Where the Catalog File is Located

WinCatalog keeps all the data for a catalog inside a single file on a disk (the file itself is an SQLite database). You can place the file anywhere you want, including a removable media or a network drive. But you should know that network access may reduce program speed because WinCatalog needs to send a large amount of information over the network.

 

When you start WinCatalog first time, you will be asked to create new or open an existing catalog file. Once again, the catalog file may be located anywhere on a local, removable or a shared network drive.

 

If you already created a catalog file but do not know where it is located, please run WinCatalog (it will open most recently used catalog file), and click the Catalog button (left from the Main tab of the Ribbon toolbar):

On top of the Catalog page, you will see the collection filename and the full path to the collection file. If you make a double click on the filename, the containing folder will be open in the File Explorer.

 

If you want to move the collection file, please first close WinCatalog, move the file and then open it again but from a new location.

 

To open a collection file, just make a double click on the file in the File Explorer.

 

Or, alternately, run WinCatalog. On startup, WinCatalog will try to load the collection file from a previous location. If you moved the file, it fails and display the standard Startup choice dialog where it will ask you to Create new or Open existing collection file. Click the second option to open the collection file from a new location. However, if you copied your collection file, on startup WinCatalog will open the collection from 'old' location. That's not a problem, to open a collection from a new location, please click the Collection Management button, then Open Existing and select the collection file from the new location. On every next run, WinCatalog will automatically open the collection file from the new location (if it is available on the PC or until you open or create another collection).

 

Using WinCatalog you can have as many collection files as you want. To create a new collection file, please click the Collection Management button and then click New Collection.