Help needed: Indexing Bookends attachment folder with Devonthink

[apap]

I have my Bookends attachment folder in iCloud and when I try to index my pdfs with Devonthink Pro it does not not respond. When I contacted support at Devonthink they told me that I need to setup the Bookends attachment folder outside iCloud and then drag it into iCloud (rather than having it as a native application-specific folder created by iCloud). I am not sure I understand how to do this without losing my syncing with iPad through iCloud.

Has anyone found a way of indexing their pdfs with Devonthink Pro within the iCloud folder? Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Andreas

[Jon]

If you do that you can still sync Bookends via the cloud, but not with iOS (which requires the special folder created by the iOS app).

Having said that, I don't know why the special folder created by iOS *can't* be used by DTP. Perhaps others will have a better answer.

Jon
Sonny Software

[apap]

Thanks Jon,

Yes, it is strange that the iCloud generated folder is not indexed by DTP especially given other iCloud generated folders from apps like PdfExpert are indexed without an issue.

Andreas

[Jon]

I'd contact DTP tech support again (or post on their forum -- even better). Point them to this forum if you like.

Jon
Sonny Software

[apap]

Thanks Jon, I have contacted DT support but they have not been very helpful. I did find this thread on their forum which suggests that despite the presumed capacity of DTP to index iCloud it is not really the case. Apparently many users have the same problem.

http://forum.devontechnologies.com/view ... 937#p93990

[Jon]

Interesting reading. Note that if you are not syncing with Bookends for iOS you don't need to put your attachments in iCloud. You could use any file sync service (e.g. Dropbox).

Jon
Sonny Software

[apap]

Unfortunately I am syncing with iOs...I do most of my reading and annotating from my iPad. I guess I could go back to wifi syncing but the iCloud auto syncing is really convenient.

[apap]

DTP administrator replied to my query on their forum. Apparently, app generated folders in iCloud cannot be indexed with DT for now. I asked them if they expect this to be supported in the future as I don't want to lose my auto syncing with iOS.

[thecritic]

Will Bookends ever be able to sync attachments across platforms (Mac OS-iOS) via Dropbox folders instead of only via iCloud Drive? What is so special about iCloud?

[Jon]

Please start a new thread when introducing a new topic. This is only tangentially related to the original post.

You can sync attachments with Dropbox between Macs if you want -- that's why it's an option in Preferences. Please see the User Guide and read about Bookends cloud sync.

You only need to use iCloud Drive if you also want to sync with Bookends for iOS, since we use Apple's APIs.

Jon
Sonny Software

[thecritic]

Please start a new thread when introducing a new topic. This is only tangentially related to the original post.

You can sync attachments with Dropbox between Macs if you want -- that's why it's an option in Preferences. Please see the User Guide and read about Bookends cloud sync.

You only need to use iCloud Drive if you also want to sync with Bookends for iOS, since we use Apple's APIs.

I've corrected my original post to make it clearer: I was wondering why cross-platform (iOS-mac OS) syncing of attachments only works via iCloud. It's not your fault, but the whole situation is fraught for users, because some apps require Dropbox (such as DEVONThink) for cross-platform syncing, whereas others (such as yours) require iCloud. Still others rely on Google Drive.

It may seem tangential, but the reason why I raised the question of using Dropbox for syncing Bookends attachments is that it would in all likelihood solve the original poster's problem with being able to index the Bookends attachments folder using DEVONThink.

[Jon]

As I said, we use iCloud Drive APIs for syncing metadata (FYI, Dropbox has no corresponding functionality) and thus also use iCloud Drive for attachments. Perhaps Serge can comment further on using 3rd party file sync services in conjunction with our metadata sync.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Serge]

Theoretically, it’s possible to add a Dropbox sync feature, but sync it’s really not easy, it’s like implementing mini Dropbox, mini Google Drive, etc. in your own app, each working absolutely differently. iCloud Drive was chosen because, as Jon said, it’s used for metadata sync, and because it’s the simplest one to solve the problem for file sync. It has its own limits, but currently we will stay with it.

And we still have Bookends Wi-Fi sync. Which should work fine for the cases like this.