Cataloguing a personal collection

[himynameisphil]

Hello everyone! I've just signed up to ask if anyone can please recommend something to help my Dad catalogue his collection.

 

We've tried Excel but he can't get to grips with it, so I'm looking for something a bit more user-friendly. I've been considering just building him a simple website that he can use on his phone, to first manually populate and update the collection over time, but then using it for things like quickly looking up certain models to see the functions etc.

 

He doesn't have a Windows PC, so https://www.modeltraincatalogue.com/ is out of the question unfortunately.

 

Would be great if something like this already exists, but if not, I might just bite the bullet and start developing it for him as a fun project we can work on together.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[96701]

 DC or DCC?

 

[The Johnster]

What gauge?🤔

 

It's a useful thing to do simply to keep track of stock if you have a large amount of it (and even on a space-restricted BLT I have thirty mineral wagons).  I would start with a pencil and paper card system, and possibly develop a computerised method from that.  For smaller operations like mine, a card system is probably easier to use and update.  Not sure you need a new app, it might be possible to do it just using whatever note-taking/listing is already on your phone.

[melmerby]

41 minutes ago, 96701 said:

 DC or DCC?

 

 

7 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

What gauge?🤔

 

 

Why?

On a decent database all can be accommodated and called up by parameters.

Therefore you could have N TT 00 H0 0 1 etc all on one main list but each could be looked at and sorted as wanted

 

I know it's tongue in cheek but confusing for OP

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by melmerby

[smokebox]

There is a ready made software package

https://www.musicmixradio.com/yardoffice/

 

Couldn't get on with it myself.

 

Not sure if it works on anything other than a PC.

Edited August 4, 2023 by smokebox

[melmerby]

Just now, smokebox said:

There is a ready made software package

https://www.musicmixradio.com/yardoffice/

 

Couldn't get on with it myself.

OP hasn't got Windows

[Nearholmer]

Never catalogue your collection.
 

If you do, you’ll know how many toy trains you own, and you might crack under pressure and give the truth away. Much better not to know, and to rely on plausible approximations like “Fewer than most people in the club.”, “Not so many as I used to have.”, “Nowhere near as many as that bloke whose collection was on the telly.”, that sort of thing.

 

More seriously: would a good notebook and pen not serve the purpose?

[melmerby]

2 hours ago, himynameisphil said:

Hello everyone! I've just signed up to ask if anyone can please recommend something to help my Dad catalogue his collection.

 

We've tried Excel but he can't get to grips with it, so I'm looking for something a bit more user-friendly. I've been considering just building him a simple website that he can use on his phone, to first manually populate and update the collection over time, but then using it for things like quickly looking up certain models to see the functions etc.

 

He doesn't have a Windows PC, so https://www.modeltraincatalogue.com/ is out of the question unfortunately.

 

Would be great if something like this already exists, but if not, I might just bite the bullet and start developing it for him as a fun project we can work on together.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

What OS?

If Linux there might be something on Sourceforge.

Most things are for Windows.

[kevinlms]

Regarding not having a Windows PC, that's kind of making life difficult, as almost certainly any existing prepared software is going to be Windows based. 

Any chance of buying a cheap 2nd hand PC just for this?

Edited August 4, 2023 by kevinlms
More info

[MattR]

I just use Microsoft Excel.

[himynameisphil]

Thanks for the replies so far everyone!

 

For those asking about Windows, the only thing he's got/is willing to use is a phone and an ipad, which is why a web-based application would be preferable I think. plus being able to take his own pictures/upload them straight to the catalogue etc.

 

Doesn't seem like there's anything out there that is totally suitable, but I understand it's fairly niche! I'll keep an eye on this thread, but in the mean time put a few things in place to develop something bespoke for him.

 

Thanks again for your responses.

[ianLMS]

Look for business type databases designed to manage inventories on Google Play (if he has an android).

 

I searched for "Databases" in Google play and several apps came up.

 

Bound to be something you can customise for your needs. 

[The Johnster]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

More seriously: would a good notebook and pen not serve the purpose?

 

And be more easily discarded in case of emergency...

 

The OP's dad is clearly a man of taste and refinement and an eye for a quality well-designed product*, as he apparently has an iPhone or iPad, so any app would have to be IOS based, Android won't cut the mustard...

 

 

*as us Applefans consider ourselves to be, other people with Android/Windows just think we're deluded and poor...

Edited August 4, 2023 by The Johnster

[Nearholmer]

Quick look in AppStore reveals an app called “i collect everything”, which looks like it might do the job, although I’m still wondering why a notebook, as in bits of paper between cardboard covers, won’t do.

[MattR]

At home, I use Open Office, a free alternative to Microsoft Office (I only have MS Office on my work computer). The Excel-equivalent in Open Office is called Apache. Looks like Open Office has now created an IOS port. It's on the Apple app store as AO Office. It will open Excel documents (among other document types) and save them as Excel documents as well, so I can open the Excel documents from my PC via AO Office on my iPhone.

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by MattR

[big jim]

Regards not having a pc, I knocked this up in the Excel app on my iPad, bear in mind I know nothing about spreadsheets and formulas I just made columns for the info I wanted to put in, loco class, loco number, address etc and colour coded whether they are DCC chipped or not, whether they have sound etc,  I then slowly expanded it to show manufacturers, loco name, chip type etc

 

there are no mathematical formulas at all, however I wish I knew how to automatically ‘fill’ a cell with the relevant colour automatically (I.e. when I type Y in the DCC column the cell goes green or if I type N it goes red and automatically puts a 0 in an orange cell in the DCC address column) 

 

As I’ve got it saved in my Microsoft 365 account I can view it and amend it on whatever device I happen to be logged in on which is handy when chipping locos and the data changes 

 

I suppose I could add a ‘perceived’ value column as a guide for my wife incase something happens to me and she sells my collection but if she happened to see how much I’ve already spent my life would probably end prematurely anyway! 

[melmerby]

45 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

*as us Applefans consider ourselves to be, other people with Android/Windows just think we're deluded and poor...

And very much in the minority..........😁

[Michael Hodgson]

9 minutes ago, MattR said:

At home, I use Open Office, a free alternative to Microsoft Office (I only have MS Office on my work computer). The Excel-equivalent in Open Office is called Apache. Looks like Open Office has now created an IOS port. It's on the Apple app store as AO Office. It will open Excel documents (among other document types) and save them as Excel documents as well, so I can open the Excel documents from my PC via AO Office on my iPhone.

 

 

 

If he can't get on with Excel, I doubt any other spreadsheet software would be much different.

 

I knocked up a database system in Paradox many years ago to get a more user-friendly form-based appearance, but abandoned it in favour of Open Office spreadsheets as being more simpler to maintain.  Meets my needs.

 

I wouldn't choose a product like https://www.modeltraincatalogue.com/ unless it is capable of being tailored easily to meet ny own specific requirements as to what data I want to record (which can change from time to time)

 

Seems to me that if the OP doesn't like Excel and hasn't got Windows, an index card approach would be easiest, at least assuming the inventory is relatively modest.

[melmerby]

Spreadsheets are pretty well all alike.

Unfortunately if you can't get on with Excel, anything else will be harder as Excel is one of the easiest programs to use.

 

I use Libre Office Calc & Lotus 123, the data can be saved in many types, including XLS (Excel)

 

Libre Office has a Mac version:

https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/install-howto/macos/

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/?type=mac-aarch64&version=7.5.5&lang=en-GB

 

I actually use Lotus Approach database for my model collection (and various other things like books, maps & CDs)

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by melmerby

[Michael Hodgson]

19 minutes ago, big jim said:

there are no mathematical formulas at all, however I wish I knew how to automatically ‘fill’ a cell with the relevant colour automatically (I.e. when I type Y in the DCC column the cell goes green or if I type N it goes red and automatically puts a 0 in an orange cell in the DCC address column) 

 

Excel can do indeed that, and can validate (for example only allow Y/N in the DCC column, and insist on a DCC address if Y) but it's really a question of how much effort you want to put into learning all the bells and whistles of the software.  Probably not worth the learnign curve - easier just to take care when loading your data and change the colours manually.

[MattR]

Quote

I use Libre Office Calc & Lotus 123

 

I had no idea Lotus 123 was still around! I remember being a kid and my dad using the DOS version at work back in the early '90s.

[himynameisphil]

1 hour ago, big jim said:

Regards not having a pc, I knocked this up in the Excel app on my iPad, bear in mind I know nothing about spreadsheets and formulas I just made columns for the info I wanted to put in, loco class, loco number, address etc and colour coded whether they are DCC chipped or not, whether they have sound etc,  I then slowly expanded it to show manufacturers, loco name, chip type etc

 

there are no mathematical formulas at all, however I wish I knew how to automatically ‘fill’ a cell with the relevant colour automatically (I.e. when I type Y in the DCC column the cell goes green or if I type N it goes red and automatically puts a 0 in an orange cell in the DCC address column) 

 

As I’ve got it saved in my Microsoft 365 account I can view it and amend it on whatever device I happen to be logged in on which is handy when chipping locos and the data changes 

 

I suppose I could add a ‘perceived’ value column as a guide for my wife incase something happens to me and she sells my collection but if she happened to see how much I’ve already spent my life would probably end prematurely anyway! 

 

 

Hey Jim, you can definitely do what you want in excel using something called conditional formatting.

 

Select column C.

• On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click "Conditional Formatting".
• Hover over "Highlight Cells Rules", and then click on the type of rule that you want to create ("Equal To...").
• In the dialog box that appears, enter the value that you want to use for the rule (Y), and then select the formatting to be a green background.
• Do the same for N and a red background.

Then for the DCC Address, a formula such as =IF(C2="N", "0", "") should work. and just drag it down as you usually would. Then set the conditional formatting for the orange colour.

 

The steps might be slightly different depending on the version of Excel you are using, but hopefully points you in the right direction!

[melmerby]

12 minutes ago, MattR said:

 

I had no idea Lotus 123 was still around! I remember being a kid and my dad using the DOS version at work back in the early '90s.

They (or IBM the then owners) brought out a final version of Lotus SmartSuite 9.8 in 2002 on a CD* which, apart from the actual SmartCenter functions works fine on Win 7 & Win 10. I haven't tried it on Win 11 but Wikipedia says it is OK

I bought it because I grew up with it, I had version 3.1 on my first PC with Windows 3.1 and still have the manuals, not a lot had changed!

 

It cost me £20 which for a full function office suite with support was very good

I also had MS Office Pro 2000 but that wouldn't work well on later versions of Windows.

[melmerby]

List of office suites from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_office_suites

[96701]

1 hour ago, MattR said:

 

I had no idea Lotus 123 was still around! I remember being a kid and my dad using the DOS version at work back in the early '90s.

I remember being the dad of a kid and using it.