EPIC BPAL Spreadsheet Thread

[tangent]

The TiddlyWiki is updated with the 11/4 update now, and it's also got an improved search(thanks to a plugin), and an "Updates" tiddler that shows all the ones I've changed so they're easier to import, and I fixed a few things--Halloween 2005 and Yule 2005 were mixed together; they aren't now--and some more minor stuff.

 

 

ooooook, I'm a bit lost.

I do not have the slighest idea on how to update my copy of the tiddlywiki @_@

 

*headdesk* Okay, I would have replied sooner, but this is the first topic notification I've gotten in over a month; I had NO idea... argh. Sorry.

 

Anyway, if you already have a tiddlywiki, you can update it thusly:

1)Open yours.

2)Click on "options"(on the far right side of the page, under "save changes") and then ImportTiddlers at the bottom of the bluish box that appears.

3)In the "Enter the URL or pathname here:" box of the ImportTiddlers tiddler, put http://www.sofiaviolet.com/bpaltiddlywiki.html

4)Click "fetch" and wait for it to load.

5)Select the tiddlers you want to update. I've listed the ones that I made changes to on the Updates tiddler to help with this. If you want to just update everything, regardless of whether the edit was minor, AND you want the improved search, the list of tiddlers to import is:

A Demon In My View

A Little Lunacy

BPAL

Carnaval Noir

Discontinued

GettingStarted

Halloween 2004

Halloween 2005

LE

MainMenu

Maelstrom

Oblation

Other LEs

Springtime in Arkham

Valentine's 2006

YourSearchPlugin

Yule 2003

Yule 2004

Yule 2005

 

6)Choose "import these tiddlers" from the More Actions... drop-down menu.

7)You'll get a popup asking if you want to overwrite those tiddlers. Say yes.

8)Wait. When it finishes it'll say "19 tiddler(s) imported" or somesuch at the bottom of ImportTiddlers.

 

If you don't want the search plugin, don't import the YourSearchPlugin tiddler. If you've changed MainMenu, you may not want to import that one.

 

Hope that helps.

 

PS - I'm planning to update it again just as soon as the Dead of Winter update comes, which should be pretty soon.

Edited December 27, 2006 by waywardoctagon

[Lionesse]

Hi there Jo,

 

Great minds think alike! The other day I ran across this thread, and found a link to a spreadsheet ---- http://www.nattiechan.com/BPAL_spreadsheet.shtml

 

Seems to be exactly what I need, it even has sheets to keep track of orders you've placed and orders youve sent out (swapping, etc)

 

Lionesse

 

 

Could I ask everyone's opinion of the best/easiest to use tracking system? Say, if you had it to do over again?

 

I haven't chosen one yet, but I'm at the point where I need to, as I'm already forgetting which oils I've tried and I end up testing them again. So I can definitely see the value of a tool like this & I'd love some input from people who have used them.

[medvssa]

I do not like excel, so until now I just kept track of my stuff in an LJ and with the use of tags.

 

But I have a geeky boyfriend

He is building me a super cool PHP / MySQL database to keep track of my collection and my notes/reviews. It is looking great so far I made the CSS and layout, which is what you mostly see, but what you cannot see is the shitload of work to make it... actually work. That's the sad part of being a programmer

 

It is not finished yet, and for now we are working in his computer, when it is finished we will upload it to my webspace. So far it looks like this, although yesterday he added searches to it.

[Lionesse]

That is gorgeous! My (geek) husband is working on the same sort of thing for me. But his workload is pretty heavy these days, so for now I am using the excel sheet I nabbed from the forum.

 

I have no skills when it comes to these things. I am super impressed with your page!

 

Lionesse

 

 

I do not like excel, so until now I just kept track of my stuff in an LJ and with the use of tags.

 

But I have a geeky boyfriend

He is building me a super cool PHP / MySQL database to keep track of my collection and my notes/reviews. It is looking great so far I made the CSS and layout, which is what you mostly see, but what you cannot see is the shitload of work to make it... actually work. That's the sad part of being a programmer

 

It is not finished yet, and for now we are working in his computer, when it is finished we will upload it to my webspace. So far it looks like this, although yesterday he added searches to it.

[medvssa]

Yeah I guess that why it is advancing fast is the opposite reason, my bf is not very loaded with work these last days

 

I can do HTML and CSS, plus layout with photoshop, and adding things to the database is a bit of a pain but pretty easy (although he is also working in PHP forms to add the info), but PHP is a bit beyond me (or I am lazy) hehe.

[monsteralice]

Could I ask everyone's opinion of the best/easiest to use tracking system? Say, if you had it to do over again?

 

I haven't chosen one yet, but I'm at the point where I need to, as I'm already forgetting which oils I've tried and I end up testing them again. So I can definitely see the value of a tool like this & I'd love some input from people who have used them.

 

I'm a luddite, so I use notebooks. I print out review sheets for the scents I get, and paste one on each page. Then in the front of the notebook I put a list of what the notebook contains. I write review notes on the pages and check them off when I've posted the review to the forum.

 

The notebooks I use fit in my purse, so I can take them to work to take notes on how the scent evolves over the day.

[phedre]

Honestly, I find all the spreadsheets and tracking systems too complicated for me, and I'm a frickin SysAdmin by trade!

 

All I want to know is: Do I like it or not? Have I tried it? Have I reviewed it? And do I want to try it?

 

I made up a simple HTML page hosted on my website which tells me all this at a glance. I'll probably change it and add other information as time goes on, but for now it really helps. If I want to see what I thought of a particular scent, I look up my review on the bpal forums.

 

The next step will probably be a database backend of some kind, with links from the bpal page to my specific review. Hrmm... maybe I'll do that this week.

[phedre]

Ok, the hardcore geek in me came out last night and I decided to code the database backend for my "simple html page".

 

Well, this: http://www.claudia.ca/bpal.html

 

has morphed into this:

 

http://www.claudia.ca/cgi-bin/bpal.cgi?cat=tried

 

Perl with a MySQL backend, password protected add/update/delete function. I've kept it fairly simple for now, but included scent categories (LE, Excolo, etc) to allow for more specific sorting in future. If I've reviewed a scent, it links to a page displaying my review, and a link to the forum review on bpal.org.

 

This will make life soooo much easier for me!

 

ETA: damn. Shoulda added a date field.

Edited December 28, 2006 by phedre

[hillarygayle]

I've been into BPAL for a while now, and as I'm a lazy bum, I've never done the whole spreadsheet thing. I've got an old copy of it that I used to use for looking up descriptions, but I've suddenly realized today that I'll never be able to keep up with everything I've tried unless I start writing it down. I've searched, and I cannot find the location of the spreadsheet that is updated each time the Lab does so. I know you all will be able to point me in the right direction. So: where is it? Who's hiding it?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[HennaFairy]

http://www.nattiechan.com/bpal_spreadsheet.shtml

 

probably doesn't have the last two updates, says it was revised 3/26/07.....

 

FYI, the mods will probably merge this with the thread here

 

http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=10049&hl=

 

Edited April 16, 2007 by HennaFairy

[hillarygayle]

Which is precisely what I was looking for. How on earth did I not find that? *is embarrassed*

[HennaFairy]

happens to everyone. no worries

[Jenesis]

I just had to post a picture of this as I'm so proud of it

 

I don't get on with Excel, I prefer databases. I don't have the MS Office database program, so I used the OpenOffice (a completely free suite) one.

 

Here is an image showing a day's solid work.

 

Just a thought if you don't like Excel! Although I do admire all the work people put into spreadsheets!

 

ETA: The database has all the GC collections plus the Carousel and Carnaval Diabolique. I've included LEs only if I have them myself - no use filling up disk space with the Lunacies as I never buy them

 

It needs updating actually, haven't put the last two updates in yet. Oh well, after exams...

Edited May 21, 2007 by Jenesis

[Castrensis]

Is anyone able to access the TiddlyWiki file at sophiaviolet's website? I'm dying to get to work on this, but get an error every time I try to download or import the file. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance!

[jessu]

I've just moved on to a new tracking system- one of those rolodex things (the flat kind, not the kind that goes around. Does that make sense at all?)

 

Anyway, I am just way too scatterbrained to sit down in front of my computer and write reviews. It works a lot better to just carry around those little cards with me, so I can scribble notes whenever I feel like it (work, car, wherever) and just file them later.

 

The switching over process is a little tedious, though. I have to write down (and consequesntly read) all my computer reviews, and that means a lot of "Wait! no! How could I possible not like that? Test again later."

[enui]

Jenesis: wow O_O

 

Castrensis: I believe sofiaviolet's having domain problems : http://sofiaviolet.livejournal.com/270608.html

[kwsix]

I just started filling in the BPAL spreadsheet linked above, and I'm astonished to find that I have tried 331 scents. I had no idea.

[tangent]

Is anyone able to access the TiddlyWiki file at sophiaviolet's website? I'm dying to get to work on this, but get an error every time I try to download or import the file. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I probably ought to mention that I haven't updated it in several months. But, if you like, here's the one from the last time I did update it (January, I think, since that's when the most recent autobackups are dated). The link should stay live for a while.

[dzurlady]

I just had to post a picture of this as I'm so proud of it

 

I don't get on with Excel, I prefer databases. I don't have the MS Office database program, so I used the OpenOffice (a completely free suite) one.

 

Here is an image showing a day's solid work.

 

Just a thought if you don't like Excel! Although I do admire all the work people put into spreadsheets!

 

ETA: The database has all the GC collections plus the Carousel and Carnaval Diabolique. I've included LEs only if I have them myself - no use filling up disk space with the Lunacies as I never buy them

 

It needs updating actually, haven't put the last two updates in yet. Oh well, after exams...

 

That looks really awesome! How did you set it up? And would it work on a mac?

[DifferentDances]

Wow! O_O How'd you do that?

 

I'm tempted to start tinkering with OOorg's databases, but I've never worked with them before --previously I've only used OO.org's Excel and Word processor to take the place of MSOffice because I switched from my WinXP laptop to an iMac, and didn't want to spend money on a new suite of programs when free alternatives were available.

 

I've currently got a spreadsheet going, but at 30 entries it's already getting hard to manage. Bah.

 

I just had to post a picture of this as I'm so proud of it

 

I don't get on with Excel, I prefer databases. I don't have the MS Office database program, so I used the OpenOffice (a completely free suite) one.

 

Here is an image showing a day's solid work.

 

Just a thought if you don't like Excel! Although I do admire all the work people put into spreadsheets!

 

ETA: The database has all the GC collections plus the Carousel and Carnaval Diabolique. I've included LEs only if I have them myself - no use filling up disk space with the Lunacies as I never buy them

 

It needs updating actually, haven't put the last two updates in yet. Oh well, after exams...

[illuxtris]

I just had to post a picture of this as I'm so proud of it

 

I don't get on with Excel, I prefer databases. I don't have the MS Office database program, so I used the OpenOffice (a completely free suite) one.

 

Here is an image showing a day's solid work.

 

Just a thought if you don't like Excel! Although I do admire all the work people put into spreadsheets!

 

ETA: The database has all the GC collections plus the Carousel and Carnaval Diabolique. I've included LEs only if I have them myself - no use filling up disk space with the Lunacies as I never buy them

 

It needs updating actually, haven't put the last two updates in yet. Oh well, after exams...

 

 

Damn, colour me jealous. I'd love to have something like that, except I don't speak the language of database and therefore have no idea where to start.

 

I'll have to content myself to highlighting my Excel spreadsheet for the meantime.

[Jenesis]

It took more time putting in all the data than it did to make the database, once I'd mastered the art of drop-down lists in databases! I had to spend a day or so reading through the OO.org forums for help on that one, but if you'd rather just type the collection every time (rather than create a separate form like I did and use it as a drop-down list) you don't need to worry about that.

 

As for the text on the bottom and right of the screen, that's static and remains there no matter what record is showing. I have to edit that text in the same editor that can edit the form itself - text boxes, check boxes, lists, mouse-over labels, etc.

 

I've found that for organisation, when simply browsing or reading records I sort them alphabetically, by Collection primarily and Name secondarily. This puts them in the order they appear on the BPAL website, so it's a bit easier to check for updates/discons/additions in the general catalog.

 

And yes, I believe OpenOffice will run on a Mac Hop over to OpenOffice.org to download!

Edited May 22, 2007 by Jenesis

[Beazlebabe]

I just had to post a picture of this as I'm so proud of it

 

I don't get on with Excel, I prefer databases. I don't have the MS Office database program, so I used the OpenOffice (a completely free suite) one.

 

Here is an image showing a day's solid work.

 

Just a thought if you don't like Excel! Although I do admire all the work people put into spreadsheets!

 

ETA: The database has all the GC collections plus the Carousel and Carnaval Diabolique. I've included LEs only if I have them myself - no use filling up disk space with the Lunacies as I never buy them

 

It needs updating actually, haven't put the last two updates in yet. Oh well, after exams...

 

Very impressive!

[Castrensis]

Gah! I need a spreadsheet to remember what threads I've replied to! I find myself posting & then forgetting to check back for replies.

 

A late thanks for the useful info, folks. Unfortunately, I still haven't had a spare moment to sit down & actually figure out how to work that fandangled tiddlywiki contraption.

[PurpleHeather]

I've started using Nattie's spreadsheet (http://www.nattiechan.com/BPAL_spreadsheet.shtml) and it is very useful. Have added a couple of coumns, for example as I'm vegan I've got a coumn with a filter so I can mark things as containing Honey, and have put in a wishlist rating column, as that's the way my brain works.

 

Thanks Nattie!