How to Migrate from DEVONthink 2 to 4

Very soon, macOS will no longer support Intel Macs. Upgrading hardware is also a good impetus to upgrade DEVONthink. If you’re running the Pro or Pro Office editions of the 2.x line, here is the smoothest migration path to version 4.

At no point should you run any uninstaller application or try to manually uninstall DEVONthink 2 or 3 until instructed to below. Also, make sure you have the last release of version 2 installed: 2.11.3. If needed, you can download it and replace your current version from our legacy downloads.

These instructions are written so you can follow them without guesswork. It will go much faster than you imagine!

1. In the Finder, press ⇧⌘A to open the Applications directory. Leave this window open.
2. In your web browser, download the latest version of the 3.x line from our Legacy Downloads.
3. Unzip the archive, open the disk image, and install DEVONthink 3 into the Applications directory.
4. Launch DEVONthink 3 and quit it.
5. Back in the Applications directory, move the DEVONthink 3 and DEVONthink Pro / Pro Office applications to the trash.
6. In your web browser, download the latest version of 4.x from our Downloads.
7. Unzip, open the disk image, and install it in the Applications directory.
8. Launch and quit DEVONthink 4.
9. Restart your Mac.
10. After the machine has restarted, empty the trash.
11. Read the Getting Started > First and Last Steps section in the built-in Help and manual.

Your global inbox should be intact and open. Now just do a Spotlight search for kind:database name:dtBase2 and open your databases.

If you were running DEVONthink 2.x Personal, contact our customer support and we’ll help you with the transition.

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