How to Move Databases Externally
In another post , we discussed where you can store your DEVONthink databases. If space is of concern, one option is to store them on a connected external drive. Here is how to move them to such a … (more)
Where to Store Your Databases
When you create a database in DEVONthink , you need to save it to a specific location. Some are good, some others rather not. Here are the advocated options and things you need to know. The Databases … (more)
Understanding Decentralization
Nowadays, people often talk about data being “in the cloud”. This is marketed by companies like Apple touting “Your data everywhere” or Dropbox saying they’ll store your … (more)
How to Protect Your Data with a UPS
An interesting weather fact: The Earth is struck by lightning eight million times per day, and no that’s not a typo. The power of a single strike can shut down electricity for a house, a … (more)
Understanding Database Sizes
While hard drives are relatively large and inexpensive nowadays, it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on your disk usage. When you’re trying to determine how much space you’re … (more)
How to Add Plain Text Extensions
Plain text files are at the very core of many things in the computing world. Markdown and HTML, system logs, delimited files for tabular data… the list goes on an on. DEVONthink supports many plain t … (more)
Using Temporary Databases in DEVONthink
When it comes to peoples’ databases in DEVONthink and DEVONthink To Go , there often is an almost austere sense they are permanent, inviolable structures. However, as easily as they can be … (more)
How to Create a Database Archive
One of the topics we routinely preach about is the need to be diligent in backups. We believe, “If your data is important to you, it should be backed up.” While DEVONthink doesn’t … (more)
Elaine Giles' DEVONthink 3 Series
Elaine Giles , an IT consultant based in Manchester, UK, has made all the screencasts that she produced for MacBites After Hours available for free on YouTube. The whole video is more than … (more)
How to Keep Your Data Private
An article published yesterday by Reuters casts a shadow on Apple’s commitment on privacy and encryption. When Apple spoke privately to the FBI about its work on phone security the following … (more)
Backups (Part 3: Online)
When we discuss backups, we generally advocate primary backups on local drives. However, we sometimes hear, “But, I want to use an online backup!” While, this is indeed possible, here are a few thi … (more)
Backups (Part 2: Locally Hidden)
As mentioned last week, we sometimes receive support requests from people where the best option is to restore data from backups. All too often we find out they have not been diligent in keeping their … (more)
Backups (Part 1: Local)
If there’s one difficult question to ask in Support, it’s: “Do you have current local backups of your DEVONthink databases?” Too often, the answer is, “No” or “I’ve been thinking about starting backups, but I ne … (more)
Internal Metadata Backups
DEVONthink does not have a system for automatically backing up everything. DEVONthink has a setting in its Preferences > Backup that controls how many internal metadata backups are done. These … (more)
Online Backup with Arq and Amazon S3
Backups are something that every computer user is supposed to do but nobody really enjoys doing it. Apple’s Time Machine makes it a lot easier, at least when you have a second hard disk or a … (more)
Interview: Prof. Dr. Frank Thissen
A few months ago I got into contact with Dr. Frank Thissen, lecturer at the Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) in Germany. Frank is a DEVONthink power user and we exchanged a lot … (more)
License Server Failure
Just in time for the Christmas holidays our FileMaker server failed and corrupted our customer and license database. We have, of course, tons of backups and I restored all functionality but it may be … (more)
An Online Storage Service Worth a Look
Last week I came across an interesting backup and archival solution: JungleDisk . It uses Amazon’s S3 storage and makes it available as a local WebDAV disk. You can use it to make regular or … (more)
Going Back to a Backup
Why-o-ever it may happen, databases can go corrupt. Be it a damaged file system, a system hang, or, Heaven forbid!, a DEVONthink crash. But, no reason to panic. First, run Tools > Verify & … (more)