FAQs

Can I share my DEVONthink database using the iDisk or DropBox?
You can, but it is definitely not recommended.
[Back to top]
Can I use more than one DEVONthink database?
Yes, DEVONthink Professional works with databases stored in packages instead of a special location in your Library folder. You can double-click these packages like regular files to open the database, copy them over the local network (LAN) or back up hard drive, or burn them to a CD-R or DVD.
[Back to top]
How does DEVONthink store my documents?
DEVONthink Pro stores all documents in a package, a folder that looks like a file that you can double-click or otherwise manipulate like a regular file in the Finder. All documents that you import are copied into a folders of the package. The imported files are not changed in any way but merely copied into the self-contained database package.

Inside the 'Files.noindex' sub-folder of the package, the files are stored in folders for their respective type and further sub-folders that help quickly locate them. The file name of each documents is exactly the same as the corresponding document name that you see in DEVONthink.

In addition, the package contains a set of ten index files named 'DEVONthink-x.dtMeta' as well as a 'Settings.plist' file containing database-specific preferences. Finally, the package can contain one or multiple folders named 'Backup.x'. They contain backups of the index files and are created automatically by DEVONthink's backup function. They do not contain copies of all actual documents.

DEVONthink Personal and DEVONnote use the same filing structure, but they do not use packages; instead they use a folder named 'DEVONhink' or 'DEVONnote' located in '~/Application Support/', where ~ stands for your home directory.
[Back to top]
Can I put my database on my server and access it from all the Macs in our network?

Theoretically yes. However, as DEVONthink is not yet multi-user capable, only one copy of DEVONthink can access the database at a time. Just like only one person can work on an Office document at a time. We use a 'lock file' to keep other copies of DEVONthink from accessing the database at the same time. If you use a setup like this, DO NOT override the appearing warning message or you will create database corruption.

An alternative could be to use DEVONthink Pro Office and use Web sharing to access the shared database read-only using a standard Web browser.

However, note that remote users can upload files and notes. For example, a remote user could download a file, edit it and upload it as a suggested revision of a database document, or upload a file with the suggestion that it be added to the database. Such uploaded notes and files will not be visible to remote users until accepted and classified by the database administrator. The administrator of the database would then decide whether to incorporate the suggested modification or addition to the database.
We are currently working on a synchronization plugin that allows to keep multiple copies of one database in sync. See also here.
[Back to top]
Can I synchronize two databases, e.g, via a file server or MobileMe?
We are currently working on MobileMe-based synchronization.

In the meantime you can try to use a third-party product called 'DevonSync' made by Wooden Brian (and not officially supported by us) that synchronizes DEVONthink databases bi-directionally. We don't give any guarantee for your data's safety.

If you only want to quickly copy databases from one Mac to aother you can use fast file copy application such as 'rsync'. Do not use bi-directional file sync applications as they could damage the database structure
[Back to top]
How can I move my database to another computer?
If you are using DEVONthink Personal, your database is the folder named 'DEVONthink 2' at ~/Library/Application Support/. To move it to another computer, it should be copied to that same location in your user library on the other computer.

If you are using DEVONthink Pro 2.x or DEVONthink Pro Office 2.x, your database is a file with the suffix '.dtBase2' and is probably stored in your Documents folder. It can be copied to that or to another desired location on the other computer. If you cannot locate your database, search for it using Spotlight, e.g. by searching for 'dtBase2'.

Caution: Always quit the DEVONthink application before copying or moving a database, as copying an open database may result in an incomplete or damaged copy.

Complication: In general, databases are self-contained, so all one has to do is move it to another computer, open it and start using it. But if some of the content has been indexed instead of imported, it will be necessary to also move the externally linked files to the other computer in such a way that the Paths to the external files remain valid. If everything is in your Documents folder on the first computer, copying the externally linked folders and files to the Documents folder of the second computer will probably work.
[Back to top]

Email Archiving

Does DEVONthink Pro Office decrypt GPG encrypted email?
No, unfortunately, it doesn't. GPG is not as nicely integrated into the Apple Mail as it would be necessary for DEVONthink Pro Office to decrypt GPG encrypted messages.
[Back to top]
Does DEVONthink Pro (Office) also archive email attachments?
Yes, DEVONthink Pro Office does. The scripts provided for DEVONthink Pro, however, don't. Using AppleScript, accessing the attachments is currently not possible, so only the pure text is archived. If you need to archive formatted messages as well as attachments, please use DEVONthink Pro Office.
[Back to top]

File formats

Can I export multiple documents as one single file?
Yes, DEVONthink allows you to select more than one document and export it as one huge plain text or rich text file. You can also select PDFs and they will appear in RTFD documents (rich text with attachments).
[Back to top]
Do you support OPML?
Yes, DEVONthink allows you to import OPML documents or export groups and documents hierarchy as an OPML file that you can then read in other outlining applications.
[Back to top]
Why doesn't DEVONthink recognize my files?
DEVONthink needs a file name extension to determine the file type. Add the correct file name extension to your files (e.g., .txt for plain text files, .rtf for rich text files, .pdf for PDFs and .doc for Microsoft Word files. Then try again.
[Back to top]
How can I import scanned documents?
DEVONthink Pro Office comes with a built-in paper capture function that lets you directly access your Image-Capture-compatible flatbet scanner or scan with your Fujitsu ScanSnap into the database. An optical character recognition (OCR) engine based on ABBYY FineReader makes the incoming scans searchable.
[Back to top]
Why are some documents shown in red or blue and bold?
DEVONthink marks all duplicates in blue and all documents with replicants in red. This makes it easy to identify if there are duplicates somewhere in the database or of the item has been replicated.
[Back to top]
Why does DEVONthink not import my Office or iWork files?

Unfortunately, applications like Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint as well as iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote,) Ragtime or Mellel uses a proprietary file format that can only be read by those applications. DEVONthink 2.0 or later uses Quick Look to display these files. Make sure that 'Other files' is checked in Preferences > Import. Double-clicking them from within DEVONthink opens them in their original application.

If a document format is not displayed from within DEVONthink, please contact the maker of the application that created that document to add Quick Look support to their application or provide a Quick Look plugin for its file format. Quick Look Plugins also has a list of free Quick Look plugins for various file format. DEVONthink will be able to display the document as soon as the plugin is present.

[Back to top]
Why do accented characters get garbled when copied to Microsoft Word?
DEVONthink, TextEdit and many other Mac OS X applications use Unicode, whereas applications based on the older Carbon architecture such as Microsoft Office use plain ASCII. When you copy Unicode text to a non-Unicode aware application, you get garbage. For rich text, Word recognizes the Unicode encoding and displays the text correctly.
[Back to top]
Why does DEVONthink import PDFs only as images?
DEVONthink cannot extract the text part of print- or editing-protected PDFs. When you import them, you get a log entry that tells you that the PDF file contains "no text." When you select these documents in DEVONthink, the status bar shows "image" instead of "PDF+text." A cheap solution for this problem is Michele Balistreri's PDFKey. This utility allows you to print protected PDFs. So, you can use PDFKey to "print" a PDF file into a new PDF that is both printable and editable -- and the latter allows DEVONthink to extract the text for searching and classifying.
[Back to top]
Does DEVONthink Pro convert my existing DEVONthink database?
Yes, DEVONthink Professional converts your existing DEVONthink Personal database, but only if you're running DEVONthink Pro for the first time, a DEVONthink Personal database exists and no converted DEVONthink Personal database already exists.
[Back to top]
Why do images copied from Safari appear very small?
Images have a resolution meta data tag. While print images usually have a value of 300 dpi (dots per inch) here, screen pictures have 72 dpi. Safari does not use this tag and simply displays all pictures pixel-by-pixel but the RTF engine used by DEVONthink does. Let's say an image has a pixel width of 360 pixels and a numerical resolution of 300 dpi. Safari will show it 5 inches wide because it ignores the resolution tag and assumes 72 dpi: 360px/72dpi = 5 in. DEVONthink, however, honors the resolution tag and shows the images 1.2 inches wide because: 360px/300dpi = 1.2 in.
[Back to top]
How can I import PaperPort files?
Nuance PaperPort uses a proprietary file that only (!) PaperPort can read. You can import PaperPort files into DEVONthink but on Mac OS X you can no longer view them. If you still have a Mac running Classic or a PC running Windows, you can at least view them using a separate application. Download the PaperPort viewers and use them to view your scanned documents.
[Back to top]

General

Do you have any job opportunities? Can I send you a resumé?
Unfortunately, we are not actively looking to hire any new people at this time. However, if you think you have complementary skills that could help us to grow as a company, please send us your resumé.
[Back to top]
Can I be a beta tester?
Maybe. Our beta tester selection process is very deliberate; we try and select our beta testers carefully so that we're not wasting anybody's time, yours and ours. We're looking for people who can provide us with feedback quickly and clearly, who use different hardware and software from our other testers, and who are willing to send us their personal data if it's needed for debugging.

If you want to be a beta tester, the best way to catch our eye is to be active in our user forums. We often ask active participants on the user forums if they can help us test particular features and new products. Alternatively, you can, of course, simply drop us an e-mail.
[Back to top]
When is the next release coming and what are the new features?
We try not to announce precise timelines or feature lists for future releases, as we are a small software company with limited development resources; if one of us should happen to get the sniffles, or if there are other outside factors we need to devote our limited time to, it can easily impact our intended development schedules.

In planning releases, we try to strike a balance among:

(1) responding to customer requests,
(2) the needs of our partners,
(3) supporting new operating systems features,
(4) providing consistent features across the product line,
(5) working efficiently within the structure of the code, (similar features often get handled at the same time),
(6) various business needs.

We cannot make any assumptions on how those various factors will impact our daily workflow; in fact, it's often impossible to predict the final release date accurately when we start new projects. We try to plan our releases with a long term perspective so that they ultimately serve the needs of our customers, even if they don't necessarily get in everyone's favorite feature request every time.
[Back to top]
Any chance of a Windows versions of your products?
We're very commited to Mac OS X and the superior Cocoa environment. For most of our applications, porting them to Windows would take longer than it would to rewrite them from scratch on the Mac.

While we're always re-evaluating the possibility of expanding our reach to the Windows world, there is a solution for Windows users now. Read on!

Users of DEVONthink Pro Office can, in addition, share their database with users of other operating systems using the Web sharing feature.
[Back to top]
Is the documentation available in my language?
The online and PDF documentation is only available in English at the moment. Localizing documentation and other text-intensive materials to Deutsch, Francais, etc. is cost-intensive and error-prone so that we have decided to concentrate our resources on developing stable, robust, and feature-rich software. We will have localizations of the online help etc. as soon as we feel we have the necessary resources.
[Back to top]
Why are your applications not compatible with my pre-release version of Mac OS X?
In the past, we've noted that compatibility issues with a new major release of the operating system are usually resolved by Apple in the final stages before its release, and don't require any action on our part. If you are already using a pre-release version of Mac OS X, please check if our applications work with a newer pre-release, or wait until it reaches the release candidate status. We will then make all necessary adjustments for making our apps run on the first official release of the new version of Mac OS X.
[Back to top]
Where does the name DEVONtechnologies come from?

"Devonian (after Devon County, England), the geologic period from 410 to 360 million years ago. Also called the Reptile Age or Age of Fishes. First amphibians appeared on the land, that until then was only inhabited by trees and other plants -- it was the departure into a new age."

Named after the Devonian period, the DEVONtechnology marks the departure into a new age of data processing.

Side note: Ray Troll has even created a song with a nice video clip about this extremely important evolution step.

[Back to top]

Install & Uninstall

Where do I find the widgets?
The Dashboard widgets are located in the Extras folder on the DEVONthink disk image.
[Back to top]
How do I install the extras that come with DEVONthink?

To install the add-ons that come with DEVONthink, open the application, then choose Help > Install Add-ons. In this dialog, check all add-ons that you want to install.

To install the extras like the Dashboard widget, mount the DEVONthink disk image, open the Extras folder, and follow the instructions for the respective extra that you want to add to your system.

To install the bookmarklets, visit the Download Extras page.

[Back to top]
Can I move the Application Support files to another location?
Yes, you can move the Application Support files, that e.g. also contain the global inbox database, to another location. Close DEVONthink Pro (Office) first and move the folder '~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink Pro 2' to the new location, e.g. '~/Documents' or another, backed-up or encrypted volume. Then place an alias or symbolic link pointing to the new location into ~/Library/Application Support/ and name it 'DEVONthink Pro 2'.
[Back to top]
How do I completely uninstall DEVONthink?
To completely uninstall DEVONthink from your system, remove the following files and folders:
- The application itself
- The product-specific folder in ~/Library/Application Support/
- The preferences files in ~/Library/Preferences/, starting in 'com.devon-technologies.think'
Depending on whether you have installed the following extras or not, remove them, too:
- The product-specific scripts in ~/Library/Scripts and ~/Library/Workflows
- The Mail plugin in ~/Library/Mail/Bundles, named 'DEVONMailConduit.mailbundle'
- The contextual menu plugin in ~/Library/Contextual Menu Items/
- The Dashboard widget
- Bookmarklets from your browser
- The global inbox reference in your Finder's sidebar
In path names, ~ stands for your home folder.
[Back to top]

iPhone, iPad, iPod

Does DEVONthink support the iPod?
Yes, DEVONthink and DEVONthink Pro come with an iPod export plug-in that allows you to select groups and documents for export to your third or fourth generation iPod. This is a great option for those who want to take their reading on the go! Please note that the iPod touch is not an iPod in that sense but a phone-less iPhone and so the regular iPod export options don't work with the iPod touch.

We are currently actively developing an iOS application.
[Back to top]
Does DEVONthink support the iPhone or iPad?
Yes, DEVONthink Pro Office does. The embedded web server comes with an applet that allows you to search your shared DEVONthink database from the Apple iPhone. It works either on your LAN or, with some router configuration, also from the Internet.

We are also currently actively developing an iOS application.
[Back to top]

Languages

Does DEVONthink support Asian languages?

DEVONthink supports multilingual documents and Unicode and so also all Asian languages including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and many more. However, as these languages do not use word separators such as white spaces or punctuation characters you need to use wildcards when searching documents written in an Asian language. Use ~word or *word* in the search field or dialog.

In DEVONthink Pro Office the built-in ABBYY OCR engine does not support Asian languages, though, due to licensing restrictions.

[Back to top]
Does DEVONthink support Hebrew or Arabic?

Sure. DEVONthink is completely built on Unicode, and perfectly supports non-Latin scripts such as Cyrillic, Hebrew, and Arabic (including writing from right to left). Use Format > Alignment > Writing Direction to adjust the writing direction to best fit your language.

In DEVONthink Pro Office the built-in ABBYY OCR engine does not support Arabic and Hebrew, though, due to licensing restrictions.

[Back to top]

Legacy Versions

Where can I download DEVONthink 1.x or DEVONnote 1.x?
Please download the latest 1.x releases of DEVONthink and DEVONnote here:
- DEVONthink Pro Office 1.5.4
  (only available on request)
- DEVONthink Pro 1.5.4
- DEVONthink Personal 1.9.16
- DEVONnote 1.9.16
Japanese language:
- DEVONthink Pro 1.5.4 Japanese
Documentation:
[Back to top]
Where can I download DEVONagent 1.x?
Please download DEVONagent 1.7, the last available 1.x version of DEVONagent here:
- DEVONagent 1.7
[Back to top]
Where can I download Desktop Transporter?
Please download the last available releases of Desktop Transporter here:
- Desktop Transporter 2.6
Documentation:
- Desktop Transporter (print)
- Desktop Transporter (screen)
[Back to top]
Where can I find software for Mac OS X 10.3.9?
Yes. You can download older, unsupported versions of our applications suitable for Mac OS X 10.3.9 here:
- DEVONagent 2.2
- DEVONnote 1.9.10
- DEVONthink Personal 1.9.10
- DEVONthink Pro 1.3.3
- DEVONthink Pro Office 1.3.3
  (only available upon request)
Japanese language:
- DEVONthink Pro 1.3.2 Japanese
- DEVONagent 2.2 Japanese
Freeware applications:
[Back to top]
Where can I find software for Mac OS X 10.2.x?
Yes. You can download older, unsupported versions of our applications suitable for Mac OS X 10.2.x here:
[Back to top]

License Questions

I cannot enter my license code
When you enter your license code and the 'Register' button stayes greyed out, try to enter ALL details, including your name and organisation, EXACTLY as they appear in our e-mail. Best practice is to copy-and-paste name, organisation (if entered) and license code from our e-mail into the appropriate fields of the registration dialogue window. Also, please check if you have obtained the correct code for the correct edition of your software (e.g., a DEVONthink Pro license code will not work for DEVONthink Pro Office and vice versa) as well as version (DEVONthink 2.x will not accept a 1.x license code).
[Back to top]
I have lost my license code. How can I retrieve it?
We keep a copy of your license code in our customer database. You can retrieve your license code yourself using the email address that you used for purchasing on our Resend License Code page in our support area. If you have changed your email address since you purchased or you receive a message that your license could not be found but you know it must be there, contact us.
[Back to top]
Does my version 2.0 license code work also for an older version?
Yes, it does. You can use e.g. a DEVONthink 2.x or DEVONagent 2.x license code for unlocking a 1.x version. This does not apply to Desktop Transporter, though.
[Back to top]
When do I have to enter my license code again?
Only when you do a complete reinstall of your system without a backup of your home directory. The license code is stored in a preference file in ~/Library/Preferences. As long as this file is intact, you'll NEVER have to enter your license code again. If you do need to re-enter the code, and find you no longer have it, don't worry. Simply visit our Support page, fill out the form using the email address you bought the product with, and we'll send you the code.
[Back to top]
Why does my DEVONagent or DEVONthink 1.x license not work anymore?
DEVONagent and DEVONthink 2.0 are not a simple update, but paid upgrades. To use them you need a 2.0 license code. Please consult our Upgrade Assistant to find out what you need to upgrade and how much the upgrade is for you.
[Back to top]
Why does your application say that it expired?

When we release a public beta of one of our applications, we remove the usual trial restrictions but make it expire at the end of the beta period. A new public beta or the final release is, of course, available when this happens.

Please simply visit our Download page, download a newer version that the one you have installed, and replace your copy with the newer one. For DEVONthink Pro and later please first move the old application to the trash, then move the new one into its place or quit the Sorter before replacing.

Your license code will, of course, NEVER expire.

[Back to top]

Licenses & Shop

Can I get the Infoworker's Bundle discount at a later date?
Basically, the Infoworker's Bundle (DEVONagent plus DEVONthink Professional) is cheaper than two single licenses because a bundle means less work and less fees. An upgrade option to the bundle, on the other hand, would require even more work than two single licenses. Therefore, we're unfortunately not able to provide this option at this time.
[Back to top]
Do you give a discount to students and educators?
Yes, we give 25 percent off the regular price of DEVONthink, DEVONagent, DEVONnote and the Infoworker's Bundle to students and educators. We also give volume discounts to institution or faculties. Visit our Students, Educators and NPOs page.
[Back to top]
Can I use your software on multiple computers?

Yes, our license explicitly allows one and the same person to use our application non-simultaneously on multiple Macs. So, for example, if you install one of our products on a laptop, your office Mac, and your home Mac, you may do so as long as you only use one of them at a time.

[Back to top]
I have no credit card. How can I purchase your software?
We are selling currently through the online sales agent share-it! to keep our administration budget as lean as possible. If you don't have a credit card, you can also pay via PayPal or by purchase order, wire transfer, or even cash. See our online shop for more details.
[Back to top]
Can I have more time for evaluating your apps?
No problem. We happily give out 30 day licenses for evaluation purposes. Simply request a trial extension.
[Back to top]
Why cannot I log-in into your shop?
The user name/password system in our shop is only for people who have used the Share-It driven shop before. You don't have to log in, just go ahead and purchase as you would in any other online shop.
[Back to top]
Why haven't I received my license code(s)?
If there are no technical problems on our side, your license codes have been sent out to you within two minutes after your purchase. Often, however, they get stuck in spam protection filters (either yours or your ISP's). Also, some ISPs block all traffic from T-Online, Germany's largest ISP, which is the one we use for sending out the licenses.

Please, check your spam protection filter, and if you cannot find the license codes there, go to our website and ask our server to resend your codes. If this also doesn't work, please contact us and we'll try to get your license codes to you as quickly as possible.
[Back to top]
Do you offer NPO licenses?
Yes, we offer free licenses to non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the sense of charities. Learn more about our NPO program here.
[Back to top]
Where can I buy a 1.x license code, e.g. for use on Mac OS X 10.4?

License codes for DEVONagent or DEVONthink 1.x are no longer available but even the latest license codes are backward-compatible: You can use a DEVONthink 2.x license code also for DEVONthink 1.x.

To purchase a license code for a 1.x release simply purchase a license in our online shop and use it with your legacy software.

[Back to top]

Scanning & OCR

Does DEVONthink support the Fujitsu ScanSnap?
Yes, DEVONthink Pro Office comes with an auto-configuration plugin that makes the ScanSnap send all incoming scans directly to DEVONthink. There, OCR will be run and the PDF fed into the database.
[Back to top]
What to do if my scanner is not supported by Mac OS X? Does it support TWAIN?
If your scanner does not come with an Image-Capture-compliant scanner driver, first try using the built-in ExactScan Capture (File > Import > Document (via ExactScan Capture)). If this also fails, you could have look at TWAIN-SANE. It creates a bridge between TWAIN and the Mac OS X image capture system, and it comes with hundreds of scanner drivers based on SANE, Linux' scanner driver framework. So there is a good chance that there's a driver for your scanner, too.
[Back to top]
Why doesn't DEVONthink Pro Office manage to change the ScanSnap settings?
In rare cases, the preferences file of the ScanSnap Manager application has the wrong read/write permissions. Simply close both ScanSnap Manager and DEVONthink Pro Office and delete the file '~/Library/Preferences/jp.co.pfu.ScanSnap.V10L10.plist' (maybe with a different version number, depending on your ScanSnap Manager version). Then start both again and let DEVONthink fix the ScanSnap preferences. It would work now, you just may need to re-adjust the ScanSnap settings in ScanSnap Manager.
[Back to top]
Why doesn't DEVONthink Pro Office recognize my scanner?

DEVONthink Pro Office is compatible to all scanners that come with a driver for Apple's Image Capture framework. So, if your scanner shows up in the Image Capture application, it will also work in DEVONthink Pro Office. In addition, TWAIN drivers are supported through the built-in ExactScan Capture.

The Fujitsu ScanSnap as well as scanners using ExactCODE's ExactScan driver application never show up in 'File > Import > From Scanner' because they are separate applications that connect to the scanner, download the scanned images, and save them into files on your disk. DEVONthink Pro Office interfaces with them by recofiguring them to send completely downloaded images directly to the database.

[Back to top]
Why can I scan through TWAIN in Image Capture but not in DEVONthink?
When multi-function scanners are not visible in DEVONthink Pro Office (you will be asked to connect to one in Image Capture) but are supported by Image Capture, the problem may be caused by your USB hub. Try to connect the scanner directly to a USB port on your Mac and you may find that it will now be recognized when you go to the File > Import > Document (via Image Capture)...
[Back to top]
Which OCR engine do you use?
DEVONthink Pro Office is equipped with the latest ABBYY FineReader engine. It converts PDFs and image files to PDFs with an invisible text layer behind the actual image. DEVONthink as well as other applications use this text layer to access the textual information and let you select and copy text. During the conversion the image is re-rendered according to the OCR settings. The ABBYY Engine used in DEVONthink Pro Office supports most languages uses latin characters as well as Hebrew; Asian languages and Arabic are not yet supported.
[Back to top]
How can I use my own scan software with DEVONthink?

DEVONthink Pro Office comes with built-in support for both Image-Capture-compliant scanners as well as ones that use a TWAIN driver to communicate with your Mac. Some scanners however refuse to work with both approaches and work best with their own scan software. Don't worry, you can make even make most of these scanners work with DEVONthink.

DEVONthink Pro Office recognizes scan applications by their internal signature. When these scan applications send a scan to DEVONthink (means: they tell DEVONthink to open the file), DEVONthink knows that the files are coming from a scan application and so it treats them differently: it imports the files, runs OCR on them, and shows the meta data entry dialog if told so in its Preferences.

To integrate your scan software, find out if it can open the scan with a third-party application when the scan is finished. If it can, choose DEVONthink Pro Office as the target application. That's it.

If DEVONthink Pro Office does not run OCR on the incoming scan, it may not recognize that scan application yet. In this case please create a .zip file of your scan application and email it to our support dept. We will then add its signature to one of the next releases.

[Back to top]

Services

Why does DEVONagent beep when I try to transfer data to DEVONthink?
DEVONagent uses Mac OS X's services internally to transfer the data to DEVONthink, and therefore the most likely reason for this problem is that there's something wrong with the services. You can use the third party application Service Scrubber to try and modify this behavior; Service Scrubber should allow you to enable/disable services, rename them, or give them new keyboard shortcuts, though, some of these modifications can lead to communication problems between DEVONthink and DEVONagent. Restore to the default settings to enable the DEVONagent/DEVONthink link again.
[Back to top]
Why do the DEVONthink Services menu commands show no shortcuts?
They should, however, the keyboard shortcuts for Services menu commands are only requested by the supplying application; Mac OS X itself assigns them, and therefore has ultimate control over which application or service gets what. If the DEVONthink Services menu items do not have shortcuts assigned, it is very likely that Mac OS X gave them to another Services command or that they are used by the application that is currently frontmost.

In Mac OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' and later you can manage your Services in System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Services.
[Back to top]
Why do the Services not work in Firefox?
Services work only in real Mac OS X applications based on the so-called Cocoa framework. Examples for Cocoa applications are, e.g, Mail, Safari, TextEdit, and, of course, all our applications. However, Firefox is a port of a Unix application not completely based on Cocoa. Therefore, it does not support Services. Try using Camino instead, a Cocoa browser based on the Firefox engine.
[Back to top]

Support

How can I get tech support?
DEVONtechnologies is committed to supporting our customers. In fact, we enjoy hearing from you!

Because we are getting more email as we grow, there are some things that you can do to help us out when you contact us.
1. Be sure to mention what application in which version you are using.
2. Let us know what version of Mac OS X you are using, what Mac model you own, how much RAM and disk space you have, and what your processor and processor speed are.
3. Tell us exactly what you had done before the problem occurred, so that we can recreate your problem here on our systems.
If you post your question in the user forum, you probably won't need to send it in an email as well, as we keep a close eye on the forums. If you do decide send your problem and question to us by email, you may want to hold off posting in the user forum. Email is usually faster and more certain (except for today's spam filters). In any case, be sure to let us know if you post in both places, so that we can track the question and responses appropriately.

We ask that you please keep in mind while you wait for a reply that we are a small company handling many thousands of customers, and we are likely doing everything we can to reply to you as fast as possible. We usually respond quickly and personally to all the email messages we receive, and you can have peace of mind knowing that with your emails and posts on the user forum, you are talking directly to the development team.
[Back to top]
Where are you based? What are your business hours?

DEVONtechnologies' physical headquarters are located in Europe, near Stuttgart, Germany. Our business hours are from 09:00 to 18:00 CET (Central European Time).

However, you can, of course, reach us at any time by email, or by visiting the user forum to get in contact with us or other DEVONtechnology users.

[Back to top]
How do I send you large files?
So send us large files, e.g., damaged databases that we shall check for you, you need to upload them to our FTP server. To do this, do the following:
1. Put the file you want to upload onto the Desktop
2. Make it an archive using the Fnder's contextual menu
3. Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app
4. Enter the following commands, followed by the Return key. Replace text in parenthesis by the filename etc.
When you have successfully uploaded your archive, send us an email to let us know it's there and what you would like us to do with it.
[Back to top]

Troubleshooting

Why is DEVONthink getting slower and slower?
It's a good idea to optimize the database from time to time using Tools > Backup & Optmize. If this doesn't help, you may want to try to rebuild the database from scratch using Tools > Rebuild Database. Both of these options should help restore some of your databases' zing. Also, DEVONthink is highly dependant on enough RAM (the more, the better).
[Back to top]
DEVONthink claims the database is already in use. How do I overcome?
This can happen when DEVONthink was not quit propely the last time it was used, e.g., due to a crash. Simply click the Ignore button to open the database anyway. If no window appears, open one with File > New Window. If, by any chance, it still doesn't work, first make sure no incarnation of DEVONthink is runnning. Control-click the database package in the Finder and choose Show Package Contents. In the package, delete the file named DEVONthink.lock. Now, the database should open as expected.
[Back to top]
What to do when DEVONthink reports a database problem?
Don't panic. Here are some tips on how to repair a defective database.
[Back to top]
Do you have general housekeeping tips?

Sometimes, just quitting and relaunching an application can get rid of flaky behavior. Corruption of the application in memory might have happened, perhaps as the result of a conflict with another application or a haxie that modified the system (DEVONtechnologies is generally suspicious of haxies). Or maybe a cosmic ray came through and twiddled a bit in RAM (no kidding!). Who knows?

Your system and hard drive do require periodic maintenance to keep them up to speed and to eliminate problems that can creep in over time.

Because Mac OS X is a UNIX operating system, cron file routines need to be run periodically. There are a number of applications that can do this, as well as clean out cache files (that may become corrupted over time), update/rotate log files, repair Permissions, etc.

Disk Utility can be used to do permissions repair. To use Disk Utility to correct directory errors that may happen from time to time, boot from your Mac OS X installation disk 1 and choose File > Disk Utility > Disk First Aid to correct any errors.

Rarely, your DEVONthink preferences file can become corrupted. If all else fails and DEVONthink still behaves strangely, find and remove this files: ~/Library/Preferences/com.devon-technologies.think*.plist (replace the * with 'pro', 'pro2', depending on which edition you have installed). This file will be recreated next time you launch DEVONthink, but you will have to re-enter any preferences you had previously modified.

Some people pride themselves on how long they can keep Mac OS X running without a restart. That's all very well. But performance can slow down over time. A restart every few days or weeks speeds things up again.

[Back to top]
Why does the contextual menu not work?
When the contextual menu and/or the action menus in DEVONthink don't work, please check if the file 'BabylonCMPlugin' is installed in '~/Library/Contextual Menu items' or '/Library/Contextual Menu Items' (where ~ is your home folder). If it is, try to remove it e.g. by moving it to the trash; then restart your machine. The BabylonCMPlugin seems to be buggy and lead to such side effects.
[Back to top]
What to do if the global inbox goes bad?
If the global inbox does weird things, items come back even when you definitely trashed them, or you receive an error message when you open DEVONthink, try the following:
1. Quit DT Pro.
2. Please take a look at the folder named "Inbox" at /Home/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink Pro 2/. Move "Inbox" temporarily to the Desktop.
3. Now select the file named "Inbox.dtBase2" at /Home/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink Pro 2/. Move this database file to the Desktop, too.
4. Launch DT Pro 2. Was a new, empty Global Inbox created? If so, continue. If not, contact our support team.
5. Select the old "Inbox.dtBase2" database file on the Desktop. Right click it and choose the contextual menu command "Show Package Contents". Open the folder named "Files.noindex". Any files contained there will be stored inside subfolders, by filetype. You can now capture those files into a database, using any capture method you prefer:
  - From the DT Pro menu, File > Import > Files & Folders, selecting the files you wish to capture; or
  - By dragging selected files to the Sorter; or
  - By dragging selected files to the floating Groups panel (Tools > Show Groups).
6. Take a look inside the "Inbox" folder that you had moved to the Desktop. If there are document files inside it, they can be recaptured into your database as above.
When all your document files have been recaptured to your database, you may delete the old "Inbox.dtBase2" and the "Inbox" folder from the Desktop.
[Back to top]

Updates & Upgrades

How do I upgrade to a higher edition or higher version?

If you want to upgrade from DEVONthink Personal to Pro, or from Pro to Pro Office, or from DEVONagent 1.x to 2.x, request an upgrade coupon directly from our Upgrade Assistant. You will need the email address that you used for purchasing so that the system can locate you in our customer database.

If you have changed your email address since, tell us and we'll update our record accordingly.

[Back to top]
Can I upgrade from DEVONnote to DEVONthink?
No. While DEVONnote may be a stripped-down variant of DEVONthink, it is designed for different purposes, and is not "DEVONthink Lite." Where DEVONthink is a knowledge and information manager with professional features, DEVONnote is an easy-to-use, straightforward notebook application. See the differences on our feature comparison page.
[Back to top]
What is your policy on software updates?

Usually, all minor updates ('dot updates', such as version 1.2 to 1.3) to our applications are free and require neither purchasing an upgrade nor requesting a fresh license code.

We charge for major upgrades, though, such as version 1.x to 2.x. But do't worry about 'timing' your purchase. If you purchase licenses in our online shop within a reasonable time frame before a paid upgrade release (between 30 days and 6 months, announced on our website, e.g., our President's blog) we will provide you with a free upgrade.

[Back to top]

Desktop Transporter

How can I change the remote Mac's display resolution?
You have to change the resolution on the remote Mac. This in turn will only work if the remote Mac's monitor supports the resolution you want - otherwise, Mac OS X won't let you increase its resolution. There is unfortunately nothing Desktop Transporter can do to force the display to a higher resolution.
[Back to top]

DEVONagent

Is DEVONagent an add-on to DEVONthink, or a stand-alone product?
Although we sell DEVONagent together with DEVONthink in a bundle, it is a stand-alone application. Many of our customers use DEVONagent for their research work but don't necessarily archive the results in DEVONthink.
[Back to top]
Can I write my own plug-ins for DEVONagent?
Sure. The complete documentation on how to make plug-ins for DEVONagent is included in DEVONagent's online documentation.
[Back to top]
Can I search my hard disk instead of the Internet?
Not with the current version of DEVONagent, no. However, our freeware application, EasyFind 4.0, will be able to preview found documents, highlight occurrences, and include real support for RTF/RTFD/HTML/PDF/iChat logs/text clippings; in other words, it should be sufficient for local searches.
[Back to top]
How can I search already archived pages?
Open the archive (Tools > Open Archive...) and use the search field there.
[Back to top]
What advantages does DEVONagent have over Google & Co?
The most important advantages over web search engines like Google are: - DEVONagent comes with an innovative visualizer
- It's possible to query multiple search engines at once
- Scanners look for certain kinds of webpages (in other words, pages with webcams, thumbnail galleries, videos, etc.)
- The application removes duplicate URLs/webpages (even similar pages on demand too), advertisements, spam, and HTTP errors
- DEVONagent scans the current contents of the pages and therefore doesn't return wrong results due to outdated search engine indexes
- DEVONagent supports more advanced operators like NEAR, BEFORE, and AFTER
- DEVONagent can follow promising links automatically
- DEVONagent provides more useful and complete summaries in the Pages tab and complete digests based on selected/entered topics or the used query
- You can easily find similar results (‘See Also’), archive results or transfer them to DEVONthink

[Back to top]
Why does DEVONagent crash when displaying PDFs?
DEVONagent crashes when trying to display PDF files on Macs running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger when Adobe Acrobat 7.x is installed. Acrobat's browser plug-in is incompatible to the web browser engine of both Mac OS X and DEVONagent. Remove the Acrobat plug-in from "/Library/Internet Plug-Ins" and everything should work as advertised.
[Back to top]
Why does DEVONagent crash when I open a browser window or an archived page?
DEVONagent uses Apple's WebKit as its browser engine. When WebKit crashes it draws DEVONagent with it into the abyss and there is little we can do about it. So, most DEVONagent crashes related to browsing are in fact WebKit crashes. Please send us your crash log (in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/) if you want to know for sure what happened.
[Back to top]
How do I completely uninstall DEVONagent?
To completely uninstall DEVONagent from your system, remove the following files and folders:
- The application itself
- The product-specific folder in ~/Library/Application Support/
- The preferences files in ~/Library/Preferences/, starting in 'com.devon-technologies.agent'
Depending on whether you have installed the following extras or not, remove them, too:
- The product-specific scripts in ~/Library/Scripts and ~/Library/Workflows
- The contextual menu plugin in ~/Library/Contextual Menu Items/
- The Dashboard widget
In path names, ~ stands for your home folder.
[Back to top]

DEVONthink

What is the difference between DEVONthink Personal, Pro and Pro Office?
While all three applications share many features, there are some noticible differences. For instance, DEVONthink Professional is able to deal with more than one database, features tables, forms, and categories, and comes with full AppleScript support; and DEVONthink Pro Office comes with plugins for pro-grade email archiving, paper capture, and Web sharing. You can find a complete listing of all differences between DEVONthink Personal, DEVONthink Pro, and Pro Office on our product page, as well as on the feature comparison page.
[Back to top]
What about Spotlight?
All current versions of DEVONthink and DEVONnote fully support Spotlight. Spotlight support can be enabled and disabled for each database in File > Database Properties.
[Back to top]

Freeware

How do I make EasyFind replace Finder's Find command?
Unfortunately, Apple doesn't allow developers to assign keyboard shortcuts to applications. However, it is possible to do to assign keyboard shortcuts using a combination of Keyboard & Mouse preferences and third-party software.

First, you need to use Keyboard & Mouse preferences to "free up" Command-F and assign your new keyboard shortcut. You do this by creating a new Finder shortcut and using it to assign Shift-Command-F to 'Find...' Two tricks here: 1) You need to use the actual ellipsis character instead of three periods – to get ellipsis, use Option-semicolon; 2) You need to relaunch the Finder for the new shortcut to take effect. (Option-Control-Click the Finder, as found in the Dock, and choose Relaunch from the resulting menu.)

Then, use a third-party keyboard shortcut app, such as the free Spark, to assign EasyFind to Command-F.

Thanks to Dan Frakes of Macworld for this tip.
[Back to top]
How do I quit XMenu?
Command-click one of the XMenu menus and select "Quit XMenu".
[Back to top]

User Forum

Why is my email address rejected?
Due to the vast amount of spam robots auto-registering with Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail addresses, we have had to block these domains completely. Unfortunately, we just don't have the capacity anymore to manually fight the high number of spam robot registrations per day. Our best advice is to register with a non-freemail email address to get access to the forum. We kindly ask for your understanding as we deal with this unfortunate digital-age wrinkle.
[Back to top]

Printable view