Tri-CATALOG

Fastetst preview and .ai .eps catalog

This should have more than one screenshot - MU failed again!
So I looked at the screenshots on the dev's site and I'm still unimpressed.

The windows are just plain ugly IMO - looks more like an image viewer than a full-on catalog app.

I much prefer Neo's GUI (especially in dark mode), which functions more like a Finder window.

Fastetst preview and .ai .eps catalog

Does anyone know how this compares with NeoFinder? (formerly called CDFinder)

I don't know what they were thinking when they designed version 6 of this application. Tri-Catalog 4 and 5 were great and there wasn't a reason to upgrade to 6 weren't it for the fact it was a PPC application and not very fast on Intel. Instread of just improving version 5 and making it Universal, Tri-Catalog 6 looks like a complete rewrite with a new interface as well. And it is horrible. Pressing 'command-F' brings up a new search window which defaults to just searching 1 of your indexed volumes (one that is selected by default). You have to uncheck that volume first to search all of your indexed volumes. Basically that's a custom search then and you have the opton to save this search, but you can't make it the default search behaviour (!). Version 6 is not compatible with your old indexes. You need a seperate (free) application to convert it to the new format. Once converted hoewever you are not told where to put the new volumes. Turns out they should be somewhere in your Application Data folder. The importer shpuld be integrated in the main application and it should put the imported volumes in the right place automatically. The main interface consists of 3 columns. In the interface there are two input boxes for search terms. None of the 2 however functions for searching for something in all volumes (a volume is an indexed DVD or CD). You can search for a volume name in those boxes only. That is utterly pointless since all your volumes are shown in the left column already. I want to search for contents on any disk matching my search terms. I don't want to search for the name of a CD or DVD! Let me stop here because writing about this application is as frustrating as using it. This is a usability nightmare for a very high price considering the more modern and usable applications that have shown up is this category the last couple of years. The application is very capable but taking advantage of the power it has is very difficult. Please get yourself an interface designer!!!

The new version is a nightmare. I don't really know how to use it. Lame lame lame.

After trying both iView and Portfolio, I was lucky enough to stumble on this application, which does everything I need. The interface is a little clumsy, but it offer more options and significantly greater speed than Portfolio at half the price. What I find especially nice is that it places each cataloged disk in its own file, which reduces a lot of the problems associated with managing a single huge file, yet it allows you to search across multiple disks. This is somthing that none of the other applications offer. I have been using it to catalog one of the clip art sets with 500,000 images spread over 34CDROMs. It is working flawlessly and I will register the application. If you are looking for a cataloging application, this is the only one worth a serious look.

Tri-Catalog is by far the most feature-rich disk cataloger out there! However, for my use, I would like a more omnipresent find feature--prehaps one that is constantly running in the menu bar or can be opened by a finder key combo. Also, it seems an unnecessary step to have the app open a sperate search window. It would be more efficient to include the search fields and tabs right in the main window's menu bar. This would help to make Tri-Catalog an almost PERFECT disk cataloging utility