Windows : Sidebar: Reading List

Sidebar: Reading List

With the seemingly perpetual growth of our databases, we often add more items than we can reasonably process at the moment. Similar to the sidebar section found in Safari (and many other browsers), DEVONthink's Reading List provides a place to access documents you've "set aside" for later consideration.

There are two views in this sidebar: All and Unread. The latter lists only unread items and purges items from the view as soon as they're viewed in the Reading List. The former lists every regardless if they've been viewed or not.

A simple way to set aside a document is via drag and drop when the sidebar is visible. If it's not open, you choose the Data > Add to > Reading List menu item. This command may also be available when Control-clicking items in other places, like the item list. Newly added items are displayed at the top of the list in the Unread view.

Items in the Reading List function like the items they're pointing to. This means they can be moved to other locations by dragging them to other locations. This includes duplicating or replicating while holding the ⌥ Option key or ⌥⌘, respectively.

Context Menu

The context menu displays these item-related commands:

Open in New Tab: Opens the clicked item in a new tab.
Open in New Window: Opens the clicked item in a new document window.
Mark as Read/Unread: Changes the read state of the clicked item.
Reveal Item: Reveals the item in its current location.
Move to Trash: Moves the item to the database's Trash. Emptying the Trash removes the file and its reference from the Reading List.
Copy: Copies the selected item(s).
Select/Deselect All: Selects all or none of the items, respectively.

There are also two commands specific to the Reading List, noting these items can't be undone:

Remove Item: Removes an item from the Reading List.
Clear All Items: Removes all Reading List items.

For those interested in automation, you can use the special item link x-devonthink-item://readinglist to open the Reading List.