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DEVONThink 2.5 brings database sync out of beta and more
DEVONThink, the productivity app for Mac that stores all your documents, PDFs, bookmarks and information in one easy-to-find place, has been updated to version 2.5. According to the Devonian Times, the update now officially supports database synchronization between "multiple computers and locations either directly or via Dropbox, WebDAV, file servers or just any mountable disk." The update also allows you to share databases with PC and Linux users through a web browser. Other notable features include smarter scanning of a stack of papers in a time-saving manner (first odd and then even, saving you from feeding each page individually), improved tagging and more standard editing tools. There's also a whole load of interface tweaks, too. Further details can be found at Devon Technologies Devonian Times. The update is recommended for all DEVONThink users. DEVONThink is available through the Mac App Store (US$49.99) or directly from Devon Technologies.
EasyFind is a free alternative to Spotlight
EasyFind is a free application that helps you find files and folders on your Mac. And yes, it's better than Spotlight. EasyFind is made by the folks at DEVONtechnologies who are well-known for developing powerful search software DEVONthink, DEVONagent Pro, and DEVONagent Express, which is to say that EasyFind is made by people who know a lot about search. Compare that to Spotlight, which was a marquee feature of OS X six years ago but never grew into something great. When you launch EasyFind, you will see several options and choices. Don't let years of Spotlight's simplistic UI overwhelm you; options and choices are a good thing. Take a minute to see what's available, and just start searching. Down the left-hand side of the window are criteria for searching: Files and Folders, Only Files, Only Folders, or File Contents. Next choose to search for All Words, Any Word, a Phrase, or Unix-Wildcards. You can also specify whether or not the search should be case sensitive, whether it should look in package contents, or include invisible files and folders. You can also set the scope of the search to be a specific volume/disk, or a specific folder such as your Home folder. 99% of my searches are for things I know are "somewhere" in my Home, or "somewhere" in my Dropbox. Spotlight only lets you choose "current folder" or "everything" which is almost never what I want. That's far more control and options than what Spotlight gives you (or at least what Spotlight gives you without resorting to byzantine keywords), but what I really love is what you get in the results of your search. Of course you get the filename (and you can expand that column to make it wider, I just made it narrow in the screenshot above), but you also get the creation date, the modification date, the size, the kind and location. If you don't want any of those columns, you can turn them off. If you want to change the order of those columns, or if you want to sort your results by any of those columns, you can do that too. EasyFind can search for the content of files, but it is not using Spotlight's database, it is actually running the search when you enter it. That means that it won't be as fast as Spotlight, but on my MacBook Air it is still very quick (the speed will be determined by the number of files you are searching plus the speed of the disk). I keep Spotlight around for those times when I need it, but in actual practice I rarely even do. In fact, I've reassigned my Spotlight Keyboard Shortcut to launch EasyFind instead. (Aside: I had even disabled Spotlight for awhile on my Mac, but there are many things which just don't work properly if Spotlight is completely disabled, so I ended up turning it back on and just ignoring it. YMMV.) You can download EasyFind from the Mac App Store or directly from DEVONtechnologies. If you download it directly, you can get a version which will work on Mac OS X 10.5 or higher (PowerPC or Intel), which is good news for folks running older versions of Mac OS X. Thanks to the folks at DEVONtechnologies for this cool app. Take a look at their other freeware apps too!
DEVONtechnologies offers four free Mac utility apps
Like anyone, we always appreciate free stuff. While it's important to be aware that sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you get more. Such is the case for a batch of Mac utilities from DEVONtechnologies. For anyone that makes a living sitting in front of a computer screen, little tools that help speed your way through various tasks are always welcome, and at least one of these apps might be just what you've been looking for. When you have a bunch of windows open for various tasks and you need a file or application, using Exposé to get to a Finder window is one approach, but you might find Xmenu to be a more efficient path. Xmenu adds a menu extra to the right side of the Apple menu bar that provides quick access to files and folders on your drive. If you're not sure where the item you want is located, EasyFind supplements Mac OS X's built-in Spotlight with the ability to search for hidden files, search inside packages, and even allows the use of Boolean operators to narrow searches. ThumbsUp enables batch operations on clusters of images to switch formats, resize, sharpen and more. It's not quite like creating a Photoshop action, but for some quick and dirty operations it will do. PhotoStickies is less productivity oriented, but it allows you create an automatic collage of images that you select from your drive. The sticky images can even include live webcam feeds that automatically update. You can grab all four utilities for free at DEVONtechnologies.
MacHeist offers free licenses for DEVONthink via Twitter promotion
MacHeist is calling it a "TweetBlast," we'll call it savvy marketing, but you'll probably just call it "free software, woo!" In an effort to pump up the number of Twitter followers for the MacHeist challenges & software bundle, the team is offering followers (who are willing to post a promotional message) a free license for DEVONthink. The software, normally $50US, allows you to store your files and personal data in lots of structured, tagged and classified ways -- Brett previewed the 2.0 beta in December. Getting your free copy is pretty straightforward; you'll have to follow the MacHeist Twitter account, and then as noted you're required to tweet a promo message for the TweetBlast itself; not sure whether that's 'recursive advertising,' a recession-buster special or plain ol' viral marketing, but free apps are free apps. When you get DEVONthink, you'll also get Hyperspaces and Overflow as well. Also, participants should know that the DEVONthink licenses are for the soon-to-be-obsoleted 1.x version of the app, but if you want to roll your copy forward to the upcoming 2.0 version you'll be able to do so for the upgrade price of $20. Full details are at the MacHeist website.
Beta Beat: DEVONnote/DEVONthink 2.0
It's certainly no secret that I'm a sucker for file and data organization programs, and have collected more than I use. Long ago, I received a copy of DEVONnote as part of a bundle, and have since upgraded to DEVONthink Pro. The program has long been intriguing to me -- auto-classification of files and advanced search relationships are great -- but various aspects of the app have kept me from really diving into it; a lack of pleasing aesthetics not being least on the list. You can call me superficial, but ... no, you'd be right. However, the public betas of DEVONthink 2.0 and DEVONnote 2.0 just came out, looking great and adding a bevy of useful new features. DEVON Technologies states that the 2.0 versions represent an almost complete rewrite of the database core. With improved search (including advanced Boolean and proximity operators), a universal inbox accessible from multiple databases (DEVONthink versions can have simultaneous databases open) and a complete revamp of the user interface (including Cover Flow and much-improved overall aesthetics), this beta is a huge step forward. For me, the most important change is the file storage method. The applications now use a bundle format and store files "as is" on the drive, accessible by external applications and recoverable if anything happens to the database. Add the support for file templates and a wide range of new filetypes (Word, OpenOffice, iWork, Skim ... ), and DEVONthink just became a whole lot more useful to me. Check out the release notes for DEVONnote and DEVONthink 2.0 for more details on the changes. The betas are available on their respective pages (DEVONnote | DEVONthink). Upgrade pricing is available for existing customers (customers who purchased DEVONnote or DEVONthink, or cross-graded after July 1st, 2008 are eligible for a free upgrade). DEVONthink comes in three flavors: Personal ($49.95US), Professional ($79.95US) and Professional Office ($149.95). DEVONnote, which is more or less a lightweight (but very useful) version of DEVONthink, is available for $24.95US.
DEVONthink gains Spotlight support
The guys over at DEVONtechnologies have announced updates for a number of their applications. Most importantly the entire line of DEVONthink information managing software (along with DEVONnote) now natively support Spotlight. They note that this allows you to search multiple DEVONthink Pro databases at once from Spotlight. In addition they've updated their line of freeware applications to be compatible with Leopard, including the handy menubar folder utility XMenu.[via MacMinute]
