DEVONthink 2.0 Beta 8 Released

DEVONtechnologies has released the eighth and supposedly last public beta of version 2.0 of all editions of its information manager DEVONthink as well as of the smart note-keeper DEVONnote. The new release brings a polished appearance, a heavily revised column view, a much simplified installation, lots of additional and revised smart templates as well as, finally, tagging including support for OpenMeta.

Highlights in version 2.0 public beta 8
* Polished appearance
* Simplified installation
* New column view, enhanced tabs
* Smart tagging including support for OpenMeta
* Lots of new and revised smart templates
* Download manager
* Preparations for synchronization and iPhone client
* Internal improvements


The changes in detail


Many aspects of the user interface have been overhauled, from simple changes to an improved handling of states and a completely revamped column view. The new column view features a view/edit pane and so works similar to the music browser in iTunes. Tabs scroll automatically into position and are scriptable (in DEVONthink Pro and up). In addition a simple take note function has been added to DEVONthink Pro and Pro Office. The installation has been simplified tremendously, the applications and templates simply install themselves automatically if necessary.

"Now that DEVONthink and DEVONnote 2.0 are almost feature-complete we're beginning to make them easier to use, polish rough edges, fine tune the workflow. By automatically installing themselves and updating all components, if necessary, DEVONthink and DEVONnote reduce installation problems to nearly zero," comments Eric Bohnisch-Volkmann, President of DEVONtechnologies.

Smart tagging combines the group and tag concepts in a most innovative way, making both ways to organize documents interchangeable. Tags can be manually entered almost everywhere, converted from comments, or are added automatically, e.g. from RSS feeds. DEVONnote and DEVONthink support OpenMeta for importing and exporting tag information. A tag view shows the whole database from a tag perspective. The tag view is still incomplete and will change substantially until the final release.

Version 2.0 public beta 8 also brings lots of new additional and revised smart templates, both with and without scripting (smart templates without scripting are now also available in DEVONthink Personal). It is now easily possible to annotate any document using smart templates as well as research on PubMed and have the results added to the database fully automatically. New reminder scripts for DEVONthink Pro add selected documents as tasks to iCal, OmniFocus, Things, or The Hit List.


"Our innovative approach to tagging, the large number of easy-to-use smart templates, the ability to add any document with a reminder to the major task managers as well as the upcoming synchronization functions and the iPhone client again cement DEVONthink's position as the number 1 information and document manager on the Mac," so Eric Bohnisch-Volkmann, President of DEVONtechnologies.

Internally DEVONthink 2.0 public beta 8 brings many changes for the upcoming iPhone client as well as MobileMe, WebDAV, and LAN/WLAN based synchronization. While the iPhone client will enable users to transfer selected parts of databases to their iPhone, view and search them on-the-go, and add new documents, the synchronization module will make it possible to reliably synchronize databases between local Macs or, using MobileMe or any other WebDAV server, between any Mac with an Internet connection. The synchronization module is currently in the works, the iPhone client in alpha testing and expected to be released in Q1/2010.

Finally, this public beta brings the Download Manager in DEVONthink Pro back to life and allows, again, downloading to databases. Media playback is optimized for QuickTime X on Mac OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard', and web pages can be zoomed using Safari-4-style zooming. DEVONthink Personal add a PDF Service so that documents can be 'printed' as PDFs directly to the database.


More about DEVONthink 2.0 and DEVONnote 2.0

The version 2.0 upgrade addresses a large number of feature requests from the active user community and modernizes almost every aspect of the applications. These public betas are still incomplete but the already existing functionality is stable enough for sharing with the public. For the final release the new, yet incomplete tag view will to be revised and the user user interface will receive some more polishing.

New features of version 2.0 include but are not limited to: the ability to open multiple databases simultaneously (DEVONthink Pro), all advanced Boolean and proximity operators (as known from DEVONagent), wildcards and unlimited complex search terms, smart groups, unlimited undo/redo, an inbox, a trash can, and the support for almost all common file formats. The new Finder-like sidebar facilitates working with multiple databases.

DEVONthink 2.0 imports and displays Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), OpenOffice and iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) files as well as Skim PDF packages and all other files that support or are supported by Mac OS X 10.5's QuickLook. Using Spotlight importers and plugins for indexing DEVONthink can also search files that it cannot display due to the lack of QuickLook support (Spotlight does not need to be active). Metadata, e.g. from PDF files, email messages, or Office documents is imported, indexed, displayed, and can be selectively searched, e.g. using smart groups.

DEVONthink 2.0 allows to create documents from templates and DEVONthink Pro Office 2.0 shares databases with other users on the local network or over the Internet via an interactive web interface based on the latest web technologies. RSS, RDF and Atom news feeds can be added as self-updating groups to any DEVONthink Pro database and so integrate live content with local documents. The independent 'Sorter' panel lets the user add data to your databases even when DEVONthink Pro is not open. Tabbed browsing and editing as well as Cover Flow simplifies working with large numbers of documents. A PDF sidebar allows rearranging and deleting pages.

The new database engine incorporated into DEVONthink 2.0 not only speeds up working with large databases but also stores all files in their original file format, e.g. Microsoft Word files and email messages. Files are no longer converted when imported and can be edited using external applications. In addition, all documents can be accessed from outside DEVONthink using a standard URL. This highly improves workflow integration with third-party solutions such as iCal, OmniFocus Daylite, Bookends, or Endnote.

DEVONthink Personal 2.0 and DEVONnote 2.0 inherit the three pane view formerly exclusive to the Pro editions as well as separate document windows and the full screen mode. In addition DEVONthink Personal is no longer limited to 10,000 images.

Availability and Pricing:
The public beta releases of DEVONthink Pro and Pro Office 2.0, DEVONthink Personal 2.0, and DEVONnote 2.0 require Mac OS X 10.5 or later and can be downloaded from DEVONtechnologies online. DEVONthink and DEVONnote can be test-driven for free for 150 hours of non-continuous runtime until they need to be properly licensed. The public beta releases run without registration until February 28, 2010, before they need to be replaced by new betas or the final 2.0 releases.

DEVONthink Professional Office sells for $149.95 (USD), DEVONthink Professional for $79.95, DEVONthink Personal for $49.95, and DEVONnote for $24.95 in DEVONtechnologies' online shop. DEVONthink Pro Office and DEVONthink Pro are also available with the Internet research agent DEVONagent as bundles. Users who purchased DEVONthink Personal, Pro, Pro Office or DEVONnote 1.x on or after July 1, 2008, are eligible for free upgrades. Users who have purchased before the grace period will be able to upgrade for attractive upgrade prices available on the DEVONtechnologies website.


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