Add a Location and Select Databases

To add a location and select databases to sync in that location:

1. If you’re not already on the home screen (where the global Inbox, smart groups, and databases live), tap the arrow in the upper-left corner of the screen until you get there.

2. Tap the Settings icon.

3. In the Sync section, next to Locations, tap Edit Locations.

4. Tap the green plus icon next to the location type you want to add. (If you already have a location specified, tap Edit to see the list of locations.) For Dropbox accounts, follow the prompts to authenticate; for direct connections, enter the password when prompted.

5. For indirect connections (such as Dropbox, iCloud, and WebDAV), enter the requested information, including the sync store name and password; and, if applicable and desired, turn on Verify Uploaded Items. If you already set up a sync store on another device, use its name and encryption key. (Refer back to Add an Indirect Connection for details on these options.)

6. If you’ve enabled the Pro features of DEVONthink To Go, tap Always to download full copies of every document, or On Demand to sync only metadata (with full documents available at a tap).

7. Select whether you want to sync “Labels and Colors” and/or “Database Properties” (both on by default; again, see Add an Indirect Connection).

8. Tap Save.

At this point, your location has been created, and you need only select which databases to sync in that location:

1. Tap the location name.

2. Turn on the switch for each database in this location that you want to sync.

DEVONthink To Go starts syncing your data. While that’s happening, you can tap outside the location window to perform other activities in DEVONthink To Go.

Set Sync Options

Either before or after you set up locations and select databases, you can configure sync options, which are similar to those in the desktop versions of DEVONthink:

1. If you’re not already in the Settings window, go to the home screen of DEVONthink and then tap the Settings icon.

2. Set the following options as you prefer:

   • Conflicts: Tap an option to choose what happens if a document changes both locally and remotely between syncs. If you select Newest, the more recently changed document overwrites the older one. If you select Duplicate, both copies sync in both directions—preventing data loss, but forcing you to manually sort out, later on, which version of each document you want.

   • Schedule: Tap Automatic (the default) to make DEVONthink watch for changes and upload or download new or changed documents automatically. Or tap Manually to sync only when you tap the Cloud icon or swipe downward to initiate a sync.

   • Keep: This slider is applicable only if you have enabled Pro features; and even then, only in cases where you’ve selected On-Demand Syncing. If it’s set all the way to the right (“Keep all”), DEVONthink To Go keeps local copies of all downloaded files. If you want DEVONthink To Go to purge the contents of less-recently-used files (keeping only the metadata, so you can re-download the files as needed), move the slider to the left (to “Keep 100 items,” “Keep 250 items,” “Keep 500 items,” or “Keep 1000 items”). DEVONthink purges the contents of any older files over that number.

3. Tap the X icon to close the Settings window.

Your new sync options apply immediately.

The Home Screen

The home screen (the top level of DEVONthink To Go) is special—that’s where you find your global Inbox, smart groups, and databases; and it’s also the only place where you see the Settings icon. If that’s where you want to be, tap whatever text is in the upper-left corner of the screen until you get there.

On the home screen, tap Edit in the upper-right corner to display additional smart groups, reorder smart groups, or delete databases.

List Views

In other list views (that is, the top level of a database, or the contents of any group), tap the View Options icon to display options for sorting the list (by name, kind, date [tap repeatedly to cycle among Added, Created, Modified, and Visited], or size—ascending or descending), filtering it (displaying only flagged and/or labeled items), and toggling the display of details and hidden items.

Tap Edit to reveal controls you can use to select one or more items. Having selected them, you can click the Organize icon to move, replicate, duplicate, group/ungroup, or delete them; or, if a single item is selected, tap the Share icon to display the activity view (or Share sheet). (Note that the item must be downloaded to your device before you can share it, duplicate it, or move it to another database.)

Searching

To search for a document in DEVONthink To Go, look for the search field at the top, and if you don’t see it, swipe downward on the list to reveal it (just as in Mail for iOS). Enter the text you’re searching for. If you’re anywhere other than the home screen, you can tap “All databases,” “This database,” or “This group” to narrow your search to that location.

You can also search within the text of an open PDF document (sorry, other formats aren’t supported) by tapping the Search icon.

Create and Edit Content

To create a new document or other item in DEVONthink To Go, navigate to the location where you want the document to be stored and tap the plus icon. A panel appears, which may show just a list of item types (on smaller screens) or item types plus an editing area (on larger screens). Select an item type from the list of choices, and then use the editing view to fill in the details. Your choices are:

• Text: Create a document in plain text, rich text, Markdown, or formatted note formats. Fill in the title and body of the document, and optionally apply metadata (see Apply Metadata, ahead, for details). Then click the tiny right arrow in the upper-right corner of the editing view, tap the name of the format you want to use, and tap Done.

• Media: Tap New Photo (to take a photo), Existing Photo (to add a photo already in your Photos library), Photo from Clipboard (only if there already is a graphic on your clipboard), Last Photo Taken, Video Note (to record a new video), or Voice Note (to record audio).

• Bookmark: Enter a name and URL for the bookmark, and optionally apply metadata.

• Sheet: Assuming you’ve made the in-app purchase of the Pro features, you can add and edit sheets. After tapping Sheet, tap the Add Heading icon and type a name. Press Return and repeat as needed. Then click the tiny right arrow in the upper-right corner of the editing view, enter a name for the sheet, and tap Done. DEVONthink To Go creates a new, empty sheet in that location; tap it to open it. To edit a table, tap Edit. You can then double-tap a cell to change its contents, or use the controls on the floating toolbar to select, add, and delete columns and rows, among other actions.

• Tag: Type a tag name. (Normally, you create tags in the process of applying them to existing items, but if for some reason you need to create a standalone tag, this is how you do it.)

• Group: Type a group name and optionally apply metadata.

• Database: Type a database name. To protect the database data during syncing with a password, turn on Protect with Password, tap Proceed after reading the warning, enter a username, and enter and confirm a password. This does not encrypt or lock the database; it only encrypts data in transit during syncs.

After filling in the required information, tap Done.

You can also edit plain text, rich text, formatted note, and Markdown files, plus (to a limited extent) graphics—whether or not you created them in DEVONthink To Go. To do so, select the document and either tap in the document body or tap Edit at the top of the screen. When you’re finished making changes, tap Done. (Note that, for graphics, your only options are to rotate the image and apply filters using the icons at the bottom of the screen.)

Use Clip to DEVONthink

In iOS and iPadOS, Clip to DEVONthink is a system-wide extension that can add an icon to the activity view (or Share sheet) in nearly any app. By tapping that icon, you can capture information from elsewhere on your device and add it to DEVONthink.

Before you use Clip to DEVONthink, you should make it more easily accessible—this step is mandatory in iOS 12 and optional (but a good idea) in iOS 13/iPadOS 13:

1. Open a document or webpage in any app that supports activity views or Share sheets (such as Safari).

2. Tap the Share icon, swipe the row of app icons (that is, the top row of icons in iOS 12) toward the left, and tap More.

3. Enable the extension:

   • In iOS 13/iPadOS 13, tap Edit. Then scroll down until you find DEVONthink. Make sure its switch is turned on, and tap the plus icon to add it to the Favorites list at the top.

   • In iOS 12, find Clip to DEVONthink in the list and turn it on.

4. Use the handle on the right to drag it closer to the top (which means it will appear closer to the left in the list of icons in the future).

5. Tap Done.

Once you’ve done this, you can use almost the same procedure to capture information:

1. While viewing content you want to capture in to DEVONthink To Go, tap the Share icon.

2. Tap the DEVONthink (or Clip to DEVONthink) icon. (In iOS 13/iPadOS 13, if you did not add DEVONthink to your Favorites list, you can instead swipe to the left, tap More, scroll in the list until you find DEVONthink, and tap it.)

3. In the panel that appears, you can optionally edit the document’s name and metadata. The Database line indicates which database the item will be stored in; to pick a different one, tap the database name and then select a different database or Global Inbox.

4. Tap the right arrow icon.

5. Tap the format in which you want to capture the document—Bookmark, Web Archive, Web Archive (clutter-free), Markdown, or Markdown (clutter-free)—and tap Done.

The extension puts the document in the inbox of the selected database (or in your global Inbox).

Organize Files and Groups

With a single document or group open—or with one or more items selected in a list view in Edit mode—tap the Organize icon to display a popover (Figure 82) with the organizational options available. (Not all options apply to every item.)

Your potential choices are:

• Move: Navigate to the location where you want to move the item and tap Move.

• Replicate: Navigate to the location where you want to create the replicant and tap Replicate.

• Duplicate: Navigate to the location where you want to copy the item and tap Duplicate.

• Convert: Tap Convert followed by the format you want to use. (The options are Formatted Note, Markdown, Plain Text, or Rich Text—but not all formats apply to every source document.) DEVONthink To Go makes a copy of the document in the same location, but with the new format. (If you were editing the document, the original version remains open.)

• Share: This option appears only on small-screen devices, where the regular Share icon doesn’t fit on the screen; it opens the activity view or Share sheet.

• Download: For documents in groups, databases, or locations configured to use on-demand downloads, tap this to download the document.

• Move to Trash: Move the item to the Trash.

Apply Metadata

Any document or group in DEVONthink To Go can have various kinds of metadata, just as in the desktop versions of DEVONthink. To apply this metadata to the currently open group or document, tap the Info icon to open the Info popover (Figure 83).

You can then specify or edit the following:

• Name: Tap to edit the document or group name.

• URL: If the item is a URL, this field holds the bookmark’s location. For all other item types, you can optionally fill in any URL that’s relevant to it. Tap in the URL field to type or paste the URL. To open the URL in Safari, tap the Safari icon.

• Tags: Tap the Tags icon, then type one or more tags. (After you type at least three characters, suggestions for matching tags may appear.) After typing a tag, tap Return; this turns it into a token .

• Label: Tap the Label icon and then use the selector that appears to apply a predefined label (such as To Do, Done, or Important). The Label icon then assumes the color of the corresponding label: .

• Flag: Tap the Flag icon to flag the item. The icon then turns orange: . Tap it again to remove the flag.

• Unread: Tap the Read icon to mark the item as unread. The indicator then turns blue to show that it’s unread; tap it again to mark it as read.

• Lock: To make the item read-only, tap the Lock icon, which then turns magenta: . Tap it again to unlock the item, making it editable.

• Comments: To add a comment, type in the Comments field.

Annotate PDFs in DEVONthink To Go

The Pro package adds PDF annotation features to DEVONthink To Go. (If you haven’t already purchased the Pro package, you can do so by navigating to the home screen of DEVONthink To Go, tapping the Settings icon, and then tapping Manage next to Premium Features.)

With a PDF open in DEVONthink To Go, tap Edit. A narrow vertical toolbar appears at the left with icons for various types of annotation actions (much like those in the desktop versions of DEVONthink):

• Text Highlights: Touch and hold Highlight and then tap an icon to select a tool with which you can add a background color, underline, wavy underline, or strikethrough to text that you drag over with your finger.

• Annotations: Touch and hold Text and then tap an icon to select a tool with which you can add a text annotation, callout, or signature.

• Note: Tap the Note icon and then tap in the document to add a note.

• Pen: Tap the Pen icon to draw with a pen on the PDF.

• Highlighter: Tap the Highlighter icon to draw with a highlighter on the PDF.

• Shapes: Tap and hold Shapes and then tap an icon to select a tool with which you can draw arrows, lines, squares, circles, and other shapes.

• Photo: Tap Photo and then tap either Camera or Photo Library to insert a graphic on top of the PDF. Or, tap and hold Photo and then tap an icon for media, stamp (like “Approved” or “Sign Here”), clipboard, link, or audio recording.

• Erase: Tap Erase to activate the eraser tool, with which you can wipe away annotations you made with the pen or highlighter.

• Select: Tap Select to draw a selection rectangle, which selects any existing annotations.

In addition to all these tools, you can select text in a PDF to display the standard iOS pop-up toolbar with additional options.