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DEVONsphere Express Changelog

What's new in DEVONsphere Express 1.9.7

Mar 1, 2023
  • NEW:
  • Added Help > Frequently Asked Questions.
  • Improved:
  • Suggestions of related websites are now done more reliably.
  • Improved adding thumbnails to web search results.
  • Improved percent-escaping in links and URLs.
  • An open DEVONsphere Express window is now automatically closed if another window is opened or activated, e.g., when opening the Preferences or checking for updates.
  • The Welcome Assistant looks better and now loads directly from our server.
  • Updated the code for recording keyboard shortcuts. Note: This will require setting user-defined shortcuts again.
  • Better handling of automation requests made by macOS.
  • Improved performance, especially when running the trial version.
  • Fixed:
  • The search field could be in the wrong position when trying to resize a detached window. Fixed.
  • The alert and email in the case of outdated licenses wasn't correct. Fixed.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.9.6 (Jul 22, 2021)

  • This maintenance release adds support for searching the Apple Music application. DEVONsphere Express finds files from the popular Affinity Photo and Designer applications by name. We've also fixed issues and improved the results from web searching.
  • NEW:
  • Added support for the Music application on macOS Catalina and later.
  • Improved:
  • The filename of Affinity Photo and Affinity Design files is now indexed.
  • Improved and fixed the reliability of web searches.
  • Improved handling of automation and accessibility prompts on macOS Mojave and later. This includes adding found bookmarks to Safari's Reading List.
  • Fixed:
  • Items found in currently opened DEVONthink databases were opened in the default application, not DEVONthink. Fixed.
  • The currently selected result wasn't shown as highlighted on macOS Big Sur. Fixed.
  • Indexing DEVONagent's workspaces could fail. Fixed.
  • The subject line of bug reports from the App Store release wasn't correct. Fixed.
  • Removed:
  • Removed reference to "DEVONsphere Server" in the Similar Web Pages category.
  • Removed `.xd` from the list of plain text extensions as this is also used by binary Adobe XD files.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.9.5 (Dec 17, 2020)

  • NEW:
  • Added support for Apple Silicon Macs.
  • Added `.nim` files to the list of known plain text extensions.
  • Improved:
  • Cosmetic changes for macOS Big Sur.
  • An alert asks for full disk access before indexing on macOS Mojave and later, if necessary.
  • Opening found documents from the results list now submits the search string to the default application like a Spotlight search.
  • Images in Nisus Writer `.zrtf` files are now stripped before indexing the file as they're not supported by macOS' text engine.
  • Improved the reliability of indexing of third-party file formats requiring Spotlight metadata importers.
  • Related documents for aliases in the Finder linking indexed items are now supported.
  • Revised caching to provide faster and more reliable indexing of Finder comments.
  • The `~/Music/iTunes/Downloads` directory is now automatically excluded by default.
  • The default encoding of HTML files is now UTF-8 if no charset is specified.
  • Background tasks now support automatic graphics switching, potentially increasing the battery life on dual GPU MacBooks.
  • Sending bug reports via MailMate is now supported.
  • Improved overall performance and reliability.
  • Fixed:
  • The Quick Look preview of found DEVONthink items wasn't working. Fixed.
  • When many locations were added, Preferences > Locations couldn't be scrolled. Fixed.
  • Preferences > Locations, the dark mode appearance of the splash screen, and the text color of the search field showed display artifacts. Fixed.
  • The shortcut control and progress bar in Preferences > General weren't working properly. Fixed.
  • The welcome video of the Support Assistant didn't work anymore. Fixed.
  • Empty EPUB files could crash the background task. Fixed.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.9.3 (Jan 17, 2019)

  • NEW:
  • Added support for detecting the current web page in the Vivaldi and Brave web browsers in See Also.
  • Added support for indexing Open Packaging Format (.opf) files.
  • Improved:
  • Faster and more reliable indexing of contact files and text clippings.
  • Improved reliability and performance.
  • Fixed:
  • Fixed an issue with indexing document package files, like RTFD.
  • Fixed an issue with indexing internet location files (macOS Mojave).
  • Fixed an issue with indexing some file types that use Spotlight importers (macOS Mojave).
  • Fixed an issue where an alert was not displayed after entering an incorrect license code.
  • Fixed an issue where opening the License panel could stall the application when a network connection was not available or reliable.
  • Fixed a crash and incomplete display of the window when accessing the Preferences panel (macOS Mojave).
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New in DEVONsphere Express 1.9.2 (Nov 9, 2018)

  • Improved:
  • Improved indexing of EPUB books, Tinderbox files, and textclippings.
  • Improved support for file formats having no 64-bit Spotlight importer, like Microsoft Office files.
  • Preferences > Locations now displays the number of indexed items for added folders.
  • Improved VoiceOver support including Preferences > Locations, interface buttons, and the VoiceOver shortcut ⇧⌃⌥M in menus and context menus.
  • DEVONthink documents opened in external apps now show related documents as long as DEVONthink is running.
  • DEVONsphere Express uses a new service for generating web site thumbnails as as Thumbshots will shut down November 15, 2018.
  • Improved overall reliability, including greater compatibility with macOS Mojave.
  • Fixed:
  • Fixed some visual artifacts in the search field (macOS Mojave).
  • Fixed an issue where search terms would autocomplete incorrectly (macOS Mojave).
  • Fixed an issue where dragging search results to other apps would switch to Related mode.
  • Fixed an issue where the incorrect icon size was used when toggling icon previews.
  • Fixed an issue with automatically updating to the latest version.
  • Fixed a rare crash caused by memory management.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.9.1 (Apr 5, 2018)

  • This release contains many performance-related improvements, especially when indexing large numbers of documents. We have improved compatibility with Apple's AFPS filesystem, used in macOS High Sierra. Support for searching ePub files and finding related website has been enhanced, too, and indexing includes the text in PDF annotations and forms. And as always, we have made the application more reliable and use less resources.
  • NOTE: Starting with this version DEVONsphere Express requires macOS Yosemite or later.
  • NEW:
  • Added indexing of the text in PDF annotations and forms.
  • Added auto-completion of the last typed search term.
  • Added important information and logs to Help > Report Bug.
  • Improved:
  • Improved sorting results by date.
  • Improved returning related websites in the results.
  • Improved support for using the favicon of related websites.
  • Improved security by using SSL when searching via Google or Bing.
  • Improved creation and updating of the search index.
  • Improved indexing and searching of ePub files.
  • Improved support for character set encodings in HTML and XML.
  • Improved compatibility with Google Chrome's Bookmarks.
  • Improved compatibility to Apple's new AFPS filesystem used in macOS High Sierra.
  • Improved reliability and performance when indexing large numbers of documents.
  • Improved support for Postbox when using the Help > Report Bug function.
  • Improved logging, general performance, and reliability.
  • Fixed:
  • Fixed an issue with resource usage while loading the index.
  • Fixed an issue when some user interface artifacts were occasionally seen in macOS High Sierra.
  • Fixed a rare crash related to background processes.
  • Removed:
  • Removed the use of 32-bit processes for indexing. This only affects users on High Sierra (10.13.4 and later) indexing file formats that have no 64-bit Spotlight importer.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.9 (May 10, 2017)

  • This release adds support for new file formats as well as for DEVONthink Personal. The revised results list allows to quickly collapse and re-expand categories. An improved search finds terms in both title and content, and See Also supports source URLs and longer text selections. In addition, version 1.9 launches smoother and indexes e.g. Finder/Spotlight comments much faster.
  • Starting with this version DEVONsphere Express is 64-bit only and requires OS X Mavericks or later.
  • NEW:
  • Support for Adobe InDesign files.
  • Support for flat OmniOutliner 5 files.
  • Support for .fountain plain text files.
  • Support for .m3u8 playlists.
  • Improved:
  • Support added for DEVONthink Personal.
  • Revised results list; categories stay visible when scrolling and can be collapsed.
  • Revised search; finds terms distributed between title and content. This is closer to the behavior of Spotlight.
  • Improved See Also supports longer text selections and the source URLs of the current note in Evernote or of the selected result in DEVONagent Pro.
  • ↑Up and ↓Down arrow keys can be used to navigate the selection even if the search field has the focus.
  • Clearing recent searches resets the system-wide find pasteboard too.
  • Improved VoiceOver support.
  • Help > Contact sends an email via the default email client again.
  • Help > Report Bug provides more information.
  • Screenshots in the documentation updated to Retina resolution.
  • Improved support for latest versions of Apple Mail.
  • Initialization of index is delayed to make application launch smoother.
  • Much faster and more reliable reading of Finder/Spotlight comments.
  • More reliable filtering of links to search engines and of advertisements.
  • Improved indexing of Tinderbox documents.
  • Binary precompiled header files are no longer indexed.
  • Support added for App Transport Security of OS X El Capitan.
  • Improved compatibility to HTTP proxies.
  • More reliable handling of background tasks.
  • Improved checking for updates.
  • Improved console logging.
  • Improved overall reliability and performance.
  • Fixed:
  • Issue where files located in the Downloads folder and opened by sandboxed applications were not always supported by See Also.
  • Issue where opening the preferences for the first time could cause a delay.
  • Issue where proximity operators using wildcards, e.g., 'word1 NEAR word2*', didn't work correctly.
  • Issue where the about and launch panels could appear white.
  • Issue where the menu extra could appear in a wrong position if the menu bar is automatically hidden.
  • Issue where the text of .emlx email messages wasn't indexed on OS X El Capitan and Sierra.
  • Issues causing unnecessary console messages.
  • Issues related to memory management.
  • Issues related to moving DEVONsphere Express to the Applications folder, especially on macOS Sierra.
  • Issues related to the click handling of checkboxes in the Options panel.
  • Issues related to the relevancy slider and the search field on macOS Sierra.
  • Issues related to multi-threading.
  • Rare crash related to indexing Spotlight comments.
  • Rare crash related to the Preferences panel.
  • Removed:
  • Categories from the filter popover; the web search can be still enabled via the action menu or a keyboard shortcut.
  • OpenMeta support; only Finder tags are now used.
  • Support for DEVONthink 2.7.6 and older.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.8.4 (Jul 29, 2015)

  • NEW:
  • Textbundle files (.textbundle, .textpack) are indexed and searchable.
  • Improved:
  • Optimized also for OS X El Capitan.
  • HTML-to-text conversion.
  • UTF-32 support.
  • ↑Up and ↓Down keys can be used again to navigate the selection even if the Quick Look panel is the key window
  • Alignment of menu extra window in case of crowded menu bars.
  • Revised startup alert in case of invalid installation outside of the Applications folder.
  • Registration file is now stored in Aplication Support to avoid conflicts with preferences cleaners.
  • Reliability in case of damaged indexes.
  • Communication with background tasks; more reliable termination of tasks on quit.
  • Memory management.
  • Performance and overall reliability.
  • Fixed:
  • The last category in "Preferences > Categories" wasn't accessible.
  • .exe and .hlp files with a text HFS type were indexed as plain text.
  • Crash (caused by ShortcutRecorder framework) after changing the system appearance.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.8.3 (Apr 9, 2015)

  • NEW:
  • Support for .webhistory and .webbookmark bookmark files.
  • Support for history of Safari 8.x — can be searched again.
  • Support for .asciidoc, .xsd, and .wsdl files.
  • Support for .epub and .ibooks ebooks — no longer requires third-party Spotlight importers; makes only the text of ebooks without DRM searchable and uses the cover image, if available, in previews.
  • Alternate menu item Help > Report Bug — hold ⌥Option while the Help menu is open; creates a message in the default email client, if supported, or Apple Mail containing the console log and all related crash logs.
  • Retina splash screens.
  • Improved:
  • Compatibility to OS X Yosemite 10.10.2.
  • See Also algorithm — returns more precise results.
  • Progress indicator while indexing bookmarks, history, and contacts.
  • Indexing of bookmarks and history — handles invalid file contents more gracefully.
  • Indexing of plain and rich texts — handles invalid or unknown UTIs more gracefully.
  • Sorting — uses system-wide settings now.
  • HTML to plain text conversion.
  • Error logging to the console.
  • Performance and reliability — indexes files up to 10 percent faster.
  • Fixed:
  • Rare crashes of background task — memory management improvements work around issues of OS X.
  • Handling of .sdef files.
  • Minor bugs and glitches.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.8.2 (Dec 10, 2014)

  • Improved:
  • Retrieving of Finder comments optimized.
  • Reliability in case of invalid filenames or damaged filesystems.
  • Overall performance and reliability.
  • Fixed:
  • Automatic updating of index didn't always ignore hidden folders and their contents.
  • Damaged or incompatible Word documents could bloat the index. slow down indexing, and increase the memory and disk usage.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.8.1 (Nov 4, 2014)

  • This maintenance update fixes the issue that the revised license panel of version 1.8 didn't show up on OS X before Yosemite.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.8 (Oct 30, 2014)

  • NEW:
  • Finder and OpenMeta tags are now indexed and searchable.
  • .diag, .hang, and and .scap (Scapple) files are indexed and searchable.
  • Indexing of HTML pages and web archives supports Open Graph title and description properties.
  • Support for DEVONthink Pro 2.7.7 and later.
  • Improved:
  • Email messages (.emlx files) are indexed again on OS X Mavericks and later.
  • Much faster preprocessing of paths returned by filesystem events.
  • CPU usage of background tasks optimized for OS X Yosemite.
  • Loading of Spotlight metadata importer plugins faster, more reliable, and more compatible.
  • Highlighting of currently selected item uses different colors depending on the current keyboard focus.
  • Opening the panel to enter the license code also activates the application.
  • Better display of URLs.
  • Handling of bad certificates.
  • Overall reliability and performance.
  • Fixed:
  • Appearance of menu extra icon in OS X Yosemite's dark mode.
  • Visual glitch of selected results on OS X Yosemite.
  • Visual glitches of result previews.
  • Rare memory management issue.
  • Rare deadlock caused by communication with the background task.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.7 (May 22, 2014)

  • This update adds a new category for folders and supports OS X Mavericks Finder tags and comments. It now also indexes archived chats, gives you quick access to frequently used commands, and lets you easily show and hide the web search category.
  • NEW:
  • New category "Folders".
  • Support for OS X Mavericks Finder tags and comments.
  • Folder "~/Library/Messages/Archive" is automatically indexed if the "Messages & Chats" category is enabled.
  • Size of documents is displayed in preview pane.
  • Right- or ⌃Control-clicking the menu extra icon gives access to frequently used commands.
  • Command "Show/Hide Web Search" allows to quickly toggle the web search.
  • 64-bit support.
  • Improved:
  • Revised, slightly smaller index. The index has to be updated at least once after the update.
  • Faster indexing of HTML pages.
  • Faster creation of preview images.
  • Faster and more reliable Quick Look panel on OS X Mountain Lion and Mavericks.
  • Support for OpenMeta.
  • Dates are localized using the system-wide settings.
  • Security & Privacy preference pane is opened by Welcome Assistant on Mavericks instead of Universal Access preference pane.
  • Indexing, e.g. in case of documents with an invalid HFS type.
  • Handling of incompatible Spotlight metadata importer plugins while indexing.
  • Sparkle framework updated.
  • Reliability and performance.
  • Fixed:
  • .scptd, .workflow, .nib and .xib packages were not added to the index.
  • German and French localizations.
  • Removed:
  • Deprecated QuickTime framework.
  • NOTE: Indexing of Apple Mail messages (.emlx) is currently not working on OS X Mavericks due to an incompatibility of Apple's Spotlight metadata importer plugin.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.6.2 (Jul 25, 2013)

  • NEW:
  • It's now possible to drag files, email messages, URLs, or snippets onto the icon of the (closed) menu extra to find related items.
  • Option "Preferences > General > General > Keep in front" added to keep the detached panel always in front.
  • Improved:
  • Text of plain text files larger than 4 MB is no longer indexed as these files are often logs, tests, or DNA files that only bloat the index.
  • Support for Markdown files.
  • Stability and reliability.
  • Fixed:
  • Crash related to a bug in the Spotlight metadata import of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
  • Crash after updating an index containing files on unmounted volumes.
  • Minor issues in case that the user home directory is not located in "/Users".
  • Checking for updates on startup could freeze DEVONsphere Express, e.g. when the server was unresponsive.
  • Minor bugs and glitches.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.6.1 (Apr 23, 2013)

  • NEW:
  • Support for FoldingText files.
  • DEVONsphere Express automatically copies itself to the Applications folder if it's not installed in the right location
  • Compatibility to OS X 10.8's Contacts app.
  • Improved:
  • "Home" and "End" keys are supported by visible Quick Look panel without having to activate it via the mouse first.
  • Phone number is now displayed for contacts without an email address.
  • The folders "~/Library/Mail/Bundles", "~/Music/iTunes/Album Artwork" and "~/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications" are now automatically excluded.
  • Filtering of links to social bookmarking and to cached pages.
  • Support for thumbnails downloaded from thumbshots.com.
  • Retina graphics for preferences added.
  • Reliability of import of web browser bookmarks.
  • Reliability of handling of messages and chat logs.
  • Reliability of Services.
  • French localization.
  • Overall performance and reliability.
  • Fixed:
  • Files larger than 2 GB were not indexed.
  • Welcome Assistant didn't always work.
  • Crashes of background task.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.6 (Oct 2, 2012)

  • NEW:
  • Locations that are not always available, e.g. network servers, can be indexed.
  • Text in Quick Look panel is selectable and can be copied.
  • Folders can also be excluded via "Preferences > Locations."
  • Compatibility to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper.
  • Improved:
  • ⎋ key can be used to close the visible panel/menu.
  • "Page Up/Page Down" keys can be used to navigate inside a Quick Look panel without activating it first.
  • Retrieval of description of web results.
  • Application icon in Retina resolution.
  • Compatibility to Quick Look.
  • HTML and XML ecoding support.
  • French localization and localization issues in the "Welcome Assistant."
  • Memory management and overall performance.
  • Fixed:
  • Old SimpleText documents could crash the background task.
  • Trial didn't always search due to a license code handling issue.
  • Incompatibility to 32-bit Macs running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
  • Further minor and harmless issues.
  • Removed:
  • DEVONsphere Express no longer accesses the addressbook on Mac OS X 10.8 or in the App Store version.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.5 (May 30, 2012)

  • NEW:
  • DEVONsphere Express is also available from the DEVONtechnologies website and accepts receipts of versions purchased in the App Store.
  • Support for Messages (Beta).
  • Preferences option General > General > Search while typing (on by default).
  • Improved:
  • Support for iChat.
  • Web search.
  • Sorting by dates groups items without a date in the new category Undated.
  • Smoother opening as a launch item.
  • Action menu items Update See Also Automatically and Hide Menu Automatically removed as these options are accessible via buttons and the Preferences.
  • Fixed:
  • Some problematic third-party Spotlight mdimporter plugins are ignored.
  • Date of results was not always displayed.
  • Folder "~/Library/Mail Downloads" couldn't be indexed.
  • Search engines could return too many results in rare cases.
  • Not all results for items stored in DEVONthink Pro (Office) databases were listed.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.4 (Apr 6, 2012)

  • Maintenance update bringing an option to easily update the index manually, better Postbox support, and live updating for Office 2008 documents.
  • It also improves memory and CPU usage.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.3 (Mar 7, 2012)

  • NEW:
  • Contextual menu item to add files and bookmarks to DEVONthink Pro (Office).
  • Full support for Microsoft Entourage.
  • Document title, e.g. of PDF or rich text files, is shown in parenthesis if different from the filename.
  • Improved:
  • ".strings" files are listed in the Property Lists category.
  • Overall performance and reliabilty.
  • Fixed:
  • Adding the user's home folder to the locations didn't work.
  • Issue with indexing Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint documents.
  • Issue with indexing older DEVONagent Pro workspaces.
  • Minor issue with DEVONthink Pro (Office) support.
  • Further minor glitches.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.2 (Feb 29, 2012)

  • New:
  • Support for email messages dropped from Apple Mail.
  • Support for Markdown and Textfile files, TaskPaper documents, and .conf and .config files.
  • Support for Microsoft Entourage (enable the Messages & Contacts category).
  • The Desktop is indexed by default.
  • Categories in Preferences, Categories tab show the number of indexed items.
  • Tooltips show the path or URL of results.
  • French localization.
  • Improved:
  • Maximal and minimal memory requirements, overall memory management.
  • Compressed storage uses up to 60 percent less disk pace.
  • Better quality and quantity of See Also results.
  • Support for Microsoft Word, OpenOffice.org, and StarOffice text documents, OmniOutliner 3 files, and Mellel documents.
  • Support for items in or dropped from DEVONthink Pro (Office).
  • Automatic updating also updates the index on app startup.
  • Better progress indicator during indexing.
  • User interface.
  • "data:" URLs are no longer indexed as they could bloat the index and slow down the app.
  • Overall performance and reliability.
  • Fixed:
  • Automatic updating could cause system slowdowns.
  • Selection in icon/list views of DEVONthink Pro (Office) was not supported.
  • Text of items in DEVONthink Pro (Office) databases having Spotlight indexes was not indexed.
  • DEVONsphere Express' index is no longer backed up by Time Machine.
  • More minor bugs and visual glitches.

New in DEVONsphere Express 1.1 (Feb 16, 2012)

  • NEW:
  • Automatic updating of the index.
  • Contextual menu command Add to Safari's Reading List.
  • Google Chrome bookmarks and DEVONagent Pro workspaces are also indexed.
  • Creation and modification dates of contacts are used, e.g. for sorting.
  • Improved:
  • Scheduled and automatic updating of index only scan modified directories.
  • Search index is only rebuilt after adding, updating, or removing files in the storage.
  • Reduced memory usage.
  • Fixed:
  • Pressing the hotkey activates a detached panel instead of reattaching it to the menu.
  • Other minor issues.