How to manage Skim Notes within DevonThink?

Question

I see that there are a lot of posts about automated ways to get annotations and notes from Skim PDFs into DevonThink. However, it seems like there's no easy way to automate that, which is fine. I usually read and highlight a PDF all in one shot, so I don't mind just doing "Export Notes to Text" in Skim when I'm done going through a PDF.

Once I do that, what's the best way to manage Skim Notes?

1. What's the best way to manually import Skim Notes into DevonThink? Do I need to "Export Notes as Text" first?
2. Is there a way to connect the Skim Notes text file with the corresponding PDF that I also have in my DevonThink database?
3. I'd like to use the auto See Also/Classify thing with the Skim Notes only, as a way for DevonThink to tell me what PDFs are related, but I want DevonThink to do that using ONLY my highlights (i.e. the parts of the PDF I deemed to be most important). What's the best way to do this?

Answer 1

In Skim preferences, select "Automatically save Skim notes backups." This will ensure that a .skim file is saved next to the PDF. Now, index the PDF & its .skim companion in DevonThink. Select the .skim file and DevonThink will show its contents, i.e. the annotations alone without the PDF.

Use the "see also" feature in DevonThink on this .skim file.