If you’re like me, you clip and tear articles and recipes out of magazines and newspapers, then file them away in folders – and forget about them. Not a very organized process! Luckily, SCANALOG
, a CD-ROM software system that stores, catalogs and retrieves clippings from your favorite magazines, can help.
Get organized
Using your scanner, you turn articles into JPEG or bitmap files. After you scan the clippings, you can toss them in the recycling bin, and if you ever need a hard copy, you can print one directly from the program.
The SCANALOG program then helps you keep all those scans organized. There are 11 Master Categories in SCANALOG that cover a range of interests, from Home Decoration to Parenting and Food and Wine. Then there are an additional 102 subcategories within the 11 categories the user can use.
And, even better, you can create your own subcategories.
Sometimes you may have an article that would fit under two categories or subcategories – for example a recipe that also gives a wine pairing. The way to do this is to click on duplicate and then add it to the new category and/or subcategory.
After picking a category, you can fill in name of the article, name of reference (book, magazine, etc.) and date. Remember to be consistent with this. For example, the date saved is usually the date you scanned it. Instead, I chose to label it with the date of the article.
If you’re labeling a bunch of clippings from the same magazine, you may want to do minimum labeling then go back and add more specifics at the same time by typing once and cutting and pasting for all the files.
Tagging
Finally, you can “tag” your images with keywords that will help you find it when you search in the SCANALOG program. For example, if you scan a picture and recipe for a cake to use at your child’s next birthday, you can tag it with phrases like, “birthday” or “cake” or even “Nathan’s next party.”
You can use SCANALOG to plan a home redecorating project or your next big holiday feast, while getting organized and eliminating clutter.
Other features
- Book list: Remember books you want to buy by listing them with author, publisher and price. Haven’t used this function yet, but it will come in handy.
- Add more art: Import images such as digital photos already stored on your computer. My picture files are a mess, so I know I can use this.
- Catalog crib notes: Instead of keeping
catalogues, scan the items you want and enter all the information, such as title, season, phone
number, item number, price and item description into the catalogue section for later reference. - Journal: The Hopes and Dreams Journal is a diary where you can write inspirational entries about your life or do some creative planning.
My experience with SCANALOG
SCANALOG was very easy to load and synch with my HP printer/scanner. The trick for me was finding the best way to scan the article – should I use the feed or lay it down on the platen? Laying it on the platen was the best choice and quicker. But I had to remember to remove it and place a new article on it before clicking on “scan next article.”
I had a lot of redoes learning how to use SCANALOG mostly because I wasn’t sure how to use my new printer/scanner. Once I got it figured out, scanning, saving to SCANALOG and adding the descriptions was easy.
Still, it does take some time to get your articles scanned. It’s a great project to do while you’re watching a movie or listening to podcast. And remember, you don’t have to do everything at once. Plan to spend an hour here and an hour there, and before you know it your article pile will be gone.
How to order
SCANALOG costs $49.95 and comes with the CD-ROM Software Program, printed SCANALOG User Guide, SCANTABS Label System, and a SCANALOG Mousepad. You can order it from the SCANALOG website.
