[QUOTE=joivey;7476659]Does anyone have any good ways to organize design files for machine embroidery. I am finding that I have lost many of my designs and I am sure it is due to my own lack of organization. These things are too good and too expensive to lose.
Thank you,

I have Ann The Gran and love it. It has categories to move downloaded designs to. It will also change formats for you, print out designs , resize, cut and paste. Take a look at it

Earlier I mentioned that I have a database that my FIL created
for me.

Here is a photo of some of the info I can put into the file.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]543572[/ATTACH]

OMG! I love your data base. Your categories are wonderful. Your FIL could make some serious $$$ selling this program! Put me on the list as the first customer. Lucky you for that man! I bet the husband is a gem too.

Please ask your FIL the name of the software he used to create your database. Thank you.

I don't have an embroidery machine (sob sob) But I do have files of pictures. I have found at the stationary stores binder sheets that hold CD's and I put a cd in one and then pages of the pictures on it in those clear pages so I know what is on that cd. I don't know if that would work. But then I have a program that puts thumbnails all on one sheet of paper and that helps. I know I have problems when a family member asks for a copy of a picture and I don't know which cd it is on.
I hope this will work
Lynda

I created my own filing system to correspond with both the way my mind works and the designs themselves; these are all backed up ... twice ... on different USB sticks ... in case one of them quits working. I find it necessary to include a jpg image of the free designs (using free Wilcom software), but not for the bought ones (mostly Emb.Library). For those, I make a printout of each design w/color chart; these are filed in folders, drawers & file boxes ... all to correspond with my computer files. I'm not a prolific machine embroiderer and rarely use the free designs, so I just print pictures & color charts of those as I need them.

No matter how you organize them, make a back-up on an external hard drive and make another back-up on another external hard drive. Keep one of the back up drives at a friends house, or a bank safety deposit bank, someplace safe. I had an external hard drive crash just like computers do and I needed my spare back-up. Also a few years back a well know embroidery designer had a house fire and lost everything. She had a spare external drive stored off site.

Quiltly-Louise, that's a great DB. If he decides to market it, please let me know.

Onemoe, is there a site for Ann the Gran?

WOW!!! I'd be willing to pay for this. It's GREAT :). I like that you can add notes on what/how you used each design, etc. Will it work with different computer operating systems...i.e. W-XP, W-7, W-10??

Love love the data base your FIL created......awesome