Forum Posts Feed
Rediscovering FoxTrot Pro
< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >
Posted by MadaboutDana
Mar 7, 2019 at 08:32 AM
Okay, this is aimed exclusively at Mac users, because alas, FoxTrot is Mac-only. But it’s a little eulogy for this really very impressive program, which is the Mac’s answer to that most august and potent of all search engines, dtSearch.
I use DEVONthink Office Pro to manage a lot of documents I need to search very fast, and in such a way that results are instantly highlighted and instantly accessible. And on the whole, DEVONthink does a pretty good job. But recently, I’ve had to compile databases of especially large documents (including e.g. EU regulations in multiple languages), and have discovered a major flow in good ole’ DEVONthink: while it takes fractions of a second for DEVONthink to compile a list of documents containing (a) search term(s), it can take many seconds - and even minutes - for it to prepare a given document for viewing; i.e. so that you can skip from one highlighted search result to the next.
This has proved extremely frustrating. And then I remembered FoxTrot Pro, previously relegated (to my shame) to a very subsidiary role. I hastily extracted the many documents I had stored in the relevant DEVONthink databases, chucked them in suitable folders and created new indices in FoxTrot. Apart from extracting the documents, this was the work of a few minutes.
I then carried out experimental searches in FoxTrot to reassure myself that it wouldn’t have the same issues. To my pleasure, it doesn’t. In fact, everything works with mind-blowing speed. It also does a couple of things that DEVONthink doesn’t - it tells you precisely how many hits there are in a given document, and allows you to assemble complex search queries using a pleasantly intuitive rule-plus-rule dialog. It even provides a sidebar analysis of documents’ locations, file types, languages (yes, really) and authors.
I’m kicking myself for forgetting all about this invaluable resource, and shall be writing one of my Encouraging E-mails to the FoxTrot Pro developers - I fear this little jewel is in danger of being forgotten.
One of my abiding regrets is that there isn’t a web server version of FoxTrot Pro. I shall mention this lacune in my Encouraging E-mail and urge them to broaden their appeal to a global audience!
Cheers!
Bill
Posted by Paul Korm
Mar 7, 2019 at 11:00 AM
Bill,
You can set a database preference in DEVONthink to have DEVONthink make a Spotlight metadata index of the document in your database(s). This enables, and speeds, search with not only Spotlight, but Houdah Spot, FoxTrot, and whatever.
If you don’t want files stored inside a database, index them.
If your database is mis-performing, then use the “verify & repair” tool and then “rebuild” it. DEVONthink depends on a complex internal metadata store and concordance, and “rebuild” will update that afresh. Delays in showing the content of search results are not normal.
Posted by MadaboutDana
Mar 7, 2019 at 01:49 PM
Ah, thanks for that, Paul. I’ll take another look at my setup - could well be it needs optimising.
Posted by Dellu
Mar 7, 2019 at 07:28 PM
One of the indispensable features in Foxtrot is the proximity search. The proximity search in Devonthink is dismal. The developers don’t seem interested in improving it. I have been asking them for many years now.
- searching within the results
- great preview
- fast indexing
- supports all the file types that the QuickLook supports
My life depend on Foxtrot.
A little advise for people who are new to Foxtrot: please don’t buy FoxTrot personal. It it is totally useless because it doesn’t have the preview. It is waste of money.
“PDF search” (http://www.pdfsearchapp.com/) is much more functional than FoxTrot personal.
Posted by MadaboutDana
Mar 8, 2019 at 08:57 AM
DEVONthink Pro does have a great concordance function, it’s true. But having rediscovered FoxTrot Pro, I’m wondering why I allowed myself to forget it in the first place!