Storage of digi kits?

[debv]

I'm new to this; is it OK to keep all my digi kits in a folder on my PC or should I burn CD's and then copy back to the PC what I want to use at the time? Will keeping them on my PC slow down my computer? I'd rather keep them on the PC for now; so much easier, but don't want to slow it down. I don't think a management software exists for this; would be nice if there were something similar to font managers with which you can install/uninstall groups of fonts as you need them. Thanks for the advice! Deb

[jesshunt]

I think it all depends what kind of space you have on your 'puter....I have room to keep all my goodies right here where I can grab them....makes it easier to scrap when I don't have to go hunting on CDs for them. HOWEVER....I also back up all of my goodies to CD or DVD so that I don't lose them all if god forbid my 'puter crashed.

[justmp]

I completely agree with Jess!

(Although I must admit, I've been HORRIBLE about backing up!!)

[elizzylee]

I keep all my files on my c drive and have a back up on the external hard drive. I do the same thing for photos. I'm so scared of losing files, I'm a bit of a fanatic when it comes to storage, lol!

[elizzylee]

Can I pose a follow up question? How do you organize your kits? By kit name or by elements, color scheme? There are so many possibilities! Currently, I keep them filed by Kit name and the kit's creator, but I'm having a hard time remembering everything I have. How do you guys do it? Help!!

[kathie02]

I burn all my kits to cd, actually I make two copies, one to keep at home and one I keep at my moms. I number all my cd's in sequence, when I unzip my file I copy the preview jpg. of the kit to a folder I call Kit Thumbnails and rename it to add the number of the disc it is backed up on. Makes it so easy to browse through all my kits and know what disc it is on. I keep all my newer kits on my pc till I have used them, then delete them and use the cd to reuse them. I have an EHD on order, but will just use it as an extra backup.

[dzinah]

I organize my kits by designer. If I buy them from a store that has several designers (such as DD), I make a folder for that store, and then create individual folders for each designer in that folder. I tend to remember kits and styles by "designer" so that works for me. But you have to find whatever organizational method best works for you.

No matter how well the kits are organized though, I am finding that I have amassing one *mammoth* collection, and over time I forget I even have certain things! I've seriously considered printing out all of the preview files and keeping them in a binder so I can quickly peruse what I have before digging into a layout.

[sarahbcmc]

I'm similar, I name by my folders "designer ~ kit name ~ website".

I haven't burned them to CD...yet. There on our desk top computer and I scrap on my laptop via a wireless connection. I always mean to take the weekend off from scrapping and burn everything to CD... but I never get round to it!!!!

P.s. my mum thought when you are 'burning' something to CD, you were physically burning it. LOL!!!

[debv]

Sarah, I had a good chuckle over your signature line about exclamation marks. I am bad about that when it comes to posts, etc., also. I had to laugh because I am a composition teacher, and I teach my students that they should use only one exclamation mark PER YEAR. If you don't tell kids that, they'll use them every other sentence in order to try to strengthen their point...exactly like we do here!!! Help, I'm a hypocrit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, well, maybe it's because in my "formal" writing, I dont use !, so I just bust loose when I can; poor excuse. ANYWAY, about sorting: I'm trying this out: yesterday I opened up photo-sized canvases and pasted in small versions of several photos of elements, kits, etc. into each and named them. I saved them in a folder in My Pictures; I can go into that folder and look through the photos to remind myself what I have and the name of it. Not sure if it will work well or not; I'll let you know. Hugs, Deb

[sarahbcmc]

Deb, that sounds like a great idea...was it time consuming (I have a gazillion kits and soooo behind!!!)

Re: the exclamation points...A friends child who had been learning about punctuation said "you shouldn't use that many...are you REALLY that excited?"!!! MAYBE that's it - too excitable!

[Tali]

Just wanted to join in on the topic of kit organization. I also have folders by designer name where I store all their kits. Everytime I download a new kit, I go through it and tag items in my iView Media catalogs. So if the kit includes, ribbon, flowers, stitches....(you get the picture)...I update my catalogs. This does not remove the item from it's original kit. So if I need a flower, I go to my catalog and hit "flower" and a thumbnail of every flower from every kit (that I tagged) will show up. I can drag and drop the flower from the catalog into photoshop (or any program). This works for me because I don't have to print anything out, try and remember what's in each folder, or move items out of their original kit. I think I googled iView Media and purchased the $49.99 option. Well worth every penny!

I'm extremely tired right now so I hope that was clear, LOL!

As far as storage...I keep everything on my PC (so much easier than pulling out CDs). I back everything up on DVDs. I should mention that I keep everything on my PC because I clean up my files regularly. I don't keep things forever. If I'm never going to use it, or never going to use it "again"... I delete. I usually only hold on to stuff that I use over and over. So I'm constantly freeing up space.

[deenaw]

I currently keep all my kits on my hard drive but back them up on CDs often. So far, it hasn't slowed down my computer. If your computer is running slow, you could think about buying an external hard drive to keep your kits on and that would free up space on your internal hard drive.

Kathie, how smart are you??? I loved your idea about copying the preview thumbnails into a separate directory! I think you should even be able to create a shortcut that will link you right to their sub-directory! Oooo! I can't wait to try this! You are brilliant, girl! (I, too, always forget what I have and where to find it!)

[dzinah]

Tali- love the iview media tip! I will have to check that out!

[ptknox]

I keep all of my kits on my PC's second hard drive so that I can access them easily, burn them to CDs AND use an automatic backup program to back them up to an old computer with a 300 GIG hard drive on it that I use just as a backup server on my home network. Can you spell OVERKILL!?!?!? Seriously, it would break my heart to lose all of my cherished scrapboooking kits and I'm borderline fanatical about making sure they are safe in the event of a hard drive crash.

The other thing that I back up frequently...and I think lots of people forget about until they lose a hard drive...is my font collection. I can't imagine what kind of nightmare it would be to try to find them all over the internet, etc. should I have computer failure.

For organization purposes...I swear by Adobe Photoshop Album. I try to enter my kits into it as soon as I get them and I have collections set up for each designer along with various tags such as brads, photo mats, overlays, etc. It really helps me to keep track of what I have when I'm creating a layout. For example, if I want to add a ribbon I click on my "ribbons" tag and PS Album shows me all my ribbons... It DOES take time to make sure everything is tagged initially, but it really pays off in that I don't "lose" things or forget that I had them in the first place!

[carla]

I have an external hard drive that I keep all of my scrapbooking "stuff" on. I do this so that the enormous amount that I have will not slow down my pc! I also back that up with cd versions that are stored in a safe deposit box.

As far as my kits, I purchase from several online sites so I have a folder for each site. Inside each folder, I have sub folders for each designer from that site. I also keep the "read me" files with that kit so that I can give proper credit when uploading a layout.

Hope this helps...keeping your file on your computer, an external drive, or an CD is really a personal choice. If you have them on a CD, you don't have to copy them back to the PC to use them. Just use them right off of the CD!

There are plenty of ways to keep your files. You just have to find one that suits your style and personal preferrence!

Good Luck!

[elizzylee]

wow, there are some really aweome storage systems here!!! natalie, I am really really digging your iview thing...I'm off to check that out too. thanks for the tip!

[sarahbcmc]

Pattie, do you know if you 'tag' your files and then you move them (eg, from your computer to an EHD), does the tag stay with the file? I want to do this, but I haven't decided about long term storage options and I certainly don't want to do it more than once!!!!!!

Also, do the tags work with the CD version? Do you have to tag before or after you burn to CD?

Hoping to back up at some time!!!

[tearyied]

wow! You guys have some awesome ideas! I was up last night till 3 am organizing my iview catalogs! (thanks tali!!) I love it!!!!