Using Predefined Groups in TextExpander

When playing about with some of the features within TextExpander for MacOS last week, I happened across a small feature which, I have to say, I'm a little embarrassed that I hadn't noticed properly before now (and I've been using TextExpander for a long time!)

For those of you who don't know (and you should - you really should), TextExpander is a great utility from the team at Smile Software that allows you to type short snippets/abbreviations and these will expand into longer form text, frequently used phrases, symbols, images - pretty much anything that can be created from your trusty keyboard. When you get slightly more advanced, TextExpander can perform calculations based on date/time, run scripts - it's a really powerful tool that you need to have if you want to maximise the time you are at your machine for.

PreDefined Groups

These were hiding from me in very plain sight. Clicking the + button in the bottom left hand corner of the main TextExpander window presents you with the option of adding a PreDefined Group. These are groups of snippets that the developers have kindly put together that are linked to a particular theme.

1) Accented Words - You may have need to type a letter, or communicate with someone who uses accented language. Now, rather than hunt for the correct key, you can use one of the predefined snippets

2) Emoji - Need I say more? What better than being able to type a phrase such as :turd: to be express your dissatisfaction at a more appropriate level.

3) HTML & CSS Snippets - Not being a coder myself, I have it on good authority from those in the biz that this is a pretty comprehensive list of snippets.

4) Internet Productivity Snippets - These will run AppleScripts to shorten URLs using tools such as Bitly.

5) Symbol Snippets - I wish I'd known about these before, as it took me ages configuring snippets for ⌘, ⌥, ⬆ etc. Turns out they existed all along, I just installed the app in a hurry...!

6) AutoCorrect Snippets - This is the only Predefined Group that I find myself adding snippets to! A list of some of the most common mis-spelt words are in here. As a fast touch-typist, I find myself making the occasional SNAFU. If I see any common words that I'm making mistakes with, I'll add the correct spelling to this folder. Real time saver.

There are Predefined Groups for AutoCorrect in many different languages.

So - I'm sure the majority of you knew about this, however for those of you who didn't - well, you're welcome.

DEVONthink Part 7 - Database Maintenance

Today I want to cover the distinctly un-sexy task of maintaining your DEVONthink Pro Office databases. It's one of those things that makes you initially want to yawn, yet as soon as you run into difficulties, you will be so glad you took the time to safeguard against disaster.

Internal Backups

By default, DEVONthink Pro Office creates regular backups of the databases index files. These are then used in the rare occurrence of the system being corrupted. These internal backups are kept directly inside the database folder. You can define how often these backups are taken by opening Preferences and clicking the Backup section.

These backups are NOT backups of the entire database. For these, you would need to use Time Machine or a similar third party application. I use BackBlaze for my off-site storage and Time Machine to back up the databases to my local NAS device, as well as exporting via a script (I come to that next).

External Backups

You can export all files contained within your DEVONthink Pro Office databases to external storage quite easily. Simply highlight all groups within your database with cmd+A, then go to File -> Export -> Files and Folders. You will then be prompted for a location to export your content to by way of a standard Finder window.

You can also use an AppleScript to backup all files and folders within a database and schedule it to run with Automator if you want to take it up a notch. The built-in Export script is great and you get it by clicking Scripts -> Export -> Daily Backup Archive.

This will compress all files and folders into a nice little zip file ready for you to transport anywhere you like. I have a Hazel rule that runs which checks for the presence of this .zip file in my Holding Folder and creates copies on my NAS and OneDrive for Business folders. Yes, this may be overkill, but I'm not going to lost my data and that helps me sleep.

Verifying and Repairing

Databases get damaged over time. It's going to happen. The most common inconsistencies I receive are when I index an external folder - sometimes I will receive errors, saying that files are missing. These errors can be repaired (not always, but most of the time) by going to Tools -> Verify and Repair. DEVONthink will then check the consistency of the database and warn you of any errors, as well as letting you know the action that has been taken where appropriate.

Rebuild Database

Sometimes, the errors that appear above can't be repaired via the Verify and Repair tool. One of the options you have is to go to Tools -> Rebuild Database. Here, DEVONthink will export all of your files and group and re-import them into a new database. It sounds like a lengthy task but I've never had a database rebuild take longer than a minute and, invariably, it solves any problem I had.

Restore Backup

You can, of course, restore manually form one of the backups defined earlier. Go to Tools -> Restore Backup and choose from one of the point-in-time backup slots available. (Please note - if you elect to Rebuild Database, a backup will be created automatically. That is why I have 4 restore options available in the screenshot below.

Thanks for reading. My next post will be the last in the DEVONthink series and will look at the different Preferences settings that can be applied.

DEVONthink Part 4 - Duplicates, Replicants and Bookmarks

So we move to one of my favourite topics - that of Duplicates and Replicants. Why is it one of my favourites? The answer to that is simple - because I didn't think I'd get the hang of them! In truth, they are simple to use as long as they are explained adequately - so let's go.

Duplicates

Duplicates are quite easy to describe really. When you right click on a file that you have in one of your databases and select Duplicate To, you have the option of choosing a location that will house a duplicate, or copy, of that particular file. These files are two completely separate entities and any changes you make in one, will not be replicated to the other.

Ah-ha, did you see that word there? You know, replicated? Well I'm sure you can now guess what a...

Replicant

....is. By right clicking, selecting Replicate To and then selecting a location, you will be creating a replicant of the current document. Or a pointer, if you will. You could have one file, being referenced, or replicated to several different locations.

I use replicants a lot, yet all for the same purpose and that is to ensure I have information on the move using DEVONthink To Go, which is the iOS companion application for DEVONthink. In order to have data appear on my mobile devices, I need to replicate data to my Mobile Sync folder in it's given database.

As you can see in the screenshots above, the Tutorial group has been replicated to the Mobile Sync group. If I make any modifications to this group then they will be replicated straight away in the Mobile Sync group. Tutorial 2 isn't replicated to this group so won't appear on my iOS device when I initiate Synchronisation.

All replicant instances are displayed in dark red, or display an icon to the right of them, dependant on your own preferences. I like to see the colour difference myself.

Bookmarks

I'm throwing an extra section in here for now as this is such as short post and that is bookmarks. If, as I do, you use DEVONthink to manage material related to individual projects, then you will find yourself collating a lot of material online. Now if the information is static, that is you know that the information is not liable to change, then it's nice and clean to save that web page using the Clip To DEVONthink web extension we touched on in an earlier post. If, however, the content is dynamic, such as a news feed or forum, then it's a better idea to keep a bookmark. Simply right click on the group that you would like to house the bookmark and select New, Bookmark. You will be presented with a window that allows you to put in the specifics of the site you wish to bookmark.

When you click on the bookmark, the website will appear. The pane that it will be displayed in will differ according to your Display Preferences, which we cover in a later post.

So there we are. A short one on this occasion. Next time, we'll look at how to Search for data within DEVONthink. After all, what's the point of having all of these fancy methods of storing data if we can't grab it when we need it most!