Mac law - Devonthink

[rocketman]

I had started a thread about OneNote but was directed towards Devonthink as an alternative and have since purchased it.

I wanted to make this thread specifically about its uses for law school as it is an extremely powerful tool and I want to utilize it to its full capacity.

In addition, discuss any other apps for Mac that you use in your workflow. Omnifocus has been a god-send which I highly recommend, but I haven't really found any practical use for Omnioutliner.

[CyLaw]

I also have DEVONthink, and plan on using it as a documents manager for school. I use Notebook (Circus Ponies) for notes, but over the next year I'll plan on posting any tips I have on using DEVONthink as a paperless office manager for law school, including keeping track of cases with it.

[rocketman]

Just curious:

1) any reason you use Circus Ponies for notetaking as opposed to just writing them in devonthink?
2) is there any use for devonthink's OCR capabilities? wondering if anyone scans in cases and then uses the search features, or would the effort for that not even be worthwhile....

thanks.

[CyLaw]

Just curious:

1) any reason you use Circus Ponies for notetaking as opposed to just writing them in devonthink?
2) is there any use for devonthink's OCR capabilities? wondering if anyone scans in cases and then uses the search features, or would the effort for that not even be worthwhile....

thanks.

1) I'm just use to Notebook. Thats all. Haven't really tried notetaking in DT as I have been happy with CP.

2) For me, yes. I scan all my mail and letters I receive from schools, and any documents or forms I am handed. I found DTPO (Devonthink Pro Office), to do a better job with OCR then Acrobat 9 Pro.

[rocketman]

Just curious:

1) any reason you use Circus Ponies for notetaking as opposed to just writing them in devonthink?
2) is there any use for devonthink's OCR capabilities? wondering if anyone scans in cases and then uses the search features, or would the effort for that not even be worthwhile....

thanks.

1) I'm just use to Notebook. Thats all. Haven't really tried notetaking in DT as I have been happy with CP.

2) For me, yes. I scan all my mail and letters I receive from schools, and any documents or forms I am handed. I found DTPO (Devonthink Pro Office), to do a better job with OCR then Acrobat 9 Pro.

Interesting, glad I bought it then. I didn't think anyone would take the time and effort to do that. So you would say it is worth the cost then to purchase a scanner? Do you just scan it and let it categorize on its own or do you then need to go in and tag it?

[CyLaw]

Interesting, glad I bought it then. I didn't think anyone would take the time and effort to do that. So you would say it is worth the cost then to purchase a scanner? Do you just scan it and let it categorize on its own or do you then need to go in and tag it?

I just got a multifunction printer with an automatic document feeder and scan using that. Right now I tag it and categorize it myself, as I don't think I have enough in there yet for the AI to really take over. I have noticed that as I added more documents, the AI's suggestions have gotten better though.

[rocketman]

This needs to be bumped. The fate of the universe rests solely on knowledge of the existence of Devonthink.

[rocketman]

Ok I realize how dumb this sounds, but do you use devonthink to actually take the notes, or do you take them in Word and then file them in Devonthink? The reason I ask is because there does not seem to be bullet points or similar formatting options within devonthink text files, leaving me to wonder how one would use it for note-taking....

[Duralex]

I brief cases, take notes and do everything else in DTPO.

You'll probably want to make your own note templates. I posted 'caps of mine in the regrettably named "Gunner Thread."

I have noticed that as I added more documents, the AI's suggestions have gotten better though.

Put PDFs of the cases in there, too. More grist for the AI mill and nice for "See Also...."

[Duralex]

And yes, having a scanner makes DT even more awesome. I've even de-bound and scanned a couple of supplements. The OCR was almost flawless (better than I expected, to be sure.)