DEVONthink 4 is an incredibly powerful information-management app that can function as anything from a simple snippet keeper and note-taker through a massive database for a complex research project. It has a wealth of document processing, organization, and searching tools that go far beyond the Mac’s Finder, and it can create many types of documents from scratch as well as importing data in numerous ways. All these features give you unprecedented control over your data. They also mean DEVONthink is a lot to wrap your head around!
This book—created in partnership with DEVONtechnologies—helps you get started with DEVONthink by acquainting you with not only its interface and major features but also its philosophy. You’ll learn how to approach the tasks you may want to accomplish, which features might serve you best (and which you might want to ignore), and how to develop a workflow that makes sense given your needs and preferences.
You’ll also learn how to extend your DEVONthink experience beyond your main Mac with detailed coverage of the many ways you can sync DEVONthink databases to other Macs, and to iPhones and iPads using the DEVONthink To Go app.
The book covers newly added DEVONthink 4 features, such as versioning, revision-proof databases, PDF bookmarking, and (optionally in the Pro and Server versions) extensive support for generative AI, plus user interface changes (including significantly reworked inspectors).
After covering essential DEVONthink vocabulary and concepts, Joe helps you start using DEVONthink effectively. You’ll learn how to:
- Decide how many databases you need and set them up
- Determine whether to input or index data
- Import data from many different apps
- Import data from a scanner, including OCR options
- Use grouping and tagging to organize data
- Add and work with DEVONthink 4’s extensive metadata capabilities
- Use simple (and sophisticated) techniques for searching
- Create smart groups that automatically gather newly imported data
- Use smart rules and AppleScript or JavaScript to automate countless activities within DEVONthink
- Create documents in plain text, HTML, Markdown, and more
- Edit documents in DEVONthink (or externally)
- Find the best way to sync DEVONthink data with other devices
- Work with reminders, smart templates, and other sophisticated tools
- Convert documents between formats
- Chat with your documents using your favorite large language model (LLM)
- Effectively use the DEVONthink To Go iPhone/iPad app
- Share DEVONthink documents with other people
- Export documents from DEVONthink
- Back up and maintain healthy databases
Questions answered in the book include:
- What is DEVONthink good for, and what should be left to other apps?
- What kinds of data can I import? (Short answer: Nearly everything!)
- How can I display my data in a way that works well for me?
- When I import documents from different sources, where do they end up, and why?
- Is it better to sort imported documents right away, or leave them for later?
- Should I group my data, tag it, or both?
- What are duplicates and replicants, and how can I tell them apart?
- Which types of data can be created or edited within DEVONthink?
- How do I make my DEVONthink database accessible via the web using DEVONthink Server?
- How do I move documents out of DEVONthink using the Share feature?
- How do I use DEVONthink To Go on my iPhone/iPad?
- How excited/skeptical should I be about these new AI features?
Joe Kissell is the author of more than 75 books about technology. In 2017, he also became the publisher of Take Control Books, when alt concepts—the company he runs with his wife, Morgen Jahnke—acquired the Take Control imprint from TidBITS Publishing Inc.’s owners, Adam and Tonya Engst. Before he began writing full-time in 2003, Joe managed software development, a totally normal profession for someone with degrees in philosophy and linguistics.
In his rare non-work hours, Joe likes to walk, cook, read, and teach tai chi. He lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, with Morgen and their sons. You can follow him on Mastodon (@joekissell) or Bluesky (@joekissell.com), or visit his personal website, JoeKissell.com.
What’s New in Version 1.4
Version 1.4 is the fourth quarterly update, now with coverage up to DEVONthink 4.3.2 Herschel and DEVONthink To Go 4.1.3 Lagrange. Changes in this include:
- Mentions of the new MCP (Model Context Protocol) server in the Pro and Server versions of DEVONthink; see “Info Inspector,” “Configure Database Properties,” and especially “Configure AI Settings”
- Instructions for adding DEVONthink widgets to your Mac desktop (see “Widgets”) and your iPhone/iPad Home Screen (see “Use Home Screen Widgets”)
- How to use Apple Intelligence as an AI engine in DEVONthink and specify where AI can search; see “Configure AI Settings”
- New features and settings in DEVONthink To Go, such as RSS feeds; see “Set Sync Options” and “Configure DEVONthink To Go Settings”
What Was New in Version 1.3
Version 1.3 was the third quarterly update, bringing the book up to date with DEVONthink 4.2.2 Cassini and DEVONthink To Go 4.0.6. Aside from some minor wording changes (for example, to match renamed or relocated commands), here’s what else was new in that version:
- Replaced most of the screenshots to reflect the Liquid Glass interface DEVONthink adopted (for Tahoe and later only) in version 4.2
- Mentioned the new floating popover for the Graph inspector; see “Built-In AI and AI Inspector”
- Added a tip about the new spring-loaded Navigate sidebar; see “Navigate Sidebar”
- In “Sheet,” mentioned that when you create a sheet, you can now name that sheet
- Explained where to find new settings for customizing AI search; see “Perform an AI Search”
- Added a tip in “Use Reminders” about exporting DEVONthink’s reminders to Apple’s Reminders app
What Was New in Version 1.2
Version 1.2 was the second quarterly update, bringing the book up to date with DEVONthink 4.1.1 Europa and, most importantly, DEVONthink To Go 4.0.3 Kepler, which involved rewriting much of the chapter “Use DEVONthink To Go.”
What Was New in Version 1.1
Version 1.1 was the first quarterly update to this book, bringing it up to date with DEVONthink 4.1 Europa. Along with numerous small tweaks, significant changes included:
- Added a note in “Configure Database Properties” about DEVONthink’s new Quick Look plugin
- Changed the text in “Use Revision-Proof Databases” (and elsewhere) to reflect the new terminology for what was previously called audit-proof databases
- Updated “Use AI Image Generation” to cover the new editing capability for both AI-generated and user-supplied graphics
- Revised “Writing Your Own Scripts” to describe DEVONthink’s new built-in script editor
- Added a note in “Use DEVONthink To Go” about the beta version of DEVONthink To Go 4
What’s New in This Book
DEVONthink has undergone massive changes in version 4; I’ve made comparable changes to this book, which is a major revision of Take Control of DEVONthink 3. (That edition was based on an earlier book, Take Control of Getting Started with DEVONthink 2, first published way back in 2010.)
It is infeasible to list each of the many hundreds of changes in DEVONthink itself or in this book. However, I do want to call your attention to a few of the biggest new features and where I cover them:
- DEVONthink (particularly Pro and Server) now supports additional types of artificial intelligence across a wide range of features. See, in particular, “About DEVONthink and AI”; “Learn About Text in Graphics, PDFs, Audio, and Video”; and “Use Generative AI Features.”
- The Inspectors have been massively revised and rearranged, and a new AI Inspector, Chat Inspector, and Versions Inspector have been added.
- Revision-proof databases lock down your data so it’ll pass an audit; see “Use Revision-Proof Databases.”
- DEVONthink can now save older versions of documents as you modify them; see “Use Versioning.”
- In PDF documents, you can add your bookmarks; see “Add or Edit a Table of Contents.”
Posted by Joe Kissell on August 9, 2025
Joe Kissell joined host Chuck Joiner on MacVoices to talk about Take Control of DEVONthink 4.
In part one, Joe covers several of the major new features in DEVONthink 4, as well as its new licensing scheme.
In part two, Joe describes smaller interface changes, such as the new inspectors, as well as DEVONthink 4’s new AI features.
We plan to update this book approximately once per quarter to keep up with ongoing changes in DEVONthink 4.
sean_mcnamaras.id.au (verified owner) –
I’m only half way through this book – if it wasn’t free and I bought DEVONthink 4.0, I’d pay for this book.
After only getting half way through this book and being three days into my DEVONthink trial, this book convinced me to buy DEVONthink, and not because it is an ad for the program, but because it so clearly demonstrates the features and benefits of the app a user can expect.
Joe’s style is clear, detailed enough for the book to act like a manual (in conjunction with DEVONtechnologies’ own excellent manual), and hits what I think it the perfect tone of looking at the app from the new user’s perspective.
No presumption you’re updating from prior versions, just hit the ground running and build knowledge up from the basics through a very solid core.
The book is littered with screenshots, crosslinks, tips, and lots of details on the minutia of DEVONtechnologies’ file and information storage and organisation powerhouse.
Thanks Joe!