Gun Collecting Software?

[nmCollector]

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 )

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

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.

[Sarge]

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

[Sarge1998]

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.

[Emri]

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

[Harlan (Deceased)]

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"

[nmCollector]

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.

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.

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 ----------

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

NM Collector Software has a Data Sheet for that very purpose! Here is a sample screen shot of the Data Sheet.

[Sarge1998]

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.

[gunner]

Looks very similar to a german collectors software i´m using. But good anyway!

[nmCollector]

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.

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.

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 ----------

Looks very similar to a german collectors software i´m using. But good anyway!

Can you share a link to that software so we (mostly I) can take a look at it?