Existing users, 
REAL WORLD USE - ecodoc
Twice this week I have posted here. Once in support of someone criticising The office version and now to disagree with the generalisation and inaccurate representation in this post.I note that DevonThink continues to get respect from even those who disagree with it and this software has achieved a unique position through the range of functionality it offers. Even those who criticise it appear to be driven by the disappointment that it does not go far enough, fast enough.
To start with, I prefer a robust application that does not leave behind at least the immediately previous OS version (in this case 10.3.9). Many computers avoid OS upgrades for a number of reasons and a number of years. There is huge userbase of legacy systems in the Universities etc. and any abandonment of this will cause disappointment and resentment. So I disagree with the emphasis on Spotlight. After all DevonThink in itself offers 'better' functionality.
More importantly on the planet that I live, there is still a tremendous demand for filing / OCR of scanned documents. Since the demise of PaperPort, Mac really has not had this type / quality of option. So I welcome it.
Regarding the appearance: If the development team have to chose between candy floss user interface and bug free programming, I would easily vote for the latter.
Finally, MP3 etc. are fine and are comming into undergraduate education. But for the post graduate studies and research there is no doubt that the present priorities for DevonThink are exactly right.
Whilst it is a challenge for any developer to be all things to all people all the time, miracles do take longer and I am prepared to wait, not the least because no one else is doing this type of work.
I hope this poster who appears to be disappointed user rather than and enemy of DevonThink, will have the insight and humility to recognise that not having his/her list of functionalities do not reduce this version to one star and will correct this.
Teh team needs constructive criticism and support. Who does it benefit to put inaccurate ratings on Version Tracker
Best Wishes
Friday, December 01 2006 @ 03:26 AM PST
Boo! Hiss! - RayCon
I know it's only a small point, but Smart Folders ARE available. Got to the Script menu and down to Smart Groups. There you will find several options.Wednesday, December 20 2006 @ 08:47 PM PST
Boo! Hiss! - Bill D
Hi, MS5STAR. I don't normally post here, as I'm the Evangelist for DEVONtechnologies. I'm breaking my rule twice this evening. :-)DT Pro and DT Pro Office are different products and both will continue.
Why DT Pro Office? Unlike your imaginary auditorium, we've had a great many requests for those three enhancements in DTPO: [1] control of scanner to OCR to saving in a database, [2] rich text archiving of email including images and attachments and [3] simple Web browser search/retrieval of documents in a database.
Those particular features obviously are not near the top of your wish list. No problem. Many people don't need them.
But many people do, and have been asking for them. Here are a few scenarios.
Have you ever seen one of those TV news segments where the prosecutor turns over boxes of paper to the defense lawyer? Large law offices have plenty of staff and equipment to scan paper, OCR it and manage the documents. What about the small offices? With an inexpensive ScanSnap scanner and DTPO a small office can fairly quickly convert those boxes of paper to searchable PDFs on a notebook computer, along with digitized and searchable collections of letters, filings, depositions, case law, email, notes and briefs.
Does anyone other than lawyers have a constant flow of incoming paper that must be managed? Sure. Lots of small businesses, doctors, clinics, consultants, journalists -- the list can get large. Scanning and OCR to a document/information system makes sense for lots of people.
What about that simple Web server? Lots of outfits -- let's see, law offices, businesses, doctors and so on -- need a supply of forms, policy and procedure manuals, product/services price lists and the like that need to be made available to staff. It costs money and storage space to maintain them in printed form, and even more when they are updated and reprinted. An inexpensive Mac Mini server running DTPO can make those forms (preferably filled out electronically) and other necessary documents available to staff, whether they are running Macs or PCs.
A school computer lab can 'broadcast' easily updated material from a server running DTPO. In a school where all students have laptops (Mac or PC), tests can be sent out from the DTPO server, received back from the students as (time and date labeled) email attachments and graded on the teacher's computer. No paper, no copying.
So far, we're getting positive feedback (call it applause) from people who do need those features. Hence DTPO. it meets some real-world needs.
But you did make some comments that we agree on, and DEVONtechnologies is working on them. Integration with Spotlight (perhaps in a surprising and useful way) will come in the version 2 series, along with much improved search features, multiple concurrent databases and some speedups. Will the UI ever be jazzy? Probably not. It's easy to add eye candy to a simple PIM application. But those distinctive, special purpose icons are actually limiting. DT Pro's purpose is to manage documents/information flexibly and in ways that meet a variety of user needs. So simplicity is probably a better approach than eye candy.
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Friday, December 01 2006 @ 01:06 AM PST