DVD Profiler - can it do this? (1 Viewer)

[gregstaten]

I'm still using a Access database to track my DVD list and have been following the DVD Profiler discussions from time to time. Though my database works, data entry is a pain (one to two minutes per disc).

That said, from playing with DVD Profiler and reading other's comments, I can't determine whether it supports several features I really need. Can those of you who use it comment on its ability to do the following:

1. Sort a report by Category and then by alpha within each category?

2. Generate a report that omits television shows and music video collections. (I like having a movie-only list, especially as listing all the Twilight Zone and ST:TOS discs would take up several pages.)

3. Generate a report of movies owned, sorted by Director.

4. Generate a report of only those movies added to my database within a specified date range. (This is something my friends keep asking for.)

5. Ability to set and lock which category a movie is listed in. (In those cases where I disagree with the person who entered the movie into the online database.)

6. Ability to break out movie box sets to individual films. (I'd rather have separate listings for each movie in the boxed set.)

Thanks!

-greg

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Greg,

I can't comment on all of this, as I have never written custom reports yet-- which might be necessary for 1-4. I assume that anything you can do with standard SQL statements you could do in profiler- but you might have to design your own reports in order to make it happen. I would suggest checking the reports area and see what other people have already designed and see if any of it works of you.

#5 can be done- you can change any element of a DVD entry and lock the whole entry (or elements of any entry)-- I do this all the time with overviews- i reformat them and lock them so they don't get overwritten. Although, I have yet to see a Genre assignment I disagreed with, you should have no problem changing it.

#6 is also possible- I do this as well (and Profiler even has a "sort by" field in addition to name, so you can give entries a custom sort name so it ends up in the right order, regardless of titles).

The only issue with #6 is sometimes it's tough to find an entry in the Database for the indivdual titles (as often the individuals have no bar code, you have to find them by title which is sometimes complicated). I have found that adding by disc ID (sticking the disc in DVD rom drive and finding the entry that way) is best for individual titles that have no bar code.

Hope that helps.

 

[Dave F]

Just download it & try it. The registration fee allows you to disable ads and download high res cover scans. Other than that, the free version is completely functional.

-Dave

 

[gregstaten]

Vince, thanks for the confirmation on 5 and your notes on 6. I noticed the same thing.

Dave, as I mentioned, I have downloaded it and spent some time with it. But, I haven't been able to tell if the report designer can handle what I'm looking for. The layout engine is very straightforward, but the query and sorting engine are a bit inscrutable.

-greg