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As the author of several collecting software packages I was wondering if anyone would care to comment on why or why not you do or do not use software to help manage your collection. I do not intend to debate the reasons but I will contribute if it seems reasonable.
Thanks,
Clay Pryor
p.s. here are links to the collecting software that I have written:
NM Gun Collector for the Android
NM Collector Software | any collection any computer
NM Gun Collector Software ( now free )
I fill out a data sheet and scan it into my files. I take pictures and load them onto photo bucket with the link attached to my data sheets. For pouches (300+) I did my own spread sheet on Excel with the specific information I wanted.
Maybe it's being older and not growing up with computers. But I don't feel I need anything else.
Not being a "Komputer Nut" I find the ones I've looked at to be beyond me!
I just keep a model, mfgr & ser nr list.
Sarge
I tried it for 3 weeks and entered all my firearms, edged weapons, as well as memorabilia, picture accompanied each.
I used a thumb drive and the most aggravating factor was the incredible slowness, 5-10 minutes each time I desired to save and shut down. I opened it once or twice a day and it never got any better. I have a monitor for CPU Usage (Intel) and it was maxed out operating this software.
The final straw was when I showed my friend and fellow collector what it did for me, that;s when whole firearms simply disappeared and I could not access them. I was so frustrated as well as embarrassed that I spent the next night making my own inventory in an Excel Spreadsheet, that open and closes < 5 seconds and doesn't take up the space required operate it, even in the background.
I would never had said this in any review or link about my dissatisfaction with the NM-software, however you asked, but I would not recommend it to anyone. You spent a lot of effort creating it, some well thought sections, but it just didn't perform as I'd hoped.
The information about rifles I collect, but for manufacturer,model number, and Ser. No. doesn't fit into the "standard" catagories for firearms in general. M1 carbines and Garands can be done on a computer, they have "types" and drawing numbers for the correct parts as they have been picked to death by collectors. I have to analyze each rifle in my collection and make notes of what specific features each has. A data sheet could only contain simple information. Besides that, I don't know how to manipulate things such as you design as I am not a computer guy.
FWIW,
Emri
Similar to Jim, I just use an Excel spreadsheet to save everything. It's simple, easy to add info to, most everyone has the software, and it keeps all the info I'll ever need.
As Chuckindenver always says, "Keep it simple, and don't reinvent the wheel"
Before I reply I just want everyone reading this to know that I do keep a history of known issues which includes the ones you listed. Anybody can see what issues I am aware of at any time and how I resolved them. Of course, if one does not tell me about issues they are having with my software I can't do anything to help them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarge1998
How long ago did you use NM Collector Software? Running from a USB flash drive is certainly slower than running it directly from a hard drive. However, I did increase the speed substantially with version 2.4.0 and I am now at version 2.5.1.
Based on similar experience with others not familiar with running programs off of a USB flash drive I suspect the following might be the cause of your lost data. One thing that must be done when using a flash drive is to safely remove it after properly shutting the program down. Several people have lost their data because they just removed the flash drive without shutting it down properly. I try to educate people on that but it seems only natural to just unplug the flash drive when done.
Every time you shut down NM Collector Software it saves your data to the database which, when you are running off of a USB flash drive, resides on the flash drive so if you remove the flash drive without allowing the program to finish saving your data you lose some or all of your data. Other programs to one degree or another work the same way. This is one reason why it is a very good idea to always back up your data!
I am truly sorry you had problems with the software but you do still own a lifetime subscription. Perhaps you should consider using the desktop version. That way there will be no USB flash drive issues. You could always backup to the USB flash drive and use it only when sharing with others. That way if the flash drive fails for any reason you can always recover your data from your desktop.
Just a suggestion. :)
Thanks again!
---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:11 PM ----------
NM Collector Software has a Data Sheet for that very purpose! Here is a sample screen shot of the Data Sheet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Emri
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ataSheet-1.jpg
Thanks for the analysis Clay. I had used the version available in late December 2011 or January 2012, and your guess on how the data was lost could well have been from removing the thumb drive before the closing process was done.
Looks very similar to a german collectors software i´m using. But good anyway!
No problem. Once again, sorry you lost your data. If there is another reason for lost data I have not found it yet but would really like to know so I can fix it! Part of my company vision, which can be found here, is to protect people's hard earned data.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarge1998
Do you think you might be willing to give it another try? Like I say, you still have a lifetime subscription and it might work better for you with your main copy on your hard drive which you can copy to a USB for backup and for sharing with others.
Thanks again,
Clay
---------- Post added at 08:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:04 AM ----------
Can you share a link to that software so we (mostly I) can take a look at it? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by gunner
Here it is!
GS Waffen-Verwaltung 4
Any hope of a mobile app for iPhone? I use my phone for everything simply because of ease of use. I don think I have ever posted on here from a desktop. Its just so much easier to take pictures and post directly. With iCloud any documents I save on my phone are saved wirelessly to my laptop as well. Long story short, if at all possible, it would be nice to be able to use an iPhone to put it all together and then export it to a desktop.
Here's to hoping : )
---
I am here: Google Maps
I agree! I use my iPhone the majority of the time.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I created one for the android. ;) Android NM Collector Software - Collecting Software for the Android
Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk
I tried the NM Collector software on a trial basis. At first, I was not that pleased with the program because of some formatting problems in the Reports it generated. A couple of emails to Clay, which were promptly answered, and he made changes to the Reports that cleaned up all the problems I was having. Everything works wonderfully, now! I am very pleased with the software but most importantly, I am extremely pleased with the response and attitude from Clay about getting the problems fixed.
By reading the information on the website, I was able to modify my tree, eliminating items for which I have no collections, thus speeding up the opening/closing of the program. I also found it very easy to add/delete fields from the various Tabs, making the program customized for my use.
I thought about making a spreadsheet in Excel but realized Clay had already done all the "dirty work" with his program and with just minor tweaking of the fields, I could make it do just what I wanted. I'm very satisfied with the program and have recommended it to several friends; they have been impressed as well.
Very cool! Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by gunner
:)
Clay
You know, I've been thinking about this and you could use the Android Export / Import and an application called "Numbers for iPhone." This is how I envision it working:Quote:
Originally Posted by nhetzer
1. Enter some data into NM Collector Software. Be sure to include some pictures so you can see how they are exported in the next step.
2. Use the Android Export feature to export it to a csv file (this is excel compliant). Notice that pictures are exported to their own folders named according to the collection type and the ItemID field in the spreadsheet.
3. Open the excel spreadsheet in your iPhone using Numbers for iPhone. Notice it is only a subset of data.
4. Edit the data however you want.
5. Take whatever pictures you want. Store them in a directory with the appropriate name based on the example that you exported.
6. Import the data back into NM Collector Software using the Import Android CSV option. This will update your data in NM Collector Software and add your pictures.
This process is covered in the on-line manual.
Just an idea.
:)
Clay
I'm a little late to this party, but I do use software to manage my collection. But since I fiddle with computers for a living, I just rolled my own out of the FileMaker Pro software. I realize that's probably and extreme case for most users, and to be fair I do get the software for free. I've actually pondered just using FMP as a front end to a MySQL database and letting a Linux box do the heavy lifting, but I haven't gotten that ambitious. Yet.
Your stuff looks good, though, Clay. I'm going to play with it - might be simpler than updating my own junk.
Over the weekend I discovered and fixed an issue with data changes not saving when some of the collection types are hidden. It may or may not affect you but please download and install the latest upgrade to be sure. I have not had time to announce this yet but will soon. Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheepdog
Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk
Thanks for sharing. I'm sure yours is not junk.Quote:
Originally Posted by hb04
Like you I mess with computers for a living as well. :) In fact, I started this whole thing years ago (pre- Y2K) as a project to learn a new technology. I took a new job that required me to learn VB6 to write software for electronic component testers. Prior to that I had written programs in many stnadard languages of the time but had never written a VB6 application so I had to learn the language from scratch. Since I learn best by doing I decided to develop something that I was interested in on the side and being a gun collector that was a natural application for me to write.
As people I attended gun shows with at the time found out what I was doing they encouraged me to market it which I did. The rest, as they say, is history.
:)
Clay
I already had an Excel spreadsheet for tracking my "collection" (cough, cough) several years before encountering an early version of your program on another gun forum site. I looked at the screen shots, read the reviews, and concluded that your program is massive overkill for my needs, and far more complex than I have any desire to deal with. It is more flexible and more powerful than my little spreadsheet, but mine does what I ask it to do, and that's all I need.
Excel works just fine for many people.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aguila Blanca
:)
Thanks for considering NM Collector Software. I appreciate it.
Clay