Music Collector features & screenshots

Jump directly to key features:

Browse your CD database Add data & covers automatically Available data fields Sort and Search your database View your data in various skins View statistics of your database

Print your CD data Data export options e.g. to HTML Use the loan manager Store your CDs with devices Music Collector Network Support

Browse your CD collection

• Browse your CD inventory, ordered by Artist, Genre, Purchase Date, etc...
• View your lists in a columnar List View or in the cool Images View.
• Group your CDs in folders, e.g. by Artist, Label or Genre etc... Or scroll through them as one big list.
• Alternatively, browse your music database in Track View, where tracks can be listed, grouped and sorted, independent of the CD they appear on.

Add CDs to your CD database in 3 easy steps!

• Step 1. Insert the CD in your computer
  Music Collector will read the CD's ID and search for its data and cover images.
• Step 2. Select your CD from the Search Results
  For most CDs there will be only one result, so you just have to confirm it's the right one.
• Step 3. Click Add to add the CD to your database
  Music Collector will now download all information including Artist, Title, Release Year, Label, Genre,
  all Track Titles and lengths and the cover images.

Alternative methods to catalog your CDs

• Enter Artist and Title
  Just typing the Artist and Title is a simple way to add CDs, especially if you want to add multiple CDs from the same artist. It is also a good way to add vinyl records.
• Scan the CD barcode
  
  
  Scanning barcodes is the fastest way to add CDs. No need to insert CDs, but still giving precise search results.

Tip: try the Opticon laser scanner or the simple Cuecat scanner.

The Collectorz.com online CD database

• Music Collector gets its CD data and cover images from our own online CD database.
• Users of the program help build and maintain the database by submitting data and images to us using Music Collector's Submit feature.
• Our content managers judge and process the submitted data manually, so that data quality is ensured.
• At the moment, the database contains data for over 2.4 million CDs!
• Check out the daily updates and the "most popular" lists at Music Collector Connect.

Other sources for CD data and cover images

• Next to the Collectorz.com CD database, Music Collector searches six different Amazon sites for CD information: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon DE, Amazon FR and Amazon JP.
• Music Collector also supports reading track titles from CD-TEXT (available on most Sony CDs and home-burned discs) and from CDPLAYER.INI (a file that many CD player programs use to store CD information).

Available Fields

Main album information Title Artist(s) Release Date Label Catalogue Number Barcode (UPC or EAN) Format (CD, SACD, DVD-Audio, Vinyl, etc...) Packaging (Jewel case, Longbox, Digipak, etc...) Genre Special support for classical music Composer Conductor Field Orchestra Field Chorus Field Composition Field , with sub-fields: Title Composer Key Opus Composition Date

In Collection Status Use the In Collection Status field to indicate whether an album is actually in your possession, on your wishlist, On Order or For Sale. Use the In Collection Status filter menu to quickly show your wishlist, your "on order" items, etc...

Tracks and multi-disc albums Use the Tracks tab page in the Edit Album screen to manage a CD's track list. Create Disc items for each disc in a multi-disc set. Group tracks into Header items, e.g. for compositions or for sides of vinyl discs. Re-order tracks using drag and drop.

Available track fields Title, Artist(s), Length Label, Genre, Composer, Orchestra, Conductor Lyrics File Link Audio File Link Notes etc...

Extra details Studio Country Recording Date Sound: Mono/Stereo/Multi-Channel Tourname Extras etc...

Personal information Purchase Information: Date, Store, etc... Current Value Your rating Location User Defined Fields (use Tools / Field Names to rename these) Tags etc...

People involved Musicians, including Instruments Songwriters Producers Engineers etc...

Images, Notes and Links Add cover images Add related other images, photos, etc... Add links to websites, music videos, etc... Add links to MP3 files and start your music player directly in Music Collector Use the Links Tab page to add music files by dragging and dropping Add your personal comments on the album

Data entry and maintenance tools

• Built-in Auto Capitalization function, e.g. typing "goodbye blue sky" will automatically change into "Goodbye Blue Sky".
  The AutoCap feature is fully user configurable, including an exceptions list.
• Automatic Sort Title generator make sure that title like "The Wall" are sorted correctly.
• Next/Previous buttons in Edit Album screen let you edit multiple albums in a row, without leaving the edit screen.
• Use the Edit Multiple feature to modify data for multiple albums or tracks in one go.
• Rename data fields to suit your needs, several User Defined fields are available for this purpose.

Sorting and Searching

• Order your CD lists and track lists any way you like using the Sort Order screen.
• Use the Quick Search box to search your entire database for the occurrence of a particular text.
• Use the same filters in Album and Track View, switch back and forth to see the same filter results in both views
• Save your sort order definitions and activate them directly using the Sort Order menu on the toolbar (PRO edition only).
• Mix album and track fields in your filters (e.g. album.artist = madonna AND track.title contains "love") (PRO edition only).
• Save your filters and activate them directly using the Filter menu on the toolbar (PRO edition only).
• Or build advanced filters with the Filter screen, using brackets, AND, OR, NOT, equal, not equal, greater than, less than,
  "contains" and wildcards (PRO edition only).

View your album details in several cool skins

• Choose from various included layout templates and styles.
• Download templates and styles created by other users.
• Create your own templates and styles using XSL and CSS code.

• Besides various skins you can also change the whole main screen of Music Collector.
  Choose from different layout configurations of tree, list and details panel:

Database Statistics (PRO edition only)

• Use the Statistics screen to view all kinds of stats on your CD library.
• Use the graphical view to shows bar graphs per Artist, per Genre, per Label, etc...

Printing

• Print Simple Lists of your CD Collection.
• Print lists of your CDs or songs. You decide which fields to show as columns and which field(s) to sort the list on (PRO edition only).
• Print one CD per page with all details, including cover images (PRO edition only).
• Print a selection of CDs, e.g. the result of a search (PRO edition only).

• Export CD lists to HTML format, so that you can view and show your collection on your website.
• Export album details pages using various layout templates and styles, including all CD details, track lists and cover images.
• Check out a demo HTML database here.

Export to the Notes section of your iPod (PRO edition only)

• Export a list of your CDs to the iPod Notes system.
• Take your iPod with you to the store and browse your collection right there on the spot, nicely grouped by Artist or Genre.
• Now you can always check which CDs you already own and thus avoid duplicate purchases.
• Read more about exporting to your iPod here.

• Export to List Pro, for using your data on your Palm or PocketPC (Windows only).
• Export to Text (e.g. CSV), for using your data in other programs like Excel.
• Export to XML.

Loan Manager (PRO edition only)

• Track which CD you loaned and to who.
• Track Loan Date, Due Date and actual Return Date.
• Add extra notes for each loan.
• View all Loaned items, all Overdue items or entire loan history.

Carousel Devices: Support for CD Storage Units

Music Collector includes integrated support for the Centurion CD/DVD Device and Dacal/Ziotek CD/DVD Carousel Device.

• Link the CD discs in your personal database to slots in your Centurion CD/DVD Device or your Dacal/Ziotek CD/DVD Carousel Device.
• Use the Browse and Search features to find the disc you are looking for, then choose Eject. The device will automatically rotate and eject the disc.
• Connect multiple devices and the software will keep track of the location of your CDs.

For info: Centurion CD/DVD Device / Dacal/Ziotek CD/DVD Carousel Device.

Network Support and Read-Only Mode

• A lock file system automatically prevents concurrent editing.
• When one user is already using a database in Writable mode,
  subsequent users will automatically open the database in Read-Only mode.
• In Read-Only all editing features are hidden and disabled, allowing viewing and searching only.
• Create Read-Only workstations by running a forced Read-Only installation
  (start the installer with the /readonly command line parameter).

Compatibility

The Windows edition of Music Collector is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista. It is available in the following languages: English, Dutch, German, French, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese, Croatian.

The Mac OS X edition of Music Collector is compatible with OS X 10.3 or higher, including Leopard. The Mac edition is available in English only.

Need Help? Use the Help File!

• Task Based Help Topics.
• Full Keyword Index.
• Context sensitive help (Help buttons) in most screens of the
  Music Collector software.