Wayne, Log-winded, but I hope this helps. Works for me and is bullet-proof.
I've never used a program designed for data storage, as I've always used the Explore program in Windows to organize all of my files. Before Explore, it was PC Tools, and it only allowed 8 characters. Really nice being able to have short sentences now as file folders. What I've experienced: a.. The fewer the 3rd party programs I use- the better. I do more with what's there. 3rd-party programs can also be buggy with other devices, like the printer. And they may conflict with other programs. 3rd party support is often hard to get- if not impossible. If you have to dump the program, you start over. Explore is the base file-management program for your pc and can't go anywhere, and updates automatically with Windows updates. Third party programs are someone else's idea of how things should be. b.. WE (Windows Explore) is very versatile, and the data is easy to retreive and back up. c.. I can store photos, videos, or Word files with photos, urls, videos, brought into them. d.. If I just want a photo or video stored, I just copy-paste it to a sub-file folder- an existing one or a new sub-folder under the appropriate catagory that I create for the photo(s) or videos. e.. WE shows what type of file it is (using 'list details'), the size, date, etc. If it's a Word file, not a photo, a double-click opens it in Word. If it's a photo, a double-click opens in in a photo program. But if I want to modify the photo, I just open Adobe Photoshop and open that photo to modify & print if need be. This is needed to re-size photos to post in emails and on websites. If you click on 'view' you can choose what size thumbs you'll see photos as. Mousing over the photos will give you the file data also as a little pop-up. f.. If a fly catagory needs to be tied to websites, I find it easier to create a sub-folder titled, say 'house-flies web-sites'. Then in Word, I create a document with copy-pasted photos and copied url's so that I can reference the few websites that I found that I want to keep. Then later, if I find another related site, I can save it to that 'houseflies Word file' and any other specialty fly that it would relate to. I can also put You-tube urls in the Word doc. I copy-paste pertinent portions of emails to these Word docs also. g.. My 'Favorites' file is a mess. Why? I don't spend the time working with it because it's not as user-friendly to organize as WE is. My files go back 15+ years and many sites are no longer there. That being said, I do have hundreds of Favorite websites saved. I have many files, but also many independent ones to scroll down. A Google search is sometimes faster. h.. WE is great because of the thumbs and slideshows. It's easy to find a fly photo by just eyeballing the thumbs. i.. WE transfers over to new Windows operating systems or 2nd computers. j.. Sub-files don't show up until I expand that file. Keeps the list short and simple for main catagories. If someone doesn't know how to run WE, get a little tutoring. Your master program files are in there and you can mess up your pc. Back up the whole drive on an external drive and save it somewhere. This will re-create your pc operating system. Example: I needed to find my photo of a needlefish I tied for Gary & Robin Edwards (Vacations on the Fly TV show) 10 years ago for a website photo for Darren. My C-drive opens automatically, so I went to 'Master Fly File', 'Saltwater Flie's, 'Inshore Flies', 'Flex-O patterns', and there it was. I hadn't accessed it for many years, but found it in a few seconds among 5,000 fly photos, and you can see that needlefish on my website. If you'll notice, my website files are set up the same way, as are many sites now- folders (menus) and sub-folders (sub-menus). 'Saltwater', 'Inshore', photo thumb- click. Whenever I have guests over to tie, we research photos and it takes little time to find just about any photo. One last thing. I have one more data-source to log, and that's scans of my fly designs. I'm planning to create a sub-folder in each cagagory for 'Design Scans', and will save the files as JPEGs so I can modify them. For the ones that don't fit catagories, like 'hook designs', I have a 'Flyfishing Flytying Technical Info' folder. Create a sub-folder named 'scanned hook designs', and all of my hook design sketches will be there, along with the word files supporting them. If I find a close sub on the net, I can add it to the Word file, or create one to associate with the design. For my website, I created a whole new set of folders/subfolders so I could import just the photos I wanted, resize them smaller, and crete the thumbs. I never mess with them unless I'm messing with the website. Whew...hope this helps. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: Wayne Blake-Hedges To: vfb-mail@googlegroups.com Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 5:42 AM Subject: Re: [VFB] RE: fly pattern database/scrap book Hi Don; Are you creating fiolders and subfolders and then placing pictures in them? Or are you using some type of software to creat a pattern template of sorts? Wayne --- On Tue, 11/9/10, Don Ordes <f...@tribcsp.com> wrote: From: Don Ordes <f...@tribcsp.com> Subject: Re: [VFB] RE: fly pattern database/scrap book To: vfb-mail@googlegroups.com Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 9:06 PM Wayne, It depends on what format you are going to store your files in. Using the Explore program, create folders and sub-folders based on catagories that you define. Each sub-folder is files in that catagory. And under those are sub-files for that catagory and so on. I have files as far as 6 steps deep, but they are still easy to find. The trick is to be disciplined when you file and make sure you name everything descriptively. That makes retreival simple. Sample: My photos- All Flies All Fishing Flies Saltwater flies Inshore patterns Shrimp pattrns Kinky-fiber patterns Swap-flies- shrimp swap 2009 This is just a sample, and each folder and subfolders can number as many catagories as you want. I have about 300 catagories between Fantasy Flies, Fishing Flies, Web-site files, DVD files, etc. I have over 5000 photographs stored. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: Wayne Blake-Hedges To: virtual flybox Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 6:27 PM Subject: [VFB] RE: fly pattern database/scrap book Hi All; I recently acquired a Pansonic toughbook CF-18 computer and plan on using it for hobby stuff, primarily fly tying/fishing. Anyone store patterns on their computer? If so, how do you do it and what software do you use? One idea I have is creating a pattern book for events I visit, such as Sow Bug. My wife recently made a cookbook of my daughter's college soccer team tailgate recipies and had it published as a spiral cook book. It worked really well and was well recieved by others. Wayneb -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com