 181
DEVONthink crashes 184 DEVONthink uses Apple's Quick Look
DEVONthink behaves irrationally 184 technology to display previews of many
file formats. If a document is not properly
DEVONthink was created with robustness
displayed, especially if it is a proprietary file
in mind. But any computer hardware or
format, it may be you don't have a Quick
software, regardless of how carefully
Look plugin installed for this file type or
developed and built, can write defective data
the application that created the file is not
or destroy files. If you have some general
installed on your Mac (and supports Quick
questions about DEVONthink, sales and
Look). Control-click the file and choose Show
licensing, etc., plase check out our Questions
In Finder to reveal it. With the file selected
and Answers section on our site. If you
in the Finder, press the spacebar to open a
experience specific technical problems with
Quick Look window to determine if the item
DEVONthink or its databases, please check
is viewable.
the following sections.

WHY ISN'T MY PDF WORKING?

PROBLEMS IMPORTING FILES
Bad PDFs: PDFs have been around so long,

WHY DOES DEVONTHINK NOT RECOGNIZE it would seem they'd be easily supported in

MY FILES? DEVONthink. However, the truth is there are

many bad PDFs out there. If you encounter a
If DEVONthink does not recognize a file, make bad PDF, try acquiring a new copy of the file.
sure the file has a proper file name extension.
DEVONthink needs a file name extension to No Text: You will receive a "No Text" log

determine the file type. Add the correct file message with PDFs having no text layer, i.e.,,

name extension to your files (e.g., .txt for scans that have not had OCR run on them.

plain text files, .rtf for rich text files, .pdf In order for their text to be searchable, you

for PDFs and .doc for Microsoft Word files) must run OCR on them.

and try again.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 174

Protected PDFs: DEVONthink cannot extract Importing takes a long time or stalls:
the text part of print- or edit-protected Importing email is not a trivial process. Not
PDFs. When you import these PDFs, you get a only does it copy the message into your
log entry that tells you that the file contains database, but it also reads and analyzes
"no text". When you select these PDFs in the entire contents of each one. If you are
DEVONthink, the status bar shows Image importing a large mailbox, the process could
instead of PDF+text. cause a timeout.

One potential solution for this problem is To increase the timeout to five minutes,
Michele Balistreri's PDFKey. It allows you to please enter this in /Applications/
print protected PDFs. Use PDFKey to "print" a Utilities/Terminal.app (each as a
PDF file into a new PDF that is both printable separate command) while DEVONthink is not
and editable, which allows DEVONthink to running:
extract the text for searching and classifying.
Terminal:
Note: There are sometimes questions
$ defaults write com.devon-
regarding the PDF functionality available
technologies.think3
in other applications. DEVONthink uses MailImport.FetchTimeout -float 300
Apple's PDFKit framework, the same as
$ defaults write com.devon-
found in their Preview application. If you
technologies.think3 MailImport.Timeout -
have an issue with a PDF in DEVONthink,
float 300
check to see if you have the same issue
in Preview. Other applications, including Another possibility is to split the mailbox

those from Adobe where PDFs were into multiple smaller ones. Lastly, you don't

invented, are using their own frameworks. have to import the entire mailbox at once.
Importing smaller batches often proves to be
less taxing on the machine's resources.
EMAIL IMPORT DOES NOT
WORK AS EXPECTED Why can't I import from email application
X?: Inter-application communication,
Messages aren't imported or can't be filed:
something at which DEVONthink excels, isn't
Email messages are imported with a special
universally developed. In order for more true
identifier (UUID) that helps DEVONthink
automation between applications to occur,
keep track of messages that have already
the developers need to implement robust
been imported. Since a UUID must be unique,
and reliable mechanisms, like AppleScript.
you can't have more than one file with that
Some apps may provide simple URL schemes
identifier. If you try to import the same
but they are limited in use and capabilities,
message into a database, you will receive
often only able to process one file at a time.
a logged message stating "n emails already
Better results can usually be had by merely
imported".
dragging and dropping. For email clients with
a good AppleScript dictionary, the potential
for streamlined workflows is increased.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 175

 Note: If you are running macOS Mojave or other databases, do a Spotlight search for
later, you will need to give permissions for kind:database dtBase2.
the Apple Mail plugin to access your email. Select the database file and press ⌘I to
Quit DEVONthink. show the Info pane.
Quit Apple Mail. At the bottom, you'll see Sharing &
Enable Full disk access in System Permissions. Click the lock icon to unlock
Preferences > Security > Privacy for it. You will be prompted to enter your
DEVONthink. administrative password. (This is the
Launch DEVONthink and install (or password you use to log into your account
reinstall) the Mail plugin from the on your Mac.)
DEVONthink > Install Add-Ons. Make sure the account marked (Me) is set
Launch Apple Mail and enable the plugin to Read & Write.
via Apple Mail > Preferences > General > Click the Action menu and choose Apply to
Manage Plug-ins. enclosed items, if it is available, then close
the Info pane.
Double-click the database file to reopen it
UNLOCKING A DATABASE
in DEVONthink.
If you open DEVONthink and see an icon of a
crossed pencil to the right of the database's If this does not resolve the issue, please

name, the database has a file permissions contact our support team.

issue. This makes the database readable,

but not writeable, so you can't modify the PROBLEMS USING SERVICES
contents in any way.
WHY DO THE SERVICES MENU COMMANDS
A permissions issue like this uncommon
SHOW NO SHORTCUTS?
but generally caused by three events, in
order from most to least common: restoring They should; however, the keyboard shortcuts
from Apple's Migration Assistant, restoring for Services menu commands are only
from Time Machine, or an operating system requested by the supplying application.
or hardware error. Doing things like using macOS assigns these shortcuts and has
Migration Assistant will not always cause a ultimate control over which application
permissions issue, but if you have a crossed or service gets what. If the DEVONthink
pencil icon and you've recently migrated to a Services menu items do not have shortcuts
new machine, this would be the likely cause. assigned, it is likely that macOS assigned
these shortcuts to another command, or
To resolve the issue, do this:
that they are used by the current active

Close the database in DEVONthink. application.

Locate your database. If it's the Global

Inbox, it's located in ~/Library/
Application Support/DEVONthink 3. For

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 176

WHY DO SPECIFIC SERVICES NOT APPEAR a remote service, the Sync Store Name
IN THE MENU? dropdown should list available sync stores
to choose from.
The operating system relies on information
Make sure you're using the correct
supplied by the current application to
encryption key value for the sync location.
determine which services should be shown
See also p. 180ff
in the Services menu. For some applications,
Make sure you have sufficient space for
often those developed for both Mac and
sync data, especially when using cloud
Windows, this information may not be
accounts.
what's anticipated. When this occurs, certain
services may not be present. For example,
VERIFY & CLEAN
selecting text on a web page in Firefox will
display the service DEVONthink: Take Plain Verifying: If there is an issue reported with
Note. The same text on the same page syncing, e.g., broken structures or missing
in Safari will show that option as well as manifests, you can verify the sync data to
DEVONthink: Take Rich Note. see if it's intact and consistent. Verification
is a good first step in these cases. The results
of a verification will be reported in the log
SYNC ISSUES
window.
DEVONthink's synchronization was designed
to run in self-maintenance mode. If you are Cleaning: If the verification fails, you can

having issues syncing your DEVONthink clean the sync location or database to

databases, the first place to look is Windows remove the sync data in that location. The

> Log. Most sync related errors and reports results of the clean will be reported in the

will be shown here. Log window. After a successful clean, you can
upload the database(s) again.
Below we cover some things you can check
for the type of sync method you're using as Note: To ease anyones' mind, cleaning a

well as some common questions you may sync location has no effect on the local

have. databases on your devices. Sync data is

not your database and is separate from the

THINGS TO TRY FIRST local databases on your devices, Mac and

mobile.
Here are a few general things to try when you
have a sync issue: To verify or clean sync data, open Preferences
> Sync and…
Check your network connections, including
trying to log into a remote service. Sync Location: To clean or verify all

Reboot the computer the sync data from a specific location,

For non-Bonjour and non-iCloud sync Control-click it and choose the appropriate

locations, make sure you're entering the command. For a verification you can

correct store name. When logged into hold the ⌥ Option key and choose Verify

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 177

 Location Thoroughly to perform a deeper Make sure you have entered the same
verification of the sync data. For a remote password that you have set in the server
sync location, there may be a pause while a Mac's Bonjour options. See also p. 170ff
connection is established. Make sure DEVONthink is running on the
Database: To clean or verify the sync data other Mac or iOS device and both devices
for a specific database, select the sync are awake.
location to display the databases list. Make sure only one device is acting as the
Control-click the specific database and Bonjour server for a given database. You
choose the appropriate command. For a should not have two devices with incoming
verification you can hold the ⌥ Option key connections enabled trying to serve the
and choose Verify Database Thoroughly to same databases.
perform a deeper verification of the sync Make sure the databases you want to
data. Repeat this with any databases, as synchronize are open on the other Mac,
needed. or enable Preferences > Sync > Bonjour
Options: Open databases automatically on
Both these actions can be used at any time,
the server Mac.
for preventative purposes or just to get a
Restart the other Mac, the iOS device, or
fresh start with syncing. Also, you may see
both.
unwanted databases in the Remote section
Make sure this computer is connected to
of the databases list for a sync location.
the same network as the other syncing
Cleaning the location will remove these
device.
databases too. But if you want to keep the
Make sure any firewalls or applications
sync data for your current databases, you can
like Little Snitch are allowing traffic from
Control-click and clean specific databases in
DEVONthink.
the Remote section.
Check if there are any routers or switches
involved. The more switches and routers
BONJOUR
the less reliable the connection due to

Bonjour syncs are generally transparent, port filtering, conflicts, or other unknown

but it can only be used on a local network factors.

that allows Bonjour traffic and non-standard Restart your router.

ports. Many public networks disallow this

If you find yourself on a network that
kind of traffic to protect their customers.
disallows Bonjour syncing, it is possible to
Also, corporate networks will often disallow
connect your iOS device to your Mac via your
this traffic for security reasons.
Lightning cable. This creates a simple ad-

Note: Bonjour connections cannot be used hoc network that will allow Mac-to-mobile

over VPN. This is technologically infeasible, syncing. If you are in a corporate situation,

at least at the moment. please discuss this with your IT department

to ensure you're not violating any security
policies. They may also issue an exception

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 178

for a specific port you could use for Bonjour WEBDAV
syncing. This port would be entered in the
Our support for WebDAV services allows
Port section of the Bonjour options.
you to use cloud services that are WebDAV-
enabled. It also presents some self-hosting
ICLOUD
options, even with some NAS devices.
Since your devices are generally signed into However, they can sometimes be technically
your Apple ID, using iCloud for syncing is more difficult to implement. Here are some
the easiest to set up. However, it should be things to check:
understood it can only be used for personal
Make sure the service or device you're
syncing. Collaborative syncing is not possible
trying to connect to is reachable. This is
unless all participants are sharing an Apple ID.
especially true when self-hosting. If you see
Also, syncing to iCloud is done locally first, errors in the 500 range in the Log window,
the operating system will then upload the it's a problem with the remote server.
changes to Apple's servers and propagate Make sure you are using the proper
the information about it to all other devices. protocol in the URL, http:// or https://.
It generally happens smoothly and in the Make sure the URL is complete. This will
background but it means you can't expect the be specific to the device or service you're
changes to be ready on other devices as soon using. For a Synology NAS, for example,
as DEVONthink has finished synchronizing to you have to add the target volume to
iCloud. the path (a valid URL would look like:
http://diskstation.local:5005/
Here are a few things to check:
research). Refer to the service or

Make sure you have enabled DEVONthink in manufacturer's instructions for the proper

System Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Drive URL construction.

> Options on each device. Make sure you have entered your user

Make sure all syncing devices are logged credentials correctly.

into the same Apple ID.

Note: WebDAV implementations vary so

Note: Be aware iCloud can stall. This is a it's not possible to guarantee compatibility

sporadic, but documented, issue that can in all situations. For self-hosting, Apache

cause your devices to get out of sync. This implementations are the most compatible.

is not under our control, nor can we even

detect it. Please try a thorough verification DROPBOX

of the sync location first. For further help,

Dropbox is our longest supported sync
contact our support staff for assistance.
method and is generally reliable and a good
performer. However, there are a few things to
consider.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 179

According to Dropbox' rules, you cannot sync a key, is stored for that sync location. This
across user accounts. You also can't share value must be entered on other devices
the Apps folder between accounts. Also, they syncing with this sync location.
only allow our sync engine to be logged into
You can't add, remove, or modify the
one Dropbox account at a time. If you have
encryption key value for a sync location
a work and a personal account, you can only
after the first sync. If you want to make a
sync to one with DEVONthink.
change, you must clean the sync location
Log into your Dropbox account to make first. After, the clean, Control-click the sync
sure it's reachable. If you see errors in location again, choose Show Info, and make
the 500 range in the Log window, it is a the modification to the key. After the first
problem with the remote server. sync, this will be the value stored for the
Make sure you are connected to the correct location. Remember, you must change the
Dropbox account. The active account will value on the other syncing devices. And no,
be shown under the sync location's name in you do not need to do the clean on the other
the sync preferences. devices before changing the value.

Collaborative syncing may be possible using I am seeing a message about missing

a common Dropbox account, i.e., using the manifests: Missing manifests are bits of
same username and password for syncing. transactional sync data that cannot be
But again, you can only sync to one active located by the sync engine. When this occurs,
Dropbox account at a time. it can't validate the information about what
has been synced. This is not an issue with the
COMMON QUESTIONS databases. See the Verify & Clean section
above regarding verifying and cleaning the
I enabled the sync and nothing's happening:
sync data.
Our sync engine will not sync, upload or
download, without being told to. We believe It's telling me I have a duplicate database
in opt-in processes whenever possible. UUID: As noted in the glossary, a UUID is
Merely enabling a sync location just sets up a a unique value given to all DEVONthink
location to be ready to receive and transmit databases. If you copy and rename a
data. You need to enable individual databases database file in the Finder, this UUID is
to sync. If you have enabled databases to preserved and DEVONthink sees two
sync, check Window > Log for errors. databases with the same UUID. This will not
sync correctly. Please contact our support
I'm seeing a message about an invalid
team for assistance on resolving this.
encryption key: When you set up a sync
location, you have the option of entering an
encryption key. This is used to scramble and
descramble the sync data so it's stored in an
encrypted state. Once you've synced the first
time, this value, even if you aren't specifying

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 180

REPAIRING A DEFECTIVE case, the path no longer exists as the names
DATABASE in the path have changed. Changing the name
back will resolve this.
DEVONthink databases are packages
containing of your files and the supporting The second most common cause of missing
AI-based index. In rare cases this index can files is people modifying the internal contents
get corrupted or out-of-sync. But as your of a database. Some Finder replacement
files are stored separately, this is not the applications, like PathFinder, allow you to
end of the world. If your database starts access package files like normal folders.
behaving strangely, or if DEVONthink finds The internals can also be accessed by other
inconsistencies during start-up, it is time for methods, like the command line or the
some housekeeping. Finder's contextual menu. If you delete or
reorganize anything, you can easily cause
First we'll deal with the two common terms
missing files.
you'll see in a repair process: missing and
orphaned files. Then we'll give you steps to Dealing with missing files: Missing files are
try and restore some order in your databases. reported in DEVONthink's Window > Log. To
deal with these files, Control-click the item
MISSING FILES in the Log window and choose one of two
options:

Reveal: Reveals the item in the expected

location in the database. If the View/Edit
pane is visible, the expected file path is
shown beneath a document thumbnail.
This path is especially useful when dealing
with missing indexed files as it shows the
All documents in a DEVONthink database
path in the Finder from which the file was
have a path the file system where their
indexed. If the path shows the file inside
content file is located. This path is stored
a Files.noindex directory, you may use the
for every document, imported or indexed. If
following option if the file is of no concern
DEVONthink can't find a file at a path stored
or contact our support team.
in its index, it will be reported as missing.
Move to Trash: If the missing file is of no
The most common cause of missing files is value to you, this command moves the
indexed files being moved in the Finder, or file to the database's Trash. Then choose
the indexed parent folder being renamed. In the DEVONthink > Empty Trash command
the first case, the file isn't in the location it to completely remove the file from the
was indexed from. Moving the file back into database.
place will resolve this issue. In the second

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 181

ORPHANED FILES Note: Modifying the internal contents
of a database outside DEVONthink is
Just as with any database application,
unsupported behavior and can lead to
controlling the data flow in and out is a
broken or inconsistent databases. You
critical process. DEVONthink should be the
should only get into a database's internals
gatekeeper of the files in its databases. If an
when instructed to by our support team.
external agent, whether and application or
a user, adds files outside DEVONthink, they
STEP 1: VERIFY & REPAIR
will cause an internal inconsistency and lead
to orphaned files when following the steps As a first step, use >File > Verify & Repair
below. Database to check your database's
consistency and allow DEVONthink to take
The most common cause of orphaned files
all necessary steps to repair any discovered
is a simple and common one: attempting to
problems. This check will include reporting
create revisions. Say you open a file, a Word
any missing files, as discussed above, and
document, in an external application. As
importing any orphaned files. If Verify &
you are reading it, you decide to make some
Repair Database was able to repair your
changes. You type your edits, and select File
database, use File > Optimize to optimize
> Save As (or File > Duplicate the file first).
your database and have DEVONthink create
The application most commonly will open
an internal copy of the index.
the Save dialog in the location of the original
file, in this case, inside the internals of the Note: Verify & Repair isn't just for
database. You have just created an orphaned emergencies. Running this command on an
file DEVONthink knows nothing about. So the occasional basis is not a bad idea. In fact,
question becomes, how do I create a revision if you're a fairly heavy user of DEVONthink,
without causing this issue? running it weekly or bi-weekly does no
harm. It's just a routine checkup.
Duplicate: Duplicate the item in
DEVONthink first. If Verify & Repair was not successful or your
Rename: Rename the duplicated item. problems are not resolved, proceed with the
This can be quickly done by immediately next step.
pressing ↩ Return, typing the change, then
pressing ↩ again. STEP 2: RESTORE FROM BACKUP
Open and Edit: Now you can open the new
DEVONthink keeps up to two copies of the
file and make your edits.
index files in case that the index is damaged
The other common cause is the same as beyond repair.
with missing files: getting into the database
To restore the index file(s) from a previously
package and adding files manually.
saved internal backup, hold the ⌥ Option key
and select File > Restore Backup. DEVONthink
presents you with a list of all available

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 182

backups. Choose the latest one and click Time Machine: Restore your database from
Open. This swaps the current set of index your Time Machine backup or whichever
files with the chosen backup metadata backup medium you use. If you don't use
(the current set of index files becomes the Time Machine, we strongly advise you to do
backup, the backup becomes the current set) so. External hard disks are cheap, and Time
so that data is never overwritten. Run File > Machine makes backing up your important
Verify & Repair to check the consistency of files quick and simple.
this index version and if everything is in the
Manual Rebuild: If you find yourself in the
right order use File > Optimize to optimize
unfortunate situation where you have no
your database and have DEVONthink create a
backups, it may be possible to rebuild your
fresh internal copy of the good index.
database manually, following these steps:
If the backed-up index files are also defective,
Locate the database (.dtBase2 file) in the
try the other backups, if available. If all
Finder.
backups are broken or corrupted, proceed
Rename the file by adding, e.g., an xto the
with the next step.
beginning of the name.
Control-click the database and choose
STEP 3: REBUILD YOUR DATABASE
Show Package Contents in the contextual
Since your files and DEVONthink's index menu.
are stored independently within the Copy the most recent backup folder where
database package, the index can be rebuilt your database is located.
at any time without you losing metadata. Copy the Files.noindex folder into the
However, we generally only suggest this when copied Backup folder.
troubleshooting a database issue. Rename the copied Backup folder to the
previously used name and add the file
To rebuild the database from scratch, use
extension .dtBase2, okaying the extension
File > Rebuild Database. During the rebuild
when prompted.
process, the index is completely recreated.
Double-click the new database file to open
Your actual files are not touched. Any
it in DEVONthink.
problems that occur during this process are
Use File > Verify & Repair to ensure that the
logged. Also, a new backup metadata set will
database is operating properly.
be created at the beginning of the rebuild.

STEP 5: CONTACT SUPPORT

STEP 4: RECOVER OR MANUAL REBUILD
If none of the above steps helped solving
If everything above failed, your database is
the problems you have with your database,
severely damaged. You have basically two
please contact us with a precise-as-possible
options:
description of your problem.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 183

 Note: In a worst case scenario, if you do not DEVONTHINK BEHAVES
have a current backup of your documents IRRATIONALLY
and a manual rebuild didn't work, you can
No software on this planet is bug-free, and
rescue your files manually, but you will lose
if an application behaves irrationally there
any group structure. To manually copy your
is a good chance that your have just found a
files from the defective database, show the
bug. But there could also be another cause:
database package in the Finder, Control-
The application package could have become
click it, and choose Show package contents
damaged during an update or through a bug
from the contextual menu. Copy the files
in a totally unrelated piece of software on
in the Files.noindex subfolder, which are
your computer.
sorted by kind, to a safe location, e.g., the
desktop. If you want, you can create a new
STRANGE APPLICATION BEHAVIOR
database, re-import the files, but you will
have to rebuild the database's structures, If you see odd behavior like
tags, etc.
menus disappearing or silently refusing to
do anything,
DEVONTHINK CRASHES windows showing graphical artifacts,
or applications not opening at all or
If DEVONthink crashes while it's running,
opening with strange error messages,
please hold the ⌥ Option key and choose
Help > Report Bug. the first step is to reboot the machine.

If DEVONthink crashes on startup, there is no If that doesn't resolve the issue, try deleting
opportunity for you to use our bug reporting DEVONthink's preferences files. Please quit
mechanism. However, you can manually DEVONthink, launch Terminal app, and enter
retrieve the crash logs: this:

In the Finder, hold the ⌥ Option key and Terminal:

select Go > Library.
$ defaults delete com.devon-
Open the Logs/DiagnosticReports folder
technologies.think3
and locate the most recent crash report for
DEVONthink. (The date and time is in the Note: Rebooting a machine can often
filename.) cure a host of issues, closing down rogue
Attach the crash log when you start a processes, releasing memory, etc. We
support ticket. suggest rebooting your devices at least
once a week, just to mitigate potential
In either case, please try to reproduce the
issues.
crash before reporting it. Also provide enough
detail about what you were doing at the time
of the crash.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 184

STRANGE BEHAVIOR RELATED TO If you have checked the appropriate sections
DOCUMENTS and didn't find your issue or a resolution,
please do the following: Hold the ⌥ Option
If the strange behavior only happens with
key and choose Help > Report Bug. This
a particular document, it is possible the
creates a draft email, ready to send to us,
document is damaged, was created in a very
containing troubleshooting information and
old or extremely new file format that is no
logs.
longer or not yet properly supported, or uses
a damaged or malfunctioning Quick Look Note: The industry standard turnaround
plugin. in software development is 48 business
hours, i.e., weekends excluded. However,
Please file a support ticket and attach
we usually respond earlier. Thanks for your
the document in question, packaged as
patience and understanding.
a .zip archive, so that we check to see if the
problem lies with DEVONthink or if it the file
itself.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 185

 AUTOMATION

IN THIS CHAPTER extraordinary. This mature but easy to learn

technology is the one we will focus on. See
AppleScript 187
also p. 187ff
Basic AppleScript Terminology 188
Internal Scripts 191 Smart Rules: DEVONthink also offers
Triggered Scripts 191 a technology for those with little to no
Reminder Scripts 192 programming experience: smart rules. Smart
Toolbar Scripts 192 rules are conceptually similar to smart groups
Smart Templates 193 but allow you to choose pre-defined actions
Smart Rules 195 to take on matched items. This makes them
Smart Rule Scripts 196 accessible to all users, while still providing
Apple Mail Rules 198 AppleScript execution in the smart rules.
Application Scripts 199 They also allow automation based on events.
Folder Actions 200 See also p. 195ff
Automator 201
Item Links: While not an automation
Item links 202
technology in itself, item links are item-
URL Commands 203
specific identifiers in DEVONthink that can
Automation. No matter how efficient we be used in automation. Providing a way to
are, there is always some process that could refer to files by a unique and unchanging
be done more quickly, and sometimes more value, they can help avoid automation
accurately. This may be as simple as renaming problems when items are moved or renamed
a file, or as complex as filing, emailing, and in your databases. See also p. 202ff
archiving. While not everything can be
JavaScript: In addition to AppleScript,
automated, and careful thought should go
JavaScript for Automation (JXA) is
into your automation plans, DEVONthink
supported. However, it is bridged by the
offers a level of automation capabilities rarely
operating system from AppleScript,
rivaled in other Mac applications.
not specifically coded for. We advocate
AppleScript: Most of DEVONthink is built AppleScript for its ease of use by new and
on a solid foundation of AppleScript. Not less-experienced programmers.
only used in the scripts you can install from
On a side note, our AppleScript dictionary
DEVONthink > Install Add-Ons, they are
has a do JavaScript command you can use
also at the core of several pre-installed
to interact with web content viewed in a
templates. Additionally, in conjunction with
DEVONthink window. With a bit of creativity,
other AppleScript-enabled applications,
some pretty amazing things can be done!
the potential for automation on your Mac is

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 186

AppleScript Objective-C: This is supported, by choosing DEVONthink > Install Add-Ons.
for those who are inclined that direction. The scripts from this panel are installed in a
number of locations:
Terminal: For those who are into other
technologies, like Python, bash, Ruby, etc., Script Menu Extra Scripts: These scripts
the question arises: Is there a command line are accessed from the global Script menu
interface (CLI) for DEVONthink? The answer when you are in specific applications, e.g.,
is no. However, you can still use a do shell Safari. They are installed in an application-
script command in AppleScript when needed. specific subfolder of ~/Library/Scripts/
Actually, the combination of the shell and Applications. See also p. 199ff
AppleScript creates even more opportunities, Folder Action Scripts: These scripts are
as their individual strengths compensate for used to created hot folders in the Finder.
the other's weaknesses. They are installed in ~/Library/Scripts/
Folder Action Scripts. See also p.
200ff
APPLESCRIPT
Apple Mail Rule Scripts: These scripts
AppleScript is an automation technology for use with Apple Mail Rules. They are
introduced by Apple in 1993. Over the years it installed in ~/Library/Application
has matured and become the friend of many Scripts/com.apple.mail. See also p.
Mac users wanting to exert more control over 198ff
their computing experience. Written in an
easy to learn, almost conversational language, DEVONthink Scripts: The internal scripts

it offers a tremendous amount of power with found in DEVONthink's Scripts menu are

less effort than many languages. DEVONthink installed in ~/Library/Application

has very robust AppleScript support and Scripts/com.devon-technologies.think3.

comes with many built-in scripts. These, and The scripts will be found in one of four

those you write or obtain, make it possible directories:

to automate nearly every aspect of the

Menu: These are the scripts found in
application, and to integrate the application
DEVONthink's Script menu. See also p.
with almost every other macOS application
191ff
that supports AppleScript.
Toolbar: These scripts are available to add
as toolbar buttons. See also p. 192ff
INSTALLATION
Reminders: These scripts will be executed

Add-On Scripts: All add-on scripts that when a reminder is triggered with an alarm

come with DEVONthink are automatically of Execute External Script. See also p.

installed or updated when you open a new 192ff

version of DEVONthink for the first time. Smart Rules: These scripts are used as

You can, however, manually (re-)install them External Scripts in the actions of smart
rules. See also p. 195ff

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 187

Additional scripts, like those you write LEARNING APPLESCRIPT
yourself, can be put into any of these
While this documentation is not an
folders to be used in these contexts. Other
AppleScript language guide, all the scripts
scripts that may include integration with
that come with DEVONthink are editable
DEVONthink can be located wherever it's
and can be explored or modified as you see
convenient.
fit. The separate sections in this chapter
provide any required terminology and a
SCRIPT SHORTCUTS
simple example script or two. Additionally,
Many people like mousing around their there are some great resources available
applications, while others like to use their online and in print. For the official archived
keyboards. If you want to add keyboard documentation, refer to Apple's AppleScript
shortcuts to scripts in this menu, you have web site. Some additional resources are listed
two options: below:

System Preferences: Open System Online:

Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App
DEVONtechnologies Community
Shortcuts. Add a shortcut for DEVONthink,
MacScripter
enter the exact name of the menu item,
AppleScript, the Language of Automation
and assign a hotkey.
TECsoft Hands-On Trainings
Append Filename: Locate the script in
the Finder and append three underscores Books:
followed by abbreviated command keys and
AppleScript: The Missing Manual
characters. For example, eMail Current
AppleScript: The Definitive Guide
URL___Cmd-Alt-F2.scpt. The command
key abbreviations are as follows: Cmd
stands for the ⌘ Command, Alt or Opt for BASIC APPLESCRIPT
the ⌥ Option, Ctrl for the ⌃ Control, and TERMINOLOGY
Shift for the ⇧ Shift keys.
AppleScript is not a difficult language

Note: When using macOS Mojave, you to learn. Its plain English approach of

will often be prompted by the operating "talking" to applications and elements is

system to allow applications to "control" on easily understandable. However, like any

another. These permissions are stored in language, there are some variations in the

System Preferences > Security & Privacy > words you can use; dialects, if you will.

Security > Automation. Please make sure to AppleScript is implemented by the developer

allow any requests of these kind regarding of an application, so the commands and

DEVONthink's control of other applications parameters may be conceptually the

or your automation attempts will fail for same as another application's, but using a

obvious reasons. different term. This is certainly not meant

to be a complete guide to AppleScripting

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 188

DEVONthink, but what follows are some Note: The use of the is almost always
common terms or concepts you're likely to optional, but including it can make the script
encounter. The examples here and in this seem a bit less robotic. For example, both
chapter are meant to give you basic ideas lines in this script are functionally the same:
about scripting DEVONthink.
Example:
tell application id "DNtp"
TALKING TO DEVONTHINK
set state of children of current group to
true
In AppleScript you "talk" to programs like
set the state of the children of the
DEVONthink using a tell statement,
current group to true
typically referring to an application end tell
either by its name, "DEVONthink 3",
As noted above, the dictionary is the best
or its bundle identifier, "com.devon-
place to find specific terminology to be used
technologies.think3". While these forms
with DEVONthink. However, here are two
will work, they might become incompatible
things to understand:
with a future version, e.g., DEVONthink
4, so we strongly recommend to talk to Records: Every item in a DEVONthink
DEVONthink using the application ID DNtp, database is a record, a record with
like in the following statement: properties. Do a search for "record" in the
dictionary and you'll see it's a fundamental
Example:
tell application id "DNtp" unit with a wide range of properties
close current database associated with it. This means you won't be
end tell writing code like, get the second rich
text file…. You will be dealing with records
DEVONTHINK'S DICTIONARY with a particular type, in this case rtf.

AppleScript-capable applications have their There are many commands specifically for
commands, elements, and properties listed use with records: create record with,
in an AppleScript dictionary. DEVONthink exists record with…, etc. Also note there
includes a large dictionary as a great are some commands that require the term
reference for you. To view the dictionary, record. For example: move, delete, and
open the Script Editor application, select File convert. You will see a dictionary listing move
> Open Dictionary and choose DEVONthink record, so you can see the command isn't
in the appearing window. You can also add merely move, it's move record.
DEVONthink to your Script Editor library.
Parents and Children: Another concept to
Select Window > Library, click the + button
understand is parents & children. Generally
and choose DEVONthink. This way you keep
speaking, these classes deal with the
DEVONthink's dictionary at hand.
container or the contents of some object.
The parent of an object is the group
containing it. The children of a group are

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 189

the immediate contents of that group, i.e., with a forward slash denoting the root of
it does not list the children of sub-groups. the database.
Children can be documents or groups; get record with UUID…: When using an
parents will only be groups. item link, you can use the alpha-numeric
string from the reference URL to point to
Example:
a specific item. (This command works with
tell application id "DNtp"
both groups and documents.) This form is
set thisGroup to current group
name of (the children of thisGroup whose very useful since it doesn't change when an
(type is XML)) item's name or location changes.
end tell
Example:
tell application id "DNtp"
USING LOCATIONS
set myGroup to get record at "/Inbox/New

One of the common tasks people want to Files"

import "~/Desktop/001.txt" to myGroup
perform with AppleScript is importing files
set groupTwo to get record with uuid
to a specific group. In order to direct the files
"98BBF96D-7743-46C6-9EB4-51C6EF68373C"
to a given location, you need to reference it import "~/Desktop/002.txt" to groupTwo
properly. Below are three general options for end tell

choosing a location:
WORKING WITH A SELECTION
incoming group: This targets the Global
Inbox, or the inbox of a database when Many times you want to process items
using incoming group of current you have selected in DEVONthink. Perhaps
database. you want to generate a list of names and
current group: This targets the currently dates for use in a document you're working
selected group in the current database. on. Below is a handler commonly seen in
display group selector: This shows the DEVONthink scripts:
group selector so you can choose a location
repeat with thisRecord in (selection as
on demand.
list) … end repeat: This is a very common
There are many times you want to direct files handler, used when processing a selection,
into a specific group. That group may not single or multiple items.
be the current group you're in and you may
Example:
not want to choose a destination each time.
tell application id "DNtp"
Here are two common ways of specifying
if selection is not {} then
a particular group in your database to be a set nameList to {}
destination group in your script: repeat with thisRecord in (selection as
list)
get record at…: This command allows you copy ((name of thisRecord) & ": " &
to set a variable by specifying a group's (creation date of thisRecord as string) &

location in your group structure. The return) to end of nameList

end repeat
location is a text string, always beginning

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 190

 create record with {name:"Files", ATTACHING A TRIGGERED SCRIPT
type:text, content: (nameList as string)}
in incoming group While it's possible to write a script that
end if specifies a triggered script for an item in
end tell
DEVONthink, the usual method is manually
attaching one.
INTERNAL SCRIPTS
Select the item you want to attach a script
The Scripts menu of DEVONthink, located to to.
the left of the Help menu, gives you access Select Tools > Get Info or Tools > Inspectors
to a large number of pre-made scripts, with > Generic.
more scripts available. These scripts are not Click the down arrow next to Script
only useful for every day use, but are also and choose Select. Note the script
great for learning how to script DEVONthink. can be located anywhere, but it must
remain in that location for the script
All the scripts we provide are editable
to trigger. For convenience, you can
using the Apple's Script Editor, though
create a folder for them in ~/Library/
we do suggest making copies to work
Application Scripts/com.devon-
on. They are located in ~/Library/
technologies.think3/Menus.
Application Scripts/com.devon-
technologies.think3/Menu. Open this
REMOVING A TRIGGERED SCRIPT
folder in the Finder with Scripts > Open
Scripts Folder command. Add your own Since a triggered script runs when you
scripts to the menu by adding them to the interact with the item, it can sometimes
appropriate subfolder in this directory, even be difficult to detach the script, e.g., if
creating subfolders of your own. a script switches to another application
when triggered. For instances like this, to
A complete listing of the installed scripts can
remove a triggered script from an item do the
be found here: See also p. 232ff
following:

Control-click the item you want to remove

TRIGGERED SCRIPTS
the triggered script from and choose Get
Triggered scripts are AppleScripts that you Info.
attach to an item in DEVONthink (a group Click the down arrow next to Script and
or document) and that are executed each choose Remove.
time you select the item. Items with attached
triggered scripts show an AppleScript icon TERMINOLOGY
behind their name.
Triggered scripts are defined by a specific
Using triggered scripts, you can add your handler: on triggered(var), where var is
own custom behaviors when interacting with the variable representing the item the script
items in your database. is attached to.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 191

 Example: To write an embedded script for a reminder,
on triggered(theRecord) choose Execute Embedded Script as the
tell application id "DNtp"
alarm. Click the … button and a popup will
display alert "" & (name of theRecord as
appear with a pre-built handler in place.
string)
Add your code as necessary, then press the
end tell
end triggered compile button, the one with the stylized eye,
to make sure it compiles correctly. If it does,
you will see the code format itself subtly. If
REMINDER SCRIPTS
not, you will hear a system alert. Click outside
Reminders have several pre-built alarms the popup to dismiss it. When the alarm goes
available for notifications. However, you off, the script will be executed.
can only specify one alarm per reminder.
Note: When a reminder is set to Once, the
Reminder scripts are AppleScripts run by an
reminder is removed and the embedded
alarm set on a specific reminder for an item.
script lost after the alarm goes off. If you
By using or writing your own, you can extend
have code you'd like to potentially use
notification possibilities of your reminders.
again, put it in an external script.

ADDING AN EXTERNAL SCRIPT

TERMINOLOGY
To add an external script as an alarm
Triggered scripts are defined by a specific
for a reminder, choose Execute External
handler: on performReminder(var), where
Script. The next dropdown lists any
var is the variable representing the item the
available AppleScripts in the ~/Library/
alarm is set for.
Application Scripts/com.devon-
technologies.think3/Reminders directory. Example:
Add any of your own scripts to this directory on performReminder(theRecord)
to make them available for any alarm you set. tell application id "DNtp"
set label of theRecord to 1
Currently, there is only one example script say (name of theRecord as string)
pre-installed: end tell
end performReminder
Open Document: Opens the document in a
new window when the alarm triggers.
TOOLBAR SCRIPTS
ADDING AN EMBEDDED SCRIPT Scripts can also be added to the toolbar
of any DEVONthink window. While there
Sometimes you only need to add a script for
is a limited amount of space available in
a specific purpose, not general use with all
a window's toolbar, this is a handy way to
reminders. DEVONthink allows you to quickly
launch commonly used scripts with one click.
write an ad-hoc AppleScript specifically for
the current reminder.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 192

To add a toolbar script place the one or multiple .lproj folders, one for
script into the folder ~/Library/ each supported language. Depending on the
Application Scripts/com.devon- system language, you can let DEVONthink
technologies.think3/Toolbar. In order import the files in the correct language.
for the script to be available for use in If you inspect the contents of a template
the toolbar, you must quit and relaunch package, e.g., Classifications > Decimal Filing
DEVONthink. Then Control-click the toolbar System.dtTemplate, you will see the project
of a DEVONthink window and choose folders and their assets as a great example of
Customize Toolbar. Drag your script into the this type of template.
toolbar and it's ready for use.
SMART TEMPLATES
TERMINOLOGY
The more advanced type of automated
Unlike some other script types, there are no templates are smart templates. These are
special handlers required for a toolbar script. not simple files, but actually AppleScript
You only need valid AppleScript talking to packages containing script code, and often
DEVONthink. including related assets that can be inserted
into your database. This allows for some very
Example:
powerful actions like:
tell application id "DNtp"
open tab for record (content record)
The script can add information to the built-
end tell
in template, e.g., the current date and time
or data from the web.
SMART TEMPLATES The script can act intelligently on data
on the clipboard: If it's a simple text, it
Some of the DEVONthink provided templates
adds the text; if it's a URL, it adds it to a
are "template packages" (.dtTemplate) and
different area of the document and makes
"smart templates" (.templatescriptd). Both
it clickable.
templates provide a great deal of flexibility
The script can check if a certain application
and power, like allowing for inclusion of
is installed, e.g., OpenOffice, before adding
language resources. With some creativity
a document.
and scripting know-how, you can set up
everything from commonly used group
CREATING TEMPLATES
hierarchies to daily journal entries and much
more. Template Packages: To create your own
template package, you can duplicate an
TEMPLATE PACKAGES existing template, Control-click it, choose
Show Package Contents and edit the
The simpler type of automated templates
internals as needed. Also note exporting
DEVONthink supports are: template
multiple selected files will yield a template
packages. These are folders with the file
package.
name extension .dtTemplate that contain

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 193

Smart Templates: To make your own %author%: The author entered in
smart templates, have a look at the Preferences > Editing > Author
prefabricated smart templates. Duplicate %username%: The user's name
a .templatescriptd file, like the "Note" %fullUsername%: The user's full name
template. Control-click it, and choose %organization%: The user's organization
Show Package Contents. You can inspect from Contacts
and modify the supporting assets and the %emailAddress%: The user's email
main.scpt file to fit your needs. addresses from Contacts

%host%: The host name

TEMPLATE PLACEHOLDERS
%databaseName%: The database name
Placeholders in templates are simple control %databasePath%: The database's path
codes that are replaced by DEVONthink %groupName%: The name of the parent
when a template file is imported. These group
placeholders can be used in your files, %topGroupName%: The name of the top
including simple templates, or folder group
names of your templates packages. When %clipboard%: The clipboard contents as
used in files, they are typed in the text of plain text
DEVONthink-native files; e.g., plain or rich %styledClipboard%: The clipboard
text, Markdown, etc. These can be manually contents as rich text
typed or you can Control-click in the text and %clipboardLink%: The clipboard contents
choose Insert Placeholder. Below is a list of as a clickable rich text link if the clipboard
valid placeholders: contains a valid URL

%time%: The current time Note: There are more placeholders from
%date%: The current date the contextual menu than can be used in
%shortDate%: The current date in short a template. For example, the placeholder
format %record_locality% relates to an existing
%longDate%: The current date in long record, so this placeholder will not be used
format when creating a file from a template.
%monthname%: The month name of the
Custom Placeholders: One more powerful
current date
feature of smart templates is the ability
%weekday%: The week day name of the
to define custom placeholders, extending
current date
the possibilities beyond the list shown here.
%day%: The day number of the current
This allows you to add a custom placeholder
date
in the text of a template, then define the
%month%: The month number of the
replacement value for that placeholder in the
current date
main.scpt. As a great example, check out the
%year%: The year number of the current
use of the custom %project% placeholder in
date

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 194

the Project smart template. Notice the use of An action: This is the action the smart rule
the placeholder in the enclosed rich text file performs when the event occurs.
and the script. An event: This is an event that causes an
action to occur, e.g., an "On Quit" event.
TERMINOLOGY If used in a smart rule, a specified action
would run when you quit DEVONthink.
With the internal script of a smart template,
there are no special handlers required.
CREATE A SMART RULE
However, the internal script must be located
in the Contents/Resources/Scripts folder Smart rules can be created in one of two
inside the package, and it must remain ways:
named main.scpt. Beyond that, you only
Click the + button at the bottom of the
need valid AppleScript.
sidebar and choose New Smart Rule. The
Search in dropdown will target the current
SMART RULES location.

Smart rules are smart groups‚ evolved. Built Control-click an item in the sidebar

in the same style as smart groups, smart and choose New Smart Rule from the

rules don't just show items matching criteria, contextual menu. This will specifically

they can act on them! From something target that item in the Search in dropdown.

as simple as adding (or changing) a color

Note in either case you can change the
label, to modifying a filename then filing
Search in parameter to target other
a document in another location, smart
locations, including all open databases.
rules provide some powerful automation
possibilities. And they're not just for the Note: Smart rules are considered global

technically inclined. No programming objects and can be created only in the

experience is needed for almost every action Navigate sidebar of a main window. If you

available. want to create a smart rule for a group

in the item list, choose Data > Reveal to
Smart rules are conceptually simple and can
display it in the sidebar.
be summed up as follows: When this event
occurs > do this action > on items matched > When you create a new smart rule, you will be

in this location. Smart rules are made of four shown the predicate editor, just as you see

parts: with smart groups. Just follow these simple

steps to define the parameters of the rule
A location: This is where the smart rule will
(with an example):
look for matching items.
Matching criteria: Like a smart group, you Name: Give the rule a name, like Label

can specify criteria to be matched. The Edited Screencaptures.

smart rule will only act on the matched Location: Set the Search in dropdown to

items. target your desired location, like a group

you add screen captures to. The more

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 195

 specific the better; a good idea is to use IMPORTING AND EXPORTING
e.g., a database's inbox.
Smart rules can be exported to the Finder,
Matching: Add any criteria to be matched,
sent by email, and e.g., reimported to
e.g., Name begins with screen and Kind is
DEVONthink on another Mac. Drag a smart
Image.
rule to the desktop to save it to a file or
Event: Choose an event to trigger the
Control-click it and choose Export. Double-
smart rule, like specifying On Save to run
click a saved smart rule to import it, drag
the smart rule when matched items are
it into the sidebar, or Control-click into the
saved in DEVONthink
sidebar and choose Import.
Action: Choose an action for the smart
rule, perhaps Change Name to add
"_edited" to the name. SMART RULE SCRIPTS

This rule shown above would add "_edited" Smart Rule scripts are AppleScripts run by an

as a suffix to the name of any edited images Execute Script action in a smart rule. These

whose name begins with "screen". scripts allow you to extend the possibilities
beyond the already powerful pre-defined
One step further‚ chained actions: If you actions.
hadn't noticed, there's a + button to the
right of the action you specified. And yes, Note: Smart rule scripts will be executed

that means you can chain multiple actions based on the event handler in the specific

in a smart rule! For example, we could add rule. For testing, it can be useful to set the

an action to open the edited imaged in the event to On Demand. This way you can select

system default application after it has been the rule to see its matches, then Control-click

renamed. it and choose Apply Rule to run it and see the

effects on the matched items.
Note: Bear in mind, smart rule actions run
in series, i.e., the actions run from top to Also be aware the effects of smart rules

bottom, first to last. This means the order are very broad, i.e., they affect all the items

of the actions affects the outcome. Think they match. While you are testing, it's a good

carefully about this if you decide to create idea to put some limiting criterion in place.

chained actions. For example, instead of matching all images

in all databases, try matching images in a
We hope this has given you a good overview specific group or only images that begin with
of creating a smart rule. Please see the "Screen".
appendix for a complete list of available
Events and Actions. ADDING AN EXTERNAL SCRIPT

For those interested in the Execute Script To add an external script to a smart rule,
action, continue to the next section… add an Execute Script action and choose
External. The next dropdown lists any
available AppleScripts in the ~/Library/

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 196

Application Scripts/com.devon- with HTML-based files, e.g., web archives,
technologies.think3/Smart Rules etc.
directory. Add any of your own scripts to Downloads - Add Podcasts: Add detected
this directory to make them available for any podcast links images to the Download
smart rule you define. Here is a list of the pre- Manager. Used with podcast RSS feeds
installed scripts, for everyday use and your containing download links.
education:
ADDING AN EMBEDDED SCRIPT
Check Links: Check if bookmarks are valid.
Close All Databases: Closes all databases There are times you may need to add some
but the Global Inbox. code for a specific situation. Similar to
Download Bibliographic Metadata: some other macOS utility applications,
Attempts to retrieve the digital object DEVONthink allows you to write an
identifier (DOI) of the document and set AppleScript directly in the smart rule's editor.
the title and metadata.
To write an embedded script for a smart
Move Into Database: Moves indexed files
rule, add or specify an Execute Script action
into the database.
and choose Embedded. Click the Edit Script
Move to External Folder: Moves imported
button and a popup will appear with a pre-
files out to the Finder when they're located
built handler in place. Add your code as
in an indexed group.
necessary, then press the compile button,
Reminders - Next Week: Set a reminder for
the one with the stylized eye, to make sure it
a week from the current time and date.
compiles correctly. If it does, you will see the
Reminders - Remove: Remove an applied
code format itself subtly. If not, you will hear
reminder from the matched item(s).
a system alert. When done, click outside the
Reminders - Tomorrow: Set a reminder for
popup to dismiss it
the same time tomorrow.
Tags - Add Keywords: Automatically adds Note: For those learning AppleScript, the
Tags from the concordance of the matched repeat loop in the pre-built handler is a
file. very common (and useful) code snippet for
Tags - Assign: Automatically adds tags, processing all files returned by a smart rule.
based on Apple's machine learning Take note of it.
technology for images or hashtags and
known tags in titles and content. TERMINOLOGY

Downloads - Add Embedded Images: Smart Rule scripts are defined by a specific
Add embedded images to the Download handler: on performSmartRule(var),
Manager. Used with HTML-based files, e.g., where var is the variable representing items
web archives, etc. matched by the smart rule.
Downloads - Add Linked Images: Add linked
Example:
images to the Download Manager. Used
on performSmartRule(theRecords)

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 197

 tell application id "DNtp" message it acts on as separate documents
repeat with theRecord in theRecords
to DEVONthink.
if (name of theRecord as string) contains
Mail Rule - Add links to DEVONthink: Adds
"Piglet" then
detected links in the messages as individual
set state of theRecord to true
end if bookmarks in DEVONthink
end repeat Mail Rule - Add messages to DEVONthink:
end tell Adds the messages it acts on to
end performSmartRule
DEVONthink.
Mail Rule - File messages & attachments:
APPLE MAIL RULES Adds the messages it acts on including all
attachments to DEVONthink.
When considering importing emails into your
Mail Rule - File messages & attachments
DEVONthink databases, the question of
hierarchically: Adds the messages it
"automatic" email importing invariably comes
acts on including all attachments to
up. While this isn't fully possible yet, there is
DEVONthink, recreating the mailbox
a mechanism in Apple Mail that can provide
structure.
some level of "automatic": Mail Rules.

Found in Apple Mail's Preferences > Rules, TERMINOLOGY

these are a rules consisting of criteria to be
A full lesson on writing scripts for Mail Rules
matched and an associated action (similar
is beyond the scope of this help, but you can
to smart rules). As incoming emails are
open and explore the installed scripts.
detected, Mail will check for matches in a rule
and execute any actions you've specified in Do note there are two required handlers:
the rule. using terms from application "Mail"
and on perform mail action with
One of the actions available is Run
messages theMessages for rule theRule,
AppleScript. Selecting this option shows a
where theMessages is a variable representing
dropdown with any installed Mail Rule scripts.
the items matched by the rule. Here's a
These scripts are installed in ~/Library/
simple example:
Application Scripts/com.apple.mail
folder. If you write or obtain other scripts for Example:
use with Mail Rules, they can also be placed using terms from application "Mail"

in this directory. The scripts provided by on perform mail action with messages
theMessages for rule theRule
DEVONthink are:
tell application "Mail"

Mail Rule - Add attachments to repeat with thisMessage in theMessages

display alert "" & (subject of
DEVONthink: Adds the attachment of the
thisMessage)
end repeat
end tell
end perform mail action with messages
end using terms from

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 198

 Note: Mail Rules are controlled by Apple a supported email application and choose the
Mail, not DEVONthink. While they generally desired script from the global scripts menu.
behave as expected, we can't control DEVONthink provides the following scripts:
whether the rules will be triggered in Apple
Add attachment(s) to DEVONthink: Adds
Mail.
the attachments of selected emails to
DEVONthink.
APPLICATION SCRIPTS Add mailbox(es) to DEVONthink: Adds the

AppleScript is perfectly suited for integrating selected mailboxes to DEVONthink.

different applications, interchanging Add mailbox(es) & attachments to

information, and creating workflows. DEVONthink: Adds the selected mailboxes

DEVONthink comes with a number of to DEVONthink. Attachments are imported

scripts that exchange information between separately.

DEVONthink and other AppleScript Add message(s) to DEVONthink: Adds the

supporting applications, like Safari or Mail. selected mailboxes to DEVONthink.

Add message(s) & attachments to
The Script Menu Extra Scripts provided by DEVONthink: Adds the selected mailboxes
DEVONthink are installed in an application- to DEVONthink. Attachments are imported
specific folder in ~/Library/Scripts/ separately.
Applications, e.g., ~/Library/Scripts/
Applications/Safari. These scripts are Note: The import of entire mailboxes via

accessible from the global scripts menu in AppleScript can be a resource-intensive

the menu bar at the top of your screen while process. Use the Apple Mail plugin for

you're in the specific application. a more robust experience importing

mailboxes.

MAIL SCRIPTS
WEB BROWSERS
Importing email into your DEVONthink
databases is a possible use of AppleScript. Depending on the capabilities of the web

Using AppleScript-enabled email browser you're using, you may be able to

applications, especially those with a robust use application scripts. We have included

scripting dictionary, increases the potential a handful of simple scripts that can be run

for processing emails. This can help you while browsing in Safari or DEVONagent.

quickly file those emails directly into

Add abstracts to DEVONthink: Creates a
DEVONthink.
sheet containing information about items

DEVONthink comes with scripts for Apple in a DEVONagent search. This includes

Mail, Microsoft Entourage, and Microsoft

Outlook. Just select a message or mailbox in

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 199

 the title, score, summary, and URL of each The actions supplied by DEVONthink are
result. (DEVONagent only) installed in ~/Library/Scripts/Folder
Add linked images to DEVONthink: Detects Action Scripts, and you can add your
images on the current page and adds them own scripts to this directory, as needed.
to your database. For everyday use and exploration, here
Add tabs to DEVONthink: Adds bookmarks are the folder action scripts provided by
for active tabs the browser. DEVONthink:

Add linked images to DEVONthink's DEVONthink - Import: Imports files into

downloads: Detects images on the current your databases.
page and adds them to DEVONthink's DEVONthink - Import & Delete: Imports
Download Manager. files into your database, and moves the
Add links to DEVONthink's downloads: files to the trash afterwards.
Detects URLs on the current page and adds DEVONthink - Import to selected group:
them to DEVONthink's Download Manager. Imports files to the currently selected
group.
OTHER APPLICATIONS DEVONthink - Index: Index files to your
database, creating links to the original
Obviously we haven't covered all the possible
items in the Finder.
applications or scenarios on your machine,
DEVONthink - Index to selected group:
and we are sure you have ideas we haven't
Index files to the currently selected group
thought of. If you have an application you'd
in your database.
like to integrate with DEVONthink, check if
it has an AppleScript dictionary. If it does, DEVONthink - Import, OCR & Delete:
the potential exists to communicate between Imports files into your database, converts
the applications. But also be aware the them to searchable PDFs if necessary, and
commands, elements, and properties you moves the files to the trash afterwards.
can work with are coded by the developer of
those applications. ATTACHING A FOLDER ACTION

To attach a folder action script to a folder, do

FOLDER ACTIONS the following:

Folder actions are scripts that you can attach

Control-click a folder in the Finder.
to folders in the Finder. These act on all items
Select Services > Folder Actions Setup
you add to these "hot folders." When you
from the contextual menu.
add items, the operating system detects
From the list of available actions, select
the added files and runs any folder actions
the folder action script click Attach.
attached to the folder.
Manage folder actions: To manage all your
folder actions, Control-click a folder and
choose Services > Folder Actions Setup from

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 200

the contextual menu. Use the Folder Actions AUTOMATOR
Setup utility to see which folders have scripts
Apple's Automator application was created
attached, and to remove folder actions from
mainly to help non-programmers take some
folders.
control of their machines. It allows you to
Note: If you are running macOS Mojave, visually string together simple steps in an
you will be prompted to allow the Folder automated process. While much more limited
Actions Setup application to run. This due to its linear nature, it may still be useful
notification is controlled by the operating for some routines. Additionally, Automator
system, not DEVONthink. offers creation of other types of items like
Services (or Quick Actions).
TERMINOLOGY
While DEVONthink does not provide
While we can't provide specific training Automator actions, using the Run
on how to create folder actions, check out AppleScript action in Automator makes it
Apple's documentation. However, the on possible to have some degree of integration
adding folder items to folderVariable with our application.
after receiving filesVariable is the
handler most commonly used in our folder TERMINOLOGY
action scripts. Here is a simple example:

Example:
on adding folder items to theFolder after
receiving theFiles
repeat with thisFile in theFiles
tell application id "DNtp"
set newRecord to import thisFile to
incoming group
if exists newRecord then tell application
"Finder" to delete thisFile
end tell
end repeat
end adding folder items to

Note: Folder actions, like any computer Finder to DEVONthink: Since DEVONthink

processes, are treated very literally. When doesn't provide specific actions for

processing files with a folder action, it's Automator, you can't merely detect things

best to move or delete the files from the like a selection. The key to integration with

watched folder. This keeps the action from DEVONthink is passing file paths, specifically

trying to reprocess files. POSIX paths. For example, if you used a Get
Selected Finder Items action, you could use
a Run AppleScript action like this to import
selected files in the Finder into DEVONthink :

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 201

 Example: very cautious when using the paths from
on run {input} DEVONthink. Actions like moving, deleting,
tell application id "DNtp"
renaming etc. would compromise your
repeat with thisFile in input
database. It is advisable to use a Copy Finder
import (POSIX path of thisFile) to
Items command if you are going to do such
incoming group
end repeat operations.
end tell
Note: While we may investigate
DEVONthink-specific questions regarding
Automator, we do not offer support
specifically for it.

ITEM LINKS
Every database, group, or document in your
DEVONthink database has a URL (uniform
resource locator) associated with it. While
web URLs typically begin with http:// or
https://, DEVONthink's URLs take the form
of x-devonthink-item:// followed by a
DEVONthink to Finder: Passing paths from long alphanumeric ID. For PDFs, the link can
DEVONthink can be done by processing contain a reference to a specific page. For
the paths of files. Here is an example Run audio and video, a reference to the current
AppleScript action placed at the beginning of playback time. And for RTFs, you can get
the workflow: a reference to a specific paragraph in the
document. These links can be used in any
Example:
file type or application that supports live
on run {}
tell application id "DNtp" hyperlinks, e.g., the notes fields of OmniFocus
set fileList to {} tasks. This allows you to access DEVONthink
if selection ≠ {} then documents as easily as clicking a link in a web
repeat with thisRecord in (selection as
browser.
list)
copy (path of thisRecord as string) to end You can get this item link manually by
of fileList
selecting a document or group and choosing
end repeat
Edit > Copy Link. In addition you can manually
end if
extend the copied URL with the following
return fileList
end tell parameters:
end run

Immediately following this action, use

a Get Specified Finder Items action to
pass the paths to subsequent actions. Be

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 202

 page: Opens a PDF to the specified page. Example:
Usage: page=<integer>. tell application "DNtp"
set recordName to name of content record
reveal: Reveals an item in the item list
set recordURL to reference URL of content
instead of opening it in a new window.
record
Usage: reveal=1.
set the clipboard to ("[" & recordName &
search: Directly jumps to the first "](" & recordURL & ")")
occurrence of the search string in end tell

the specified document. Usage:

The terminology for using item links can
search=<string>.
depend on the capabilities of the application
time: Directly jumps to the specified time
you're scripting. Here is an example, using a
in seconds in a video or audio document.
hard-coded URL, with an application that can
Usage: time=<float>.
open URLs:
Example:
Example:
x-devonthink-item://<recordID>?reveal=1
tell application "Opera"
x-devonthink-item://<pdfID>?page=5
tell window 1
x-devonthink-item://<textFileID>?
make new tab with properties {URL:"x-
search=iPad%20Pro
devonthink-item://929D101B-35AC-474C-801C-
x-devonthink-item://<movieID>?time=43.5
D8818C48DB80?line=125"}

Note: The first parameter after the ID is end tell

end tell
always added after a question mark (?),
additional ones after an ampersand (&), P.S.: For the shell scripters, the URLs can be
and any values must be percent-encoded. used with an open command.

TERMINOLOGY
URL COMMANDS
Manually getting item links can be useful
URL commands are a type of item link
for some hard-coded cases, but there
that don't merely point to an existing file,
are many times you want to get them
they issue some special commands to
programmatically. There are two AppleScript
DEVONthink. Though not as powerful as
properties for a record related to item links:
AppleScript, these commands can be used in
reference URL: This is the item link as special circumstances.
described above.
UUID: This is the unique identifier of the TERMINOLOGY
item, i.e., the long alpha-numeric string in
The URLs are constructed from a single
the reference URL.
command and optional parameters, with the
Here is an example of getting and using an following format:
item link to create a Markdown compliant link x-devonthink://<command>?
on the clipboard: <parameter=value&parameter=value&...>

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 203

 Note: The first parameter after the ID is location: The URL linking to the content,
always added after a question mark (?), e.g., the URL of the website for the
additional ones after an ampersand (&), bookmark (URL).
and any values must be percent-encoded. tags: Tags to be added (comma separated
strings).
Listed below are the commands and
destination: The UUID of a group where the
parameters available:
item shall be created (string).

Commands: source: The HTML content for HTML

documents (string, only used by
createFormattedNote: Creates a
createHTML and createFormattedNotes).
formatted note.
text: The text content for text documents
createHTML: Creates a new HTML
(string, used by createText and
document.
createMarkdown).
createMarkdown: Creates a Markdown
width: The page width (integer, only used
document.
by createPDF).
createPDF: Creates a PDF.
paginated: Paginate the created PDF
createRTF: Creates a rich text document.
(boolean, only used by createPDF).
createWebArchive: Creates a web archive.
hide: Hide and deactivate application after
createBookmark: Creates a new bookmark.
executing the comment (boolean).

Note: Use the location parameter set noselector: Skip group selector (boolean).

to a URL with the commands above to query: The query to search for (string, only

download the page in the specified format. used by search).

reader: Post-process the page (integer, 0 =
createGroup: Creates a group. no post-processing, any other value = post-
createText: Creates a new plain text process).
document. referrer: The URL that referred to the item
clip: Opens the Clip to DEVONthink panel. (URL).
note: Opens the Take Note panel. selection: The selected text (string, only
search: Initiates a search in the open used by createRTF).
databases.
Example:
Parameters: x-devonthink://createRTF?title=New
%20bookmark&location=http%3A%2F
title: The title of the item to be created %2Fwww.devontechnologies.com&noselector=1
(string).
comment: A Comment to be added Note: These are not x-callback-urls. An

(string). x-callback-url is a specific type of URL

scheme that returns a value to the calling
application.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 204

 APPENDIX

IN THIS CHAPTER ⇧ The Shift key.

⎋ The Escape key (usually labeled with
Glossary 205
"esc").
Iconology 208
⇥ The Tab key.
Toolbar Items 208
↩ The Return key.
Keyboard Shortcuts 211
Contextual Menu Items 212
INTERFACE ELEMENTS
Search operators 215
Search Prefixes 218 Bars: Smaller sections of a window
Templates 222 providing specialized information or
Metadata 224 controls, e.g., the Information Bar found
Placeholders 226 just above the item listing. It shows
Smart Rule Events and Actions 228 information about the selection as well as
Scripts 232 buttons to sort or change the view.
Web site export templates 234 Contextual menu: The menu that appears
Hidden preferences 235 when you right-click (or Control-click)
something. The contextual menu gives
In the appendices you will find additional
you access to frequently used commands
information that helps you getting familiar
that deal directly with the clicked object.
with DEVONthink, such as a glossary of
Specific contextual menu items are
commonly used terms, a listing of the
discussed in their respective sections, but
Boolean operators used in searches,
there is a list of commonly seen commands
commonly found contextual menu items, and
in the Contextual Menu Items section of
much more.
this appendix.
Inspectors: Specialized panes at the right
GLOSSARY of a main window, providing information
about the current selection as well as
Become familiar with these terms to get the
functions like See Also & Classify.
most out of working with DEVONthink.
Item list: The list of items in the current
location, viewable as a list, icons, columns,
KEYBOARD SYMBOLS
or Cover Flow. Items can be documents,
⌘ The Command key, usually next to the groups, or smart groups.
Space bar. Sidebar: The panes found at the left side of
⌥ The Option key. a main window, comprised of the Navigate,
⌃ The Control key (usually labeled with Reading List, Import, and Extras panes.
"ctrl").

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 205

 View/Edit pane: A pane of the is started and accessible through the
DEVONthink main and document windows sidebar. The Global Inbox can be set as
that lets you view a document or, when the default destination in Preferences >
possible, edit it. The view/edit pane Import.
displays the content of your documents Inbox: A special group for data coming in
depending on their type. See also p. 78ff to a database. Every database has an Inbox
View: The layout for a DEVONthink main group.
window. You can change the layout using News feed: Also referred to as RSS, a
the commands found in the View menu. news feed is like a web page, but split
Window: DEVONthink uses three different into multiple articles. A feed reader or
types of windows: main, document, and web browser can split the feed "page"
other. Main windows show lists of items into its parts and show each of them as
and, in some views, also the contents of a separate news item and/or store it in a
the selected document, whereas document local database. DEVONthink stores feeds in
windows can be opened for individual a database and displays them like a group.
documents. The contents are updated live from the
internet as the connected feed changes.
DOCUMENTS & GROUPS Older news bits are kept, while fresh news
bits are added and marked as unread.
Database: A collection of all documents
When you add a bookmark that points
stored in DEVONthink. You can create and
a feed, DEVONthink tries to add it as a
open as many databases as you like.
proper feed document if possible.
Document: A file in the database; for
Replicant: A document or a group that
example, a plain or RTF text, a PDF, or an
appears in more than one place in the
image (.jpg, .tiff, .png, etc.). Technically a
database. Unlike an alias in the file system,
document is an entry in a database with
a replicant is not a real document pointing
text, RTF, or image content, sometimes
to another file (usually the original);
simply referred to as "content".
rather it is a second entry in the table of
Default destination: The default
contents for the very same document.
destination group for incoming data. Set in
Consequently, there is no original; when
Preferences > Import.
you replicate a document you'll end up with
Duplicate: A copy of a file, either explicitly
two replicants.
created or detected by DEVONthink's AI.
Sheet: A collection of records or structured
Group: A collection of documents or other
sets of data, presented in a spreadsheet
groups inside the database. Similar in
style, similar to data viewed in Apple
appearance and behavior to a folder in the
Numbers or Microsoft Excel. Alternatively,
Finder. See also p. 137ff
the data can be displayed in form view,
Global Inbox: A special database serving as
similar to browsing records in, e.g.,
a destination for incoming data. The Global
FileMaker.
Inbox is always opened when DEVONthink

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 206

 Smart group: A special type of group with deleted (groups, documents) or modified
a set of search criteria saved with it. This (documents).
is similar to "Saved Search" folders in the Read/Unread: Items can be marked read
Finder. Every time you visit this smart or unread, which is useful for captured or
group, DEVONthink runs the attached automatically downloaded news items or
search and displays it as the content of the documents that you want to read later.
group. DEVONthink creates a number of Both unread items and groups containing
pre-defined smart groups when you create unread items are shown in bold.
a new database. UUID: Each database, group, or document
Trash: A temporary location in a database in DEVONthink receives a unique identifier
for deleted files. Similar to the Trash in (UUID) when it's created. This is a read-
the Finder, all trashed items are stored only alphanumeric string that refers only to
until you explicitly delete them using the particular item. The UUID allows you to
DEVONthink > Empty Trash. reference an item regardless if its location
or name changes, and is usually found in
TAGS item links.

Group tag: Groups within a database that See the Iconology section for icons specific to
apply their name as tags to their contents. the flagged, locked, or unread states.
Items moved out of these groups will not
retain the group tags. Group tags appear SYNCHRONIZATION
grey in all tag lists.
Sync location: Sync locations are used to
Ordinary tag: Tags created through the
keep your databases on all your devices in
Tag bar or other means are created in a
sync. They summarize all information about
special top-level Tags group. They are called
which databases to sync through what kind
"ordinary tags" and appear blue in all tag
of connection (e.g., direct connections to
lists.
DEVONthink on a Mac, WebDAV, CloudMe,
See the Iconology section for icons specific to Dropbox etc.) and with which sync store.
these two items. Bonjour (Direct connection): A sync
method for syncing one device to another
ITEM PROPERTIES Mac or mobile device running DEVONthink
or DEVONthink To Go, respectively.
Flagged/Unflagged: Items can be checked
Unlike other sync methods, there is no
or unchecked for your personal use, e.g.,
intermediary storage location for the sync
for creating a to-do list, maintaining a
data. It is direct - device to device.
shopping list, or writing a list of project
Sync store: A sync store is a special folder
tasks.
containing sync data. These can be direct,
Locked/Unlocked: Items can be locked
local, e.g., on your Mac or a thumb drive, or
to keep them from being unintentionally
remote, as used with cloud services.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 207

 Encryption key: A user-defined word used Item has been flagged.
to "scramble" or "unscramble" your sync Item is indexed, not imported.
data when syncing. When used, your sync Item is locked.
data is stored in an encrypted state in the Item has a comment.
sync store. Item has an annotation.
Local database: A database that exists and Item has a reminder set.
is open on this device. Item has outgoing item links.
Remote database: A database that is not Item has incoming item links.
open on this device, or exists at the sync Item has a script attached.
location, e.g., on Dropbox, but has not been Group is a tag, too.
downloaded to this device. Item has an attachment (email messages
Pending document: A document for which only).
only the metadata is locally available. Item is synced but its content is not (yet)
This happens when you choose not to downloaded.
synchronize indexed files for the sync
Item is a duplicate
location.
Item has one or more replicant(s)
WebDAV: A type of web server used
Item is a duplicate, but also has one or
by some cloud services, some network
more replicant(s)
attached storage devices, or running
locally. It can usually be used by
DEVONthink for syncing. TOOLBAR ITEMS
DEVONthink provides a wide variety of
ICONOLOGY toolbar items, giving you quick "push-button"
access to many everyday tools.
Additional icons behind item names, e.g., in
main windows, indicate that the item has
DEFAULT ITEMS
been indexed instead of imported, is locked,
has a comment or annotation attached, The following toolbar buttons are available in
is encrypted, e.g., PDFs or encrypted the default set you see when you first launch
databases, or has a triggered script attached. DEVONthink:
Groups also serving as tags show a tag icon.
Sidebar: Show and hide the global sidebar.
Depending on your preferences, replicants,
Preview: None: Hides the document
duplicates, or replicated duplicates are
preview.
indicated with a little grey icon instead of
Preview: Standard: Shows the document
appearing in color.
preview below the item listing.
Item has encryption applied, e.g., Preview: Widescreen: Shows the
encrypted PDFs, and encrypted database, document preview besides the item listing.
or an encryption key has been specified for Actions: Contains the contextual menu for
a sync location in Preferences > Sync. items selected in the item listing..
Item is unread.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 208

New: Adds documents in DEVONthink- ADDITIONAL ITEMS
native formats. Similar to Data > New.
In addition to the default set, there are many
Open: Opens the current item in a
other specific buttons available, shown in the
DEVONthink window if possible.
essential order found in View > Customize
Open externally: Open the current
Toolbar:
document in the system default
application. Scripts: Provides access to the contents of
Share: Opens the macOS Share menu for the Scripts menu.
the selected items. This does not apply to Quick Look: Opens a Quick Look preview
groups. for the selected document.
Mark: Flagged: Changes the flagged state Zoom In: Zooms into the current item.
of the selected item. Actual Size: Zooms the current item to the
Mark: Read: Changes the read statue of default zoom level.
the selected item. Zoom Out: Zooms out of the current item.
Mark: Locked: Changes the locked state of Zoom to Fit: Sets the magnification of the
the selected item. current item to fit the bounds of the view/
Label: Changes the label color of the edit pane.
selected item. Zoom to Width: Sets the magnification of
Search: This is the main search bar, the current item to the width of the view/
accessing all or specific groups and edit pane.
databases. Full Screen: Displays the current document
Synchronize: Initiates a manual sync of the in DEVONthink's full screen mode.
current database. See also p. 170ff Groups: Group: Creates a new group in the
Get Info: Opens a popup from the button current location.
displaying a number of commonly used Groups: Smart Group: Creates a new smart
inspectors. group in the current location.
Show/Hide Inspectors: Shows or hides the Group: Groups the selected items into a
Inspector panes. new group.
Show/Hide Tags: Shows or hides the Tags Ungroup: Ungroups the selected group and
bar under a document's preview. deletes the now-deserted empty group.
Classify: Attempts to classify the current
Note: The items for showing or hiding the
item.
document preview as well as for marking
Plain Text: Creates a plain text file in the
items flagged, read, or locked are also
current location.
available as a combined toolbar item.
Rich Text: Creates a rich text file in the
current location.
Markdown Text: Creates a Markdown file in
the current location.
Formatted Note: Creates a formatted note
in the current location.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 209

Sheet: Creates a sheet in the current Synchronize All: Initiates a manual sync of
location. all open and actively syncing databases.
Bookmark: Create a bookmark in the Take Note: Opens the Take Note view,
current location. either in the Sorter or a Take Note panel.
Launch URL: Opens a URL associated with
Imprinter: Provides access to any imprints
the current item in the system default
available in the Tools > Imprinter menu.
browser.
OCR: Runs OCR on a compatible file, e.g.,
Save: Explicitly save changes to a
PDFs or images, producing the selected
document.
output type.
Delete: Moves the current item to the
database's trash. Note:
Print: Prints the selected document. If Reveal: Be cautious with this button. When
a document cannot be printed, the item used on imported files, it will reveal them
listing will be printed. in the internals of the database. You do not
Import: Imports files into the current want to modify these internal files in the
location. Finder. This option is best used on indexed
Export: Provides access to the contents of files.
the File > Export menu.
Verify & Repair: Please refer to the
Update: Manually updates indexed items in
troubleshooting chapter for information on
a database.
database maintenance and repairs.
Show in Finder: Reveals a file in its location
in the Finder. Send by Email: The ability to add the
Reveal: Reveals a file in smart groups or attachments depends on the inter-
search results in its current location. application capabilities of the email
Merge: Merges multiple files into one, application. If it doesn't provide support
leaving the originals intact. for this, you may be able to drag
Merge and Delete: Merge multiple files into documents into draft messages or the
one, putting the originals in the database's email application's dock icon.
trash.
Optimize: Does an internal optimization Some items are also available as a

and backup of a database's metadata. compound toolbar icon.

Verify: Checks the integrity of the

database and repairs items it can. CUSTOM ITEMS

Log: Opens a popover showing available

If you are creating scripts and saving them
messages from the Log window.
to the ~/Library/Application Scripts/
Send by Email: Creates a new message
com.devon-technologies.think3/Toolbar
in your default email app and attaches
folder, these will be shown in the Customize
selected items.
Toolbar options as individual buttons with a
script icon.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 210

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS Selecting items:

Keyboard shortcuts make using DEVONthink Shift-click: Selects consecutive items.

much more efficient. Some of the following Shift-arrow: Extends the next consecutive
shortcuts are common to most Mac item to the current selection.
applications; others are only available Command-click: Adds a non-consecutive
in DEVONthink. In addition, many menu item to the selection.
commands have keyboard shortcuts. These
Manipulating items:
are shown directly in the menu.

Return: Renames documents.

Note: You can change the shortcuts for
Backspace: Deletes selected items.
menu commands in System Preferences >
Command-Drag: When dragging items from
Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts.
the Finder, this moves, not copies, the file
into the database.
WINDOWS
Option-drag: Duplicates items to the drag
Control-Tab: Cycles focus between the destination instead of moving it.
item list, view/edit pane, and the Tags bar Command-Option-drag: Creates replicants
or Inspectors (if visible). for the items at the drag destination.
Escape: Cancels processes, closes dialogs Dragging items from the Finder to
or Quick Look previews, etc., depending on DEVONthink with ⌥⌘ pressed indexes the
the context. item. Dragging items into documents with
Command-}: Cycles to the next tab. ⌥⌘ held inserts a link to the item.
Command-{: Cycles to the previous tab.
Item List:
Note: Hold ⇧ to cycle in reverse order.
Command-Shift-O: Opens a selected
document in the system default
DOCUMENT LISTS
application.
Navigating items: Tab: Jumps to the first or next editable
column when using View > List.
Up/Down arrow: Navigates up and down in
Space: Opens the standard Quick Look
all views. Use ⇧ to select multiple entries.
panel showing a preview of the selected
Left/Right arrow: Expands or collapses the
items.
selected groups in horizontal split, vertical
Option-Space: Opens a full screen Quick
split or List views, or navigates to previous/
Look slideshow.
next item in other views.
Option-bracket: Using [ and ], goes
Option-click (the triangle in front of a
backwards and forwards through the
group): Expands or collapses all groups that
visited locations.
are contained within this group as well.
Option-Left/Right arrow: Expands or
collapses the selected groups and all their
children the item list.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 211

VIEW/EDIT PANE Arrows: Moves the editing selection.
Escape: Stops editing.
Home/End: Goes to beginning of, or end of,
any view.
PDFS
Page up/down: Scrolls one page up and
down in any view. +: Zooms in.
Space/Shift-Space: Scrolls one page down -: Zooms out.
or up in non-editable views, e.g., web pages, Command-drag: Scrolls the visible area
images, or PDF documents. with the mouse.
Command-click: Opens the target of a link
in a new tab or separate window. IMAGES
Command-Option-drag: Inserts a cross-
+: Zooms in.
link for groups or documents dropped
-: Zooms out.
into a rich text document. Dragging files
or folders from the Finder to a rich text
document with ⌥⌘ pressed creates links to CONTEXTUAL MENU ITEMS
them.
DEVONthink also provides many commands
Command-Shift-click: Opens a link in a new
in contextual menu items, shown when you
tab and activates it. This requires enabling
Control-click on elements in the application.
tabbed browsing in Preferences > General.
Many of the contextual menu items are also
Option-bracket: Using [ and ], goes
found in DEVONthink's menus. Below is a
backwards and forwards through the
list of common menu items you'll find in
documents or visited web pages .
the contextual menus for documents and
Option-drag: Selects text using a
windows.
rectangular selection ribbon.
Option-click (a link): For HTML-based files,
DOCUMENT CONTENTS
adds the clicked URL to the Download
Manager panel. When you Control-click in the contents of
Option-click (a word): Initiates a search documents, you will see a contextual menu
with the clicked word as the search term. with commands and options. The items
Shift-arrow: Expands or contracts the shown are related to the file type and if you're
current text selection. interacting with a selection in the document.
Specific items, e.g., commands relating only
SHEETS to PDFs, are covered in their respective
sections.
Return: Moves one cell down for editing.
Shift-Return: Moves one cell up for editing.
Tab: Moves one cell to the right for editing.
Shift-Tab: Moves one cell to the left for
editing.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 212

In editable documents: command on a selection again removes the
highlighting.
Add to Favorites: Adds the current
Link To: Makes the selected piece of text a
document to the Favorites.
cross-link and links it directly to the group
Add to Reading List: Adds the current
or document you select in the submenu.
document to the Reading List.
Look Up [word]: Looks the selected text up
Services: Displays the macOS Services
in macOS's Dictionary.
menu.
Make Link: Makes the selected piece of

Text or links in text: text a WikiLink. The destination of the

WikiLink is a document with the same
Add Link to Reading List: Adds a link to the
name as the selected text. If no document
Reading List.
with that name exists, clicking the created
Add Link: Allows you to enter a URL for the
link creates it using the template you have
selected text, converting the text to an
set in the Preferences.
active link.
Open Link in Browser: Opens the selected
Add tag [word]: Tags the document with
link in the default browser or application.
the selected word (only available if the
Open Link in DEVONagent: Opens the
word is not already a tag of the document).
selected link in a DEVONagent Pro browser
Convert to Item Link: Converts a selected
window.
WikiLink into an item link. See also p. 34ff
Open Link in New Tab: Opens the selected
An alternate command, available when
link in a new tab in DEVONthink.
holding the ⌥ key, Convert All to Item
Open Link in PhotoStickies: Opens a link in
Links converts all WikiLinks in the current
PhotoStickies.
document into item links. These commands
Open Link: Opens the selected link.
only apply to plain text, rich text, and
Remove Link: Use this to remove the link
Markdown documents.
status of selected text.
Copy Link: Copies a clicked link to the
Search with Google: Searches for the
clipboard (only available for selected links).
selected text in Google.
Edit Link: Edits the destination of a
Search [word]/Selected Phrase: Searches
selected link. Selecting this option allows
for the selected word or phrase in your
you to remove the link as well.
open databases.
Insert Link To: Inserts a link to an item you
See Related Text: Displayed like search
select in the submenu (only available when
results, this shows a list of documents
no text is selected).
related to the selected text passage. This
Insert Placeholder: Inserts a predefined
option is only available when more than
placeholder or one specified as custom
one word is selected.
metadata in Preferences > Data.
See [word]: Opens a drawer with
Highlight: Highlights the selection with
documents related to the selected word.
the current highlight color. Using this

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 213

 Set Name As: Sets the name of the Convert: This submenu displays options for
document to the selected piece of text converting from one file type to another.
(needs to be less than 256 characters). The options shown here are dependent on
Share: Shares selected text via the the type of file selected.
available sharing extensions. Copy Item Link: Copies a link to the current
item.
Add Link to Downloads: Adds a link to the
Copy URL: Copies the URL of the selected
Download Manager.
document to the clipboard. This only

Images and PDF documents: appears when one document is selected.

Duplicate To: Duplicates the selected item
Actual Size: Displays the document at
to the group you select from the submenu.
its actual size. Uses also the resolution
Get Info: Opens an popup containing more
information contained in the file.
detailed information about the currently
All Pixels: Zooms the image so that one
selected file or group.
image pixel equals one pixel on the screen.
Group Items: Groups multiple selected
Zoom In/Out: Zooms in or out of the
items in an item list.
document, or displays it in its actual size.
Label: Changes the label of the selected
Zoom To Fit: Zooms the image so that
item.
it fits into the view/edit pane or the
Launch URL: Opens the URL in the selected
document window.
item's URL field. Hold the ⌥ Option key to
Zoom To Width: Zooms the image to fit
choose Launch URL in Background. This
the width of the view/edit pane or the
keeps DEVONthink in the foreground.
document window.
Mark: Changes the flagged, locked, or read
status of the selected item.
ITEM LIST
Move Into Database: Moves an indexed

These contextual menu items are commonly item into the database. Use this command

shown when you ⌃-click items in a main with caution as it moves the file from its

window's item lists. In items lists, the current location into the internals of your

commands are also often available in the database. It does not copy the file.

Actions toolbar button. Some of these Move To External Folder: Moves a non-

commands are also seen in the See Also & indexed item, e.g., imported or created in

Classify Inspector pane. DEVONthink, out to an indexed folder in

the Finder.
Add To: Commands in this submenu add Move To: Moves the selected item to the
the currently selected documents to your group you select from the submenu.
Favorites or the Reading List. Move to Trash: Moves the clicked item to
Apply Rules: Runs a chosen smart rule on the Trash. Hold the ⌥ Option key to shows
selected items matching the location and Move All Instances to Trash when used in
criteria of the rule. items lists.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 214

 New: This submenu allows you to quickly Show in Finder: Shows the selected item in
create several built-in file types. See the the Finder.
Data menu for more information on these Tags: This submenu offers special
file types. commands for automatically adding some
New from Template: This submenu allows kinds of tags. See the Tagging > Tagging
you to create new documents from any of Sources section of the manual for more
the installed templates. information.
Open: Opens the selected item in a Thumbnails: This submenu allows you to
separate main window or document Create, Update, or Remove the thumbnail
window. for a file.
Open in Tabs: Hold the ⌥ Option key and Ungroup Items: Ungroups a group, leaving
Open changes to Open in Tabs. If the View/ its contents behind. The group is not
Edit pane is visible, this opens the selected preserved.
items in new tabs. If the View/Edit pane
Imprinter: Choose an imprint you've
isn't visible, a new document window will
defined in Preferences > Imprinter to apply
open with each selected document in its
it to the current image or PDF.
own tab in the window.
OCR: Choose the output file type and
Open With: Opens the selected item in an
convert a compatible file via OCR.
external application.
Rating: Allows you to set a rating, from no Note:
stars to five stars. Send by Email: The ability to add the
Replicate To: Replicates the selected item attachments depends on the inter-
to the group you select from the submenu. application capabilities of the email
Reveal: Shows and selects the selected application. If it doesn't provide support
item in its location in DEVONthink. for this, you may be able to drag files into
Send by Email: Sends the selected item by draft message or the email application's
email. dock icon.

SEARCH OPERATORS
Searching in DEVONthink already is a powerful function. The addition of Boolean operators,
parentheses, and wildcards extend the power to fine-tune your search even further.

Note: The syntax of the operators is compatible to DEVONagent and EasyFind, the Finder,
Spotlight, common search engines as well as common programming languages such as C, C++,
Objective-C, Java, and JavaScript. The complexity of the query is unlimited.

CASE

All terms are case-insensitive. You may, if you wish, use capitalization for proper names in a query,
but DEVONthink will ignore case in interpreting the query.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 215

PRECEDENCE OF TERMS

Search terms and associated operators will be interpreted from left to right, except as modified
by including portions of the query within parentheses.

WILDCARDS

You can replace parts of words with wildcards matching one, multiple, or a range of characters:

?: Matches exactly one character.

*: Matches none, one, or multiple characters.
[a-b]: Matches one character of the range a through b.
[abc...] or [a|b|c|...]: Matches one character out of the given list of characters.
[^...]: Matches one character that is not contained in the given list or range.

BOOLEAN OPERATORS

The operators (often called Boolean operators) are words or symbols that establish logical rules
for the terms in the search query. If no operator is given, DEVONthink infers AND. The available
Boolean operators are:

term1 AND term2: Contains term1 AND term2

term1 BUT term2: Contains term1 AND term2
term1 OR term2: Contains term1 OR term2
term1 XOR term2: Contains term1 or term2, but not both
term1 EOR term2: Contains term1 or term2, but not both
NOT term: Does not contain term
"term1": Contains the string of words term1, in exactly this form

Besides the classic Boolean operators, DEVONthink uses a number of operators that usually are
found in high-end databases. Use these operators as a replacement for AND and "quotes" to fine
tune your query.

term1 OPT term2: term1 is required, term2 is optional. If term2 is also found, the found
document ranks higher in the search results.
term1 NEAR term2: term1 occurs 10 words or less before or after term2
term1 NEAR/n term2: term1 occurs n or less words before or after term2
term1 BEFORE term2: term1 occurs before term2
term1 BEFORE/n term2: term1 occurs n or less words before term2
term1 NEXT term2: term1 occurs right before term2 (shortcut for BEFORE/1)
term1 NEXT/n term2: term1 occurs n or less words before term2 (synonym for BEFORE/n)
term1 AFTER term2: term1 occurs after term2

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 216

 term1 AFTER/n term2: term1 occurs n or less words after term2
~term1: Contains term1, also as part of a word

For convenience, some of these operators can also be abbreviated using commonly used symbols:

AND: &, &&, +

OR: |, ||
XOR: ^, ^^
NOT: !, -

Operators are evaluated in the following priority: parenthesis > phrase/hyphens > (NOT)
BEFORE/AFTER/NEAR/NEXT > NOT > AND/OR/XOR/EOR. Terms with same priority but without
parenthesis are evaluated from left to right.

WHITE SPACE HANDLING

Words linked by non-white separators (e.g., page-index or page_id) are treated like phrases put
into "quotes". Words separated by hyphens are handled like word1word2 OR "word1 word2".
Characters separated by dots are considered to be abbreviations and therefore handled like
words separated by hyphens, e.g., the term t.a.t.u is equal to "t a t u" OR tatu.

EXAMPLES

By using any or all of the operators and rules laid out above you can create complex queries that
find the exact information you're looking for. Here are some example queries that show how the
operators are used.

Example: Devonian Dinosaurs

This query looks for all documents that contain the words "devonian" and "dinosaurs".

Example: (Steve NEAR Jobs) AND iMac BUT NOT MacBook OPT Pro

This query looks for documents that contain the words "Steve" and "Jobs" no farther ten words
away from each other, as well as the word "iMac" (no specific position relative to Steve and Jobs),
but not the word "MacBook". The word "Pro" does not need to occur, but if it does, the document
is ranked higher in the list of search results.

Example: Paracetamol NEAR (~effect OR impact) AND ((side OR second*) NEAR/2

~effect)

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 217

This query looks for documents containing the word "Paracetamol" near (within 10 words) to
words either starting with "effect" (and so also "effects") or "impact". In addition, the document
needs to contain the word "side" or any word starting with "second" located within two words
range of any word starting with "effect".

SEARCH PREFIXES docRecipients: The name of a recipient of

an email.
DEVONthink supports a wide variety of
docRecipientEmailAddresses: The email
searchable attributes. These include common
address of a recipient of an email.
attributes, like names or tags, but also
docTitle: The title of a file. The title may be
include document or DEVONthink-specific
distinct from its name, e.g., a song title for
items, like word counts or custom metadata
an MP3 file.
you've defined.
docComment: The RTF-specific comments
Similar to searching with Spotlight or some for a file.
other applications, the use of search prefixes docHeadline: A headline applied to some
is supported. These take the form of a files. Rare.
prefix and a prefix operator, e.g., name:, docSubject: The subject line from an email.
followed by the search term. These prefixes docDescription: The description found on
are automatically applied when you choose some files, typically images.
criteria in an advanced search but they can docKeywords: The PDF or RTF specific
also be manually entered in the search field. keywords for a file.
docOrganization: The company specified in
SEARCH PREFIXES imported links or vCards from the Contacts
application.
Below is a list of the available search field
docCopyright: Copyright information in the
prefixes as you would manually type into the
metadata of a file.
search field or a script:
docAlbum: The album information from

text: Text contents in a file. media metadata, e.g., MP3 files.

metadata: The metadata for a file. docComposer: The composer information

name: The name of a file. This is distinct from media metadata, e.g., MP3 files.

from the filename and does not include the docCreator: The process or application

file extension. used to create a file.

url: The associated URL. docProducer: The producer of a file, usually

comment: Spotlight Comments. applied to media files.

docAuthors: The name of the sender of an aliases: Aliases applied to a file.

email. tags: Tags applied to a file.

docAuthorEmailAddresses: The email

address of the sender of an email.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 218

 label: The color label of a file, from 0 (no the Flagged, Unread, and Locking states.
label) though 7 or by name, e.g., Important. The search prefix item: is still shown these
rating: The star rating of a file, from 0 options.
(unrated) through 5.
Flag: The flag state of a file. Supports
width: The width of a document in points,
flagged or unflagged.
i.e., the width multiplied by 72.
Unread: The unread state of a file.
height: The height of a document in points,
Supports read or unread.
i.e., the height multiplied by 72.
Locking: The locking state of a file.
length: The number of pages in a file or
Supports locked or unlocked.
length of a media file in seconds.
Item: A special item supporting instance
size: The size of a file in bytes, KB, MB, or
states: replicated, duplicated, indexed,
GB, e.g., size >= 50 MB.
pending, or tagged.
wordcount: The number of words in the
contents of a file. additionDate: The date the file was added
charactercount: The number of characters to the database.
in the contents of a file. creationDate: The date the file was
hits: The number of times a file has been created.
viewed or opened. modificationDate: The date the file was
filename: The name of the file in the file last modified.
system, including the file extension. openingDate: The date the file was last
extension: The extension of a file, e.g., txt. opened.
This also supports an Any Extension option dueDate: The due date set in a Reminder
to filter filenames having or lacking an for a file.
extension.
md_attachments: The number of
kind: Supports any, group, smartgroup,
attachments in an email or the number of
tag, ordinarytag, grouptag, text,
resources added to an RTFD file.
rtf, formattednote, markdown, html,
md_annotationcount: The number of
webarchive, xmlfile, propertylist,
annotations set in a PDF file.
image, pdf, quicktime, video, audio,
md_encrypted: The encrypted state of
bookmark, feed, news, script, sheet,
a PDF. This is a Boolean value denoted
email, and other.
numerically, e.g., md_encrypted==1 when a
Item prefixes: These special prefixes are file is encrypted.
for state-based queries, like the locked or md_incomingItemLinkCount: The number
indexed state of items. They all follow the of item links to a document from other
form of item:<specified state>, e.g., documents in DEVONthink.
item:locked. However, when choosing md_outgoingItemLinkCount: The number
criteria in the Advanced options of the of item links to other documents present in
toolbar search, choose the Marked option for a document.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 219

 md_language: An abbreviation of the tags:sync; methods scope:"Tech
detected language in the contents of a file. Stuff"
For a list of values, select a language in the any: name:test OR imprint {any:
criteria and note the abbreviation to use. tags:blue; red}
md_country: An abbreviation of the
Sub-criteria searches: Yes, you may have
country in the geolocation data for a file.
noticed in the last example a tags search in
For a list of values, select a country in the
curly braces. This creates sub-criteria for the
criteria and note the abbreviation to use.
search. This obviously extends the search
md_zipcode: The postal code detected in
options to allow creating even more complex
the geolocation data for a file.
forms.
md_area: The state, province, or region
detected in the geolocation data for a file.
PREFIX OPERATORS
md_locality: The city detected in the
geolocation data for a file. Many times prefixes end with a colon, e.g.,
tags: but some use other forms, depending
Custom Metadata: Any custom metadata
on the available options in the criterion.
attributes defined in See also p. 162ff are
For example, words can "begin with" some
also available as search prefixes. The search
characters, but a size is greater or less than a
prefix you will type is a concatenated form
value. If you select a criterion you would see
of the attribute's name, prefixed with md. For
what options apply. Use the keys below to
example, an attribute of Total Cost would
map the option to its operator.
have a search prefix of mdtotalcost.

Matches, Is, Is Not:

There are also two special prefixes you can
use: : is equal to the term matches. With strings-
based queries, it allows for wildcards to
scope: This limits where you are searching.
be used. It is also used for state-based
It supports selection (the current group
queries, like Kind. The negated form, :! is also
or database), referring to a database by
supported.
name (in quotes), and inboxes. If no scope
is specified, the search applies to all open == is equal to the term is. This must be an
databases. When used, scope: should be exact match of the search term. These can
the last parameter in the query. be used in strings and number-based queries.
any: When used, this allows you to specify The negated form, != is also supported.
whether to return results matching any of
Example:
the criteria. This can only be used when
Kind is Group → kind:group
specifying more than one search prefix,
Item is indexed → item:indexed
e.g., tags and filename.
Item is not Replicated → item:!
Example: replicated
additionDate>=2019-03-10 Extension is XML Document →
scope:selection extension==XML

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 220

 Language is not English → language!=en Date Operators: These are operators used
with date-based queries, like the creation
String Matching: These are operators that are
date of files.
used with string-based queries, like names or
text content. These queries also support: < is equal to the term before.

:< is equal to begins with. <= is equal to the term before or on.

:> is equal to ends with. > is equal to the term later.

:~ is equal to contains. (The tilde is the >= is equal to the term later or on.
second key down on the top left of an English
:# is equal to the term within last number
keyboard.)
of days. The negated form, :!# is also
Example: supported.
Subject begins with party →
: is equal to the term is for date-based
docSubject:<party
queries. Supported date options are Today,
Locality ends with field →
Yesterday, This Week, Last Week, This Month,
md_locality:>field
Last Month, This Quarter, Last Quarter, This
Name contains tech → name:~tech
Year, and Last Year. The negated form, :! is
Number Matching: In addition to the == and also supported.
!= operators, numbers can also use these
Example:
operators:
Date Created is after January 31, 2019 →
< is equal to the term is less than. creationDate>=2019-01-31
Date opened is not within last 5 days →
<= is equal to the term is less than or equal
openingDate:!#5days
to.
Date Due is not Today → dueDate:!Today

> is equal to the term is greater than.

Date searching allows for some flexibility in

>= is equal to the term is greater than or formats. Time is not a required parameter,

equal to. but can be specified. These searches are all

equivalent:
Example:
Word Count is less than 1000 → Example:

wordcount<1000 additionDate>10 march, 2019

Size is greater than 10MB → size>10 MB additionDate>March 10, 19

Hits is greater than or equal to 1 → hits>=1 additionDate>2019-03-10 08:30:00

-0500

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 221

TEMPLATES
DEVONthink comes with a number of built-in templates for general use. Use these templates to
add a task list, a quote, or whole group structure for project management to your database.

Templates are stored in the ~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink 3/

Templates.noindex folder. In order to manage your templates, rename them, organize them
in subfolders, or delete them, you can quickly access this folder by selecting Data > New from
Template > Open Templates Folders. More templates are available by selecting Data > New from
Template > More Templates, or as extras in the Support Assistant or in the Extras sidebar.

A very useful thing you can do is add your own files to this folder, even if the files aren't directly
editable in DEVONthink. For example, you may have a specific Pages template you often use.
Open the template in Pages and save it into DEVONthink's Templates folder. Now you can add
documents to your database even more efficiently.

BUILT-IN TEMPLATES

DEVONthink comes with the following built-in templates, which serve as great examples of the
template feature.

Accounts & Passwords:

Email Accounts: Adds a sheet to record technical details of an email account details.
Online Account: Adds a sheet for storing website account details.
Serial Number: Adds a sheet for storing product serial numbers.

Classifications:

Decimal Filing System: Adds ten groups for the decimal filing system used by many European
companies for filing (scanned) paper documents.
Dewey Decimal Classification: Inserts a group with sub-groups that builds the first levels of the
Dewey Decimal Classification. Use this feature for databases that contain knowledge spanning
many subjects.
Library of Congress Classification: Inserts a group with sub-groups that builds the first
levels of the Library of Congress Classification. Use this feature for databases that contain
knowledge spanning many subjects.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 222

Education:

Cornell Notes: Adds a document that allows you to write notes in Cornell style on a topic of
interest. Available as Markdown or rich text documents.
Cornell Notes (Education): Adds a document that allows you to write notes in Cornell style for
a particular course and topic. Available as Markdown or rich text documents.
Lab Notes: Adds a document that allows you to create lab reports. Available as Markdown or
rich text documents.
References: Adds a sheet for recording citation information such a DOI, authors, journal,
publication year, etc.
Reference (from Bookends): Adds the reference selected in Bookends to your database.
Reference (from Endnote): Adds the reference selected in Endnote to your database.
Quotes: Adds a sheet for recording quotes along with the author, source, comments, etc.
Quote (from clipboard): Adds a rich text document for a quotation or citation. The clipboard
content is automatically inserted and, if it's an Internet address (URL), it is automatically made
clickable.
Articles: Adds a sheet for keeping track of articles.
Booklets: Adds a sheet for keeping track of booklets.
Books: Adds a sheet for keeping track of books.
Manuals: Adds a sheet for keeping track of manuals.
Proceedings: Adds a sheet for keeping track of proceedings.
Technical Reports: Adds a sheet for keeping track of technical reports.
Theses: Adds a sheet for keeping track of theses.
PubMed: Runs a query in PubMed and adds the resulting documents formatted as rich text
documents to your database.

Productivity:

Daily Journal: Adds Journal group with month and day subgroups, containing a file with a
daily quote, some news headlines, and space to write your thoughts. This template is a good
example of smart templates. The journal is available in two separate templates: Text (rich text)
and Markdown.
Note: Adds a new note. If the clipboard contains text, it is automatically inserted.
Phone Note: Adds a new phone note, automatically inserting the current date and time.
Project: Adds a simple project group structure including an "About this project" document. The
smart template asks for a project name; retrieves your name, department, email address, and
phone number from your contact card; and adds this information to the "About this project"
document.
Task List: Adds a simple task list.
Weekly Review: Adds a formatted note displaying checklist items and space to review the
week.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 223

Registers:

1--31: Adds 31 groups, numbered 1 through 31.

A--Z: Adds 26 groups, named A through Z.
Days of the Week: Adds groups for the days of the week.
Months: Adds groups for the twelve Christian months.

Smart Groups:

Email ... Videos: Adds smart groups displaying documents of a given kind.
Due or Flagged: Adds a smart group displaying flagged items or items with a due date this
week.
Last ...: Adds smart groups displaying documents modified within a given period.
Documents with Annotations: Adds a smart group displaying files with annotations, e.g.,
highlights.
Large Documents: Add a smart group displaying documents larger than 5 MB.
PDF (not searchable): Add a smart group displaying all PDF documents that don't contain
machine-readable text.
Star Ratings (1-5): Add a smart group displaying items with a rating of one or five stars.

Toolbar: By default this contains no templates. Add your own templates to ~/Library/
Application Support/DEVONthink 3/Templates.noindex/Toolbar. These can be added to
the DEVONthink windows using View > Customize Toolbar.

Note: Some of the included templates are just simple files. Others are smart templates,
packages that contain assets and scripts that provide powerful template generation. See the
Automation chapter for more information on them.

METADATA FILE METADATA

DEVONthink stores a large number of General Metadata:

metadata fields internally when importing
Title
documents from the file system, e.g., from
Headline
PDF, RTF, MP3, EXIF/IPTC, HTML, and email
Subject
messages as well as from all files that deliver
Creator
metadata through the Spotlight metadata
Producer
importer. Here's a partial list of theoretically
supported fields: PDF Metadata:

Author
Title
Subject

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 224

 URL in automated processes. This identifier
Keywords is created automatically and cannot be
changed.
RTF Metadata:
Data Types: When you define a custom field,
Author
you choose a data type for it. So what's a
Title
"data type"? It's simply a kind of a value; like
Comment
"a" is a character and "42" is a (the!) number.
Subject
The following data types are supported,
URL
including any interface items associated with
Keywords
them, e.g., checkboxes or dropdown menus:
Organization
Copyright Boolean: This is a true or false value.
Displayed as a checkbox.
Email Metadata:
Countries: A dropdown menu providing a

Authors list of country names.

Author email addresses Languages: A dropdown menu providing a

Recipients list of languages.

Recipient email addresses Integer: A whole number, e.g., with no

Email addresses fractional part, like 17.

Decimal Number: A fractional number,
Media and Publication Metadata:
represented with a decimal point.

Album Date: Can be specified as Date & Time or

Composer Date.

Contributors Identifier: Any alphanumeric value,

Publishers specified as needed, e.g., a customer or

Editors patient number.

Organizations Single-line Text: A dropdown providing a

list of terms you defined for the field in the

CUSTOM METADATA Data preferences. You can also type in a

new value.
Another powerful feature of DEVONthink Multi-line Text: Enter a small paragraph of
is custom metadata fields. Specified in the text. Line breaks can be typed by pressing
Preferences > Data, you can define fields that Option-Return.
are meaningful to you, your company, your Rich Text: Same as Multi-line text but
research group, or even your family! supports basic formatting, e.g., bold or
italic text.
When you create a custom metadata
Set: Similar to the Single-line text, this
field, you give it a name. DEVONthink uses
shows a dropdown with values pre-defined
this name to create an identifier for use
for the field in the Data preferences.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 225

 However, new values can't be entered PLACEHOLDERS
outside the preferences.
One of the most powerful features of
URL: Accepts any valid URL, including
DEVONthink is the ability to insert data
filesystem URLs.
dynamically. A placeholder is a bit of code
Link: A special dropdown that allows you to
DEVONthink interprets when used in these
choose an item in your databases. a link for
scenarios, replacing it with a specific value.
the chosen item is used.
You may have an imprint with a Name
Note: The Countries and Languages lists placeholder defined in the title. When the
are lengthy, but not necessarily exhaustive. imprint is used on a PDF, the placeholder is
For Multi-line Text and Rich Text, only one converted to the name of the file!
line will be displayed in its column in the
To extend the possibilities even further,
item list.
you can combine static text and multiple
Predefined Custom Metadata: In Preferences placeholders to achieve truly custom results.
> Data, we have provided some custom You can use these in smart rules and the
metadata fields to get you started. These are command Tools > Batch Process, in alarms on
ready to use and explore and serve as great Reminders, custom imprints on images and
examples of the data types discussed above: PDFs, and in templates for creating WikiLinks
documents.
Date
Company Below is a list of placeholders currently
Author available:
Abstract
Name: The name or title of the file.
Status
Proposed Name: A suggested name derived
Serial Number
from a document's title or from the first
ISSN/ISBN
line of the document if no title is present.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Aliases: Any aliases applied to the file.
PubMed ID
Finder Comment: Any Finder comments
PMC ID
applied to the file.
Barcode
File Name: The filename in the file system.
Format
File Extension: The extension of the file.
Category
Kind: The kind of the file, e.g., group or rich
Subcategory
text document.
Genre
URL: The URL in the Info pane.
Country
Location: The location in the database; e.g.,
Language
/Inbox/Research.
Price
Tags: Tags applied to the file.
Tax
Digital Object Identifier: The unique digital
Tip
object identifier of the file, if available.
Decimal

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 226

Index: This is a number that increments Administrative Area: This is state, province,
based on the number of items being or region in the geolocation data for a file.
processed by a smart rule. Locality: The city in the geolocation data
Counter: Similar to the Index, this is a zero- for a file.
padded incrementing number.
Tab: A tab character.
Document Amount: This is an amount
Line Break: A line break (return) character
detected in the name or content of
for multi-line text.
documents, like receipts or invoices. Often
used with smart rules. Current Date: Today's date.
Document String: This is a string detected Addition Date: The date the file added to
in the name or content of documents. the database.
Typically used with smart rules. Creation Date: The date the file was
Bates Number: Inserts a Bates number. created.
Page Count: The total number of pages in Modification Date: The date the document
the document. was last modified.
Document Date: This is a date detected in
Group Name: The name of the group
the document's contents, e.g., in a receipt.
containing the document, e.g., /001/a/b/
For PDFs only the first four pages are used.
myfile.txt would report b as the group
Newest/Oldest Document Date: The
name.
newest or oldest date detected in the
Top Group Name: The name of the top level
document. For PDFs, only the first four
group in the root of the database, e.g.,
pages are used.
/001/a/b/myfile.txt would report 001 as
the top group name. When using dates, you can choose the format
Database Name: The name of the database as defined in System Preferences > Language
containing the document. & Region > Advanced > Dates. The default
Database Path: The filesystem path of the is the medium format, but you may choose
database. short or long formats as well. You can also
Attachments: The number of attachments choose specific parts of the date or time, e.g.,
in a file. the month, year, or hour only.

Language: An abbreviation of language Clipboard: Inserts content currently on the

detected in the document's indexed clipboard. It can be inserted as rich text,
contents. plain text, or a link, depending on the type
Country: The country in the geolocation of data and the file the data is inserted
data for a file. into.
Postal Code: The postal code derived from Predefined Author: This is the Author
the geolocation data for a file. specified in DEVONthink's Preferences >
Editing.
Username: The shortname of the current
macOS account.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 227

 Full Username: The longname of the to any sync location, i.e. all uploads,
current macOS account. downloads, and changes are committed.
Organization: This is the company name, if On Quit: Runs when DEVONthink quits.
defined by the (Me) contact card in macOS
Every Minute: Runs the specified actions
Contacts.
every minute.
Email Address: The primary email address,
Hourly/Daily/Weekly: Runs the specified
as defined by the (Me) contact card in
actions on an hourly, daily, or weekly
macOS Contacts.
schedule.
Host: The hostname of the machine.
On Workdays: Runs on Monday through
Properties: These are potential metadata Fridays.
properties found in the current file. A more On Weekends: Runs on Saturday or Sunday.
extensive listing of these can be found in the
On Creation: Runs when a new document
Metadata section.
is created in the specified location. To
Custom Metadata: This menu lists any trigger actions when taking notes or screen
custom metadata fields applied to the file. captures with the Sorter, choose Via
Sorter.
Before Saving: Runs before saving a
SMART RULE EVENTS AND
matched document.
ACTIONS
After Saving: Runs after saving a matched
Smart rules in DEVONthink provide many document.
powerful actions and events that can trigger On Imprinting: Runs when any matched
these actions. Below is a list of the available document has been imprinted.
options for both.
On Import: Runs when documents are

EVENTS added to the specified location.

On Clipping: Runs when documents
When an action is triggered is almost as are added via clipping, e.g., via menu
important as the action itself. Actions can be commands, the Sorter, DEVONagent,
triggered when any of these events occur: bookmarklets, or AppleScript.
On Download: Runs when items are
On Demand: Run only when Apply Rule is
downloaded via DEVONthink's Download
selected in a contextual menu or Tools >
Manager.
Apply Rules.
On Scan: Runs after a scanning operation
On Startup: Runs when DEVONthink
has completed.
launches.
Before Synchronization: Runs all actions
before DEVONthink begins synchronizing
to any sync location.
After Synchronization: Runs all actions
after DEVONthink completes synchronizing

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 228

On OCR: Runs after an OCR operation has You can and and remove multiple event
completed. triggers by pressing the + or - buttons. Fox
On News: Runs when an RSS feed refreshes example, you could use an On Import and
and receives new articles. an On Moving event trigger to act on files
imported or moved into it.
On Upload: Runs when an item is uploaded
through DEVONthink's web server.
ACTIONS

On Open: Runs when a matching item is

The power in smart rules is the actions.
opened in a new document window or
DEVONthink provides actions that cover
viewed in a main window.
simple tasks, e.g., prefixing a filename, all the
On Open Externally: Runs when a matching
way to ultra-powerful AppleScript injection
file is opened in an external application.
via external or embedded scripts. Since you
On Launch URL: Runs when the URL
can chain multiple actions together, the
associated with the item is launched.
possibilities are nearly endless. Here's a list of
On Reminder: Runs when an alarm set on a
available actions:
matching item's Reminder comes due.
Bounce Dock Icon: Causes DEVONthink's
On Renaming: Runs after matched items
dock icon to bounce. This will only trigger
are manually renamed.
when DEVONthink isn't the active
On Moving: Runs when matched items are
application.
moved to the specified location.
Display Notification: Shows a message
On Classifying: Runs when matching items
via the Mac's Notification Center.
are classified by DEVONthink.
Notifications need to be enabled in System
On Tagging: Runs when matched items are
Preferences > Notifications for Display
tagged
Notification to operate correctly.
On Replicating: Runs when matched items
Display Alert: Shows a message in an alert
are replicated.
window.
On Duplicating: Runs when matched items
Speak Text: Using your computer's voice
are duplicated.
synthesis, it will speak the message you
On Moving into Database: Runs when
specify.
indexed items are moved into the
Play Sound: Plays a selected system alert
database, becoming imported items.
sound.
On Moving to External Folder: Runs when
imported or created items in a database Send Mail: Enter email addresses to send
are moved to external locations, becoming the matching items. This can be a comma-
indexed items. delimited list of addresses, names, or enter
the name of a group you've defined in your
contacts.
Add to Reading List: Add the matched
items to the Reading List.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 229

 Open Externally: Open the matched file in Document String placeholder to represent
the system default application. the captured string.
Launch URL: Open the URL associated Date: Similar to String parameter, use the
shown in the Info Inspector & URL. desired format of the Document Date
Check Bookmarks: Checks the URL of the placeholder to represent the captured
matched items. Any issues with the URL string in subsequent actions.
are reported in the Log window or the Log Amount: Similar to String parameter,
popover. use the desired format of the Document
Execute Script: Execute External or Amount placeholder to represent the
Embedded scripts. Embedded scripts are captured string in subsequent actions.
created in a popup menu and only available Regular Expression: Items in parentheses
to the smart rule they are created in. See are captured; items outside parentheses
also p. 196ff are ignored. You can specify multiple
captures in an expression. Using the
Item scanning: The next two actions allow
captured text in subsequent actions is
you to scan the name or text of a document
specified by using backslash, \, and the
and use the results when found. Each of the
number of the capture, starting at 1. Note
actions also has a parameter you specify
we use Apple's NSRegularExpression which
for the type of data you're scanning for.
supports the ICU regular expression syntax.
These actions and parameters can be used
with subsequent actions that support Example:
placeholders, e.g., Scan Text: Date → Using the String parameter, Invoice *
Document Date with Change Modification would capture 0012345 in a file named
Date. If the action returns no results, actions Invoice 0012345..
using the results will not be executed. Using the Date parameter, * would
However, unrelated actions in the smart rule capture the date in a file named
chain will be executed normally. 2020-01-01.
Using the Amount parameter, $* would
Scan Name: Scans the name of the file.
capture the dollar amount detected.
Scan Text: Scans the contents of the file.
Using the Regular Expression parameter,

The following four parameters are used with Bill To: ([A-Za-z0-9 ,]+) would

the Scan Name and Scan Text actions. With , capture the name of the person or

, and , a prefix and/or suffix before/after the company billed. \1 would be used in the

wildcard has to be specified. subsequent action.

String: An asterisk (*) wildcard specifies Change Name/Aliases/Comment/Label/

data to be captured. Other terms added Rating: Change the specific attribute of

will be used to help located the desired the matched file. For items with an existing

string. In subsequent actions, use the

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 230

attribute, e.g., a comment, a placeholder File: Allows you to file items into a group.
will preserve the existing value. Specify subgroups using a forward slash,
Mark: Toggle the state of read/unread, e.g., 2019/DEVONtech would create or file
flagged/unflagged, and locked/unlocked. into the DEVONtech subgroup of a 2019
Note you change more than one of these group in the current group. You can use
attributes with one action, but you can placeholders to define the location.
chain more than one Mark action in the Classify: Using our AI, this will attempt
smart rule. to move any matched files to an apropos
Change Creation/Modification Date: location. Failures to classify files are noted
Change the creation or modification date in the Log window.
of matched files to: current, addition,
Move Into Database: Moves indexed items
creation, modification, or the document
into the database, essentially importing
date.
them. Note this removes the file from the
Add Tags: Add tags to the matched files. original location in the filesystem.
As you type, tags from all open databases Move To External Folder: For an item
will be suggested. Press the comma key to located in an indexed group, this moves the
commit the tag. file to the indexed folder in the Finder.
Add Tags from Document: Adds existing
Convert: Attempts to convert files
tags if they are detected in the matched
into plain/rich text, formatted notes,
document's contents.
Markdown, HTML, web archive, or PDF.
Remove Tags: Removes specific tags you
Convert & Continue: Converts files and
enter.
applies subsequent actions to the copies.
Remove All Tags: Removes all tags from the
Imprint: Apply the selected imprint to any
items.
matching files, if possible.
Tags: Adds or converts tags to matched
documents from these commands: OCR: This will perform OCR on a file, if
Convert HashTags, Convert Keywords, possible. Choose a format to generate
Convert Properties, Convert Geolocation, a new file in the selected file type. Note
Add Tags to Images, and Scan Barcodes. the file type selected will override the
(See the View menu for more information option set in Preferences > OCR > Convert
on these options.) incoming scans to. Choose Apply to
convert a matched file directly to a PDF
Move/Replicate/Duplicate: Move, replicate,
with OCR. This action does not generate
or duplicate a matched file to a chosen
new files.
location.
Duplicate & Continue: Duplicates matched Custom Metadata: If you have specified
files and applies subsequent actions to the custom metadata fields, you will have
copies. options to change values with an action.
For example, if you had a Boolean field
named "Done", you could have the action

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 231

 set this field to true when the action is Group With Duplicates: Creates a group
triggered. with duplicates of the selected documents.
Group With Replicants: Creates a group
Move to Trash: Move the item to the
with replicants of the selected documents.
database's trash. The items are not
Verify & Optimize Databases: Runs a
removed from the database until the trash
verification on all open databases and
is emptied.
optimizes them if they verify successfully.
Delete: Be very cautious with this option.
Errors are alerted and logged to Window >
Delete truly deletes a file. It is not sent to
Log.
the database's trash. It is not sent to the
Finder's trash. It is completely deleted. Download:

Linked Images of Page: Adds linked images

SCRIPTS of a displayed web page to the database.

Below is a list of the DEVONthink supplied Images of Page: Adds the images of a

scripts, segregated by the menu items in the displayed web page to the database.

Script menu: Links of Page: Adds links contained on a

displayed web page to the database.
Comments: Download as…: Converts bookmarks to
one of these formats: Formatted Notes,
Append Selected Text: Adds the selected
HTML Pages, PDF Documents (One Page or
text to the comments of the current
Paginated), and Web Archives
document.
Assemble: Collects the comments of the Edit:
selected documents and creates a new
document listing them. Count Characters: Counts the characters

Convert to Tags: Converts the tag in the current selection.

contained in the comments field to real Count Words: Counts the words in the

tags if the comments field of the selected current selection.

document contains tags separated by

Execute:
commas.
Speak: Speaks the comments of the AppleScript: Executes an AppleScript

selected documents. script.

Perl: Executes a Perl script.
Data:
Shell: Executes a shell script.

Move Duplicates to Trash: Moves all

Export:
duplicates of the selected document to the
trash. Listing: Saves a UTF-8 text file containing

Find & Remove Similar Contents: Finds and a text listing of the names of all contents/

removes similar documents. groups of the current database.

Daily Backup Archive: Creates a
compressed backup (.Zip) of the current

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 232

 database in ~/Backup. All backups are Scale to 1024 pixels: Scales the image to
include a datestamp in the filename for 1,024 pixels.
easy tracking and identification. These can Scale to 200%: Scales the image to 200
be useful for copying to external media or percent.
uploading to a cloud service as a secondary Scale to 50%: Scales the image to 50
backup strategy. percent.

Feeds: Import:

Nature -- Hubble News: Downloads the Del.icio.us: Imports your del.icio.us

latest Hubble news. bookmarks. The descriptions are used to
iTMS -- Added Albums: Downloads covers name the imported bookmarks; the notes
of albums recently added to the iTunes and the tags are added to the comments.
Music Store. If the keychain does not contain a key for
del.icio.us, dialogs pop up allowing you to
Format:
enter the user name and password.

Body Normal: Formats selected text as Man Page: Imports a UNIX manual page as

"Body Normal". a PDF document.

Body Small: Formats selected text as Perldoc: Imports the documentation of Perl

"Body Small". pages, modules, functions, or programs.

Header Capitalized: Formats selected text

Reminders:
as "Header Capitalized".
Header Main: Formats selected text as Add as Event to Calendar: Adds a new
"Header Main". event to Calendar linking back to the
Header Secondary: Formats selected text selected item in DEVONthink.
as "Header Secondary". Add as To Do to OmniFocus: Adds
Source: Formats selected text as "Source". the selected item as a to-do item to
Reset Spacing: Resets the line and OmniFocus.
paragraph spacing of selected rich text. Add as To Do to Reminders: Adds
the selected item as a to-do item to
Images:
Reminders.

Copy Info to Comment: Copies basic image Add as To Do to The Hit List: Adds the

info to the comment field. selected item as a to-do item to The Hit

Flip Horizontal / Vertical: Flips the image List.

horizontally/vertically. Add as To Do to Things: Adds the selected

Rotate Left / Right: Rotates the image item as a to-do item to Things.

left/right.
Note: These are scripts for integrating with
Landscape to Portrait: Rotates only
external applications. For scripting internal
landscape images to portrait.
reminder scripts, see the Reminder Scripts
Portrait to Landscape: Rotates only
section of the chapter about automation.
portrait images to landscape.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 233

Rename: Thumbnails:

Append Selected Text: Appends the Flip Horizontal / Vertical: Flips the
selected text to the title of the currently thumbnails of selected documents
selected item. horizontally/vertically.
Replace Text: Replaces a text passage in Rotate Left / Right: Rotates the
the titles of selected documents. thumbnails of selected documents left/
To Webpage Title: Sets the titles of the right.
selected documents to the names of the Landscape to Portrait: Rotates only
web pages pointed to by their URL fields. landscape thumbnails to portrait.
To Subject: Sets the titles of the selected Portrait to Landscape: Rotates only
documents to the subject lines of the email portrait thumbnails to landscape.
messages if the selected documents are
Note: While these scripts work with all
email messages.
image formats including PDF, they should
Sheets: not be used for PDF documents. They will
only work on the first page of the PDF and
Add Multiple Records: Adds up to 999
destroy all embedded metadata.
empty records to a sheet.
Column Sum&Mean Value: Calculates the Caching: All scripts in the Scripts menu
sum and average of a table column. are cached, meaning their properties are
Row Sum&Mean Value: Calculates the sum persistent until you quit and relaunch the
and average of a table row. application or DEVONthink automatically
Check sums in last column: Checks the updates the menu, e.g., after adding or
sums in the last column on validity. removing scripts.

Tabs:
WEB SITE EXPORT TEMPLATES
Open Bing: Open a new tab for the Bing
For exporting selected groups or files as
search engine.
a web site, DEVONthink uses templates
Open Google: Open a new tab for the
available in ~/Library/Application
Google search engine.
Support/DEVONthink 3/Websites/ to
Open Location: Open a new tab for a
create HTML files from documents. You
location you specify.
can choose the template in the save dialog
Note: The last script does no URL that appears when you use File > Export > as
validation, though DEVONthink's dictionary Website.
makes it possible to script this too.
In the markup of HTML templates, the
following placeholders can be used:

%charset%
%comment%

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 234

 %content% Terminal:
%databasePlusLocation%
$ defaults write com.devon-
%modification%
technologies.think3
%stylesheet% ShouldScaleAttachedImages -bool TRUE
%title%
The above command activates the preference
%url%
with the key "ShouldScaleAttachedImages".
%tags%
Change TRUE to FALSE to deactivate it. Use
These placeholders will be replaced with any of the preferences keys below to activate
actual information during the export. or deactivate them.
The placeholders will only be replaced in
There is a special preference to
documents that are converted to HTML
allow DEVONthink to detect other
during export, namely plain text, rich text,
plain text formats as plain text:
Microsoft Office/OpenOffice documents,
"AdditionalPlainTextExtensions". As it
scripts, chat logs, and sheets.
replaces the list of additional plain text
extensions we recommend that you read the
HIDDEN PREFERENCES current list first (empty by default) before

There are a few settings in DEVONthink that adding your own to the end of the list.

you cannot set through the Preferences

Terminal:
window. Most of them are intended to
facilitate customer support but they might $ defaults read com.devon-
technologies.think3
be interesting for you as well.
AdditionalPlainTextExtensions

Note: These hidden preferences are not an

2014-07-31 08:25:27.101
official feature and could be changed or defaults[21950:3312262] The domain/
removed with any update. default pair of (/Users/eb/Library/
Preferences/com.devon-technologies.think3

HOW TO ACCESS THE HIDDEN AdditionalPlainTextExtensions) does not

exist
PREFERENCES
# This "error" shows there are no
All hidden preferences are simple on/off
additional formats specified.
switches. You set and unset them using the
"defaults" command in the Terminal. To set $ defaults write com.devon-
technologies.think3
preferences via the Terminal DEVONthink
AdditionalPlainTextExtensions -
must not be running or it will overwrite your
string .otl.todotxt
changes when you close it.
$ defaults read com.devon-
To set a preference using the Terminal, noting technologies.think3
the commands are case-senstive, they are AdditionalPlainTextExtensions

written like this:

.otl.todotxt

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 235

AVAILABLE HIDDEN PREFERENCES KEYS view/edit pane of main windows. The
preview only displays files, not groups.
AdditionalPlainTextExtensions: Adds
DisableHighlightColorMapping: Uses the
additional plain text extensions, separated
same colors when highlighting documents
by dots.
in dark and light mode.
AdditionalXMLExtensions: Adds additional
DisableTagAutocompletion: Disable
XML file name extensions, separated by
displaying the popup of tag suggestions
dots.
when entering tags, e.g., in the Tags bar.
BatesNumberDigits: Specifies the number
EnableApplicationFiles: Applications can
of digits used for the placeholder.
be imported/indexed.
CounterDigits: Specifies the number of
EnablePDFDrawing: Enables DEVONthink's
digits used for the placeholder.
own drawing of PDF pages. This was
DisableActivityWindow: Disables
a workaround for macOS Sierra and is
automatically showing/hiding of the
incompatible to macOS High Sierra.
Activity window.
MonospacedSidebarFont: Use a
DisableAutomaticDeconsolidation:
monospaced system font in the sidebars of
Inhibits items added to indexed groups in
main windows.
DEVONthink from automatically moving
MonospacedViewFont: Use a monospaced
out to the indexed Finder folder.
system font in the item list of main
DisableAutomaticUpdatingOfIndexedItems:
windows.
Disables automatic updating of indexed
PlainTextIsMarkdown: Treat all plain text
items.
files as markdown.
DisableBadgeLabel: Disable the badge label
RichNotesWithoutAttachments: Services
on DEVONthink's Dock icon.
create RTF instead of RTFD.
DisableFileSystemEvents: DEVONthink no
ShowAdditionalInfoInPathBar: Shows
longer listens to file system events.
some details about the selected item in the
DisableFinderTags: DEVONthink no longer
Information Bar.
imports or exports Finder tags.
SyncDebugLog: Enable additional sync
DisplayGroupsInPreviewPane: DEVONthink
logging for debugging.
will display the contents of selected
WindowToolbarStyleExpanded: Enable the
groups, smart groups, and feeds in the
expanded toolbar style on macOS Big Sur.
This shows the title bar above the toolbar
instead of the new unified default style.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 236

 READ ME

IN THIS CHAPTER This chapter contains the version history of

DEVONthink, our end user license agreement
Version History 237
(EULA), and credits.
License Agreement 268
Credits 268

VERSION HISTORY
New  Improved  Fixed  Removed

VERSION 3.6.2

This release includes a new sync option: CloudKit. It's a single-stage sync, similar to Dropbox,
but works with iCloud and is just as simple to set up. Additionally, we have reduced resource
consumption with sync.

For Markdown users, DEVONthink uses CriticMarkup more extensively for formatting,
conversion, and when creating summaries. We added support for some alternate highlighting and
strikethrough Markdown syntax as well as support for Mermaid.js so you can create diagrams in
Markdown documents.

Export documents to the .docx format. Maintenance routines, e.g., Verify & Repair detect and
fix more issues and are faster. And, as always, we added many fixes and improvements to make
DEVONthink faster and more reliable.

Added new menu command File > Export > as Word 2007 Document (DOCX) and renamed File
> Export > as Word Document to as Word 97 Document (DOC).
Added menu command Tools > Summarize Highlights > as Sheet.
Added alternate menu command Reveal In New Window to the contextual menu of the results
in the See Also & Classify and Search inspectors. This command is available while pressing the
Option modifier key.
Added Mermaid support option to Preferences > Media > Markdown > Extensions.
Added Convert to Item Link and an alternate Convert All to Item Links command to the
contextual menus of plain text, rich text, and Markdown views. This allows converting a
document's WikiLinks to permanent item links. The alternate command is available while
pressing the Option modifier key when the contextual menu is open.
Added hidden preference DisableTagAutocompletion to disable auto-completion in tagging
fields, e.g., the Tags bar.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 237

Added .rmd to the list of known Markdown extensions.
Added new external smart rule script File Items Using @Destination in Name which moves
items to the group specified in the name after @, similar to Evernote's email filing.
Added name without extension AppleScript property.
Added optional force parameter to the open window for AppleScript command to force
DEVONthink to always open a new window, even if the item is already opened or visible in a
window.

Pro — Added a suppressible alert to Preferences > Data before deleting custom metadata
definitions.

Sync — Added iCloud (CloudKit) sync location as an alternative iCloud sync option. The
previous iCloud location is now named iCloud (Legacy).
Sync — Added the option to disable synchronizing custom metadata definitions set in
Preferences > Data. This can be useful when people use the same sync location but not the
same databases.

Updated the application icon, about/launch panels, disk image background, menu extra icon,
and the icon of the Databases folder for macOS Big Sur. Also updated the icons for Finder
items, e.g., sync stores and database files.
The name of closed databases in the Navigate sidebar is now shown in italics.
The Recent Destinations and Favorites sections, e.g., in the Move/Replicate/Duplicate To
contextual menus, no longer include items in the trash.
The Log panel isn't hidden anymore while the application is inactive.
Tagging fields, e.g. in the Tags bar or the Info inspector, now support entering nested tags by
separating the tags with a forward slash, e.g., software/productivity/DEVONthink. This will
create a parent tag and child tags in the Tags group of the current database.
The Document > Annotations inspector supports CriticMarkup in Markdown documents in
source or side-by-side mode with Markdown documents.
Conversion of rich text to Markdown now uses CriticMarkup to support conversion of
strikethrough and highlighted text.
The Markdown editor supports Format > Highlight, Format > Style > Strike Through, and
Format > Style > Underlined. These options are also available in the editing bar. CriticMarkup is
used to support these formatting options.
The highlighting and strikethrough syntax of some other Markdown-enabled applications is
now supported for Markdown documents when previewing, converting, and exporting as a
website. ==text==, ^^text^^, and ~~text~~ are alternate choices.
Tools > Summarize Highlights > as Markdown uses CriticMarkup formatting for the summary.
Summarizing Markdown documents as rich text is also now supported.
Preview and conversion of Markdown documents now strips double square brackets around
WikiLinks.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 238

Improved appearance of tabs, especially of document windows (macOS Big Sur).
Sorting the Document > Annotations inspector by type now also uses the color of the
annotations.
Improved accessibility support of the Document > Annotations and Document > Links
inspectors.
The Sort method of the top level Tags and Trash items in the Navigate sidebar is now
independent of the Sort method of the global inbox.
Go > To Document now supports document windows too and does not always open documents
in a new window.
Revised Preferences > Media to provide more space for potential future options.
Improved Tab key handling in smart group and smart rule editors.
Improved appearance of the predicate editor in smart group, smart rule, and advanced search
options (macOS Big Sur).
Tools > Summarize Highlights is more compatible to PDF annotations and their details added
in DEVONthink To Go.
Importing PDF documents without searchable text no longer logs a message.
Importing and indexing items now uses any available kMDItemWhereFroms extended attribute,
not only web URLs.
Improved handling of item link parameters.
The Document > Links inspector now ignores redundant links inside documents, e.g., in
Markdown or tables of contents.
The Smart Quotes and Smart Dashes options are now disabled by default when editing the
source of HTML pages or web archives.
Improved recognition of document dates in the dd/MM/YY format.
Improved detection of document amounts.
Renamed the external smart rule script "Tags - Add Keywords" to Tags - Add Most Important
Words as the Concordance is used, not keywords of the document's properties.
Improved the dictionary description of the open tab for AppleScript command.
Verifying, repairing, and rebuilding databases now can detect and fix more issues. Optimizing
databases is also up to twice as fast.
The Spotlight metadata importer plugin adds additional metadata to improve the
compatibility with third-party Spotlight-enabled applications like HoudahSpot.
Improved support for volumes mounted by AutoMounter. This can improve handling indexed
items on such volumes as well as verifying and synchronizing databases.
DEVONthink asks the user for automation permissions on macOS Mojave and later before
clipping websites if not yet enabled.
DEVONthink now sets the extended attribute com.apple.metadata:kMDItemWhereFroms
instead of kMDItemWhereFroms after changing the URL of items. This improves compatibility

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 239

with other applications and the latest macOS versions. However, both attributes are still
supported when importing or exporting.
Refreshing RSS feeds now only logs HTTP errors, e.g. 404 not found, and no longer logs
network issues.
Improved usage of number formatting defined in System Preferences.
More reliable clipping and conversion of web pages to formatted notes.
Improved smart group and smart rule performance.
Reduced memory usage while indexing and parsing HTML-based documents.
Improved overall performance, especially when handling large numbers of tags and aliases.

Pro — Importing .mbox files now ignores Preferences > Email > Conversations > Import
complete conversations to improve performance. Also this option isn't applicable to such
imports.
Pro — Improved importing and indexing the content of emails not having a properly formatted
sender.
Pro — File > Export > as Unix mailbox now supports exporting selected groups and smart
groups containing emails.
Pro — Toggling the checkbox of an item in the Download Manager changes the state of all
currently selected sites if the clicked site is also selected.
Pro — More reliable handling of custom metadata identifiers by the get custom meta data
AppleScript command.

Server — The web interface now supports using local Markdown stylesheets specified in
Preferences > Media.

Sync — Reduced resource consumption of the iCloud upload monitor.

Sync — Reduced the number of automatic sync attempts after failures.
Sync — Improved error handling and logging of receiving invalid sync data.

Intermittent crash of Cover Flow. Fixed.

In macOS Big Sur on M1 Macs some file types couldn't be imported into encrypted databases.
Fixed.
The Navigate sidebar was still sometimes automatically expanded when the option to
Automatically expand & collapse was disabled in Preferences > General > Sidebar. Fixed.
The thumbnail size in Icon View wasn't always restored with the Global Inbox. Fixed.
Selections in the Favorites section of the Navigate sidebar didn't always work as expected.
Fixed.
Some toolbar search options were not restored on startup if all windows were closed before
quitting. Fixed.
Saving a modified tab with selected items in main windows, e.g. after opening multiple tabs,
reset the tab. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 240

Importing encrypted databases from a sync location attached the panel to the wrong window.
Fixed.
If the name of a database was changed by sync, the filename and Favorites were not updated.
Fixed.
Rare issues of expansion of the item list in List View. Fixed.
Temporary memory leaks could occur after closing tabs. Fixed.
The Info item of the toolbar's overflow menu didn't always work. Fixed.
The Tags filter pane didn't always work properly when switching from a database showing a
selected document to another database without a selection. Fixed.
Links shown in the Navigation bar while hovering over links in web views, including Markdown
previews, could flicker. Fixed.
The preview of documents could automatically switch from Text alternative to Best
alternative, e.g., after editing Word documents externally. Fixed.
The URL wasn't immediately shown in the Navigation bar after hiding the editing bar. Fixed.
The Document > Annotations inspector could display incorrectly when background colors using
an opacity value less than 100% was used. Fixed.
Edit > Find > Next/Previous didn't work correctly in full-screen document mode if the Search
inspector was visible before entering this mode. Fixed.
The Operators & Wildcards checkbox of the Search inspector was sometimes automatically
enabled. Fixed.
The progress indicator shown while rebuilding a database wasn't updated while importing on
macOS Big Sur. Fixed.
The Sorter did not appear in the menu bar when using Bartender. Fixed.
The Copy Selection command of the Sorter did not work in full-screen apps. Fixed.
Changing the size of system fonts, e.g., setting the size of the full-screen plain text font in
Preferences > Editing, no longer worked in the latest macOS releases.
Tools > Summarize Highlights created an incorrect name when only one document was
selected. Fixed.
The Auto correct: Page orientation option of Preferences > OCR was ignored in some cases.
Fixed.
Inconsistent handling of the contents and details of PDF text annotations in the Document >
Annotations inspector. Fixed.
Markdown documents containing base64-encoded data or automatic WikiLinks from
MashedWords or Names & Aliases didn't display correctly. Fixed
Styles and tabs at the beginning of lines in rich text documents weren't handled correctly
when converted to Markdown. Fixed.
Converting a sheet column from or to rich text didn't convert the fields of the column. Fixed.
Sheets using the Set data type in a column didn't print or convert to PDF correctly. Fixed.
Offline viewing of downloaded web pages didn't always navigate properly. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 241

 Clipping pages from our user community as web archives or HTML didn't work properly. Fixed.
Indexed iCloud Drive files, which are not locally available sometimes, caused issues. Fixed.
Markdown section headings containing links didn't behave properly, e.g., in the Content > Table
of Contents inspector. Fixed.
Scanning item links could cause unnecessary updates to the Spotlight index. Fixed.
Rare exception while parsing HTML metadata. Fixed.
Scheduled smart rules, e.g. every minute, having valid conditions and both record-specific,
e.g. move, and non-specific actions, e.g. play sound, were unnecessarily executed even with no
matching records. Fixed.

Pro — The scanning interface displayed some artifacts in dark mode and on macOS Big Sur.
Fixed.
Pro — Imports from the ScanSnap were not always saved, the name of imported scans was
not always used, and certain pages in the created PDF did not use the same rotation as the
original when the auto-rotation option was not enabled.
Pro — The Download Manager could cause failed imports and too many downloads. Fixed.
Pro — Custom metadata with multiple identical values in a set could lead to incorrect
selections being displayed. Fixed.
Pro — Poorly written scripts could create invalid custom metadata identifiers via the add
custom meta data command. Fixed.

Server — In the web interface more results could not be downloaded and the wrong date
format was used for the US locale. Fixed.
Server — Minor fixes for changes in Safari 14.0.3.

Sync — Obsolete files or folders might not have been removed from DEVONthink's
Application Support folder after cleaning sync stores. Fixed.
Sync — With sync locations being used by more than two devices, locally changed UUIDs could
lead to unnecessary intermittent uploads. Fixed.

VERSION 3.6.1

This maintenance release fixes some issues with macOS Big Sur, including a crash when accessing
DEVONthink's preferences. It also has some modifications for increased compatibility with Apple
Silicon Macs.

Added hidden preference WindowToolbarStyleExpanded to enable the expanded toolbar

style on macOS Big Sur. This shows the title bar above the toolbar instead of the new unified
default style.

Changed title of "Save Search" dialog to Save as smart group.

More reliable item link scanning.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 242

Word and OpenOffice documents are now ignored while scanning databases for item links to
avoid potential crashes.
Improved user notifications in case of new releases, promotions, and sidebar extras. In
addition, clicking on the notification jumps directly to the item if the notification is only
related to one item, e.g., one promotion or one release.

Pro — Added Import command to the contextual menu of the messages list in the View >
Sidebar > Import > Email sidebar pane.

Sync — More reliable detection whether the Cloudy folder was copied to another computer.

Some interface elements were incorrectly positioned when running on Apple Silicon Macs.
Fixed.
The view and preview modes, as well as sorting and columns widths of the item list couldn't be
changed for the global inbox. Fixed.
The Title column in the items list wasn't persistent on macOS Big Sur. Fixed.
The Log and Info toolbar buttons didn't work in full screen mode on macOS Catalina and later.
Fixed.
The Document > Annotations inspector didn't display thumbnails of attached images in dark
mode. Fixed.
Fixed glitches of the sidebar, the Templates menu, and the Scripts menu on macOS Big Sur
and in dark mode.
Choosing an already opened encrypted database in Go > Favorites didn't jump to it. Fixed.
In some cases, DEVONthink could crash when accessing the Preferences in macOS Big Sur.
Fixed.
Encrypted databases containing non-ASCII characters in the filename were disabled in the
sidebar while opened. Fixed.
Caching could cause outdated Markdown previews, e.g., after changing WikiLink preferences.
Fixed.
Rare issue of automatic WikiLinking, especially in Markdown previews. Fixed.
Copying links to Markdown sections didn't work in case of non-Latin characters, e.g., Asian
languages. Fixed.
Printing a web-based document in macOS Big Sur on an M1 Mac could crash the application.
Fixed.
AppleScript command create record with didn't accept the search group parameter.
Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 243

VERSION 3.6

This release brings compatibility for macOS 11 Big Sur, with both cosmetic and technological
improvements. Also, document links are a focus in this version. Databases are scanned for link
relationships between documents: either outgoing links or incoming Links ("back links"). The
numbers of incoming and outgoing links can also be used to search, as smart criteria, or to sort
the item list.

Other enhancements include better in-document searching via the Search inspector which now
allows wildcards and operators, e.g., DEVONthink NEAR support. We have added more Markdown
support including a new Daily Journal template and creating a table of contents file in Markdown.
There is now the ability to duplicate and replicate via the Move to popover when modifier keys
are held. PDFs with a table of contents can be split by chapters into separate documents. The
AppleScript dictionary also received several additions and improvements, including faster
processing of selected items. Lastly, there are performance and reliability improvements for
DEVONthink and its synchronization.

Added support for scanning documents for links to and from other documents. This is
supported for all newly created files in DEVONthink's native formats. Existing databases will
be scanned the first time they're opened.
Added File > Close > All Except command to leave the current database open.
Added an Enable Operators & Wildcards option to the Search inspector allowing use of
operators and wildcards for in-document searches. If disabled, the search terms will be
treated as substrings. The Edit > Find > Find Next/Previous commands and next/previous
buttons in the inspector are available when this option is enabled.
Added Tools > Split PDF into Chapters command to split one or more selected PDF documents
having multiple pages and a table of contents with multiple entries into the separate chapter
documents.
Added Go > To Document to quickly open a document in the current main window if the View/
Edit pane is visible or a new document window, if not.
Added Copy Section Link and Copy Page Link to the contextual menu of the Table of Contents
inspector, for Markdown and PDF documents.
Added an Incoming Links pane to the Document > Links inspector showing incoming links
("back links") from other documents. This includes WikiLinks from plain and rich texts, as
well as Markdown documents. Clicking on an incoming link displays the backlinked document.
Dragging incoming links to Markdown or rich text documents with Command-Option held is
also supported.
Added support for querying or sorting on the number of incoming or outgoing links to many
sections of the interface, including smart groups, smart rules, advanced searching, sorting the
item list, etc.
Added property icons to the item list denoting items have incoming or outgoing links.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 244

Added Daily Journal — Markdown template to Data > New from Template > Productivity. Also,
updated and renamed the original Daily Journal template to Daily Journal - Text.
Added two new services to capture bookmarks, DEVONthink 3: Capture Bookmark, and to
add links to the Reading List, DEVONthink 3: Add to Reading List. Both require having a URL
selected.
Added a File Location pop-up menu to the Tools > Filters > Info pane to filter imported or
indexed items in the current location.
Added a submenu to Tools > Create Table of Contents to create a table of contents as rich
text or Markdown document.
Added Copy Section Link to the contextual menu of the Markdown editor.
Added Any Extension criterion for use with smart groups, smart rules, and searches. This
can be used to check for filenames with or without an extension, e.g., Extension is not Any
Extension.
Added AppleScript terms incoming references and outgoing references to get explicit
link relationships between records.
Added AppleScript terms incoming Wiki references and outgoing Wiki references to
get automatic WikiLink relationships between records.
Added AppleScript term selected records for application and main windows. Contrary
to the still supported selection property this supports bulk retrieval of properties of the
selection. Queries like name of selected records or UUID of selected records are up to
100 times faster.
Added a generic UUID for the global inbox for use with item links, smart groups, and smart
rules.
Added hidden preference DisableHighlightColorMapping to use the same highlight colors
for web documents in both light and dark mode on macOS Mojave and later.
Added hidden preference ExcludeOpenedDatabasesFromTimeMachine. This option is off by
default.

The Data > Move To command can now be used with files open in document windows.
Opening favorite documents via Go > Favorites tries to open them in the current main window
if the View/Edit pane is visible.
The sidebar header of main windows now shows the number of unread items in the Reading
List.
Tooltips of results, e.g., search results or See Also & Classify results, are shown if the location
of the item is abbreviated.
The Database Properties popover no longer requires selecting only the root of the database in
the Navigate sidebar.
Items newly added to the Reading List are shown at the top.
The Info inspector now shows the total duration when multiple multimedia files are selected.
Added a Copy Name command to the contextual menu of the Document > Links inspector.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 245

The Table of Contents inspector now detects the alternate heading syntax in Markdown
documents.
Insert Back Link and Insert Quote commands of the Annotations & Reminders inspector now
support plain text and Markdown annotation.
Relative links in HTML-based documents and item links referencing web-based documents now
support anchors, e.g., [001](001.md#conclusion) in Markdown.
Added shortcut ⌃⌘E to Edit > Insert > Item Link.
Changed shortcut of Data > Launch URL to ⌃⌘U and Data > Launch URL in Background to
⌃⌥⌘U.
Holding the Option or Command-Option modifier keys can be used to duplicate or replicate
items via the Data > Move To popover. The title of the popover is updated according to the
current modifier keys.
Both Data > Move to external folder and automatic moving to external folder, e.g., after
adding/moving items to indexed groups, tries to retain the original filenames of the
documents.
Groups created by File > Import > Notes from Evernotenow retain the creation or modification
date of the imported notes. Note: This command only works with Evernote's "legacy version"
as Evernote 10 no longer supports AppleScript.
Animated GIFs now animate when displayed. However, they can no longer be modified.
Added Delete Page and Insert Blank Page commands to the contextual menu of the View/Edit
pane when viewing PDFs.
The Editing bar used with PDFs now supports inserting blank pages, deleting the current page,
and reversing the page order without the Thumbnails inspector being visible.
Sheet templates now support placeholders.
Dragging audio or video files in a database into a Markdown document now inserts video or
audio HTML tags.
The sharing extension uses URLs provided by source application for files, images, and movies,
if a URL is available. The extension also supports more input types, improves reliability, and is
more compatible with macOS Big Sur.
More efficient updating and reloading of sidebars in main windows.
Improved parsing of toolbar searches using the search prefix tags: now strips unnecessary
white spaces.
The summaries in the Search inspector now use the Summarize setting in Preferences >
Editing.
Improved performance of the Search inspector for web documents and views.
Renamed Move All Instances to Trash to Move All Replicants to Trash.
Scanning text of documents, e.g., via smart rule actions or date or amount placeholders, now
scans the first eight pages of PDF documents and up to 40k of text.
Improved escaping characters while converting documents to Markdown.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 246

Improved conversion of rich text to Markdown now retains bold, italics, underlining, and links.
In addition, lines containing only bold text are converted to headers.
Conversion of hashtags to tags now ignores the content of certain types of files, e.g., CSS
stylesheets, source code, code blocks in Markdown files, etc. as they can generate a large
number of unwanted tags.
Relative paths to video or audio files in the same database are now supported in Markdown or
HTML documents.
More reliable indexing of third-party file formats requiring Spotlight metadata importers.
Improved updating indexed files with Finder comments, especially in folders containing many
files with comments.
Improved recognition of document dates using MM/DD/YY format.
More consistent handling of file coordination to improve opening or editing imported
documents externally.
Revised user-agent while downloading RSS feeds to improve the compatibility with certain
feeds, e.g., some Atom feeds.
Improved HTML parser makes the AppleScript command get embedded images of more
compatible to websites loading images dynamically.
Exporting templates no longer replaces % in the name of exported items.
The Add to Reading List service now automatically names the added item.
Improved checking free disk space before optimizing, rebuilding, or adding files to databases.
Updated scripts of Scripts > Execute menu.
Files added to the Global Inbox folder in the Finder are no longer processed by DEVONthink
while smart rules or scripts are running.
Invalid arguments of AppleScript commands now report an error.
The Filename criterion in smart groups, smart rules, and searches now support is not and
does not contain/begin/end forms.
More efficient storing of internal and custom metadata.
The Support Assistant now uses SSL/TLS.
More background activities now block the synchronization of a database until complete to
avoid unnecessary or outdated transfers.
Improved timeout handling of background tasks.
Improved reliability and performance, including handling filesystem events.

Pro — The Apple Mail plugin is now compatible to Big Sur and is included by default. Newer
plugins will be downloaded from our servers if available and necessary. In addition, old plugins
used by former macOS versions are automatically removed.
Pro — Improved compatibility when downloading multimedia files via the Download Manager.
Pro — OCR jobs in queue are cancelled after a crash of the OCR helper.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 247

Server — Updated web interface fixes the display of scores in search view and improves
rendering Markdown documents.
Server — video and audio HTML tags in Markdown documents are now supported in the web
interface. They are also supported in File > Export > as Website command in all editions.

Sync — Dropbox connections try to alleviate timeouts or rate limiting by the service.
Sync — Reduced CPU and memory usage of the iCloud upload monitor.
Sync — Improved the overall reliability of WebDAV sync stores.
Sync — Improved the efficiency and speed of uploads, especially with smaller databases.

After canceling mounting encrypted databases or entering the wrong password multiple
times, the extension wasn't reverted to .dtSparse on macOS Catalina and later. Fixed.
Encrypted databases added to Favorites didn't work. Fixed.
Favorite encrypted databases were disabled while opened. Fixed.
Recent encrypted databases were disabled after closing them. Fixed.
After saving edited Markdown documents in both side-by-side and fullscreen document mode,
the source view lost the keyboard focus. Fixed.
Edit > Set Name As did not work in case of Markdown and HTML documents viewed in side-by-
side mode. Fixed.
Minor issues of the Table of Contents inspector with Markdown documents. Fixed.
MultiMarkdown metadata headers could be processed incorrectly by automatic Wiki linking.
Fixed.
Tab-indented lists in Markdown weren't parsed correctly. Fixed.
Go > Complete News was not disabled while the Support Assistant or a document window
showing a web document or Markdown preview was the frontmost window. Fixed.
Backward and forward handling after clicking on a link in RSS news or using Go > Complete
News wasn't working properly. Fixed.
Tags based on hashtags were updated when RSS feeds updated or after using the Append
Plain Note or Append Rich Note services. Fixed.
The RSS parser could affect the rendering of the Extras sidebar. Fixed.
Reordering of Reading List items via drag-and-drop shouldn't have been possible when
showing only unread items. Fixed.
macOS data detectors and filenames containing the same word multiple times could cause
issues with automatic WikiLinks. Fixed.
Website exports didn't resolve automatic Wiki links based on the square bracket syntax in
Markdown documents. Fixed.
Page links copied by the Document > Annotations inspector incorrectly referenced the next
page. Fixed.
Empty toolbar queries like aliases!= didn't work. Fixed.
Searching, e.g., only for tags could return items in groups excluded from searching. Fixed

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 248

.applescript files showed an empty preview. Fixed.
.scpt and .scptd were incorrectly editable. Fixed.
Web archives without an internal URL were not rendered and could not be converted to HTML
or formatted notes. Fixed.
The Reveal command wasn't available in contextual menus when viewing files in ordinary tags.
Fixed.
The Recent Destinations section in the Move To, Replicate To, or Duplicate To submenus
incorrectly could contain ordinary tags. Fixed.
The Highlight submenu of the contextual menu when viewing PDF documents was disabled on
macOS Catalina and later if the current text selection was already highlighted. Fixed.
Glitch of Label menus in dark mode. Fixed.
Property icons, e.g., of indexed items, were not always shown in icon view with files having very
short names (one or two characters). Fixed.
The height of the headers of the List view was incorrect after enabling the second column.
Fixed.
The Length column in List view reported "1 pages" for single-page PDFs. Fixed.
Smart group and smart rule editors with too many conditions or actions couldn't be resized to
accommodate them. Fixed.
Border of Quick-Look-based standard preview of emails on Mojave and later was incorrect.
Fixed.
The Search inspector didn't show when searching web pages navigated to, i.e., not a bookmark
in the database. Fixed.
The Sorter could display incorrect colors when run as a menu extra on macOS Big Sur. Fixed.
Document windows were not always automatically closed after emptying the trash. Fixed.
The Mount Volume button of the view/edit pane locked the application while mounting
unmounted volumes. Fixed.
Certain reminder alarm actions didn't work properly with groups, smart groups, and RSS feeds.
Fixed.
The number of hits of accessed groups were incremented by 2 each time it was accessed. Also
the hits of feeds was incorrectly incremented when the feeds were refreshed. Fixed.
Filesystem events, e.g., after deleting file A in a folder and renaming file B as file A immediately
afterwards, could cause duplicate items. Fixed.
Document dates with unknown file types could be incorrectly detected or missed. Fixed.
Tag issues when moving items to a group having the same tags in a different database not
using group tags. Fixed.
Scripts > Data > Verify & Optimize Databases could fail while databases were synchronizing.
Fixed.
The search AppleScript command returned incomplete results when providing an invalid in
parameter. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 249

 A rare AppKit exception could occur while processing images. Fixed.

Pro — In Apple Mail, the command Mailbox > Add to DEVONthink 3 didn't support importing
the inbox if there was only one email account active. Fixed.
Pro — Retrieval of message IDs while email archiving could fail in case of not fully downloaded
emails and could lead to duplicate imports. Fixed.
Pro — Data > Tags > Convert Properties and Preferences > Import > Convert properties to tags
didn't convert the recipient's email addresses from imported emails. Fixed.
Pro — DEVONthink would sometimes crash on quit after using email archiving. Fixed.
Pro — Some OCR output had incorrectly rotated pages or unselectable text. Fixed.
Pro — OCR on PDFs containing multiple page sizes would output unexpected results. Fixed.
Pro — Non-specific smart rule actions, e.g., playing a sound or displaying a notification with
static text, were performed for each item after an OCR action instead of only once. Fixed.
Pro — Results in the See Also inspector could include groups or tags having custom metadata.
Fixed.
Pro — Automatic grouping of images didn't work. Fixed.

Server — Empty Markdown documents couldn't be edited or viewed in the web interface.
Fixed.
Server — Deleting the complete content of a plain text or Markdown document in the web
interface wasn't possible. Fixed.

Pro — Removed unsupported OCR languages from Preferences > OCR: Old English, French,
German, Spanish, Italian, Slovian, Thai, Thai, Latvian language written in Gothic.

VERSION 3.5.2

This release brings the first steps toward compatibility with the upcoming macOS Big Sur
release, ARM support, as well as improvements and fixes beyond the beta. While the operations
of DEVONthink are working as expected so far in the Big Sur betas, we made the first round
of necessary cosmetic changes. We have improved the efficiency of the sync engine, including
more reliable resuming of interrupted syncs. Also, DEVONthink preserves the hierarchy of nested
tags when moving or duplicating tagged items between databases. If you use WikiLinks, you
can now specify more than one type to use, e.g., "Names & Aliases" and "MashedWords". HTML
exports, including exporting to websites and the conversion of Markdown documents to HTML,
behave more reliably now. Encrypted databases have seen improvements in reliablity too. We've
also added support for importing bookmarks from the Brave browser. And improvements to the
general speed and reliability of DEVONthink continue to be made.

DEVONthink runs natively on Intel- and ARM-based Macs.

Added support for importing bookmarks from the Brave web browser.
Added a New Window submenu to the contextual menu of the Dock icon.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 250

Added a new Check Bookmarks smart rule action for checking if the URL of the item is valid.
Any issues or detected changes are shown in the Log window. This action replaces the "Check
Links" smart rule script, though the already installed script will not be not removed so existing
smart rules remain functional.
Prism support includes now Python, Perl, and PHP.
Added hidden preferences MonospacedViewFont and MonospacedSidebarFont to toggle using
a monospaced system font in the views or sidebar. This requires macOS 10.15 or later.

Updated some interface elements for the upcoming macOS Big Sur.
Items can be directly dragged from a database to the desired position in the Favorites
section of the Navigate sidebar. In addition, smart group (.dtSmartGroup) and smart rule
(.dtSmartRule) files and local smart groups can be also directly dragged to the desired
position in the sidebar.
Items expanded during drag and drop in the Navigate sidebar are now only collapsed again if
the option Automatically expand & collapse is enabled in Preferences > General.
The Reading List is now automatically updated after renaming an item or changing its icon or
thumbnail.
Markdown documents support Bold and Italic in the Format > Style menu and the Editing bar.
Clicking file links in indexed web or Markdown documents no longer launches the default
application if the linked file is part of the database.
Automatic Wiki linking supports text in parenthesis in Markdown documents.
Improved support for PDF Note annotations created by PSPDFKit.
Improved clipping of PDF documents from Google Chrome by ignoring the browser's HTML
source code to display the document.
In Preferences > WikiLinks, MashedWords, Square brackets, and Names and Aliases can be
used concurrently.
Added tooltips and accessibility help to the Rating menu.
File > Close Database > Close All skips databases which can't be immediately closed, e.g., when
they're actively synchronizing.
If a warning about major errors is shown when opening a database, synchronization will be
automatically disabled internally.
On startup, a message is now logged to the Log window if the Flash Player plugin is detected.
A notification is added to the system's notification center each hour during the last 12 hours of
the trial.
Moving or duplicating items tagged with ordinary tags to other databases tries now to retain
the hierarchy of nested tags in the receiving database's Tags group. It also will retain the
properties of the original tags, e.g., a user-specified color.
Documents automatically created by clicking WikiLinks are now always stored in the same
location as the original document, including replicants. The new documents also inherit the
tags of the original file.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 251

Default smart rule "Automatic Locking" gets now the condition "Marked as Read" too.
The table of contents created by merging multiple images and/or PDF documents or File >
Export> As PDF document is now more precise.
Conversion of duplicates to replicants no longer adds multiple replicants to the same group.
More precise See Also & Classify results in case of items having metadata or properties but no
text content, e.g., emails containing only images.
Fuzzy recognition of document dates now supports dates from the year 1900 up to 2100
(instead of 1950-2050).
Indexed application-specific iCloud Drive data is no longer read-only.
Improved support for files and folders exported by ELO Office.
Improved memory management and reliability of website exports and the conversion to HTML
or formatted notes, e.g., from Markdown documents.
Improved and faster Markdown indexing.
Improved reliability of background downloads, e.g., while converting a large number of
bookmarks to web archives, PDF, formatted notes, etc.
Background tasks support automatic graphics switching. This might increase the battery life
on some MacBooks.
Updated the SkimNotes framework.

Pro — Installation of the Mail plugin asks now for full disk access, if necessary.
Pro — Improved memory usage and the detection of CJK fonts and languages in the OCR
engine and application.

Sync — Resuming interrupted syncs is now more reliable.

Sync — More efficient chunking of small items not modified or opened within the last year
while uploading to sync stores. This can speed up uploading and maintenance of sync stores
and reduce the cloud and disk space usage.
Sync — More reliable synchronization of tags, for example after replicating ordinary tags.
Sync — Increased the number of retries in case of rate limiting Dropbox errors.
Sync — Increased the Dropbox timeout to reduce the likelihood of unnecessary timeouts.
Sync — Slightly reduced CPU and battery usage of Dropbox syncs.
Sync — Faster sorting of records before uploading.

After removing all tags of an item, the Finder tags of its Spotlight metadata file were not
always removed. Fixed.
Certain VCards crashing Quick Look could subsequently crash the application. Fixed.
Changes to global smart group and smart rule sorting were not persistent without making
other changes. Fixed.
Choosing a filter in Tools > Filters did not automatically show the Navigate sidebar. Fixed.
Custom icons of items in the Reading List sometimes incorrectly displayed a border. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 252

Custom metadata placeholders in rich text annotation templates didn't work. Fixed.
Disabling unified inboxes and tags in Preferences > General didn't fully reload the main view of
main windows showing them. Fixed.
Document dates with certain month names weren't detected. Fixed.
Emoji placeholders used in links in Markdown documents could break the links. Fixed.
Encrypted databases were unmounted by macOS Catalina when using Time Machine with
networked drives. Fixed. This change also ensures the encrypted databases will continue to be
backed up by Time Machine.
Global smart groups and smart rules were not always updated, e.g., after printing a selected
document to DEVONthink. Fixed.
Hashtags in Markdown documents couldn't be converted to tags. Fixed.
Information shown in the Editing bar, e.g., word counts, wasn't updated after typing or
changing the selection. Fixed.
Item links having a trailing slash, e.g., added by Microsoft Outlook, didn't work. Fixed.
Logging while updating the Reading List during sync could crash the application. Fixed.
Long custom metadata names were not always truncated in the pop-ups of the Info > Custom
inspector. Fixed.
Moving a replicated item from the unified inboxes to the trash moved all replicants. Fixed.
Opening a workspace containing the Tags filter without the Navigate sidebar being visible
could crash the application. Fixed.
Reminders sending emails or reminders triggering smart rules which are executing scripts
could freeze the application. Fixed.
Renaming groups in the Navigate sidebar had issues. Fixed.
Saving modified Markdown documents when automatic Wiki links were enabled could crash
the application. Fixed.
Smart group, smart rule, and search criteria querying document properties, e.g., creator, did
not work when using is, begins with or does not begin with. Fixed.
Smart rules were sometimes performed by the On Import event trigger before background
indexing, e.g., of PDF documents, was complete. Fixed.
The Open tab for URL AppleScript command always returned a missing value. Fixed.
The Clip to DEVONthink section of the Sorter had layout issues after using the browser
extension. Fixed.
The to argument of the compare content AppleScript command wasn't used. Fixed.
The PDF annotations panel didn't retain the border width when it was previously set to 0.
Fixed.
The sort order of groups by name wasn't always correct when Keep groups on top when
sorting was enabled in the preferences. Fixed.
The toolbar search didn't accept item:tagged and item!:tagged. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 253

 The widths and order of List view columns in global smart groups or smart rules were not
always saved or restored. Fixed.
Updating of RSS feeds not using the automatic format and other actions could cause
unnecessary notifications in the user notification center. Fixed.
Volumes already unmounted by Time Machine were tried again to be unmounted. Fixed.

Pro — The number of OCR runs was limited due to an issue with the license expiring. Fixed.
Pro — Cancelling an OCR operation wasn't stopping the process. Fixed.
Pro — PDFs generated by OCR could show existing annotation in the image layer. Fixed.
Pro — PDFs generated by OCR did not retain the creation date. Fixed.
Pro — Some text in PDFs generated by OCR wasn't editable. Fixed.
Pro — The OCR had a memory leak and a font cache issue. Fixed.
Pro — The OCR had issues when specifying secondary languages. Fixed.
Pro — The page size of PDFs generated by OCR was reported incorrectly. Fixed.
Pro — Trying to OCR PDFs without print permission created blank PDFs. Fixed.
Pro — An overview scan was not displayed on macOS High Sierra and below. Fixed.
Pro — Archiving email via the View > Import sidebar could crash the application. Fixed.
Pro — Indexing attachments of email messages could add the word "null" to the index and
concordance. Fixed. This would also adversely affect See Also & Classify results.

Sync — The Bonjour network browser could crash the application. Fixed.
Sync — The garbage collection of sync stores had issues after moving indexed items into the
database. Fixed.

VERSION 3.5.1

This maintenance release brings many improvements and fixes. For example, the Navigate sidebar
is better usable and more reliable with non-unified databases. The Go To and Move To popovers
now allow using quoted text to reduce the number of matches, and the Reading List can be
sorted via drag-and-drop. If you are using custom metadata and annotation files, your custom
annotation templates now support metadata placeholders. And finally, we have included some
AppleScript improvements and smart rule changes for the automators out there.

Added optional record parameter to the log message AppleScript command to log records
which can be easily revealed via the contextual menu in the Log window.
Added a new AppleScript command get favicon of to retrieve the favicon from HTML input.
Added a new smart rule script Add Favicons to add the favicon to bookmarks and RSS feeds.

The size of text in the Table of Contents inspector, the Comments field of the Annotations &
Reminders inspector, and the Details field of the Document > Annotations inspector now use
Preferences > General > Appearance > View Text Size.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 254

Custom annotation templates in the Tools > Inspectors > Annotations & Reminders inspector
now support placeholders, e.g., %recordURL% or %mdlanguage%. This allows the annotation file
to contain metadata from the original file, when present.
Improved the dark mode appearance of links in sheets.
Edit > Copy Item Link now supports multiple items.
Clicking on groups, local smart groups, or feeds in the Favorites section of the Navigate
sidebar now updates the active database section of the sidebar. Pressing Shift-Return on a
selected favorite document also can be used to switch the active database.
Switching databases via the Navigate sidebar restores the previous main view selection.
You can again close databases via Control-clicking the Inbox or Tags groups in the Navigate
sidebar when using unified inboxes or tags.
The Reading List now can be sorted via drag-and-drop.
More consistent appearance of the tabs of the Sorter.
The Take Note tab of the Sorter now uses the spelling, grammar checking, and substitution
options of Preferences > Editing.
Quoting input, e.g,. "test", in the Go > Go To and Data > Move To utility popovers can be used
to disable the fuzzy search and search for items containing the substring
After showing the Tags filter, the filter field gets the focus to easily type the desired tags.
A warning is now logged to the Log window or Log popover after opening a database having
a UUID that is identical to the one of an already opened database, e.g., after duplicating
databases in the Finder.
The tooltip of the toolbar button for the Log popover shows the number of new or all
messages.
Faster updating of Spotlight index and Finder tags.
Improved VoiceOver support of the sidebar and List view.
With Markdown documents, non-rendered words are no longer indexed. For existing
documents, this requires reimporting the files or rebuilding the database to ensure the index is
accurate.
Improved handling of pending indexed files located on unmounted volumes.
Inactive windows displaying web content aren't updated anymore to improve the performance
and reduce battery usage.
A warning is now logged on startup if an incompatible AdobePDFViewer.plugin or
ClickToFlash.webplugin is detected.
Improved reliability of the Clip to DEVONthink background task which is now automatically
stopped if it no longer responds, e.g., due to WebKit issues.
Improved the performance of thumbnailing.
Improved RSS handling can be faster, reduce bandwidth, and is now more compatible to
certain feeds, e.g., Google Alerts.
Updated Prism support includes bash.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 255

Updated the Check Links and Download Bibliographic Metadata smart rule scripts to use the
extended log message AppleScript command. In addition, the Check Links script doesn't
replicate the items anymore as they now can be found and revealed via the Log window.
Retrieving all properties of a record via AppleScript doesn't include dynamically calculated
properties, e.g., document dates, amount, name or digital object identifier, or contents, e.g.,
the source, plain or rich text, cells or columns, image, thumbnail, etc. These properties can be
retrieved separately. This improves performance when getting the base properties of a record.
Improved overall reliability and performance.

Pro — Improved OCR performance for faster document loading. Also Preferences > OCR now
has a Resolution setting to set the DPI of the image layer (between 150 and 300 dpi) in the
resulting PDF.
Pro — Improved error handling when archiving email.

Sync — Improved multi-threading and automatic Dropbox retry handling in case of rate limiting
errors (HTTP 429).
Sync — Improved handling of sync host identifier.

In main windows, interacting with PDFs having a table of contents while the Table of Contents
inspector was visible could cause a crash in macOS El Capitan. Fixed.
Certain links, e.g., email addresses weren't retained when a sheet was converted to PDF. Fixed.
Fixed a Table of Contents inspector issue with Markdown documents beginning or ending with
a code block.
The state of the active database pane when using non-unified databases wasn't restored after
switching to other sidebar tabs and back. Fixed.
Selecting a favorite group in the Navigate sidebar could not be used to update the current
search scope. Fixed.
The current selection wasn't always visible after changing the sorting of List or Columns view.
Fixed.
Highlights of PDF documents in the Document > Annotations inspector displayed incorrectly in
macOS Catalina. Fixed.
Changing the search scope from the current group to the current databases via the search bar
no longer worked. Fixed.
Automatic thumbnailing replaced custom icons of some file types, e.g., formatted notes and
movies. Fixed.
Clicking on links in web views, e.g., bookmarks or web archives always opened in the system
default browser. Fixed.
Clipping our Discourse forums could cause the print dialog to automatically appear when the
clipped files were accessed. Fixed.
When using facing pages with PDFs, the contextual menu commands Rotate Right, Rotate
Left, and Copy Page Link did not always use the selected page. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 256

The menu item Tools > Inspectors > Info > Generic was always disabled in the Standard edition.
Fixed.
The title of the group selector showed an incorrect format when clipping from DEVONagent to
DEVONthink. Fixed.
New groups created via the Navigate sidebar's action or contextual menus were not always
immediately renamable. Fixed.
Conversion of rich text to HTML, including website export and the web interface (Pro), didn't
always retain the text color. Fixed.
An anchored search in PDF documents didn't work property, e.g., after opening item links using
the search parameter and a string starting or ending with separators. Fixed.
Clicking on the inbox in the Location section of the Info inspector didn't work when using
unified inboxes. Fixed.
Empty folders were not deleted on import when moving the files into the database, e.g., after
Command-drop or enabling the Move to Trash option in File > Import > Files and Folders. Fixed.
Excluding an ordinary tag from searching also excluded the tagged files from search. Only
groups now inherit the exclusion. Fixed.
Using the search prefix Aliases in the toolbar search field, e.g., aliases==test, didn't work.
Fixed.
The Search inspector had a few minor glitches. Fixed.
Toggling the Unify Inboxes and Unify Tags preferences didn't immediately update the active
database section of the sidebar. Fixed.
Notifications after clipping web pages weren't added to macOS' notification center anymore.
Fixed.
The Width and Height columns in the List view were sometimes truncated. Fixed.
After adding many actions to a smart rule, the size of the smart rule editor wasn't limited to
the current screen. Fixed.
The automatic installation from the disk image could temporarily freeze and show a Finder
alert on macOS Catalina. Fixed.
Handling of the .dtSparse extension of encrypted databases was case-sensitive in some
cases. Fixed.
Encrypted databases may be unmounted by macOS Catalina when backing up to a networked
volume. Encrypted databases are now excluded from Time Machine while in use.
Trying to retrieve the digital object identifier (DOI) from items without text, e.g., bookmarks
or groups, caused an exception. Fixed.
Auto-classification used with very large documents or databases caused a delay of the
contextual and action menus. Fixed.
The On Creation smart rule event wasn't triggered when creating files via templates. Fixed.
Exporting only one item as a template didn't export URL, tags, comments, or custom
metadata. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 257

 The AppleScript commands to create, update, or delete thumbnails were also applied
incorrectly to the children of groups or feeds. Fixed.
Retrieving all properties of a database via AppleScript doesn't always create an annotations
group anymore.
Retrieving all properties of the application via AppleScript doesn't display the group selector
anymore.

Pro — Rich text custom metadata fields in the Info > Custom inspector appeared incorrectly in
macOS Mojave and Catalina. Fixed.
Pro — The window title and pre-filled entries of the Metadata panel after OCR didn't show the
correct data. Fixed.
Pro — OCR didn't retain the URL of the original item. Fixed.
Pro — Broken mailboxes without a name in Apple Mail or Microsoft Outlook sometimes caused
a rare crash in the Import > Email sidebar. Fixed.

Sync — Dropbox connections sometimes stalled. Fixed.

Sync — Rare freeze of Bonjour sync after network issues, e.g., dropped connections. Fixed.

VERSION 3.5

The 3.5 release brings many new features, fixes, and improvements. Here are a few highlights: The
Navigate sidebar now features an active database section allowing an isolated view of a single
database's groups. We have added several smart rule actions including two which allow you to
parse a document's name or contents and retrieve strings, dates, amounts, and even arbitrary
data using regular expressions. Use the results to change attributes like a documents' dates or
custom metadata. New event triggers activate smart rules on events like duplicating, or tagging
documents. You can also now specify more than one trigger per rule.

For office use we have updated the OCR engine and added with two new OCR options which
allow OCR without changing the original document. DEVONthink records voice notes in a more
compatible format and you can view Markdown documents with syntax highlighting. The web
interface lets its users upload files easier and features a custom metadata inspector pane. And,
as always, we have improved the overall reliability and performance, too.

Added a new active database section in the Navigate sidebar, allowing an isolated view of one
database's content at a time. This option becomes available by disabling Unify databases in
Preferences > General > Sidebar.
Added commands Go > Previous/Next Database to access the previous or next database in
the Navigate sidebar.
Added Go > Favorites menu, allowing access to the favorites when there is no main window
open, the Navigate sidebar is hidden, or the Favorites section is collapsed. Also, hovering on
the menu items shows the path or location of databases and items in a tooltip.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 258

Added Edit Table, Edit List, Edit Spacing, and Make Link items to the Editing bar with rich text
files.
Added View > Sort > by Character Count and View > Columns > Character Count. Character
Count is also available in smart groups, smart rules, and advanced searches. Additionally, the
character count is shown in the Editing bar for a documents.
Added the option Prism support to Preferences > Media > Markdown, adding syntax coloring.
Currently AppleScript, Objective-C, Swift, C, C++, Java, and JavaScript are supported.
Added optional New Group and New Smart Group toolbar items for use with the toolbar of
main windows.
Added a Log toolbar button to open a detachable Log popover when the Log window isn't
open. If the Log window is open, it will come to the front when this button is pressed.
Added to PDF (Single Page) to the Data > Convert menu. Also renamed "to PDF" to to PDF
(Paginated). These options are also supported by smart rules and AppleScript.
Smart rules can now be triggered by multiple event triggers.
Added smart rule events On Duplicating, On Replicating, On Tagging, On Imprinting, and Every
Minute.
Added Scan Text and Scan Name actions to smart rules and batch processing. These actions
can be used to parse the name or text of items for certain strings or numbers and used with
subsequent actions, e.g., Change Comment or Change Modification Date. These actions
can be specified with String, Date, Amount, and Regular Expression parameters for more
targeted parsing.
Added new Mail Rule - Add links to DEVONthink mail rule script for Apple Mail. This adds the
web links of the email messages to DEVONthink.
Added smart rule actions for converting hashtags, keywords, properties, geolocation to tags,
as well as Add Tags to Images and Scan Barcodes actions.
Added action Add Tags From Document to smart rules and batch processing. This action is
similar to the Add Tags action but adds only existing tags which are found in the document's
text or title.
Added new %documentString% placeholder for use with the the Scan Name and Scan Text
smart rule actions.
Added placeholder for seconds in the date placeholders.
Added clutter-free scripts to the Scripts > Download menu for web archives, PDFs, and
formatted notes.
Added optional trigger parameter to perform smart rule AppleScript command which can
be used do things like trigger only smart rules which should be performed after importing.

Pro — Added commands to Comment and to Annotation to the Data > OCR menu to add
the OCR text to the Finder comments or create an Annotation file, leaving the original file
unmodified. These commands are also available as smart rule actions, in Preferences > OCR,
File > Import > Images (with OCR), and in AppleScript.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 259

Pro — Added an Export command to the contextual menu of Cloud view of the Tools >
Inspectors > Concordance inspector, allowing the export of the current cloud as a PDF
document.

Improved the contextual and action menus for items in the Navigate sidebar including opening
new windows, moving/duplicating/replicating item, setting marks and labels, and URL
interactions.
You can now select multiple groups in the sidebar, displaying a union of the contents in the
item list. Multiple selected smart groups and rules will not show a union of their contents but
they can be dragged and dropped, e.g, for export.
Items in the Favorites section of the Navigate sidebar can now be renamed. This does not
affect the name of the original item in the database. The Sorter, contextual menus, and
destination popups will show the name shown in the Favorites section of the sidebar.
Updated format conversions: PDF to HTML, formatted notes and bookmarks to plain text.
Improved Tools > Summarize Highlights when used with PDF documents highlighted by
PSPDFKit, e.g., DEVONthink To Go.
File > Database Properties now shows the remaining disk space for encrypted databases.
Slightly revised totals in File > Database Properties to be more consistent with the Info
inspector.
The Format menu now has icons for some items.
Most toolbar items, excluding Search, Preview, Marks, and Zoom, now have the same priority.
The order from left to right determines which items are removed if there's not enough space
to display them.
The Search inspector now uses the Preferences > General > Appearance > View Font Size.
Recipients of imported email messages are now ordered, e.g., in List view or the Document >
Properties inspector.
A read-only icon for locked documents is displayed in the Editing bar.
The Schedule popup of the Annotations & Reminder inspector now includes items for today,
tomorrow, in two days, and in one week to simplify setup of one-shot reminders.
The Show log automatically option of the Log window is now strictly honored. Errors with RSS
feeds and automated AppleScripts are now logged here, too.
Improved the clutter-free web capture mechanism to support larger pages, ignore empty
anchors and zero-dimension images, more reliably detects page encodings, and more reliably
follows redirections. Also, the page source is sent to our decluttering service to improve
the results, when possible. Clip to DEVONthink ignores the titles of browser windows if it's
identical to the URL. We also added special handling for capturing webpages from our user
forum.
Improved drag-and-drop support for third-party applications.
Improved preserving the attributes of PDF annotations, e.g., the arrow settings for lines.
Improved sending email with Postbox.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 260

Improved support for indexed Scrivener files.
You can now also drop items onto databases in the Favorites section and the items will be put
into the root of the database.
Pressing Return in the search results of Sorter's Navigation tab now reveals the selected group.
Pressing Escape while renaming an item in the Navigate sidebar while in fullscreen mode
doesn't leave fullscreen.
Tabbing in Inspectors now scrolls the view to the active field, if necessary.
Hash tags can be applied by the new Tags > Convert Hashtags to Tags action.
The smart rule and batch processing actions Add Tags, Add Tags from Document, and Remove
Tags now support placeholders for more dynamic tagging.
The create record with {} AppleScript command now supports specifying geolocation
data via longitude, latitude, and altitude parameters.
The column parameter of the get/set cell at … AppleScript commands now supports
specifying the name, e.g., in set strName to get cell at column "Name".
Improved dark mode appearance of the Content > Table of Contents inspector.
Improved dark mode appearance of the embedded scripts editor and buttons in the smart rule
editor (macOS Catalina).
The Sorter now creates voice notes in MPEG-4 format for better compatibility, including in the
web interface.
Grouping items now selects the new group in the Navigate sidebar if View > Show Only
Documents is enabled. Improved revealing of groups, e.g., in search results, when this option or
View > Cover Flow is used in the item's location.
Control-Tab now supports the search field of the Tags filter. Also keyboard navigation in the
filter has been improved.
Reports created by Tools > Create Metadata Overview now account for custom metadata
applied to groups, smart groups, and feeds.
Updated the default Annotation file template to improve compatibility with DEVONthink To
Go.
Renamed "Copy Smart Group/Rule Link" to Copy Item Link in the contextual and action menu
of the Navigate sidebar.
Renamed "Enable MathJax support" to MathJax support in Preferences > Media > Markdown.
Renamed "Amount" in the "Insert Placeholder" contextual menu to Document Amount to be
more consistent with Document Date and Document String.
Improved RSS feed handling is more compatible to certain feeds, e.g., Daring Fireball.
Invalid URLs of feeds are now automatically corrected and logged if a valid feed URL can be
found in the HTML code. Otherwise a message that the feed is invalid is logged to the Log
window or popover.
Importing and indexing HTML files, formatted notes, and web archives now supports HTML
geolocation metadata "geo.position" and "icbm" when available in the page source.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 261

Annotations of PDF documents and PDF packages annotated by Skim are now indexed and
searchable.
Thumbnailing of audio files now uses the artwork as the thumbnail, if available.
.sml files are now imported as plain text.
Closing an encrypted database now empties the disk image's trash to conserve space.
Databases are automatically verified after opening them if they weren't closed properly.
File > Verify & Repair Database now checks and repairs for invalid characters in filenames. The
items with an invalid filename are logged to the Log window.
Improved handling of items when the hidden preference DisableAutomaticDeconsolidation
is active.
Plain text files larger than 256 MB are now skipped as they can crash the foundation
framework of macOS in case of insufficient memory.
Aliases or symbolic links in ~Library/Metadata/com.devon-technologies.think3 are now
resolved.
Merging documents now triggers the On Creation smart rule event.
Automatic creation of tags, e.g., entered in the tags bar or hashtags inside documents, now
triggers an On Creation event in smart rules.
Updated scripts for Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook to trigger smart rules using the on
import trigger to make this more consistent with our other email archiving methods.
The "Tags - Assign" smart rule script now applies only existing tags found in the document.
Hashtags are now applied after documents were edited in external applications.
Improved recognition of document dates and amounts.
Improved handling of the extension of JPEG images, e.g. created via AppleScript.
Improved detecting and skipping of already imported messages after dragging them from
Apple Mail. Depending on the size of the messages and the speed of the Internet connection
this can speed up the import 2 to 100 times.
Unsupported URL schemes are now forwarded to the approprate application when possible.
Improved overall performance and reliability, including reduced resource consumption for
smart rules, caching custom icons in the Navigate sidebar, and improved email archiving.

Pro — Updated OCR engine, processes very large PDFs faster, improves the support for CJK,
and creates smaller files. Fixes also issues with rotated images and with text quality in PDF
output.
Pro — File > Import > Unix Mailbox now supports .mbox packages exported by Apple Mail
without having to choose the MBOX file inside the package.
Pro — Added Today, Tomorrow, In Two Days, and In One Week options in a popup on the label
for date-based fields in the Custom Metadata inspector or the form view of sheets.
Pro — Improved dark mode support of rich text fields in form views of sheets and the Info >
Custom inspector.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 262

Pro — Tabbing in the form view of sheets or the Custom Metadata inspector now scrolls the
view to the active field, if necessary.
Pro — Improved performance in the Concordance inspector.
Pro — Scans produced via the Import sidebar can now trigger both the On Scan and On OCR
smart rule events.
Pro — Updated web interface, improves: file uploads with drag-and-drop to the upload control,
viewing and editing custom metadata in the Info inspector, and updated context menus in the
toolbar. Also moving, replicating, duplicating, tagging, renaming, and editing items in browser
now triggers smart rule events. Additionally, we improved compatibility of audio and video
media to Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Sync — Indexed items located on external volumes are now handled like indexed items located
in cloud folders as the volume might be a shared network volume.
Sync — Improved syncing when Scrivener's files are in a database.
Sync — Improved the reliability of Bonjour sync.
Sync — Improved reliability of duplication and logging in case of sync conflicts.
Sync — Improved error message in cases of an invalid database UUID.
Sync — Improved multi-threading, fixes rare crashes.
Sync — Improved host identification to avoid minor issues like inefficient garbage collection of
sync stores or unnecessary clearing of cached files.

Fixed a crash related to the AppKit framework.

Fixed a crash related to the Acrobat PDF browser plugin being installed on the computer.
Fixed a rare crash related to certain EPUB files.
Fixed a rare crash related to the Navigate sidebar.
Fixed an intermittent crash related to video notes in the Sorter.
Fixed an issue where Data > Launch URL used the local file URL instead of the remote URL in
case of web documents, e.g., clipped formatted notes.
Fixed an issue where Edit > Copy URL was incorrectly available with document windows
displaying files without a remote URL.
Fixed an issue where a toolbar search wasn't updated with the same term after pressing
Return if the databases were modified since performing the search.
Fixed an issue where accessing the font and color options in the Editing bar temporarily
consumed too much memory.
Fixed an issue where Apple's PDFKit framework could freeze while creating thumbnails of PDF
documents.
Fixed an issue where changes in the Info popover were not always saved, e.g. after pressing ⌃S.
Fixed an issue where changing an annotation or Finder comment in the Annotations &
Reminders inspector caused glitches when setting a label in the toolbar.
Fixed an issue where changing the selection didn't update the Quick Look panel.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 263

Fixed an issue where changing the sorting of a column in column view also affected the top
level object of the window.
Fixed an issue where commands to create new feeds and groups weren't disabled when the
Reading List was visible.
Fixed an issue where documents in the Favorites section of the Navigate sidebar didn't honor
the Preferences > General > Double-click opens documents externally setting.
Fixed an issue where dragging items to locations in the Navigate sidebar didn't honor the
Preferences > General > Sidebar: Automatically expand & collapse setting.
Fixed an issue where dragging text from web pages into DEVONthink could have the wrong
URL.
Fixed an issue where duplicating a global smart group or smart rule in the Navigate sidebar
didn't set a new identifier on the duplicated item.
Fixed an issue where encrypted databases couldn't be reopened after an application crash.
Fixed an issue where Finder comments were sometimes not imported.
Fixed an issue where imprinting multiple PDFs added a wrong identifer value.
Fixed an issue where indexing and thumbnailing PDF packages (.pdfd, .lpdf) didn't work.
Fixed an issue where integers didn't work as percentages in custom metadata and in sheets.
Fixed an issue where it was possible to close a database while items were being moved into it
in the background from another database.
Fixed an issue where item links pasted into an embedded script in smart rules or reminders
pasted the item's name, not the link. The format of rich text content pasted in is also now
ignored.
Fixed an issue where items moved via smart rules immediately after importing them didn't
always remove the original item.
Fixed an issue where links in the Tools > Inspectors > Document > Links inspector could be
renamed.
Fixed an issue where long custom metadata labels caused layout problems in popups.
Fixed an issue where main windows showing global smart groups and smart rules were not
restored by workspaces and when DEVONthink launched.
Fixed an issue where pressing Escape in a popover, e.g., the Info popover, closed the search
instead of the popover.
Fixed an issue where rebuilding a database wrongfully showed a warning that the database
would be in use.
Fixed an issue where saving PDF documents in the background could happen multiple times
concurrently.
Fixed an issue where sheets were not editable after modifying the sheet's columns.
Fixed an issue where tab characters in titles of emails were not replaced.
Fixed an issue where the Tags bar was sometimes shown when switching databases using
different view or preview settings.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 264

Fixed an issue where the Table of Contents inspector wasn't always immediately updated, e.g.,
while editing Markdown documents in side-by-side view in main windows.
Fixed an issue where the Welcome Assistant showed no icon when running the standard
edition.
Fixed an issue where the Table of Contents inspector didn't scroll to the headings of Markdown
documents in preview mode.
Fixed an issue where the Table of Contents inspector incorrectly listed hashtags.
Fixed an issue where the Annotations & Reminder inspector wasn't always updated after
creating or removing an annotation.
Fixed an issue where the Navigate sidebar didn't scroll to the selected item, e.g., after using Go
> Go to Group.
Fixed an issue where the Open With and Label menus of the See Also & Classify inspector
applied to the currently visible document, not the selected one.
Fixed an issue where the active filter pane didn't immediately apply to search results.
Fixed an issue where the AppleScript application property reading list conflicted with the
alarm parameter of reminders with the same name. The alarm parameter option has been
renamed to add to reading list.
Fixed an issue where the status in the Information bar was displayed incorrectly in macOS El
Capitan.
Fixed an issue where the tags autocompletion popup would increase its width as tags were
added.
Fixed an issue where the toolbar search popup did not immediately include recent searches.
Fixed an issue where the tooltips of icon view were not always updated after changes.
Fixed an issue where the URL of documents wasn't shown in the Navigation bar after certain
actions, e.g., locking or unlocking an item.
Fixed an issue where the wrong encoding was used for some EPUB documents.
Fixed an issue where the wrong file path was logged to the Log window after importing files
and folders exported from another database.
Fixed an issue where, e.g., Markdown previews, formatted notes, HTML pages, news, etc.
caused artifacts in dark mode.
Fixed an issue with cached counts of smart groups showing out of date numbers.
Fixed an issue with some inspectors scrolling after pressing the Tab key.
Fixed an issue with the alignment of items in Tools > Annotate and Tools > Mode.
Fixed an issue with the text color of the item counts of selected groups in sidebar.
Fixed an issue with undo handling after certain import operations if automatic tagging in
Preferences > Import was enabled.
Fixed issues of the tab order of interface elements with disabled controls.
Fixed issues of undo handling after merging items, especially via AppleScript.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 265

Fixed issues with bookmarks where links to items in a database were marked as having an
annotation file and removing an annotation file from a bookmark would change the URL.
Fixed issues with the Log window.
Fixed issues with the Sorter including: the search field didn't receive focus when opening,
double-clicking groups in the Sorter didn't always switch the sidebar to the Navigate view,
clipping web pages could have the contents or URL of the previous clipped page, the Finder
comment of plain text was set to the clipped text, some appearance issues in the destination
popups, corrected the color of the menu extra in dark mode, and an issue with its position on
a second monitor.
Fixed issues with the clutter-free capture option when handling certain URLs. Also fixed some
layout issues with images in the captured page.
Fixed issues with WebKit crashes.
Fixed issues with WikiLinks, including: an issue where automatic Wiki linking in plain and rich
text documents could create separate links from a single WikiLink, an exception caused by
square bracket WikiLinks after removing all the content from the document, square bracket
links not functioning when inside parentheses.

Pro — Fixed a crash related to archiving emails.

Pro — Fixed a crash related to scanning.
Pro — Fixed an issue where a selection of multiple UNIX mailboxes couldn't be imported.
Pro — Fixed an issue where corrupt PDFs caused a memory leak.
Pro — Fixed an issue where Danish was being shown as Esperanto in Preferences > OCR.
Pro — Fixed an issue where dragging messages from Apple Mail could freeze both Mail and
DEVONthink.
Pro — Fixed an issue where Microsoft Outlook wasn't automatically launched by the Import
sidebar.
Pro — Fixed an issue where reporting corrupt PDFs did not always work as expected.
Pro — Fixed an issue where scanning input only went to the Global Inbox when using the
Metadata panel post-OCR. Also reinstated the ability to resize the Metadata panel.
Pro — Fixed an issue where switching to Import sidebar didn't always work.
Pro — Fixed an issue where the text color of custom metadata in Preferences > Data wasn't
updated after toggling the checkbox.
Pro — Fixed an issue where the color of linked text in rich text content in the Info > Custom
inspector was wrong when using dark mode and smart links.
Pro — Fixed an issue where the text color of imported Bookends references wasn't correct in
dark mode.
Pro — Fixed an issue where item links of emails containing / didn't work.
Pro — Fixed issues of the web sharing, including some localization issues, and disabling
dragging while renaming items.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 266

Pro — Fixed issues with the Concordance inspector, including: an issue where double-clicking
on a word in the inspector in document windows caused an exception and artifacts with Greek
characters.

Sync — Fixed a rare crash related to broken status files.

Sync — Fixed an issue where Bonjour syncs could cause intermittent freezes.
Sync — Fixed an issue where resolving conflicts or when synchronizing indexed cloud folders or
network volumes could cause duplication.
Sync — Fixed an issue where sync locations could appear to be constantly busy.
Sync — Fixed an issue where temporary Dropbox server issues could cause synchronization to
be endlessly retried.

Removed obsolete scripts for Microsoft Entourage.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 267

LICENSE AGREEMENT 3. Disclaimer of Warranty on Software:
You expressly acknowledge and agree that
PLEASE READ THIS LICENSE CAREFULLY
use of the Software is at your sole risk. The
BEFORE USING THIS SOFTWARE. BY USING
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MultiMarkdown is released under both the
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GPL and MIT licenses. You may pick the
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DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 268

 Modifications to remove reliance on Glib2: of the Software, and to permit persons to
Copyright © 2011 Daniel Jalkut, licensed whom the Software is furnished to do so,
explicitly MIT. subject to the following conditions: The
LyX export code © 2013-2014 Charles R. above copyright notice and this permission
Cowan, licensed under both GPL and MIT notice shall be included in all copies or
licenses. substantial portions of the Software. THE
Portions based on: peg-markdown. SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT
Copyright © 2008-2011 John MacFarlane. WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
ODF output code © 2011-2013 Fletcher T. IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
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Original Markdown specification by John THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
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OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,
you can redistribute it and/or modify it
ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
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WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR
License as published by the Free Software
OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
Foundation; either version 2 of the License,
or (at your option) any later version. This
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program is distributed in the hope that it will
be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; Copyright © 2001-2009 Ludovic Marcotte.
without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A SHORTCUTRECORDER
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General
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have received a copy of the GNU General
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rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, this list of conditions and the following
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies disclaimer in the documentation and/

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 269

 or other materials provided with the Ilya Kulakov. ShortcutRecorder 2.0 and
distribution. further support.
The name of the contributors may not Alexander Ljungberg. Graphics for
be used to endorse or promote products ShortcutRecorder 2.0
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Further modularisation and re-factoring,
and general bug fixes.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 270

SKIM NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
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and contributors All rights reserved.
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DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 271

TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 272

 TECHNOLOGY

IN THIS CHAPTER FEATURES

General Concept 273 The DEVONtechnology is a rock-solid
Features 273 foundation suitable for a variety of
Structure 273 completely independent applications.
Applications 274 Therefore it is ideal for the rapid
development of a huge range of new
All commercial DEVONtechnologies
database-, signal-processing- and language-
applications are based on a proprietary
analysis-driven applications. The ability to
AI technology, with rock-solid database
deal with any kind of digital data makes it
foundation that allow them to manage large
extremely flexible.
numbers of documents or knowledge bits
while analyzing them almost instantly at the The size of DEVONtechnology-based
same time. databases can, depending on the type of
data stored, grow logarithmically and make
indexing is completely unnecessary. Also,
GENERAL CONCEPT
applications based on the DEVONtechnology
DEVONtechnology, on which all improve themselves continuously (the more
DEVONtechnologies' applications are built, is data they handle, the better the results),
a new technology at the very beginning of its are language-independent and iron out any
development. DEVONtechnologies constantly irregularities by applying fuzzy logic.
improves the technology and enhances it for
more functionality, efficiency, robustness and
STRUCTURE
flexibility.
The DEVONtechnology consists of a kernel
Development of the DEVONtechnology is a
and several layers. Together they perform all
battle on two main forefronts of information
the underlying computing, from 'simple' data
processing technology. DEVONtechnologies is
handling to complex signal processing.
working hard on unifying both the top-down
and the bottom-up AI concepts by imitating Kernel: The kernel is the foundation for all
high-level functions and simulating the basic layers and applications and is responsible
functionality of natural systems. This leads for data handling, semantic and associative
to highly functional, fast and efficient AI data processing, signal processing, fast
systems that can be used in a great variety statistic analyses and all fuzzy algorithms.
of information processing contexts, such as It has to be as fast, flexible, and extensible
pattern recognition, signal processing and as possible; it is 64-bit aware and uses a
information storage and retrieval. generic, proprietary file format (see above)

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 273

allowing it to verify and repair low level data APPLICATIONS
consistency, featuring logarithmic growth
Some of the most likely applications for
of the database and logarithmic speed
the DEVONtechnology are databases
decrease with increasing database size. The
(knowledge bases, expert systems, search
DEVONtechnology kernel is Unicode-aware,
engines, table-of-content-generators,
completely language-independent and self-
instant data-mining), intelligent agents,
optimizing and self-organizing.
encryption, compression and archiving.
Layers: The layers form a shell around the Other uses for DEVONtechnology may be
kernel and provide high-level functions chat-bots, context-sensitive help, optical
for the applications built on top of them. character recognition (OCR), speech analysis,
The database layer, for example, is used to recognition and synthesis, staticstics,
store and organize data and supports all thesauri and automatic translations.
kinds of relations (1:n, n:1, n:n), hierarchies
In particular, applications dependant on
and freeform databases. No indexing or
processing human language, either written or
primary keys are required, strings can be
spoken, benefit from the flexible technology
unlimited in size and it's possible at any time
foundation. So, DEVONtechnologies' main
to extend the range of pre-defined data
focus in the development of new applications
types (Boolean, character, float, double,
is in these areas: databases, 'intelligent'
signed, unsigned, string, date, time, blob,
agents, text and speech analysis, statistics.
color, size, and point). Another layer, the
XML layer, makes it easy to handle XML code Look forward to see a great range of different
within the DEVONtechnology; it has a very applications based on the DEVONtechnology.
small overhead, compared to DOM parsers or A few have already been announced
available XML databases, requires no indexing on the DEVONtechnologies web site:
and supports the tight integration of other www.devontechnologies.com.
databases (and vice versa).

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 274

 OTHER PRODUCTS

IN THIS CHAPTER If you have a moment feel free to visit our

lively user community. Here users of all skill
Overview 275
levels meet to discuss our applications, talk
DEVONthink 275
about our technology, and exchange tips and
DEVONagent 275
tricks for DEVONthink & Co.
DEVONsphere 276
Needful Things 276
DEVONTHINK
Besides DEVONthink, DEVONtechnologies
Organize and work with all your documents,
publishes a number of other commercial,
bookmarks, email messages, text files,
shareware, and freeware applications and
images, PDFs, in one place, regardless where
services that might be helpful for you.
they originated. Quickly capture data without
interrupting your workflow. DEVONthink's
OVERVIEW unique AI assists you in getting the most out
DEVONtechnologies is focused on developing of your data collection.

innovative applications for finding, storing,

Learn more about DEVONthink
and organizing information. Our main
Check your upgrade options if you want to
objective is to make complex yet flexible
upgrade to a higher edition
technology that is both easy to use and
lightning fast. All applications are based on
the DEVONtechnology, a powerful and solid DEVONAGENT
core unique to DEVONtechnologies. DEVONagent Pro helps you search more
efficiently on the web. It searches multiple
DEVONthink
sources, frees you from hunting for the really
DEVONagent
relevant results, and gives you power tools
DEVONsphere
for your research. DEVONagent Express and
We also publish some freeware apps and DEVONagent Lite (free) make searching
services for your everyday work with your the web as easy as using Spotlight. Search
Mac. Google, Bing, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,
even the Mac App Store, right from the menu
NEWSLETTER & COMMUNITY bar.

Would you like us to keep you informed about Learn more about DEVONagent Pro.
updates and new product releases? Visit our
blog and subscribe to our free newsletter.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 275

DEVONSPHERE
Make your Mac smarter: Let DEVONsphere
Express keep track of related emails, articles
on the same subject, and similar web pages.
Discover the hidden connection between
seemingly unrelated files.

Learn more about DEVONsphere Express.

NEEDFUL THINGS
Search files on your hard disk, watch web
cams, create thumbnails, or access all your
files and apps from the menu bar. Reformat
paragraphs in your favorite word processor or
do little calculations anywhere you can type
in text. All for free.

Learn more about our freeware apps and

services.

DEVONthink 3.6.2 Documentation, page 276