![]() The folder ‘can’ include multiple backups of the metadata.The folder full of files includes the metadata you’ve worked so hard on creating. ![]() The folder full of files includes the documents you’ve saved.The database is not a database, it’s a folder full of files.This is because of the following things, which are not understood well because, well, they’re hidden and not explained. It turns out DEVONthink aren’t completely negligent after all, when you understand and put all the information above together into a single context. It might not be quite as bad as you think. The main reason for that is, if you make a mistake with your DEVONthink ‘database’, that mistake will be copied to the ‘backup’ as well, meaning that mistake may not be able to be undone, since DEVONthink has only kept a single copy. There are however tools within DEVONthink that will give you a single up-to-date copy of your current database, which is sometimes called a backup, however for reasons mostly outlined in our backup process article here, this is most definitely not a backup. Given the extensive features in DEVONthink, this is a real disappointment as it would be easy to add one. Well, wouldn’t you know it, DEVONthink doesn’t actually have a backup tool, at all. Right, so can I perform any type of backup with DEVONthink? Within the database folder, you can see it’s comprised of three sections, these are a ist file, a folder full of your database files and DEVONthink metadata.You can also ‘right click’ it and choose show package contents. You’ll notice this if you try to copy ‘the database’ via the command line, because you will see it actually copies all the files inside the folder separately. The interface in Mac see’s it a bit like a Mac dmg ‘package’ which is normally like a zip/iso file, except with DEVONthink the database is actually more like a traditional folder with files in it. The database (I was surprised to find out), is not actually a database.This by the way, includes the default general Inbox for Pro and Pro Office users. By default, DEVONthink will store your database in ‘~/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink Pro 2/’. ‘DEVONthink personal’ only allows a single database in a single location, whereas ‘DEVONthink Pro’ and ‘DEVONthink Pro Office’ allow you to store multiple databases wherever you like. Depending on which version of DEVONthink you purchased, your databases could be stored in more than one location.OK, so what do I need to know about DEVONthink and backups If you’ve not come across it and need to check it out, have a look at their product page here. If you’d like to learn more about the backup process and why you need one, click here for our article, Howto create a Proper Backup process and why you need one.īefore I go too much further, I’m quite a fan of DEVONthink. DEVONthink is absolutely no exception to this, especially given it’s widespread use as a document management system. Of course, everyone should have at least one backup of their important data, but backups are not about keeping a single copy or two of your data, backups are about whole process, that if adhered to correctly, can save you from disaster. There is a lot of confusing information about backups on the internet. We’ll be reaching out to DEVONthink to try and understand why you might want to do that, but to be honest, we’d be just as happy if they renamed it to ‘Duplicate Metadata’ since that’s what it actually does and other than it’s name, it really shouldn’t have to enter into the backup conversation at all. What it does is export the Metadata of your database, in place so that you can import it back again if you make a mistake with metadata. To be clear, why shouldn’t I just use the DEVONthink backup?īecause, as per the DEVONthink warning in the application, the DEVONthink backup is not actually a real backup. To understand the DEVONthink terminology around backups.To learn how to move DEVONthink to a new computer.To have confidence your DEVONthink database is backing up as you expect.This article will help you to understand how DEVONthink backups, databases and metadata are stored on your drives and understand how to best backup your DEVONthink databases.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |