What programs do people use for cataloging?

[BigTransformerTrev]

I was wondering what programs people use on their computers for cataloging their collections? Having never used Excel, for years I've just been using the old 'chuck a table into Microsoft word' technique. The only problem now is that it is now up to 46 pages and Primus knows how many subcatagories.

Can anyone suggest a better program to use (I'm sure there is many) as I want to transfer/cut&paste the info on my 1300 into something a lot easier and accessible. If I count targetmaster partners and individual kreons in the overall amount of figures I got in my POL from BBTS I've got 50 new entries to do and it's taking forever and seeming like an onerous way to do it.

Any screen shots and/or info on how you break your collections into sub catagories would also be welcome as I'm sure there is a better way then how I am doing currently doing it :)

[Paulbot]

It's funny, but your mention of cataloging last night actually made me open up my long neglected spreadsheet and get started try to get it up to date with recent purchases and sales.

I use Excel (and previously the OpenOffice equivalent), mostly so I can sort and the auto complete tool and fill down options are useful too.

I have pretty basic categories:

Name, Series, Size/subgroup, Allegiance, Date acquired, Price, Purchased from, Notes
examples:

Blight, Beast Hunters, Legion, Predacon, 17/08/13, $7, Woolworths Parkmore,
Metroplex, Generations, Titan, Autobot, 16/08/13, $???, Amazon.com
Ratchet, Generation 1, Autobot cars, Autobot, 25/12/86, N/A, Christmas present

In the subgroup field I use G1/2 group names but from Beast Wars on it's mostly size class with occasionally a mix of both (Eg Scout Aerialbot for some Energon toys). Notes is where I'd add variants, multipack details, Nebulon partners (or any similar that I don't count separately) etc. Pricing, dates and purchase spots are the most often missing unless I update right away, but I'm not good at that.

A proper Database would be better, for all it's lookup and cross referencing possibilities, but unless you're good at databases they can be a pain to set up.

Speaking of databases though, I think Jaydisc's ITFB.com site is still active but I've not looked at it either in a long while. Pre-filled descriptions for the most part, just point and click. Adding 1300 could be a chore though.

If you were copying Word to Excel, (or OpenOffice equivalents) it should be pretty straight forward. Each of your new lines in Word would be a new row in Excel. And there's some text to columns features that could space everything out in a bit of an ordered fashion. That'd be the easy part really (well for me anyway - I can play Excel much more than I can play Access).

[GoktimusPrime]

I use excel. My columns/fields are:
+ Total collection count
+ Series (e.g. G1 1984, Transformers Prime etc.)
+ Toy name
+ Function
+ Sub Group/Class
+ Notes -- this is where I may mention what peripheral figures are included, e.g. Nebulans, Action Master Partners, if it's exclusive or whatever doesn't fit in other fields
+ Condition
+ Series count; so this will let me instantly know how many say Beast Machines Transformers I have.

I find the Excel formula useful as it automatically updates counts as I add new toys, all I have to do is copy-paste the formula from the cell above.

[Megatron]

Yep, Excel here, too - a very versatile and powerful program that is well worth learning. It is extermely useful for cataloguing your collection, no matter how large or complex it is, as well as for a million other applications.

[Bartrim]

I use a shelf and my eyes... But then again I only have a couple of hundred TF's:o

[Ravagecat]

I was wondering what programs people use on their computers for cataloging their collections? Having never used Excel, for years I've just been using the old 'chuck a table into Microsoft word' technique. The only problem now is that it is now up to 46 pages and Primus knows how many subcatagories.

Can anyone suggest a better program to use (I'm sure there is many) as I want to transfer/cut&paste the info on my 1300 into something a lot easier and accessible. If I count targetmaster partners and individual kreons in the overall amount of figures I got in my POL from BBTS I've got 50 new entries to do and it's taking forever and seeming like an onerous way to do it.

Any screen shots and/or info on how you break your collections into sub catagories would also be welcome as I'm sure there is a better way then how I am doing currently doing it :)

I have been wanting to catalog my collection for some time now and have tried various applications without much confidence or satisfaction (found some that are meant for home contents etc). However just trawling the boards here I noticed some members with shmax.com signatures and was intrigued by the info displayed about the members collections. I am a complete novice at this site having only just signed up myself but might be worth looking into as after adding transformers you own to your profile you have the ability to download the info to an excel sheet compiled automatically (with the click of a button) with menu's and columns showing different info about the toys in your collection. I'm thinking about using the download as a basis for my catalog then adding some more columns as needed.

See pics:

Goto shmax.com and create an account. Once signed in follow the steps on the pic to add bots to your collection.

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p498/ravagecat/shmax1_zps08c2e4ab.jpg (http://s1152.photobucket.com/user/ravagecat/media/shmax1_zps08c2e4ab.jpg.html)

After clicking the add to collection it automatically assumes that the item is sealed in box but click the blue bar and it allows you to edit the item with exactly what you have. You can even click add to collection twice if you have a boxed and loose version of a toy

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p498/ravagecat/shmax2_zps8758453f.jpg (http://s1152.photobucket.com/user/ravagecat/media/shmax2_zps8758453f.jpg.html)

Once you have entered all your bots (or even if you just want to test out what the download looks like) click your username (top right) and choose download collection.

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p498/ravagecat/shmax3_zps2319bb20.jpg (http://s1152.photobucket.com/user/ravagecat/media/shmax3_zps2319bb20.jpg.html)

Here's a pic of the exel sheet that the website downloads. I have only added my action masters and a few others but you get the idea

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p498/ravagecat/shmax4_zpse6338df7.jpg (http://s1152.photobucket.com/user/ravagecat/media/shmax4_zpse6338df7.jpg.html)

Hope this helps some people :cool:

[Sinnertwin]

I've always wanted to invest some time on Shmax. Thanks to your step-by-step, RC, :cool: i just might

[Paulbot]

Why not try local first? With iTFdb.com you get friendly local support from a fellow board member.

[1orion2many]

Why not try local first? With iTFdb.com you get friendly local support from a fellow board member.

It's been so long since I have been on the site i have forgotten my log on details:o

[BigTransformerTrev]

Cheers everyone! Ozformers turns out to be mega helpful as always! :D

By the looks of it, the easiest for me at this point is to transfer everything over from Microsoft word tables into a Microsoft excel spreadsheet so will go with that for now. Does everyone give every category its own page (example, G1 Autobots get their own page, Animated Decepticons, Armada Mini-Cons etc) or combine multiple lists on one page (all the G2 stuff on one page, all the Cybertron etc)? Thinking will give everything it's own page, even if that means I end up with 40 separate pages.

Not sure I've got the time to tackle Shmax - but damn does it look cool! :cool:

[DELTAprime]

I'm on the Mac so I use Numbers. I've never been any good at figuring out spreadsheet programs so if anyone knows how to get cool looking graphs out of the data I'm all ears.

The categorise I use are
Year/Company/Line, Class, ID Number, Toy Name, Characters per package, Sets in collection, Retail price, Total retail price, Package condition, Figure condition, Current Price, Notes.

I update the current price once a year and use the best realistic price from eBay , RK or BBTS.

[Paulbot]

I keep everything in one sheet sorted put purchase order. That way when I'm adding new toys in bulk (like now when I've not updated the sheet in over a year) I just do it at the bottom of the sheet rather than skip between different lists.

Then when I want to see all my Animated toys (for example) I use Sorts (and sometimes filters) to list them altogether by series. And the extra fields means I can then sort by allegiance then name or size class or any particular combination. Works fine.

And then you can sort back by purchased date when you're done and still know which you was your 1337 acquisition for example. Or keep them sorted by series after you've added new toys. Year of release can help with that and keep Energon before Cybertron etc.

When I sell stuff I move it to a separate list though.

[M-bot]

I've got a Mac too. Does anyone know if Shmax downloads a compatible spreadsheet? Or will I have to convert it from Excel format myself?

[lancalot]

Was mucking around with Shmax.com ... very easy to use...thanks RC
I like it much easier when clicking add to my collection then typing a list out from scratch.

[Ravagecat]

I've got a Mac too. Does anyone know if Shmax downloads a compatible spreadsheet? Or will I have to convert it from Excel format myself?

it downloads it as an .xls so you will need MS excel or the Apple Numbers application(the iwork 09 version of numbers will not open the file generated from shmax :( ) to view it...oh and I'm sure open office (free) http://www.openoffice.org/porting/mac/ will work too. :cool: (tested with latest version 4 - works :D )

[GoktimusPrime]

I've never been any good at figuring out spreadsheet programs so if anyone knows how to get cool looking graphs out of the data I'm all ears.
Excel has a Graphs Wizard tool that easily allows you to convert stuff into bar graphs, pie graphs etc. - you can make them 2D or 3D. Believe me, if I can work it out, anyone can. ;) :p

[Jetfire in the sky]

I just use the program between my ears to remember what I have and the conditions they are in. Sometimes the two things in the front of my head need to look at stuff to confirm what the other thing thinks is there :p :D ;)

[Sharky]

is it wrong to not catalogue my transformers??

[Paulbot]

is it wrong to not catalogue my transformers??

Asks the person whose signature block has a catalogue of their Transformers? :p

[Sharky]

Asks the person whose signature block has a catalogue of their Transformers? :p

hehe

i can tell you that i have hardley touched the surface with that Shmax thing, i started it and it became a tedious process and i gave up. Every 12 months i might get excited and add 5 figures and get annoyed at it, My Shmax thingy is verrrry far from accurate or up to date :p

[Sinnertwin]

I tried Shmax out. Easy enough for somebody who is technologically challenged as i am, but the tedious entry after entry... I suppose starting from scratch isnt going to be easy :p

[DELTAprime]

I might give shmax a go, since I have everything already cataloged it should be easy enough to re-enter everything into shmax. I just hope I don't get half way through and find they don't have something in my collection.

[UltraMarginal]

is it wrong to not catalogue my transformers??


Asks the person whose signature block has a catalogue of their Transformers? :p

Took the words right out of my fingures.:D



I might give shmax a go, since I have everything already cataloged it should be easy enough to re-enter everything into shmax. I just hope I don't get half way through and find they don't have something in my collection.

surely if they didn't you could add it yourself or get them to include it?


I've never seriously tried to catalogue my transformers, and i don't think I ever will now, the collection count has got to be over 1000. I have too many other things to do with my time like opening more... :o:D

If I were going to catalogue, an online solution like schmax is a very attractive alternative, though I think I'd learn a Database program and manage it from home myself, that would allow inclusion of photos and my own fields/labelling.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I've never seriously tried to catalogue my transformers, and i don't think I ever will now, the collection count has got to be over 1000. I have too many other things to do with my time like opening more... :o:D

If I were going to catalogue, an online solution like schmax is a very attractive alternative, though I think I'd learn a Database program and manage it from home myself, that would allow inclusion of photos and my own fields/labelling.


Heh - well said UM :D


I'm plowing through putting all mine into Excel at the moment, finding it to be much better that what I had previously. The good thing with something like schmax is that as its online its accessible anywhere and cant be destroyed. That's why periodically I email my catalog lists to myself, and am trying to keep a photographic record of my latest figures in albums on facebook. I'd like to get a photographic record of all my older figures but have only gotten through maybe a couple of hundred. Will get around to it when I build my Transformatorim shed and they are finally all easily accessible again.

[Paulbot]

i can tell you that i have hardley touched the surface with that Shmax thing, i started it and it became a tedious process and i gave up. Every 12 months i might get excited and add 5 figures and get annoyed at it, My Shmax thingy is verrrry far from accurate or up to date :p

I have my spreadsheet but didn't update it for 18 months or so, because it's the last thing I think about either. But being able to look a list is a nice to have, particularly as I have no TFs on display.


I might give shmax a go, since I have everything already cataloged it should be easy enough to re-enter everything into shmax. I just hope I don't get half way through and find they don't have something in my collection.

Try http://iTFDB.com first is my recommendation. View 100 items from a series on screen at a time, click the ones you own. Save and you're done. Much easier than Shmax in my opinion.


If I were going to catalogue, an online solution like schmax is a very attractive alternative, though I think I'd learn a Database program and manage it from home myself, that would allow inclusion of photos and my own fields/labelling.

I agree, a proper database solution is ideal, rather than using a Spreadsheet as a pseudo-database. Depends how much you really want to know about your collection, and how you might want to filter/sort/refine and cross reference.

[jaydisc]

Thanks for the mention, Paulbot!

Hey all, I made iTFDB a few years ago, but alas, have been a bit slack in maintaining it, although, the entire purpose was that it be self-maintaining. I guess what I mean is that I haven't been updating it with new features, but I still use it nearly every day for my own collection, and I find it invaluable for managing what I'm selling or have sold as well, so you might too.

I built iTFDB due to a similar discussion that started here years ago. Like many of you, I used a spreadsheet to maintain my collection, and I started to think how silly it was, for every single one of us who wanted to do that to have to type, "Classics Deluxe Starscream" when we all meant the same thing. Wouldn't it be better if the first person entered it, and then everyone else could choose it from a list, so I built a website that could do just that.

The principle idea was that there be a master "Library" and that users could add items from the Library as "Pieces" in their "Collection". However, I didn't want myself, or anyone for that matter, to have to maintain that Library, so I made it user-editable, a la Wikipedia. So, if you don't see what you're looking for in the Library, you can add it! Alternatively, if you see a mistake, after you add a piece to your collection, you click the padlock next to the piece's information, and you can unlock and edit it. Once you make your changes, those changes are applied to your collection. Additionally, other collectors with that piece in their collection have the option of Accepting or Rejecting those changes. If a few other collectors agree, those changes get pushed to the database.

I haven't checked in to what Shmax has been doing in a while, but as I recall from the last time I did, Shmax's library takes things to a more complex level. It breaks down parts and regions. So, if you need those features, you're totally better off going there. But, for day-to-day collection management, searching, sorting, organizing your wish lists, what you're selling in a quick and easy way, give iTFDB a try. I'd like to think it's a bit simpler and more efficient for most collectors' needs.

I'll subscribe to this thread, so feel free to ask me any questions here, or even directly on twitter @itfdb.

[jaydisc]

A couple of extra notes about iTFDB

1. In the preferences, you can turn off the "Official Toys Only" option and manage your third-party collection side-by-side with your official toys.

2. You can add as many of your own photos as you'd like to any piece in your collection, and optionally allow others to use your photo for their collection pieces too. You can easily reuse your photos across your collection without re-uploading them too.

3. There are five lists you can keep things in:

Acquired
Ordered (know what's coming!)
Desired
Selling
Sold

I personally find the Selling list to be hugely helpful for managing sales. You can know your buy vs. selling price, who has something on hold, and of course, you can historically look at anything you've ever Sold.

4. There's a bulk editor. Select a few pieces in any list, and change many common fields at once. For example, select those 8 items that you thought were going to arrive from HLJ next week in your Ordered list, change their acquired date to today, their status to Acquired, and their condition to Opened! Woo hoo!

5. You can sort by multiple parameters. It remembers the last 3 things you sorted by. So if you sort by Name, and then by Class, and then by Line, for each line, everything will be sub-sorted by class, and for each class, everything will be sub-sorder by Name. The sort arrows grow lighter in color to show the order.

[jaydisc]

Here's a quick walkthrough.

First, you'll notice the tabs that refer to your five lists: Acquired, Ordered, Desired, Selling and Sold. On the right, there's also the Chooser and Settings. Below those is the search filter. Currently, I'm filtering by Takara Tomy and Henkei, so I'm only seeing the Henkei pieces from my collection:

http://itfdb.com/temporary/tf/tutorial/step1.png

Next, I choose to "Add a new figure to my Acquired List". This would be the same as clicking the Chooser tab. This then brings up all of the toys in the Library. Note that any search filter stays in effect, so I'm only looking at Henkei toys in the Library. Just choose "Show All" to clear any filter.

http://itfdb.com/temporary/tf/tutorial/step2.png

I choose Ghost Starscream from the list, and choose "Add the Selected Figure to my Collection". I then get the Piece detail screen, where I can add information about that piece specific to me, when I got it, it's condition, my rating, some notes, etc.

http://itfdb.com/temporary/tf/tutorial/step3.png

When I'm done, I choose Save.

Alternatively, when choosing figures to add to my collection, I can choose to add multiple figures at the same time. When doing so, an area slides down for me to enter any information common to the entire selection:

http://itfdb.com/temporary/tf/tutorial/step4.png

Lastly, you can go to the Status page to get an overview of how much you've spent, made, or are about to spend at any time. Some of you might not like this screen :D

http://itfdb.com/temporary/tf/tutorial/step5.png

Additionally, any suggested updates are offered here if you wish to participate in database approvals.

Hopefully, that's enough to give you a quick start

[UltraMarginal]

That's a great rundown Jaydisc, thanks.
it looks like a really well organised database. Wy resolve to not bother is gradualy diminishing.

[lancalot]

That a pretty cool data base Jaydisc
It alot simpler now that you explained how to use it :)
doing my collection now ... but my one a small one anyways...

[DELTAprime]

Jaydisc, if there is figure in my collection that's not in your db can I as a user add it to the db? I found some missing when I was browsing earlier to see if it had everything.

[Ravagecat]

Hey Jaydisc, thanks for the info on your database (I'm all for supporting a fellow board member :) ).
Couple of questions.. 1) Does iTFDB have the abilty to download your collection to a file?? Just incase the internets blows up :D
2) The images for some of the figures seem really small is there a limit to the size/dimensions that can be uploaded by a user or is there a copyright issue having bigger images?

[jaydisc]

Jaydisc, if there is figure in my collection that's not in your db can I as a user add it to the db? I found some missing when I was browsing earlier to see if it had everything.

Yes! Please do. You'll see that when you're in the Chooser, at the top right of the list there is an option to "Create a new figure":

http://itfdb.com/temporary/tf/tutorial/step2.png


Hey Jaydisc, thanks for the info on your database (I'm all for supporting a fellow board member :) ).
Couple of questions.. 1) Does iTFDB have the abilty to download your collection to a file?? Just incase the internets blows up :D
2) The images for some of the figures seem really small is there a limit to the size/dimensions that can be uploaded by a user or is there a copyright issue having bigger images?

Thanks for that. But please, choose what's best for you. While I love the idea that the site is being used, it doesn't benefit me, so please make sure it's right for you. :)

1. No, but I would be more than happy to manually export a CSV file of your collection upon request.

2. When an image is uploaded, I crop it so that it is no larger than 600 x 600. If the uploaded image is smaller, I don't scale it up. I'd be happy to increase this, but it would not affect any existing images… only new uploads. What dimensions would you prefer?

Sorry for the slow replies. I just realized that notifications on the thread were not set correctly.