Good Morning, I use Books and love it. I have a collection of over 4000 pieces of giant Panda memorabilia. While most are in a spreadsheet I’d love to have CLZ app that I could use. Has there been any thought to creating a “generic” collection app.?
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I saw someone asked this same question here: Generic CLZ. And honestly I wasn’t too happy with that answer. It has a lot of self assumptions that they think the big thing is the core lookup. And yes while it’s a big factor, the interface is where CLZ shines. So much untapped potential.
I got to say I really wanted this feature has well. I been battling this issue myself as I have collections that I want to catalog such as stamps, postcards, video game accessories, collectible bookmarks, etc. There is one company out there that does the books, games, moves, etc + create your own collection. I just personally wasn’t happy with the cost.
I personally went towards an open source app out there that has a web interface. It’s self hosted for me and it’s pretty good for just viewing what I have so that when I go to bookstores. And it has a java based thick client. Definitely not the prettiest interface, but it is extremely customizable to my needs. And I was able to export my collections from ClZ to this app. Then do it’s online lookups. I was up and running with my full collection within an hour.
My subscription expires next year for games and books. CLZ has the best interface hands down on collections. But without a generic collection option, I had to look elsewhere. If CLZ offered a generic collection app for around the same price of CLZs other offerings, I would be staying with CLZ.
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Just wanted to post an update (I was the one that posted the other thread linked here).
Since it doesn’t look like we’ll ever get a generic CLZ app usable for pins or memorabilia, I just started using CLZ Books for the purpose. It seems to have the most generic set of fields of the apps. I tried for a long time to find another app that would let me set the field names myself, but the only ones I found that could do this didnt have the display options I wanted (like CLZ’s cards and images views).
Here is a screen shot of CLZ Books used for pins:
Not a perfect solution, but better than any alternatives I’ve found
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I second a generic collector option. I too agree that the “Core” need not be involved as this would be a more personal collection and differ from user to user. I also have dabbled using Movie Collector to do something similar for CD’s I needed to catalog for sale. Agreed, so much potential for other types of collections.
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I’d love to have this as well. I have a huge collection of video game collectibles/items that I have no real way to catalog that’s in an easy to use/easy to view format. Having an ability to catalog those in a more “generic” format would be invaluable to me. The “core” lookup wouldn’t even matter as many of these items aren’t part of any database anywhere anyway. I’ve considered adding them as “hardware” under “Games Mobile” but the it’s not great as the fields available are very few and just dumping everything into the “description” box isn’t ideal. As unlikely as it seems, I hope this can come to fruition one day.
Of course now I see this after starting a new topic on vintage magazines. D’oh.
Waiting for there to be a Core database for a market before creating an app to allow users to easily create that core in the first place is a chicken/egg closed loop that is unlikely to be escaped.
I mean… I know numerous folks who collect vintage toys. They’re hardcore about it, but rely on everything from Excel to binders of paper to track them. Tap into the special interest communities, and the core data flows in, is my suspicion.
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I have a very small collection of collectables (currently 15 items) that are movie related and I wanted to keep track of. I just added them as movies in my movie collection. I used some of the default fields to store the data I wanted to store.
When User Defined Fields arrive to the web version I guess you could add everything you need. You will only miss the Core data, maybe for many that should be no problem.
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I can see how it could be very difficult for Team CLZ to create a “Generic Collection” tool for those of us who would love to see such an app. However, with the move to cloud-based databases I’m not sure how they could harness the countless user-defined fields that such a project would entail. For the front end to look so good on our computer screens, the data must be arranged and stored on the CLZ servers. That would be a huge undertaking. Still, if it were possible, I would be among the first to sign up.
I have used Filemaker Pro since the late 1980s to create more databases than I care to remember. For my purposes all of these relational databases are on local storage on my home network, not in the cloud (though FMP is a very capable platform for web-based databases. However, I use other tools for web applications). The biggest limitation with my personal databases is, of course, unless I am logged in to my home network, I can’t make use of the data.
In spite of it being a pipe dream, I will join the line and stand in waiting for Team CLZ to work their magic for the countless niche collection markets. 
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