Record keeping program?

Keropi · Post by **Keropi** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:37 pm

Besides a couple of spreadsheet programs I used in college, I've never used any record keeping software. Does anyone know of a good record keeping program I could use to keep track of the cels and sketches I've seen?

Info that would be kept in it would include things like:

1. Date
2. Anime title
3. Place it was seen
4. Type of item
5. Detailed description of the item

Of course I'd also like to be able to print out the data. There's no way I can keep writing things down the way I'm doing it now. Everything is bogging down and everything is out of alphabetical order.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:42 pm

I've just used Microsoft Word for making lists. It would be nice to know of something though that would make a list for you. My fiance has been wanting to keep list of our DVD and game collections.

blueheaven · Post by **blueheaven** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:56 pm

Excel is what I use. It is pretty easy. Other than that, I have no idea.

Keropi · Post by **Keropi** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:13 pm

I took a Symphony computer class a long ago. Then I took another spreadsheet program class back around 1992. I've forgotten what the second one was.

My first computer classes were for BASIC and COBOL so that shows you how long ago they were. **bends over like an old man**

I've only been writing down anime title data for five and a half months. Right now I'm up to 106 different anime series and the list is becoming very cumbersome. I would like to widen what I keep track of. I know the list could eventually become become hundreds of titles long and I need more flexibility than just writing them down on a piece of paper.

My preference would be to be able to keep track of at LEAST five or six entries per title. Continuous entries would be used for titles that I'm most interested in keeping track of. This would be very helpful to me and it would provide data to go along with the auction pictures that I save.

SME · Post by **SME** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:17 pm

Like Blueheaven I use Excel. I find it very fast and very convenient. Anytime I win an auction I just open up the program, fill in the various information (cel number, sketches, date of purchase, who I purchased it from, price, etc.) and then save it. Takes less than 2 minutes for me. But if there's an easier program out there, by all means someone please share!

RahOtaku · Post by **RahOtaku** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:18 pm

Microsoft Access is the standard database that is super easy to learn.

Baakay · Post by **Baakay** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:26 am

I use Access, for the simple reason that any and all fields you want to create are tied together. You can then sort them any way you like without screwing things up.

As you might guess from the above statement, I used to use Excel (which is a great choice if you're never going to do anything fancy). But I had a couple of small catastrophes -- ok, huge catastrophes -- when sorting on a particular field suddenly meant that none of the fields were associated with the main entry any more.

Access be darn near idiot-proof once you get it set up.

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:27 am

And. What happened to couple of small catastrophes -- ok huge catastrophes -- when sorting on a particular field suddenly meant that none of the fields were associated with the main entry any more?

Baakay · Post by **Baakay** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:30 am

Cloud wrote:And. What happened to couple of small catastrophes -- ok huge catastrophes -- when sorting on a particular field suddenly meant that none of the fields were associated with the main entry any more?

Good question, Cloud! What happened was that I had to type the whole darn thing over again. (no, I was too dumb to have made a backup).

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:30 am

I don't know what happened.

metheus · Post by **metheus** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:16 am

I probably need a better system myself. One thing I recently started doing in the last half a year is archiving the auction page as a pdf. Their compact and easy to store. I use a free print driver to make them:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

That said, I should probably start a spread sheet or something.

yoshito · Post by **yoshito** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:28 am

Hmm, I'd say it depends on how big you're going and how much you're willing to spend.

For the cheap end, you could continue the Excel Spreadsheet and make some macros and GUI to make it look neater. Spend a few extra dollars (I'm kidding on the price) and pick up Access since you have some experience with it.

Or, get a SQL database and learn how to program a gui for that. >_<

I'm assuming you want to stay at the cheaper end of the spectrum (thus the suggestion for Access). There might be some online ones, but I have no experience with them at this time.

Keropi · Post by **Keropi** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:11 pm

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'll look into those. I'm trying to streamline how I'm doing things. I uninstalled Civilization 3 since it was wasting too much of my time. I need to catch up on my anime and gameplay before the new season starts.

metheus wrote:I probably need a better system myself. One thing I recently started doing in the last half a year is archiving the auction page as a pdf. Their compact and easy to store. I use a free print driver to make them:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

It would be helpful to know who I've bid against in the past so that I know who to give dibs to and who I should squash.

Ah...too much data to keep track of.

Kagejin · Post by **Kagejin** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:53 pm

Hiya!

Believe it or not the is a program out there just for this... Totally customizable to boot. It's called 'Collection Master'. I picked up a copy a couple years back off eBay for 9.99, but I think it's freeware or at least shareware. It can display multiple pix for the cel, with and without background, sketches, and screencaps of the scene,etc. And has multiple entry lines for cel #, episode #, character, etc. dpending on how you set it up. You can list flaws, notes, etc. It also shows when, from whom you bought it from and how much you paid and the same info for when you sold it. It also calculates out the variance thereof. It can show how much you have spent/made for a specific show (warning: that can get ugly, LOL). All info is stored in a comma delimited format (Excel) file. This cn be used for any type of collecting, from cels to stamps and coins. Hope this is of some help. Feel free to PM me if you want more info

kagejin

Krafty · Post by **Krafty** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 6:01 am

I think Kagejin has a great answer there.
When it comes to saving info on the cels I find the easiest and quickest way to create a folder for each series, save the picure with the title name followed by the number 01, 02, 03 etc.
Open this folder up and right-click the image. Where you see 'Properties' at the botom click it, then click the 'Summary' tab and then add whatever info you want to the 'Comments' section.

I do this for all cels that interested me whether I won them, lost them or they had no bids.
This is an example of the info I keep track of:
Seller = MrX. Winner = MrsX, 16,500y, 22 Bids. Wednesday 7th June 2006

I've considered adding the name of the runner-up bidder in case I have to compete with this person some other time. It's good to know who you're up against and what their bidding strategies are. A lot of strategies I keep in mind, some people bid in the last minute, some bid in small increments. I vary my strategy in case someone monitors how I bid

The most important factor is WHAT you bid, but I'll keep those details to myself, *hee hee*