November 2008 Newsletter

Newsletter November 2008

Organizing Tips: Great Ways to Simplify...Organize...Protect

Meet Jamie Novak, Collectify's newly-appointed Chief Organizing Officer. Known as the “World’s Most Relatable Organizer,” she motivates women, men, couples, families, and even home business owners to take a fresh look at how important - and easy - it is to protect their belongings and their homes by creating a home inventory.

Join us in the next three issues for some of Jamie's organizing tips you can use to simplify...organize...protect your home and belongings.

Part I: Simplify Your Daily Life!

Overwhelmed? Taking note of everything you own can feel like an overwhelming task, so overwhelming, in fact, that it’s hard to get started. Instead of thinking you have to do it all at once, try going room by room. The family room is a perfect place to start—grab your digital camera and start snapping shots of your valuables today!

Sometimes, it’s the simple things we do that give us the most peace of mind. A valuable record of your belongings can make everything simpler during any sort of life change, especially if there’s potential loss of property. Collectify Home Inventory makes it simple for you to report property claims, file police reports due to burglary or theft, plan your estate, and protect your belongings during a move.

Read Part II: Organize Your Living Areas And Your Work Space! in our next issue...

Find out more about Jamie and her new role as Chief Organizing Officer for Collectify.

Survey: Are You Prepared?

We want to know what measures you've taken to prepare yourself, your family, and your things...and if you haven't we'd like to know about that too.

You could win a copy of Collectify Home Inventory for answering just five, multiple-choice questions.

Don't wait to take the survey - we'll be drawing the winning name out of the proverbial hat November 20.

Click here to take the survey and enter your name in our draw.

User Query: What's the Difference?

Question? With the launch of Collectify Home Inventory (CHI) earlier this year, we've been fielding questions about the difference between our new product and Collectify Collector's Edition (CCE).

Question: Is Collectify Home Inventory simply a "light" version of Collectify Collector's Edition?

Answer: No.

CHI was developed specifically for your home and its contents such as appliances, tools, and gadgets. Beyond that, it can store warranties, guarantees, and receipts; manage emergency contacts; track renovations, repairs, and additions to your home; and assign beneficiaries. It manages your home and it's contents so that in case of a move, or an emergency or disaster, you have the information you need for a quick transition or recovery.

CCE, on the other hand, provides the collector with the level of customization necessary to manage any sort of collection - from beetles to baubles to books. Collectify Home Inventory can be used for collections but due to field limitations (we included only the necessities to increase ease and speed of use) we suggest you snap a pic of, say, your music collection and then create ONE entry for the collection with a total dollar value.

Have a question? Send it to us and it could be featured in an upcoming issue.

Expert Tips CCE: Using the Backup Utility

We all know that backing up our computer data is a good idea, but did you know that it's just as important to create a backup file of your Collectify collection on a regular basis?

Not only will you be less likely to lose critical information on the things you own but you will be able to share your collection with other Collectify users.

The Collectify Backup utility creates a .cbk file (Collectify Backup file). It compresses and makes it safe to transfer ALL the information contained in a Collectify database – this includes the images, data, and database settings.

Making a Backup

Follow these steps to create a backup of a Collectify database.

First, exit out of the database you wish to backup (if it's open, go to the File menu and select Open Database... It’s counter-intuitive, but it works – the database you are currently using will close). You will now see a red screen with the Login, Open, and New tabs.

Go to the File menu and select Backup... The Backup Database Wizard dialog will open.

Click Next to arrive at the Database to Backup page. From the list, select the name of the database you wish to backup.

Click Next. On the Destination Folder and File page select the location where you want to save the file. If the file path is missing (or it isn't the location you want), click the Browse... button to open the Backup Database dialog. Navigate to the desired drive, folder, or subfolder. If you like, rename the file in the File Name field. Click Save.

Click Next. The Backup Wizard will display dynamic blue bars. When complete, click the Finish button to exit the Wizard.

Next Issue: How to Restore a Backup File

Expert Tips CHI: Keep Important Manuals Nearby

Many manufacturers now post manuals on-line - primarily for those who have lost their manuals over the years.

Why not go to the manufacturers' sites of your large and small appliances, electronic equipment, phones, cameras, computer hardware, bicycles, sewing machine ... you name it - the manual is probably available on-line.

Download the manual (they are often posted as PDFs) and save it in CHI for fast future reference.

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