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Set up
I’m setting up a note taking workflow in DT (using Kourosh Dini’s latest book, for anyone interested) but I want to process the resulting notes in TB.
So I’ve setup a smart group in my DT database (looking for a tag called “tbexport”).
In a brand new TB document, I’ve added this group’s “Copy as link” url and pasted it in a root level note, as the value of the attribute “DEVONthinkGroup”.
After some time, this note pulls in the corresponding notes from the DT Group (they are all markdown notes)
Up to now, this works as expected from the fragmented documentation I can find on the topic in the Forum. (see at the end of the post for some errata on dead links etc …) -
Notes are not refreshed
At this point, I’m expecting an infrequent update to the content of the group (the Agents&Rules inspector helps to time the refreshes). However, when I create new notes in DT, or when I make changes to an existing note in DT, none of these changes are picked up by TB.
I can only access the changes is I set up a new folder as a watched group in DT.
Is there a specific set of conditions for the DT folder content to be picked up by TB? Am I missing a setting or (more likely) have I misunderstood something? -
How to keep links between notes
I realise this is a long shot, but has anybody managed to keep links between notes? -
Why is the Watch>>Group from DEVONthink menu item always grayed out?
If there is no menu mechanism to set up watching a DEVONthink group, then maybe clicking on this menu item could pop up an explanatory note ? -
Addendum:
The post Tinderbox and DEVONthink Pro contains a lot of information and was a good starting point, although I feel the subject is strangely under documented. As a note of caution: the aTbRef links in the summary (about DT and Watched groups ) point to version 7
but the “current version” link is broken (relevant current-as-of-v8 links are DEVONthink, Watched Groups and Agents and Rules inspector
Sorry about the aTbRef linkage in the v7 page red panel will investigate (should b e fixable). I keep the old baselines online for just this purpose, so that old forum links don’t break.
Tip: the TBX outline has been pretty stable since v4.5 times. So, if directed to an old page, look at the URL in your web broswer and you should see a section …/atbref7/…. You can substitute ‘46’, ‘47’, ‘5’, ‘6’, ‘7’, or ‘8’ for the ‘7’ in the URL and in most cases you will get the same page in a different version of aTbRef.
I’ll leave the main topic to others as I’m less familiar with this aspect of inter-app work.
Eastgate have said there is an issue that is being fixed for a future release. Stand by. For now, closing the document and quitting / restarting sometimes fixes the refresh issue. But wait for the fix.
The clickable links between notes in DEVONthink (which they call “wiki links” erroneously**) only exist inside DEVONthink – they do not use standard features of RTF or Markdown. If you want to preserve the links outside of DEVONthink, for use in Tinderbox or elsewhere, you need to not rely on the so-called “wiki link” feature in DEVONthink and create your own links. In other words, for usable links outside of DEVONthink, never use the DEVONthink [[ ]] syntax to create a so-called “wiki link”
Which means, in Rich Text you have to select text and and the contextual menu use Insert > Item Link…. (Other techniques to accomplish the same thing exist in DEVONthink.)
in Markdown to insert the link you also use the Insert > Item Link… command which creates a link of this form [link to another note](x-devonthink-item://4E3F2DE9-67D3-4816-B983-082748EFE745).
Probably a bug.
** Worth mentioning that several applications use the so-called “wiki link” syntax and product non-exportable links. Best always to use “standard” techniques that actually create exportable links than to rely on some developers process that only works inside their own software.
Ah, I had seen something about a refresh issue, but i’d missed the Eastgate reply. Thanks.
As for the links, yes, I figured the [[…]] wasn’t going to fly. I do use “Item Links” but it means that once I export in TB, i still keep links to notes … in DEVONthink. I was looking to keep a coherent whole once the notes are exported. I’ll look if I can make up a rule.
Thanks for your reply!
Yes, I mostly mentionned it because I figured you’d be interested in any buglets of the type. One of aTbRef’s major drawing points is this stability that allows for long term usability !
Thanks.
Oddly, although the atbref7.tbx code says otherwise (!), the links to the redirect page in the red panels are using using a relative rather than an offset link. I think I see a fix.
Fixed, and code fix carried forward to the v8 TBX for when it is needed. I’d forgotten to make the link to ^root^redirect.html not just redirect.html. The latter caused the browser to look in the existing directory for the file, which of course was not there!
I noticed that if I select a note then the menu choice is not grayed out, which seems to be a workaround for now.
Clicking into the background of, say, the Outline view or a Map, should free up access to that menu item. It will not work, obviously, in AB view of if the user has the focus on the Text of a note.
Thanks for that reference. Good stuff!
So, now that you are a few years on, have you changed your workflow?
I’m a DT user too and embarking on the TB rite of passage. My initial thinking is quite similar to what you were thinking. I’m thinking of keeping supporting documents and my notes thereon in DT, in a general group. I’ll then either have a project specific smart group or normal group that I copy replicants into. TB can then watch the DT group. You can then gain the visual benefits of TB linking etc.
TB does a good job of retaining the links to the DT notes and even paragraph links etc. that you create within DT notes (to supporting PDF etc.). It would be nice if DT could pay back in kind by creating a link to the note in TB as well. You can do it manually but it is nice to dream of an automatic link to the equivalent note in TB being created. I digress though.
In short, are you still doing: DT (for docs and notes) > TB (for processing) > other software for writing (I presume)?
I realize I’m jumping into a discussion that’s four years old, and hope that’s not a problem…
I’m in the middle of reorganizing my inter-app workflow with DEVONthink and Tinderbox, and plan to use Watched Groups for future Tinderbox projects. I understand how Watched Groups are “not a sync mechanism” and have a general understanding of how they work.
This might not seem relevant to the issue of Watched Groups, but it might (given how they interface) and does relate to DEVONthink and Tinderbox functionality.
Anyway, because I’m reconsidering where I’m saving certain files – including what I’m including in my DEVONthink database and “Indexed” folders – I’m wondering: Would it would be helpful or harmful (or have no impact whatsoever) if I save my Tinderbox files in DEVONthink?
If fellow users suggest storing Tinderbox files elsewhere, where would be an ideal place to do so?
Thanks!
I frequently save Tinderbox files in DEVONthink. There is a minimal quicklook preview available with recent versions of Tinderbox, and that feature plays well with DEVONthink. There’s really no conflict with storing Tinderbox files in DEVONthink that I’ve come across in the last 15 years or so. Watching DEVONthink groups in Tinderbox for a Tinderbox file that’s stored in DEVONthink is no concern. Since the Tinderbox file is not actively managed or its data executed by DEVONthink, there’s no conflict in that scenario.
PostScript
I should mention that storing Tinderbox files in DEVONthink is a convenience, not a necessity. Convenient because the .tbx file(s) can sit alongside reference files, notes captured in DEVONthink to Go, etc. Otherwise, the .tbx is merely a lump of XML that DEVONthink can search but, otherwise, not utilize.
Thank you so much for that thorough and incredibly helpful answer! I greatly appreciate it, and feel that I can now move on to storing my Tinderbox files in DEVONthink. Thank you, again…