Workshop Inventory Software

I have finally for the first time got everything in the workshop into a spreadsheet with some indications of cost to replace if and when it is needed. I would like to have a photograph of each item either linked to the spreadsheet (which sounds a bit hard) or a proper inventory software. I have done the search and haven't been impressed with what I found and wondered of anyone has done this before me and can recommend software.

The main reason I am doing this is in the event of a total loss or even partial loss there is no way I could remember 500 items. A mate had his shed emptied by some low lifes and while he claimed most of it after the claim was settled he was finding he would go to do something and he had forgotten to claim the tool so he had to replace it out of his own pocket. Suggestions would be appreciated but I will continue looking.

That's easy Chris; a simple XL spreadsheet is all you need. For adding photo's of each item all you need to do is give each set of photo's their own individual folder; copy the folder address from the address bar and then hyperlink it to the cell. It's no harder than putting links into a forum post.

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Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

That's easy Chris; a simple XL spreadsheet is all you need. For adding photo's of each item all you need to do is give each set of photo's their own individual folder; copy the folder address from the address bar and then hyperlink it to the cell. It's no harder than putting links into a forum post.

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The only problem I see with that is exporting it to another drive for back up, if the location of the photos change then the links don't work or have I got it all wrong?

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Originally Posted by Chris Parks

The only problem I see with that is exporting it to another drive for back up, if the location of the photos change then the links don't work or have I got it all wrong?

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If you are careful it can be OK - I've done this with PowerPoint, but quick test just now showed that it seemed to work.

You need to create the hyperlink as a relative hyperlink, so you just encode the path relative to the location of the XLSX file. So long as you keep things together it normally is OK. You may find that when you select the file you might need to edit the name that appears

The online documentation for Excel's HYPERLINK function doesn't mention it, but this other page says relative links are OK too.

The greatest about XLSX (Excel 2007+) files compared to XLS files is that you can unzip them and edit them by hand if you really really need to. (I did this sometimes with my PowerPoint files with links when I did something dumb).

Iain

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Originally Posted by Chris Parks

The only problem I see with that is exporting it to another drive for back up, if the location of the photos change then the links don't work or have I got it all wrong?

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Providing that the photo folders are sub-folders of the one holding the spreadsheet it shouldn't be a problem if the folder address changes. I will have a play later on today for you and check

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Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I have finally for the first time got everything in the workshop into a spreadsheet with some indications of cost to replace if and when it is needed. I would like to have a photograph of each item either linked to the spreadsheet (which sounds a bit hard) or a proper inventory software. I have done the search and haven't been impressed with what I found and wondered of anyone has done this before me and can recommend software.

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two options come to mind

set your camera's software to assign a file number to each image that can be [relatively] easily matched to the Excel data set. You would probably need to add two columns to your spreadsheet -- one for the image number, the other for the item location within the image. It would be a bit clunky, but in the event of a loss you would be able to provide the insurance company with a photo of the lost item. Patrick Leach's monthly for sale list uses a similar schema.

look at Employee database software. Yes the field names would be a very strange concordance, but many of these databases are setup to include a photo of the employee. If you have Access, I believe there is an existing template that could be made to work. The other place to look would be databases designed to hold police arrest or prisoner records. Both of which almost always include a photo of the "person of interest"

this link is to an Excel spreadsheet "employee database" that uses VBA code to attach an image to each record Employee Database With Images | Chandoo.org Excel Forums - Become Awesome in Excel

What's wrong with just inserting the image into the spread sheet? There are several free Asset Tracking spreadsheet templates out there with cells to insert images such as this example.

I was thinking to do this for a while, but didn't get to it (just photographed everything). What would be good is a smartphone app that can track this. New tool arrives - you open app, take a photo, write details... Maybe there is such an app, will look for it.

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Originally Posted by Fuzzie

What's wrong with just inserting the image into the spread sheet? There are several free Asset Tracking spreadsheet templates out there with cells to insert images such as this example.

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Exporting the sheet and maintaining the links is the problem I see. There used to be heaps of these inventories but I am sure they were done in MS Access which most of us do not know how to use. Using Access from memory imbedded the file into the database with no links IIRC.

Ok, sorry, I am pulling this thread a bit sideways, since you are interested in having this in Excel, but maybe someone will find this also useful. There are a lot of programs for Android, I found one that looks more suitable for what I would like it to do, it is called Encircle (https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...d=com.encircle)

I installed it and quickly tested. You can create inventory for multiple buildings (e.g. for house and for the shed), then have more specific locations within that building. Then you can create an item, take its photo. There is special place where you can take a photo of your invoice (if you have one), and of the serial number/make plate.
For new machines you can enter the purchase date and the warranty period - might also be useful

Probably there are some drawbacks, but it can do a lot of what I wanted the software to do.

Hi Chris, I haven't used MS Excel in quite a while as I use Open Office these days. However I believe the functionality to insert an image is the same. You can choose when you insert an image if it is a link or not. If you insert the image as data it is stored in the spreadsheet.

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Originally Posted by Fuzzie

What's wrong with just inserting the image into the spread sheet? There are several free Asset Tracking spreadsheet templates out there with cells to insert images such as this example.

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You can insert a picture directly into a spreadsheet without any special applications.
From the top toolbar, select "Insert," then "Picture," then "From File" to select the image, browsing your folders as needed.
Massage the shape and size, and move to wherever you want it.

I use this technique to make on-the-fly business cards.

Cheers,
Joe

You're going to have one might big spreadsheet if you try and take a photo of everything you own!

It really depends on how pedantic you want to be, also remembering that this one of those ongoing processes that depending on how frequently you buy/sell will determine how often you need to update the file. This is also taking into account the liklihood of such an event actually occuring.

having said that i did spend more time then I'd like to admit doing such an activity on everything of worth in and around the house.

All my stuff is essentially a folder containing one spreadsheet and a bunch of photos which are classified into folders, eg kitchen stuff, home entertainment, shed etc. In my spreadsheet i started recording the photo name and quickly lost interest due to the amount of time it was taking. Now I just have a bunch of photos with no link. In the event of loss I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to find the right photos.

Oh and everything is backed up online

My Brothers shed was broken into some time ago, he put in a claim for $20K, the insurance bloke came out and said it was impossible to have that many tools.
He didn't have photos or receipts for anything so he showed the bloke where stuff used to sit on the shelves as he'd written what item was stored there. Eventually the Insurance company paid up his claim, but he was still a few ks short as items that he didn't realise were gone.
That will be my aim when the shed extensions are done, photograph and list ALL items. Trying to put a value on some of the items will be hard, as I've had them for a long time, 40+ years!!! How does someone work out the value of an item for insurance, cost $ or replacement $?
Asking, as sometime ago I had a hand winch cable and 2 snatch blocks stolen out of the shed, and found them in a second hand place where he'd bought them at a garage sale. They weren't marked with my name or any ID, and still having trouble to prove it was mine. So I don't want to go through this again.
Kryn

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Originally Posted by tonzeyd

You're going to have one might big spreadsheet if you try and take a photo of everything you own!

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I suppose that is my point though I didn't say that. The ones I saw years ago were a database not a spreadsheet but everyone seems to have gone to Excel or similar. I used Excel to build the list and put the pertinent details in but never intended to use it as the end result. Most people ignore Access as being too hard to learn and they aren't far wrong in my experience. My version of Office hasn't even got it included.