12.1  Keeping track of your own data files and links

Most people just use filenames - and it's very easy to lose track what was in a file like "result123.dat" later on.

With Catalyzer, you can add as much structured annotation as you like to data files - so that when you return to the data, it will mean something to you. You can also capture cross references between data and analysis files, links to publications and presentations.

Some people create a new catalog for each project / experiment they work on. The catalogs are small enough to store all catalogs on the hard disk. If you store the actual data files on CDs, you can add a field to the catalog to note which CD the data is stored on. You could choose to create a new catalog for each dataset you have - or hold all your information in a single catalog.

You can publish the catalogs as websites on your own computer for conveniently browsing your data using a web browser.