DiskTracker replacement

TidBITS Talk
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I am finally preparing to upgrade past Mojave (10.14), which involves migrating away from any remaining 32-bit apps I have. One of these is the excellent DiskTracker which hasn’t been updated since October 2014 – I think I have to accept that I need to find a replacement. I use it to keep catalogues of CDs going back to the late 90s all the way through to external disks I archive files on today.

I’m currently looking at DiskCatalogMaker and NeoFinder as possible replacements. I was wondering if anyone on here has experience with either or both, and also whether there are other apps I should be considering. Features that are important to me:

  • Ability to import DiskTracker catalogues (I’m not opposed to doing this in multiple steps as it’s a one-off; e.g. DiskTracker > intermediate format > new cataloguing app)
  • Support for Finder comments (both for existing catalogues, and preferably for new scans too)
  • The ability to update the catalogue for a disk

Thanks!

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CDFinder was pretty good…which I used to use but haven’t in years and have no idea of it’s bit status or updates or abandonment.

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Thanks, I’d forgotten about CDFinder (I now remember it from ‘back in the day’). Will investigate.

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I googled and it is now NeoFinder at cdfinder.de…and is both 64 bit and Apple silicon native so it’s worth taking a look at for ya I think.

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Ah, of course, it’s in the domain name :man_facepalming: NeoFinder is one of the two apps I’m already planning to look at :grin:

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I have used both Diskcatalogmaker https://diskcatalogmaker.com, and Neofinder for external disk catalogues. They both work well, are kept up to date by their makers and work under Big Sur. Both allow multiple catalogues. Neofinder claims to be able to find duplicates, but it has never worked for me.

DCM is very lean and simple to use, and seem to be faster at scanning, while Neofinder is nicer to look at. I would try them both ends see which suits your need. I just tired them both and still like the display with Neofinder (and able to switch catalogues easily with a Keyboard Meastro keystroke. You can buy DCM from the App Store and share it among a family while NF will work only on one computer at a time.

Try out each as they have trial periods and see what fits your style and need. I am currently using NF mostly.

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Thank you @raykloss. Good to know I’m on the right track, I will give them both a try as you suggest. I’m almost through all my 32-bit apps, and I think DiskTracker will be the only one that doesn’t have a 64-bit update and I still need the functionality of. So I’m saving my investigation into its replacement for the end.