New firearm inventory software in Beta - Need your help!

[wolfrage]

THIS THREAD HAS ENDED AS MGDB IS OUT OF BETA.

Please use this thread for discussion

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I started working on a application to help you track your firearm inventory and could use your help. Yes, you.

It's written in Adobe AIR, so it will run on Windows, *NIX and OSX with the same installer. Currently it is still in Beta and I could use some testers to help me squish bugs and continue to add the huge feature list I have planned.

The plan is to make it fully ATF compliant for the new regs they require to use only a digital bound book -- that is almost finished.

This is a pet project for me and I need people to help break it, help find bugs, make suggestions, etc. If you are interested in checking it out and maybe giving me a hand, you can install it by clicking the Install Badge located at:

http://mygundb.com/

The difficult part is done, and now it's all about bug fixing, implementing reports (Only A&D works currently, though the others should be working in a day or two) and then implementing the large feature set like setting wishlists for firearms and having it scan sites like gunbroker.com and auctionarms.com, etc, tracking ammo inventory and much, much more.

So give me a hand, try it out and give some feedback -- help me make this the program YOU need.

 

[z0mbi]

Neat. I'm going to check it out.

 

[Admin]

Features:

Keep a digital copy of your firearm inventory
Print inventory, financial and A&D reports
View stats about your collection
Track your purchases and sales
Be notified when a firearm is past its maintenance schedule
Built on Adobe AIR® so it runs on Windows, OSX and Linux
Constantly being updated and new features added
An extremely awesome, and good looking, developer
..And much much more!

I like the confidence

 

[wolfrage]

I like the confidence

I'm not egotistical, I'm just not modest!

Seriously though, I appreciate you guys taking a look. I started it about a month ago and hadn't been able to dedicate the time I wanted, but now that other projects are finished I have plenty of time, and motivation, to make this app what it should be -- so I greatly appreciate any feedback you may have.

 

[z0mbi]

I've entered one firearm so far. A couple initial thoughts:

Would be nice to have a place on the stats page for barrel length as I have multiple similar guns with different barrel lengths.
Would be nice on the Purchase tab to have two separate entries for STATE and FEDERAL license numbers for the seller.
Would like more data entry options, such as number of magazines owned for that firearm w/capacity and a field for a self-marked magazine ID code

Pretty neat app so far, I like it. I've been meaning to put my collection down on Excel for a long time now. I may just use this app instead if the reporting features are good (havent tried printing a report yet).

 

[dwarven1]

Be notified when a firearm is past its maintenance schedule

Darn... I knew I forgot to change the oil on my AR15! Yeah, I know... IIRC some guns you need to change out springs after a lot of rounds, etc. It just tweaked my funny bone, that's all.

I'll have to give this a try tonight. I've been using Gunsafe for the past few years; is there any provision for importing data into ISF DB from a .csv file?

 

[exo]

For the digital bound book stuff, does the ATF certify applications or is it all on the developer?

 

[wolfrage]

> Would be nice to have a place on the stats page for barrel length as I have multiple similar guns with different barrel lengths.

Hmm. I was going to have the STATS tab use the top panel for stats about how many of X manufacturer, hoe many by X importer, etc... but maybe I should put that stuff there. Good idea!

> Would be nice on the Purchase tab to have two separate entries for STATE and FEDERAL license numbers for the seller.

Hmm. I need to redesign that section to free up more space and I can add that (along with PO numbers and stuff)

> Would like more data entry options, such as number of magazines owned for that firearm w/capacity and a field for a self-marked magazine ID code

I can add that -- I will be adding an accessories tab. What's a "self-marked magazine ID code" though?

> Pretty neat app so far, I like it. I've been meaning to put my collection down on Excel for a long time now. I may just use this app instead if the reporting features are good (havent tried printing >report yet).

The reports are being worked on. Only A&D works right now but I'm finishing the other types. Tell me what you want to see in reports and I'll work on adding them!

 

[wolfrage]

Darn... I knew I forgot to change the oil on my AR15!

I should make it so if you enter an AK-47 it just prints "hahahahahah" for the next maint date. Actually, since i plan on making this app for FFLs and Ranges as well down the road, I figured it could be useful.

I'll have to give this a try tonight. I've been using Gunsafe for the past few years; is there any provision for importing data into ISF DB from a .csv file?

Not yet but it if definitely planned! I want to fix the reports and other bugs/issues before that, but yes you will be able to import and export csv, xml, ASCII and SQLite databases.

 

[wolfrage]

For the digital bound book stuff, does the ATF certify applications or is it all on the developer?

Actually, they no longer certify anything; instead anyone can use a digital bouncbook IF it meets specific guidelines (like daily backups, certain data being searchable, certain export functions, etc).

I can pull up the new regs if you want, just let me know and i'll find the link.

 

[z0mbi]

What's a "self-marked magazine ID code" though?

For those of us who keep track of our magazines by numbering them with a paint pen or something similar. I don't do it, but I've seen a lot of people at shoots who do.

 

[wolfrage]

Hmmm. I guess I could add an arbitrary ID field for accessories for that, or a notes field, or both. I'm still designing the accessories tab though, since I'm worried about fixing non-A&D reports first, but good idea.

 

[dgoalie]

This looks nice at first glance. Really would like to see that encrypted DB item from your to do list. I'll kick it around with some real entries, but so far well done. The picture page is a nice item, and I wonder if you could integrate pictures into the purchased/sold tab for scans of receipts, packing slips, and for those of us individuals in MA, FA-10s.

 

[dwarven1]

I should make it so if you enter an AK-47 it just prints "hahahahahah" for the next maint date. Actually, since i plan on making this app for FFLs and Ranges as well down the road, I figured it could be useful.

Ah, I see. That makes sense, then.

Hmmm. I guess I could add an arbitrary ID field for accessories for that, or a notes field, or both.

Marking your mags is a good way to identify mags that need to be tossed out if they keep misfeeding, for example. Or to take a real life example, I observed this weekend that mag #1 (out of 15) for my 10/22s isn't dropping free, so I need to correct that before I use it again.

 

[z0mbi]

Would be neat if on the general tab there was a thumbnail from one of the pics.

 

[wolfrage]

The encrypted DB feature (with option to auto-lock the app after X idle time using the same password) is definitely something I want to see finished too, and will be part of the multiple-database functionality. Especially with the optional integration with dropbox and other online storage places -- if my stuff is going into the 'cloud' I want to be sure it's secure. Once the bugs are squished and the reports fixed from this version, that will be higher up on the roadmap (you're not the only one who's brought that feature up).

As for the images in the P/S tab, yes, that was actually supposed to go into this version but got sidetracked. I'll try to have it implemented within a release or two.

 

[wolfrage]

Would be neat if on the general tab there was a thumbnail from one of the pics.

The big black spot on the General tab is for exactly that. Sorry, I still need to make a placeholder image there for when you have none set.

To set it, go into the pictures tab and display the one you want. Then to place it on the General tab, click the "Set As Main Pic" button.

Maybe I should rename that label "Set on General tab"?

 

[z0mbi]

The big black spot on the General tab is for exactly that. Sorry, I still need to make a placeholder image there for when you have none set.

To set it, go into the pictures tab and display the one you want. Then to place it on the General tab, click the "Set As Main Pic" button.

Maybe I should rename that label "Set on General tab"?

My bad, I was in edit mode and didn't realize it. Set as main pic works fine. It's just odd that if you go into edit mode on one firearm, and then switch to another, you're still in edit mode. I would imagine it would be better to kick you out of edit mode once you left the firearm to prevent accidental editing of info on the wrong gun.

 

[wolfrage]

z0mbi: Hmm. Well, currently the fields save when you leave the field, so I could do that. But what I'm going to do, to meet ATF requirements, is add a SAVE button when editing (since ATF will require tracking ALL changes and that would save a lot of DB logs) so I can have it warn you with a popup of you change tabs, and therefore warn you of unsaved changes? Then if you save it'll switch to view the new firearm and be in View mode. Think I should just go straight to that?

 

[z0mbi]

When you enter too much data in the caliber and firearm type fields, they line wrap and overlap the serial number section.

z0mbi: Hmm. Well, currently the fields save when you leave the field, so I could do that. But what I'm going to do, to meet ATF requirements, is add a SAVE button when editing (since ATF will require tracking ALL changes and that would save a lot of DB logs) so I can have it warn you with a popup of you change tabs, and therefore warn you of unsaved changes? Then if you save it'll switch to view the new firearm and be in View mode. Think I should just go straight to that?

That sounds perfect. Yeah, if you click 'save' it should put you back in View mode.

 

[s4mt3k]

Aside from drop down menus not being populated yet, the 2nd thing I noticed immediately is the auto-generated # in the firearms list.

It's a static generate and not dynamic, and so if you delete a firearm say for example #2, and add a new one, it auto-generates #3 and not #2 again.

 

[wolfrage]

Heh that's actually how the View Mode button got there -- it'll say SAVE once I implement the checking function.

 

[z0mbi]

Now that I've got a bunch of data populated in the drop down lists, I'm finding that sometimes I'll click on an item in the drop down list to add to the field, and it will not add. For instance, the states. By default it is now set at 'MA'. So when I click on the drop down, MA is already highlighted. When I click on it, it will not add to the field. If I select a different state, it will add that, and then I can go back and select MA to add it again. It seems that whatever item is highlighted in the drop down list will not add to the field when you click on it.

 

[wolfrage]

Aside from drop down menus not being populated yet, the 2nd thing I noticed immediately is the auto-generated # in the firearms list.

It's a static generate and not dynamic, and so if you delete a firearm say for example #2, and add a new one, it auto-generates #3 and not #2 again.

The dropdowns work like this:
They auto populate with the data from your entries. So if you put in say Winchester and Ruger for manufacturers, each on a different firearm, in the future when you open the dropdown box for manufacturer it will give you Winchester and Ruger as options. If you remove the only firearm having Ruger as the manufacturer then it will no longer be populated in the dropdown box.

I figured this way you only have to type an entry once and won't need to scroll through a ton of entries you'd never use to find the ones you will.

Now, as for the ID, that is intentional. ATF requirements make it so ALL changes must forever have an audit trail. So when you sell a firearm, for example, you still need to maintain those records. because of that, the ID is automatically generated by the database and numbers can never be reused in that database. I'm thinking of adding an identifier field you can put a number or text that will be listed instead of that ID number. Basically a static ID is required for many different reasons BUT it doesn't mean that the static ID has to be visible to the public and can be a separate representation.

 

[wolfrage]

Now that I've got a bunch of data populated in the drop down lists, I'm finding that sometimes I'll click on an item in the drop down list to add to the field, and it will not add. For instance, the states. By default it is now set at 'MA'. So when I click on the drop down, MA is already highlighted. When I click on it, it will not add to the field. If I select a different state, it will add that, and then I can go back and select MA to add it again. It seems that whatever item is highlighted in the drop down list will not add to the field when you click on it.

Is it doing that on the edit screen for dropdowns? If not, then it's already fixed for the next release.

 

[s4mt3k]

Understood! Thanks for the clarification. I think it would be nice if there was a pre-populated list of most common models/brands with the option of adding. Just an option I guess.

As for the count, I had no idea, and that makes sense. Making it visible might be annoying to someone that's anal such as myself lol. Here's a question, is there a way to start a new DB specially for someone who's just messing around with the software?

Out of curiosity, were's the DB stored? Is it encrypted? Will there be a login type system? I see you're provisioning for dropbox, guessing so that you could store the db there?

 

[z0mbi]

Is it doing that on the edit screen for dropdowns? If not, then it's already fixed for the next release.

Yes, it is.

EDIT: Also, my drop down lists are starting to get populated with spelling errors and other things. Anyway to remove a selection from the drop down list once it's in there?

 

[wolfrage]

z0mbi: I'll work on that tonight after work. Should be an easy fix (if i didn't just jinx myself).

s4mt3k: I thought of the pre-pop. I actually did that originally so I'll look to see if I can implement it again. As for a new DB, not yet. That'll be part of the Encrypted DB system, which is in the works. The database is stored different depending on OS, but Windows is C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Com.CreativeMindsCoding.IFS\Local Store\

The DB is NOT encrypted at this time, but will be. As for login, I'm not sure what you mean. You want to see separate user accounts? I've been thinking of that for Gunshops and Ranges, etc, so I could implement that in a generic fashion. Let me know what you're interested in.

As for Dropbox, the plan is to use it for backing up your database for you, so you always have an offsite copy (AND versioning, thanks to dropbox!)

 

[s4mt3k]

Thanks again for the additional info. Let me clarify my idea:

The login feature would be:

- in it's simplest form: without my login you can't access the app or decrypt the DB
- in an advanced form: allow for remote storage of the DB (for example Dropbox) and me being able to have the app on multiple PCs, login, authenticate to Dropbox, view my DB.

 

[wolfrage]

Yes, it is.

EDIT: Also, my drop down lists are starting to get populated with spelling errors and other things. Anyway to remove a selection from the drop down list once it's in there?

If you select a different item from the drop down and that misspelling one was only on that firearm, it should clear it on restart. I didn't think about that. I think I know a quick fix I'll look at later.