DevonThink is a very good product and does what it does very well, but there is problem with using DevonThink and it’s not what you might think. First we need a little background on the problem.
Let’s look into that history. I work in all three OSs, linux, OSX, and Windows. I may need to work on some files in either one of those OSs. What Devonthink does is store the files in what’s called a sparse bundle in the Mac OSX environment. Think of it as a zip file with the files stored inside of the DevonThink file. While I might be able to use some tool to extract the contents of the file, it won’t come out in a manner that can be used by the software. If I use DevonThink I loose the ability to effectively get at my files with my other OSs tools.
This is a problem with some businesses. Someone may use a tool for their work that is not on the approved list. When they leave then valuable information that rightfully belongs to the company leaves as well. If you ever wondered why IT is so anal about adding software to your system it is this very fact that is one contributing factor
EagleFiler does not impose anything other than the rule that you do not change the file structure in a EagleFiler folder outside of EagleFiler. The folder created in EagleFiler are actual filesystem directories. Eaglefiler uses plists and xml databases to keep Index information.
As penance for my stupidity about using Mac OSX tools only, I am going to have to go back into all of my files and bring them into line with OpenOffice, not a fun time. I already moved my files back to an EagleFiler library
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Dear Clay,
I am currently evaluating both EagleFiler and DevonThink. As of now, I am not leaning towards one or the other. But with DevonThink (Beta of Version 2) I have a normal folder in Library/Application Support/ that I can navigate. On the other hand, I don’t like the file structure of this folder (numbers as folder names)
Can you please clarify?
Thank you
Valerio
That folder in the library/application support/ folders are the caches that devonthink keeps for itself during it’s own run. Your files and folders are in the database file which is usually kept in your documents folder. The folders and files with numbers are used by DevonThink while it works on your database. The database file are where your files and notes, and folders are kept. I know this because I have moved devonthink databases to different machines and had no loss of data.
On second look, I think you managed to open the devonthink database. The devonthink database may contain files and folder that are used by devonthink for your information. The logical structure of your files are represented by the folders and files you see in the devonthink screen. Just like the wizard of oz “Don’t look behind the curtain.” If you pull the folder out of devonthink and onto the desktop you will have a folder structure with words.