Have you considered instead of having each alpha filed with its name, putting each letter together. This way if you are looking for a B you go to the B folder and look at all the Bs. I was trying to find letters last night and I got tired of opening folder after folder to find one letter. Am I crazy to do this?

Have never tried that.

That is really a good idea also. I think i will keep mine like they are now that they are pretty much organized, ha! This embroidery design organizing is alot of work. Wish i could start out from the begining and magically all the stuff i already have will be organized. LOL

I keep each alphabet together with a discriptive name. So if I am looking for a baby one, it is easy to bypass ones I don't want. I also have kept free alhabet in my free design folder, Cute in my Cute folder, you get the idea. I am able to find what I want fairly quickly in splite of having over 200 alphabets or more.

I use Catalogit and can save the same design to as many folders as I care to, but still need only one copy of the design saved.
There must be other programs out there that would do the same?

I'm glad to learn that I'm not the only one that has a major job waiting for me to organize what I have downloaded! LOL

I wouldn't be doing it but I have had fun reading all the replies to your question ;-)

The Cuties are right, to avoid opening each folder to see what is in it, you urgently need a suitable software (before I fell in love with Embird the free EOS was fine for me).
But why to decide "either - or"?
By copying the files you can have both.
I didn't do that for the whole collection (germans are not so much dependent on Y's, for example ;-))
But for a Quilt Project for my friend BarBara I copied all B's in one folder.

Greetings

If you have Sew Iconz or Embird Iconizer, when you open your main alphabet folder in Windows Explorer, change your VIEWING OPTION to Thumbnails, then you will see each of the alphabet folders in a view that shows several of the actual designs in each folder.
Makes it easy to see which design set you are looking for.
Hugs and roses, Meganne

In my 3D program I have Organiser and use that to quickly scroll through the designs. It's brilliant, quick and easy to use and shows the designs clearly, with a choice from small to very large pictures.
All my designs are kept in a My Machine Embroidery Designs folder in Documents e.g. Alphabet.Yoriko'sHummingbird.CE.hus.Complete, or Font.EmbossedTulips.CE.hus.Complete.
When I want to see/compare designs I open Organiser, choose Search and scroll down the Alphabets or Fonts to the file I want and it shows me quickly what that design looks like.
I keep the fonts/alphabets complete in their own folders.
I still can't see the difference between Alphabets and Fonts but I usually go by the digitiser's choice.
My 'My Machine Embroidery Designs' folder is getting huge, but as it's in alphabetical order it isn't hard to find designs.
It took me a long time to work out how the designs were being saved by the 3D program and my early designs are a bit haphazard in where they've been saved and in being named, e.g. many of them still have all the formats saved and need to be culled.

I do like the idea of filing a letter, say 'A' (of course), from all the alphabets and fonts in a separate folder so that I can quickly see that letter in all the different designs. That's a good idea and one that I'll pursue ... later.
AlmaG.

It is easier for me to keep ea. set of fonts all together & if it has LC also I keep them with the capitals. I usually file by style or design or children, Babies, Sports etc. makes it easier when I want to do a word , sentence or monogram. *

It is a perfect idea if you only have a few letters you are interested in ie: A E I O U
I sort mine according to design style ie: floral, embossed, children, or Animals this way I can go to the embossed folder to see if I like what is there for me to use.

This will work great if you only want one letter but when writing a name you would want to have all the same font together unless you have 2 folders ONe for the whole alpha and another for all your A's and so on. Then depending on what you need as to which folder you go to.
GOOD LUCK SORTING.

I have mine several ways. I have one large folder that contains all the alphas, then each alpha has it's own folder with jpgs of each design. But there are times when I can't get onto the computer and need to find a design, so I have made me several notebooks with pictures of all the designs I have in my collection. Plus I have saved them to a disc and have the disc in the notebook with them. Now if only I had the spare time to use all of them.

I do have each alpha in there own folder and organized in different categories like FSL, Flower etc. I also have one folder in which I place only one of the letters with the name of the folder that this peticular font is in as a sample.

I keep the folders mainly by the designers that gave them.
but look at a program called sewcat. Not expensive and you can quickly see what is in each folder.
You can try it free for a month.

I am fairly organised in as much as I have a "FONTS" Folder. Within that folder I have a folder for each font. ie Purple Flowers. I then extract a JPG of the letter "A" naming it "Purple Flowers A" or Embossed Tulip etc from each folder. When I open "FONTS" folder I have a JPG picture reference of each font without having to open individual folders. I use PICASA 3 as my JPG reader which I can then scroll through each JPG one by one. I hope this makes sense!! Good luck with your sorting!!

It is so intersting to see how everyone is doing things. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Most of the time I have only needed one letter for a monogram, but I can totally understand if I need to do the full name. Then I might run into the problem of missing one letter and have to start all over with a new font. I hate missing letters, it is usually only one or two from an alphabet, but still frustrating.

Belt and braces (UK expression) do it both ways and be sure of getting it right 50% of the time ! ! !

I keep alphabeths together but when collecting I might get only one letter of an alphabeth so I have folders marked odd letters A, odd letters B etc.,

1 comment

by grossfamilie 22 May 2010

Lovely - I had the same idea and it makes
things very easy and it's always exciting
to search in these folders because they
cover treasures.

no-one is crazy! everybody has his own way I suppose. I'd like to keep the alpha's complete as a set.But I like the idea of jerrib to make one folder with samples.I might do that as soon as i have time ( will I ever have?)

I have a lot of alphabets, they are not arranged, they are not filed, I have an huge work to do.All your ideas are good for me I do not know even how to begin, I fear that I will ahe for many years of work, it is necessary to begin, because I have many alphabets, and I love to use them, and each time, I need hours to find what I look for, and even I do not find it !!!

2 comments

by 1ladyb 22 May 2010

I have mine filed under my document,embroidery designs, Alphabets,then a folder with names of each alpha. I do like the idea of puting all the same letters together so I might do that as well. I have a misc not complete folder also and put my samples in there. I have used them quite a little.
You do have a little chore ahead of you but you will same so much time when you do get them all sorted. I love sorting so I would love to be close enough to you to help. Good luck Dear.

by embroiderymad 22 May 2010

I have mine sorted the same as you

I made a separate folder and called it "Font Samples" I put a copy of the letter A in this folder and give it the name of the alpha. Then if I am looking for a certain alpha, I just open this folder with all the samples and find what I am looking for. I also did an Excel spreadsheet and put all the alpha names, in alphabetical order. I then colour code the alphas as to what disc I saved them on. eg: Disc 1 I coloured all the alphas on disc 1 in Blue. Disc 2 I coloured all the alphas on this disc in green. This way I know which disc to go to for the alpha. Hope it makes sense. I have over 700 alphas todate and still collecting.
Yes I am totally addicted to alphas.

2 comments

by claudenicolas 22 May 2010

jerrib, I also am addicted to alphabets, I have shame when I see how you are so well ordered

by gerryvb 22 May 2010

that's a nice idea. I might try it one time.

I tied to do what you did but like 'nhsmith55' says, to many folders to open. If you have a name that has 8 letters, you will have to open 8 folders where as if you have all the 26 aplha with one design in one folder, you open only one folder. Think about it, if you feel you are comfortable opening a whole lot of folders for just one name.

That's a good idea! But I think I would only make copies to resort by letter. That way if I was doing a word or phrase I wouldn't have to look through so many files to get all the letters.

2 comments

by nanniesara 22 May 2010

I have to agree with you on this nhsmith55 it would be terribly aggravating to open so many folders. But to each his or her own what works best for me might not work for someone else. have a blessed day. Sara

by jacquipaul 01 Jun 2010

I agree with you Nancy.