Tips and Hints on how to organize your folders ?

[Scrappinsass]

I also do the store designer kit method I have a *general* catagory for the odd freebies from here and there but I also have a duplicate folder system for all the zip files and I have them burned to disk as well as on 2 1T external h/drives. I do this with my pictures too. Just because it's external does not mean it won't crash! Mind you once zip files have been burned and backed up on the externals, I take them off the internal drive. Too many tears have been shed not to heed the warning to *back it up*

[CecileQ]

i also like to store by store and designer. easier to just search if have already gotten a kit.

this works except when forget a designer is at a couple of stores... have stumbled on a store, saw a kit i liked, bought it, only to find had it already on the ehd!

some of the points in organization
most of the challenges here ask for gds products, so need to be able to find and id them

other times, like in a numbers or speed scrap, may be asked for "stitching," mat, or red bow, so need that breakdown also

hope you will jump in the fun here

ps thought would stop getting goodies when filled up a 40 gb drive. last year got a 500 which is 80% filled, and Santa got me a 1T.

[SunBum]

Originally Posted by ATWIGO

I am just starting to collect all the different kits, artwork, etc... and was wondering what the best way to organize them would be.

Any suggestions? How do you save and organize them?

Right now I am saving everything on a thumbdrive since my computer does go down every so often.

For folders, do you save under designer name? holiday? season? color?

Do you take apart the kit and save under ribbons, alpha, bows, etc...

Maybe I need more items to figure out what I need to do.

For most truly creative people, I think organization is a stumbling block. Being able to "see" what you have actually helps the creative process, not just in digi-scrapping but in all crafts. Here's my own developed method of digi-scrap storage for store purchases, store freebies, and blog freebies:

I make folders for each store or each blog I keep up with and then subfolders, so it looks something like this:

GoDigitalScrapbooking (Main Folder)
Alphas (subfolder)
Desktops (subfolder)
Elements (subfolder)
Frames (subfolder)
Kits (subfolder)
Papers (subfolder)
Photo Masks (subfolder)
Purchases (subfolder containing all the folders you see again)
Overlays (subfolder)
Tools (subfolder - broken into more subfolders, Brushes, Shapes, Styles, Actions, etc.)
Word Art (subfolder)

I have found this system is extensive, but it works well for me. I've collected supplies and purchases since August of 2008, and I'm well over a terabyte. I use one Western Digital 250 gig external drive, and two 500 gig HP pocket drives (which I can't say enough good things about). However, I do agree with someone else who posted here saying that all mechanical things go down eventually, so it's imperative that you still back everything up on media of your choice; disks, smart cards, flash drives, whatever. After all the time spent collecting and caring for files, nobody wants to risk losing any of them!!! It's all happened to us at some point, so take heed and back up everything often.

By the way, I don't break kits apart. They stay in their own folder under my "kits" folder, their folder is titled by the name of the kit, and I have the preview file showing on the folder so I can see what's inside the folder.

Good luck!

[j_camargo6]

Lots of great ideas and methods here!

[agarzaldynrd]

How do you get the preview page to be in front of the folder?

I also do store, designer, kit. I've just recently created a Christmas folder and put only kits in it within the GDS folder. I change the name of the alphas that are just alphas and start the name with alpha_designer...this way the alphas are all together.

[geniaBeana]

OK. First of all I'm pretty unorganized. I usually know where my stuff is, and if not I can find it using the search function in windows. I work off of a laptop most of the time. Either in the living room with my family or upstairs at my desk attached to my monitor. I do not use a EHD. I keep a handful of kits to scrap with on this hard drive plus other "designer" supplies made by myself and others. I have them all backed up onto our server, which is currently 8 TB. I have about 400GB on the server. PU and CU combined. I haven't backed my laptop up in quite a while I'm pretty sure that I have another 60-100gb here that I really should move over.


Anyway I use shop/designer/kit and for my supplies it's under both shop/designer or product type/designer/folder

[southflascrapper]

Thank you for the 'backup' reminder Lone. I am getting a new one for my birthday tomorrow, and probably going to choose the 1TB or the 500GB. I know that I would be really lost if I lost the data on my ehd.
The files that I care about I have archived to dvd or cd. But the digistash collection continues to grow with each and every day that passes :)

Originally Posted by Scrappinsass

I also do the store designer kit method I have a *general* catagory for the odd freebies from here and there but I also have a duplicate folder system for all the zip files and I have them burned to disk as well as on 2 1T external h/drives. I do this with my pictures too. Just because it's external does not mean it won't crash! Mind you once zip files have been burned and backed up on the externals, I take them off the internal drive. Too many tears have been shed not to heed the warning to *back it up*

[CGOOD]

Anna, to get the preview picture on your folder, click on it's thumbnail & go to properties, then click customize. There will be a spot that says chose picture,then you can find the preview pic of the kit and hit apply. The picture should be on the front of the folder as long as you have set your folders as thumbnails.

I hope this made sense. I know this is a silly question but how do you enter a quote from somebody's post to mine, i can't seem to get it right?

[agarzaldynrd]

Thank you so much. I got up early to work on my folders and I was going to take the preview page out of each of my folders and file it in front of the actual folder. That would have been A LOT of work. Thanks for the response. Now for your question...on all posts there is a "quote" button on the bottom right hand side. Go to the post that you want to quote and click on that button. It automatically opens up the window for your response with the quote enbedded. I just did it with yours. If this does not make sense, let me know.

Originally Posted by CGOOD

Anna, to get the preview picture on your folder, click on it's thumbnail & go to properties, then click customize. There will be a spot that says chose picture,then you can find the preview pic of the kit and hit apply. The picture should be on the front of the folder as long as you have set your folders as thumbnails.

I hope this made sense. I know this is a silly question but how do you enter a quote from somebody's post to mine, i can't seem to get it right?

[agarzaldynrd]

OMG!!!! that was so easy. Off to work I go! Thanks so very much!!!

Originally Posted by CGOOD

Anna, to get the preview picture on your folder, click on it's thumbnail & go to properties, then click customize. There will be a spot that says chose picture,then you can find the preview pic of the kit and hit apply. The picture should be on the front of the folder as long as you have set your folders as thumbnails.

I hope this made sense. I know this is a silly question but how do you enter a quote from somebody's post to mine, i can't seem to get it right?