Devonthink tags structured in TB

Hi, I just started using TB but have a long history with DT. I have read a lot but am still really trying to figure out TB and know basically nothing, so excuse me in advance.

I have a ton of tags in DT. I would like to organize them in TB, which I can do manually, e.g. just creating a note/container for every tag on my own. But what I need help with is this part - can I drag a note into tinderbox and have it automatically become part of the containers that correspond with its tags? is this the best way to do this? I’m writing a book, and the ultimate goal is to see how all the tags relate to each other and which documents fall w/in them as I’m writing.

Another much less important question - is there a way to see on a map a heirachy of all the tag names w/o using the container view – in other words, not having to open a container to see the children/grandchildren – but still using the individual tags as containers for the articles they include? so if a is the parent to b, i would prefer to not see b w/in container a. i’d like to just see a and b linked on a map with some indication (on the outline as well) that b is a’s child. (my impression is that it is possible using agents?) but if i drag an article from DT tagged w/ a, i would like to see the note w/in container a.

If that makes no sense, please ignore the second question. (If its impossible, i understand that too.) the first one is way more important to me! thanks!

I think you are assuming containers are functionally the same as in DT. I don’t think it is true (happy to be corrected @PaulWalters ?). The outline and the containers that occur are simply the view that also represents the stored structure of the document’s TBX.

If I understand you want a view where there is a container per tag? If so check out the attribute view which does this without needing to create agents and code. Simply chose the top level container for scope (default is the whole document), choose the attribute you want categorised—here it is %Tags, and the view will show a categoy bar for each discrete value in $Tags.

The things to remember are

  1. Tags and groups (folders) in DEVONthink are the same thing. But hey are not the same as notes in Tinderbox. Notes are not folders. Tinderbox containers may look or behave somewhat like folders, but they are not folders.
  2. A note in Tinderbox can point to one thing in DEVONthink – either a tag / group, or a document stored in a tag / group.
  3. If you want to organize your tags using Tinderbox, then you have to create notes with a one-to-one correspondence to your tags in DEVONthink. For example:
    • Drag tags from DEVONthink to Tinderbox
    • Create a note in Tinderbox and add the “item link” for a single tag from DEVONthink to that note in Tinderbox
  4. If you a have tags hierarchies in DEVONthink then you’ll have to figure a way (such as using containers) to represent that hierarchy in Tinderbox
  5. If you move around, make new hierarchies, etc., the notes in Tinderbox that represent tags in DEVONthink that activity will change nothing in DEVONthink. The two applications do not synchronize that way. So you would have to go back to DEVONthink are rearrange things.
  6. The basic question would be “after all that work, to recreate a representation in Tinderbox of all your tags, is the work going to prove worthwhile.”
  7. There are non-conforming edge cases for all the above.
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I don’t know where your post went but if you wouldn’t mind reposting Bc it was super helpful in the brief second I saw it! I just wanted to clarify some things.

Thanks mark - so if I add the attribute and then add in a document from DT that has tags, it’ll automatically associate with a tagged note? Does that question make sense? I am using TD to be able to create 1) a concept map for my book by tag and 2) include tagged notes that correspond to a doc in DT within the correct tag note/container - I think a container at least.

I do have DT but have insufficient ongoing expertise to give definite guidance on that side of things. My understanding is that DT records either dragged into Tinderbox or aded via a watched folder will import their DT (‘Spotlight’?) tags to $Tags.

As to (1) and (2). That seems do-able.