Who needs what?

These tips can be useful for CD and DVD collectors, archive owners, music and movies funs. If you keep hundreds or thousands of disks you need some plan to manage the heap. Here it is.

Goals

Organizing a huge disks collection. Finding the information that you are looking for. Managing the disks you have loaned.

Outline

1. Think out a plan for the catalog ordering
2. Place your disks in order on your storages and shelves
3. Build a CD categories tree in the catalog database
4. Add disks to the catalog database
5. Fill in disk codes for each disk item in the database
6. Mark disk covers with the codes
7. Follow these steps for each new disk!

1. Think out a plan for the catalog ordering

1. In alphabetical order
2. By categories
3. Combined
4. Other

Invent the system of disk codification. A code should be unique for each disk (you need it for a quick and precise searching). Simple example just number them at a certain interval, like CD-0001, CD-0005, CD-0010. The interval is important to reserve numbers for a future use (maybe you would buy the missing CD-0002 in the future?).

2. Place your disks in order on your storages and shelves

Place your disks in the selected order. It will require a piece of handwork for the first time, but its extremely quick and handy to find a disk box in the ordered storage. It's better to return each media item back to its own place once you do not use it.

3. Build a CD categories tree in the catalog database

CD catalog software can store thousands of compounding groups. Use it!

4. Add disks to the catalog database

Scan the disks with CD cataloging program. Disk base will be growing up with each new scanned disk.

5. Fill in disk codes for each disk item in the database

Open the disk properties dialog and type in the unique disk code for each item.

6. Mark disk covers with the codes

You need to add a small sticker or label to the original disk. This makes the disks ordering and finding much easier. You can select from a several choices:

1. Write the disk code on box or paper cover (with marker or pencil);
2. Print out the disk stickers (from CD database with CD Cover utility) and attach them to disk boxes;
3. Print out the disk envelope with full disk information and use it instead of an original box.

7. Follow these steps for each new disk!

Continue with this plan with all new disks, which you ever get.

You have full control over your CD archive catalog! What are you going to do with all that extra time?

Download the CD archive cataloging software, create your own disk database, and use the full program power for CD archive operations!