Windows Help & Advice - UK (2020-05)

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CLIENT-ONLY INSTALLATION

Data Crow comes in both standalone and server-client configurations

• whichever you choose, it requires the Java Runtime Environment.
  If it’s not already installed, go to http://java.com and click Java Download.
  If you’re happy running the 32bit version of Data Crow (most people
  are), just click Agree and Start Free Download, otherwise click See all
  Java Downloads to choose the Windows Offline (64-bit) installer instead.
  Save the installer to your Downloads folder, then double-click it, and click
  Install when the Java setup appears. Click Close when complete.
  Once installed, type “java” into Windows’ search box, and click
  Configure Java. Switch to the Security tab – if you only plan to use Java
  with Data Crow, uncheck Enable Java content for browser and Web Start
  applications. Select Very High as the security level, then click OK [Image
  A]. The box on page 37 reveals how to get started with a server-client
  configuration for multi-device access. For standalone configuration (or
  to install the client on your PC), head over to http://www.datacrow.net, select
  Downloads from the left-hand pane, and click Data Crow Windows
  Installer to go to the FossHub website.
  Here you’ve got a choice between Portable (All Platforms) for
  adding  Data Crow to your portable toolkit, or Windows Installer. Either

Ever needed to keep a catalogue of important items you own? Perhaps your DVD collection needs

organising before you start lending it out to friends or family, or you want to keep tabs on your books.

Maybe you’d like to make a definitive list of your music to avoid going out and accidentally buying

another copy of an album you already own. Or perhaps you’re looking to record a more personal treasure,

from cigarette cards to stamps.

Whatever your cataloguing needs are, Data Crow is the tool for you. This underrated freebie makes it

easy to start building and managing collections of all sizes, and thanks to some nifty time-saving tools,

you don’t necessary have to meticulously record everything yourself. Instead, Data Crow has linked in

with several online providers to make it possible to automatically populate the information you need

from various web-based services (sadly, not all currently work, due to changed API settings on the part of

Amazon and IMDB).

Read on to learn how to collate your collection, access it from any computer on your network, and set

up a loan-administration system so you know who’s borrowed what. –NICK PEERS

YOU’LL NEED THIS

DATA CROW

Download it from

http://www.datacrow.net.

JAVA

Download it from

http://www.java.com

way, savethe zip file to somewhere convenient like your

Downloadsfolder. Oncedone,locatethezipfile,right-click

it,andchooseExtractAll.Thenit’sa caseofdouble-clicking

thecorrect32bitor64bitfile(clearlymarked)toeitherinstall

theprogramorrunthe portableversion.Followthewizard

toitsend– thedefaultchoicesarefineformostusers– then

clickDone.

CREATECATALOG

RunDataCrow.First,choosewheretostoretheprogram’s

data,suchasinsideyourDocumentsfolderorOneDrive

storage.ClickOK,selectyourlanguage,andclick OKagain.

Whentheprogramopens,clickClosetoopentheToolSelect

Wizard.Choosethetypeofinformationyou’dliketocatalogue

[ImageB].DataCrowstoresinformationinmodules– thinkof

eachoneasa separatedatabase,withtheabilitytolinkrelated

databasestogether.

Data Crow specialises in media collections, with

prebuilt modules for books, images, movies (including TV

shows),music,andsoftware.Inaddition,you’llseemodulesfor

users,contacts,andcontainers.Containersprovidea physical

repository(suchasa boxorfilingcabinet)tostoreyouritemsin,

B

A

© DATA CROW

Or nise collections

with Data Crow

34 |^ |^ May 2020