Take Control of DEVONthink 3

Version 1.16, updated January 7, 2025

This book teaches you the basics of DEVONthink 3 and DEVONthink To Go for iOS/iPadOS. You’ll learn how to find your way around, get information into and out of DEVONthink, and make the most of the app's key features.n With the information-management app DEVONthink 3, you no longer have to swim in a sea of web bookmarks, email receipts, RSS feeds, scanned memos, and downloaded bank statements. DEVONthink stores your digital documents and clippings, helps you scan and store paper documents, and serves as home base for organizing and viewing all your information. But mastering all that power can take effort, and this book—created in partnership with DEVONtechnologies—has the real-world advice you need to understand how DEVONthink can bring order to your information.

You’ll also learn how to extend your DEVONthink experience beyond your main Mac with detailed coverage of the many ways you can sync DEVONthink databases to other Macs and to iOS/iPadOS devices using the DEVONthink To Go app.

After covering essential DEVONthink vocabulary and concepts, including the completely reworked user interface of DEVONthink 3, Joe helps you start using DEVONthink effectively. You'll learn how to:

• Decide how many databases you need and set them up

• Determine whether to input or index data

• Configure where incoming data will go

• Import data from many different apps

• Import data from a scanner, including OCR options

• Use grouping and tagging to organize data

• Add and work with DEVONthink 3's expanded metadata capabilities

• Use simple (and sophisticated) techniques for searching

• Create smart groups that automatically gather newly imported data

• Use smart rules and AppleScript to automate countless activities within DEVONthink

• Create documents in plain text, HTML, Markdown, and more

• Edit documents in DEVONthink (or externally)

• Find the best way to sync DEVONthink data with other devices

• Work with reminders, smart templates, and other sophisticated tools

• Convert documents between formats

• Effectively use the DEVONthink To Go iOS/iPadOS app

• Share DEVONthink documents with other people

• Export documents from DEVONthink

• Back up and maintain healthy databases

Questions answered in the book include:

• What is DEVONthink good for, and what should be left to other apps?

• What kinds of data can I import? (Short answer: Nearly everything!)

• How can I display my data in a way that works well for me?

• When I import documents from different sources, where do they end up, and why?

• Is it better to sort imported documents right away, or leave them for later?

• Should I group my data, tag it, or both?

• What are duplicates and replicants, and how can I tell them apart?

• Which types of data can be created or edited within DEVONthink?

• How do I make my DEVONthink database accessible via the web using DEVONthink Server?

• How do I move documents out of DEVONthink using the Share feature?

• How do I use DEVONthink To Go on my iOS/iPadOS device?

Plus, we now plan to update this free book approximately four times per year for the foreseeable future to cover ongoing changes in DEVONthink and add new tips and advice!