DEVONthink

VERSION 3.8
DOCUMENTATION

© 2001-2021 DEVONtechnologies
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

GETTING STARTED 5 IN & OUT 51

Installing, Updating, Uninstalling 5 Importing & Indexing 51

DEVONthink Simplified 7 Drag & Drop 55
Building Your Database 11 Sorter 56
Tagging 14 Archiving Email 56
A Word About Backups 19 Sync 59
Tutorials, Screen Casts, and More 19 Capturing Paper (Image Capture) 68
Capturing Paper (Other Options) 70
TASKS 21
Extensions and Bookmarklets 71

Analyze Text Documents 21 Web sharing 72

Archive Your Messages 22 Services 76

Archive Printed Documents 23 PDF Services 77

Browse the Internet 23 Third-Party Applications 77

Capture Data From the Web 25

WINDOWS 78
Catalog Your SD Cards or DVDs 26
Catalog Your Photos and Media Files 26 Main Window 79
Collect Text Snippets and Other Valuable Sidebar: Navigate 85
Data 26 Sidebar: Filters 90
Index Files on Your Hard Drive 27 Sidebar: Smart Group and Rule Editor 93
Manage Your Bookmarks 27 Sidebar: Reading List 94
Share Project Data 28 Sidebar: Image Capture 95
Read News Feeds 29 Sidebar: Email 97
Take notes 29 Sidebar: Extras 99
Write Texts and Outline Projects 30 Document Window 99
Download Manager 100
DOCUMENTS 32
The Sorter 103

General 32 Preferences 107

Document Linking 34 Database Properties 107

Plain and Rich Texts 35 Popovers 109

PDFs 38 Web Sharing 111

Markdown Documents 40 Support Assistant 113

HTML-Based Formats 43 Log 115

Sheets 46 Activity 116

Images, Audio, and Video 48

Office Documents, Email, and Others 49

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 2

INSPECTORS 117 TROUBLESHOOTING 178

Info pane 117 Problems importing files 178

Annotations & Reminders 120 Email import does not work as
Content 123 expected 179
Document 124 Unlocking a database 180
Concordance 126 Problems using Services 180
See Also & Classify 128 Sync Issues 181
Search 129 Repairing a defective database 185
DEVONthink crashes 188
MENUS 131
DEVONthink behaves irrationally 188

The Application Menu 131 Slow Open and Save Dialogs in the

The File Menu 133 Finder 189

The Edit Menu 137

AUTOMATION 191
The Data Menu 139
The Format menu 142 AppleScript 192
The Tools menu 145 Basic AppleScript Terminology 193
The View menu 148 Internal Scripts 196
The Go menu 150 Triggered Scripts 196
The Window menu 152 Reminder Scripts 197
The Scripts menu 152 Toolbar Scripts 197
The Help menu 153 Smart Templates 198
The Dock menu 154 Smart Rules 200
Smart Rule Scripts 201
PREFERENCES 155
Apple Mail Rules 203

General 155 Application Scripts 204

Editing 158 Folder Actions 205

WikiLinks 159 Automator 206

Sorter 160 Item links 208

Files 161 URL Commands 209

Colors 165
Web 166
RSS 167
Data 168
OCR 169
Imprinter 170
Server 172
Sync 174

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 3

APPENDIX 211

Glossary 211
Iconology 214
Toolbar Items 214
Keyboard Shortcuts 217
Contextual Menu Items 219
Search operators 222
Search Prefixes 224
Templates 228
Metadata 231
Placeholders 233
Smart Rule Events and Actions 234
Scripts 239
Web site export templates 241
Hidden preferences 242

READ ME 245

Version History 245

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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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. 133ff
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 3.8 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. 51ff

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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 43
VIEW/EDIT PANE
Sheets 46
Images, Audio, and Video 48 The view/edit pane is where you can see or
Office Documents, Email, and Others 49 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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. 214ff . 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 Documentation, page 39

MARKDOWN DOCUMENTS see no formatting in the source code, you can
disable WYSIWYG editing in Preferences >
Files > Markdown.

The currently supported WYSIWYG types,

including CriticMarkup syntax, are:

Formatting:

Bold: **bold**.
Italic: *italic* or _italic_.
Bold-Italic: ***bold-italic***.
Highlight: {==highlight==}.
Underscore: {++underscore++}.
Strikethrough: {--strikethrough--}.
Markdown is a simple formatting language
Subscript: ~subscript~.
invented by John Gruber that has gained in
Superscript: ^superscript^.
popularity over the past few years. It allows
you to write in plain text, using some easily Elements:
learned control characters, to produce nicely
Header: # Header. Prefix each header with
rendered HTML output. With some styling
the appropriate number of pound signs.
and ingenuity, you can create a wide variety
Supports header levels 1 through 6.
of documents.
Link: [Link Text](URL) or <URL>.
Markdown files can be imported or created Blockquote: > preceding each line in the
via Data > New > Markdown text. quote.
Code block: `code terms`. Note: Those
Editing: Writing Markdown is essentially the
are backticks, found on the tilde (~) key.
same as writing plain text documents. As
Fenced code block: ``` - triple backticks
you're writing you can switch easily between
on a line above and below the code. To
a plain text editor and the rendered view or
show syntax coloring in the rendered
even view both simultaneously using the side-
view, see the Markdown Extensions: Prism
by-side view via the View > Document Display
subsection below.
commands.
Metadata headers: attribute: . As noted
When editing the source of the Markdown, below, these must be the first lines in the
DEVONthink's hybrid source rendering document.
will display many types of formatting or
elements as you type. For example, typing
**important** will display the plain text in
bold; `{"name":"Audrey Hepburn"}` will
display as a code block, etc. If you'd prefer to

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 40

 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.
File Transclusion: A special feature of
DEVONthink's Markdown handling is support Linking: You can reference local images,
for file transclusion. This provides the scripts, and other resources using item links,
capability of displaying the contents of one downward-relative (traveling subgroups;
file inside the contents of a Markdown file. it's not possible to travel up with '..' as
This supports displaying the contents of documents can have multiple parents) or
plain text, HTML, or other Markdown files. absolute (start with a forward slash) paths.
For example, you may have several chapters Here are examples of linking an image:
of a book written in individual Markdown
: Use this when
files. Use transclusion to view them all as
linking to an item in the same group as the
one document with out the need to merge
Markdown document.
or copy and paste the content between files,
: Use this when
similar to some popular writing applications.
linking to an item in a sub-group of the
To use transclusion, just enter the desired group containing the Markdown document.
document's name or item link between : Use this when you
double braces, e.g., {{Chapter 1}}. are linking to an item in a group outside the
Transclusion supports filenames with and group containing the Markdown document.
without extensions, relative and absolute For example, if you have common resources
links, as well as item links. It also supports the in a specific group, you can link to them
Obsidian syntax, e.g., ![[Chapter 2.md]]. using this format.

Styling: Styling your Markdown documents If you have enabled automatic WikiLinks >
can be done with internal styling or externally Names & Aliases, documents can be detected
referenced stylesheets. If you have a specific as you write your Markdown. These WikiLinks
stylesheet you'd like to use globally, you can are active when previewing the file and
specify one in Preferences > Files > Style are also preserved in a website export or
Sheet.. Here are the options: conversion to other formats.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 41

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 handful 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 > Files > 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. Add a line of three backticks as
document to contain a colon, perhaps adding shown```mermaid. Add the diagram code as
notes like Developer: A. Edwards and Re: needed and close the diagram with another
OCR, just add a single blank line at the top of line of three backticks. There are several
the document and the subsequent lines will diagram types available and discussed on the
be treated as normal paragraphs. Mermaid.js website.

Emoji: For a little extra personalization, you Prism: For those writing code in their
can type Slack-style emoji, like :grinning:, Markdown, DEVONthink supports Lea
directly in the Markdown document. Verou's Prism extension. Just add a line

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 42

of three backticks ```language- and the HTML-BASED FORMATS
language you're writing about. For example,
```language-applescript. Remember to
add a line of three backticks under the code
to close it. 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, HTML-based files in DEVONthink include

you can switch between Preview and Source bookmarks, web archives, formatted notes,

modes. There also is a special icon present and RSS articles. These are formats that

in the navigation bar. This switches to Side- are viewable in web browsers and are also

by-Side mode, allowing you to edit and mobile-native.

preview the current document in two side-by-

side panes. BOOKMARKS

Bookmarks are exactly the same as the

CONTEXTUAL MENU
ones found in your web browser. With

In addition to the contextual menu items DEVONthink's ability to act as a browser,

available with text selections in the bookmarks can be a valuable part of your

document source, Markdown documents have experience. When using File > Import >

a special command: Copy Section Link. This Bookmarks, you can bring your bookmarks

copies a link to the current document, but into DEVONthink easily. Though this depends

appends a pointer to the selected paragraph. 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 3.8 Documentation, page 43

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 44

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 3.8 Documentation, page 45

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 46

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 3.8 Documentation, page 47

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 48

 with an image, an uncompressed TIFF file When searching an EPUB file, the view/edit
will be captured. pane will switch automatically to the Text
Set As Thumbnail: Makes the current frame Alternative view to display the search hits.
the thumbnail of the video (only available
when the video is not playing). OFFICE DOCUMENTS

Note: Edits to or copying an image via Word processing, spreadsheet, and

contextual menu items produces an presentation applications are common in
uncompressed TIFF file. These files can many situations. When using the proprietary
be quite sizable, but are also saved in a formats from these applications, like
lossless format. Microsoft Word documents (.doc, .docx)
instead of rich text files, these formats aren't
directly editable in DEVONthink. However, it
OFFICE DOCUMENTS, EMAIL,
does support importing and indexing these
AND OTHERS
particular document types:
DEVONthink is the central hub for many
environments, from home to office, and you Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote from

are likely using several other applications Apple's iWork suite

along side it. As often mentioned, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from

DEVONthink supports importing many file Microsoft's Microsoft Office suite.

types; some editable, some not. If a format Files from supporting applications, like the

is text-based, like XML files, they may be OpenOffice or LibreOffice suites.

directly editable. But even if a file is not Files from the popular macOS Mellel word

editable, it may be searchable. This section processor.

is obviously not exhaustive in what kind of

These formats can only be imported, however
files can be added to DEVONthink, but if
it is possible to add template files of these
you have a format we haven't discussed, the
formats. For example, you may have a
easiest thing to do is just try importing it.
boilerplate Pages document you often use.
Any failures will be reported in Window > Log.
This could be added as a template to quickly
add to your database, then opened and
EPUB
edited in Pages. See the appendix for a bit

EPUB files (.epub) are a popular format, more information.

commonly used for digital books (including

our manual). While they can't be edited EMAIL

in DEVONthink, their contents are fully

Imported email messages have their
indexed and searchable, making them a viable
contents indexed (excluding the contents of
resource in your databases.
attachments). This makes them searchable

Navigate an EPUB file in the Content > Table and a valuable asset, whether you're archiving

of Contents inspector or choose the View > email for personal or professional reasons.

Document Display > Text Alternative view.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 49

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. 219ff
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 3.8 Documentation, page 50

 IN & OUT

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

> Import > Files and Folders, files are copied.
Importing & Indexing 51
This does leave the originals in the Finder,
Drag & Drop 55
which you can choose to keep or delete. But
Sorter 56
note there is no connection between the
Archiving Email 56
files any longer. Editing the file in the Finder
Sync 59
after importing has no effect on the file in
Capturing Paper (Image Capture) 68
the database, as the database has a copy of
Capturing Paper (Other Options) 70
it. If you want to access and edit the files, do
Extensions and Bookmarklets 71
so from inside DEVONthink.
Web sharing 72
Services 76 If you hold the ⌘ Command key when you
PDF Services 77 drag into DEVONthink, the file will be moved,
Third-Party Applications 77 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 3.8 Documentation, page 51

When you do, you will see a curved arrow
on the cursor while dragging, indicating the
items will be indexed. Indexed items with
have a small square Finder icon to the right of
the item's name.

INDEXING AND THE FILESYSTEM

Indexing is not the default option for getting

files into your databases. This is not only
because importing creates a singular,
portable database, but also due to some
technical things that must be considered When indexing items into DEVONthink,
when indexing. Here are a few behaviors you you can index a file, an individual folder,
should know and understand before indexing. or a parent folder, i.e., one containing
subfolders. In the image shown, the
With indexing, the integration with the
"DEVONtechnologies" folder is the parent
filesystem is very tight. When you rename a
folder and could be indexed with all its
file in DEVONthink, the file's name changes
contents included. You could also index an
in the Finder. If you rename in the Finder, the
individual folder, e.g., the "Data" folder, which
change should be automatically reflected in
would be treated as a parent folder for its
the database. DEVONthink tries to keep the
contents. And you could also index individual
group in the database and the folder in the
files within or outside of any folders. Each
Finder in the same state. Also, if you move
of these options has specific behaviors you
a non-indexed file into an indexed group or
should be aware of, covered below.
create a new file in an indexed group, the file
will be moved to the external indexed folder, a Updating indexed files: In general use,
process we call "deconsolidation". DEVONthink can usually detect filesystem
changes of indexed folders and will update
the indexed group in the database. However,
there are two things to be aware of regarding
automatic updating of indexed files.

Files synced by other applications: If

you are indexing files in a folder synced
by another application, e.g., iCloud or
Dropbox, you may need to use the File
> Update Indexed Items command to
manually update the indexed group.
DEVONthink does this to avoid causing
a discrepancy in the data for the other

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 52

 application. Also, a particular process
may not generate a filesystem event
for DEVONthink to detect a change has
occurred.
Individually indexed files: While it's
certainly feasible to index individual files,
be aware these files won't be updated
automatically. This is due to the potential
overhead of watching many individual files
versus watching one folder. In this case,
you can also use the File > Update Indexed
Items command or the file will be updated
when you select it again.

Note: If for some reason you'd like to

control whether DEVONthink updates
existing or deconsolidates new files,
there are two See also p. 242ff
Deleting Indexed Items: When deleting
regarding the behavior of indexing:
indexed items, you will see one of two
DisableAutomaticUpdatingOfIndexedItems
warnings when you empty the database's
and DisableAutomaticDeconsolidation.
trash, depending on how you've indexed

Moving Indexed Items: DEVONthink stores the item. With individually indexed files, an

individually indexed items by its absolute indexed folder, or a parent folder, you will see

path in the filesystem. If you move an a warning prompting you to choose whether

individually indexed file or folder, it will to delete the item from the filesystem or

disappear when the database updates or be just the reference in the database. In this

reported as missing. This is because the item instance, DEVONthink is prompting you to

no longer exists in the indexed location, so make sure you aware of the potential removal

the absolute path points to nothing. If you of a top level indexed item.

move a file or subfolder inside an indexed

parent group, the change should be reflected
in the database or the Finder. The parent
folder still exists in the same location and
DEVONthink can adjust for the changed
relative paths within it.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 53

 the files will not be marked as duplicates
since duplicates are not detected across
databases.

Replicating Indexed Files: Replicating indexed

files within a database, individually or within
parent folders, has no effect on the files in
the Finder. Replicating only adds a record
of another instance of the file. However, if
you delete a replicant of an indexed file and
empty the database's trash, this will have
no effect on the files in the Finder. They will
remain intact.

If you delete a subgroup or a file in an indexed

Indexing Cloud-synced Folders: One of
group and empty the database's trash, you
the common uses of indexing is to keep
will be shown the standard trash warning
a local folder in a cloud-synced location,
shown here. If you accept this, the item
e.g., Dropbox, and have access to the files
will be moved to the system Trash from
within DEVONthink. While this is certainly
its location in the Finder. In this situation,
supported, be aware that changes made to
DEVONthink is modifying the content of the
the local folder, especially when the cloud
indexed parent to ensure both the Finder and
service syncs changes to the local folder,
database's contents match.
the changes may not always be detected

Duplicating Indexed Items: When you by DEVONthink. In that instance, you can

duplicate an indexed item, the behavior manually update the indexed group by

depends on if you're duplicating with selecting and hoisting it via the disclosure

a database or across databases. if you triangle or choosing the File > Update Indexed

duplicate the item in the same database, Items command. Also, you should only index

a copy will be created in the Finder in local data, e.g., on the local hard drive or

anticipation of potential changes. If you connected drives. DEVONthink doesn't

duplicate the item into another database, no support indexing data that resides only in the

copy will be created in the Finder. However, cloud.

changes made to the item - in either

Lastly, if you are indexing content and want
database - will affect both databases as the
to sync the databases between devices,
indexed item is pointing at the same item in
please review the Indexing and Sync section.
the Finder.
Due to the flexibility of DEVONthink, it's
Note: While you cannot replicate files
possible to have a database containing both
across database, the duplication of an
imported and indexed files.
indexed file across databases can provide
you with a similar behavior. However,

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 54

 Note: While DEVONthink can handle large you can drag the attachment out as a
amounts of data, it is inadvisable to import separate file.
or index uncurated data, like entire hard With some file types it's possible to select
drives or your Home directory. You should text and drag it out to create a new file.
be judicious in what you put into your DEVONthink will attempt to create the
databases. most appropriate file type.

Note: With the last two options, you may

DRAG & DROP be able to drag-and-drop content between

The Mac has always been an an environment files.

with rich drag-and-drop support.

DEVONthink is a well-behaved citizen in this OUT

regard. Here are some ideas:

DEVONthink isn't just a receiver; it also allows
drag-and-drop of its files too.
IN
For email applications lacking good
The easiest way to add data to DEVONthink,
automation support, drag a document onto
other than creating the documents directly
its dock icon or into a draft email to attach
inside the application, is to drag files or
it.
selected data, e.g., text, images, etc., into a
Drag documents or groups to the Finder as
DEVONthink window.
a quick export option. When you do this,

Drag files from the Finder into a database. DEVONthink will apply tags you've added to

Holding certain command keys will allow the documents also to the exported files as

you to copy, move, or index them. See also Finder tags.

p. 51ff If you need to upload a document to

Drag files from the Finder to DEVONthink's a website, drag the document in the

dock icon. Files will be sent to the default database to the page or the upload sheet,

destination. if the site requires it. Note that groups

With applications supporting drag-and- can't be added this way. You'd need to drag

drop, you can drag data between them the group to the Finder first, then to the

and DEVONthink. For example, you can site.

drag messages from Apple Mail into your

database or DEVONthink's dock icon. INSIDE

Inside DEVONthink, you may be able to

And obviously DEVONthink allows
drag content from a file into the database.
dragging database items inside itself for
If you have an email message with an
reorganization.
attachment imported into your database,

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 55

 Dragging: Moves items, by default. found in a search. When docked, the Sorter
Option-Dragging: Duplicates items to the will lock open during a search so you can
dropped location. easily drop files into the desired location.
Option-Command-Dragging: Replicates
The Sorter's other views allow for quick and
items to the dropped location. Note you
easy note creation. It supports these note
cannot replicate a file to the same location
types:
as the dragged file.

Take Note: Create text notes in plain or

SORTER rich text, Markdown, or formatted note

formats.
The Sorter is a multi-purpose utility built into
Voice Note: Record an audio note.
DEVONthink providing options for adding
Video Note: Record a video note with the
files and creating various types of notes.
built-in camera.
When enabled in Preferences > Sorter, it
Screen Capture: Snap screen captures with
is found in the menubar at the top of your
the option of adding metadata, e.g., tags,
screen — displayed as DEVONthink or the
rating, etc. directly into DEVONthink.
nautilus icon — or docked to the side of
your window. Details about the views and The Sorter allows you to clip web content as

controls of the Sorter are covered in the well. It also functions as the interface to the

Sorter section of the Windows chapter. Clip to DEVONthink browser extension.

Clip content from the current page in your

default web browser.
Clip content from a URL detected on your
clipboard.
Clip content via Clip to DEVONthink or
enter information and a URL manually, if
desired.

All these methods give you the option of

capturing the content in a variety of formats,
with or without extra metadata, directly into
your DEVONthink databases.

The first view of the Sorter is the Navigation

view. Access your favorites, or browse and ARCHIVING EMAIL
search for groups in the open databases.
Email is an important item in many
Double-clicking a found group will open it in
situations, both professional and personal.
a new DEVONthink window. Drag and drop
DEVONthink allows you to import email
files on the Sorter to quickly file them in a
messages directly from supported email
favorited group, an inbox, or a location you've

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 56

applications. It also allows you to import In addition to speeding up the transfer
UNIX mailboxes (.mbox files) that can be of email messages from Apple Mail to
exported from some other email clients. DEVONthink, the plugin adds an Add to
DEVONthink 3 command to the Mailbox
and Message menus of Apple Mail. This
allows you to directly archive selected
messages or mailboxes to your DEVONthink
database while inside Mail. When accessing
a supported mail application via AppleScript,
automatic fetching of new mail is disabled.
This does not happen when you use Apple
Mail with the DEVONthink plugin installed.

Note: We highly recommend you install

the Apple Mail plugin as the AppleScript
Beyond dragging and dropping emails from implementation in Apple Mail is slow.
an email client, you can select the View > Also, due to limitations in the AppleScript
Import command to show the Import sidebar. interface of Mail it's not possible to archive
DEVONthink currently supports the following complete conversations from Apple Mail
email applications: without the plugin installed.

Apple Mail
IMPORT OR ARCHIVE
Microsoft Entourage
Microsoft Outlook When it comes to archiving email, the
question arises: "Do I use import or archive?"
The imported email messages are saved
Here's the simple way to understand it:
in their original file format (.eml) and
are displayed using QuickLook. MailTags Import Email: While Import can be used on
metadata on the messages is preserved as a mailbox, it is generally used on selected,
tags. In addition, the "read" and "flagged" individual emails. This is especially useful
status of email messages are transferred when using a filtered view, e.g., filtering
from Microsoft Entourage and Microsoft by a date range or recipient. You'd select
Outlook independently from your settings in those files and use the Import option.
Preferences > Email. Archive Mailbox: As the name implies, this
command can only be used on selected
DEVONthink communicates with your email
mailboxes. The mailbox will be imported
application using either AppleScript or, if
into a special Emails group. DEVONthink
you are using Apple Mail, through a special
will attempt to preserve the mailbox
plugin that implements a direct link between
structure shown in the email application.
Mail and DEVONthink. If the plugin is not
This is very useful for archiving a mailbox
automatically installed select DEVONthink >
and keeping it up to date. Since previously
Install Add-Ons to install it.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 57

 imported emails are excluded from the PROBLEMS IMPORTING OR MOVING EMAILS
mailbox view, subsequent visits to the
Briefly discussed in the Appendix, the UUID
Import sidebar will only show newly
is a value given to each item in DEVONthink.
received emails. Using the Archive Mailbox
It is unique to each item and more than one
option will import only those new emails
item can't have the same UUID. When email
into the existing Emails group in the
messages are imported, they are given such
database.
an identifier based on metadata from the
Depending on the settings in Preferences actual email. This means you can't import the
> Email > Conversations, DEVONthink can same message into a database more than
attempt to import complete conversations once, as that would result in more than one
and optionally group them. file having the same UUID. This will be shown
in DEVONthink's Window > Log. It can also
Note: Email threading is not an exact
cause issues when moving messages between
process. There has also been no standard
databases. If you already imported messages
defining relationships between messages
into a database and forgot you did, trying to
for a very long time. DEVONthink will
move the same email into it will fail.
attempt to thread the conversations, but
cannot guarantee all related emails will be In Preferences > Email you can enable
detected. Previously imported will become replicants to
import the messages into the same database
IMPORTING UNIX MAILBOXES as replicants. However, this still will not allow
moving messages into databases already
UNIX mailboxes (.mbox files) exported from
containing those emails.
some email applications, e.g., Thunderbird
or Postbox, can be imported into your
REPLYING AND SENDING
database. There is no mailbox structure in
these exported files so multiple mailboxes To reply to an archived email message,
have to be exported and imported separately. Control-click it in the item list and choose
They can be imported into DEVONthink in Send Reply. A draft message will be
one of two ways: composed in your default email application.

File > Import: Use File > Import > UNIX Choose Send by Email to email a selected
Mailboxes, then select the .mbox file in document from the item list.
the Open dialog and press Open. This will
Note: The inter-application communication
import the messages into a group in the
capabilities of the email client you are using
current location.
determine how well these two commands
Drag and Drop: Drag and drop the .mbox
work. If the commands aren't producing
file onto DEVONthink's dock icon to import
the expected results, check with the
the messages into your database.
developer about what kind of interactions
they allow between applications.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 58

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 3.8 Documentation, page 59

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 60

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 3.8 Documentation, page 61

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 3.8 Documentation, page 62

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 3.8 Documentation, page 63

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 64

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 3.8 Documentation, page 65

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 3.8 Documentation, page 66

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 3.8 Documentation, page 67

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 3.8 Documentation, page 68

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 3.8 Documentation, page 69

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 3.8 Documentation, page 70

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 3.8 Documentation, page 71

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 72

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 3.8 Documentation, page 73

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 3.8 Documentation, page 74

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 3.8 Documentation, page 75

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 3.8 Documentation, page 76

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. 56ff

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 77

 WINDOWS

IN THIS CHAPTER DEVONthink uses a number of windows to

present information. These windows are
Main Window 79
used for displaying and manipulating groups
Sidebar: Navigate 85
and documents, finding information, editing
Sidebar: Filters 90
metadata, analyzing text, and changing the
Sidebar: Smart Group and Rule Editor 93
properties of your database.
Sidebar: Reading List 94
Sidebar: Image Capture 95
Sidebar: Email 97
Sidebar: Extras 99
Document Window 99
Download Manager 100
The Sorter 103
Preferences 107
Database Properties 107
Popovers 109
Web Sharing 111
Support Assistant 113
Log 115
Activity 116

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 78

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 3.8 Documentation, page 79

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 but

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

can choose Show Details to display some 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 3.8 Documentation, page 80

All these views can be easily changed in the The Flag column shows the state, flagged
View > View options, as well as the quartet of or unflagged, or the unread status of
icons on the right-hand side of the items. Clicking in the flag column toggles the
Information bar. flagged state. If an item is unread, a circle
will appear in this column. If you have a group
Sort: In addition to sorting the item list by
containing a mix of flagged and unflagged
clicking column headers or using the View
items, a dash will appear in this column,
> Sort menu, you can also choose a sort
showing an indeterminate state.
method in the Sort dropdown menu in the
information bar. By default it reads by Name. Additionally, DEVONthink displays special
Also, notice there is a Customize Metadata property icons to the right of item names
command in the Tools > Columns menu, the for attributes like Spotlight comments,
contextual menu, and this menu. Select it reminders, etc. A key of the item icons can
to fine tune what columns are available to be found in the Iconology section of the
display, including any custom sets you've appendix
created yourself.
Contextual menu items: When you Control-
Visual Cues: DEVONthink provides some click in a Finder window, a contextual menu
visual cues applied to items in the item list. appears with a host of commands for you to
choose from. DEVONthink's item list also has
a contextual menu available. The commands
shown depend on what is selected and
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
Duplicates: Duplicate files display their DEVONthink's interface, so you'll see
name emboldened in blue or with the them in some other panes. But note some
icon, depending on your setting in functions, like specific contextual menu
Preferences > General > Mark duplicates items, may change, depending on the
and replicants in color. specific pane you're using.
Replicants: Replicant files display their
name in red italics or the icon, again TOOLBAR
depending 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,
etc., the toolbar allows you to have quick

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 81

access to some functions without having INSPECTORS
to go through the menus. DEVONthink also
In some applications, extra information about
provides a toolbar in main and document
files is shown in a pane on the right side of
windows.
a window. DEVONthink also provides such a
The toolbar comes pre-installed with a handy pane in its main windows with individual sub-
default set of buttons, including the search panes called Inspectors. For example, data
field (see below). It can be customized via the about the name, tags, type, etc. of a selected
Tools > Customize Toolbar command. You can file are available in the Info Inspector. Unlike
also Control-click the toolbar and choose this other applications, it gives you multiple
command from the contextual menu. Add, inspectors presenting more information
remove, and reorder these items to suit your and functions, all docked in the inspectors
particular needs. On a side note, if you want panes. This gives you quick access to all the
to quickly reorganize items on the toolbar, inspectors in one unified window, especially
hold the ⌘ Command key and drag the item helpful on smaller screens.
to its desired location, or off the toolbar to
The inspectors are individually discussed in
remove it.
the Inspectors chapter.
If you're looking for a little more space for
your toolbar, or even a little less, you can
choose to display the toolbar as Icon and
Text, Icons Only, or Text Only. Do bear in
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 3.8 Documentation, page 82

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 3.8 Documentation, page 83

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.
click an item in the crumb trail to open the
Advanced and save: To the right of the search location in a new main window or reveal it in
scopes, you will see two buttons. Clicking the the current window.
Advanced button displays the criteria of the
This bar also has < and > buttons so you can
current search. You can modify the search
navigate back and forth between locations
with the same kind of controls used in the
you've visited in this window. Bear in mind,
Finder's smart folders, as well as some other
these buttons only relate to the history of the
applications with advanced search methods.
specific window. If you open a new window,
Note these controls are also used in creating
it will have no history so the buttons will
smart groups and smart rules.
not function until you've navigated to some
If you have done a search you'd like to use locations. As an added feature, click and hold
again, press the Save button. Enter a name one of these buttons to be shown a list of
and DEVONthink will create a smart group previous locations you've visited, just like in a
for you. If your search scope is in a group, web browser.
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 3.8 Documentation, page 84

INFORMATION BAR smart groups and smart rules, selecting
multiple items will show a union of their
Another specialized bar, the Information
contents in the item list.
Bar displays the number of items selected
and the total number of items in the current The sections in the Navigate sidebar can
location. As mentioned previously, this be dragged to reorganize them as desired.
bar also hosts the Sort dropdown and the Sections you don't need to use as often
view icons. can be collapsed to reclaim the space or to
provide a bit of privacy.

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
list. Alternatively, you can view the group Inboxes: The inbox of a database, like the

hierarchies directly in the sidebar. Excluding real-world counterpart on an office desk,

is where incoming, unfiled items are kept.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 85

Every database has one by default and you Tag. Or from the contextual menu, Control-
can see the name of the database each inbox click the database's top level Tags group or an
belongs to. The Global Inbox, shown just as existing tag and select New Tag.
Inbox, is a special, always-open database
If you find yourself in a situation with multiple
present in every installation of DEVONthink.
tags you'd like to merge, select the Tags group
This is highly useful when quickly capturing
for the current database to view the tags in
data, e.g., web clipping, screen captures, etc.,
the item list. You can then select the tags
without stopping to file things. You can then
there and choose Tools > Merge Items.
go back later and file these items at your
leisure. 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
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
to create nested or hierarchical tags, you can
drag and drop existing tags in the sidebar or
the item list. Trash: Every database has its own individual
trash. This allows you to see, and potentially
Typically you will use the Tags bar in the
retrieve, items you've deleted from your
View/Edit pane or the Info Inspector or
individual databases. Just as with the real-
Info popup to apply or create tags. You can
world trash bin, we do suggest you empty
also drag items in your database to the
your databases' trash regularly. It is not
individual tags. When you create a tag it will
meant as another filing location, and items
automatically appear in the Tags group of the
marked as missing will still register as a
database you're in. If you want to create new
problem for a database. Select the trash,
tags to be used later, select the Tags group
the top level or individual database's trash,
for the database and choose Data > New >
and choose DEVONthink > Empty Trash. The
command is also available in the contextual

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 86

menu, when Control-clicking a trash. Trashed Note: With Unify Inboxes and Tags both
files are not deleted completely from the disabled, the database's contents will
machine but are put into the system trash. 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. Databases: When disabled, DEVONthink
Clicking the disclosure triangle allows you to displays a database's name in the Open
show groups, and subsequently sub-groups in Databases section of the sidebar but the
the database. As mentioned above, selecting contents will be shown in a separate section.
a database or group will display its subgroups The current database will be marked on the
and files in the item list. left by an asterisk (*) and its groups will be
shown in a separate active database section
NON-UNIFIED ELEMENTS in the sidebar. This creates an isolated view
of that database regardless of the number
As the unified views may be less comfortable
of databases that are open. Interacting with
for some people, DEVONthink allows you to
elements in the active database section
decide what database elements you want to
displays contents in the item list, similar to
unify. Controlled by options in Preferences >
the Three Pane view from DEVONthink 2.
General > Sidebar, you can enable or disable
unifying: Inboxes, Tags, or Databases. For switching between active databases,
select another database and the active
Inboxes: If you disable unifying the inboxes,
database section will display only the groups
only the Global Inbox will be shown in the
and smart groups of that database. Also,
Globals section. The inboxes of individual
there are Previous Database and Next
databases will be shown in the item list when
Database commands in the Go menu.
the database is selected.
When using the keyboard, hold the Command
Tags: Similar to the inboxes, disabling this
key and press the up and down arrows to
option will display the Tags group with other
view the contents of another open database
elements in the selected database.
in the item list while showing the contents of

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 87

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

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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 88

SMART GROUPS a smart rule, ⌃-click the desired smart group,
hold the ⌥ key, and choose Duplicate as
The global smart groups function the same
smart rule.
as local smart groups, i.e., the ones in your
individual databases, but generally their If you have exported smart groups in the
scope is all open databases. This allows Finder, double-clicking them will import them.
you to have reusable searches targeting all You can also drag them to the smart rules
your open databases, e.g., all Markdown section of the sidebar.
documents in all databases created in the
For more information on editing smart group
last month. These global smart groups can be
properties, global or local, see the Smart
modified to target more specific locations,
Group Editor section of this chapter.
but such a smart group would be better
suited as a local smart group, i.e., in the
SMART RULES
particular database. DEVONthink comes with
some pre-installed global smart groups: Similar to smart groups, smart rules are
created, edited, and behave in a similar
Today: Shows all documents added or
fashion. However, they have one distinct
modified today.
difference: they can act on the items
Recently Added: Shows all documents
matched. The smart rule matches items just
added in the last week.
as a smart group does but they perform
Due This Week: Shows all documents with
actions when certain events take place. This
a due date set for this week.
makes them a very powerful way to add
Top Hits: Shows documents opened more
automation to your DEVONthink life.
than five times in the last 30 days.
Unread: Shows all documents marked as DEVONthink provides a few useful example
unread. smart rules to get you started:

You can create a smart group from the Automatic Locking: Locks unlocked
contextual menu or the + button at the documents (excluding RSS articles), that
bottom of the sidebar. By default all open haven't been modified in the last 30 days.
databases will be targeted. However, if you This requires user intervention.
have an item selected in the Globals or Open Bates Number: A specialized rule that adds
Databases sections, the smart rule will use the current database's name and a Bates
that location for the matching. number to a filename. The original name is
preserved as a document alias.
Control-click a smart group to Edit, Rename,
Filter Duplicates: Automatically puts
Duplicate, or Remove it. You can also copy a
duplicated items in a database's trash
link to a smart group, export it to the Finder,
when you import them.
or import previously exported ones. If you'd
Reminders: Displays the name of a
like to convert an existing smart group into
document and plays the system "glass"

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 89

 sound when a reminder on a matched item Tools > Apply Rules: This runs the actions
triggers. of a chosen rule on selected items, but only
Create Version: Create a new versioned file. ones matched by the smart rule.
Remove Obsolete Versions: The companion Tools > Perform Rules: This performs the
to the smart rule, use this to purge old chosen rule as defined, not acting on the
versions. selection.

If you Control-click a smart rule and choose Drag and Drop: Lastly, you can drag and drop
Edit, you will see the criteria, event trigger, items onto smart rules to apply their actions
and actions for that rule. Like smart groups, to them. Dropped items will be acted on,
you can create a smart rule from the ignoring the location and criteria specified in
contextual menu or the + button at the the smart rule. For example, you may have a
bottom of the sidebar. The target of the smart rule to add the date to the beginning
smart rule also follows the same behavior of the name of images imported into your
as a smart group: all databases are targeted Global Inbox. However, you could drag and
unless you have an item selected in the drop a rich text file from a separate database
Globals or the Open Databases section of on to the smart rule and the date would
this sidebar. be prefixed to the name, even though the
location and file type do not match the rule.
Control-click a smart rule to Edit, Rename,
Duplicate, or Remove it. You can also copy a For more information on editing smart
link to a smart rule, export it to the Finder, rules, see the Smart Rules section of the
or import previously exported ones. Double- Automation chapter.
clicking exported smart rules imports them,
and so does dragging them to the sidebar.
SIDEBAR: FILTERS
In the contextual menu for a smart rule, Providing yet another way to isolate files
notice there is also a smart rule-specific in the item list, the Filters pane allows
command: Apply Rule. This runs the clicked you to only show files that share common
command on any matching files. This means attributes. This pane, displayed at the
it will performs its actions, even if the event bottom of the Navigate sidebar an be shown
trigger is not set to On Demand. Be cautious or hidden via the Tools > Filter menu or the
about using this command unless you are trio of icons at the bottom of the Navigate
certain you want to affect all matched items. sidebar. The pane can be resized by moving
There is also an option to copy the item link the divider at the top of the pane.
for a smart rule by choosing Copy Rule Link.

There are two commands in the Tools menu

related to smart rules:

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 90

INFO Locked or unlocked
Rating
Displayed by selecting Tools > Filter > Info, the
Label
Info filters pane let you shows only files that
share common dates, ratings, color labels, File Location: Click the dropdown to choose
etc. 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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 91

 Related Tags: Displays the top two tags
most commonly used with this tag.
Selecting a tag from this list filters the files
on that tag.
View>: Allows you to switch between cloud
and list view.
Sort: Allows you to sort the tags by name
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,
To filter the files, click any tag. You will
like the site of a historic event. (See the Info
immediately see the tag cloud reduce in
Inspector for more information on this.)
number and only related tags are shown. This
allows you to drill down into files that share
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
The map functions similar to Apple or Google
Tags groups and also from any document it
Maps, allowing you to use familiar pinch
was applied to.
gestures or double-click or Option-double-

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 92

click to zoom in and out, panning, etc. The accented characters, the same as their
map shows pins for all documents with regular counterparts.
geolocation data in the selected location in Fuzzy: Check this to apply fuzzy logic to
the Navigate sidebar. Selecting a pin in the contents-based criteria, ignoring simple
map displays the files with that geolocation typos so that instances of "hello" and
data in the item list. "hallo" are both found.
Highlight Occurrences: When used with
contents-based matching, this will highlight
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.

OPTIONS The list of predicates consists of a list of

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
Name: Enter a name for the smart item. returned as a result. Predicates themselves
Search in: Select where you want this consist of the field to search (like "Content"
smart item to search. or "Tag"), and the condition and the data that
Exclude Subgroups: Enable this to ignore needs to be matched.
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
In the Comparison section, you will see these smart group or to delete them. Predicates
options: can be rearranged with drag-and-drop. Hold
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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 93

"branch". Each branch also has its own All or Items added to this pane will automatically
Any option as well. This allows you to create appear in the Unread view. Selecting an item
very targeted searches. with the View/Edit pane visible will treat the
item as read and the item will only be shown
Example: To find all Microsoft Excel files
in the All view.
use the condition Filename ... ends in ...
xslx. To find items created in the last 7 days Items in the Reading List can be moved to
use the condition Date created ... is ... Last other locations by dragging them to any item
Week. list in a main window. The drag operations
also allow you to duplicate or replicate the
Note: In some predicates you can use
files, holding ⌥ or ⌥⌘, respectively.
wildcards, Boolean operators, phrases, and
parenthesis, too. See also p. 222ff
CONTEXTUAL MENU

The contextual menu (which appears when

SIDEBAR: READING LIST
you Control-click an item) offers these
Similar to the section found in Safari (and commands:
now many other browsers), the Reading
List provides a place to access documents Open in New Tab: Opens the clicked item in

and groups you've "set aside" for later a new tab.

consideration. The items are listed in All Open in New Window: Opens the clicked

and Unread views. Newly added items are item in a new document window.

displayed at the top of the list. 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
the items, respectively.
Remove Item: Removes the clicked item
from the Reading List.
Add files from the item list via drag and drop Clear All Items: Removes all Reading List
when this pane is visible. Alternately, choose items.
the Data > Add to > Reading List menu item.
Note: The last two options cannot be
This command may also be available when
undone.
Control-clicking in an item list or in images
and PDFs.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 94

SIDEBAR: IMAGE CAPTURE Selected Scanner: If you select a scanner you
will be presented with controls and settings
The Import sidebar pane gives you access
to scan your documents. This allows you to
to two common sources of external data:
use your scanner directly in DEVONthink very
scanning and email. Each section in this
efficiently. This interface should be familiar
sidebar provides controls to import from any
to anyone using Apple's Image Capture
supported scanner or a compatible email
application or scanning in Preview.
client, e.g., Apple Mail or Outlook. This makes
DEVONthink a reliable companion at home, Overview: The overview of what's being
in an office, in the hands of an archivist, scanned. When using a Custom Size you
and many other scenarios. We will cover the will define the scan area in this pane.
scanning controls in this section. We have From: Choose where you'll be inserting the
also provided a more practical overview in paper into the scanner.
Capturing Paper section of the In & Out Mode: Choose the color type: Black &
chapter. 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
specific measurements. Switching to a
pre-defined size will clear any custom scan
Archiving documents is an important
areas.
function in many situations. The Image
Orientation: Change the orientation of the
Capture section of this sidebar allows you
final document.
to control compatible scanners or import
Name: Enter a name for the final
images from connected cameras or iOS
document. If left empty, a date stamp will
devices.
be used as an automatic name.
To: Choose where to send the document:
DEVICES
Imports, create a new binder or use an
The Devices section allows you to choose existing one, or choose a destination in a
an input device. Choosing a scanner offers database.
different controls and options than selecting Destination: The chosen location in a
a connected iOS device or camera. database will be shown here. You can also

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 95

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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 96

 optionally enabling OCR. You can also add a SIDEBAR: EMAIL
Author or Subject for PDF output.
In addition to scanning, the Import pane also
Edit: Change the orientation or make
provides the controls to archive emails from
image modifications of a selected scan.
Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook. While you
Double-click a scanned page to display the
can drag email messages individually from
image modification pane.
your email client, the Email section of this
Play: Play video imported from an iOS
sidebar also allows you to import individual
device.
messages or archive mailboxes directly into
Delete: Delete the selected scan(s).
your DEVONthink database.
Save: Sends the selected scans or binders
to the To set in the Properties for each. Open the pane pane by choosing View >
Import. Here we discuss the controls used in
Select a specific binder in the sidebar to
this section. For a more practical overview
show a thumbnail view of the pages it
of the email archiving process, check out
contains. Rearrange the pages by drag-and-
the Archiving Email section of the In & Out
drop or drag pages from one document to
chapter.
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
current document.
ACCOUNTS AND MAILBOXES
TRASH
The lefthand section of the Email section
Any scans or documents you've deleted from displays the active accounts and mailboxes of
the scanning interface will appear here. When Apple Mail or Microsoft Outlook. Select your
you have this selected, empty the trash with email client, then click the disclosure triangle
the button at the lower right corner of the to show the accounts then its mailboxes.
window.
Mailbox View: When you select a mailbox in
a specific account, the window will display
more controls for filtering and importing
messages from that mailbox. The central view

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 97

shows the contents of a chosen mailbox. This Show: Select options in this section to
is where you can select individual messages further fine-tune the list of importable
to import, if desired. messages, if desired. You can use:

This view is separated into columns that can Read: Show emails messages have been
be sorted by clicking the column headers. read, unread, or either.
The columns include From, Subject, To, the Flagged: Show messages that have been
Flagged state. If you are choosing to show flagged in the email application.
already imported messages, there is a special Priority: Show messages that have an
column showing those items. For emails assigned priority
marked as high priority, the flagged column Date Range: Choose a range of dates to
will also show two exclamation points and the display messages received between them.
subject, etc. will show in red. Control-click in
Hide: Use these controls to hide certain items
the Mailbox view to refresh its contents.
from the mailbox view. All these options are
enabled by default, but can be selectively
FILTER AND IMPORT
disabled, if needed. However, when these
When a mailbox is selected, the righthand options are enabled it makes it easy to see
side of the window shows options for filtering only new messages, ready for import.
the messages displayed. It also lets you
Imported: Enabled by default, this hides
choose the location where the messages will
messages you've already imported into the
be imported.
current database. As you can't import the
Destination: Choose the destination same message into a database multiple
database for the imported messages or times, changing the Destination changes
mailboxes. Note: You can choose a specific what messages are displayed when this
group in a database when using the Import option is enabled. If you disable it, already
function. However, you can only choose a imported messages will show a checkmark
specific database, and not a group, when next to their name
using the Archive Mailbox function. Emails are Deleted: Hide messages you've put in the
archived into a special Emails group at the account's trash.
root of the specified database. Junk: Hide messages moved to the
account's junk mailbox.
Search: Use this search field to search for
messages by the sender or recipient's Name, The last two items are buttons for importing
email address, or the subject line. Note this selected emails in the Mailbox view or
only allows for a single term to be used. archiving the currently selected mailbox. See
However, the search is matching substrings, also p. 56ff
so a search for jun would match "junk",
"jungle", and "jejune".

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 98

SIDEBAR: EXTRAS For a view of all available scripts and
templates, as well as easy installation and
The Extras sidebar gives you a place to check
uninstallation, see the Support Assistant.
for current information from us. It's an easy
way to stay up to date with some of the DEVONtechnologies: This section provides
goings on at DEVONtechnologies. a list of blog posts regarding updates and
promotions.
Support: Here you will find our recently
published tips, scripts, smart rules, and Note: For the sake of transparency,
templates. DEVONthink does connect to our web
server to bring you this information.

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.
Scripts and Smart Rules: From time to
time, we publish publicly available scripts You can isolate a document in its own
and smart rules. You will see a brief window, known as a document window. These
description and a link that allows you to windows are convenient for split screen work.
install the script directly from this section. For any editable file formats, you can open
Templates: We also offer templates for a a document window by double-clicking a
broad audience. This section lists recently document in any view of a main window.
published ones. As with the scripts and Alternately, you can choose Data > Open or
smart rules, a description and installation Open from the contextual menu to open
link is provided. any document in a document window. For
most file types that can't be edited directly
If you'd like to quickly mark all items as Read,
in DEVONthink, double-clicking the file will
⌃-click and select the Mark All as Read from
open it in the system default application. For
the contextual menu.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 99

example, double-clicking a Word file will open
it in the same application that opens if you
had opened the file in the Finder.

See the Documents chapter for a detailed

description of the various document types
DEVONthink supports.

Note: Command-clicking the window title

shows the document's location including
the database it's stored in.

TOOLBAR ITEMS

Similar to the main window, a document

PANEL ELEMENTS
window has a toolbar at its top. The default
toolbar buttons may vary, depending on The Download Manager panel consists of:
the type of file being viewed in the window.
A list of a items to be downloaded
You can customize the toolbar via View >
A status bar at the bottom
Customize Toolbar, but note there are fewer
A button for adding items to and a
options than you have with a main window.
button for deleting selected items from the
A list of available toolbar items is available in
list
the Toolbar section of the appendix.
A reload button
A Start/Stop button to enable or disable
DOWNLOAD MANAGER downloads.

Window > Download Manager opens An Action menu

DEVONthink's Download Manager panel.

Using the Download Manager, you can ADDING FILES

download files or complete web sites from

To download a web site or any other file,
the internet, and either store the information
simply add it to the Download Manager by
in your database or as files on your hard
dragging its URL to the Download Manager
drive. Offline archives stored in DEVONthink
panel. Alternatively, you can click the in
are also used when you visit bookmarks or
the panel and add the URL manually, as well
open a link in a new tab and your computer is
as a referrer, user name, and password. If
currently offline.
Automatic is checked, DEVONthink creates
a referrer automatically when downloading
whole web sites.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 100

You can also paste one or more URLs (copied Only Added Files to Thumbnail Gallery:
Safari bookmarks, DEVONthink links, Offers various predefined option sets (see
or copied links from DEVONagent Pro's below).
Download Manager), or add files to the Import Files to Database: Selects which
Download Manager by using the contextual database the downloaded files shall be
menu in web and HTML views in DEVONthink. stored in. Select Folder to save them
directly to the file system.
Note: You can also copy URLs in the
Options: Opens the options dialog sheet,
Download Manager to the clipboard or
which allows you to specify in detail what
drag them to other applications (like the
to download, which links to follow, and
Finder or Safari's bookmark manager).
where to store the downloaded files (see
The Download Manager also supports
below).
URLs for local files (POSIX path, a file://
localhost/ URL, or a file:/// URL). For your convenience, DEVONthink comes
with predefined option sets that you can
ACTION MENU directly select from the action menu.

Most actions are available through the Action Only Added Files: Downloads only the files
menu or the contextual menu. Click the you have manually added to the Download
gear button or Control-click an item in the Manager.
Download Manager panel to display more Offline Archive: Downloads the files you
commands: have added to the Download Manager
including embedded images, style sheets,
Add: Manually add a URL to the list.
and scripts. Use this option set to archive/
Edit: Edit the parameters of a selected
download web pages with everything
item in the list.
necessary to display them properly.
Retry: Attempts to reload an item that
Alternative: Create a web archive.
failed to download.
Subdirectory (Complete): Downloads the
Remove: Removes the selected items from
files you have added to the Download
the list. Alternatively, you can press the
Manager including all embedded or linked
⌫ Backspace or ⌦ Delete key.
files. This option set follows all links leading
Enable/Disable: Checks or unchecks the
to (items in) sub-directories. For example,
selected items. Only checked items will be
use this option set to download a complete
downloaded.
web site for offline archiving.
Start/Stop Queue: Starts or stops the
Subdirectory (Images & Multimedia):
download queue. Same as the play/pause
Same as above, but downloads only
buttons at the bottom of the panel. Note
linked images, linked multimedia files
this will only pause queued items. Any in
including Flash and QuickTime movies,
progress downloads will continue.
and embedded images in the item's
Purge Queue: Removes all items from the
directory and all sub-directories. Use this
list that have been completely downloaded.
set to download a complete web site for

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 101

 offline archiving (without all linked Office database. Double-click any part of the
documents, PDFs, etc.) location to reveal it in the Finder.
Thumbnail Gallery: Downloads the files Download: Define how many connections
you have added to the Download Manager the Download Manager opens at the same
including linked images, embedded images, time. (Choose fewer connections for
style sheets, and scripts. Use this option slower Internet connection, more for DSL
set to download a thumbnail gallery or broadband.) Also, check Automatically
including all full-size images linked to each purge queue to have previously downloaded
thumbnail for offline archiving. items automatically removed from the
queue.
Note: Downloaded items are by default
excluded from classification and tagging. The Follow Links options defines how far
DEVONthink follows links on the downloaded
OPTIONS HTML pages. This feature allows you to
control what gets downloaded--only the
The options dialog defines which file types
actual pages or a complete web site.
the Download Manager downloads, which
DEVONthink supports the following options:
links it follows, and where it stores the files.
Off: Does not follow any links.
Files: Check all file types you want the
On Same Host: Follows links, but only as
Download Manager to download (plain
long as they refer to the same web server/
texts, rich texts, Office documents and
web site. Files on other web servers will not
PDF files, style sheets and scripts, images,
be downloaded.
embedded images, multimedia files, mark-
In Same Directory: Follows links, but only
up language files, etc.) Use the Follow
as long as they refer to items in the same
Links pop-up menu to define how far
directory as the downloaded HTML page.
DEVONthink should follow links on the
In Subdirectories: Follows links, but only
downloaded HTML pages (see below).
as long as they refer to items in the same
Check Overwrite existing to update an
directory as the downloaded HTML page or
existing archive.
its sub-directories.
Folder: When you choose Download to >
One Level: Follows all links regardless of
Folder in the action menu of the Download
where they point, but only one level deep.
Manager panel, DEVONthink stores
Links on pages linked to from the original
all downloaded items in the directory
page are not downloaded.
you specify. Click Set to choose your
Two Levels: Follows all links regardless of
preferred location. Use this option to
where they point to, but only two levels
use the integrated Download Manager
deep.
for downloading software archives or
other files you don't want to store in your Note: Following links two levels deep can
result in very large downloads.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 102

THE SORTER with a handy search field, you can search
for and isolate groups for more targeted
The Sorter is a multi-purpose popup that
importing. This view is composed of three
allows you to quickly add content to your
sections:
databases, even when DEVONthink isn't the
active application. Depending on the option Search Field: Use the search field to help
you choose in Preferences > Sorter, it will quickly locate specific groups. This uses
appear in the menubar at the top of your substring matching, so you can enter
screen or docked to the left or right side parts of words to find matches. The
of your screen. When shown as a menu bar view updates while you type for efficient
icon, you can choose to display it as the word searching.
DEVONthink or a space-saving nautilus icon. Favorites: Provides a convenient list of
the groups you've added to the Favorites
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.
The Navigation view provides a convenient Behaves in the same way items in your
list of the databases and groups in Favorites do.
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.

To add files in the Sorter, drag over the Left/Right Arrows: Open and close groups

docked tab or menu bar item. The Sorter will containing subgroups. Hold the ⌥ Option

spring open. then drop items into specific key while pressing the right or left arrow to

groups to quickly import them. Also equipped

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 103

 fully expand or collapse all the subgroups,
respectively.

Note: The ⎋ Escape key can be used in all

views to quickly close the Sorter.

CREATING FILES

The remaining views are focused on creating

files, whether that's a simple plain text file,
a screen capture of an application's window,
or some recorded video. Each of the following
views support the following options:
Allowing you to write notes in several
Add: Saves the file in the specified format
formats, the text will be displayed in the font
in the chosen location. You can also press
defined in Preferences > Editing. Make your
⌘S to save the current content.
note taking a little faster by defining a hotkey
Reset: Displayed as a backward pointing
with the Preferences > Sorter > Take Note
circular arrow, click it to clear the view to
Hotkey. This view supports these attributes:
its default settings.
Control-Tab/Shift-Control-Tab: Move Name: The title of your file. If left as

the cursor between fields, e.g., between Automatic DEVONthink will attempt to

the body and URL. Hold Shift to cycle create a title from the first sentence of the

backwards through the fields. body.

Body: Enter your note text here.

TAKE NOTE URL: If there is a URL you'd like to associate

with the file, perhaps a link back to a
The Take Note view is for those times when
source, enter it here.
you just need to quickly write a note but don't
Info: Add metadata about the file here,
want to go back into your databases to create
including: read status, locked state, flagged
a new file.
state, rating, or color labels.
Tags: Enter tags for the file. Tag
suggestions will be made from the tags of
all open databases.
Format: Choose the format of the saved
note. Choose from: plain text, rich text,
formatted note, and Markdown.
Location: Choose the location to save your
file from the dropdown list. The location of

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 104

 the last saved file will be preserved for the Playback and Volume: Playback your audio
next note you create. to ensure it's good before you save it. Press
Add: Saves the file in the specified format the Reset button to clear the audio and
in the chosen location. record again.
Name: Enter a name for the audio file. If no
Take Note Panel: The Take Note panel is
name is provided, a date and timestamped
displayed when the Sorter is set to None
name will be automatically given.
in Preferences > Sorter. It has the same
Info: Add metadata about the file here,
functions as the view in the Sorter and also
including: read status, locked state, flagged
will be pinned over any open windows.
state, rating, or color labels.
Tags: Enter tags for the file. Tag
VOICE NOTE
suggestions will be made from the tags of

Use this view to record a voice note directly all open databases.

into your database. This creates an AIFF-C Location: Choose the location to save your

file in the location you choose. With simple file from the dropdown list.

controls, it's easy to record impromptu audio.

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.
Like the audio note, this is presented in very
When you've stopped recording, you will be simple controls:
shown:

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 105

 Begin/Stop Recording: Press the red then direct it to a specific location in your
circular button to begin recording. Press databases. The captures will be saved as
the black square button to end recording. JPEG files.
Source: Choose the video and audio
source in the small downward facing caret
next to the record button. Any attached
compatible audio-visual devices should be
available here.

When you've stopped recording, you will be

shown:

Name: Enter a name for the video file. If no

name is provided, a date and timestamped
name will be automatically given.
Playback and Volume: Playback your video
before you save it. Or press the Reset
button to clear the video and record again. This view has one simple section with three
Trim: Shown as scissors, click this to access options, also accessible via shortcuts:
simple editing tools. You can drag the ends
of the yellow frame to change the start Screen: Capture your entire screen (⌘-1).

and end of the video. Click and drag inside Window: Capture a specific window

the frame and a red line will appear. This (⌘-2). Hover over a window and it will be

displays the time above the line. highlighted in blue. Click once to capture it.

Info: Add metadata about the file here, Selection: Capture a specified area by

including: read status, locked state, flagged dragging a bounding box around the

state, rating, or color labels. desired area (⌘-3). To reposition the area,

Tags: Enter tags for the file. Tag hold the space bar. To stop the capture

suggestions will be made from the tags of action, press the ⎋ Escape key.

all open databases.

As with other views, name and information
Location: Choose the location to save your
options will appear after the screen is
file from the dropdown list.
captured.

SCREEN CAPTURE Name: Enter a name for the screen

capture. If no name is provided, a date and
Screen captures are a common way to
timestamped name will be automatically
quickly gather information about things on
given.
our computers. While the Apple provided
Info: Add metadata about the file here,
mechanisms still work, the Screen Capture
including: read status, locked state, flagged
view allows you to quickly snap a screen
state, rating, or color labels.
shot, add some metadata, e.g., tags or labels,

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 106

 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. Each option is also
accessible via shortcuts. When using the default browser option or
the Clip to DEVONthink extension, click the
Preview button and DEVONthink will attempt
to display a preview of the intended capture.
This can be helpful in predetermining if the
capture of sites with logins will be successful.

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

Default Browser: Displaying the icon of Because the preferences are so important,

your default browser, click this to capture we have created a separate chapter for them.

the current page (⌘-1). This shows the

same options as the Clip to DEVONthink DATABASE PROPERTIES
browser extension.
The Database Properties popup displays
Clipboard URL: If you have copied a URL,
preferences for a specific database. Select
click this option to detect and capture it
a database and open the properties popup
(⌘-2).
using File > Database Properties
Manual: Click this to manually enter a URL
to capture (⌘-3).

Before 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 3.8 Documentation, page 107

 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
GENERAL shown in the Recent Databases section of
the Navigate sidebar.
Location: Shows the location of the database
in your filesystem. Note you can double-click Comments: Add comments about this
any part of the database location to reveal it database. These comments are only used in
in the Finder. DEVONthink, i.e., not exported to the Finder.

Create Spotlight Index: Check to make this Exclude Groups from Tagging: Excludes all
database available to Spotlight. Checking this groups in this database from being used as
option lets DEVONthink create a folder in ~/ tags. Ordinary tags can always be added to
Library/Cache/Metadata that Spotlight items using the Tag bar.
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 3.8 Documentation, page 108

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 3.8 Documentation, page 109

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 3.8 Documentation, page 110

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, the Insert > Item Link this interface.
command, or ⌃⌘E in the contextual menu
while editing a compatible document. Note: The permissions given by the
administrator of the shared databases
determine database visibility as well as
WEB SHARING
what actions you can take. Due to this,
DEVONthink comes with a built-in server some actions, e.g., creating new documents
for broadcasting your databases on a or downloading documents, may not be
network. While the operation is covered available. If you do not have permissions
in the In & Out chapter, here we cover the to modify the database you're browsing,
interface shown when accessing shared the cursor will change to show the option is
databases in a browser window. Also note the disallowed.
preferences for setting up shared databases,
including setting up users and per-database SIDEBAR
permissions are covered in the Preferences >
A condensed version of the Navigate sidebar
Server section of the Preferences chapter.
found in DEVONthink's main windows, this
provides access to the contents of any
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 3.8 Documentation, page 111

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. 80ff ), 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 3.8 Documentation, page 112

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.

that document in the view/edit pane. 83ff

Show/Hide Inspectors: Toggle the

TOOLBAR Inspectors panes.

There are a handful of toolbar tools in the

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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 113

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 3.8 Documentation, page 114

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 3.8 Documentation, page 115

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 3.8 Documentation, page 116

 INSPECTORS

IN THIS CHAPTER name to comments and other metadata.

Open the Info pane by selecting Tools >
Info pane 117
Inspector > Info > ….
Annotations & Reminders 120
Content 123 Note: When you have multiple items
Document 124 selected, some editable attributes can be
Concordance 126 modified. For example, tags can be applied
See Also & Classify 128 to multiple files at once. However, if you
Search 129 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

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URL: Displays a URL associated with the down arrows. When typing, press the ⇥Tab
selected item. This is an editable attribute. key to commit the change.
While it is typically used for web addresses, Size: Displays the size of the item. For
it also may contain other types; e.g., file groups and news feeds, this field shows the
URLs, URL with custom schemes, etc. Click size of all contained items.
the down arrow and choose: Launch to Kind: Displays the kind of the selected
open the URL, Copy to copy the URL to the item. For documents, the file type will be
clipboard, or Remove to clear the URL. shown, e.g., Markdown.
Path: Displays the item's file's path in the Location: Displays the location of the item
Finder. This is not an editable attribute. in the database. This is an active item;
Click the down arrow and choose: Launch hovering over items will display their full
to open the file in the system default names and clicking them will navigate to
application; Show in Finder to open a the clicked group.
Finder window with the file selected, and Instances: Displays how many duplicates
Copy to copy the file path to the clipboard. or replicants of the selected item are in
If you are indexing files, there is a Path the database. Click to show a pop-up menu
option that allows you to select a folder listing all instances and duplicates and their
or volume. If you have moved indexed files enclosing groups. Select any item to reveal
to a new location, this option can be used it.
to select the new location, provided you Format: For news feeds you can set the
have not renamed any of the files before default format in which new articles are
updating the path. saved.
Attached Script: Displays the name of an Color: Allows you to set a color for a tag.
AppleScript script attached to the object. Only available when a tag is selected. Click
This is a script that is triggered when you the title Color for options to clear or copy
select the item in the database. Click the the color.
down arrow and choose: Select to choose Geolocation: Displays geolocation data
a triggered script to attach, or Remove to based on the creation origin of the file;
remove the script from the item. See also i.e., the geographic location when the file
p. 196ff was originally created. This is an editable
Added: Displays the date an item was attribute and can be changed if you'd like
added to the database. This is not an the location to be relative to something
editable attribute. else, e.g., the site of a historic event.
Created/Modified: Displays the date an Marks: Displays these attributes for the
item was created or modified. These are selected item: Flagged, Read, Locked,
editable attributes. Click the calendar icon Rating, and Label.
to choose a date and time. You can also Tags: Displays the tags applied to the
select individual parts of the date or time current item. Click the + button to add a
and type or modify them with the up and new tag. Tags will be suggested from the
existing tags in the current database. If the

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 118

 item is selected from the Inboxes in the CUSTOM
sidebar, suggestions will come from the
tags of all open databases. Click an added
tag to reveal the Tag group, or remove it
from the selected item.

Exclude From…: These checkboxes allow

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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 119

ANNOTATIONS & REMINDERS 9:35 AM. Set an interval for how many days
should elapse before the next reminder,
e.g., 2 for every other day.
Weekly: Set a weekly reminder, triggering
at the hour and minutes you set. Choose
a day of the week the reminder should
trigger on. Set an interval for how many
weeks should elapse before the next
reminder, e.g., 3 for every third week.
Monthly: Set a monthly reminder,
triggering at the hour and minutes you set,
e.g., daily at 9:35 AM. Set an interval for
how many months should elapse before
This pane contains Reminders, Finder
the next reminder, e.g., 1 for every month.
Comments and information about
Choose Each and set which days of the
Annotations. It can be shown Tools >
month you want a reminder, e.g., the 1st
Inspectors > Annotations & Reminders.
and 15th of the month. Alternately, choose
On the … to choose a regular interval like
REMINDERS
the second Thursday of the month.
While there are many reminder applications, Yearly: Set a yearly reminder, triggering
including Apple's own Reminders, sometimes at the hour and minutes you set, e.g.,
you just want to set a quick reminder for an daily at 9:35 AM. Set an interval for how
item, or multiple items, in DEVONthink. The many years should elapse before the next
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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 120

message shown can be a combination of Reminders. Add your own scripts to this
static text and placeholder text. It defaults location to make them available for use
to the Name placeholder. Control-click with reminders.
and choose Insert Placeholder to add Execute Embedded Script: Run an ad-hoc
additional placeholders. Note System script written for the current reminder.
Preferences > Notifications > DEVONthink Press the … button to display a popup
> must be enabled for this alarm to prepopulated with a core script. Edit this
display. Notification are also only shown and press the compile button at the lower
when DEVONthink is not the frontmost left. Embedded scripts are only available
application. to the reminder they are created in. If you
Display Alert: Displays an alert dialog when want to use the same script with other
DEVONthink is or becomes the active reminders, use an external script instead.
application. If it's not frontmost, the dock
As a bonus, reminder alarms will open
icon will bounce until you switch to it.
databases containing the item when an alarm
Like Display Notification, this contains
triggers.
static and placeholder text, and defaults to
Name. Note: When setting a reminder on multiple
Speak Text: Using the Mac's speech items, alarms are delivered individually. For
synthesis, this alarm will speak the example, an alert notification will show for
specified static and placeholder text. each file, even if they were set for the same
Play Sound: Choose one of the system time.
alert sounds found in System Preferences >
If you are interested in the use of scripts in
Sound > Sound Effects.
alarms, please refer to the Reminder Script
Send Mail: Enter email addresses to which
chapter of the Automation chapter.
to send the matching items. This can be
a comma-delimited list of addresses,
FINDER COMMENTS
names, or enter the name of a group you've
defined in your contacts. Similar to the Comments in the Get Info pane
Add to Reading List: Add the file to in the Finder, the Finder Comments field
DEVONthink's Reading List. can be used to store miscellaneous bits of
Open: Open the document in an a information about the selected objects.
DEVONthink document window.
Open Externally: Open the document in the Note: These comments will not appear in

system default application. the files in the Finder unless the files are

Launch URL: Opens the URL associated indexed or exported from the database.

with the document, if present.

Execute External Script: Run a selected ANNOTATIONS

script. External scripts are stored in

This pane displays or allow you to create
~/Library/Application Scripts/
annotation files for a selected document.
com.devon-technologies.think3/
Annotation files are separate files where you

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 121

can store notes about a specific document. Open: Open the annotation file.
These files can link back to the original file for Reveal: Reveal the annotation file in its
quick access. Commonly used with PDF files, current location.
they can actually be used for making notes Insert Back Link: Insert a link back to
with any document in your database. the original document in the current
annotation file. With audio and video
Note: Annotation files are created in an
files, the back link will include the current
Annotations group at the root of the
playback time. With multi-page PDFs, the
database. However, you can move the file
back link will include the current page .
to another location, if desired.
Export: Exports the current annotation

If an annotation file doesn't exist, you can file to the Finder in one of these formats:

make one with commands from the down PDF, rich text, plain text, or Word (.doc)

arrow in this section. formats.

Remove: Moves the annotation file to
New from Template: Opens a submenu
the database's Trash and removes the
containing three options: Create an
reference from the original document.
Annotation file from the default template,
choose a custom template added to Creating an Annotation File: DEVONthink has

DEVONthink's internal Annotations folder, a built-in default annotation file in rich text

or open the Annotations folder to access format, suitable for general use. However, you

any custom templates you've added. can create your own custom template in plain

New from Clipboard: Choose this option text, rich text, or Markdown formats. These

to create an annotation with content from files can be created externally and added

the clipboard. to ~/Library/Application Support/

Insert Back Link: This inserts a back link DEVONthink 3/Annotations.noindex

to the original file into a new annotation or created in DEVONthink and exported

file. If no annotation file exists, one will be via File > Export > as Template to the

created with this command. Annotations.noindex folder.

Insert Quote: This inserts both the

To create backlinks to the original file, there
selected text and a backlink to the page
are two placeholders for use in the body of
or paragraph in the original file. If no
your template:
annotation file exists, one will be created
with this command. This option is only %documentName%: Resolves to the name
supported by PDF, plain text, and rich text of the original document.
documents. %documentLink%: Resolves to the item
link of the original document.
If an annotation file is detected by
DEVONthink or you've just created one, Rich Text: To create the backlink in a rich
an editable preview of the file will appear text template, use the %documentLink%
here. Clicking the down arrow reveals these placeholder and the document name will be
options: added as the link's text.

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Markdown: To create the backlink in For even quicker navigation, the table of
a Markdown template, use the form: contents can be navigated via keyboard, using
[%documentName%](%documentLink%). the arrow keys to move around.

Plain Text: Since plain text files don't support There are two contextual menu items in the
live links, you can use WikiLinks to create a Table of Contents view: Copy Page Link for
backlink. For example, if you are using the use with PDF documents, and Copy Section
Square Brackets WikiLink syntax, you could Link for use with Markdown documents.
use [[%documentName%]] in the body of the
plain text. THUMBNAILS

The Thumbnails view shows a list of

CONTENT thumbnails, one for each page in the
document. This allows for a more visual
approach to moving through your document.
By default, the thumbnails are shown in a
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.
Navigating PDF documents can sometimes To quickly remove unwanted pages, press
be difficult when you are just scrolling the ⌫ Backspace key.
through endless pages of documents. If you want to reorder some pages, select
The Content Inspector shows two views, the page(s) to move and drag and drop
similar to what you see in Apple's Preview them within the thumbnails. A blue line
application: Table of Contents and will appear at the place the pages will be
Thumbnails. inserted. This will also work if you drag
thumbnails from one PDF to another.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Drag selected pages to another location in
your database and DEVONthink will create
The Table of Contents view will display the
a new PDF containing only those pages.
outline of a PDF document, provided that
PDF contains one. Click on the disclosure You also have several options available in the
triangle to show or hide sections within contextual menu when you Control-click in
chapters. Click on any section heading to the Thumbnails view:
jump directly to the beginning of it.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 123

 Cut/Copy: Cut or copy the selected metadata, a list of annotations in a PDF,
page(s) to be pasted into another PDF. and a list of links found in certain document
Copy Page Link: Copies a URL to the types.
clipboard pointing directly to the current
page of the document. PROPERTIES
Reverse Page Order: Reverse the page
The Document Properties section gives you
order of the document.
access to all metadata stored for selected
Split Document: Splits the document
RTF and PDF documents. This metadata can
at the current page. A new document is
include some of the following:
created from the preceding pages and
removed from the current document. This Author
item is unavailable when the first page of Company
the document is selected. Also, note this Copyright
action cannot be undone. Title
Insert Blank Page: Insert a new blank page. Subject
Delete Selected Page(s): Delete the Keywords
selected page(s). Comments
Rotate Left/Right: Rotate the selected Organization
pages left or right.
Depending on the document type, you may
Select/Deselect All: Select or deselect all
be able to edit or view these properties. More
pages in the document.
fields may be available depending on the
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.

The Document inspector provides specific

information about the current document.
This information is presented in three
specialized views: a view of RTF and PDF

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 124

ANNOTATIONS Copy: Copies the metadata and any text in
the Details to the clipboard as plain text.
Copy Page Link: Copies a URL to the
clipboard pointing directly to the current
page of the document.
Delete: Delete the current annotation.
Select/Deselect All: Quickly select or
deselect the items in the list.

LINKS

As PDF files are often used in DEVONthink,

annotating these documents is
commonplace. The Annotations view displays
a listing of the annotations in the current
document. Each annotation is listed with
the following metadata: page number,
type, content or author, and the date
the annotation was made. In the case of
highlights, text, or note annotations, the For the selected document, DEVONthink will
content will be displayed. With graphic attempt to determine if it contains links.
annotations, e.g., rectangle or ovals, the These may be web URLs, file URLs, item links,
author will be displayed. The list can be and even DEVONthink's WikiLinks. (You may
sorted by clicking the appropriate header. be surprised by the number of links in many
Select an item in the list to switch to the documents.) The top section of the Links
proper page. The annotation on the page will view displays a list of any outgoing links, i.e.,
be selected. This makes it easy to navigate links to other files, websites, etc. The bottom
via the document's annotations. Incoming Links view shows incoming links, i.e.,
links in other files to the current document.
At the bottom of the view is a Details
section. For Note annotations, this will show Select a link in the list to show it in the view/
the text of the annotation. Details can be edit pane. Double-click a link to open it in a
added to other annotation types as well, but document window or an external application.
only supports plain text entries. Option-click or Shift-Option-click a link to
open it in a new tab. Opening the contextual
Opening the contextual menu in the
menu in the Link list offers the following
Annotations list offers the following options:
options:

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 125

 Open: Opens the link in an external Selecting a mention shows a summary of the
application. occurrences in the lower pane. Documents
Open in Tabs: Opens the link in a new tab, with mentions can be opened via a double-
when possible. click or the contextual menu or revealed.
Copy: Copies the URL to the clipboard Also there are some copy functions in the
Delete: Deletes the link and the text. contextual menu: Copy copies the item
Select/Deselect All: Quickly select or link, Copy Name copies the file's name, and
deselect the items in the list. Copy Summary copies the summary for the
selected document..
In the Incoming Links section, the contextual
menu has an extra command: Copy Name.
Use this to copy the name of a linked file and CONCORDANCE
paste it into another document as a WikiLink. The Concordance pane, opened in the Tools
> Inspectors menu, gives you a tool for
MENTIONS analyzing the textual contents of documents.
When the inspector is open, selecting
different items will show varying results.
If one or more documents is selected, the
results will be inclusive of the text in all of
them. If there is no selection, the results
will be based on the text of documents in
the current location, whether a group or a
database. This also applies to selecting items
matched in smart groups, both local and
global.

This inspector is similar to the Incoming Links These results are presented in three distinct
pane of the Links inspector, however it lists views: List, Cloud, and Graph.
all mentions - linked or not- in a selected
document. Mentions are content matches
in other documents, based name or alias
of of the selected item. This inspector can
be useful both for writing and researching
to view mentions, especially for those not
using automatic Wiki linking. Finally, unlike
the incoming links inspector, this inspector
supports mentions in any document type,
e.g., PDFs.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 126

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 127

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
The See Also & Classify inspector is the your choice.
main interface to DEVONthink's brain, our
built-in AI engine. This engine is analyzing Below the search field are two options to

the contents and locations of all documents help focus the results presented in the

in your database and making connections two panes: Based on content, enabled

between them. These connections can be by default, makes its suggestions based

seen in this inspector pane. on content comparisons, while Based on

tags uses only the documents tags for
This inspector will be shown when a matching. Since results can be shown for all
document is selected and you choose Tools databases, Current database only restricts
> Inspectors > See Also & Classify. When the the suggestions to the active database.
inspector opens, you will be presented with
two sections: Classify and See Also. On a related note, in the Data menu, you will
find two menu items: Move to … again and
Classify to…. The first provides you the option
to classify the current document in the group

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 128

into which you classified. If you filed into included in the contextual menu section of
a particular group via the Groups section, the appendix. Also an alternative command
this menu item would remember it and offer is available when holding the ⌥ key: Reveal in
that group as a place to classify the current New Window.
document. The second menu item offers
its top ranked suggestion for classifying the
SEARCH
current document, if you'd like to just follow
the AI's suggestions.

DOCUMENTS

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
The Search inspector provides in-document
shows a tooltip displaying its full title and
searching. Using the same familiar ⌘F hotkey
location.
you use in most macOS application, you can

Select a document in the results to display it not only search, but replace found words.

in the view/edit pane. For your convenience, Additionally, DEVONthink provides a list

DEVONthink always lists the original of the found words to help navigate the

document near the top of the list. This way results. The results also show the search hits

you can select it to go quickly back to the in context, either in a sentence or paragraph,

original document. Double-click a document depending on the setting in See also p.

to open it in a document window. Drag a 159ff .

document from the list to move it to another

Searches match substrings by default. This
location. When dragging, you can create
means a search for "some" would also match
duplicates by holding the ⌥ Option key.
"something" or "worrisome".
You can also create replicants by holding
⌘ Command and ⌥ Option and dragging to Something you may find useful is the live

another location in the database. updating when you select other files. If you
search for a word in the current document

CONTEXTUAL MENU and leave the Search inspector open,

DEVONthink will automatically search newly
The See Also and the Classify sections host
selected files.
many of the same contextual menu items
as the item list. A list of these commands is

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 129

SEARCH AND REPLACE All: Replace all occurrences of the found
word.
The Search and Replace section offers these
In Selection: If you make a selection in the
simple intuitive controls:
text, you can replace all occurrences of the

Find: Enter the word(s) you'd like to search found word in that selection.

for. Note this matches substrings be

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.
Select/Deselect All: Selects all or none of
the items, respectively.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 130

 MENUS

IN THIS CHAPTER

The Application Menu 131

The File Menu 133
The Edit Menu 137
The Data Menu 139
The Format menu 142
The Tools menu 145
The View menu 148
The Go menu 150
The Window menu 152
The Scripts menu 152
ABOUT & CHECK FOR UPDATES
The Help menu 153
The Dock menu 154 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 3.8 Documentation, page 131

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 3.8 Documentation, page 132

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. 133ff 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 3.8 Documentation, page 133

current location. Finder tags and Spotlight Note: The import from Evernote command
comments will be imported. only works with Evernote's "legacy
Bookmarks: Imports bookmarks from version" as Evernote 10 no longer supports
DEVONagent Pro, Firefox, Google Chrome, AppleScript
or Safari as bookmarks. Bookmarks are
Images (with OCR): Imports images and
imported into a newly created group
applies optical character recognition (OCR)
bearing the name of the chosen browser.
to create a searchable PDF. This makes all
Only new bookmarks are imported if you
written text searchable and available to
use this command again.
DEVONthink's AI functions. You can change
Bookmarks from HTML file: Imports
the setting in Preferences > OCR. See also
bookmarks from an HTML file, e.g., one
p. 70ff
exported from some web browsers'
References from Bookends: Imports
bookmarks.
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. 56ff
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.
Notes are stored as formatted notes. This
option requires the Evernote application to
be installed.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 134

 the Download Manager are excluded from the exported files, you can safely delete
tagging. .DEVONtech_storage files.
Scan from ScanSnap: Scans a paper OPML: Exports the selected items as one
document using an attached Fujitsu OPML file.
ScanSnap scanner. PDF Document: Exports the selected items
as a paginated PDF. Hold the ⌥ Option
Note: Groups created when importing
key to change allow the command to PDF
bookmarks, contacts, email messages, and
Document without Annotations.
items from Evernote or Yojimbo are not
RTF/RTFD Document: Exports the selected
automatically excluded from classification
items as one merged rich text file without
and tagging. This makes it easier to classify
embedded items (RTF) or with them
them later.
(RTFD).

Export: The Export submenu presents Text: Exports the selected items as one

options for exporting selected documents merged plain text file.

or groups to the file system. In addition, Word 2007/97 Document: Exports the

the Export menu provides export methods selected items as one merged Microsoft

based on plugins. DEVONthink comes with Word .docx (Word 2007) or .doc (Word

a number of standard plugins for exporting 97) document.

documents in different formats. For these Website: Exports the selected items as

formats, the export creates a single merged standalone web site that you can upload to

document when multiple files are selected. your web server and share with colleagues.
In the presented dialog window, choose
Document: Exports the currently viewed
the desired template, text encoding, and
document in its native format. For images
whether DEVONthink should convert
exported from a separately opened
diacritics and accented characters to
document window, DEVONthink lets you
HTML entities or not. Check Create Index
choose the desired file format or image
Pages to create index.html pages with
quality; e.g.,you can export a PNG files as a
cross-links to all included documents.
JPEG file.
Markdown and formatted notes are
Files and Folders: Exports the selected
rendered to HTML, other file types that
documents in their native format. Groups
cannot be displayed in a web browser,
are exported as Finder folders, preserving
e.g., Pages files, are converted to PDF
the group structure you have built in
if possible. Cross-links are converted
DEVONthink. DEVONthink tags are
correctly. For the export templates are
applied as Finder tags to the exported
used that you can modify yourself.
files. Internal metadata for the items is
Template: Saves the selected documents
preserved in invisible .DEVONtech_storage
as a template, which can then be used
files, used for reimporting into
to quickly create new documents using
DEVONthink. If you will not be reimporting
Data > New from Template. Export multiple
documents and/or groups at once to

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 135

 create e.g.,a project template. Data & New Use Update Indexed Items to keep indexed
from Template & Open Template Folder; groups and their originating folders in sync
can be used to organize templates. or to manually update an item that you have
Database Archive: Creates an optimized changed directly inside the database package
ZIP file of the current database in the when DEVONthink was not running.
selected location. This can be useful as a
Note: Indexed groups are excluded from
secondary backup strategy.
tagging by default. For more information
Unix Mailbox: Exports all selected email on importing and indexing, please see the
messages and saves them as Unix mailbox Import and Index section of the In & Out
file that can be imported into other email chapter.
applications. Note this only applies to
exporting native email (.eml) files, not SYNCHRONIZE
files that have been converted to other
Synchronize: Synchronizes the selected
formats, like plain or rich text.
database with all its locations. Note, this
Share: This shows the standard Mac share command will be disabled if the current
menu. database has no active synchronization.
Holding the ⇧Shift key shows the Synchronize
INDEX All option to synchronize all actively syncing
databases.
Index: Use this command to add external
files and folders from the Finder. This creates Download Pending Files: Downloads the files
links to the files but leaves them in the of selected documents if they are available
current location. Regarding see-also and through one of the database's locations. Only
classification, DEVONthink treats these necessary of none of the database's locations
files the same as imported files. To easily is set to synchronize indexed files.
distinguish indexed items, a small Finder icon
is displayed to the right their name. DATABASE PROPERTIES & CLOSE

Update Indexed Items: Indexed items are Database Properties: Opens the Database
updated when you view them. If you need Properties popup for the current database.
to be sure everything is up-to-date use This panel presents a few options, statistics
this command. If nothing is selected, the about the database, and allows you to change
enclosing group of the current group is used. the displayed name, add comments, and add
It also reads changes made to the Finder or a username and password.
Spotlight comments of the to-be-updated
Close Database: Closes a selected database.
files and applies the changes to the files'
If multiple databases are open, use Close
counterparts in the database. Finally, this
All to close them all at once. If you'd like to
command removes indexed items that have
keep the current database open but close the
lost their external counterpart. It does not
others, use Close All Except. Note that closed
affect items moved manually to the group.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 136

databases will not reopen on launch. Only back the metadata to a previous date. This
databases that were open when DEVONthink option would only be used in troubleshooting
quits will reopen on the next launch. situations.

Rebuild Database: Completely rebuilds

DATABASE MAINTENANCE
the database by exporting all items to a
Like any database, DEVONthink databases temporary folder in the file system, creating
need a bit of maintenance from time to time. an empty database, and reimporting all
All the commands you'll need for this can be items. This removes any structural problems.
found here. Depending on the size of your database,
this can take from a few seconds to several
Verify & Repair: Verifies all database
hours. This option is typically only used in a
structures and repairs them if possible. By
troubleshooting situation.
default, DEVONthink automatically verifies
the database structure every time you open Delete Database: Closes a selected database
a database. If it finds significant errors, and moves it to the Finder trash.
DEVONthink will advise you to run this
Note: For more information on database
command.
issues, including reports in the Log window
Use this command whenever you feel or popover, see the Repairing a defective
it is necessary. If you're a heavy user of database section.
DEVONthink, running a Verify & Repair once a
week or more often is a good idea. PRINT

Check File Integrity: Verifies the stored Page Setup: Sets your preferred page size and
checksum for each file in the database. The printer settings.
results are reported in the Log window or
Print: Prints the current document or view.
popover. Note: If you are indexing files and
they have not been updated, they will report
a checksum error. See also p. 52ff THE EDIT MENU

Optimize Database: Creates an internal The Edit menu contains all commands and

backup of the database and then optimizes options relating to editing. You'll find the

the database structure. Optimizing removes classic Mac cut/copy/paste and find/replace

unnecessary internal elements from the commands here, as well as many more.

database and rebuilds the internal structure

to optimize performance. DEVONthink UNDO, CUT/COPY/PASTE, …

also creates internal backups on a regular

Undo/Redo: Use these commands to undo or
basis. Hold the ⌥ Option key to display the
redo the last action, e.g.,to undo deleting a
Restore Backup option. This allows you to roll
file. Undo and Redo work for most actions.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 137

Cut/Copy/Paste: Do exactly what their Tags: Use this command to quickly enter tags
names say. for the current document. This displays the
Tag bar, if necessary.
Copy URL: Copies the URL of the selected or
frontmost document to the clipboard. Set Name As: Applies the selected text as
the document's name.
Copy Item/Page Link: Copies a URL to the
clipboard that links to the selected document
FIND, SPELLING, INSERT
or group. These links can be used to create
a back link to the document in applications Find: This submenu contains standard
that support live hyperlinks. For PDFs, hold Mac find commands, like those available in
the ⇧Shift key to reveal the Copy Page Link TextEdit. Searches on the current document
option. are displayed in the Search Inspector. Two
commands of note are:
Paste and Match Style: Pastes text from the
clipboard, matching the styles in the current In Database: Brings the search field of the
document. frontmost window into focus.
Scroll To Selection: In long documents, this
Delete: Deletes the selected piece of text.
command scrolls the current document to

Complete: Tries to auto-complete the selected text.

partial word before the insertion caret. This

Spelling and Grammar: Provides the standard
standard Mac function uses the currently
macOS functionality for checking text for
active dictionary, chosen in the language
spelling or grammar errors. To choose the
dropdown of the Spelling and Grammar >
language used for spell checking, or for
Show Spelling and Grammar panel.
auto-completion (see above), open the

Select All/Deselect All: Selects or deselects spell checker panel with Edit > Spelling and

the complete content of the frontmost Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar and

document. Hold the ⇧Shift key to reveal the choose your language of choice from the pop-

Deselect All option. up menu.

Substitutions: Shows the standard

SUMMARIZE, TAGS, SET NAME
Substitutions preference panel and switch

Summarize: Summarizes the selected piece the available options manually on and off:

of text. Unlike the Mac's Summarize service, Smart Copy/Paste, Smart Quotes, Smart

this command takes advantage of the built- Dashes, Smart Links, Data Detectors, and

in AI of DEVONthink, and uses the complete Text Replacements. Data Detectors analyze

"knowledge" contained in the open databases shown text and make context-sensitive

for improving the results. The better your actions available, e.g., when you hover

databases, the better the results. the cursor over a phone number or postal
address.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 138

 Note: The Spelling and Grammar With Clipboard: Creates a new document
and Substitutions commands can be based on the contents of the clipboard.
temporarily applied to the current Note: Some applications such as Microsoft
document. If you'd like these to be Word put data in multiple formats into
persistent choices, you can make global the Clipboard. DEVONthink tries to use
changes in Preferences > Editing. the most logical data when creating a new
document.
Transformations: Use this submenu to change
Plain Text: Creates a new plain text
selected text to all lowercase or uppercase, or
document.
to capitalize every word.
Rich Text: Creates a new rich text

Speech: Starts or stops speaking the document.

selected piece of text. Formatted Note: Creates a new formatted

note.
Insert: Inserts items, like pictures,
Markdown Text: Creates a new Markdown
checkboxes, bulleted lists, etc. The options
text document.
available are dependent on the current file
HTML Page: Creates a new HTML page.
type.
You can use the built-in macOS WYSIWYG
editor to edit the HTML page or switch to
DICTATION & EMOJIS
its source code (from the navigation bar)

Start Dictation: Starts the Mac's dictation and edit it directly.

function. Sheet: Creates a new sheet. Add columns

to the new sheet by using the + button or
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 DATA MENU the URL and optionally name it to create a

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

New: This submenu provides access to the in a name, DEVONthink will attempt to set

built-in items DEVONthink allows you to one automatically. You can change the URL

create. later by selecting the feed document and

changing the URL field in the Info inspector.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 139

 Twitter Feed: Creates a new RSS feed OPEN, LAUNCH, REVEAL, SEND
from a specified Twitter account. Enter
Open: Opens the selected document or
the Twitter handle, e.g.,devontech, and
group in a separate document window. This
an optional name, to get a feed of recent
command opens a second main window
tweets from the account. If no name is
for the selected group. If you have selected
entered, DEVONthink will attempt to set
multiple documents, hold the ⌥ Option key
one automatically. As with other feeds, you
to display the Open in Tabs command. If
also can change the URL, if for example, the
the View/Edit pane is visible, this opens the
feed isn't working as expected.
selected items in new tabs. If the View/Edit
Group: Create an empty group. This option
pane isn't visible, a new document window
appears as Tag if you are currently in the
will open with each selected document in its
Tags group of a database.
own tab in the window.
Smart Group: Creates a new smart group.
This is a special group that shows items Open with: Displays a list of applications
matching your specified criteria, similar to compatible with the current file type. Opens
the Finder's "Saved Search". DEVONthink the selected documents in the chosen
opens the Smart Group Editor, which application. If your desired application is
lets you define your search criteria. not listed in the submenu, choose Other to
When saved, the contents are updated browse for it.
every time you display the smart group's
Launch URL: Opens the file, folder, or internet
contents.
location indicated by the URL field in the Info
New from Template: This submenu allows you inspector.
to access any installed templates and add
Reveal: Reveals the location of the frontmost
them to the current group in your database.
document in either the same main window, if
There are two other commands to note:
possible, or by opening a new one.
Open Templates Folder: Select this to
Show in Finder: Opens a new Finder window
open ~/Library/Application Support/
with the item selected. Note this only works
DEVONthink 3/Templates.noindex in the
for documents and indexed groups.
Finder. You can add your own documents to
be used as templates here. Send by Email: Creates a new message in
More Templates: Opens the Extras section the default email application and adds the
of the Support Assistant to install any selected items as attachments. Supported
available DEVONthink templates. email applications are Apple Mail, Airmail
2, Microsoft Outlook, and Postbox, as well
Note: For more information on the
as some legacy email application . If the
pre-installed templates, check out the
selected item is an email message, the sender
Templates section of the appendix.
is automatically inserted as the recipient and
the text of the original message is inserted
instead of an attachment. Notes: Postbox is

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 140

currently only able to send one selected file. FAVORITES, READING LIST, METADATA
Unsupported email clients (e.g.,Thunderbird)
Add To: Commands in this submenu add
can only send the plain text of one selected
the currently selected documents to your
file.
Favorites or the Reading List.

SAVE, REVERT, DUPLICATE Mark: Allows you to mark the item as

flagged/unflagged, locked/unlocked, and
Save/Save All/Revert To Saved: Saves the
read/unread.
frontmost document or all documents
to disk. Hold the ⇧Shift key to show the Rating: Allows you to set a rating, from no
alternate menu item, Save All. stars to five stars.

Revert To Saved: Restores the frontmost Label: Allows you to mark the selected groups
document to the last saved version. or documents with one of seven labels, just
as in the Finder. You can define the color and
Duplicate: Creates a duplicate of the selected
the text of the labels in Preferences > Colors.
items. The name of the new item ends in
"copy", and because their contents are Tags: This submenu offers special commands
identical both items are marked with the for automatically adding some kinds of tags.
icon for duplicates (or, depending on your
Convert Keywords to Tags: Converts
preferences, show their name in bold and
keywords, found in the Document >
blue).
Properties inspector for PDF or rich text
files, into DEVONthink tags.
MOVE INDEXED ITEMS IN AND OUT
Convert Properties to Tags: Converts the
Note: The following two commands are only Author property, found in the Document
for use with indexed files. > Properties inspector for PDF or rich text
files, into a DEVONthink tag.
Move Into Database: Use this command to
Convert Geolocation to Tags: Converts
move an indexed file into the database. Use
geolocation data, if present on the file, into
this command with caution as it moves the
DEVONthink tags.
file from its current location into the internals
Add Tags to Images: Adds tags to selected
of your database. It does not copy the file.
images using Apple's machine learning
Move To External Folder: Use this command technologies.
to move a non-indexed item, e.g.,imported Scan Barcodes: This option will attempt
or created in DEVONthink, out to an indexed to detect a barcode in a selected image.
folder in the Finder. A successfully detected barcode will be
added to the custom metadata for the
document.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 141

 Note: The Add Tags to Images and Scan Ungroup Items: The exact opposite of Group
Barcodes options require macOS 10.13 or Items. Moves all items in the groups one level
later. up and deletes the now-deserted groups.

CONVERT, OCR, THUMBNAILS SEE ALSO & CLASSIFY

Convert: This submenu contains commands The following commands use DEVONthink's
for converting between some file formats, built-in AI to suggest good locations for the
e.g.,between rich and plain text. Note the selected documents:
options presented are dependent on the
Move (to): This command allows you to
type of the selected document. Also, due to
quickly move other selected files to the last
differences in the formats, any formatting
destination chosen in the See Also & Classify
in the source document may not be able to
inspector.
be perfectly preserved in the destination
document. Classify: Using DEVONthink's AI, this
command will move selected files to the AI
OCR: This menu contains options for
suggested location. This command is disabled
choosing an output format when doing
if DEVONthink is not sure enough about
OCR on a selected compatible document
possible destinations.
(JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PDFs with no text layer).
The currently supported output formats
MOVE TO TRASH
are: Searchable PDF, RTF, Word , and Web
Archive. Additionally, there are two special Move to Trash/Move All Instances to Trash:
commands: to Comment and to Annotation, Moves the selected items to the trash. If
which sets the Finder comment or creates you have selected a replicated item, hold the
an Annotation file with the text. Neither ⌥ Option key and choose Move All Replicants
command alters the original file. to Trash to move the selected item and all its
replicants to the database's trash.
Thumbnails: Use these commands to add,
remove, or update a thumbnail for the
selected files. THE FORMAT MENU
The Format menu contains the commands
GROUP & UNGROUP
and options dealing with all aspects of text

Group Items: Creates a new group containing formatting. Here you'll find the standard font,

all the selected items. This is similar to alignment, and ruler commands, as well as

creating a new group and moving the selected very special DEVONthink commands.

items into it. The alternate command Group

Note: Many commands in this menu
Similar Items, shown when the ⇧ key is held,
only work with rich text, Markdown, or
will attempt to file selected items with
formatted notes. Plain text documents do
similar content in groups.
not allow formatting. (That's why they're

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 142

 called "plain" text.) Some formatting don't need it any more, delete it. You can
options are also available for editable PDFs use saved styles from the ruler (see below).
and web archives.
Alignment: Align paragraphs left, right,
centered, or justified. Here, Asian or Arabic
FONTS, STYLES, ALIGNMENT, RULERS
users can also change the direction of writing,
Font: This submenu is responsible for if required.
controlling the font and the document
Ruler: This submenu allows you to display
background color (rich text documents only).
the ruler above the preview of rich text
Open the fonts panel with Show Fonts, then
documents. There are also two special
increase or decrease the font size of selected
commands:
text with Bigger and Smaller, adjust the
text styles and the document background Copy Ruler: Copies the current ruler
color. Of special note are these two submenu attributes (tabs stops, indents, etc.) of a
commands: selected piece of rich text.
Paste Ruler: After using the previous
Copy Font: Copies the font formatting of a
command, applies the copied ruler
selected piece of rich text.
attributes to another selection of rich text.
Paste Font: After using the previous
command, applies the copied font to
HIGHLIGHTS
another selection of rich text.

Highlight, Highlight Color: In rich text

Style: Commands in this submenu apply
documents, editable PDFs, and web archives
a certain style, such as italics, bold, or
use Highlight to highlight a selected piece
underlined, to selected text. Also, the
of text just as you would using with a
commands give you access to some high-
colored pen on a piece of paper. To remove
end font control like kerning, baseline
highlighting, select the highlighted piece of
shift, ligatures, and character shape
text and choose Highlight again. Use the
(only applicable to Asian languages). One
Highlight Color submenu to choose your
command to take special note of:
favorite highlight color.
Styles: The Styles command opens the
macOS styles editor. With it, you can step LINKS, SPACING, LISTS, TABLES
through all the styles used in the current
Make/Remove Link: Converts the selected
document. If there's one you'd like to reuse,
text into an active link, or disables the
add them to your favorites. Use the pop-
link. This command can be used to create
up menu to select a saved style and, if you
WikiLinks quickly.

Add/Edit Link: Use this command if you want

to add a specific link to some text. If the text
is already linked, the menu will display Edit

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 143

Link, allowing you to change or remove the cell colors, border widths, and colors. Also,
URL. The behavior you'll see when clicking you can merge and split cells and create
linked text depends on the target of the link: tables within a cell.

If the text was a valid URL, the URL will be

PLAIN & RICH TEXT, HYPHENATION,
the target of the link. Editing the link text
LAYOUT
later does not change the target. Use the
Edit Link command of the contextual menu Make Plain/Rich Text: Converts a rich text
to edit the link target. document to plain text and vice versa.
Otherwise, DEVONthink treats the link as Converting a rich text to plain text removes
a Wiki-style link. Clicking the Wiki-style all formatting, while converting a plain text
link jumps to a document with exactly document to rich text applies default rich
the same name as the linked text (or any text font settings to the document.
document with a Wiki alias of that name).
Allow Hyphenation: Enables or disables
If there is no document of that name,
hyphenation for the current rich text
clicking the link creates a new rich text
document.
document named after the linked text and
pre-filled by the template you set in the Make Layout Vertical/Horizontal: Enables
Preferences > Editing. orienting and editing the document text
vertically or horizontally.
Spacing: This command allows you to adjust
the line spacing of selected text in rich text Wiki Linking: Toggles whether to display
documents. You can adjust the line height WikiLinks in the current document.
to an exact value or define a minimum and
Wrap Lines: Toggle whether to wrap a
maximum height, adjust inter-line spacing,
document's content to the width of the
and define the space before and after a
view/edit pane or document window, or let it
paragraph.
exceed the width for sideways scrolling.
List: Creates a bulleted list. Select your
prefix, bullet style, and suffix in the dialog BARS, COLORS, INVISIBLE CHARACTERS
sheet and click OK to insert a new list. In the
Show Formatting Bar: Displays a toolbar of
list, press ↩ Return to insert new items, and
formatting tools under the toolbar, providing
press ⇥ Tab and ⇧⇥ Shift-Tab to indent/de-
access to styles, font and paragraph
indent items, just as you would in any word
attributes, and lists. These tools are only
processor.
used with RTF files.
Table: Inserts a new table into a rich text
Show Editing Bar: Displays tools above the
document and opens the table inspector
current preview pane for some file types.
panel. Use the table inspector to adjust the
For example, rich text formats display
number of rows and columns, cell alignments,
several common tools including increasing/
decreasing font size, highlighting, toggling

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 144

the ruler, and displaying the color picker are Inspectors: This submenu provides access to
shown. For sheets, tools to add/remove/ the inspectors panes.
duplicate records, as well as editing columns
Show/Hide: Shows or hides the inspector
are shown.
pane.
Show Colors: Shows the color panel, e.g., for Info: The Generic view shows basic
changing the foreground color of selected information including name, aliases, URLs,
text in rich text documents. file dates, and kind. The Custom view
shows metadata specified in Preferences >
Show Invisible Characters: Toggles display of
Data that has been applied.
invisible characters such as spaces, tabs, and
Annotations & Reminders: This inspector
line feeds. Shown invisible characters appear
shows a summary of reminders set for
in light gray.
this file, Finder (Spotlight) comments, and
annotations.
THE TOOLS MENU Content: When viewing PDF files, this
inspector provides a Thumbnails and a
The Tools menu provides tools to get more
Table of Contents pane. Note that the
detailed information about your documents,
Table of Contents panel is only displayed if
as well as some specialized commands.
the current PDF contains one. DEVONthink
does not generate the table on its own.
INFO & FILTERS
Document: Useful when viewing PDF
Get Info: Opens an popup containing more and RTF files, this inspector displays
detailed information about the currently Properties, Annotations, and Links.
selected file or group. It combines frequently See Also & Classify: This inspector is
used elements of the Info inspector and the main interface to DEVONthink's
contains three panes: brain, our built-in AI engine. This engine
is analyzing the contents and locations
Info: The Generic panel shows basic
of all documents in your database and
information including name, aliases, URLs,
making connections between them. These
file dates, and kind. The Custom pane
connections can be seen in this inspector
shows metadata specified in Preferences >
pane.
Data that has been applied to the file.
Search: This pane allows you to search
Annotations & Reminders: Shows a
the current document, displaying the
summary of reminders set for this
found words in context and on what lines
document, Finder (Spotlight) comments,
they occur. Additionally, you can use the
and Annotations.
Replace field to quickly replace selected or
Properties: Shows metadata specific to
all occurrences of the found words.
PDF and rich text files. This includes things
like keywords, author, and subject that are Concordance: The Concordance is a
sometimes included with these types of specialized view showing data about the
files. words in a document. This can be sorted

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 145

 by frequency, groups, length, or weight. ANNOTATIONS
The data can be viewed in a List, Cloud,
Annotate: This submenu provides access to
or Graph. Additionally, selected words are
the PDF annotation tools. The first three are:
highlighted in the current text and a data
Hightlight Text, Underline Text, and Strike
graph showing related words will appear in
Through Text. These tools are persistent, so
the List and Cloud views.
you can select one and use it in that mode
Filter: The commands in this submenu until you change to another tool.
filter the list of files in the location you are
Next, the basic annotation types are
currently viewing. As you select options
available: Oval, Rectangle, Line, Note, Text,
in these panes, the list of files will change
and Link
accordingly. The filters are also covered in the
windows chapter. Mode: Lastly, the commands in this submenu
switch between three modes of interaction
Info: Shows a pane with options for
in PDF documents: Move, Text Selection, and
filtering on dates, flagged state, unread
Annotation Selection.
status, rating, or color label. When using
the calendar, you can click Any Date to set
CAPTURE, IMPRINT, EDIT PDFS & SHEETS
which date you want to filter on: added,
created, modified, opened, or due. Capture: This submenu provides options for
Tags: Shows a tag cloud, with frequency- capturing the current document to a new
based sizing, i.e., more frequently used file in a few different formats: Bookmark,
tags will be larger. Clicking on tags removes Plain/Rich Text, Formatted Note, HTML, Web
unrelated tags from the cloud, only showing Archive, and PDF (One Page/Paginated).
tags that have been applied with the Captures are made to the current group.
current tag. There is also an option to use the Clip to
Maps: Shows a small map showing pins DEVONthink command. This allows you to
from geolocation data will be shown. clip to a chosen location.
Clicking on a pin will show you files created
Note: The available options in the Capture
in that location. The behavior of this pane
menu are dependent on the type of the
is similar to Apple Maps, e.g., pinch to zoom
current document.
in and out, etc.

Item Links: For documents supporting item

Note: When Info or Maps is selected, the
links and WikiLinks and WikiLinks (See also
options will appear at the bottom of the
p. 34ff ), there are two commands in this
sidebar. When Tags is selected, they will
submenu. Convert WikiLinks to Item Links
also appear there, but will also show in the
replaces detected WikiLinks with their item
information bar above the item list if the
links. Update Name of Item Links will scan the
sidebar is hidden.
current document for item links and update

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 146

the link text for any files whose names have Create Table of Contents: Opens a submenu
been changed. Note: This will not update a to create a rich text or Markdown document
name for change WikiLinks, only item links. with links to the currently selected
documents.
Imprinter: Choose an imprint you have
defined in Preferences > Imprinter to apply it Summarize Highlights: Creates a document
to the current image or PDF. with all highlighted text passages of the
currently selected documents. In case of
PDF Document: This submenu provides
items located in multiple databases the
options for editing the current PDF
summary is created in the global inbox.
document: Insert Blank Page, Delete Selected
From the submenu, choose to create the
Page, and Reverse Page Order. See the
summary in a rich text document, Markdown
Documents chapter for more information on
document, or a sheet.
PDF documents.
Summarize Mentions: Creates a new
Sheets: This submenu provides access to
document containing a list of the documents
the following tools for editing a sheet: New
mentioning the name or alias of the selected
Record, Duplicate Records, Delete Records,
document. From the submenu, choose to
New Column, Edit Columns, and Delete
create the summary in a rich text document
Columns. See the Documents chapter for
or a Markdown document.
more information on sheets.
Merge Items: Merge the selected documents
ROTATE & FLIP into one. This creates a new file, preserving
the originals. Hold the ⌥ key to choose Merge
Rotate Left/Right: Choose this to rotate
& Delete n Documents, removing the original
images, or individual pages in a PDF
files after the merged document is created.
document.
When merging documents, the order of the
Flip Horizontal/Vertical: Choose this to flip
merge will be the order shown in the item
an image on its horizontal or vertical axis.
list. The topmost selected document will
be the first page with the pages beneath it
CREATE, SUMMARIZE, MERGE, SPLIT
following. The order of the documents can be

Create Expense Report: Creates a sheet controlled by the current sort method in the

summarizing custom metadata dates and item list. See also p. 149ff

currencies of selected files. Totals for the

Note: The resulting file type of a Merge
amounts will also be included.
operation depends on the types of the

Create Metadata Overview: Creates a sheet selected files. Selecting mixed formats,

with records for each selected file. The e.g., a web archive and an image, usually

columns contain data from the generic and results in an RTFD file being created.

custom metadata of each file.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 147

Split PDF into Chapters: Used on a PDF SIDEBAR & LAYOUTS
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
Split Document: Splits the current document views in a main window. You can toggle the
(PDF, plain or rich text) at the insertion mark sidebar's visibility by selecting the same
position in the document. option again.

Navigate: This is the main sidebar view,

RULES
giving you easy access to your databases,
These commands allow you to set or run favorites, and global smart groups. See also
smart rule commands p. 85ff
Reading List: Similar to Safari's Reading
Apply Rules: Apply the selected rule on
List, this sidebar view allows you
selected items that match the rule's
to maintain a list of items for later
criteria, including the location defined in
consideration. See also p. 94ff
the smart rule.
Extras: This view gives you access to recent
Perform Rules: Run the selected rule at any
updates in tutorials, scripts, and templates.
time or in any location. This is not isolated
And if you want to keep up on updates
to the documents in the current location.
from us, it includes links to promotions and
Batch Process: Use this command to
release announcements. See also p. 99ff
quickly define and run commands without
specifically defining a rule. This can be Import: The Import sidebar view gives you
useful to modify multiple selected files. access to scanning and email archiving. See
also p. 97ff
START SERVER, TAKE NOTES
View: Choose one of the following options
Start/Stop Server: Use this command to to switch between different layouts for the
start and stop the integrated web server. See item list in a main window. All these views are
also p. 72ff similar to options you find in Finder windows.

Take Note: Opens the Sorter to the Take Note Icons: Displays items as icons.
view. If the Sorter is not shown, it opens the List: Displays items in a list view with user-
Take Note window. specified columns shown.
Columns: Displays the item list as a set of
columns.
THE VIEW MENU
Cover Flow: Displays large thumbnails in a
The View menu contains all the commands side-scrolling view.
for modifying the way DEVONthink displays
groups and documents. Preview: These options allow you to control
the position of the current document's
preview, or dismiss it altogether.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 148

 None: This creates a list only view. FULLSCREEN & ZOOM
Standard: This shows a preview under the
Full Screen: Displays either the current
file listing.
document in a full screen mode optimized for
Widescreen: This shows the preview to the
reading and editing, or the frontmost window
left of the file listing.
in full screen. There are two options available
Quick Look/Slideshow: Opens the Quick Look here:
panel for the selected items which can be
Document: Shows the current document in
useful for times when the view/edit pane
full screen. Note this is a distraction-free
isn't displayed. Holding the ⌥ Option key
view, not the standard macOS fullscreen
allows you to display the selected files in a
view.
Quick Look slideshow.
Window: Shows the current window in a
standard macOS full screen view.
SHOW TAGS & DETAILS

Zoom: Depending on the document type, you

Show/Hide Tags: Shows or hides the tag bar.
can zoom or out of the document's preview
Show/Hide Details: Switches between to your needs:
displaying icons only or displaying icons
Actual Size: Displays the document
together with detailed information such
at actual size, calculated using the
as kind, label, size, word count, creation
resolution of the screen and the resolution
date, and modification date. Available in all
information of the image or PDF.
windows using icon or column views.
All Pixels: Displays the document at a 1:1
Show Only Documents: When checked, this ratio so that one pixel of the image equals
hides groups and smart groups in List and one pixel on the screen (PDFs and images
Icons views. Note this is a per-database only).
setting, i.e., you can enable or disable it for Zoom In/Out: Zooms in or out of the
each open database. document.
Zoom to Fit: Displays the document so
COLUMNS & SORTING that it exactly fits either the height or the
width of the window/preview pane (PDFs
Columns: This submenu lists all columns
and images only).
available to be displayed as column headers in
Zoom to Width: Displays the document so
the item list.
that its width fits the width of the window

Sort: This submenu lists all the attributes or view/edit pane (PDFs and images only).

that can be used to sort the current item

list. Choose Unsorted to manually sort the
items. DEVONthink remembers sort settings
for every group separately and uses those
settings when the group is displayed in its
own main window

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 149

DOCUMENT & PDF OPTIONS pages. When unchecked, the pages appear
as a continuous document.
Document Display: This submenu contains
Crop Box, Media Box: Crops the page to
commands for displaying alternate views of
the crop or media box. By default, PDF
some documents. Note there are alternate
pages are cropped to the crop box.
commands shown when used with sheets or
HTML and Markdown files.
TOOLBAR

Best Alternative/Preview/Table View:

Hide/Show Toolbar: Hides or shows 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. Customize Toolbar: Lets you configure the
Text Alternative/Source/Form View: toolbar of the frontmost window.
Shows a text-only view of some file types,
e.g.,Word or email. Also shows the page
THE GO MENU
source of HTML-based and Markdown files
or the Form view for sheets. For people who prefer to use the keyboard

Side-by-Side: Shows a side-by-side view for navigation, the Go menu contains all

of the rendered view and source for HTML commands for navigating the hierarchy

and Markdown files. Note this does not of your DEVONthink database, all with

apply to Formatted Notes. keyboard shortcuts. Use these commands

to go backwards and forwards through your
PDF Display: This submenu lets you adjust documents, or to move back to the top level
the way PDF documents are displayed: of the group hierarchy.

Single Page, Two Pages: Shows a multi-

DATABASES
page document as single pages or two
pages facing each other (as in a magazine). Previous Database: Selects the previous
Continuous Scroll: When checked, shows database in the Navigate sidebar.
the pages of the PDF as one long scroll.
When unchecked, only one page is shown Next Database: Selects the next database in

at a time. the Navigate sidebar.

Book Mode: When checked, facing pages

start with one single page (the title page), GROUPS

then facing pages. When unchecked, they

Top Group: Returns you to the top level of the
start facing.
database (also known as the "root").
Page Breaks: When checked, pages are
shown with a small break between the Enclosing Group: Changes the view to
the parent folder of the current group or
document.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 150

Selected Group: Changes the view to the Go to Link: Opens any detected links in
currently selected group. selected text in plain text, rich text, and
Markdown documents.
To Group: Opens a popup where you can
search for a group by name. Results are Go to Page/Time: Allows you to jump to a
shown as you type. The chosen group from specified page (PDF documents) or time
the results will display as the current group. (supported video and audio files).

DOCUMENTS MOVE FOCUS

Back/Forward: Moves backwards and Choose a command, or use its shortcut, to

forwards through all documents/web pages quickly switch focus to different panes of a
you have visited by following cross-links or DEVONthink window. The options available
Wiki-style links. are dependent on the visible UI elements,
e.g., if the inspectors aren't visible, the Move
First/Previous/Next/Last Document:
Focus to Inspector command will be disabled.
Navigates to the first, previous, next, or last
document of all documents in the current to Sidebar: The current sidebar, e.g., the
group. This is useful when you have opened Navigate sidebar will have focus.
a document in a separate window and want to View: The item list will have focus.
to move to another document in the same to Preview: The view/edit pane will have
group. focus.
to Inspector: The current inspector will
To Document: Opens a popover to quickly
have focus.
navigate to a specific document.
Favorites: Displays a submenu of items in the
Previous/Next Instance: Navigates
Favorites section of the Navigate sidebar.
backwards and forwards through all instances
of a replicated document. Use these
WORKSPACES
commands to find out where the other
instances of a replicated item are. Workspaces allow you to save the state of
your open databases, as well as the contents
Previous/Next Highlight: Navigates
and positions of all open windows, so that
backwards and forward through all
you can restore them later. This is ideal if you
highlighted passages within a document,
are working with the same set of windows
regardless of whether these passages have
over and over again. Save these windows as
been highlighted by a search or manually
a workspace and recall them whenever you
using Format > Highlight.
need them again.

Next Unread Item: Navigates to the next

From the Workspaces submenu you can:
item with an unread status in the current
database.

Complete News:

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 151

 Add: Saves the currently open windows ACTIVITY, DOWNLOADS, LOG
and open databases as a workspace.
Activity: Opens the Activity panel. This panel
Edit: Opens a window that allows you
shows all running processes, e.g.,OCR or sync
to edit saved workspaces. Click on a
activity, and allows you to manually stop
workspace name to change it, reorder by
them.
dragging, and delete with the - button.
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
Choose: Choose a workspace from the list download files or complete web sites from
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.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 152

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 153

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 3.8 Documentation, page 154

 PREFERENCES

IN THIS CHAPTER GENERAL

General 155
GENERAL
Editing 158
WikiLinks 159
Sorter 160
Files 161
Colors 165
Web 166
RSS 167
Data 168
OCR 169
Imprinter 170
Server 172
Use the General tab to set the general
Sync 174
behavior for the application, e.g., whether
The Preferences window, which you open to check for updates automatically or keep
by selecting Preferences in the application groups on top when sorting..
menu, is the place to go to change global
General: Set the options for duplicate
settings for DEVONthink. In addition to
detection or to enable alarms for reminders.
global settings, databases also have separate
settings in their Database Properties Stricter recognition of duplicates: Check to
window that you open using File > Database have DEVONthink mark files as duplicates
Properties. consider the file type and size, as well as
the content, when determining duplicate
There is also a number of hidden preferences,
files.
intended for customer support, but maybe
More compatible naming of files: Replaces
useful for you, too. See also p. 242ff
the characters |<>%?&*" when naming files
to improve the compatibility with other
filesystems and platforms, e.g., Dropbox or
OneDrive. Forward slashes and colons are
always replaced as these are reserved by
macOS.
Enable reminder alarms: Enables or
disables using DEVONthink Reminders. This
can be set on a per-machine basis.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 155

Annotations: Controls where to save Click Check Now to immediately check for a
annotation files and whether the annotation new version.
file should be moved when the referred file is
moved, e.g., when moving the source file to INTERFACE
another database.

Location: Choose to save newly created

annotation files In shared group or In same
group. The shared group is an Annotations
group in the root of the current database.
Move annotations automatically: Enable
this to cause annotation files to "follow"
their referred files. For example, if you
move the source file to another database,
the annotation file will be moved to the
The options control interface behaviors
new database as well
including some of the Navigate sidebar.
Search scope: Controls where new searches
Interface: These options control the behavior
begin searching and the behavior of the
of the interface, e.g., when double-clicking
Search inspector.
documents.
Scope Location: Set where toolbar
Double-click opens groups in a new
searches should look when a new search
window: This option allows you to open a
is initiated. The options are: Last scope,
new window when you double-click a group.
Current Database, and All Databases.
If unchecked, the group will be selected
Automatically select search inspector:
and its contents will be replace the file list
Enable this to switch to the Search
being currently viewed.
inspector if the view/edit pane and
Double-click opens documents externally:
inspectors are already visible when doing a
Check this if you'd like documents to open
search. This option is enabled by default.
in an external application when double-
Alerts: Click Reset to make DEVONthink clicked. DEVONthink uses the application
show alerts again that you previously set as the default application for the
dismissed with "Don't show again" checked. file type in the operating system, e.g.,
TextEdit for RTF documents. If unchecked,
Check for Updates: Change the settings
any document that can be edited in
in this tab to define when you want
DEVONthink will be opened in its own
DEVONthink to check for new versions:
window.
never, on startup, daily, weekly, or monthly.
Click on links opens them externally:
DEVONthink only performs checks for
Enable opening links in document text
updates when the computer is connected to
in the system default application. Use
the Internet.
⇧-click to open and activate the default

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 156

 application. Note ⌘ or ⌥-clicks can be open databases in the Open Databases
still used to open links in new tabs or section of the Navigate sidebar. When
to add them to the Download Manager, disabled, the groups of the root of the
respectively. active database are displayed in an active
Keep groups on top when sorting: Always database section in the sidebar. This allows
display groups at the top of the item list, isolating the groups of a database. The
independent of the sort method, e.g., by active database will have an asterisk to the
Name, by Date Added, etc. left of the name.
Retain view: When enabled, the view Unify inboxes: Display the inboxes of open
settings in the current main window, e.g., databases only in the Globals section of
Icons in Widescreen, override the view the Navigate sidebar. When disabled, the
settings of other groups or databases. inbox will be displayed in the item list for
If a change is made to the current view, the current database.
that change will persist when switching. Unify tags: Display the Tags group of open
If no changes are made, the previous view databases only in the Globals section of
settings will be restored after disabling this the Navigate sidebar. When disabled, the
option. Tags group will be displayed in the item list
Automatically reveal items: Enable this for the current database
to reveal the currently displayed item in Keyboard Navigation: Enables keyboard
the item list, for example when switching navigation with typing selection, and arrow
between document tabs in a main window. 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 APPEARANCE
tab. When unchecked or the ⌘ modifier key
isn't pressed, documents are opened in the
same view, in the default application or in
new windows. Check Always show tab bar
if you'd like to view the document title in a
tab bar when only one document is open.

Sidebar: These options toggle the unification

of items in the Navigate sidebar as well as the
ability to navigate it via keyboard.

Automatically expand & collapse: Check These options control the look of some parts
this to automatically show the sidebar of the interface.
when revealing an item or opening a group
in a new window.
Unify Databases: When enabled,
navigate the groups of the root of all

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 157

 Alternating row colors in views: Check Sidebar Text Size: Set the font size
to color every second row in item lists DEVONthink uses in the sidebars.
differently.
View Text Size: set the font size used in the
Display number of items inside groups:
item list and the contents of sheets in table
Check to show the number of documents
view.
in groups. In the sidebar, the total number
of items in the group is shown. News feeds
will show the number of unread items. In EDITING
the item list, this shows the number of
unread and total 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 item 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 a property icon to the The Editing tab defines all options that fine
right of a document's name. tune DEVONthink's text editing behavior,
Show filename extensions: Check this if from the ruler units to default font settings
you prefer to see the file type's extension to summarization options.
at the end of filenames.
Use dark background for documents: When GENERAL
enabled, compatible documents, e.g., rich
Display PDF attachments of rich texts:
text, will display white text on a black field
When checked, a PDF inserted into an
when using macOS' dark mode. When
RTFD documents will display its first page.
disabled, documents will display normally.
Unchecked, you will see a link and the PDF's
Labels: Choose how you would like labels to filename.
be shown in lists. Scale image attachments: Images added
to rich text files and formatted notes are
Classic: Tints the group/document icon
scaled to the current width of the view/
(like on Mac OS 9).
edit pane.
Modern: Puts the group/document name in
Check spelling while typing: Spellcheck
a colored bubble (like on older versions of
while you write.
OS X).
Check grammar with spelling: Check
Dots: Shows a colored dot in the list (like
grammar as well as spelling while you write.
on macOS).

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 158

 Correct spelling automatically: Correct FULL SCREEN
misspelled words automatically.
Full Screen: Select your preferred font for
Smart quotes: Convert straight quotes
reading and editing plain text files in full
("inch marks") to typographer's quotes
screen mode. Rich text documents will
("curly quotes") while you type.
display their user-specified fonts.
Smart copy/paste: Insert or remove spaces
Background: Choose a background color for
before and after cut or pasted text.
the full screen mode.
Smart links: Detect web addresses and
Text: Choose a text color for the full screen
turn them into clickable links.
mode.
Smart dashes: Convert characters, e.g.,
Width: Choose a width for displaying
two hyphens into a proper dash.
documents in full screen mode. This setting
Data detectors: Detect dates, times or
will apply wider or narrower left and right
addresses in text, and show possible
margins, based on a percentage of the
actions when the mouse cursor moves over
screen width.
them.
Text replacement: Use the system-wide
SUMMARIZATION
text replacements when editing text.

Select whether you wish DEVONthink to

AUTHOR, RULER UNITS AND FONTS summarize based on sentences or whole
paragraphs.
Author: Enter your name. It will be used as
default for metadata, e.g., for new rich text
documents or PDF annotations. WIKILINKS
Ruler Units: Select your personal
preference for ruler units: centimeters,
inches, points, or picas.
Plain Text: Select your preferred font.
This is the font automatically used when
you create new documents. Additionally,
specify the background and text colors to
suit your taste.
Rich Text & Note: Select your preferred
fonts for new rich text formats. This is the
font automatically used when you create WikiLinks are a way to create interconnected
new rich text documents or formatted documents in your databases. When enabled,
notes. It is also the default used for DEVONthink attempts to detect other
rendered Markdown documents, if no documents matching the terms you've
default stylesheet is specified. typed in plain text, rich text, or Markdown
documents. This creates an active hyperlink
Note: Hold the ⌥ Option key to restore the
default fonts.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 159

to the detected document, allowing you and Aliases, e.g., GlobalEconomy and
to quickly jump to it by clicking the link. globaleconomy both would match.
WikiLinked text displays as underlined text. Open new documents in separate
windows: When clicking a WikiLink, the
For more information on creating WikiLinks
linked document will open in its own
and other linking methods, see the Document
document window.
Linking section.

TEMPLATE
WIKILINKS
Text and items entered here will be used to
To enable WikiLinking, check the Automatic
create a new WikiLinked document. You can
checkbox and choose from the options shown
type any text you want as well as Control-
here:
click and use Insert Placeholder to insert a

MashedWords: Commonly used to avoid token that will be automatically replaced

creating links from individual words, when the template is created. The default

mashed words are document titles of title contains several of these tokens already.

joined words. If you type a mashed word, Check out the placeholders section of the

it will automatically create a link. If a appendix for information on the available

matching document is detected, it will choices.

open when clicking the link. If a matching

document isn't detected, DEVONthink SORTER
will create a new rich text document,
prepopulated with information defined in
the Template section below.
Square Brackets: WikiLinked text can
be defined using square brackets. Type
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 The Sorter preference allows you to choose
based on their name or any aliases defined the window's appearance and location, and
in the Info Inspector. assign a hotkeys for capturing data or taking
All Items/Only Documents/Only Groups: a new note. See also p. 56ff
Choose whether to match only documents,
groups, or both.
Case-insensitive Linking: Enable this to
ignore capitalization when matching Names

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 160

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
of the docked tab. These options will be
disabled if Show as Dock Tab isn't selected.
Menu Extra Title: Choose whether to
show the menu extra as text, or a space-
conserving icon.
Screen Capture: Check this to play the
IMPORT
system default screen capture sound.
Here you can choose options for the location,
HOTKEYS encoding, and tagging of files coming from
external sources, including bookmarklets,
Set system-wide hotkeys for: Take Note, Copy
DEVONagent Pro, items dropped on the dock
Selection, Clip to DEVONthink, and Search.
icon, (external) scripts, or services.

To change the hotkeys, click the Click to

New Notes: Check Select (and display)
record shortcut button, then press the
automatically to automatically select and
hotkey that you want to use. Press the
display the last note you have taken.
⎋ Escape key to cancel recording a new
shortcut. Destination: Choose the default destination
where incoming data is stored.
Note: On macOS Mojave, you will be asked
to grant Accessibility permissions for Copy Select group: A group selector is shown
Selection, and Automation permissions for that lets you choose the destination. The
Clip to DEVONthink. group selector appears as a black panel
floating on top of all other windows. Use it
to select the group where you want to file
FILES
the items.
The Files preferences contains controls Global inbox: The data is stored in the
for a variety of things from imports to global inbox.
media playblack, thumbnailing to Markdown
Text Encoding: Choose the default encoding
extensions, and more.
used for plain text documents. Select
Automatic to let DEVONthink choose the
best encoding.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 161

Tags: Imported files can have metadata that THUMBNAILS
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.
Convert properties to tags: Check this to
convert embedded properties from PDF
and RTF(D) files to tags.
Convert geolocation to tags: Check this to
convert proper names of geolocation data
These options control whether DEVONthink
to tags, e.g., "Orlando", "FL", and "United
displays a custom thumbnail for each file or
States".
the default file type icon.
Convert Hashtags to tags: Check this to
convert found hashtags to tags. Generate from actual image: For images,
Add tags to images: Check this to an embedded thumbnail will be displayed,
automatically apply tags to imported if available. Enable this option to create a
images. thumbnail for the image if no thumbnail is
Scan Barcodes: Check this to allow already available.
DEVONthink to try and detect a barcode in
File types: Choose the file types for which
an imported image. The detected barcode
DEVONthink should automatically generate
will be added as custom metadata
thumbnail icons.
These options are honored by email archiving,
scanning and OCR, importing from Bookends, EMAILS
Evernote, Apple Notes, and Yojimbo, as well
as documents created via the Sorter and the
web interface (Server edition only).

Use these options to define how email is

imported and displayed inside DEVONthink.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 162

Import complete conversations: to track if you have read the message.
DEVONthink can import not only selected Therefore this is unchecked by default.
email messages, but also other messages Decrypt secure messages: Check this to
related to a conversation. Check this box to decrypt and file secure email messages.
let DEVONthink scan your Sent Messages This allows DEVONthink to search or apply
folder and import sent messages that AI-based functions such as Classify or See
belong to the same conversation. Also to them.
Group conversation threads: Check this
Note: The email message will be stored
option to combine all messages belonging
decrypted in the database package.
to a conversation thread into a group. This
Its contents are available from within
makes identifying conversations easier
DEVONthink and to other applications or
and automatically adds structure to the
Spotlight.
imported messages.

Use fixed-width font for plain text

Note: These features only work if the email
messages: Check to show plain text
program maintains references to previous
messages using a fixed-width font such
messages sent.
as Courier. This is useful if the messages
Previously imported will become contain tables or footers formatted with
replicants: Check this option to import spaces.
previously imported messages again as Color quoted text: Check to mark text
replicants. When this option is unchecked, quoted from previous recipients in
DEVONthink skips previously imported messages. Click the color buttons to
messages. change the color for first, second, and third
Use alternative view: Check this option to level quotes.
view email messages as text alternative by Labels: Select which labels you want to
default. assign to messages that were flagged
or marked as "high priority". Since items
Fallback text encoding: When decoding
can only have one label at a time, flagged
an email message, DEVONthink uses
messages are treated as more important
the message's encoding information.
than messages marked as "high priority".
When there is no encoding information,
DEVONthink uses the encoding that you Note: The first two options above only
set in this pop-up menu. modify the display of email messages in
Download remote images in HTML the text view. By default, messages are
messages: Check to store the image displayed using QuickLook.
references required by HTML messages
in the database. Spammers and other
unfriendly agencies may use these images

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 163

MARKDOWN in ~/Library/Application Support/
DEVONthink3/StyleSheets or paste the URL
of an online stylesheet.

JavaScript: If you want to choose a default

JavaScript file to be loaded with all your
Markdown documents, click the Select
button. The JavaScript can be located
anywhere, including an online script, if
needed.

Extensions: Check the desired options for

Markdown extensions:
Choose options for the default mode when
MathJax support: Supports rendering
selecting Markdown files, styling, or any
mathematical equations via the MathJax
extensions to be used when rendering the
extension.
Markdown.
Mermaid support: Supports rendering
Markdown Display: Choose whether you want diagrams via the Mermaid extension.
to open Markdown documents by default in Prism support: Supports syntax coloring
editing, preview mode, or side-by-side mode. of rendered inline code and code blocks via
Editing is the default mode. the Prism extension.

WYSIWYG editing: Toggle the display of Summaries: Enable this if you want Summary
formatting and detected elements in the documents in Markdown format (See also p.
source code of a Markdown document. 147ff ) to use blockquotes instead of highlight
formatting.
Force line breaks: Enable this to treat a
return as the end of a paragraph without
having to add two spaces at the end of the
line.

Copy pasted images to group: Copy and

paste or drag and drop an image from outside
DEVONthink and it will be copied into a group
in the current location. The group will have
the name specified in the preference.

Style Sheet: If you want to choose a default

stylesheet to display your Markdown
documents, click the Select button to access
stylesheets stored on your machine, e.g.,

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 164

MULTIMEDIA SHEETS

Choose options for media playback or the Choose the default display mode, Table View
default display mode of PDFs or images. You or Form View, and background color for
can also choose a background color for these sheets.
media types.

Play Media: Check Play automatically to COLORS

play audio and video files automatically
when you display them. Check Loop if
you want to play the clips in a loop. Set a
desired background color for the selected
media file.
Image Display: Choose a default zoom
factor and a background color for viewing
images
PDF Display: Choose the default display
size background color for viewing PDFs in Label: Set the name of color for color labels

windowed and fullscreen modes. Check applied to files and groups in your database.

Automatically resize to automatically

Highlight: Set the name and color to be
resize PDFs in the view/edit pane. Set the
used for highlighting text in compatible file
background color.
formats, like PDFs.

Note: These are global settings, i.e., you

can't have per database label or highlight
colors. Also, following Apple's example,
we only allow setting seven colors in each
category.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 165

WEB to block common inline advertisements
provided by some search engines.
Zoom text only: Check to zoom only the
text and uncheck to use Safari-4-style
zooming.

IMAGES

These settings define how DEVONthink

displays graphics in web pages:

Display images when the page opens:

Check this option to display web pages
with images. Just remember, if unchecked,

The web preferences resembles the settings you may miss some information.

of most web browsers. Use these preferences Animate images, Loop animation: Check

to define how DEVONthink's displays web these options to run web graphics

documents and "live" web pages. animations and to run animated graphics in
a loop.

WEB CONTENT Scale images to fit: Check this option to

scale (large) images to fit.
These settings define how DEVONthink
treats special web contents:
ACCEPT COOKIES

Enable ...: Check these options to use

Cookies are little text files with information
installed third-party plugins, (such as Flash
that web pages store on your computer use
or RealPlayer plugins), and to run Java
to recognize you as a returning customer,
applets or JavaScript scripts contained in,
among other things. While most cookies are
or linked to, a web page.
harmless, you may want to control what is
Block ...: Check Block pop-up windows to
being stored on your hard disk.
block pop-up windows, which are often
advertisements; check Only automatic Always: Accept all cookies.

JavaScript windows to block only pop-up Never: Don't accept any cookies.

windows opened by JavaScript. Uncheck Only from sites you navigate to: Accept

this option if the web page you're visiting cookies, but only from web sites you

uses pop-up windows for actual content. navigate to (not from other sites, such as

(Some web content management systems ad trackers).

do this.) Check Block zooming to keep web Delete cookies on quit: Delete all stored

sites from automatically zooming windows cookies when you quit DEVONthink.

to full size. Check Block advertisement

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 166

FONTS RSS
Set the fonts you want to use for displaying
web pages; set separately for variable-width
and fixed-width text.

Note: Hold the ⌥ Option key to restore the

default fonts.

STYLE SHEET

You can further control the way DEVONthink DEVONthink comes with built-in RSS

displays web pages by applying a CSS style capabilities that enable you to add RSS feeds

sheet that changes the rendering on the fly. to your database and have DEVONthink
update them automatically. Use these
Click Select and choose your style sheet to preferences to define how often DEVONthink
apply it to DEVONthink's integrated web checks for new articles, whether to skip
browser. Note: This is for experts since it duplicates when updating feeds, when to
modifies how all web pages are displayed and remove older articles, and which CSS style
can lead to undesired effects. sheet to use for displaying the articles.

TEXT ENCODING Check for updates: Set how often you want
DEVONthink to refresh your feeds. This can
Select your desired text encoding for be from 5 minutes to once a day. It can also
displaying web pages. Automatic tries be when opening or before synchronizing
to choose the best available encoding. If a specific database. And of, there's always
this does not work for you, choose a more the option to check for updates manually.
appropriate text encoding for your language Convert categories to tags: Some RSS
group. 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
great number of tags to your database.
Remove articles: Set how often older
articles are removed from the feed. Check
Also unread articles to remove them, even
if they're unread.
Remove immediately instead of moving
to the trash: Immediately deletes the RSS
articles.
Feed Format: Choose a file format for
the downloaded articles. (RSS articles are

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 167

 presented as HTML files, by default.) Check Add: Click the + to create and name a new
Use clutter-free layout to try to remove custom field.
unwanted ads, etc. from the article. Remove: Click the - to remove any field.
Feed Style Sheet: For HTML (Feed Format: When deleting a field, a warning will be
Automatic) articles, DEVONthink comes displayed. This warning can be suppressed.
with multiple styles for displaying them. Action: Select any field and click for
You can use your own RSS stylesheets by more options, including duplicating and
placing them into ~/Library/Application renaming the selected field.
Support/DEVONthink 3/StyleSheets.
The order of the fields is also the order in
which they appear in the Info inspector.
DATA
Note: These options are also available from
the contextual menu.

PROPERTIES

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
Here you can define custom metadata fields
current field. Choose one of twelve data
that can be assigned to your documents.
types, such as Date, Boolean, Decimal
Number, or Languages.
CUSTOM METADATA
Format: Only displayed with certain data
The Custom Metadata column contains a types, you can choose some pre-defined
range of built-in fields, ready to use or modify, formats, like Percent. With the Currency
as needed. These cover a variety of common option, you will have an option to enter a
uses and a list of the pre-defined fields can currency symbol.
be found in the Data section of the appendix. Values: Only displayed with the Single-
line Text and Set types, define a list of
Enable any field by checking the checkbox
items to choose from. These choices will be
next to it. Use the buttons below the Custom
displayed in a dropdown menu when in use.
Metadata column for extra options:
Add and remove the items with the + and -
buttons. Control-click an item to change it.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 168

 Note: Please refer to the Data section for ORIGINAL DOCUMENT
more detailed information on the data
Check Move to Trash if you want DEVONthink
types.
to move the original documents to the trash
after they have been successfully imported
OCR using OCR. If files are converted by OCR
within the database, the original document
is deleted from the database. If files are
converted at import, the original document is
moved to the Finder's trash. Using this option
is a great way to prevent your incoming
group/folder or database from growing
cluttered after OCR is done.

Note: This option cannot delete files

received from the ScanSnap software.

DEVONthink contains an optical character SEARCHABLE PDF

recognition (OCR) module that allows you to
Check Enter metadata after text recognition
import scanned documents and make them
to metadata entry dialog whenever a PDF is
searchable. These documents are "read" by
imported using OCR. Use this dialog window
the embedded OCR engine and stored as PDF
to enter the preferred document name, the
files that contain an additional (invisible) text
author of the document, and any keywords
layer with the recognized, computer-readable
describing the document. You can also adjust
text. Use these options to fine tune the OCR
the timestamp of the PDF to the actual date
process.
of the paper document. The dialog window
You can import scanned documents, or scan is shown when OCR processing has been
them directly from within DEVONthink. completed.

When checked, the metadata entry dialog

CONVERT INCOMING SCANS
will appear whenever you scan a document
Check Convert to searchable PDF to or import an image file with OCR. You may
apply OCR to file that have been sent want to switch this option off when you are
to DEVONthink from a known scanning scanning/importing multiple files in a batch.
software, e.g., ScanSnap Home. Choose
Note: Information you enter in this dialog
the desired format of the resulting file:
will be available to Spotlight and can
searchable PDF, RTF document, Word
be changed in the Preview application.
document, or WebArchive.
The title field will be used to name the
document, the keywords will go into the
Comments field, and the creation date will

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 169

 become the creation date of the document information to improve the accuracy of
in DEVONthink. You can access this the text recognition. DEVONthink comes
information in the Document Properties with more than 150 different language
panel. dictionaries.

Check Compress PDF to apply compression Select the languages you intend to scan or
to the resulting PDF, creating a smaller import with OCR. Set a primary language
file. Compression only applies when and add one or more secondary languages
adding metadata post-OCR or preserving using the pop-up menu . Simply select the
annotations from an original PDF after OCR. languages you want to use from the list
on the right (Available) and move them to
RESOLUTION the left side (Selected) using the right-to-
left arrow button. To deactivate a selected
Set the desired resolution for the image layer
secondary language, select it from the list
in the PDF. Only values between 150 and 300
on the left and move it to the right using the
dpi are allowed.
arrow button. You can select a maximum of
four secondary languages.
AUTO CORRECT
Note: The primary language and the
Check Deskew to allow DEVONthink to
secondary languages are treated equally.
attempt to straighten the resulting PDF.

Check Page Orientation to allow DEVONthink IMPRINTER

to detect and correct the page orientation.

DICTIONARY AND LANGUAGES

Custom Dictionary: Check Use Dictionary to

use a custom dictionary of acceptable words.
For example, you may have an unusual spelling
of someone's name in some documents. You
can enter the name as an acceptable choice
for the OCR engine to choose from.

Click the Configure button to add custom

Imprints are custom bits of data that can be
entries for OCR detection. Note you can
stamped onto images or the pages of PDF
only have one dictionary, specified for the
documents. Imprints can be used in a variety
language chosen in the Language dropdown.
of ways, from stamping when an invoice was

Languages: The Languages section of the paid to adding specialized numbering. With

OCR preferences lets you identify the the ability to include placeholders, you can

languages of the documents you scan create many kinds of watermarks for your

in. DEVONthink's OCR engines uses this documents.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 170

CONFIGURATIONS Note: DEVONthink remembers the location
and styling of the individual imprints in a
This column lists any custom imprints
combined configuration.
you've already created. Click an existing
configuration to change its appearance or
GENERAL OPTIONS
location on future documents, or click and
release to change the name. Use the buttons Check Duplicate item before imprinting to
below the Configurations column for extra duplicate the document before imprinting it.
options:
APPEARANCE
Add: Click the + to create and name a new
custom field. Use these controls to define the parts of the
Action: Select any field and click for watermark, its font attributes, and the style
more options, including duplicating, of a containing box, if desired.
renaming, and deleting the selected
Title: This is the body of the imprint. Type
configuration. A special item in the menu,
any static text you want to appear in the
New Combined Configuration is discussed
imprint. Right-click > Insert Placeholder
below.
to define sections of the watermark with
Preview: Click this button to see an
placeholders. Any of these items can be
example of the imprint, as specified by the
can be reordered easily by dragging and
current settings.
dropping.
New Combined Configuration: Found in Font: In the Font options, choose the
the action menu, this option allows you font, weight, color, and other styling for
to create new imprints from your existing the watermark. If you choose the outline
ones. This extends the usefulness of existing style, you can choose the Thickness of the
imprints. outline.
Border Style: Choose and style a pre-
From the action menu, select the New
defined border, if desired. When using a
Combined Configuration option. Two panes
border, you can also specify the border
will be displayed: Combined and a second
Color and Thickness and an optional Fill
Configurations pane. In the righthand pane,
color.
select an existing configuration and click
the < button to add it to the Combined pane Note: There is only one font style for the
in the center. To remove an item from the watermark. You cannot have mixed styles,
Combined pane, select it and press the > e.g., displaying one word larger or in a
button. It will reappear in the Configurations different color.
pane on the right. Combined items will be
displayed in the order you add them. To see
what the imprint looks like, press the Preview
button.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 171

LOCATION Note: In order to operate properly,
DEVONthink needs to be running and will
In the Location tab, choose and fine-tune the
only serve open databases.
position of the watermark, as well as on what
pages it will appear. Enter all necessary details in the General tab
and define users and permissions in the Users
Position: Choose a general position for the
tab. Then click the Start button to start the
imprint to appear on the document.
web server available to users whom you have
Offset X/Y: Fine-tune the position of the
allowed access.
watermark. Negative values are to the left
(X) and down (Y). Positive values are to the As soon as the server starts, DEVONthink
right (X) and up (Y). shows the name and two URLs for your
Rotate: Set your imprint on an angle, if database at the bottom of the window.
desired. Use either the Bonjour services list of the
Occurrence: Choose what pages the Bookmarks view in Safari or enter the listed
imprint should appear on. Use Custom to URLs into the address field of your web
have the imprint appear on specific pages. browser to access your database. Use the
numeric address if the Bonjour does not work
for your network.
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
DEVONthink features a built-in web server automatically convert all images and non-
that allows you to share documents on your OCRed PDF documents added from web
local area network, and optionally, over the sharing users to searchable PDFs.
internet. As soon as the web server starts,
other users can use a standard web browser
to search your database, view documents,
and download them.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 172

BONJOUR SETTINGS certificate as valid to allow their browser to
accept your server's identity.
Use these settings to define your
Allow insecure HTTP connection on
DEVONthink server's identity, everything
port: DEVONthink's server runs on SSL
from the name and port, to creating a
connections for secure browsing. If you
certificate vouching for the "safety" of the
have a compelling reason to use the older
server's activity.
http protocol, check this box and enter the

Identity: port to be used.

Bonjour Name: Enter a distinct name for Note: When using the server in

your computer here that identifies it on administered networks, e.g., public,

the local network using Bonjour. This name corporate, or educational scenarios,

will be shown in the list of Bonjour services you may need to consult with the IT

on other Macs on your network. Switch department for successful operation.

to the Bookmarks view in Safari or your

preferred browser and select Bonjour in the USERS

sidebar.
Bonjour Domain: Set the Bonjour domain
if necessary. Leave this field empty unless
you know what you're doing.
Port: If left empty, DEVONthink will assign
a random, unused port when the server
launches. If the server will be accessed
regularly, or from outside your network,
setting a static port is suggested. As non-
standard ports can be prohibited on some
networks, consult with your IT department.

Security: User List: The Users tab on the left allows you
to add and remove individual users, as well as
TLS Certificate: If you have a TLS
set per database permissions for them.
Certificate, select it from this dropdown.
P12 Certificate: If you have been issued a Add: Click the + button to add a new user.
P12 file, import it by clicking the Load P12 Remove: Click the - button to remove a
file button. user.
Self-signed Certificate: If you have neither, Password: Enter a login password for the
it's possible to generate a self-signed selected user in the Password field under
certificate for the server. When this option the Databases list.
is chosen, users connecting to the server
will be prompted the certificate may be
insecure. Instruct them to accept your

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 173

 Note: If you have DEVONagent Pro right corner. The log file will open in macOS'
installed, it will be added as a default user. Console application.
This allows it to search DEVONthink's
databases in the same way it searches
SYNC
other websites.

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:

Read: Allow the user to access the

database. When unchecked the database
will not be visible to the user.
Download: Allow the user to download DEVONthink allows you to keep your

documents from the database. databases in sync with multiple Macs and

Add: Allow the user to add items to the iOS devices running DEVONthink To Go. Use

database. these options to control which databases are

Organize: Allow the user to move around synced, how often they're synced, with which

documents and groups in the database. locations. Learn more about synchronization

Delete: Allow the user to delete items in and how to set it up in a separate part of this

the database. documentation.

Note: Right-click the database's name to LOCATIONS

quickly enable or disable all permissions for
that database. The first column lists all sync locations you
have set up. In addition it lists available
Technical Info: If you need more information direct connections and templates for quickly
on the activity of the web server, you can find setting up new locations. Active locations
some deeper details here. are checked. Disabled, inaccessible, or
unactivated locations are shown in grey.
Server Details: The section under the
Locations that have an encryption key
Databases pane shows some basic
specified show a key icon to the right of the
technical data about DEVONthink's server
name.
activity.
Log: In cases where deeper technical
information about the server's activities is
required, click the Log button in the lower

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 174

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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 175

 location. Hold the ⌥ key to select Verify Note: Unchecking databases does not
Location Thoroughly. remove the sync data from the location.
Clean Location: Used in troubleshooting See the Clean Database command below or
situations, this removes the sync data for See also p. 181ff
all databases synced to the chosen sync
Use the tools below the locations list for
location.
more options:
All the commands listed above are also
Import Database: Select a remote
available via the contextual menu.
database and click to download the data
Note: You can also add existing local of the database and save it locally. The
sync stores (packages with the file name database will be automatically configured
extension .dtCloud) by dragging them into to sync with this location. Alternatively,
the locations list, DEVONthink's Dock icon, you can double-click a remote database to
or by simply double-clicking them. import it.
Synchronize Database: Select a checked
DATABASES database and click to manually sync the
database with this location.
The second column lists all currently open
Refresh List: Refreshes the list of remote
databases as well as all databases available
databases for the selected location.
remotely in the selected location. The
Local section lists all open database and a Action (Databases): The Databases Action
message about their sync status, e.g, the menu also contains commands for importing,
timestamp of the last sync. The Remote manually synchronzing, troubleshooting, and
section lists all databases available for import removing sync data. In addition to Import
or databases that are currently not open on Database, Synchronize Database, and Refresh
the machine. When attempting to import the List, it also contains these commands:
latter, the local database will be opened by
Import Encrypted Database: Import a
DEVONthink.
database as an encrypted database. You
Check any database that you want to have will need to specify the maximum database
synchronized using the selected location. If size and an encryption key. See also p. 11ff
the database is also already available through This option can be used when importing
the location, both versions of the database any database, but it will not encrypt an
will be merged and conflicts solved using the unencrypted database on the source.
chosen conflict solving strategy (see below). Verify Database: Used in troubleshooting
Uncheck databases you want to discontinue situations, this quickly verifies the integrity
syncing with the selected location. of the sync data of the chosen database.
Hold the ⌥ key to select Verify Database
Thoroughly.
Clean Database: Used in troubleshooting
situations, this removes the sync data for

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 176

 the chosen database in the current sync Note: The number of maximum
location. connections used is controlled by the
service you're using.
All the commands listed above are also
available via the contextual menu.
BONJOUR OPTIONS

Note: If you have specific databases you'd

like to remove from a sync location, e.g.,
old, no longer used or test databases, the
Clean Database command can be used on
select databases in the Remote section of
the Databases list.

OPTIONS

Change the general sync settings, noting they Click the button Bonjour Options to control
affect all locations and databases. if and how other instances of DEVONthink or
DEVONthink To Go can connect to your Mac.
Synchronize: Choose if you want to
Your Mac becomes the sync host or sync
synchronize automatically, manually,
server, the other devices the clients.
or in fixed intervals. Check On Quit or
Deactivation to automatically synchronize Enable incoming connections: Check to
when you quit DEVONthink or when you let other devices connect to your copy of
switch to another application. DEVONthink and synchronize.
Max. Connections: Choose the maximum Open databases automatically: Check
number of connections DEVONthink to open databases automatically if the
should open. The faster your internet connecting side (client) requests it.
connection the higher you can usually go. Port: If needed you can change the IP port
The recommended value is 16. number used for incoming connections.
Conflicts: Choose how to solve the conflict Leave empty to let DEVONthink choose the
if an item was changed both locally and best port number for you (recommended).
remotely. Use latest document preserves Password: Set the password necessary to
the most recently changed document. connect to your instance of DEVONthink
Duplicate documents keeps both versions (mandatory). This password is also used for
of the conflicting item and appends "copy" AES-256-bit-encrypting the connection at
to the end of one's filename. all times.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 177

 TROUBLESHOOTING

IN THIS CHAPTER plain text files, .rtf for rich text files, .pdf
for PDFs and .doc for Microsoft Word files)
Problems importing files 178
and try again.
Email import does not work as
expected 179 Also, while DEVONthink supports importing
Unlocking a database 180 many different file types, there are
Problems using Services 180 thousands of types and we can't guarantee
Sync Issues 181 trouble-free importing or usefulness with
Repairing a defective database 185 every type.
DEVONthink crashes 188
DEVONthink behaves irrationally 188 WHY DOES DEVONTHINK NOT DISPLAY MY
Slow Open and Save Dialogs in the DOCUMENT CORRECTLY?
Finder 189
DEVONthink uses Apple's Quick Look
DEVONthink was created with robustness technology to display previews of many
in mind. But any computer hardware or file formats. If a document is not properly
software, regardless of how carefully displayed, especially if it is a proprietary file
developed and built, can write defective data format, it may be you don't have a Quick
or destroy files. If you have some general Look plugin installed for this file type or
questions about DEVONthink, sales and the application that created the file is not
licensing, etc., plase check out our Questions installed on your Mac (and supports Quick
and Answers section on our site. If you Look). Control-click the file and choose Show
experience specific technical problems with In Finder to reveal it. With the file selected
DEVONthink or its databases, please check in the Finder, press the spacebar to open a
the following sections. Quick Look window to determine if the item
is viewable.

PROBLEMS IMPORTING FILES

WHY ISN'T MY PDF WORKING?

WHY DOES DEVONTHINK NOT RECOGNIZE

Bad PDFs: PDFs have been around so long,
MY FILES?
it would seem they'd be easily supported in

If DEVONthink does not recognize a file, make DEVONthink. However, the truth is there are

sure the file has a proper file name extension. many bad PDFs out there. If you encounter a

DEVONthink needs a file name extension to bad PDF, try acquiring a new copy of the file.

determine the file type. Add the correct file

name extension to your files (e.g., .txt for

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 178

No Text: You will receive a "No Text" log message into a database, you will receive
message with PDFs having no text layer, i.e.,, a logged message stating "n emails already
scans that have not had OCR run on them. imported".
In order for their text to be searchable, you
Importing takes a long time or stalls:
must run OCR on them.
Importing email is not a trivial process. Not
Protected PDFs: DEVONthink cannot extract only does it copy the message into your
the text part of print- or edit-protected database, but it also reads and analyzes
PDFs. When you import these PDFs, you get a the entire contents of each one. If you are
log entry that tells you that the file contains importing a large mailbox, the process could
"no text". When you select these PDFs in cause a timeout.
DEVONthink, the status bar shows Image
To increase the timeout to five minutes,
instead of PDF+text.
please enter this in /Applications/
One potential solution for this problem is Utilities/Terminal.app (each as a
Michele Balistreri's PDFKey. It allows you to separate command) while DEVONthink is not
print protected PDFs. Use PDFKey to "print" a running:
PDF file into a new PDF that is both printable
Terminal:
and editable, which allows DEVONthink to
extract the text for searching and classifying. $ defaults write com.devon-
technologies.think3
Note: There are sometimes questions MailImport.FetchTimeout -float 300
regarding the PDF functionality available
$ defaults write com.devon-
in other applications. DEVONthink uses
technologies.think3 MailImport.Timeout -
Apple's PDFKit framework, the same as
float 300
found in their Preview application. If you
have an issue with a PDF in DEVONthink, Another possibility is to split the mailbox

check to see if you have the same issue into multiple smaller ones. Lastly, you don't

in Preview. Other applications, including have to import the entire mailbox at once.

those from Adobe where PDFs were Importing smaller batches often proves to be

invented, are using their own frameworks. less taxing on the machine's resources.

Why can't I import from email application

EMAIL IMPORT DOES NOT X?: Inter-application communication,
WORK AS EXPECTED something at which DEVONthink excels, isn't
universally developed. In order for more true
Messages aren't imported or can't be filed:
automation between applications to occur,
Email messages are imported with a special
the developers need to implement robust
identifier (UUID) that helps DEVONthink
and reliable mechanisms, like AppleScript.
keep track of messages that have already
Some apps may provide simple URL schemes
been imported. Since a UUID must be unique,
but they are limited in use and capabilities,
you can't have more than one file with that
often only able to process one file at a time.
identifier. If you try to import the same

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 179

Better results can usually be had by merely Close the database in DEVONthink.
dragging and dropping. For email clients with Locate your database. If it's the Global
a good AppleScript dictionary, the potential Inbox, it's located in ~/Library/
for streamlined workflows is increased. Application Support/DEVONthink 3. For
other databases, do a Spotlight search for
Note: If you are running macOS Mojave or
kind:database dtBase2.
later, you will need to give permissions for
Select the database file and press ⌘I to
the Apple Mail plugin to access your email.
show the Info pane.
Quit DEVONthink.
At the bottom, you'll see Sharing &
Quit Apple Mail.
Permissions. Click the lock icon to unlock
Enable Full disk access in System
it. You will be prompted to enter your
Preferences > Security > Privacy for
administrative password. (This is the
DEVONthink.
password you use to log into your account
Launch DEVONthink and install (or
on your Mac.)
reinstall) the Mail plugin from the
Make sure the account marked (Me) is set
DEVONthink > Install Add-Ons.
to Read & Write.
Launch Apple Mail and enable the plugin
Click the Action menu and choose Apply to
via Apple Mail > Preferences > General >
enclosed items, if it is available, then close
Manage Plug-ins.
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 If this does not resolve the issue, please
crossed pencil to the right of the database's contact our support team.
name, the database has a file permissions
issue. This makes the database readable,
PROBLEMS USING SERVICES
but not writeable, so you can't modify the
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

They should; however, the keyboard shortcuts
order from most to least common: restoring
for Services menu commands are only
from Apple's Migration Assistant, restoring
requested by the supplying application.
from Time Machine, or an operating system
macOS assigns these shortcuts and has
or hardware error. Doing things like using
ultimate control over which application
Migration Assistant will not always cause a
or service gets what. If the DEVONthink
permissions issue, but if you have a crossed
Services menu items do not have shortcuts
pencil icon and you've recently migrated to a
assigned, it is likely that macOS assigned
new machine, this would be the likely cause.
these shortcuts to another command, or

To resolve the issue, do this: that they are used by the current active
application.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 180

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. 184ff
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 3.8 Documentation, page 181

 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. 174ff
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 3.8 Documentation, page 182

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 3.8 Documentation, page 183

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 3.8 Documentation, page 184

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 3.8 Documentation, page 185

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
FILE INTEGRITY
will cause an internal inconsistency and lead
to orphaned files when following the steps Another report you may see in the
below. Log window is regarding file integrity.
DEVONthink scans and stores a SHA1
The most common cause of orphaned files
checksum for each file in a database. This
is a simple and common one: attempting to
value is updated as the files change. However,
create revisions. Say you open a file, a Word
if you use the utility command File > Check
document, in an external application. As
File Integrity, it may report an integrity error.
you are reading it, you decide to make some
This means the stored checksum doesn't
changes. You type your edits, and select File
match the newly scanned checksum. This
> Save As (or File > Duplicate the file first).
may indicate a problem with the file itself.
The application most commonly will open
However, this error will also be reported for
the Save dialog in the location of the original
indexed items that are not up to date.
file, in this case, inside the internals of the
database. You have just created an orphaned
STEP 1: VERIFY & REPAIR
file DEVONthink knows nothing about. So the
question becomes, how do I create a revision As a first step, use >File > Verify & Repair
without causing this issue? Database to check your database's
consistency and allow DEVONthink to take
Duplicate: Duplicate the item in
all necessary steps to repair any discovered
DEVONthink first.
problems. This check will include reporting
Rename: Rename the duplicated item.
any missing files, as discussed above, and
This can be quickly done by immediately
importing any orphaned files. If Verify &
pressing ↩ Return, typing the change, then
Repair Database was able to repair your
pressing ↩ again.
database, use File > Optimize to optimize
Open and Edit: Now you can open the new
your database and have DEVONthink create
file and make your edits.
an internal copy of the index.

The other common cause is the same as

Note: Verify & Repair isn't just for
with missing files: getting into the database
emergencies. Running this command on an
package and adding files manually.
occasional basis is not a bad idea. In fact,

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 186

 if you're a fairly heavy user of DEVONthink, at any time without you losing metadata.
running it weekly or bi-weekly does no However, we generally only suggest this when
harm. It's just a routine checkup. troubleshooting a database issue.

If Verify & Repair was not successful or your To rebuild the database from scratch, use
problems are not resolved, proceed with the File > Rebuild Database. During the rebuild
next step. process, the index is completely recreated.
Your actual files are not touched. Any
STEP 2: RESTORE FROM BACKUP problems that occur during this process are
logged. Also, a new backup metadata set will
DEVONthink keeps up to two copies of the
be created at the beginning of the rebuild.
index files in case that the index is damaged
beyond repair.
STEP 4: RECOVER OR MANUAL REBUILD

To restore the index file(s) from a previously

If everything above failed, your database is
saved internal backup, hold the ⌥ Option key
severely damaged. You have basically two
and select File > Restore Backup. DEVONthink
options:
presents you with a list of all available
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.
Copy the Files.noindex folder into the
copied Backup folder.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 187

 Rename the copied Backup folder to the If DEVONthink crashes on startup, there is no
previously used name and add the file opportunity for you to use our bug reporting
extension .dtBase2, okaying the extension mechanism. However, you can manually
when prompted. retrieve the crash logs:
Double-click the new database file to open
In the Finder, hold the ⌥ Option key and
it in DEVONthink.
select Go > Library.
Use File > Verify & Repair to ensure that the
Open the Logs/DiagnosticReports folder
database is operating properly.
and locate the most recent crash report for
DEVONthink. (The date and time is in the
STEP 5: CONTACT SUPPORT
filename.)
If none of the above steps helped solving Attach the crash log when you start a
the problems you have with your database, support ticket.
please contact us with a precise-as-possible
In either case, please try to reproduce the
description of your problem.
crash before reporting it. Also provide enough
Note: In a worst case scenario, if you do not detail about what you were doing at the time
have a current backup of your documents of the crash.
and a manual rebuild didn't work, you can
rescue your files manually, but you will lose
DEVONTHINK BEHAVES
any group structure. To manually copy your
IRRATIONALLY
files from the defective database, show the
database package in the Finder, Control- No software on this planet is bug-free, and

click it, and choose Show package contents if an application behaves irrationally there

from the contextual menu. Copy the files is a good chance that your have just found a

in the Files.noindex subfolder, which are bug. But there could also be another cause:

sorted by kind, to a safe location, e.g., the The application package could have become

desktop. If you want, you can create a new damaged during an update or through a bug

database, re-import the files, but you will in a totally unrelated piece of software on

have to rebuild the database's structures, your computer.

tags, etc.
STRANGE APPLICATION BEHAVIOR

DEVONTHINK CRASHES If you see odd behavior like

If DEVONthink crashes while it's running, menus disappearing or silently refusing to

please hold the ⌥ Option key and choose do anything,
Help > Report Bug. windows showing graphical artifacts,
or applications not opening at all or
opening with strange error messages,

the first step is to reboot the machine.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 188

If that doesn't resolve the issue, try deleting As noted in the Finder Tags and Tagging
DEVONthink's preferences files. Please quit Sources subsections, tags can come from
DEVONthink, launch Terminal app, and enter several sources. These tags can also be added
this: to your Finder tags, perhaps unknowingly.

Terminal: Tags are added to the Finder tags from

DEVONthink in one of three ways:
$ defaults delete com.devon-
technologies.think3
Indexed files: If you're indexing files,

Note: Rebooting a machine can often any tags you apply in DEVONthink are

cure a host of issues, closing down rogue automatically applied to the files in the

processes, releasing memory, etc. We Finder. This behavior can be prohibited

suggest rebooting your devices at least by enabling the hidden preference

once a week, just to mitigate potential DisableFinderTags, but bear in mind this

issues. will also inhibit importing Finder tags as

well.

STRANGE BEHAVIOR RELATED TO Spotlight Index: In the Database Properties

DOCUMENTS popover for a given database, there is a

Create Spotlight Index option. If this is
If the strange behavior only happens with enabled, DEVONthink includes tags as part
a particular document, it is possible the of the Spotlight metadata, enabling you to
document is damaged, was created in a very use Spotlight searches like tags:support
old or extremely new file format that is no in the Finder. However, this also adds to
longer or not yet properly supported, or uses the tags processed by the Finder. If you
a damaged or malfunctioning Quick Look disable the Spotlight index for a database,
plugin. the tags for that database will immediately
be removed from the Finder tags,
Please file a support ticket and attach
Exporting files: If you export files to the
the document in question, packaged as
Finder, the tags are added to the Finder
a .zip archive, so that we check to see if the
tags as they're part of the metadata of
problem lies with DEVONthink or if it the file
the files. The exports include using the
itself.
File > Export > Files and Folders command,
drag and drop from DEVONthink to the
SLOW OPEN AND SAVE Finder, or doing a File > Rebuild Database.
DIALOGS IN THE FINDER This behavior can again be prohibited by

If you find the Open or Save dialog in the hidden preference mentioned above

applications on your Mac are opening or regarding indexed files.

performing slowly, it may be that you have

too many tags in your system. Having 5000
tags or more in your filesystem can cause the
Finder to stall as it tries to process them.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 189

Deleting tags in the Finder: While disabling If you have checked the appropriate sections
the Spotlight index for a database will and didn't find your issue or a resolution,
immediately remove Finder tags from the please do the following: Hold the ⌥ Option
system, the other options will not remove key and choose Help > Report Bug. This
tags from the Finder. creates a draft email, ready to send to us,
containing troubleshooting information and
In the Finder, press ⌘-, to open the
logs.
preferences. Select the Tags view. Here you
will see a complete list of Tags recognized Note: The industry standard turnaround
by the Finder. Select the tags you want to in software development is 48 business
remove and press the minus button. You hours, i.e., weekends excluded. However,
will be prompted to approve the deletion. we usually respond earlier. Thanks for your
Note: This does not remove any files. It only patience and understanding.
removes the tags.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 190

 AUTOMATION

IN THIS CHAPTER extraordinary. This mature but easy to learn

technology is the one we will focus on. See
AppleScript 192
also p. 192ff
Basic AppleScript Terminology 193
Internal Scripts 196 Smart Rules: DEVONthink also offers
Triggered Scripts 196 a technology for those with little to no
Reminder Scripts 197 programming experience: smart rules. Smart
Toolbar Scripts 197 rules are conceptually similar to smart groups
Smart Templates 198 but allow you to choose pre-defined actions
Smart Rules 200 to take on matched items. This makes them
Smart Rule Scripts 201 accessible to all users, while still providing
Apple Mail Rules 203 AppleScript execution in the smart rules.
Application Scripts 204 They also allow automation based on events.
Folder Actions 205 See also p. 200ff
Automator 206
Item Links: While not an automation
Item links 208
technology in itself, item links are item-
URL Commands 209
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. 208ff
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 3.8 Documentation, page 191

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. 204ff
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.
205ff
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 203ff
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
196ff
that supports AppleScript.
Toolbar: These scripts are available to add
as toolbar buttons. See also p. 197ff
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 197ff

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. 200ff

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 192

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 3.8 Documentation, page 193

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 3.8 Documentation, page 194

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 3.8 Documentation, page 195

 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. 239ff
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 3.8 Documentation, page 196

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 197

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 3.8 Documentation, page 198

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 3.8 Documentation, page 199

the Project smart template. Notice the use of Smart rules are conceptually simple and can
the placeholder in the enclosed rich text file be summed up as follows: When this event
and the script. occurs > do this action > on items matched >
in this location. Smart rules are made of four
TERMINOLOGY parts:

With the internal script of a smart template, A location: This is where the smart rule will
there are no special handlers required. look for matching items.
However, the internal script must be located Matching criteria: Like a smart group, you
in the Contents/Resources/Scripts folder can specify criteria to be matched. The
inside the package, and it must remain smart rule will only act on the matched
named main.scpt. Beyond that, you only items.
need valid AppleScript. An action: This is the action the smart rule
performs when the event occurs.
TOOLBAR TEMPLATES An event: This is an event that causes an
action to occur, e.g., an "On Quit" event.
To add any template to the toolbar, place
If used in a smart rule, a specified action
the template into the folder ~/Library/
would run when you quit DEVONthink.
Application Support/DEVONthink 3/
Templates.noindex/Toolbar. In order
CREATE A SMART RULE
for the script to be available for use in
the toolbar, you must quit and relaunch Smart rules can be created in one of two
DEVONthink. Then Control-click the toolbar ways:
of a DEVONthink window and choose
Click the + button at the bottom of the
Customize Toolbar. Drag your template into
sidebar and choose New Smart Rule. The
the toolbar and it's ready for use.
Search in dropdown will target the current
location.
SMART RULES Control-click an item in the sidebar

Smart rules are smart groups‚ evolved. Built and choose New Smart Rule from the

in the same style as smart groups, smart contextual menu. This will specifically

rules don't just show items matching criteria, target that item in the Search in dropdown.

they can act on them! From something

Note in either case you can change the
as simple as adding (or changing) a color
Search in parameter to target other
label, to modifying a filename then filing
locations, including all open databases.
a document in another location, smart
rules provide some powerful automation Note: Smart rules are considered global

possibilities. And they're not just for the objects and can be created only in the

technically inclined. No programming Navigate sidebar of a main window. If you

experience is needed for almost every action

available.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 200

 want to create a smart rule for a group Note: Bear in mind, smart rule actions run
in the item list, choose Data > Reveal to in series, i.e., the actions run from top to
display it in the sidebar. bottom, first to last. This means the order
of the actions affects the outcome. Think
When you create a new smart rule, you will be
carefully about this if you decide to create
shown the predicate editor, just as you see
chained actions.
with smart groups. Just follow these simple
steps to define the parameters of the rule We hope this has given you a good overview
(with an example): of creating a smart rule. Please see the
appendix for a complete list of available
Name: Give the rule a name, like Label
Events and Actions.
Edited Screencaptures.
Location: Set the Search in dropdown to For those interested in the Execute Script
target your desired location, like a group action, continue to the next section…
you add screen captures to. The more
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.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 201

Also be aware the effects of smart rules Tags - Add Keywords: Automatically adds
are very broad, i.e., they affect all the items Tags from the concordance of the matched
they match. While you are testing, it's a good file.
idea to put some limiting criterion in place. Tags - Assign: Automatically adds tags,
For example, instead of matching all images based on Apple's machine learning
in all databases, try matching images in a technology for images or hashtags and
specific group or only images that begin with known tags in titles and content.
"Screen".
Downloads - Add Embedded Images:
Add embedded images to the Download
ADDING AN EXTERNAL SCRIPT
Manager. Used with HTML-based files, e.g.,
To add an external script to a smart rule, web archives, etc.
add an Execute Script action and choose Downloads - Add Linked Images: Add linked
External. The next dropdown lists any images to the Download Manager. Used
available AppleScripts in the ~/Library/ with HTML-based files, e.g., web archives,
Application Scripts/com.devon- etc.
technologies.think3/Smart Rules Downloads - Add Podcasts: Add detected
directory. Add any of your own scripts to podcast links images to the Download
this directory to make them available for any Manager. Used with podcast RSS feeds
smart rule you define. Here is a list of the pre- containing download links.
installed scripts, for everyday use and your
education: ADDING AN EMBEDDED SCRIPT

Check Links: Check if bookmarks are valid. There are times you may need to add some
Close All Databases: Closes all databases code for a specific situation. Similar to
but the Global Inbox. some other macOS utility applications,
Download Bibliographic Metadata: DEVONthink allows you to write an
Attempts to retrieve the digital object AppleScript directly in the smart rule's editor.
identifier (DOI) of the document and set
To write an embedded script for a smart
the title and metadata.
rule, add or specify an Execute Script action
Move Into Database: Moves indexed files
and choose Embedded. Click the Edit Script
into the database.
button and a popup will appear with a pre-
Move to External Folder: Moves imported
built handler in place. Add your code as
files out to the Finder when they're located
necessary, then press the compile button,
in an indexed group.
the one with the stylized eye, to make sure it
Reminders - Next Week: Set a reminder for
compiles correctly. If it does, you will see the
a week from the current time and date.
code format itself subtly. If not, you will hear
Reminders - Remove: Remove an applied
a system alert. When done, click outside the
reminder from the matched item(s).
popup to dismiss it
Reminders - Tomorrow: Set a reminder for
the same time tomorrow.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 202

 Note: For those learning AppleScript, the One of the actions available is Run
repeat loop in the pre-built handler is a AppleScript. Selecting this option shows a
very common (and useful) code snippet for dropdown with any installed Mail Rule scripts.
processing all files returned by a smart rule. These scripts are installed in ~/Library/
Take note of it. Application Scripts/com.apple.mail
folder. If you write or obtain other scripts for
TERMINOLOGY use with Mail Rules, they can also be placed
in this directory. The scripts provided by
Smart Rule scripts are defined by a specific
DEVONthink are:
handler: on performSmartRule(var),
where var is the variable representing items Mail Rule - Add attachments to
matched by the smart rule. DEVONthink: Adds the attachment of the
message it acts on as separate documents
Example:
to DEVONthink.
on performSmartRule(theRecords)
Mail Rule - Add links to DEVONthink: Adds
tell application id "DNtp"
repeat with theRecord in theRecords detected links in the messages as individual
if (name of theRecord as string) contains bookmarks in DEVONthink
"Piglet" then Mail Rule - Add messages to DEVONthink:
set state of theRecord to true
Adds the messages it acts on to
end if
DEVONthink.
end repeat
end tell
Mail Rule - File messages & attachments:
end performSmartRule Adds the messages it acts on including all
attachments to DEVONthink.
Mail Rule - File messages & attachments
APPLE MAIL RULES
hierarchically: Adds the messages it
When considering importing emails into your acts on including all attachments to
DEVONthink databases, the question of DEVONthink, recreating the mailbox
"automatic" email importing invariably comes structure.
up. While this isn't fully possible yet, there is
a mechanism in Apple Mail that can provide TERMINOLOGY
some level of "automatic": Mail Rules.
A full lesson on writing scripts for Mail Rules
Found in Apple Mail's Preferences > Rules, is beyond the scope of this help, but you can
these are a rules consisting of criteria to be open and explore the installed scripts.
matched and an associated action (similar
Do note there are two required handlers:
to smart rules). As incoming emails are
using terms from application "Mail"
detected, Mail will check for matches in a rule
and on perform mail action with
and execute any actions you've specified in
messages theMessages for rule theRule,
the rule.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 203

where theMessages is a variable representing MAIL SCRIPTS
the items matched by the rule. Here's a
Importing email into your DEVONthink
simple example:
databases is a possible use of AppleScript.
Example: Using AppleScript-enabled email
using terms from application "Mail" applications, especially those with a robust
on perform mail action with messages
scripting dictionary, increases the potential
theMessages for rule theRule
for processing emails. This can help you
tell application "Mail"
quickly file those emails directly into
repeat with thisMessage in theMessages
display alert "" & (subject of DEVONthink.
thisMessage)
DEVONthink comes with scripts for Apple
end repeat
end tell Mail, Microsoft Entourage, and Microsoft
end perform mail action with messages Outlook. Just select a message or mailbox in
end using terms from a supported email application and choose the
desired script from the global scripts menu.
Note: Mail Rules are controlled by Apple
DEVONthink provides the following scripts:
Mail, not DEVONthink. While they generally
behave as expected, we can't control Add attachment(s) to DEVONthink: Adds
whether the rules will be triggered in Apple the attachments of selected emails to
Mail. DEVONthink.
Add mailbox(es) to DEVONthink: Adds the

APPLICATION SCRIPTS selected mailboxes to DEVONthink.

Add mailbox(es) & attachments to
AppleScript is perfectly suited for integrating
DEVONthink: Adds the selected mailboxes
different applications, interchanging
to DEVONthink. Attachments are imported
information, and creating workflows.
separately.
DEVONthink comes with a number of
Add message(s) to DEVONthink: Adds the
scripts that exchange information between
selected mailboxes to DEVONthink.
DEVONthink and other AppleScript
Add message(s) & attachments to
supporting applications, like Safari or Mail.
DEVONthink: Adds the selected mailboxes

The Script Menu Extra Scripts provided by to DEVONthink. Attachments are imported

DEVONthink are installed in an application- separately.

specific folder in ~/Library/Scripts/

Note: The import of entire mailboxes via
Applications, e.g., ~/Library/Scripts/
AppleScript can be a resource-intensive
Applications/Safari. These scripts are
process. Use the Apple Mail plugin for
accessible from the global scripts menu in
a more robust experience importing
the menu bar at the top of your screen while
mailboxes.
you're in the specific application.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 204

WEB BROWSERS FOLDER ACTIONS
Depending on the capabilities of the web Folder actions are scripts that you can attach
browser you're using, you may be able to to folders in the Finder. These act on all items
use application scripts. We have included you add to these "hot folders." When you
a handful of simple scripts that can be run add items, the operating system detects
while browsing in Safari or DEVONagent. the added files and runs any folder actions
attached to the folder.
Add abstracts to DEVONthink: Creates a
sheet containing information about items The actions supplied by DEVONthink are
in a DEVONagent search. This includes installed in ~/Library/Scripts/Folder
the title, score, summary, and URL of each Action Scripts, and you can add your
result. (DEVONagent only) own scripts to this directory, as needed.
Add linked images to DEVONthink: Detects For everyday use and exploration, here
images on the current page and adds them are the folder action scripts provided by
to your database. DEVONthink:
Add tabs to DEVONthink: Adds bookmarks
DEVONthink - Import: Imports files into
for active tabs the browser.
your databases.
Add linked images to DEVONthink's DEVONthink - Import & Delete: Imports
downloads: Detects images on the current files into your database, and moves the
page and adds them to DEVONthink's files to the trash afterwards.
Download Manager. DEVONthink - Import to selected group:
Add links to DEVONthink's downloads: Imports files to the currently selected
Detects URLs on the current page and adds group.
them to DEVONthink's Download Manager. DEVONthink - Index: Index files to your
database, creating links to the original
OTHER APPLICATIONS items in the Finder.
DEVONthink - Index to selected group:
Obviously we haven't covered all the possible
Index files to the currently selected group
applications or scenarios on your machine,
in your database.
and we are sure you have ideas we haven't
thought of. If you have an application you'd DEVONthink - Import, OCR & Delete:
like to integrate with DEVONthink, check if Imports files into your database, converts
it has an AppleScript dictionary. If it does, them to searchable PDFs if necessary, and
the potential exists to communicate between moves the files to the trash afterwards.
the applications. But also be aware the
commands, elements, and properties you ATTACHING A FOLDER ACTION
can work with are coded by the developer of
To attach a folder action script to a folder, do
those applications.
the following:

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 205

 Control-click a folder in the Finder. Note: Folder actions, like any computer
Select Services > Folder Actions Setup processes, are treated very literally. When
from the contextual menu. processing files with a folder action, it's
From the list of available actions, select best to move or delete the files from the
the folder action script click Attach. watched folder. This keeps the action from
trying to reprocess files.
Manage folder actions: To manage all your
folder actions, Control-click a folder and
choose Services > Folder Actions Setup from AUTOMATOR
the contextual menu. Use the Folder Actions Apple's Automator application was created
Setup utility to see which folders have scripts mainly to help non-programmers take some
attached, and to remove folder actions from control of their machines. It allows you to
folders. visually string together simple steps in an
automated process. While much more limited
Note: If you are running macOS Mojave,
due to its linear nature, it may still be useful
you will be prompted to allow the Folder
for some routines. Additionally, Automator
Actions Setup application to run. This
offers creation of other types of items like
notification is controlled by the operating
Services (or Quick Actions).
system, not DEVONthink.

While DEVONthink does not provide

TERMINOLOGY Automator actions, using the Run
AppleScript action in Automator makes it
While we can't provide specific training
possible to have some degree of integration
on how to create folder actions, check out
with our application.
Apple's documentation. However, the on
adding folder items to folderVariable
after receiving filesVariable is the
handler most commonly used in our folder
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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 206

TERMINOLOGY

DEVONthink to Finder: Passing paths from

DEVONthink can be done by processing
Finder to DEVONthink: Since DEVONthink
the paths of files. Here is an example Run
doesn't provide specific actions for
AppleScript action placed at the beginning of
Automator, you can't merely detect things
the workflow:
like a selection. The key to integration with
DEVONthink is passing file paths, specifically Example:
POSIX paths. For example, if you used a Get on run {}
tell application id "DNtp"
Selected Finder Items action, you could use
set fileList to {}
a Run AppleScript action like this to import
if selection ≠ {} then
selected files in the Finder into DEVONthink :
repeat with thisRecord in (selection as
list)
Example:
copy (path of thisRecord as string) to end
on run {input}
of fileList
tell application id "DNtp"
end repeat
repeat with thisFile in input
end if
import (POSIX path of thisFile) to
return fileList
incoming group
end tell
end repeat
end run
end tell

Immediately following this action, use

a Get Specified Finder Items action to
pass the paths to subsequent actions. Be
very cautious when using the paths from
DEVONthink. Actions like moving, deleting,
renaming etc. would compromise your
database. It is advisable to use a Copy Finder
Items command if you are going to do such
operations.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 207

 Note: While we may investigate the specified document. Usage:
DEVONthink-specific questions regarding search=<string>.
Automator, we do not offer support time: Directly jumps to the specified time
specifically for it. in seconds in a video or audio document.
Usage: time=<float>.

ITEM LINKS Example:

x-devonthink-item://<recordID>?reveal=1
Every database, group, or document in your
x-devonthink-item://<pdfID>?page=5
DEVONthink database has a URL (uniform
x-devonthink-item://<textFileID>?
resource locator) associated with it. While search=iPad%20Pro
web URLs typically begin with http:// or x-devonthink-item://<movieID>?time=43.5

https://, DEVONthink's URLs take the form

Note: The first parameter after the ID is
of x-devonthink-item:// followed by a
always added after a question mark (?),
long alphanumeric ID. For PDFs, the link can
additional ones after an ampersand (&),
contain a reference to a specific page. For
and any values must be percent-encoded.
audio and video, a reference to the current
playback time. And for RTFs, you can get
TERMINOLOGY
a reference to a specific paragraph in the
document. These links can be used in any Manually getting item links can be useful
file type or application that supports live for some hard-coded cases, but there
hyperlinks, e.g., the notes fields of OmniFocus are many times you want to get them
tasks. This allows you to access DEVONthink programmatically. There are two AppleScript
documents as easily as clicking a link in a web properties for a record related to item links:
browser.
reference URL: This is the item link as
You can get this item link manually by described above.
selecting a document or group and choosing UUID: This is the unique identifier of the
Edit > Copy Link. In addition you can manually item, i.e., the long alpha-numeric string in
extend the copied URL with the following the reference URL.
parameters:
Here is an example of getting and using an
page: Opens a PDF to the specified page. item link to create a Markdown compliant link
Usage: page=<integer>. on the clipboard:
reveal: Reveals an item in the item list
Example:
instead of opening it in a new window.
tell application "DNtp"
Usage: reveal=1.
set recordName to name of content record
search: Directly jumps to the first set recordURL to reference URL of content
occurrence of the search string in record
set the clipboard to ("[" & recordName &
"](" & recordURL & ")")
end tell

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 208

The terminology for using item links can Commands:
depend on the capabilities of the application
createFormattedNote: Creates a
you're scripting. Here is an example, using a
formatted note.
hard-coded URL, with an application that can
createHTML: Creates a new HTML
open URLs:
document.
Example: createMarkdown: Creates a Markdown
tell application "Opera" document.
tell window 1
createPDF: Creates a PDF.
make new tab with properties {URL:"x-
createRTF: Creates a rich text document.
devonthink-item://929D101B-35AC-474C-801C-
createWebArchive: Creates a web archive.
D8818C48DB80?line=125"}
end tell createBookmark: Creates a new bookmark.
end tell
Note: Use the location parameter set
P.S.: For the shell scripters, the URLs can be to a URL with the commands above to
used with an open command. download the page in the specified format.

createGroup: Creates a group.

URL COMMANDS createText: Creates a new plain text

URL commands are a type of item link document.

that don't merely point to an existing file, clip: Opens the Clip to DEVONthink panel.

they issue some special commands to note: Opens the Take Note panel.

DEVONthink. Though not as powerful as search: Initiates a search in the open

AppleScript, these commands can be used in databases.

special circumstances.
Parameters:

TERMINOLOGY title: The title of the item to be created

(string).
The URLs are constructed from a single
comment: A Comment to be added
command and optional parameters, with the
(string).
following format:
location: The URL linking to the content,
x-devonthink://<command>? e.g., the URL of the website for the
<parameter=value&parameter=value&...>
bookmark (URL).
Note: The first parameter after the ID is tags: Tags to be added (comma separated
always added after a question mark (?), strings).
additional ones after an ampersand (&), destination: The UUID of a group where the
and any values must be percent-encoded. item shall be created (string).
source: The HTML content for HTML
Listed below are the commands and
documents (string, only used by
parameters available:
createHTML and createFormattedNotes).

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 209

text: The text content for text documents referrer: The URL that referred to the item
(string, used by createText and (URL).
createMarkdown). selection: The selected text (string, only
width: The page width (integer, only used used by createRTF).
by createPDF).
Example:
paginated: Paginate the created PDF
x-devonthink://createRTF?title=New
(boolean, only used by createPDF).
%20bookmark&location=http%3A%2F
hide: Hide and deactivate application after %2Fwww.devontechnologies.com&noselector=1
executing the comment (boolean).
Note: These are not x-callback-urls. An
noselector: Skip group selector (boolean).
x-callback-url is a specific type of URL
query: The query to search for (string, only
scheme that returns a value to the calling
used by search).
application.
reader: Post-process the page (integer, 0 =
no post-processing, any other value = post-
process).

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 210

 APPENDIX

IN THIS CHAPTER ⇧ The Shift key.

⎋ The Escape key (usually labeled with
Glossary 211
"esc").
Iconology 214
⇥ The Tab key.
Toolbar Items 214
↩ The Return key.
Keyboard Shortcuts 217
Contextual Menu Items 219
INTERFACE ELEMENTS
Search operators 222
Search Prefixes 224 Bars: Smaller sections of a window
Templates 228 providing specialized information or
Metadata 231 controls, e.g., the Information Bar found
Placeholders 233 just above the item listing. It shows
Smart Rule Events and Actions 234 information about the selection as well as
Scripts 239 buttons to sort or change the view.
Web site export templates 241 Contextual menu: The menu that appears
Hidden preferences 242 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 3.8 Documentation, page 211

 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. 79ff 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. 139ff
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 3.8 Documentation, page 212

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 213

 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 3.8 Documentation, page 214

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. 174ff 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 3.8 Documentation, page 215

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 or templates, they
messages from the Log window.
will be available to add to the toolbar after
Send by Email: Creates a new message
quitting and relaunching DEVONthink. See
in your default email app and attaches
the appropriate sections for information
selected items.
on where to save these files for use in the
toolbar.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 216

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS Option-click (the triangle in front of a
group): Expands or collapses all groups that
Keyboard shortcuts make using DEVONthink
are contained within this group as well.
much more efficient for many people. Some
Option-Left/Right arrow: Expands or
of the following shortcuts are common
collapses the selected groups and all their
to most Mac applications; others are only
children the item list.
available in DEVONthink. In addition, many
menu commands have keyboard shortcuts. Selecting items:
These are shown directly in the menu.
Shift-click: Selects consecutive items.
Note: You can change the shortcuts for Shift-arrow: Extends the next consecutive
menu commands in System Preferences > item to the current selection.
Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts. Command-click: Adds a non-consecutive
item to the selection.
WINDOWS
Manipulating items:
Control-Tilde (~): Cycles through open
Return: Renames documents.
application windows. This is a common
Backspace: Deletes selected items.
macOS shortcut.
Command-Drag: When dragging items from
Control-Tab: Cycles focus between the
the Finder, this moves, not copies, the file
item list, view/edit pane, and the Tags bar
into the database.
or Inspectors (if visible).
Option-drag: Duplicates items to the drag
Escape: Cancels processes, closes dialogs
destination instead of moving it.
or Quick Look previews, etc., depending on
Command-Option-drag: Creates replicants
the context.
for the items at the drag destination.
Command-}: Cycles to the next tab.
Dragging items from the Finder to
Command-{: Cycles to the previous tab.
DEVONthink with ⌥⌘ pressed indexes the
Note: Hold ⇧ to cycle in reverse order. item. Dragging items into documents with
⌥⌘ held inserts a link to the item.
DOCUMENT LISTS
Item List:
Navigating items:
Command-Shift-O: Opens a selected
Up/Down arrow: Navigates up and down in document in the system default
all views. Use ⇧ to select multiple entries. application.
Left/Right arrow: Expands or collapses the Tab: Jumps to the first or next editable
selected groups in horizontal split, vertical column when using View > List.
split or List views, or navigates to previous/ Space: Opens the standard Quick Look
next item in other views. panel showing a preview of the selected
items.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 217

 Option-Space: Opens a full screen Quick THE SORTER
Look slideshow.
General Note Creation and Clipping:
Option-bracket: Using [ and ], goes
backwards and forwards through the Command-S: Saves the entered data.
visited locations. Equivalent to clicking Add.
Escape: Clears any entered data.
VIEW/EDIT PANE Equivalent to pressing the retreating circle
icon.
Home/End: Goes to beginning of, or end of,
any view. Voice and Video Note:
Page up/down: Scrolls one page up and
Spacebar: Start and stop recording.
down in any view.
Space/Shift-Space: Scrolls one page down Screen Capture:
or up in non-editable views, e.g., web pages,
images, or PDF documents. Command-1: Capture the entire window.

Command-click: Opens the target of a link Command-2: Capture a highlighted window.

in a new tab or separate window. Command-3: Capture a marqueed area.

Command-Option-drag: Inserts a cross-

Web Clip:
link for groups or documents dropped
into a rich text document. Dragging files Command-1: Clips from the default

or folders from the Finder to a rich text browser.

document with ⌥⌘ pressed creates links to Command-2: Clips from a URL you've

them. copied to the clipboard.

Command-Shift-click: Opens a link in a new Command-3: Type a URL to clip and any

tab and activates it. This requires enabling associated data, e.g., comments, tags, etc..

tabbed browsing in Preferences > General.

Clip to DEVONthink:
Option-bracket: Using [ and ], goes
backwards and forwards through the Command-F: Toggles the Clutter-free
documents or visited web pages . option.
Option-drag: Selects text using a
rectangular selection ribbon. SHEETS
Option-click (a link): For HTML-based files,
Return: Moves one cell down for editing.
adds the clicked URL to the Download
Shift-Return: Moves one cell up for editing.
Manager panel.
Tab: Moves one cell to the right for editing.
Option-click (a word): Initiates a search
Shift-Tab: Moves one cell to the left for
with the clicked word as the search term.
editing.
Shift-arrow: Expands or contracts the
Arrows: Moves the editing selection.
current text selection.
Escape: Stops editing.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 218

PDFS Text or links in text:

+: Zooms in. Add Link to Reading List: Adds a link to the

-: Zooms out. Reading List.
Command-drag: Scrolls the visible area Add Link: Allows you to enter a URL for the
with the mouse. selected text, converting the text to an
active link.
IMAGES Add tag [word]: Tags the document with
the selected word (only available if the
+: Zooms in.
word is not already a tag of the document).
-: Zooms out.
Convert to Item Link: Converts a selected
WikiLink into an item link. See also p. 34ff
CONTEXTUAL MENU ITEMS An alternate command, available when
holding the ⌥ key, Convert All to Item
DEVONthink also provides many commands
Links converts all WikiLinks in the current
in contextual menu items, shown when you
document into item links. These commands
Control-click on elements in the application.
only apply to plain text, rich text, and
Many of the contextual menu items are also
Markdown documents.
found in DEVONthink's menus. Below is a
Copy Link: Copies a clicked link to the
list of common menu items you'll find in
clipboard (only available for selected links).
the contextual menus for documents and
Edit Link: Edits the destination of a
windows.
selected link. Selecting this option allows
you to remove the link as well.
DOCUMENT CONTENTS
Insert Link To: Inserts a link to an item you
When you Control-click in the contents of select in the submenu (only available when
documents, you will see a contextual menu no text is selected).
with commands and options. The items Insert Placeholder: Inserts a predefined
shown are related to the file type and if you're placeholder or one specified as custom
interacting with a selection in the document. metadata in Preferences > Data.
Specific items, e.g., commands relating only Highlight: Highlights the selection with
to PDFs, are covered in their respective the current highlight color. Using this
sections. command on a selection again removes the
highlighting.
In editable documents:
Link To: Makes the selected piece of text a
Add to Favorites: Adds the current cross-link and links it directly to the group
document to the Favorites. or document you select in the submenu.
Add to Reading List: Adds the current Look Up [word]: Looks the selected text up
document to the Reading List. in macOS's Dictionary.
Services: Displays the macOS Services Make Link: Makes the selected piece of
menu. text a WikiLink. The destination of the

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 219

WikiLink is a document with the same Set Name As: Sets the name of the
name as the selected text. If no document document to the selected piece of text
with that name exists, clicking the created (needs to be less than 256 characters).
link creates it using the template you have Share: Shares selected text via the
set in the Preferences. available sharing extensions.
Open Link in Browser: Opens the selected
Add Link to Downloads: Adds a link to the
link in the default browser or application.
Download Manager.
Open Link in DEVONagent: Opens the
selected link in a DEVONagent Pro browser Images and PDF documents:
window.
Actual Size: Displays the document at
Open Link in New Tab: Opens the selected
its actual size. Uses also the resolution
link in a new tab in DEVONthink.
information contained in the file.
Open Link in PhotoStickies: Opens a link in
All Pixels: Zooms the image so that one
PhotoStickies.
image pixel equals one pixel on the screen.
Open Link: Opens the selected link.
Zoom In/Out: Zooms in or out of the
Quick Look Attachments: Opens a
document, or displays it in its actual size.
QuickLook window for both item links
Zoom To Fit: Zooms the image so that
and WikiLinks in plain text, rich text, and
it fits into the view/edit pane or the
Markdown documents. Selecting a text
document window.
block with multiple links opens a QuickLook
Zoom To Width: Zooms the image to fit
window for all detected links.
the width of the view/edit pane or the
Remove Link: Use this to remove the link
document window.
status of selected text.
Search with Google: Searches for the
ITEM LIST
selected text in Google.
Search [word]/Selected Phrase: Searches These contextual menu items are commonly
for the selected word or phrase in your shown when you ⌃-click items in a main
open databases. window's item lists. In items lists, the
See Related Text: Displayed like search commands are also often available in the
results, this shows a list of documents Actions toolbar button. Some of these
related to the selected text passage. This commands are also seen in the See Also &
option is only available when more than Classify Inspector pane.
one word is selected.
See [word]: Opens a drawer with Add To: Commands in this submenu add

documents related to the selected word. the currently selected documents to your
Favorites or the Reading List.
Apply Rules: Runs a chosen smart rule on
selected items matching the location and
criteria of the rule.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 220

Convert: This submenu displays options for New: This submenu allows you to quickly
converting from one file type to another. create several built-in file types. See the
The options shown here are dependent on Data menu for more information on these
the type of file selected. file types.
Copy Item Link: Copies a link to the current New from Template: This submenu allows
item. you to create new documents from any of
Copy URL: Copies the URL of the selected the installed templates.
document to the clipboard. This only Open: Opens the selected item in a
appears when one document is selected. separate main window or document
Duplicate To: Duplicates the selected item window.
to the group you select from the submenu. Open in Tabs: Hold the ⌥ Option key and
Get Info: Opens an popup containing more Open changes to Open in Tabs. If the View/
detailed information about the currently Edit pane is visible, this opens the selected
selected file or group. items in new tabs. If the View/Edit pane
Group Items: Groups multiple selected isn't visible, a new document window will
items in an item list. open with each selected document in its
Label: Changes the label of the selected own tab in the window.
item. Open With: Opens the selected item in an
Launch URL: Opens the URL in the selected external application.
item's URL field. Hold the ⌥ Option key to Rating: Allows you to set a rating, from no
choose Launch URL in Background. This stars to five stars.
keeps DEVONthink in the foreground. Replicate To: Replicates the selected item
Mark: Changes the flagged, locked, or read to the group you select from the submenu.
status of the selected item. Reveal: Shows and selects the selected
Move Into Database: Moves an indexed item in its location in DEVONthink.
item into the database. Use this command Send by Email: Sends the selected item by
with caution as it moves the file from its email.
current location into the internals of your Show in Finder: Shows the selected item in
database. It does not copy the file. the Finder.
Move To External Folder: Moves a non- Tags: This submenu offers special
indexed item, e.g., imported or created in commands for automatically adding some
DEVONthink, out to an indexed folder in kinds of tags. See the Tagging > Tagging
the Finder. Sources section of the manual for more
Move To: Moves the selected item to the information.
group you select from the submenu. Thumbnails: This submenu allows you to
Move to Trash: Moves the clicked item to Create, Update, or Remove the thumbnail
the Trash. Hold the ⌥ Option key to shows for a file.
Move All Instances to Trash when used in Ungroup Items: Ungroups a group, leaving
items lists. its contents behind. The group is not
preserved.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 221

 Imprinter: Choose an imprint you've Send by Email: The ability to add the
defined in Preferences > Imprinter to apply attachments depends on the inter-
it to the current image or PDF. application capabilities of the email
OCR: Choose the output file type and application. If it doesn't provide support
convert a compatible file via OCR. for this, you may be able to drag files into
draft message or the email application's
Note:
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.

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:

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 222

 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
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.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 223

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)

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 SEARCH PREFIXES

DEVONthink supports a wide variety of Below is a list of the available search field
searchable attributes. These include common prefixes as you would manually type into the
attributes, like names or tags, but also search field or a script:
include document or DEVONthink-specific
text: Text contents in a file.
items, like word counts or custom metadata
metadata: The metadata for a file.
you've defined.
name: The name of a file. This is distinct
Similar to searching with Spotlight or some from the filename and does not include the
other applications, the use of search prefixes file extension.
is supported. These take the form of a url: The associated URL.
prefix and a prefix operator, e.g., name:, comment: Spotlight Comments.
followed by the search term. These prefixes
docAuthors: The name of the sender of an
are automatically applied when you choose
email.
criteria in an advanced search but they can
docAuthorEmailAddresses: The email
also be manually entered in the search field.
address of the sender of an email.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 224

docRecipients: The name of a recipient of length: The number of pages in a file or
an email. length of a media file in seconds.
docRecipientEmailAddresses: The email size: The size of a file in bytes, KB, MB, or
address of a recipient of an email. GB, e.g., size >= 50 MB.
docTitle: The title of a file. The title may be wordcount: The number of words in the
distinct from its name, e.g., a song title for contents of a file.
an MP3 file. charactercount: The number of characters
docComment: The RTF-specific comments in the contents of a file.
for a file. hits: The number of times a file has been
docHeadline: A headline applied to some viewed or opened.
files. Rare. filename: The name of the file in the file
docSubject: The subject line from an email. system, including the file extension.
docDescription: The description found on extension: The extension of a file, e.g., txt.
some files, typically images. This also supports an Any Extension option
docKeywords: The PDF or RTF specific to filter filenames having or lacking an
keywords for a file. extension.
docOrganization: The company specified in kind: Supports any, group, smartgroup,
imported links or vCards from the Contacts tag, ordinarytag, grouptag, text,
application. rtf, formattednote, markdown, html,
docCopyright: Copyright information in the webarchive, xmlfile, propertylist,
metadata of a file. image, pdf, quicktime, video, audio,
docAlbum: The album information from bookmark, feed, news, script, sheet,
media metadata, e.g., MP3 files. email, and other.
docComposer: The composer information
Item prefixes: These special prefixes are
from media metadata, e.g., MP3 files.
for state-based queries, like the locked or
docCreator: The process or application
indexed state of items. They all follow the
used to create a file.
form of item:<specified state>, e.g.,
docProducer: The producer of a file, usually
item:locked. However, when choosing
applied to media files.
criteria in the Advanced options of the
aliases: Aliases applied to a file. toolbar search, choose the Marked option for
tags: Tags applied to a file. the Flagged, Unread, and Locking states.
The search prefix item: is still shown these
label: The color label of a file, from 0 (no
options.
label) though 7 or by name, e.g., Important.
rating: The star rating of a file, from 0 Flag: The flag state of a file. Supports
(unrated) through 5. flagged or unflagged.
width: The width of a document in points, Unread: The unread state of a file.
i.e., the width multiplied by 72. Supports read or unread.
height: The height of a document in points,
i.e., the height multiplied by 72.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 225

Locking: The locking state of a file. md_zipcode: The postal code detected in
Supports locked or unlocked. the geolocation data for a file.
Item: A special item supporting instance md_area: The state, province, or region
states: replicated, duplicated, indexed, detected in the geolocation data for a file.
pending, or tagged. md_locality: The city detected in the
geolocation data for a file.
additionDate: The date the file was added
to the database. Custom Metadata: Any custom metadata
creationDate: The date the file was attributes defined in See also p. 168ff are
created. also available as search prefixes. The search
modificationDate: The date the file was prefix you will type is a concatenated form
last modified. of the attribute's name, prefixed with md. For
openingDate: The date the file was last example, an attribute of Total Cost would
opened. have a search prefix of mdtotalcost.
dueDate: The due date set in a Reminder
There are also two special prefixes you can
for a file.
use:
md_attachments: The number of
scope: This limits where you are searching.
attachments in an email or the number of
It supports selection (the current group
resources added to an RTFD file.
or database), referring to a database by
md_annotationcount: The number of
name (in quotes), and inboxes. If no scope
annotations set in a PDF file.
is specified, the search applies to all open
md_encrypted: The encrypted state of
databases. When used, scope: should be
a PDF. This is a Boolean value denoted
the last parameter in the query.
numerically, e.g., md_encrypted==1 when a
any: When used, this allows you to specify
file is encrypted.
whether to return results matching any of
md_incomingItemLinkCount: The number
the criteria. This can only be used when
of item links to a document from other
specifying more than one search prefix,
documents in DEVONthink.
e.g., tags and filename.
md_outgoingItemLinkCount: The number
of item links to other documents present in Example:
a document. additionDate>=2019-03-10
md_language: An abbreviation of the scope:selection
detected language in the contents of a file. tags:sync; methods scope:"Tech
For a list of values, select a language in the Stuff"
criteria and note the abbreviation to use. any: name:test OR imprint {any:
md_country: An abbreviation of the tags:blue; red}
country in the geolocation data for a file.
Sub-criteria searches: Yes, you may have
For a list of values, select a country in the
noticed in the last example a tags search in
criteria and note the abbreviation to use.
curly braces. This creates sub-criteria for the

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 226

search. This obviously extends the search :~ is equal to contains. (The tilde is the
options to allow creating even more complex second key down on the top left of an English
forms. keyboard.)

Example:
PREFIX OPERATORS
Subject begins with party →
Many times prefixes end with a colon, e.g., docSubject:<party
tags: but some use other forms, depending Locality ends with field →
on the available options in the criterion. md_locality:>field
For example, words can "begin with" some Name contains tech → name:~tech
characters, but a size is greater or less than a
Number Matching: In addition to the == and
value. If you select a criterion you would see
!= operators, numbers can also use these
what options apply. Use the keys below to
operators:
map the option to its operator.

< is equal to the term is less than.

Matches, Is, Is Not:

<= is equal to the term is less than or equal

: is equal to the term matches. With strings-
to.
based queries, it allows for wildcards to
be used. It is also used for state-based > is equal to the term is greater than.
queries, like Kind. The negated form, :! is also
>= is equal to the term is greater than or
supported.
equal to.
== is equal to the term is. This must be an
Example:
exact match of the search term. These can
Word Count is less than 1000 →
be used in strings and number-based queries.
wordcount<1000
The negated form, != is also supported.
Size is greater than 10MB → size>10 MB
Example: Hits is greater than or equal to 1 → hits>=1
Kind is Group → kind:group
Date Operators: These are operators used
Item is indexed → item:indexed
with date-based queries, like the creation
Item is not Replicated → item:!
date of files.
replicated
Extension is XML Document → < is equal to the term before.
extension==XML
Language is not English → language!=en <= is equal to the term before or on.

String Matching: These are operators that are > is equal to the term later.

used with string-based queries, like names or

>= is equal to the term later or on.
text content. These queries also support:
:# is equal to the term within last number
:< is equal to begins with.
of days. The negated form, :!# is also

:> is equal to ends with. supported.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 227

: is equal to the term is for date-based Date Due is not Today → dueDate:!Today
queries. Supported date options are Today,
Date searching allows for some flexibility in
Yesterday, This Week, Last Week, This Month,
formats. Time is not a required parameter,
Last Month, This Quarter, Last Quarter, This
but can be specified. These searches are all
Year, and Last Year. The negated form, :! is
equivalent:
also supported.

Example:
Example:
additionDate>10 march, 2019
Date Created is after January 31, 2019 →
additionDate>March 10, 19
creationDate>=2019-01-31
additionDate>2019-03-10 08:30:00
Date opened is not within last 5 days →
-0500
openingDate:!#5days

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.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 228

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.

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

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 229

 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.

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.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 230

METADATA Recipients
Recipient email addresses
DEVONthink stores a large number of
Email addresses
metadata fields internally when importing
documents from the file system, e.g., from Media and Publication Metadata:
PDF, RTF, MP3, EXIF/IPTC, HTML, and email
Album
messages as well as from all files that deliver
Composer
metadata through the Spotlight metadata
Contributors
importer. Here's a partial list of theoretically
Publishers
supported fields:
Editors
Organizations
FILE METADATA

MultiMarkdown Metadata:
General Metadata:

title
Title
description
Headline
author
Subject
comment
Creator
subject
Producer
organization
PDF Metadata: keywords
publisher
Author
email
Title
copyright
Subject
generator
URL
dc.title
Keywords
dc.creator
RTF Metadata: dc.subject
dc.description
Author
dc.rights
Title
dc.contributor
Comment
dc.keywords
Subject
dc.publisher
URL
og:title
Keywords
og:description
Organization
geo.position
Copyright
ibcm

Email Metadata:

Authors
Author email addresses

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 231

CUSTOM METADATA Multi-line Text: Enter a small paragraph of
text. Line breaks can be typed by pressing
Another powerful feature of DEVONthink
Option-Return.
is custom metadata fields. Specified in the
Rich Text: Same as Multi-line text but
Preferences > Data, you can define fields that
supports basic formatting, e.g., bold or
are meaningful to you, your company, your
italic text.
research group, or even your family!
Set: Similar to the Single-line text, this

When you create a custom metadata shows a dropdown with values pre-defined

field, you give it a name. DEVONthink uses for the field in the Data preferences.

this name to create an identifier for use However, new values can't be entered

in automated processes. This identifier outside the preferences.

is created automatically and cannot be URL: Accepts any valid URL, including

changed. filesystem URLs.

Link: A special dropdown that allows you to
Data Types: When you define a custom field,
choose an item in your databases. a link for
you choose a data type for it. So what's a
the chosen item is used.
"data type"? It's simply a kind of a value; like
"a" is a character and "42" is a (the!) number. Note: The Countries and Languages lists

The following data types are supported, are lengthy, but not necessarily exhaustive.

including any interface items associated with For Multi-line Text and Rich Text, only one

them, e.g., checkboxes or dropdown menus: line will be displayed in its column in the
item list.
Boolean: This is a true or false value.
Displayed as a checkbox. Predefined Custom Metadata: In Preferences

Countries: A dropdown menu providing a > Data, we have provided some custom

list of country names. metadata fields to get you started. These are

Languages: A dropdown menu providing a ready to use and explore and serve as great

list of languages. examples of the data types discussed above:

Integer: A whole number, e.g., with no

Date
fractional part, like 17.
Company
Decimal Number: A fractional number,
Author
represented with a decimal point.
Abstract
Date: Can be specified as Date & Time or
Status
Date.
Serial Number
Identifier: Any alphanumeric value,
ISSN/ISBN
specified as needed, e.g., a customer or
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
patient number.
PubMed ID
Single-line Text: A dropdown providing a
PMC ID
list of terms you defined for the field in the
Barcode
Data preferences. You can also type in a
Format
new value.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 232

 Category File Name: The filename in the file system.
Subcategory File Extension: The extension of the file.
Genre Kind: The kind of the file, e.g., group or rich
Country text document.
Language URL: The URL in the Info pane.
Price Location: The location in the database; e.g.,
Tax /Inbox/Research.
Tip Tags: Tags applied to the file.
Decimal Digital Object Identifier: The unique digital
object identifier of the file, if available.
Item Link: A universal URL referencing the
PLACEHOLDERS
document.
One of the most powerful features of
DEVONthink is the ability to insert data Index: This is a number that increments

dynamically. A placeholder is a bit of code based on the number of items being

DEVONthink interprets when used in these processed by a smart rule.

scenarios, replacing it with a specific value. Counter: Similar to the Index, this is a zero-

You may have an imprint with a Name padded incrementing number.

placeholder defined in the title. When the Document Amount: This is an amount

imprint is used on a PDF, the placeholder is detected in the name or content of

converted to the name of the file! documents, like receipts or invoices. Often
used with smart rules.
To extend the possibilities even further, Document String: This is a string detected
you can combine static text and multiple in the name or content of documents.
placeholders to achieve truly custom results. Typically used with smart rules.
You can use these in smart rules and the Bates Number: Inserts a Bates number.
command Tools > Batch Process, in alarms on Page Count: The total number of pages in
Reminders, custom imprints on images and the document.
PDFs, and in templates for creating WikiLinks
documents. Group Name: The name of the group
containing the document, e.g., /001/a/b/
Below is a list of placeholders currently myfile.txt would report b as the group
available: name.
Top Group Name: The name of the top level
Name: The name or title of the document.
group in the root of the database, e.g.,
Proposed Name: A suggested name derived
/001/a/b/myfile.txt would report 001 as
from a document's title or from the first
the top group name.
line of the document if no title is present.
Database Name: The name of the database
Aliases: Any aliases applied to the file.
containing the document.
Finder Comment: Any Finder comments
applied to the file.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 233

 Database Path: The filesystem path of the short or long formats as well. You can also
database. choose specific parts of the date or time, e.g.,
Attachments: The number of attachments the month, year, or hour only.
in a file.
Clipboard: Inserts content currently on the
Language: An abbreviation of language clipboard. It can be inserted as rich text,
detected in the document's indexed plain text, or a link, depending on the type
contents. of data and the file the data is inserted
Country: The country in the geolocation into.
data for a file. Predefined Author: This is the Author
Postal Code: The postal code derived from specified in DEVONthink's Preferences >
the geolocation data for a file. Editing.
Administrative Area: This is state, province, Username: The shortname of the current
or region in the geolocation data for a file. macOS account.
Locality: The city in the geolocation data Full Username: The longname of the
for a file. current macOS account.
Organization: This is the company name, if
Tab: A tab character.
defined by the (Me) contact card in macOS
Line Break: A line break (return) character
Contacts.
for multi-line text.
Email Address: The primary email address,

Current Date: Today's date. as defined by the (Me) contact card in

Addition Date: The date the file added to macOS Contacts.

the database. Host: The hostname of the machine.

Creation Date: The date the file was

Properties: These are potential metadata
created.
properties found in the current file. A more
Modification Date: The date the document
extensive listing of these can be found in the
was last modified.
Metadata section.
Document Date: This is a date detected in
the document's contents, e.g., in a receipt. Custom Metadata: This menu lists any
For PDFs only the first four pages are used. custom metadata fields applied to the file.
Newest/Oldest Document Date: The
newest or oldest date detected in the
SMART RULE EVENTS AND
document. For PDFs, only the first four
ACTIONS
pages are used.
Smart rules in DEVONthink provide many
When using dates, you can choose the format powerful actions and events that can trigger
as defined in System Preferences > Language these actions. Below is a list of the available
& Region > Advanced > Dates. The default options for both.
is the medium format, but you may choose

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 234

EVENTS On Import: Runs when documents are
added to the specified location.
When an action is triggered is almost as
On Clipping: Runs when documents
important as the action itself. Actions can be
are added via clipping, e.g., via menu
triggered when any of these events occur:
commands, the Sorter, DEVONagent,

On Demand: Run only when Apply Rule is bookmarklets, or AppleScript.

selected in a contextual menu or Tools > On Download: Runs when items are

Apply Rules. downloaded via DEVONthink's Download

On Startup: Runs when DEVONthink Manager.

launches. On Scan: Runs after a scanning operation

Before Synchronization: Runs all actions has completed.

before DEVONthink begins synchronizing On OCR: Runs after an OCR operation has

to any sync location. completed.

After Synchronization: Runs all actions On News: Runs when an RSS feed refreshes

after DEVONthink completes synchronizing and receives new articles.

to any sync location, i.e. all uploads,

On Upload: Runs when an item is uploaded
downloads, and changes are committed.
through DEVONthink's web server.
On Quit: Runs when DEVONthink quits.
On Open: Runs when a matching item is
Every Minute: Runs the specified actions
opened in a new document window or
every minute.
viewed in a main window.
Hourly/Daily/Weekly: Runs the specified
On Open Externally: Runs when a matching
actions on an hourly, daily, or weekly
file is opened in an external application.
schedule.
On Launch URL: Runs when the URL
On Workdays: Runs on Monday through
associated with the item is launched.
Fridays.
On Reminder: Runs when an alarm set on a
On Weekends: Runs on Saturday or Sunday.
matching item's Reminder comes due.

On Creation: Runs when a new document

On Renaming: Runs after matched items
is created in the specified location. To
are manually renamed.
trigger actions when taking notes or screen
On Moving: Runs when matched items are
captures with the Sorter, choose Via
moved to the specified location.
Sorter.
On Classifying: Runs when matching items
Before Saving: Runs before saving a
are classified by DEVONthink.
matched document.
On Tagging: Runs when matched items are
After Saving: Runs after saving a matched
tagged
document.
On Labelling: Runs when a label is added to
On Imprinting: Runs when any matched
or changed on an item.
document has been imprinted.
On Replicating: Runs when matched items
are replicated.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 235

 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
Send Mail: Enter email addresses to send
imported or created items in a database
the matching items. This can be a comma-
are moved to external locations, becoming
delimited list of addresses, names, or enter
indexed items.
the name of a group you've defined in your
You can and and remove multiple event contacts.
triggers by pressing the + or - buttons. Fox Add to Reading List: Add the matched
example, you could use an On Import and items to the Reading List.
an On Moving event trigger to act on files
Open: Opens in a document window, a file
imported or moved into it.
that triggered or was produced by a smart
rule.
ACTIONS
Open Externally: Open the matched file in
The power in smart rules is the actions. the system default application.
DEVONthink provides actions that cover Launch URL: Open the URL associated
simple tasks, e.g., prefixing a filename, all the shown in the Info Inspector & URL.
way to ultra-powerful AppleScript injection Check Bookmarks: Checks the URL of the
via external or embedded scripts. Since you matched items. Any issues with the URL
can chain multiple actions together, the are reported in the Log window or the Log
possibilities are nearly endless. Here's a list of popover.
available actions: Apply Rule: Perform the actions of another
smart rule on items passed by the current
Bounce Dock Icon: Causes DEVONthink's
smart rule. The items passed by the initial
dock icon to bounce. This will only trigger
smart rule must match the criteria of the
when DEVONthink isn't the active
second smart rule to trigger it. This can be
application.
useful after performing smart rule actions
Display Notification: Shows a message
like OCR or executing scripts, helping to
via the Mac's Notification Center.
avoid redundant or scheduled smart rules.
Notifications need to be enabled in System
Execute Script: Execute External or
Preferences > Notifications for Display
AppleScript/JavaScript scripts in the
Notification to operate correctly.
embedded script editor popup. Embedded
Display Alert: Shows a message in an alert
scripts are only available to the smart rule
window.
they are created in. See also p. 201ff

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 236

Item scanning: The next two actions allow specified by using backslash, \, and the
you to scan the name or text of a document number of the capture, starting at 1. Note
and use the results when found. Each of the we use Apple's NSRegularExpression which
actions also has a parameter you specify supports the ICU regular expression syntax.
for the type of data you're scanning for.
Example:
These actions and parameters can be used
Using the String parameter, Invoice *
with subsequent actions that support
would capture 0012345 in a file named
placeholders, e.g., Scan Text: Date →
Invoice 0012345..
Document Date with Change Modification
Using the Date parameter, * would
Date. If the action returns no results, actions
capture the date in a file named
using the results will not be executed.
2020-01-01.
However, unrelated actions in the smart rule
Using the Amount parameter, $* would
chain will be executed normally.
capture the dollar amount detected.
Scan Name: Scans the name of the file. Using the Regular Expression parameter,
Scan Text: Scans the contents of the file. Bill To: ([A-Za-z0-9 ,]+) would
capture the name of the person or
The following four parameters are used with
company billed. \1 would be used in the
the Scan Name and Scan Text actions. With ,
subsequent action.
, and , a prefix and/or suffix before/after the
wildcard has to be specified. Change Name/Aliases/Comment/Label/
Rating: Change the specific attribute of
String: An asterisk (*) wildcard specifies
the matched file. For items with an existing
data to be captured. Other terms added
attribute, e.g., a comment, a placeholder
will be used to help located the desired
will preserve the existing value.
string. In subsequent actions, use the
Mark: Toggle the state of read/unread,
Document String placeholder to represent
flagged/unflagged, and locked/unlocked.
the captured string.
Note you change more than one of these
Date: Similar to String parameter, use the
attributes with one action, but you can
desired format of the Document Date
chain more than one Mark action in the
placeholder to represent the captured
smart rule.
string in subsequent actions.
Change Creation/Modification Date:
Amount: Similar to String parameter,
Change the creation or modification date
use the desired format of the Document
of matched files to: current, addition,
Amount placeholder to represent the
creation, modification, or the document
captured string in subsequent actions.
date.
Regular Expression: Items in parentheses
are captured; items outside parentheses Add Tags: Add tags to the matched files.
are ignored. You can specify multiple As you type, tags from all open databases
captures in an expression. Using the
captured text in subsequent actions is

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 237

will be suggested. Press the comma key to them. Note this removes the file from the
commit the tag. original location in the filesystem.
Add Tags from Document: Adds existing Move To External Folder: For an item
tags if they are detected in the matched located in an indexed group, this moves the
document's contents. file to the indexed folder in the Finder.
Remove Tags: Removes specific tags you
Convert: Attempts to convert files
enter.
into plain/rich text, formatted notes,
Remove All Tags: Removes all tags from the
Markdown, HTML, web archive, or PDF.
items.
Convert & Continue: Converts files and
Tags: Adds or converts tags to matched
applies subsequent actions to the copies.
documents from these commands:
Thumbnails: Adds, updates, or removes a
Convert HashTags, Convert Keywords,
matched file's thumbnail.
Convert Properties, Convert Geolocation,
Add Tags to Images, and Scan Barcodes. OCR: This will perform OCR on a file, if
(See the View menu for more information possible. Choose a format to generate
on these options.) a new file in the selected file type. Note
the file type selected will override the
Move/Replicate/Duplicate: Move, replicate,
option set in Preferences > OCR > Convert
or duplicate a matched file to a chosen
incoming scans to. Choose Apply to
location.
convert a matched file directly to a PDF
Duplicate & Continue: Duplicates matched
with OCR. This action does not generate
files and applies subsequent actions to the
new files.
copies.
Imprint: Apply the selected imprint to any
File: Allows you to file items into a group. matching files, if possible.
Specify subgroups using a forward slash, Custom Metadata: If you have specified
e.g., 2019/DEVONtech would create or file custom metadata fields, you will have
into the DEVONtech subgroup of a 2019 options to change values with an action.
group in the current group. You can use For example, if you had a Boolean field
placeholders to define the location. named "Done", you could have the action
Classify: Using our AI, this will attempt set this field to true when the action is
to move any matched files to an apropos triggered.
location. Failures to classify files are noted
Move to Trash: Move the item to the
in the Log window.
database's trash. The items are not
Move Into Database: Moves indexed items removed from the database until the trash
into the database, essentially importing is emptied.
Delete: Be very cautious with this option.
Delete truly deletes a file. It is not sent to
the database's trash. It is not sent to the
Finder's trash. It is completely deleted.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 238

SCRIPTS in the current and stored values. Errors are
alerted and logged to Window > Log.
Below is a list of the DEVONthink supplied
scripts, segregated by the menu items in the Download:
Script menu:
Linked Images of Page: Adds linked images
Comments: of a displayed web page to the database.
Images of Page: Adds the images of a
Append Selected Text: Adds the selected
displayed web page to the database.
text to the comments of the current
Links of Page: Adds links contained on a
document.
displayed web page to the database.
Assemble: Collects the comments of the
Download as…: Converts bookmarks to
selected documents and creates a new
one of these formats: Formatted Notes,
document listing them.
HTML Pages, PDF Documents (One Page or
Convert to Tags: Converts the tag
Paginated), and Web Archives
contained in the comments field to real
tags if the comments field of the selected Edit:
document contains tags separated by
Count Characters: Counts the characters
commas.
in the current selection.
Speak: Speaks the comments of the
Count Words: Counts the words in the
selected documents.
current selection.
Data: Replace text in documents: Enter text
to find and replace in plain and rich text
Move Duplicates to Trash: Moves all
documents.
duplicates of the selected document to the
trash. Execute:
Find & Remove Similar Contents: Finds and
AppleScript: Executes an AppleScript
removes similar documents.
script.
Group With Duplicates: Creates a group
Perl: Executes a Perl script.
with duplicates of the selected documents.
Shell: Executes a shell script.
Group With Replicants: Creates a group
with replicants of the selected documents. Export:
Verify & Optimize Databases: Runs a
verification on all open databases and Listing: Saves a UTF-8 text file containing

optimizes them if they verify successfully. a text listing of the names of all contents/

Errors are alerted and logged to Window > groups of the current database.

Log. Daily Backup Archive: Creates a

Check file integrity of databases: Runs a compressed backup (.Zip) of the current

checksum comparison on all items in open database in ~/Backup. All backups are

databases to check for any discrepancies include a datestamp in the filename for
easy tracking and identification. These can
be useful for copying to external media or

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 239

 uploading to a cloud service as a secondary Scale to 200%: Scales the image to 200
backup strategy. percent.
Scale to 50%: Scales the image to 50
Feeds:
percent.

Nature -- Hubble News: Downloads the

Import:
latest Hubble news.
iTMS -- Added Albums: Downloads covers Del.icio.us: Imports your del.icio.us
of albums recently added to the iTunes bookmarks. The descriptions are used to
Music Store. name the imported bookmarks; the notes
and the tags are added to the comments.
Format:
If the keychain does not contain a key for

Body Normal: Formats selected text as del.icio.us, dialogs pop up allowing you to

"Body Normal". enter the user name and password.

Body Small: Formats selected text as Man Page: Imports a UNIX manual page as

"Body Small". a PDF document.

Header Capitalized: Formats selected text Perldoc: Imports the documentation of Perl

as "Header Capitalized". pages, modules, functions, or programs.

Header Main: Formats selected text as

Reminders:
"Header Main".
Header Secondary: Formats selected text Add as Event to Calendar: Adds a new
as "Header Secondary". event to Calendar linking back to the
Source: Formats selected text as "Source". selected item in DEVONthink.
Reset Spacing: Resets the line and Add as To Do to OmniFocus: Adds
paragraph spacing of selected rich text. the selected item as a to-do item to
OmniFocus.
Images:
Add as To Do to Reminders: Adds

Copy Info to Comment: Copies basic image the selected item as a to-do item to

info to the comment field. Reminders.

Flip Horizontal / Vertical: Flips the image Add as To Do to The Hit List: Adds the

horizontally/vertically. selected item as a to-do item to The Hit

Rotate Left / Right: Rotates the image List.

left/right. Add as To Do to Things: Adds the selected

Landscape to Portrait: Rotates only item as a to-do item to Things.

landscape images to portrait.

Note: These are scripts for integrating with
Portrait to Landscape: Rotates only
external applications. For scripting internal
portrait images to landscape.
reminder scripts, see the Reminder Scripts
Scale to 1024 pixels: Scales the image to
section of the chapter about automation.
1,024 pixels.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 240

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 3.8 Documentation, page 241

 %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 3.8 Documentation, page 242

AVAILABLE HIDDEN PREFERENCES KEYS DisableHighlightColorMapping: Uses the
same colors when highlighting documents
AdditionalPlainTextExtensions: Adds
in dark and light mode.
additional plain text extensions, separated
DisableTagAutocompletion: Disable
by dots.
displaying the popup of tag suggestions
AdditionalXMLExtensions: Adds additional
when entering tags, e.g., in the Tags bar.
XML file name extensions, separated by
DontAutomaticallyEnableOperatorsOptionOfSearchIns
dots.
After a toolbar search, this disables
BatesNumberDigits: Specifies the number
automatically enabling the Operators &
of digits used for the placeholder.
Wildcards option in the Search inspector.
CounterDigits: Specifies the number of
EnableApplicationFiles: Applications can
digits used for the placeholder.
be imported/indexed.
DisableActivityWindow: Disables
EnableAutomaticConsolidation: Indexed
automatically showing/hiding of the
items moved to a non-indexed location
Activity window.
in the database will be moved from their
DisableAutomaticDeconsolidation:
Finder location as an imported item.
Inhibits items added to indexed groups in
EnablePDFDrawing: Enables DEVONthink's
DEVONthink from automatically moving
own drawing of PDF pages. This was
out to the indexed Finder folder.
a workaround for macOS Sierra and is
DisableAutomaticUpdatingOfIndexedItems:
incompatible to macOS High Sierra.
Disables automatic updating of indexed
IndexRawMarkdownSource: Index the
items.
source code of Markdown files instead of
DisableBadgeLabel: Disable the badge label
the rendered content only.
on DEVONthink's Dock icon.
MonospacedSidebarFont: Use a
DisableFileSystemEvents: DEVONthink no
monospaced system font in the sidebars of
longer listens to file system events.
main windows.
DisableFileCoordination: DEVONthink no
MonospacedViewFont: Use a monospaced
longer uses file coordination, registering
system font in the item list of main
its interest in certain files and waiting for
windows.
replies. This can cause very long delays if
PlainTextIsMarkdown: Treat all plain text
the coordinating process isn't responding
files as markdown.
quickly.
RawMarkdownPasting: When pasting
DisableFinderTags: DEVONthink no longer
rich content into a Markdown file, the
imports or exports Finder tags.
formatting is converted to Markdown.
DisplayGroupsInPreviewPane: DEVONthink
Enable this to ignore formatting and paste
will display the contents of selected
as raw plain text.
groups, smart groups, and feeds in the
RichNotesWithoutAttachments: Services
view/edit pane of main windows. The
create RTF instead of RTFD.
preview only displays files, not groups.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 243

ShowAdditionalInfoInPathBar: Shows SyncDebugLog: Enable additional sync
some details about the selected item in the logging for debugging.
Information Bar. WindowToolbarStyleExpanded: Enable the
expanded toolbar style on macOS Big Sur.
This shows the title bar above the toolbar
instead of the new unified default style.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 244

 READ ME

IN THIS CHAPTER This chapter contains the version history of

DEVONthink, our end user license agreement
Version History 245
(EULA), and credits.
License Agreement 268
Credits 268

VERSION HISTORY
New  Improved  Fixed  Removed

VERSION 3.8

With so many improvements made and functions added, this update is almost an upgrade. The
summary would be far too long to list them all, so here are a few of the high points.

To help ensure your databases are healthy, we've added another mechanism that logs the state
of each file, called a checksum, in your database. Occasionally, use the new Check File Integrity
command and script to verify the files are intact. As linking becomes increasingly commonplace,
WikiLinks can now be converted to more "stable" item links. You also can now update the link text
for an item link if you've renamed the linked file. Additionally, DEVONthink now has another way
of seeing relationships between documents: a new Document > Mentions inspector that lists
documents that mention the name or aliases of a selected document in their contents. You can
see where the mention occurs and there is a new Summarize Mentions command to gather those
mentions into one document. When searching, you can set a preference to set a default search
scope for toolbar searches, e.g., Inboxes. And the See Also & Classify inspector now presents
options to match items by tags instead of content and also can limit the suggestions to the
current database. For the automators, seasoned and new, JXA (JavaScript for Automation)
scripts can now be edited in the embedded editor and executed in smart rules and reminder
alarms. The AppleScript dictionary has several new commands and properties.

Markdown fans will see more improvements including setting formatting via hotkeys, e.g., ⌘B to
type in bold, and automatically continued lists where pressing Return in a list will insert a new list
item. In the Markdown preferences, specify a default JavaScript to apply to all Markdown files.
Dropping, pasting, and inserting pictures into a Markdown document can now automatically add
the images directly to a group with a user-specified name, with links added to the document by
DEVONthink. PDF annotators will appreciate new highlight, underline, and strike through tools
that are persistent until you change the tool.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 245

An important feature for people who index files, a Select option has been added to the Path
dropdown in the Generic Info inspector. This allows you to select the moved item in its new
location and have the indexed children detected properly. Since files often travel outside of
macOS, e.g., through Dropbox, DEVONthink can now preferentially replace OS-unsafe characters
in a filename. We also made some cosmetic changes to the interface. This includes rearranging
some of the preferences to make them appear more consistent between the old and new
versions of macOS.

Regarding syncing, we made more improvements to our sync engine to try and circumvent the
roadblocks remote sync options can present. We have fixed several bugs and crashes and, as
always, improved the performance and reliability.

DEVONthink stores now an SHA1 hash of a database's file contents. This can be used to
detect data degradation in the current database. The check can be done manually via the
newly added File > Check File Integrity command or with the script Scripts > Data > Check file
integrity of all databases.
Added support for mentions. The new Document > Mentions inspector lists content matches
based on the name or alias of the selected item and the menu command Tools > Summarize
Mentions creates a summary document of all mentions of the selected items. It is also
possible to summarize the mentions of a tag, e.g., to create a report for a certain topic.
Added options Based on content and Based on tags to the See Also & Classify inspector. The
default is to match by content. The Current database only option limits the results to the
current database.
Added a Select menu item to the Path popup of the Info inspector. This allows you to easily
choose and update the path of indexed files or folders that have been moved from their
originally indexed location. Only files with the exact name and extension can be updated.
Added new menu items, Highlight, Underline, and Strike Through, to the Tools > Annotate
menu. Choosing these annotation modes applies the selected format to the current text
selection of PDF documents but the tool remains persistent until changed allowing for quicker
annotating by merely selecting text.
Added simple support for smart numbered or bulleted lists and checkboxes in Markdown
documents. After pressing Return, the next line inherits the previous line's list-item type and
indent level.
Added Preferences > General > More compatible naming of files. This option replaces the
characters |<>%?&*" when naming files to improve the compatibility with other filesystems
and platforms, e.g., Dropbox or OneDrive. Forward slashes and colons are always replaced as
these are reserved by macOS. Note this has been the default behavior of DEVONthink but can
be disabled with this option.
Added annotation file options in Preferences > General. This includes: In shared group or In
same group as well as the option Move annotations automatically. The former option creates
the annotation document in the Annotations group in the root of the database or in the same

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 246

group as the source document. The latter option moves the annotation document when the
source document is moved to another database, or deletes the document if the source file is
deleted.
Added Preferences > General > Search Scope to specify the default search scope for toolbar
searches, either Last scope, All databases, or Current database. The default is Last scope.
Added Preferences > General > Automatically select search inspector to switch to the Search
inspector if the view/edit pane and inspectors are already visible when doing a toolbar search
in the database.
Added option Preferences > General > Automatically reveal items. After switching tabs, going
back or forward in the view/edit pane, or clicking on item links in documents, the currently
previewed item in main windows is automatically revealed in the item list. This option is off by
default.
Added Preferences > Files > Markdown > Force line breaks, optionally making it unnecessary to
add double spaces before line breaks manually.
Added Preferences > Files > Markdown > Images > Import images to group to specify the
destination group for pasted or dropped images, e.g., images copied or dragged and dropped
from the Finder or a browser. The group is created if necessary.
Added Preferences > Files > Markdown > Summaries > Quote highlights. After enabling this
option, highlighted content in the original document is presented as a series of blockquotes
instead of highlighted paragraphs.
Added Side-by-Side option to Preferences > Files > Markdown > Markdown Display. In addition,
the default mode is now Editing.
Added Preferences > RSS > Check for updates > After synchronizing the database. This setting
is especially useful if a database with RSS feeds is synchronized between multiple Macs as it
helps ensure all machines are in the same state.
Added Open option to reminders to replace the "Open Documents" reminder script. However,
the script will not be removed from existing installations, in case it's in use.
Added database thumbnail to File > Database Properties to allow changing the icon of
databases.
Added command File > Import > Bookmarks from HTML file to retrieve bookmarks from one or
more HTML files, e.g., from an exported Safari bookmark file. One group is created per file and
each bookmark is automatically named.
Added Format > Line Wrapping to toggle line wrapping while editing text.
Added Format > Wiki Linking to easily toggle automatic WikiLinking in the current document.
Added Tools > Item Links > Convert WikiLinks to Item Links. WikiLinks in the selected plain
text, rich text, and Markdown documents are converted to their corresponding item links.
Added Tools > Item Links > Update Names of Item Links. The displayed names of item links
in the selected and unlocked rich text and Markdown documents are updated. Named linked
images using item links in Markdown documents are also updated.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 247

Added command Go > To Link to open a link at the current cursor position in plain text, rich
text, and Markdown documents.
Added new Move Focus menu items to the Go menu: to Sidebar, to View, to Preview, and to
Inspector. Each command also has its own shortcut.
Added shortcut ⌘⌃⌥O to the Annotations popup in the Document > Annotations inspector to
open the linked annotation in a new window.
Added Comments field to the Voice Note, Video Note, and Screen Capture views of the
Sorter.
Added new default smart rules Create Version and Remove Obsolete Versions for simple
file versioning. The first one should be performed before saving, the second one periodically,
e.g., before synchronizing. Exclude the group Versions from search if you don't want old
versions to be part of toolbar search results.
Added Apply Rule smart rule action to perform the actions of another smart rule. Note the
items passed by the initial smart rule must match the criteria of the second smart rule to
trigger it. This is especially useful after performing actions like OCR or executing scripts and
can avoid redundant or scheduled smart rules.
Added Open smart rule action, e.g. to open new documents after creating them.
Added JavaScript options to the smart rule "Execute Script" action and reminder alarms,
allowing for use of JavaScript for Automation (JXA) scripts.
Added new AppleScript open internally type to reminder alarms.
Added script Scripts > Edit > Replace Text in Documents. This script supports replacing text in
both plain and rich text documents.
Added AppleScript command summarize mentions of records.
Added AppleScript command check file integrity of database to check the data
integrity of files and document packages. It returns the number of documents having a
checksum discrepancy. The new record property content hash returns the stored SHA1 hash
values of files and document packages.
Added name and tags parameters to the AppleScript command display group selector
to enable fields to enter name and tags. The command returns now either the selected group
(without name and tags parameters) due to compatibility to older versions or a dictionary
containing the key-value pairs "group" and optionally "name" and "tags" (with name and/or tags
parameters).
Added exclude subgroups and highlight occurrences properties to the AppleScript
support of smart groups, including use with the create record with command.
Added duration record property to AppleScript for use with audio and video files.
Added JavaScript option in Preferences > Files > Markdown to specify a default JavaScript
script, applied to all Markdown files.
Added location group AppleScript property returning the group of a record's location.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 248

Added optional open parameter to x-devonthink://search? item links to always
open the search in a new window, e.g., x-devonthink://search?query=text:sync
%20Bonjour&open=1.
Added hidden preference EnableAutomaticConsolidation to automatically move indexed
items into the database after moving them from an indexed group to an internal group. This
option is disabled by default.
Added hidden preference DontAutomaticallyEnableOperatorsOptionOfSearchInspector
to prevent enabling the Operators & Wildcards option of the Search inspector after a toolbar
search.
Added hidden preference DisableFileCoordination to disable file coordination as this can
cause large delays on some systems.
Added hidden preference RawMarkdownPasting to avoid the conversion or formatting of links
or rich text content when pasting into a Markdown file. This option is off by default.

Pro — Added command Tools > Sheets > Delete Records, making it possible to add a user-
defined shortcut, if desired.

A warning is now logged to the Log window after opening databases located on network
volumes. Using wirelessly connected volumes is highly discouraged.
Tabs of main and document windows can now be reordered via drag-and-drop. Also, spring-
loading is supported, e.g., to drop files into an inactive rich text tab, on macOS Big Sur and
later. If there are a large number of tabs, you can scroll though them. Lastly, inactive tabs can
be closed without having to select them first.
If the background process for clipping web content fails consistently, it will now relaunch itself.
Automatic verification of databases before syncing is now faster, potentially alleviating some
slowdowns in the application.
The toolbar search now supports the abbreviated syntax s: for specifying the search scope.
Also, the synonym all, targeting all open databases, has been added to the current list of
scopes: databases, database, inboxes, inbox (i.e., the Global Inbox), tags, trash, selection,
or the name of a specific database.
The name of global smart groups and smart rules in the Navigate sidebar is now color coded.
Grey: the targeted database is not open; red: the targeted database is open but the targeted
group cannot be found.
Moved the Import preferences to Preferences > Files to make the preferences more consistent
and to ensure all preference panes are visible on macOS Big Sur and later.
Improved creating replicants via drag-and-drop.
Moving or duplicating tagged items from one database to another adds aliases of the source
tags to existing destination tags when necessary.
You can now Control-drop compatible items, e.g., images and text documents, into a
Markdown document to insert a transclusion link.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 249

The Markdown editor now supports autocompletion for transclusion links beginning with
the standard {{ or alternative ![[ syntax. Depending on the locations of the source and
destination record, a filename, relative path, or item link is inserted. This also supports image
transclusions as an alternative to drag-and-drop.
The conversion of hashtags to tags now also supports tags specified as MultiMarkdown or
YAML metadata, e.g., tags: tag1, tag2, tag3.
Improved WYSIWYG editing of Markdown documents in regards to formatting and MathJAX.
Improved handling of the Editing bar, the Format menu, and keyboard shortcuts when editing
Markdown documents. Commands can now be used to insert new formatted text, e.g.,
inserting control characters to type bold text.
Underline, strike through, super- and subscript, and highlighting are now applied to all selected
lines of Markdown documents. This includes multiline elements like lists.
The Edit > Insert > Picture command now also works with Markdown documents. Inserted
images will be imported and filed in the database if the Preferences > Files > Markdown >
Import images to group option is enabled.
Pasting links into Markdown documents, e.g., copied item links, automatically formats them as
Markdown links. Use Edit > Paste and Match Style to paste the links without conversion.
Improved handling of text in Markdown documents when the hidden preference
IndexRawMarkdownSource is enabled.
Automatic WikiLinking ignores text in code and fenced code blocks in Markdown documents.
The commands Edit > Insert > Line/Paragraph/Page Break are disabled for Markdown
documents.
Improved emoji support in Markdown documents.
Updated MathJAX and Prism support nows includes the Typescript, Go, and Ruby languages.
Improved the internal Markdown stylesheet for better table and blockquotes styling.
PDF documents which might be corrupted by Apple's PDFkit framework are now detected
more reliably. Such PDF documents are opened read-only but may still be editable externally.
Command-clicking on an annotation of a PDF page while in Text Selection mode, will select the
annotation. This can be useful if the Document > Annotations inspector is active.
Improved recognition of PDF duplicates if stricter recognition is disabled.
Changed the underline and strike-through color in PDF documents from black to red.
The contextual menu item Quick Look Attachments in text views now supports links in plain
text and Markdown documents as well as automatic WikiLinks in plain text, rich text, and
Markdown documents. Also, selecting a block of text containing multiple links opens a Quick
Look window for all links.
Hanzi double square brackets typed in plain text, rich text, and Markdown documents are
automatically replaced with ASCII square brackets if automatic WikiLinking based on square
brackets is enabled.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 250

Indexing of item links now ignores self-referencing links in a document. These links are not
counted toward incoming or outgoing item links.
Clicking a link in a web document which opens an external application, e.g., an email link, will
bring the external application to the front if the Shift key is held.
Only indexed audio files inside the ~/Music directory are still played via Quick Look, e.g.,
to show album art. All other indexed audio files use the standard controls already used for
imported audio files. In this case it's also possible to insert back links to a certain time in the
Annotations & Reminders inspector.
There is now specific support for creating thumbnails for YouTube video bookmarks via Data >
Thumbnails, smart rules, or enabling the Bookmarks option in Preferences > Files > Thumbnails.
Document and main windows are now constrained to their screen after attaching or detaching
external monitors.
Windows in full screen document mode are excluded from window tiling.
If the number of unread items in a group, smart group, or feed is identical to the total number
of items, only the number is shown instead of identical numbers, e.g., 4/4.
The buttons to toggle the document display mode of Markdown documents are now also
shown in the Editing bar.
Improved capturing dynamic websites as paginated or single-page PDF documents via
AppleScript and Clip to DEVONthink.
You can now open groups in the Sorter via ⌘↩.
Updated the Sorter to include tooltips displaying each view's keyboard shortcut.
Improved some UI elements, window appearances, and the progress indicator on the Dock icon
or application switcher in macOS Big Sur and later.
Renamed the Time column of the Log window to Date/Time. The more compact Log popover
still only displays the time.
Renaming the inbox of a database in the Navigate sidebar is now only possible if Unify inboxes
is disabled in Preferences > General > Interface.
Improved restoring the expanded or collapsed state of groups when navigating forward and
backward through locations.
Icons have been added to the Extras sidebar for macOS Big Sur and later.
The Name field of the Generic Info inspector is now disabled when selected items can't be
renamed, e.g., the Tags group or the Trash.
If you set a reminder alarm in the Annotations & Reminders inspector and Enable reminder
alarms isn't enabled in Preferences > General, an alert is shown with the option to enable the
preference.
The Annotations & Reminders inspector now supports the Insert Link popover in the
Annotation field.
The Table of Contents inspector now supports Markdown headings specifying an identifier, e.g.
# Heading [myID], used for internal document anchors.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 251

The Content > Table of Contents inspector now supports Markdown transclusion. Transcluded
sections are displayed in italics. Note: Scrolling to sections only applies to the rendered
preview, not the editable source. It also now detects and displays HTML header elements (H1-
H7) in web documents and views.
The Type column of the Document > Annotations inspector now displays icons for the
annotation type with PDF annotations. With rich text documents, highlight annotations just
show the color.
The Document > Links inspector supports WikiLinks added to rich text files via Format > Make
Link. It also now ignores WikiLinks to items in the Trash.
The keyboard shortcut ⌥↩ can be used to replicate items via the See Also & Classify inspector
while the search field has the focus.
Selecting a found PDF annotation in the list of occurrences of the Search inspector now
selects the annotation on the PDF page.
Items in the Data > New > With Template menu with placeholders in their names now show as
tokens, similar to how placeholders are shown in the smart criteria editor.
Tools > Batch Processing is now also available if only one item is selected.
Workspaces have been moved to a Go > Workspaces submenu.
The Sidebar options have been moved to a new Preferences > General > Interface tab and the
Media preference pane has been renamed to Files.
A warning is now logged after opening a database containing more than 8,000 tags if the
Spotlight index for the database is enabled to avoid performance issues in the Finder.
All cancelable activities, e.g., OCR, can be immediately cancelled via the contextual menu in
the Activity window or filter pane.
Improved handling of indexed items in a local SeaDrive folder
Improved compatibility of shortcut handling with Asian input sources like 2-set Korean.
Background operations are suspended while exporting database archives.
Saving empty files is now logged to Console.log for debugging purposes.
Enhanced caching of Finder comments, should fix rare issues.
PDF documents produced by Quartz aren't marked as read-only anymore if they're using CID
fonts (e.g. CJK).
Added support for Bookends 14.
Reduced usage of the deprecated AddressBook framework making certain placeholders more
reliable, e.g., %organization% or %emailAddress%.
Improved performance and reliability in several critical ways: better memory management
when moving or copying items between databases, more efficient background indexing,
tagging, thumbnailing, higher performance running smart groups, smart rules, and searches,
and improved retry handling of background processes.
The smart group and rule editor is now scrollable in the case of many criteria or actions.
In the smart criteria editor, the text field for Date is (not) within last x days criteria is wider.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 252

Global smart groups and smart rules using relative date conditions, e.g., This hour, are now
automatically refreshed after a certain interval in the absence of databases or sidebar
changes.
The name of scripts and templates can be prefixed with a number and end parenthesis, e.g.,
01), 02), etc., to allow ordering items in their respective menus. This number will not be
displayed in the menus. It's not recommended to rename the default scripts or templates
Cancelling smart rule or reminder scripts no longer logs this action to the Log window
The createMarkdown, createText, and createGroup URL commands now work now also if the
location parameter is specified but not an http:, https: or file: URL.
Revised AppleScript support improves compatibility to JXA.
Improved some descriptions in the AppleScript dictionary.

Pro — The Apple Mail plugin has been updated for macOS Monterey.
Pro — Moved the Email preferences to Preferences > Files to make the preferences more
consistent and to ensure all preference panes are visible on macOS Big Sur and later.
Pro — Incoming scans from the Raven scanner are recognized and optionally run through OCR
on import.
Pro — The Custom Info inspector now supports the Insert Link popover in fields with a rich
text data type.
Pro — Message > Add to DEVONthink 3 in Apple Mail now supports entering a name if only one
email is selected and Preferences > Import > Destination is set to Select Group.
Pro — After OCR, if the metadata editor is enabled in Preferences > OCR, the Title field of the
metadata panel has focus when the panel opens.
Pro — The OCR commands are disabled for WebP images as they are not supported.
Pro — The configurations in Preferences > Imprinter can be reordered.

Server — After the initial launch of DEVONthink, the DEVONagent user is now always added to
the default users of Preferences > Server > Users, even if DEVONagent is not available.

Sync — Improved detection of available WebDAV servers on the local network.

Sync — Improved conflict handling with iCloud (CloudKit) sync stores is much more reliable
and should help alleviate missing file and manifest issues.
Sync — Improved reliability of synchronizing custom metadata. In addition, the state of
metadata definitions set in Preferences > Data is now synced.
Sync — Reduced resource usage in the sync interface, especially on the Mac and in case of
multiple sync locations.
Sync — Improved error logging and handling during sync when disk space may be insufficient,
especially with encrypted databases. Items that cannot be synced due to a lack of space are
now marked as pending in the database.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 253

Sync — Improved logging in the case of sent or received empty files when the file types
suggest valid zero-byte files.
Sync — Renamed Synchronize and Synchronize All to Synchronize Database and Synchronize
All Databases in the File menu.
Sync — Sync is now temporarily disabled until DEVONthink finishes launching completely.
Sync — Improved progress display while preparing to clean sync stores.
Sync — Improved support for indexed SeaFile files.
Sync — Updated Dropbox SDK.

The MultiMarkdown engine could crash the application when encountering an unknown token
type. Fixed.
Tags applied in the Sorter weren't applied to the documents. Fixed.
Typing at the end or pasting into a Markdown document sometimes caused scrolling errors.
Fixed.
Blockquotes in lists or at the beginning of a Markdown document didn't display correctly in
WYSIWYG. Fixed.
MultiMarkdown metadata tags containing hashtags, e.g., tags: #tag1, #tag2, didn't strip
the hash when converting to tags. Fixed.
Parsing Markdown metadata could cause unexpected appearances when WYSIWYG was
enabled. Fixed.
Checkboxes in Markdown documents following empty lines were not always supported or
rendered as expected. Fixed.
Selecting a Markdown section in the Content > Table of Contents inspector did not always
scroll the preview to the selected section. Fixed.
With WYSIWYG and/or dark mode enabled, Markdown annotation documents displayed
incorrectly in the Document > Annotations inspector. Fixed.
Markdown WYSIWYG was incorrectly applied to distraction-free documents in fullscreen
mode. Fixed.
Highlighted links were rendered incorrectly in Markdown. Fixed.
Support for MultiMarkdown metadata was not case-insensitive and didn't ignore spaces.
Fixed.
The Markdown parser could cause incomplete indexing when the hidden preference
IndexRawMarkdownSource was not enabled. Fixed.
Hashtags were not always removed from indexed files when removing them from the text in an
external application. Fixed.
Text entered in the annotation editor for Note annotations could be lost when closing the PDF.
Fixed.
The thumbnail of documents converted to PDF via Data > Convert was sometimes incomplete.
Also, PDF documents created by Tools > Split PDF into Chapters on macOS Big Sur and later
could have transparent thumbnails. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 254

Printing PDFs from Safari's Reader mode didn't retain the title, yielding files named "unnamed
document". The group selector also failed to display the proper name. Fixed.
Indexing or converting web documents, e.g., HTML files, skipped content in textarea
elements. Fixed.
After editing a document, e.g., a formatted note, the geolocation was always updated, even if
the document already had one. Fixed.
Pressing Return in the last row of a sheet no longer added a new row. Fixed.
Trashing a replicated item from the root of the Global Inbox trashed all instances of the item.
Fixed.
Windows could be incorrectly displayed when opening more than one document window while
the main window was in fullscreen mode. Fixed.
Sorting by document properties, e.g. author, of mixed document types could sometimes
produce unexpected results. Fixed.
The currently selected search scope of toolbar searches was not always updated, e.g., if the
specified or last used scope wasn't valid for the current selection. Fixed.
Searching for wordA -wordB could find items containing both words in the name and having
both words as tags. Fixed.
The default order of columns in the search pane was incorrect. Fixed.
The New Group and New Smart Group toolbar item showed a glitch on macOS Big Sur and
later.Fixed.
Main windows didn't display correctly when first launching DEVONthink on macOS Monterey.
Fixed.
When displayed as a menu bar item, the Sorter didn't work with Bartender.
When using the Menu Extra Title > Text option in Preferences > Sorter, the text wasn't
displayed in the menubar. Fixed.
The content area of the Take Note view of the Sorter would not always display in the correct
light or dark mode. Fixed.
Video notes taken in the Sorter didn't save to the specified location. Fixed.
Tooltips were incorrect or missing in the Navigation or Editing bars. Fixed.
The Tab key didn't cycle through the interface elements in the Web Clip view of the Sorter.
Fixed.
The Sorter would not clip plain text without a selection. Fixed.
Manually changed URLs of clipped web pages weren't retained by the Sorter. Fixed.
Databases couldn't be renamed in the Navigate sidebar. Fixed.
The contextual menu and action menu item Copy Item Link didn't work with groups or files in
Favorites. Fixed.
Smart groups could sporadically be displayed and show the controls of smart rules. Fixed.
The filter panes could sometimes display at incorrect positions. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 255

Clearing the toolbar search field while using the Import sidebar, e.g., scanning or archiving,
could cause an invalid user interface state. Fixed.
In the Reading List sidebar, the contextual menu item Copy was disabled on items that weren't
explicitly selected. Fixed.
Inserting back links in the Annotations & Reminders inspector wasn't possible if the view/edit
pane was disabled. Fixed.
Clicking timestamped item links in the Annotations & Reminders inspector, e.g., when
transcribing audio and video files, stopped playback of media files. Fixed.
The selection in the Table of Contents inspector wasn't reset after deleting pages from the
thumbnails of PDF documents. Fixed.
The Document > Links inspector did not always list all incoming links if the link in the
referencing document was at the end of the document. Fixed.
File > Export > as Template still replaced the % in placeholders used in names when exporting
multiple items. Fixed.
File > Import > Folders & Attachments from Apple Notes didn't import notes with tables
correctly. Fixed.
Data > Add To > Reading List wasn't disabled if only groups or smart groups were selected.
Fixed.
The Tools > Summarize Highlights > Markdown command yielded incorrect results when used
with RTF(D) documents. Fixed.
Using Tools > Summarize Highlights could cause unexpected results when used with rich text
and Markdown documents. Fixed.
Databases could be closed, rebuilt, or repaired while items from other databases were moved
to them in the background. Fixed.
In databases with tagged groups and the option Inherit Tags of Groups disabled in File >
Database Properties, toolbar searches, as well as smart groups and smart rules, could return
incorrect results. Fixed.
Databases were sometimes incorrectly marked as needing to be synced after refreshing RSS
feeds, leading to unnecessary synchronizations. Fixed.
Exceptions could be caused by the Touch Bar on macOS Big Sur. Fixed.
Clicking an x-devonthink://search? link would play the system alert sound. Fixed.
Opening items externally by double-clicking didn't trigger smart rules using On Open or On
Open Externally event triggers. Fixed.
Certain smart date conditions, e.g., Last Month, could still return items that were created
exactly at 00:00 on the following day. Fixed.
Smart rules were triggered before completing the import of printed documents from browsers
and setting e.g., their URL. Fixed.
After launching the app for the first time, the Automatic Locking smart rule wasn't
permanently saved. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 256

The AppleScript commands exists record with file and lookup records with file no
longer worked. Fixed. In addition, the results are now found much faster.
The scripts in Scripts > Thumbnails didn't work anymore on the latest versions of macOS.
Fixed.
The type of plain text records returned via AppleScript was incorrectly returned as text,
instead of txt. Fixed.
Running AppleScript could cause a deadlock in race circumstances. Fixed.

Pro — The Apple Mail plug-in didn't fully work if installed in /Library/Mail/Bundles, e.g., in
case of a moved user directory. Fixed.
Pro — Checkboxes in the Custom Info inspector and form view of tables didn't display
correctly on macOS Big Sur. Fixed.
Pro — Some TIFF files could not be imprinted. Fixed.
Pro — The lightness of some PNG images could be affected by imprinting. Fixed.
Pro — Counters in imprints didn't always function correctly. Fixed.
Pro — The scan interface could freeze when saving an image. Fixed.
Pro — Changes to custom metadata inspector were not always saved, for example when
concurrent background activities were updating the database. Fixed.
Pro — The contextual menu of the table headers in the Concordance inspector showed
incorrectly. Fixed.
Pro — Memory leaks could sometimes occur after using the Apple Mail plugin. Fixed.
Pro — Indexed .emlx files didn't preview or behave correctly. Fixed.

Server — Changes in the Info inspector of a selected document in web sharing were applied to
the wrong document when a new record was selected after modifying the field. Fixed.
Server — Images were not displaying in the web sharing interface. Fixed.

Sync — Sync could cause rare unnecessary uploads e.g., after merging of local and remote
databases. Fixed.
Sync — The wrong parent UUIDs for items in the Global Inbox could have been sent from older
versions of DEVONthink To Go. Fixed.
Sync — Certain files without a data fork, e.g., old .webloc files having only a resource fork,
could cause unnecessary "Skipped empty file" warnings. Fixed.
Sync — Temporary network issues could cause unnecessary missing manifest errors as well as
other potential issues, especially when syncing via WebDAV or CloudKit. Fixed.
Sync — Dropbox syncs could report timeouts from the background process. Fixed.

Removed contextual menu commands Convert to Item Link and Convert All to Item Links from
plain text, rich text, and Markdown documents.
Removed the default keyboard shortcuts of services: Capture Web Archive, Lookup, and
Summarize to avoid conflicts with shortcuts used by other common applications.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 257

 Removed the .xd extension from the list of known plain text extensions as this is also used by
Adobe XD.

VERSION 3.7.2

This release addresses a few lately discovered issues, e.g., some smart rule actions incorrectly
running twice. Additionally, Markdown support continues to improve with the Table of Contents
inspector honoring placeholders used with headings. Hashtags in MultiMarkdown metadata are
now detected and converted to ordinary tags, if needed. Also, we have added an AppleScript
command to return the current workspace you're using.

The Contents > Table of Contents inspector now supports section headers created via the
Markdown placeholder syntax, e.g., [%title].
Added current workspace AppleScript property, returning the name of the currently active
workspace.

The Document > Properties inspector now displays values from detected MultiMarkdown
metadata regardless whether you're previewing or editing the document.
Improved pasting text into Markdown documents, especially when rich text or links may be on
the clipboard. This also includes better escaping of Markdown characters.
When using placeholders in Markdown templates, e.g., as specified in the WikiLink template or
used in an annotation document, the replacement strings are escaped if necessary.
The get record with uuid AppleScript command accepts also item links (e.g. copied via
Edit > Copy Item Link).

Pro — Improved installation of the Mail plug-in on macOS Big Sur.

Smart rule actions following Move, Replicate, or Duplicate actions sometimes could be
performed twice. Fixed.
Clicking the Editing bar/Navigation bar icon didn't work if the window was too narrow.
Fixed.
The WYSIWYG display of Markdown documents didn't always correctly display equations,
MathJAX, footnotes, or the alternate highlight syntax. Fixed.
Hashtags specified in MultiMarkdown metadata were not converted to tags. Fixed.
Reordering columns of sheets, e.g., with Tools > Sheets > Edit Columns could corrupt rich text
columns. Fixed.
Wiki linking in Markdown documents didn't always work correctly. Fixed.
An issue of the ScanSnap Home app on macOS Big Sur caused scans to be imported twice
(with and without OCR). Fixed with workaround.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 258

 Pro — Receiving custom metadata via the synchronization which should contain rich text
according to its definition in Preferences > Data but contained other data types could crash
the application. Fixed.

VERSION 3.7.1

This maintenance release continues our improvements with Markdown. This includes better
performance, improved transclusion, and fixes for an issue with WYSIWYG editing when
using non-Latin fonts. We have made some changes to our sync engine to boost the reliability
of syncing via Dropbox and iCloud (CloudKit). Also, the Sorter now allows you to clip from
Microsoft's Edge browser. And lastly, we've made the requisite performance and stability
improvements.

The Sorter now supports clipping from Microsoft Edge.

Very long URLs are no longer wrapped in the URL section of the Info popover. They are
scrollable and truncated as needed.
The Search inspector now honors the toolbar search options Ignore Diacritics and Fuzzy in
case of search results.
When using the manual option in the Sorter's Web Clip view, the URL field will have focus so
you can immediately type the desired URL.
Taking notes via the Sorter now applies the settings of Preferences > Media > Thumbnails to
the new notes.
Markdown transclusion supports now also images
Markdown transclusion no longer adds additional line feeds but uses only the content of the
transcluded file. In addition, MultiMarkdown metadata is not used in the transclusion, making
it easier to transclude complete documents or source code.
Converting a Markdown document to Markdown via Data > Convert > to Markdown now
resolves transclusions, yielding a file with the transcluded contents contained in the resulting
file.
Indexed MultiMarkdown metadata is now case-insensitive, e.g., author: and Author: are now
both recognized.
Revised the WYSIWYG appearance of Markdown blockquotes. The quotes display a light gray
background with the text in a smaller italic font.
Improved performance of Markdown WYSIWYG editing and rendering.
It is now impossible to create or move items to ordinary tags where it's the only location they
exist. This makes sure items always exists also outside the Tags group.
You can now drag a PDF page thumbnail to the end of the thumbnails in the Document >
Thumbnails inspector.
Using View > Zoom to Fit now only downscales images. This also applies to the Image Display
option in Preferences > Media > Multimedia.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 259

When handling replicants in a smart rule, the Move to Trash action will now only trash
replicants found in the location targeted by the rule.
Improved scrolling, especially in longer documents and when navigating search hits.
Improved indexing of document properties and metadata.

Server — m4v, mpeg, and mpg file extensions are now recognized as valid video formats in the
Web interface. The correct kind is also displayed.

Sync — Less frequent polling of iCloud (CloudKit) syncs when used with sync stores set to
Automatic; instead relying more on push notifications.
Sync — Increased Dropbox timeout.

Importing items exported either from multiple and/or damaged databases via File > Export >
Files and Folders could cause a rare crash. Fixed.
The first characters of a Markdown document didn't always display with WYSIWYG
formatting. Fixed.
The preview of Markdown documents wasn't updated after modifying transcluded files. Fixed.
Non-Latin characters, e.g., Asian language characters, weren't displayed in the Markdown
source when WYSIWYG editing was enabled in Preferences > Media > Markdown. Fixed.
Obsidian's transclusion syntax ![[ filename ]] could be detected as a square bracket
WikiLink. Also, square bracket WikiLinks would incorrectly display WYSIWYG styling. Fixed.
Certain internal metadata, e.g., the number of attachments (rich text) or annotations (PDF),
was not updated after syncing new or modified documents from DEVONthink To Go. Fixed.
WYSIWYG formatting in Markdown documents could flicker in dark mode on macOS Big Sur.
Fixed.
Tags entered in the Tags bar were not saved without pressing ↩ twice after switching to
another document via the See Also & Classify inspector. Fixed.
Toolbar search terms specifying a scope which was not the active database didn't always
return results. Fixed.
The list view column widths sometimes didn't display correctly after opening a window. Fixed.
Opening new tabs in full screen document mode no longer worked. Fixed.
Go > To Document didn't always work in List view if the chosen document was located in a
database's inbox while Unify inboxes and Retain view was enabled in Preferences > General.
Fixed.
Using the Go > Back command after clicking a WikiLink to a PDF page could navigate to the
incorrect page. Fixed.
Changing the toolbar search options while no search was active, activated and displayed the
search. Fixed.
The group selector could display truncated item names when importing files, e.g., via drag-and-
drop to the the dock icon, especially on macOS Big Sur. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 260

 Issues with Apple's PDFKit framework could affect the results of Tools > Summarize Highlights
and the Document > Annotations inspector. Fixed.
Certain smart date conditions, e.g., Last Month, could also return items that were created
exactly at a time of 00:00 on the following day. Fixed.
Scripts performed in the background, e.g., those executed via smart rules, could potentially
crash the application. Fixed.
Missing German localization in Preferences > Media. Fixed.

Pro — Importing images from connected cameras, iPhones, or iPads in the Import sidebar
didn't retain the creation date. Fixed.
Pro — Trying to modify rich text custom metadata via smart rules or Tools > Batch Process
caused an exception. Afterwards e.g. the batch processing sheet couldn't be closed. Fixed.

Sync — If Dropbox' servers returned incomplete results, it could cause missing manifests, slow
down sync store verification, and inhibit changes from being downloaded and applied to the
local database. Fixed.

VERSION 3.7

This release not only provides bug fixes and improvements of many kinds, but features more
extensions to Markdown handling. The first, a new hybrid Markdown source rendering: WYSIWYG
editing. While editing your Markdown, you will see bold characters embolden, italics italicize,
etc. in the source. DEVONthink also now supports transclusion, allowing the display of another
Markdown, plain text, or HTML document's content in a Markdown document. Additionally,
DEVONthink indexes certain MultiMarkdown metadata types and makes them usable with smart
rules, batch processing, and automatic tag assignment.

Among the other changes, the Sorter has shortcut keys in the Screen Capture view and a
shortcut for the clutter-free option in the Web Clip view. Autocompletion of square bracket
WikiLinks searches anywhere in an item's name, and you can create WikiLinks in the Annotations
inspector. We have improved handling and deleting RSS articles as well as the maintenance
routines that allow for some more valid types of zero-byte (empty) files. On the sync side we
made some changes to reduce issues with Bonjour timeouts. And for the AppleScripters, we
added some new commands, including one to automate summarizing document highlights.

The Markdown source view now supports simple WYSIWYG editing for: bold, italic, underlined,
strikethrough, highlighting, headers, code blocks, metadata headers, subscript, superscript,
blockquotes, and links. This includes support for Roam, Obsidian, and iA Writer syntax. Also,
the WYSIWYG source is displayed when viewing a Markdown annotation in the Document
> Annotations inspector. Enable or disable WYSIWYG editing in Preferences > Media >
Markdown (enabled by default).

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 261

Markdown documents now support file transclusion to display other documents' contents
inline in a document. This option supports plain text, Markdown, and HTML documents.
Enclose absolute and relative paths (with or without the file name extension), absolute file
system paths, or item links in double braces, e.g., {{/Inbox/colophon.md}} to transclude
them or use Obsidian's ![[myFile.md]] syntax. You can transclude documents recursively.
Added option Click on links opens them externally to Preferences > General > Interface to
enable opening links in document text in the default application for their scheme. Use Shift-
click to open and activate the default application. Note that you can still use Command-
click or Option-click to open links in new tabs or to add them to the Download Manager,
respectively.
Added alternate menu item Open Database in New Window to the Navigate sidebar's
contextual menu and the Action toolbar menu. Hold the Option key to access this new option.
For use with favorited items in open databases, added a new Reveal command and extended
the contextual menu of the Navigate sidebar and the toolbar Action menu.
Added Remove immediately instead of moving to the trash option to Preferences > RSS
(disabled by default).
Added Remove command to the URL field in the Info inspector and the Custom inspector of
the Pro and Server editions.
Added shortcut keys ⌘1 through ⌘3 to the Screen Capture and Web Clip views of the Sorter.
Also added the shortcut ⌘F to the Clip to DEVONthink view to quickly select the Clutter-free
option.
Added a Preview button to the Clip to DEVONthink view to try to preview the clipped data.
This can be useful in previewing the decluttering layout or whether any login issues would
cause troubles.
Added a default Markdown annotation template to the Document > Annotations inspector.
Added Thumbnails > Create/Update/Remove smart rule actions.
Added Change URL action to smart rules and batch processing. You can use it to remove a
document's URL as well.
Added new %recordLink% placeholder. Also available in Insert Placeholder submenus of
contextual menus (e.g. in smart rules and batch processing). In addition, %documentName% and
%documentLink% can be used instead of %recordName% and %recordLink%.
Added color and exclude from Wiki linking to the AppleScript properties of records.
Currently the color property only applies to tags.
Added summarize highlights of AppleScript command.

Markdown documents in the Document > Annotations inspector or created via Tools >
Summarize Highlights > Markdown now support the syntax of Roam, Obsidian, and iA Writer.
The Editing bar supports subscript and superscript with Markdown documents and recognizes
alternate syntax for highlighting and strikethrough.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 262

Certain MultiMarkdown metadata is now indexed and therefore searchable and viewable,
e.g. in the Document > Properties inspector or in List view columns. You can also use this
information in smart rules or for tagging via Data > Tags or the Preferences > Import > Tags
options. The supported keys are listed in the Appendix > Metadata section.
Checkboxes in Markdown documents work also in nested lists and lists containing links.
The conversion of rich text to Markdown supports images and adds them as base-64 encoded
data URLs.
Pasting rich text containing only a URL, e.g., copied by the Messages app, into Markdown
documents no longer escapes brackets and parentheses.
Completion of automatic Wikilinks using square brackets now searches the complete title of
items for the entered string if it's longer than two characters.
Updated MultiMarkdown to version 6.6.0 and improved the Markdown parser.
Searching in PDF documents doesn't jump to the first occurrence if you already selected an
occurrence.
Highlighting in PDFs now supports replacing highlights in already highlighted text, e.g.,
highlighting a passage, then highlighting specific words with another color.
Right-clicking or Control-clicking locations in the crumb trail of the Path bar opens a
contextual menu to open or reveal the item. In addition, Command-clicking an item in the Path
bar opens the item in a new window.
The Document > Annotations inspector now supports automatic WikiLinking in annotations. It
also hides the due date and the alarm when the reminder is set to Never.
In addition to long-pressing the back and forward buttons in the Path bar, you can right- or
Control-click the buttons to open the history popup. Hold the Command key while choosing
one of the history items to open it in a new window instead of the current one.
If Fuzzy searching is enabled in the toolbar search field options, searches for groups or tags
in the See Also & Classify inspector, the Navigation view of the Sorter, utility popovers, and
group selectors now ignore umlauts.
After revealing a search result or closing a search it's now possible to go back to the search via
the Path bar.
The search fields of the Tags filter, the Sorter's Navigation tab, the See Also & Classify
inspector, and utility popovers match aliases of items.
Local inboxes can be found in Go To and Move To popovers and group selectors by searching
either for the name of the inbox, Inbox by default, or a database's name.
Renamed the menu item "View > Columns" to View > List Columns to make it easier to assign
keyboard shortcuts to items in this submenu.
The height of the Tags field in the Info inspector is unlimited again.
The button to switch between the Editing and Navigation bars is now always visible.
Items in the trash which will be completely removed from the database by emptying the trash
are displayed using strikethrough.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 263

Improved toolbar icon appearance for dark mode in macOS Catalina.
Updating indexed items manually now removes locked items if they no longer exist in the file
system, otherwise this causes missing files to be reported.
Moving external folders into a database logs an error if a folder isn't empty.
In the case of broken RTFD data, e.g., provided by other apps to services or copied to the
clipboard, DEVONthink now tries to store an RTF version instead.
New HTML pages created via Data > New now have default content and use the default font
for rich text and notes set in Preferences > Editing.
Improved default content of formatted notes created via Data > New.
File > Import > Notes from Evernote uses the icon of Evernote Legacy, if available. It also
remaps note links to item links, if the destination of a note link is part of the import. Instead of
"No notebooks", a more useful error message is now logged after trying to import notes from
Evernote 10.x.
Improved recognition of document dates in case of Australian dates dd/mm/yyyy.
Item links which were converted to lower case by third-party apps are now supported too.
Improved compatibility of the feed parser with unusual URL encodings, like
http:&#x2F;&#x2F;.
Improved handling of already downloaded articles and reduced number of error messages that
an RSS feed is invalid.
The Log window and Log popover merge identical but not yet viewed entries to avoid too
many redundant messages, e.g., in the case of databases that need to be repaired for sync.
Improved error logging in case of items which can't be moved to other databases due to
missing files.
Improved maintenance algorithms when verifying databases to allow for more valid types of
zero-byte files.
More efficient monitoring of filesystem events.
More reliable reminder handling.
More reliable creation of unknown file types via AppleScript.
Improved overall reliability and performance.

Pro — Item links in rich text custom metadata are now indexed, too, and supported by the
Document > Links inspector.
Pro — Copying selected rows in the Concordance > List inspector now copies only the visible
columns, uses localized column titles, and honors the column order for tab-separated text. If
desired, use Data > New with Clipboard to create a sheet in DEVONthink.
Pro — Improved sorting of dates in custom metadata.

Sync — Added a file consistency check while importing files downloaded from sync locations.
Files which are empty but shouldn't be are logged, marked as pending, and skipped so that

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 264

only their metadata is imported. This ensures that a verification of the database doesn't fail
afterwards and that the sync isn't blocked.
Sync — Better progress indication of and added the possibility to cancel verification of sync
stores.
Sync — Improved keep-alive handling of Bonjour connections to reduce timeouts.
Sync — Improved handling of rate limiting when downloading data from CloudKit sync
locations.
Sync — Feeds are now always deleted even if they still contain news. Otherwise a feed deleted
on computer A wouldn't be deleted on computer B by the sync if the feed on computer B
contains additional items due to a refresh of the feed.
Sync — Automatic sync attempts are made less frequently in case of issues blocking the
synchronization, e.g., a busy or read-only database. This also reduces the number of logged
error messages.
Sync — Dropbox timeouts are no longer unnecessarily reported when awakening a device.
Sync — Improved reliability of sync stores.

The current tab or the view/preview pane no longer resets after starting a search returning
multiple results.
List view column sizing wasn't always handled correctly on macOS Big Sur. Fixed.
The view or preview handling in the global inbox had minor issues. Fixed.
Videos and bookmarks in Cover Flow view didn't work correctly in macOS Catalina and later.
Fixed.
The Document > Properties inspector wasn't updated after saving modified Markdown or
HTML. Fixed.
The Search in drop-down menu of local smart groups was shown as empty and also wasn't
limited to the current database. Fixed.
The background color of the Take Note view of the Sorter was sometimes incorrect when
switching between light and dark modes. Fixed.
Tags sometimes could be applied while typing them. Fixed.
DEVONthink sometimes incorrectly identified already used shortcuts in Preferences > Sorter.
Exporting templates via File > Export > as Template didn't support exporting the Tags group
and other selected items at the same time. Fixed.
Searching for phrases or proximity operators could fail if only certain data, e.g. using the text:
prefix, was searched. Fixed.
Smart groups and smart rules excluding subgroups and set to search the root of any database
could return too many results. Fixed.
Go > Next Unread Item didn't work if the next unread item was in a different database using
columns view or if Inbox, Tags, or Trash groups were selected in the Navigate sidebar. Fixed.
The Navigation bar could display incorrectly with newly created HTML pages or formatted
notes. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 265

Syntax coloring of HTML or XML files wasn't always shown immediately after opening a
document or leaving full screen mode. Fixed.
Conversion of rich text to Markdown could create unnecessary code blocks. Fixed.
Link annotations in PDFs covered by other annotations weren't detected or active. Fixed.
A local Inbox inside the Global Inbox could be created when syncing with previous releases
of DEVONthink To Go. This extraneous inbox was invisible if Unify Inboxes was enabled in
Preferences > General > Sidebar. Note that it can be ungrouped, if found. Fixed.
Changing the name of the global inbox on another device and synchronizing or via AppleScript
could rename the database on disk and cause a new inbox to be created. Fixed.
Automatically generated thumbnails of bookmarks overwrote custom user-added icons. Fixed.
Document dates having a two-digit year in the range 70 through 99 weren't properly
recognized. Fixed.
When moving items to different databases on other computers or devices, incoming item links
weren't indexed. Fixed.
Moving or duplicating special groups, e.g. email messages, to other databases didn't retain the
type of the group. Fixed.
Merging a group containing items replicated in other groups removed the additional replicants.
Fixed.
Evernote notes containing multiple attachments could fail to import all the attached files.
Fixed.
Indexed folders were not always updated automatically after unzipping archives in them. Fixed.
Footnotes in Markdown documents were not indexed and automatic WikiLinks weren't
supported in them. Fixed.
The File Items Using @Destination in Name smart rule script didn't work with group
tags. Fixed.
The touch bar could cause rare crashes while setting up smart rule and batch processing in
macOS Big Sur. Fixed.
The Screen Capture view of the Sorter could cause multi-threading issues. Fixed.
The Sorter could crash on macOS El Capitan. Fixed.

Pro — Custom metadata, e.g. item links and URLs being item links, were not indexed and
therefore the incoming and outgoing documents were not marked or supported by the
Document > Links inspector. Fixed.
Pro — Dropping non-scanned content to the Import section of the Import > Image Capture
sidebar could cause a crash. Fixed.
Pro — Whole decimal numbers in custom metadata values were displayed as integers, i.e., no
trailing zero.

Sync — A Bonjour sync could cause a rare multi-threading crash. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 266

Sync — Moving indexed files into a database could sometimes cause garbage collection issues
with a sync store. Fixed.

DEVONthink 3.8 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
Software and related documentation is
THIS SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO
provided "AS IS" and without warranty of any
BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE
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THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, DELETE THE 4. Limitation of Liability: UNDER NO
SOFTWARE OR RETURN THE SOFTWARE CIRCUMSTANCES INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE,
AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION TO SHALL DEVONTECHNOLOGIES BE LIABLE
DEVONTECHNOLOGIES, LLC. FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT
1. License: The application and other
FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
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SOFTWARE OR RELATED DOCUMENTATION.
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liability to you for all damages, losses and
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DEVONtechnologies' Licensor(s) retain title QuickTime, Quartz and all other registered
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ABBYY FineReader 11.x Engine Copyright
to protect them you may not decompile,
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form. You may not sub-license, modify, rent,
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not distribute the Software in any form,

MultiMarkdown is released under both the
including, but not limited to, electronic
GPL and MIT licenses. You may pick the
information service distribution, bulletin
license that best fits your needs.
board distribution, and magnetic or optical
medium distribution.

DEVONthink 3.8 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
Penney. peg-markdown is released under THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
both the GPL and MIT licenses. You may FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
pick the license that best fits your needs. NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
Original Markdown specification by John THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
Gruber. BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR
OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
The GPL: This program is free software;
OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,
you can redistribute it and/or modify it
ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
under the terms of the GNU General Public
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
PANTOMIME
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
Copyright © 2006, contributors to
Public License for more details. You should
ShortcutRecorder. (See the contributors
have received a copy of the GNU General
listed in detail later in the file.)
Public License along with this program; if
not, write to the Free Software Foundation, All rights reserved. Redistribution and use
Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA in source and binary forms, with or without
02110-1301 USA modification, are permitted provided that
the following conditions are met:
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granted, free of charge, to any person Redistributions of source code must retain
obtaining a copy of this software and the above copyright notice, this list of
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restriction, including without limitation the reproduce the above copyright notice,
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 3.8 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
derived from this software without specific
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THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE Copyright © 2006-2013 Andy Matuschak

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ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
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concept, first shot at implementation
BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR
using NSView.
OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
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OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,
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Further modularisation and re-factoring,
and general bug fixes.

DEVONthink 3.8 Documentation, page 270

SKIM NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
Copyright © 2008-2018, Christiaan Hofman
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and contributors All rights reserved.
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

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DEVONthink 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 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 3.8 Documentation, page 276