McFaire Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 So far I've only used a spreadsheet to keep track of my collection, which is around 100 decks. I'm wondering -- those you who have hundreds or even thousands of decks -- how do you keep track? I've been looking at a few different choices for a simple home database. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiNO Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I don't have >100 decks, but considering that I owned 1 deck in September 2018 and own 44 (incl. Oracle-) decks now, I'm probably in the club soon. Your question depends on which attributes for each deck you want to have an overview of and what you want to be searchable. When I get more decks I will probably create a MySQL database in Django (a Python framework) at my webpage where I can have a field with URL to the deck in the Deck Library in this forum. As well as fields/attributes for artist, publisher, type of deck, card size, price, date of purchase, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 3 minutes ago, KaiNO said: When I get more decks I will probably create a MySQL database in Django (a Python framework) at my webpage where I can have a field with URL to the deck in the Deck Library in this forum. As well as fields/attributes for artist, publisher, type of deck, card size, price, date of purchase, etc. Hmmm that may be above my technical pay grade! 5 minutes ago, KaiNO said: Your question depends on which attributes for each deck you want to have an overview of and what you want to be searchable. My spreadsheet has *cough* 20+ columns. Two fields for artist, two for author, the fields you mention above, and other entries like seller, theme, edition, whether it is signed/numbered, OoP, modification, notes, and so on. With a database, I guess any field should be searchable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 I found a couple of commercially available possibilities online: https://www.collectingcatalog.com/ https://www.collectorz.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiNO Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I just googled free online databases and found https://www.obvibase.com/ I'm not familiar with this database, but's it free... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 3 minutes ago, KaiNO said: I just googled free online databases and found https://www.obvibase.com/ I'm not familiar with this database, but's it free... Free is good! I'm not sure I'd want to go with an online freebie because it could disappear at any time, along with all my data. 😪 The collectorz software will automatically populate some fields based on the ISBN, which is neat. That feature would at least work for tarot books, and probably decks too. It has unlimited user-defined fields as well and the data lives on your hard drive where it would be backed up along with everything else on the HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonGypsy Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) Hello, my friends! i keep track of my collection in my profile--here on the forum. With all the selling i have been doing in the Subscriber only Trade forum, lately, it has dwindled a lot--but is still sizeable. i am not done, yet, though...i have a lot more i need to move on... Edited May 14, 2019 by MoonGypsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) 16 minutes ago, MoonGypsy said: i keep track of my collection in my profile--here on the forum. There's something to be said for keeping it simple! 👌🙂 Edited May 14, 2019 by McFaire typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonGypsy Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 6 minutes ago, McFaire said: There's something to be said for keeping ti simple! 👌🙂 Hi McFaire! That is what i did for 11 years on AT, also! i have to admit that i copied and pasted those lists to keep in a doc folder. But it has always worked for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 Hi MoonGypsy! I had my collection on AT too, but I have more details in my spreadsheet. I suppose I may be a bit OCD on that, but I'd bet I'm in good company here!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordica De Spell Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) Voodoopad? Start page could be a simple list of all the decks. Every possible attribute you’d like to be searchable could be linked in. Every attribute could have its own index page too, if you’d like, (probably not altogether necessary, though.) Pretty soon you’d have a complete spider web holding everything, with as many threads to and fro as you’d prefer. And yet, an un-cluttered surface, and the program barely has a learning curve. Edited May 15, 2019 by Nordica De Spell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 23 minutes ago, Nordica De Spell said: Voodoopad? Start page could be a simple list of all the decks. Every possible attribute you’d like to be searchable could be linked in. Every attribute could have its own index page too, if you’d like, (probably not altogether necessary, though.) Pretty soon you’d have a complete spider web holding everything, with as many threads to and fro as you’d prefer. And yet, an un-cluttered surface, and the program barely has a learning curve. Interesting! Thanks for the idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) I decided to try out the free version of Book Collector (collectorz.com) which allows up to 100 entries. Wow is it neat! You can add your decks by choosing them from published decks (search by ISBN, title, author, publisher or LCCN) and it will automatically enter all the details, or you can manually enter self-published decks. There are tons of "book" fields that apply to decks, and it's really intuitive to customize. It's designed for collectors of books including rare and OoP, so it has tabs for all kinds of things you might want to enter for tarot, oracles, etc, and your books. It automatically creates categories for authors too, so if you want to see everything you have by particular author or artist, it does that automatically, but is fully customizable. The downside is that if you have more 100, it isn't free. Edited May 16, 2019 by McFaire correction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewel Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 14 hours ago, MoonGypsy said: Hello, my friends! i keep track of my collection in my profile--here on the forum. With all the selling i have been doing in the Subscriber only Trade forum, lately, it has dwindled a lot--but is still sizeable. i am not done, yet, though...i have a lot more i need to move on... Me too, I keep the list in my profile. I need to put up a trade or sell thread too ... I keep saying I am going to do it and just never seem to get around to it ... procrastination is a virtue, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reall Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) good old word/open office works for me!;) Deck name artist publisher & year it's printed All I need to find more info online!:) + short note where I get it & how much it cost me with shipping & tax also short description with tag i.e if it's majors only, oop, selfpublished edt etc?;) Edited May 15, 2019 by reall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregory Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 I use an Access database. I need more information than will fit on the forum anyway. My collection doesn't fit as it is ! I record - a catalogue number (it helps me !), the place it is stored, then artist, publisher, whether it's limited/signed/numbered, any other names the deck is known by (after I ended up with more copies of the Golden Gomera/New Century Tarot than I intended...), date published. number of cards, country of publication, where bought, when bought, how much it cost me (I have for currency boxes !) and THEN - "notes" in which I put a description of the deck and anything else I would like to remember about it. I don't put OOP and stuff as they might stop being. I WOULD put which numbers strength and Justice are at if I had thought of that earlier, as I have seen Annabelle do, but it's too late to start now ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 1 hour ago, gregory said: I use an Access database. I need more information than will fit on the forum anyway. My collection doesn't fit as it is ! I record - a catalogue number (it helps me !), the place it is stored, then artist, publisher, whether it's limited/signed/numbered, any other names the deck is known by (after I ended up with more copies of the Golden Gomera/New Century Tarot than I intended...), date published. number of cards, country of publication, where bought, when bought, how much it cost me (I have for currency boxes !) and THEN - "notes" in which I put a description of the deck and anything else I would like to remember about it. I don't put OOP and stuff as they might stop being. I WOULD put which numbers strength and Justice are at if I had thought of that earlier, as I have seen Annabelle do, but it's too late to start now ! Oh goodie, I'm not alone in my OCD! I like more details too! I am really enjoying this software I decided to try (above). Since my collection is barely over 100, it's a good time for me to do it. It automatically pulls a lot of details from the hive mind, even photos, but you can still change any of it. And has tons of places for anything you want to track. It's fun. Maybe will I will add user-defined fields for Strength and Justice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 22 hours ago, Nordica De Spell said: Voodoopad? Start page could be a simple list of all the decks. Every possible attribute you’d like to be searchable could be linked in. Every attribute could have its own index page too, if you’d like, (probably not altogether necessary, though.) Pretty soon you’d have a complete spider web holding everything, with as many threads to and fro as you’d prefer. And yet, an un-cluttered surface, and the program barely has a learning curve. I did look at Voodoopad and it looks really handy. I can imagine a lot uses for it. Medical info came to mind. Creative projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morsoth Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 I keep track of them on a Microsoft Word document. The format is exactly the same as my deck collection on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilweran Posted May 19, 2019 Share Posted May 19, 2019 I used to have a database. It was free software, very similar to Access. File (or perhaps the installation) eventually got corrupted and the back ups didn't work. Reinstalling the software didn't help. Just kept a list on AT after that. Much as I would have liked to have all the extra data I didn't want to input it all again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 20, 2019 Author Share Posted May 20, 2019 I've looked at several options over the past few days and so far Book Collectors is by far the best. It's free for the first 50 items. The downside is that the cloud storage and auto-entry of titles/data from their database requires an annual fee, which also includes all software updates and bug fixes. Probably worth it for people getting started with collecting. For existing collection, it is a little more work, even with the auto-entry feature. But it's fun to play with. I could also just buy one year and after that, not use the auto-entry or cloud storage (since I already have a backup solution). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn Celeste Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 When I dust my corner out, I remove all my decks from their locations and regroup them because I am often getting new decks. At that point, when they are all safely settled in, I count them all by hand and update my lists on both my own website and in here. I do need to update both locations. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregory Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 On 5/20/2019 at 5:20 PM, McFaire said: I've looked at several options over the past few days and so far Book Collectors is by far the best. It's free for the first 50 items. The downside is that the cloud storage and auto-entry of titles/data from their database requires an annual fee, which also includes all software updates and bug fixes. Probably worth it for people getting started with collecting. For existing collection, it is a little more work, even with the auto-entry feature. But it's fun to play with. I could also just buy one year and after that, not use the auto-entry or cloud storage (since I already have a backup solution). I think - not. Access works fine for me - and 50 - or 150 - would be no use to me AT ALL ! I need something that can handle an unlimited number. And NOT in the cloud - I don't trust the cloud. Sooner or later the internet WILL fall over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaire Posted May 28, 2019 Author Share Posted May 28, 2019 15 minutes ago, gregory said: I think - not. Access works fine for me - and 50 - or 150 - would be no use to me AT ALL ! I need something that can handle an unlimited number. And NOT in the cloud - I don't trust the cloud. Sooner or later the internet WILL fall over. I think you misread. The number of items in the collection is only limited in the free trial version. The full version is unlimited. And the data is your hard drive. The cloud back up is just an option, not required. Btw, Access is not available for the Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregory Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 (edited) I used to use it at work on a Mac - it is part of MS Office. Doesn't that run on a Mac any more ? I see it does: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HMJ22B/A/microsoft-office-home-and-business-2019-1-mac Edited May 28, 2019 by gregory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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