Disk Explorer Professional adds all files and folders found on the selected volume or path as a new entry to the program database. The Add Volume and Add Virtual Volume configurations menus offer several additional options to the user.

Here it is possible to use profiles to include or exclude file types or contents from the cataloging. Both file name related information and file content information can be saved in the database.

The software supports the cataloging of contents on ftp servers as well, which could be very interesting for webmasters to index the contents on their sites and companies who use servers for backup or storage purposes.

Probably the most interesting feature is the ability to include file contents directly in the catalog. This is managed via profiles. You can index some file contents, for instance txt and pdf files, during cataloging, none or all. The selection has implications on the size of the database and accessibility.

Say you want to make sure that documents are always accessible. You could configure Disk Explorer Professional to make all documents directly accessible from the interface. Webmasters could make all static HTML files or configuration files accessible, a professional photograph larger image previews of all photos.

Thumbnails of images are automatically generated and added to the catalog, even if the indexation of no file contents is selected during configuration. You can again opt to archive the full images as well.

Profiles can be added, deleted and edited via Options > Profiles in the main application window or by pressing F7.

All volumes that have been added to the catalog are then displayed in the left sidebar. They can be browsed normally and files in the active directory are shown with their name, size and modification date.

Previews are shown for some file types, images and photos for instance. A double-click launches the default viewer for the file type if its contents have been indexed as well.

These previews are handled by filters. A total of 18 filters are available, mostly for image and audio formats.

An advanced search form is offered under Tools > Find or by pressing Ctrl-f. It offers basic file searches and many parameters to find specific files. Available are size, date, time,r rating and file attributes filters. The results can be exported or saved.

Additional features of Disk Explorer Professional

• Multiple databases can be open at the same time in the same program window
• A database and volumes can be exported to various formats including HTMl and XML.
• CDDB look-ups for audio files
• Comments and folder / file ratings supported
• Volume and database statistics and information available.
• Database contents are compressed to save local storage space.

Verdict

The Professional in Disk Explorer Professional suits the application well. It is a professionally designed disk cataloging software with an impressive feature set. Among the strong points are the application’s customization option via profiles and filters, the ability to index file contents in the catalog and the advanced search.

Disk Explorer Professional is near perfect. One feature that is missing is support for the sftp protocol. The program is compatible with most versions of the Windows operating system. It has been tested under Windows 7 Professional.

Azzul is a free program for Windows that offers to catalog media. The cataloging software works with catalogs that can consist of one or multiple disks each. To be precise, Azzul can not only catalog media from optical disks, but also from hard drives and other storage devices connected to the computer.

The cataloging begins by creating a new catalog in the software. Each catalog is defined by a name and optional description. It is then displayed in the left sidebar, and new media can be added to it by right-clicking it and selecting Create New Disk, or selecting the same option from the top menu.

This opens a file browser where a drive letter or directory can be selected for inclusion in the catalog. It takes less than a minute to add the file and directory structure of the selected folder or media to the catalog.

Each item is listed with a descriptive name and its size in the program. The name is taken from the media name or directory. It is possible to change the name and description in the disk properties.

All items that have been added to the catalog this way can be browsed directly in the program interface. It displays all files and folders, along with their sizes and attributes.

A search is provided to find files in large catalogs. Here it is possible to search using plain text, wildcards or regular expressions. It is for instance possible to display all files of a specific type, (e.g. .doc), or that contain the entered phrase. The results highlight the media the file is stored on, and a click on a file in the results displays that file in the file structure of the catalog.

The program feels very responsive and fast, both when cataloging media but also when performing searches or browsing files in a catalog. Azzul is an open source software for Windows. The disk cataloging software is available for download at the project’s page at Sourceforge.

It may seem like a timely process, but software can quickly hasten the process and if you’re willing to pay $10-$20, you can buy hardware which will further minimise the needed time.

You must initially decide how you will input your possessions into whatever software you choose to own. Naturally, you can input the product’s details but this can be timely. Other options are to buy an inexpensive barcode scanner or some software even allows you to utilise your webcam as a barcode scanner.

With regards to software, there are options for every platform.

The de facto official cataloguing software for OS X has to be Delicious Library. Delicious Library allows you to search Amazon for items, through keywords, barcodes, titles, authors, directors etc., and then import the data, including the current price used versions sell there, straight into the software. Items can then be displayed in a number of ways, including an aesthetically appealing ‘shelf’ mode which shows the picture of each item on a shelf and is at the item’s size. One can also rate items inside the software. Supported input modes are typing, scanning barcodes with the iSight camera (to varied degrees of success) or using their Bluetooth barcode scanner (which costs over $100!). It also allows libraries to be shared over a local network. It costs $40.

MediaMan is similar software for Windows. It too grabs data off Amazon, displays it in a ‘shelf’-like view. It supports USB barcode scanners and webcams too. It works on XP and Vista, and also costs $40! Basically, it’s like Delicious Library for Windows!

GCStar is free and open-source cataloguing software, for Linux, BSD, OS X and Windows. The software can grab data from a host of sources.

I use a CueCat Barcode Scanner, which when modified works with all of the above software. It simply converts barcodes into keystrokes. You can pick one of these up for around €10, but ensure it’s modified or it won’t work.

Cathy has a size of only 59 Kilobytes unpacked and creates a new disk catalog file after scanning and indexing a new disk. I previously mentioned that the indexing process was fast. It takes only a few seconds to index the contents of a full DVD. That is possible because Cathy indexes only the files, their path and information whereas Visual CD would index the contents of zip drives and media information.

Another benefit of using Cathy is its simplicity. Every disk catalog is searched automatically and results start to appear after seconds. Several filters are available to narrow down the search results. It is for instance possible to filter by date or length.

The verdict: If you want fast, simple and portable select Cathy. It’s the perfect disk catalog software for users who want to search their entire disk collection in a few seconds. If you want to add value, add mp3 tags, thumbnails and the like go for Virtual CD which offers that. It does take much longer to index the disks though and the interface is complicated and not that intuitive.

Visual CD will start the disk scanning and file indexing process. I kid you not if I say that this can take a while depending on the amount and type of files on the disk. Most files get simply indexed but some get indexed with additional information. The contents of archives gets indexed as well or the tags of music files.

A disk catalog is created in the end and stored locally. Each disk catalog can be searched independently from each other or to search across multiple disk catalogs. The additional information, like mp3 tags, are included by default.

Not everything is indexed by default and stored in each disk catalog. The options contain numerous settings that index additional information. Go there to add video, picture, mp3, music and hidden files & folders to the indexing process.Visual CD can also create thumbnails of images and videos that are then displayed during searches or while browsing a disk catalog. It’s pretty obvious that each additional setting can have a huge influence on the indexing process and the time it takes to create the disk catalog.

One interesting aspect is the use of comments that can be added. Comments can also be included in searches. The disk catalog software comes with a few extras like a renamer and duplicate finder which add to the value of the software program.

The original website is not online anymore. You can download the latest version of Visual CD 4.20 here from Ghacks. Visual CD (161)