Catalog application(files,folders & media)

February 1, 2011 4:44 PM

Catalog application: I'm looking for a lite or open source app, to Catalog all files,folders & media on my PC & Mac ,that can be saved in pdf. I can search , store on my PCs and Macs,so that when I create a backup volume, I can know what is on it. I have tried a few lite and open source apps, but dislike ones I tried ( PixDiskat 1.08 ,Media Catalog Studio Lite 5.9, MediaMonkey because it conflicts with itunes)
posted by pcmactech to computers & internet (8 answers total)

Do you want a PDF, or a searchable database? I'm a little fuzzy on your question.
posted by sonic meat machine at 4:56 PM on February 1, 2011

I think you need to be more specific/clear as to what your dream catalog will contain. Do you want image previews (like thumbnail views in Explorer)? Or are text filenames sufficient? Are you looking for this to be a live searchable index (enter a keyword) or a static point-in-time snapshot?
posted by benzenedream at 4:56 PM on February 1, 2011

Zotero
posted by singingfish at 5:17 PM on February 1, 2011

If you'd like to go the simple route on the PC you could do "dir /s" from the root of the drive and pipe it to a text file. If you truly require PDF you could then use a PDF printer to get it in that format.
posted by dave*p at 5:27 PM on February 1, 2011

I rarely use a Windows-based computer these days, but way back when, I remember getting a lot of use out of KarenWare's Directory Printer for these types of jobs. It's freeware.

For Mac, try PrintWindow; you can use the Advanced version for free for 30 days to determine if it's worth buying. Standard version is free; Advanced version is 20 bucks. Comparison between the two is here.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 9:11 PM on February 1, 2011

a searchable database,that could be printed as PDF since my backup volume,is stored off site

Zotero is good,I like the iTunes style,but it doesn't mention media,music,folder contents etc
posted by pcmactech at 3:40 AM on February 2, 2011

A simple way to do this would be to use locate (native on Mac, requires cygwin for Windows).

locate / > laundrylist.txt
then print laundrylist to PDF.

should print a list of all files on the system at time of indexing. The searchable database is by default in /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db (on Linux). You can back up the database as machinename.db then use

locate -d machinename.db searchterm

to search it offline.
posted by benzenedream at 6:41 PM on February 2, 2011

simple for you your a programmer...I looked at cygwin,before I try it, would like a windows based app first as it is 1 gig dl, and system is slowing already from too many apps

any windows based apps?
posted by pcmactech at 3:03 AM on February 3, 2011