7.1  Cataloging files on hard disk / CD

Catalyzer can make a catalog of files you have on hard disk, CD or a network drive. The catalog will have the same structure of folders and subfolders as you already have - and you can extend it by adding your own fields and links between parts of the catalog. The Import Data trail of the Quickstart guide includes some step by step instructions on importing data.

The catalog stores pointers to the actual data files, so will often be much smaller than the data files themselves.

In the catalog tree, select a folder in the catalog (for a new catalog the root folder is fine), raise the right-click menu, (ctrl-click on Mac) and select Import>Folder or Import>File. You can then pick a folder or file to import.

Import data from a folder using the right-click menu (ctrl-click on Mac) on the catalog

The import dialog lets you choose the folder to import.

Import data from a folder using the File:Import menu

Once you've browsed to a directory, you can set extra options. These include which file types to include / exclude, and the size of thumbnails you want if you're importing images.

Press the Import button once you've chosen the directory.

The progress dialog displays the progress importing. Importing can take a while for large numbers of files.

The catalog which is generated by importing data has the same structure of folders as the original files. There is one record for each file and folder, with links back to the original file (in the "URL" field). Note that Catalyzer automatically creates the new classes for you to hold this information (e.g. an "Image" class for images, a "File" class for vanilla files. But you can add your own fields to these classes as you need.

The catalog which has been generated by importing files. Note that Catalyzer spots the images and makes thumbnails of them.