Dear sym78,
I have found two database packages that let you store images and associate
them with any number of customizable search categories.
The simpler and more modestly priced of the two, which I suspect will
suffice for your needs, is Brilliant Database. This package offers a
visual interface for creating and populating your database with images
and their associated data fields. The contents of the data fields can
consist of free-form text or can be restricted to a menu of values chosen
by you. Once the database has been populated, you can search for the
items in your catalog based on their data fields.
Brilliant Database: Overview
http://www.brilliantdatabase.com/about.html
There is fancier functionality, such as report generation, Internet
access, and action scripting, but what's important is that the basics
are there. The following screenshot shows an example of a timepiece
catalog that was created with Brilliant Database. Note the presence of
restricted-value fields as well as free-form text fields. Of course,
the number and type of these fields is entirely up to you, and the whole
catalog can be sorted or searched based on their contents.
Brilliant Database: Screenshot: Watch
http://www.brilliantdatabase.com/pics/clockb.gif
A 15-day free trial is available for download. Should you decide to
keep Brilliant Database, $79 will buy you a Professional license key,
which lets a single user create databases and work them with directly at
the workstation or over a network. For each additional user who wishes
to access the database over your network, you must buy an additional
WorkPlace license for $29.
Brilliant Database: Download Trial
http://www.brilliantdatabase.com/down.html
Brilliant Database: License Pricing
http://www.brilliantdatabase.com/order.html
A more expensive package that offers you more power, perhaps more than you
really need, is Alpha Five. With greater power comes greater complexity,
so you can expect to face a steeper learning curve the first time you
create an Alpha Five database. In addition to the basic features of
designing the database, filling it with images and their associated
data, and sorting or searching based on the data, Alpha Five offers
web connectivity, security compartmentalization (so different users get
different privileges), email triggers, and integration with relational
databases such as MySQL.
Alpha Software: Alpha Five: Highlights
http://www.alphasoftware.com/products/alphafive/v6/features/highlights.asp
You can download a free trial and take Alpha Five for a 30-day test
drive. If you decide it's a keeper, a single-user license costs
$349. A three-user license will run you $949, which is only a $100
savings. Runtime licenses, which are for people who only need to
populate and search the database without having a say in its design,
cost significantly less. For example, you can buy a bundle comprising
one full license and three runtime licenses for $699. No matter which
way you cut it, Alpha Five is a much heftier financial proposition than
Brilliant Database.
Alpha Software: Alpha Five: Free Trial
http://www.alphasoftware.com/promo/trial/default.asp
Alpha Software: Alpha Five Version 6 Products
http://www.alphasoftware.com/shop/prodlist.asp?TYPEID=12&TYPE=Alpha+Five+Version+6+Products
It has been a pleasure to address this question on your behalf.
Regards,
leapinglizard |
