Even though DEVONthink and DEVONagent do a good job in managing the information overload, sometimes it’s the simplest solution that makes the day :-)

DEVONthink offers the possibility to save any file from any application directly to the global inbox. No more saving to the desktop and importing later.

First make sure that this function is enabled. Choose DEVONthink > Install Add-Ons, check Global Inbox in Save Dialogs and click Install. This inserts a shortcut to the global inbox into the Finder’s sidebar. To save a document to DEVONthink now, look for the ‘Inbox’ item in the sidebar of the save dialog and select it as the location of choice. This even works when DEVONthink is not open, the document will be imported when you open the application the next time. (more)

Today I had a success experience with DEVONagent that nicely shows where our software really shines, and so I wanted to share it with you. We have an aquarium now for a couple of weeks and three days ago a few of our fishes began to first show signs of “eaten” fins, then they died. Therefore I used DEVONagent today to find out what is wrong with them. Both our pet shop guy and our booklets had their suspections but, working for DEVONtechnologies, I had to start researching on my own, too. I used the following query and the standard Internet (Fast Scan) search set: … (more)

DEVONthink Pro not only organizes all your knowledge, it also lets you get more of it. Add RSS, RDF, or Atom feeds to your databases (e.g. by drag-and-drop of a feed: URL or by creating a new feed via Data > New > Feed) where they appear like groups with an orange RSS icon. (more)

C. Wess Daniels writes on his blog Gathering in Light about how he uses del.icio.us for his bookmarks. He explains how one can use RSS to subscribe to tags on del.icio.us and how he finally archives interesting pages in DEVONthink using the bookmarklets that come with it on the disk image. Read his article here.

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. (more)

Just a quick note in case that you’re waiting for email replies from our support guru Bill. On a short holiday in his old home, Louisiana, Bill got arrested, unfortunately. He just wanted to go and buy some cigarettes and so he bound his pet alligator to a hydrant in front of the shop. Fortune wasn’t on his side when the local police noticed this. According to New Orleans city law it’s forbidden to chain alligators to hydrants. Bill, Bill, … why didn’t you just use the street lamp just two meters next to the hydrant? We’re doing our best to get Bill out of custody as quickly as possible and we’ll keep you posted. (more)

DEVONthink Pro features its own document type for tabular data named ‘sheet’. Sheets resemble spreadsheets and can hold textual data organized in rows and columns. Create a new sheet with Data > New > Sheet, name it, and add some columns with Data > Sheet > New Column or Edit Columns. (more)

If you’re easily disctracted with the many windows that clutter a typical infoworker’s screen, have a look at Isolator. It’s a simple donationware menu extra that dims all windows except those of the frontmost application. You can adjust the dim level, change the hot key, and even tell it to hide all background applications.

When you add your documents and clippings to DEVONthink, you’re never locked in. DEVONthink provides you with a variety of export options based on standard file formats, not obscure XML constructs or even proprietary file formats. Whatever you store in DEVONthink, you’ll get it out in exactly that format again. (more)