(MMCC)
Q&A
Questions and Answers
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Document latest edition: 2025 June 13
Please read this first
The answers below are intended exclusively for the latest release of MMCC, whose full version is currently 4.5.4.25.06.24
Before going on, you may want to check the app version you are using in the About screen. Don't be afraid to update it if necessary
The most frequent questions
What is your strongest recommendation when starting to use MMCC? Question #120
Where can I find my data files on the computer? Question #76
What if all my data is missing after installing an update? Question #60
What's this mess about administrator and limited users? Question #74
After installing MMCC, I get a number of error messages... Question #71
Go to Q&A
#25
#50
#75
#100
#125
Bottom
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Yes, My Mineral Collection Catalog (MMCC for short) is free of charge for you to use for an unlimited time. There are no ads, no fees, no donations, and
just some minor and usual restrictions as explained in the User License Agreement that you must accept before installing the software (and can still read in the Help
menu): not for sale, no internal modifications, no warranty, and so on.
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There are two essentially different ways:
1. By creating an independent virtual machine that insulates a Windows box on your macOS or any Linux distribution (Android is based on the Linux kernel, after all). Within this box, you will be able to
run any Windows program on your computer the same way you would do it in the native Microsoft operating system. You can easily have such a virtual
machine working by just installing VirtualBox on your system, which is a free product from Sun Microsystems. Please go to the
VirtualBox site to get more info and download the
software. Parallels Desktop and
VMware Fusion, designed specifically for macOS at the time of writing this, also create hardware
virtualization for running Windows software on your computer.
2. With the help of Wine or
CrossOver, which act like an intermediate layer to encapsulate a Windows
environment. Wine is free of charge and works fine but is not perfect yet, so expect to see rather old-fashioned buttons and some odd
color tones, and probably the internet links not working. But the application's main functions should operate properly.
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Absolutely not. The installation process neither erases nor overwrites the user's files. Several example records included in the pack are only copied when
there is no data at all, typically during the first installation.
Please also carefully read question #7.
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The pack that is distributed from this site is warranted to be virus, trojan, adware and spyware-free. And if you finally stop using it, you will be able to perform a clean uninstallation.
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The screen must be able to work with a width of at least 1280 pixels and a height of at least 1024. Smaller sizes may truncate some of the MMCC forms. If you need to change it, close all the applications that may be running, place the mouse pointer near the center of the screen, make a click with the right button to open the Properties dialog, select the Configuration or Settings tab, and set the screen resolution to at least 1280 pixels wide and 1024 pixels high.
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I strongly recommend performing them on a drive other than the one where the program is installed. It can be either a second local drive (HDD or SSD),
internal or external, a network drive, a USB flash memory stick (pen drive), or an SD card, in order to prevent losing your data in case of mechanical or logical failure of the
drive where the application and the user files actually are. Never create backup copies on the same drive where MMCC is installed. From time to time, also copy your data files to
your smartphone via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi using FTP, on-the-go pen drive, email attachment, or whatever way you prefer. If you don't mind other people snooping on your data, send your
backup copy to the cloud. But don't believe that lie. The cloud does not really exist; it is just someone else's computer.
Read also question #12, and question #94.
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Unfortunately, the answer is no. There is no possibility of importing data from other formats unless you are able to convert it to
Paradox with the same field structure that MMCC uses. Not an easy task if you are not an expert
in database management and lack the tools to do it. Developing a standard procedure to automatically perform that kind of operation is quite difficult, highly time-consuming,
and must be done on an almost case-by-case basis, given the number of existing formats and, above all, the multiplicity of field structures each one can have.
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Those rates are by default the ones of Catalonia, where MMCC is being developed.
But you can easily edit all of them by opening the inflation database file ( File > Inflation rates) and overwriting the existing values. Then click on
Utilities > CPI adjustment for the field Current cost of every specimen to be recalculated. When the rate of a new year has to be added, just open a new record
by pressing the down arrow in the last line of the main data grid, enter the year and the rate, and repeat the recalculation. Go to the website of your local government to
get the real inflation data recorded in your area.
Read also question #10.
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As explained in the previous question, this function makes a full recalculation of the field Current cost, on a record-by-record basis, to adjust them for inflation. It only needs to be run once when some change has been made in the inflation database; otherwise, the prices will be recalculated but not changed.
Read also question #9.
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As you surely know, the specimen database file can be ordered by different criteria, and that order is saved in several auxiliary files technically known as
index files. In certain circumstances, like any other file on your driver, they can get corrupted, and then the reindex function comes to the rescue by simply rebuilding them. You don't usually need to
perform this operation unless you notice some strange behavior when ordering the records or an error message (something like Index is out of date) is shown after opening
the database files. You can choose between a regular and a clean reindex (this one works by deleting the preexisting index files). Any reindex operation also
rebuilds the index files linked to the species, contacts, and inflation database files.
Read also question #31, question #57 and question #112.
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Firstly, open the Help > About box and write on a piece of paper the name of both the Data and Backup copies folders (or just get a screenshot). Then make sure to close the application and copy all the files from the folder where the Backup copies are to the Data folder (be very careful not to perform this operation in the opposite direction). Allow them to overwrite each other. Open the MMCC again. Everything should work fine.
Note: Your backed-up files will actually be found within a folder with a name equal to the year, month, and day that they were done, separated by a hyphen, inside another folder called Minerals.back (formerly Minerals.bak). Copies made on the same day are overwritten. You will typically want to restore the most recent ones, but if this doesn't work, do it with the immediately previous ones, and so on.
Read also question #7, question #94, and question #114.
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Yes, just click the field column title. If the field accepts normal and reverse order, try to click a second time. But if the field cannot be ordered,
this operation will do nothing. Read also question #113.
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Drag the title with the mouse to move it. To change the width, put the cursor on the title, just over the right border, and drag left or right. The new positions of the columns, if moved, are not persistent after opening the application again, but the new widths are kept for further sessions.
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All these settings, main data grid column widths included, are written in the configuration file minerals.ini, which can be found in the App folder
(provided you execute MMCC as an administrator). To reset them, first, don't forget to close the application and then delete that file. In Windows 7, 8.1, 10, and 11, look for
it in the deep folder \Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Minerals, where [UserName] is, you guessed it, the name of the user on Windows (if you
installed the application in a different folder, change that path accordingly). However, you may need administrator permissions to open it.
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The first cost is the amount you paid for the specimen at the moment of purchase. The latter means this same cost has been adjusted for the inflation that
has been registered since then. It can be quite useful, especially with pieces bought many years ago, to get an idea of how much money they would be equivalent to today.
Read also question #28.
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Go to the Utilities > Preferences form and leave the Title box in the Heading section empty. The entire panel will become invisible.
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Before opening the print reports screen, widen or narrow the main grid columns you are interested in. You can also move columns out of the screen to get
them excluded from the report, and switch their position to get this position also changed in the printed report. Read question #14 for details on
how to move and widen columns. Other options are changing the font size or the printer orientation. Read also question #107 for more info about printing
reports. And read question #39 and question #52 for more info about printing labels.
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Just set a filter before opening the print reports function, or select the rows you want to include in the report. Read question #20 for more details.
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Hold down the Control key and click each of the rows you want to select. If the rows are contiguous, hold down the Shift key with your left
hand and press the up or down arrow key with your right hand. Combinations of both procedures can also be used. Just try it and get some practice. The selected rows will be
highlighted in blue and will have a dot visible in their left margin. This operation may be useful for having a printed report restricted to only certain records, and for
summing up the cost, the mass, and the appraisal value of a number of selected records. Try it out for yourself!
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Check the Preferences form. The Photos & videos folder may be wrong, or somebody may have renamed it or deleted the files inside.
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The actual field in the physical file has room for 14 characters. And I honestly think it's enough. There is no need to write Lao People's Democratic Republic
or People's Republic of China if you can write just Lao or China, or United States of America and United Kingdom when everybody knows the more common USA
and UK. You can even enter an acronym or abbreviation that you like or find to be more mnemotechnical, since a country may have
other meanings. For many people, it must not necessarily be a nation-state because there are territories that
can also be considered countries without having that rank (Scotland, Flanders, Greenland, Catalonia, Quebec, Euskadi, and so on).
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Given that that information is common to all specimens of a single species, it seems redundant to repeat it in each record. If you own fifty pyrites, were you
going to include in your file such an amount of data multiplied by fifty? This is nowadays an inefficient way of storing information and may even be a waste of time as well. I
think that you should never include any detail in your catalog that is already easily found on the net or in any reference book. As you may know, the program puts at your
fingertips specific direct links to the major mineral databases on the internet, which can provide you with all of that and much more in a matter of seconds. Try to click on
the button next to any of the species fields in the Edit form, and a page of related data will be opened. For free!
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Yes, you have three user-definable fields available. Just go to Utilities > Preferences and give them the names you need.
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The maximum length is shown in parentheses after every field name. The fields whose type is string (aka character or alphanumeric) are Number/ID (8),
Species 1/ Specimen's name, Species 2, Species 3, Species 4, Species 5, Species 6, Species 7, and Species 8 (25),
Description (200), Location (10), Locality (120), Country (14), Provenance (75*),
Condition (12), Rating (2), Label price (9), Buy price (9), Size (30), Largest crystal (60),
minID (7), Appraisal by (50), Free field 1 (60), Free field 2 (60), Free field 3 (60),
Images and videos (64). Acquired, Appraisal date and Last edit are of date type. Original cost, Current cost and Appraisal value are currency.
Mass is numeric (float type) with two decimal places. Marked is logical (Boolean). And the type of Notes is memo, a field that contains plain text (text
without formatting), the field size being very large (maybe up to 256 MB).
Take note that the field Number/ID is unique in the database file. This means that you cannot have two or more records with the same value assigned to that field. Of course,
you can modify it whenever needed, but you can never repeat it. The Removed records have the same requirement, but this is independent of the main database records.
* Field Provenance size enlarged to 200 characters (only new clean installations of version 4.5.1 and higher).
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It's not something the user can tackle on their own. Not only would the application have to be internally modified and recompiled, but the structure of the
actual Paradox file that contains the data (whose name is minerals.db) would have to be
changed too on every computer where it resides.
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Object Pascal, in addition to several third-party tools, such as Inno Setup (superb app installer by Jordan
Russell and Martijn Laan), GLAD Components (by Greg Lief), RX Library (by Fedor Koshevnikov, Igor Pavluk, and Serge Korolev), TeeChart (by David Barneda),
TscExcelExport (by Stefan Cruysberghs), DStamp (by Matthias Weingart), PNGImage (by Gustavo Huffenbacher Daud), XPMenu (by Khaled Shagrouni), and other
minor contributions for which I must express my gratitude.
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There are two major differences between them. Label price can be defined as the labeled price, the price at which the specimen was tagged when it
formerly had been for sale, and Buy price, the price really paid after shipment expenses and a discount, if any. A switch of currency is now frequent, so you can buy, for
instance, in euros but your credit card may be finally charged in dollars, which will be the Original cost. In any case it may be interesting for many collectors to keep
record of what the Label price and Buy price were at the moment of purchase.
Read also question #16.
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They are named MINERALS and DELETED, with the extensions DB, MB, PX, X??, and Y??; INFL, with the extensions DB and PX; SPECIES,
with the extensions DB and PX; FILTER.DB; and MINERALS.INI. But don't worry about the risk of losing them, if you take care of making backup copies every time
you close MMCC; all these files are included in the backup function, so every time you execute it, they are copied to the folder you set in Utilities > Preferences.
Read also question #94.
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You can either set a filter by clicking on File > Filter, or manually select the records you want. To know how to have records selected, please read question #20.
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There must be some damage to the data, or more likely, to the index files. But they can usually be repaired by performing a Regular reindex, as explained in question #11. If the problem keeps going, do a Clean reindex. If the anomaly persists, however, close the application, open it again, and repeat the reindex operations. As a last resort, you will have to restore the most recent backup copies.
Read also question #11 and question #57.
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This can be done at any moment by pressing the Control+S key.
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Yes, you can type any character, number, uppercase letter, dot, hyphen, slash, even blanks, etc., except lowercase letters.
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If you mean hidden, the answer is no in the Edit form (except the field Notes), but yes in the grid of the main screen. To hide a field in
that grid, drag to the left as much as you can the column's right border by placing the mouse cursor on the title. Do the opposite to make it visible again. This state will be
kept for future sessions of the program. If you ever want to recover all the original columns width with just a click, go to Utilities > Reset columns.
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Of course. Just perform two installations of the application in independent folders. But you will not be allowed to have both databases open
at the same time, in order to keep from getting the data corrupted or your computer hanging. For your convenience, you can create a
shortcut on the desktop for each installation. And you may want to define a different backup folder for each one to prevent overwriting.
Read also question #42.
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Terminate or close the application the way you can (I suggest Windows Task Manager by pressing the keys Control+Shift+Esc), then search the program folder for files whose name are Pdoxusrs.lck, Paradox.lck and Pdoxusrs.net, and delete all of them. Then try to open the application again.
Read also question #49 and question #101.
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Just go to Utilities > Preferences and leave the free field name(s) blank.
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That's not a mistake. The field Number/ID is not really numeric yet alphanumeric. This means you can write in all kinds of characters, digits,
uppercase letters, punctuation signs, etc., even spaces, except lowercase letters. Therefore, the digits are considered just as characters, so the number '2' follows the
number '11' for the same reason that 'B' follows 'AA'. If you are going to use only digits, you'd better write the Number/ID with leading zeros, for instance,
'0001', '0002', '0003', and so on.
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Please also read question #52 before deciding if having simple labels is enough for you.
It is not as straightforward as it appears. Implementing a complete and flexible function to have labels printed is not a matter of a couple of days' work because not only the
fonts should be controlled. In addition to fonts, there are a lot of other parameters to take into account. Paper size, column number, column width, label height, position of
the fields, what fields to include, inserting a graphic logo, drawing frames, and so on. And all of them must be hard-coded. I'm sorry, but currently I don't have enough time to
develop such a function.
A good alternative, however, might be to export the data in MS Excel format and get the labels there. Or transfer the data from MS Excel to MS Access, which
has several functions to print out outstanding stuff. For the exporting function, see question #56.
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Just delete those records the usual way, and the application itself will copy them to another file. You will still be able to see and manage
them by clicking on File > Removed. But if you delete one of such records again, it will be lost forever, but MMCC will copy to a text file all the record content. In case of a mistake, however, you can also restore
immediately the most recent backup copy (if you have one) of the files whose name is deleted with any extension. Think of the Removed files as if they were a trash
bin.
Read also question #12.
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The application has no function to rapidly recover a deleted record. The easiest way is to open the Edit form of the record after clicking on
File > Removed. Then click on the Single record report, and you will get a text file with the content of all the fields. Then manually register that
specimen again (with the aid of the clipboard, of course). It's not a lot of work anyway, because it can typically be completed in just a few minutes. Or you can restore the most
recent backup copy either.
Read also question #12.
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It has no predefined function, it's up to you. You can mark the records of the specimens you most prefer, or the pieces you don't like and plan to remove in the
near future, and so on. It can also be useful to manage two parallel collections in the same app. The main (not marked) and the duplicates or a specialized collection (marked).
The marked records will be displayed in a red font on the main grid.
You can set a filter in the main grid from File > Marked and File > Not marked. They are persistent, so they will keep active even when you close and open
MMCC again.
Read also question #35.
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This is an issue that may arise in rather rare situations. Ignore any error messages and then try a Clean reindex. You will eventually recover all your data.
Read also question #31.
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Some collectors prefer to give every specimen a name of their choice that is different from the main species'. Therefore, you can use that field to store either the main species or the specimen's name you have assigned to the piece, if any.
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Because of the way the Mindat locality database works, if you launch a search with the full locality name, you are not going to get any results most of the time. It is better to highlight (by dragging the mouse) a key piece of text rather than the entire locality. Also, try double-clicking a single word.
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No, it's not. When developing that function, I thought about it for a while, but finally decided it made no sense. If some years ago someone made an appraisal for you, the specimen's adjusted for inflation value is not necessarily equal to the value your specimen has in the market today. Just an example. In 2016, you purchased a good Daoping pyromorphite for $3,000. Given the fact that the mines are now exhausted, the current value of the specimen might be double of the original, no matter what the inflation rate is. The opposite may also be true with other specimens.
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If you activate it, when creating a new record, the application will assign the field Number/ID by incrementing by one the number of the last record added (this applies only when the last character is a digit).
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To track the photos, the database stores only the image file's name. And that string is not updated when you delete (or move) a photo, since this is an operation
that is performed from outside the program. Therefore, the deleted (or moved) images will no longer be displayed in the records because the application will be unable to find them.
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Make sure the program is really closed and open the folder where it is installed. Then delete all the files with the names pdoxusrs.net, pdoxusrs.lck and paradox.lck, and try to open the application again. Sometimes a reindex must be performed.
Read also question #36 and question #101.
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This probably happens because you are installing the program while a previous version is open. Abort the installation operation, be sure to close the application,
and start the installation again. If the problem persists, reset your computer and try the installation again.
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It is the day when the photo was shot, last modified, or downloaded from the net (email server included), the latest of them.
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Try this:
1. On the main screen, move to the right by dragging the mouse all the grid columns other than Species/Name, Locality, and Country until all of them
are placed on the right side of the screen. Read also question #14 for details on how to move and widen columns.
2. Make the Country column wider than usual with the mouse in order to push to the right the unwanted columns that still remain visible until all of them are hidden.
3. With a click, select or make active the line of the specimen you want a label from.
4. Make sure the only visible columns are the ones you want printed.
5. When you are done, open File > Reports & Labels, or press Control+R.
6. Leave Page title and Page numbers unchecked.
7. Set Number of copies to 1 and Lines separation to 10.
8. Check Records in Page layout.
9. Check Current row in Rows.
10. Check Visible columns in Columns.
11. Click the button Grid data in Font and select any font you like.
12. Click the button Print to have the label printed.
13. Finally, you may want to reset the grid column order, width, and position to the factory settings by clicking on Utilities > Reset Columns.
- You will get a printout with two columns. Discard the left one. There will be a simple label for your specimen on the right.
- Make some tries by setting different line separations and grid data fonts, or changing the columns width and position, until you get the best result.
- If you don't like the country printed, just hide this column the same way you did with the others.
- If you want the Number/ID, Description, or another field included, make the corresponding column(s) visible.
- To print more than one label in one single operation, try either to set a filter or to select multiple rows (read also question #20 for details). Or do nothing if you want to print one for every specimen. Then change the setting in step 9 accordingly.
- If you need more sophisticated labels, however, read question #39.
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The species fields are intended to contain only approved species names. The variety can be included in the fields Description, or even in Notes.
But in any case you can always manually add new names with the varieties to File > Species, and even translate them into your language if necessary.
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Make sure you are logged into Windows as an administrator. If not, log in again in order to have all the administrative permissions. Then open the executable file Properties window (right-click either Minerals - Application file name, or minerals.exe file name, or the program shortcut on the Desktop). Then go to the Compatibility tab and check Execute (or Run) this application as an administrator (this may vary depending on your version of Windows).
Failing to do so can produce some system errors at startup, or, depending on the Windows version, your data files can be found at the folder \Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Minerals, where [UserName] is the name of the user logged on Windows.
Read also question #74 and question #76.
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Try to close the program. If you cannot, terminate it through the Windows Task Administrator. Open it again, go to Utilities > Reindex, and click on Regular reindex. If the problem keeps going, go for a Clean reindex, even a second time, until everything works fine. If you were not able to solve it this way, the latest backup copy will have to be restored, following the directions in question #12.
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The user's files are in Paradox 7, which is not a rare format, but a function
is available in MMCC to easily export all your data to an XLS file. That file can be read and processed by other known software like MS Excel, MS Access, and the free and splendid suites
LibreOffice.org and OpenOffice.org. Important: You must have MS Excel installed on the same
computer for the export process to work properly. You will find such a function in Utilities > Export.
But if you ever want (or need) to directly open the Paradox tables, install a free
piece of software named Extended Database Desktop (xDBD32 for short) that you will find at
SourceForge. It's very intuitive and easy to use. Another
free and excellent utility for that purpose is Paradox Data Editor (PDE for short), which can be downloaded at
MiTeC.
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The regular reindex operation just rebuilds the preexisting auxiliary index files. A clean reindex, however, physically deletes all those index files and then builds new ones from scratch. This second operation can be a lifesaver when a regular reindex is not enough to solve the problem because of the poor condition of the index files. Read also
question #11 for more details.
Read also question #11 and question #31.
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Look for a button on the top area of the main screen that shows a magnifying glass, and click it. This is the Search button. Then enter the file name or just a portion of it and click on Next. For higher efficiency, however, it is recommended to give the image files a name in such a way that the specimen Number/ID is included in it, for example, 1234-galena.jpg.
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There is no general rule for doing that. But it is an excellent idea to name them by starting with the specimen's Number/ID, followed by a hyphen, and the
species name. If you have several photos of the same specimen, add a sequential number. For example, 1234-galena1.jpg, 1234-galena2.jpg...
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The installation program is carefully instructed to never overwrite existing user data files, and I can't imagine any reason for this failing. Your data is
neither overwritten nor deleted. If somebody can't see them it's usually because the data is in another folder (not excluding the low probability that the
user inadvertently deleted them beforehand).
Let's see what to do now. Just after finishing the installation of My Mineral Collection Catalog, the app will be executed with administrator
rights, since this is required by Windows for the installation program to work. If MMCC had been running until now as a limited user, your data
files were moved by Windows to a different folder (typically C:\Users\...), an operation that is known as virtualization. I suggest you close the
program and open it again as usual, the installer aside.
Your data should be visible now. If not, you can make three operations to go on. (1) Make sure you have installed MMCC in the same folder as before,
not in a new one. (2) By using Windows Explorer, perform a search on your computer for a file named minerals.db, and
a list will be shown displaying the folders that contain it, its size, and the last date it was edited. Look for the one that has the most recent data and a larger size. (3) If there is not such file in a folder different
from the one where you installed the program, I fear something very odd has happened. The last resource is restoring the most recent backup copy.
See question #12 for more details.
Check Help > About to know the kind of Windows user you are working with and your actual data folder.
If you need more information about the administrator and limited users, please read also question #74.
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If such a name is included in the list, it must be because some record still contains it. At File > Filter set a filter with the sentence
Locality contains ... where the points are a specific text fragment from the full locality name you want to delete. The grid will now display only the record(s) for that locality. If not, check the filter setting or click on the button Magnifier to search all the database.
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It is actually a consolidation of the Provenance field content of all your active records (excluding the removed ones).
Read also question #84.
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The best approach would be to install a VPN, or virtual private network, to get both computers linked through the internet. This would allow you to have
your data permanently synchronized in real time. If you don't like it, after finishing your work, get a backup copy of your files on a pen drive or an external hard (or SSD)
disk and then restore it on the other computer. See question #12 for the way to do it.
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This most often happens because the image is too large, it is in PNG or BMP format, your computer is short
of memory or CPU speed, or too many programs are open at the same time. You can dramatically increase the opening speed by getting
a copy of your photos with a more manageable size, converting them to the JPEG/JPG format, closing the apps that clutter
the available memory, or, if all of this fails, by upgrading your computer.
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Click on File > Sum up mass or press Control+W. This function is sensitive to filters and selected records set by the user, so you can
also get the value of just a subset of your collection, for instance, the ones that are only in a showcase if you filled out the Location field.
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There is a solution to that problem in most cases. Try this:
1. Go to the Windows Start menu and type regedit in the Execute box, then hit Enter.
2. Scroll up on the left pane to make sure you are at the very top of the tree.
3. At the top menu, go to Edit, then Find and search for the word Display1_DownScalingSupported. Be patient, the process can take a while.
4. After right-clicking, change the value of Display1_DownScalingSupported you find from "0" to "1".
5. Then press the F3 key to make sure you change every found instance, because otherwise the hack won't work. There might be more than 10.
So you'll have to repeat steps 4 and 5 a number of times.
6. Once done, restart the system, and open My Mineral Collection Catalog again. It will produce a message and try to change the
resolution to the minimum supported, 1280x1024. If it failed to do so, this may mean your computer does not have that capability. Contact with
the manufacturer.
For advanced users, more details can be gotten by googling the keywords display1_downscalingsupported netbook together and other similar
combinations.
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It's easy. Just set a filter like "Number/ID equals" and enter the specimen number or ID. Then activate the Gallery and slideshow.
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The field Acquired is intended for storing the date you got the specimen, either purchased, from a gift, by exchange, field collected, inherited, or any
other. So I think you don't really need a specific field to keep track of the date you collected it. If you want to save more details, just use the field Notes or one of
the free fields available at Utilities > Preferences
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Yes, you can move any column by dragging its title. And you can also make it wider or narrower. This is useful for getting printed reports. Unfortunately the
new column position is not permanent, but the width is.
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Make sure that you (1) are logged on Windows as an administrator, and (2) explicitly Run (the app) as an administrator. Both. Then repeat the reindex.
Read also question #31.
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This can sometimes happen in certain systems. But don't panic, and try this:
1. Close MMCC. If you can't, then open the Windows Task Manager (Control+Shift+Esc) and kill the program or end the task.
2. Open the app folder with Windows Explorer and sort the files by alphabetical order. Then look for a file with the name Minerals.exe or
Minerals - Application. Right-click that file and choose Run as administrator. If the program is opened as usual with your data and there are no error messages, you're done.
Otherwise, read the following lines to try another solution.
3. In the app program folder, carefully delete all files with the name minerals except those with extensions DB, MB, and EXE (maybe you will need to set your
Windows Explorer to not hide extensions of known file types). In case of a mistake, restore the deleted files from the Recycle bin.
4. Carefully delete all files with the name deleted, except those with extensions DB and MB.
5. Open the file minerals.ini with a pure text editor, like Notepad or WordPad, search for two lines that begin with Order=<here a number> and Invers=<here a number>, and delete both.
6. Save and close.
7. Open My Mineral Collection Catalog. You'll probably still get some message like No index currently active, but your data
should be there now. Dismiss it and jump to the next step.
8. First of all, go to Utilities > Reindex and click on Regular reindex.
9. Then open the menu File and click on Removed.
10. Go to Utilities > Reindex and click on Regular reindex.
11. It's done. Just close and open MMCC again. No more errors should be displayed.
12. If you keep getting error messages, repeat the two reindex operations with the Clean reindex button instead.
Read also question #95 and question #111 for more details.
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It has been successfully tested on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11.
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Please follow first the recommendations of the question #87. If the problem persists, try this: Close MMCC, open the folder where it is
installed, and delete the configuration file minerals.ini (but do not empty the Recycle bin yet). Then open the application again and try double-clicking.
If the problem no longer shows up, check all your settings in the Preferences form. For the minerals.ini file location, read also question #15.
In some cases, the message Access violation may persist. This is a conflict in Windows searching for a memory position that no longer exists and is sometimes quite
difficult to resolve since there is no apparent reason. Try to do a reset of your computer and see if the problem keeps going. If so, create a new temporal folder, download the
MMCC installer, and run it in the new folder with the example records that are included. After opening the application, is the error message still showing? If so, it should be
triggered by something odd on your PC. If not, then it must be related to your data. Run MMCC as a limited user if you used to do it as an administrator, or the other way around,
and see if the issue keeps going. |
A primer to the administrator/limited rights mess:
1. As you may already know, according to Windows requirements, there are two kinds of users: administrator and limited, with different rights.
2. If you installed the application in the "\Program Files (x86)" or "\Program Files" folders, which is the default (but can be changed by the user
during the installation process), your database files can be either in the program folder (administrator user) or in a deeper path (limited user), as may be
\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Minerals, where [UserName] is the name of the Windows user.
3. Since the user is free to choose between executing the application as administrator or as limited and switch it at any time, there is the possibility of unexpectedly
finding yourself with a database that is not the real one. But don't panic yet!
4. To make things worse, the process of installing must be conducted with administrator rights for it to be able to write in the \Program Files folder.
No alternative. Windows rules.
5. When opening MMCC again, if it had been executed as limited before, the data you will see may be different from what you expected. That is admittedly very annoying, but there is no
data loss, only that you have two sets of database files in different places on your computer.
6. To prevent this problem from arising, you should have the previous concepts very clear and then decide: (a) Either to execute the application as administrator or as
limited user, or (b) Either to install it in the folder "\Program Files (x86)" or in another. It's up to you.
7. In any case, it's crucial that you obtain a backup copy of your valuable data whenever you make changes. The application can perform it for you every time you close it
and will keep separate copies of every day at least for one year. Just give the order from Utilities > Preferences. But select (if
possible) a different drive from the one where your working data is. For example, in a pen drive or an external HDD or SSD. Or in the cloud, if you prefer, but this may not
always be automatically accomplished. (Think also that there is no such thing as cloud computing; it is really sending your data to the computer of someone else.)
8. In the worst-case scenario of accidentally losing all of your data, you will always be able to recover the most recent files in a matter of minutes.
9. By opening Help > About in the application, you will know what kind of Windows user you are and where the real data folder is.
If you couldn't see them, you likely have an old version of MMCC, so just update it for free.
Please see more details in question #54 and question #76. And for more accurate help about this topic, you may want to contact the Microsoft support site.
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It's longer than expected (60 characters) to make room for some details about the crystal. For example, 65 wide, 70 long, 35 edge, and so on. If the specimen
contains several species, you may want to add the size of the largest crystal of each as well.
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1. If you are executing MMCC as administrator (recommended), you will always keep your data files in the same folder where the app is installed.
2. If you chose to install the program in the \Program Files (x86)\Minerals folder (which is the default for Windows) AND execute it as limited (also the default),
you will find your files in the deeper folder \Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Minerals, where [UserName] is the name of the Windows user.
3. You can easily find out where your data actually is and whether you are running the application as administrator or limited user by opening Help > About.
4. To switch the execution of the program from limited to administrator please go to question #54.
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Clear the third box of the condition you want to remove and click the OK button.
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First, gather all your mineral pictures in one single computer folder. Then open Utilities > Preferences, go to the frame Folders,
fill the box Images with the path of the folder where you put your images, and click the OK button. Then open the Edit form of the specimen, click on any of the
boxes named Image, and select the image you want.
Read also question #58
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No, at the moment, there is no way to do it. But you can use two ways to meet your needs:
1. On the main form, click the button Search (with a magnifying glass), write the name of the species you want, and then click Next as many times as needed.
2. If you don't like this, click the button Filter (with a funnel) and define a filter with "Species #" — "contains" — the name of the species you want.
Then click OK. You can add as many Species # as you need to the filter conditions, then uncheck the All values required checkbox and optionally save the filter
conditions for future operations.
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Just for you info, Blob stands for Binary Large Object. That said, this issue happens when the Blob pointer of the record in minerals.DB (the main database file) becomes
inconsistent with the one in minerals.MB (which stores the content of the field Notes). This could occur when the writing to the DB file was successful but the MB file did not get updated, or vice versa, and
produces an asynchrony (or mismatch) between both files, which can be either caused by an accidental file corruption (computer fault) or an incomplete backup restore (user fault). Possible solutions:
If MMCC finally opens, go to Utilities > Reindex and try a Regular reindex. If it doesn't work, perform a Clean reindex.
If the application can't be opened at all, or all that's been said above doesn't work, restore the most recent backup copies; for more details, read question #12.
If this doesn't work either, I advise you to patiently try a Paradox repair utility, as explained in question #95.
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The field Notes only accepts plain text, a data type that does not support any formatting (bold, underline, italics, link, etc.). But to get around
this limitation, I have introduced a trick to facilitate such an operation. Just select or highlight the text with the URL (internet address) by dragging your mouse. The pop-up
menu will appear immediately with the item Open website. You will find something alike in the View "Notes" form available in the main data grid.
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Simply update to version a version 4.1.5 or higher (from November 2023 on), where this issue has been fixed.
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For some reason, the system on your device appears to be unable to recognize a path that is that long or has that name. Try to make the copies either in a less deep folder or with a different name.
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A brief history of the specimen can be noted here; some people would say the traceability, others a résumé. Note this if it was field-collected by you. If it was
purchased, write down from whom. And you could also write the names of previous collectors who also owned it, if any. 75 characters long but enlarged up to 200
beginning with new clean installations of version 4.5.1. If it is not enough, you may want to write the remaining in the field Notes, which has a much larger capacity. To keep the locality (the
geographical point where the specimen was found or was extracted from), use the Locality field instead.
To understand the key importance of the provenance of a mineral collection specimen, I suggest you read Daniel Trinchillo's articles at The Mineralogical Record, issue
46-2, page 212 (Provenance: Its importance in Mineral Collecting), and issue 55-2, page 144 (Historical Provenance). Also the MR supplement of January 2025,
Collecting Pseudomorphs, page 71, 3rd paragraph.
Read also question #62.
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It depends on your browser but, in most cases, you can press the Control+F key and enter the string or words you want to search for. This works at least with Firefox, Google Chrome and MS Edge.
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I don't recommend doing it because this document is updated over time often, and is available online 24/7 by just pressing the F1 key from inside MMCC, letting
aside ecological issues with paper, energy, and toner (or ink) consumption. But if you believe it is necessary, press the Control+P key here and go ahead. I think it works with
almost all browsers.
An alternative that is more eco-friendly would be printing it to a file, so you can always read it offline. After pressing the print key, the browser will open a dialog where you
can select Destination: Microsoft Print to PDF (or something alike, depending on your browser and operating system). But think that your PDF copy may quickly become
outdated, so it is always better to read the online version.
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This bug has been cleared in version 4.2.3. So just download that release (or higher) and install it. If the message keeps showing, read question #73.
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I'm sorry, but such a delay is necessary. Its duration is directly proportional to the number of records in your database and inversely to the speed of your
computer, which depends on a number of reasons, some related to hardware and others to software. However, you can suppress the delay right away by unchecking the Autocomplete
text in the Preferences form, but then you will lose the function to select from a list the Locality and Provenance among the pre-existent ones.
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Firstly, take note of the Data folder name in the About screen. Then close MMCC and open Windows Explorer, go to such a folder, look for files
which name is Species with several extensions, and delete carefully all of them (there are typically only two). Finally, open My Mineral Collection Catalog again,
and you will find the species database empty, ready for you to add the data you want.
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Looking at the not-distant future, the huge database Mindat is implementing a universal and unique code to
be associated with each existing mineral specimen in the collections (or stored for sale) around the world. The minID format is AAA-AAA, where A is any letter or digit,
except for B, I, O, S, and Z (the code is not case-sensitive, and the hyphen is not mandatory, just for clarity). This allows them to have up to 31 6 (887,503,681)
different combinations, so they can expect to have enough room for a long time ahead. If you have already posted at least one photo of your specimens at Mindat, you may
already know what their minID is. But even if that is not the case, you can ask them to create one for
any or all of your pieces. In addition, you will have for your convenience a direct link in the Edit form in MMCC from a given specimen to the corresponding page at
Mindat (if you have any). To learn more about this topic, go to the introductory page and read the
Mindat FAQs.
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Press F11 in the Edit form to go to the previous record and F12 to skip to the next on any computer. Try it.
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This can be solved in only a couple of minutes. Just download the installer and run it. Not only you will get rid of such annoying message,
you will enjoy of new functions and fewer bugs too. Don't worry about your data, it is safe provided that you obtain a backup every time you close MMCC.
See question #60 for more details.
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Look for an arrow with a triangular shape on the right border, next to the eighth image box. Click it, and you will have access to the 8 missing images.
That arrow can have two colors: gray when there is no image on the other side, and red when there is at least one.
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It is protecting your data from any accident. MMCC can be reinstalled any time you want, but your data is unique. Go as soon as possible to the
Preferences function and fill in the box Backup copies. Then click on the Perform backup on close checkbox. And don't forget to read critical
question #7. That's all.
Think that you, the user, are the only one responsible for keeping your data safe. Therefore, back up your files regularly; otherwise, you could lose crucial data if your HD or SS
drive ever fails, which is just a matter of time.
Read also question #12 and question #120.
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For those who don't know yet, Paradox is the format of the My Mineral Collection Catalog data files. And yes, there are several free utilities
that allow you to successfully repair corrupted Paradox tables, including the error that triggers the annoying message Blob has been modified
(read question #80). Just open the page
AJPDSoft (in Spanish) and download the
Borland Utility Dtutil32. Another site where you can also get this kind of applications for free is
Qtools Software. Or search the net for TUtility Paradox or something alike.
Very useful to check and repair Paradox tables can also be the excellent utility Paradox Data Editor, that you can download at
MiTeC.
Those utilities work well almost of the time, but since I cannot guarantee success, please make sure to run it after getting a backup copy of your files
(read question #12) or, if MMCC couldn't be opened, in a folder that is a copy of the original.
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There are a lot of options for you to choose from:
1. Double-click the line on the main grid (this is my favorite).
2. Press the Enter key.
3. Press F2.
4. Select File > Edit.
5. Click on Edit in the upper toolbar.
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If you have the version 4.3.0 or higher (you may check it in the About MMCC box), go to Preferences and click on the Default button
that is found inside the Grids group box. If you don't have such a version yet, just download the app installer and update it.
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This typically happens because of the cache memory of your browser. To save time and net traffic, it takes the installation pack of the most recent version you
downloaded, which keeps hidden somewhere on your computer. In such cases, you should manually clear the browser cache. But in case you don't know how, and since each browser has
its own way to clear the cache, you may want to search the net for something like how to clear cache memory in [my browser]. Or try another browser. Or repeat the MMCC
update a few days later to allow the memory cache to be cleared automatically (this happens too 😊).
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As you may know, either the Tab or Enter keys can be used to jump to the next field box when you're editing a record or filling in a new one
in the Edit form. You can skip the fields you (almost) never fill with this setting, saving some time.
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Not known, but since there is no such thing as a free bug program (except the ones used in aircraft controls, and I'm not sure
about these), it's likely that there are some. But as soon as I become aware of one of them, I do the best I can to correct it.
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Close MMCC the usual way and delete the files Pdoxusrs.lck and Paradox.lck in the folder C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp. John is only the user's name, so it
will be different on other computers.
Read also question #36 and question #49.
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I can offer you two solutions: enter the first day of the year instead, or leave that field blank and append the year to the field Number/ID, as either
a prefix or a suffix, separated from the old code with a hyphen. Doing it as a prefix has the advantage that you will be able to sort your records by chronological order, or the reverse.
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According to reliable data available on the net, a Paradox table can accommodate up to two billion records, but the file size is limited to 2 GB.
Taking into account the more restricted limit of the file size, it means over 700,000 records. Too high to be surpassed in all your lifetime as a mineral collector, unless you
are the curator of a large museum or a very rich person. Just for your peace of mind, I am aware of users who have near 5,000 specimens and have yet to report any
issues. But if MMCC is too slow to process your data because there are too many records, check how much RAM and CPU speed your computer has and upgrade it if needed.
How to know how many records you have in the larger file, which is usually the one that is displayed in the main grid: Look at the status bar in the right bottom corner of
the main screen, and you will see two numbers separated by a slash. The second number indicates such a value. If the database is filtered, just clear the filter.
Note: The data files are those in the Data folder that you will find at Utilities > Open.
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The field Last edit was added in version 3.8.0 (April 24th, 2022). Thus, the last edit date of any record that was modified with an older version was
not recorded in the database. And any change made with version 3.8.0 or higher must be shown. Please check it out.
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For this functionality to work, you must have MMCC version 4.0.6 or higher and Windows version 10.0.22621.1413 or higher. If not, update them as needed.
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Such a field is of numeric type, so it only accepts digits and one decimal separator. The minus sign (-) at the front too, but it makes nonsense there.
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Beginning with MMCC version of November 2024, open the Reports & labels function or press Control+R, and click on PDF. That's all.
However, versions older than Windows 10 did not have this capability, and some installations of Windows 10 and 11 might accidentally have it disabled.
Just in case you didn't know, PDF means Portable Document Format, a standard digital form widely readable by most different devices, mainly using Acrobat Reader.
Read also question #18, question #19 and question #108 for more details about this topic.
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This is a behavior of Windows that MMCC cannot control, but you as a user can. Open the Windows settings or press the Windows key+I.
Then go to Devices > Printers & scanners. Check or uncheck Let Windows manage your default printer near the bottom. When this feature is enabled, Windows will
make its default printer the one that was most recently utilized. But when turned off, the default printer will stay the same until you explicitly change it.
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Open the Utilities > Preferences form and make sure the option Autocomplete text is checked.
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Please go to Utilities > Preferences, find the Font size box, and while holding down the Control key, scroll the mouse wheel.
Alternatively, you can also drag the pointer or just click on the bar.
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This is an issue raised by an accidentally created duplicate of some index file. In some cases even your database may be shown empty.
Don't panic. Make a Clean reindex (at Utilities > Reindex). If the message keeps showing, switch to the removed records database (menu File >
Removed) and, even in the case it is empty, repeat the clean reindex, because any of both databases can be the culprit.
For more details, read also question #71.
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Ascending order means smallest to largest, 0 to 9 and/or A to Z, and descending order means largest to smallest, 9 to 0 and/or Z to A.
In other words, ascending order means that the smallest or first or oldest in the order will appear at the top of the list, and descending order means the opposite.
Please note that the field Number/ID is not numeric but alphanumeric, so the order criteria are not numeric either. Read also question #38.
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Look at the background of the column title. If it is dark blue, the index is ascending. If it is a lighter shade of blue, it is descending.
You also can look at the combo box Sort by at the top right of the main form to see whether it shows a blue arrow pointing down.
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If you had been executing the application as administrator user on the old computer, and copied the whole Minerals folder to the new one,
all your databases must be available. Nothing else to do.
If they are not there, you will have to transfer the backup copies from the former laptop. Proceed as described in question #12.
Don't you know where your backup copies are? Open Help > About MMCC and look for the item Backup folder. Click on it, and the folder will be opened
immediately. If you never made backup copies, set it as soon as possible in the Preferences form in the Folders box.
If you don't have backup copies and have been executing the program as limited user, take note that the data on your old computer was silently placed by Windows in
the folder \Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Minerals, where [UserName] is the name of the Windows user. Just copy them to the new laptop
in the analog folder.
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This means that an index file is missing for some reason. Run a Reindex as explained in question #11.
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Because this functionality is not available. Only the most recently selected record, namely the one with the
( ·>) icon on the left, will be processed. If what you want is to export the entire database to other formats, read
question #56.
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Open Utilities > Preferences and uncheck the Hide option in the Field 'Notes' box.
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It is meant to write the place where you keep every specimen. It may be a showcase made of shelves, a drawer, a box, and others. This information can be useful
to quickly find where a specific mineral is, or to set a filter to know how many pieces contain every space, the mass (weight) supported by a shelf, and many more.
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Versions 4.4.7 and higher of MMCC allow the user to select a different set of colors for each grid: when the Removed records grid is visible, the
Preferences for Background color, Alternate color, and Enabled will only be applied to that grid independently of the others, for the user not to be
confused.
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Indeed, there are two:
1. If you don't do it yet, ask MMCC to silently create backup copies of your data files every time you close the app. The user is the only one responsible for
the integrity of the data, so please make the program automatically perform backup copies after every session. Unfortunately, I cannot give any solution when the users' data
accidentally vanishes without a backup. Read also the question #94.
2. The second tip, as important as the previous one, is to execute the program as administrator (not a limited) user. From the first day. Windows allows you to
easily set the executable file to be opened as administrator by default by editing the Properties of the executable file named minerals.exe or
Minerals - Application. Read also the question #54.
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Of course, I am, too. I suggest installing a second copy of the application in another folder. Pay attention during the installing process and change the new folder in the
Select Destination Location step. Then, for your convenience, you can create a shortcut on the Windows Desktop
with a name like Elements or anything you like. Since you are not going to use some fields (I particularly do not fill Locality nor Country), I recommend you
make their columns very narrow until almost invisible. Read question #14 for details on how to change column width.
Please also take note that you will not be able to open both databases, minerals and elements, at the same time in order to keep from
getting the data corrupted or your computer hanging. I'm sorry, but it is a technical limitation. And you may want to define a different backup folder for each one to prevent
overwriting.
By the way, element collecting is a thrilling hobby that every day has more followers. Also read
Start an Element Collection: How to Find Samples in Everyday
Places.
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Such a filter is meant for the user to get details on the secondary species, those that are in the fields Species 2 to Species 8. This way,
it is straightforward to know in what records these species are located.
- Why is sometimes the filter button disabled? It is because another filter has been set in the main grid before opening this form; this is necessary for
preventing conflicts between two filters with different conditions. If you need that button enabled, close the form and cancel the previous filter. Please remember that there are
three more points where a filter can be set: File > Filter, File > Marked, File > Not marked, and File > Localities.
- How do I cancel the filter I've just set on this form? (1) Click on the button with a crossed-out filter symbol or double click on the grid or press Control+F, or (2) close this form and then open it again or open the Filter
function in the main menu.
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Go to the MMCC folder and look for two files with the .lck extension. If found, delete both and try to open the app again. If you execute the program as a
limited user (some users do), look for those files in the deep folder \Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Minerals, where [UserName] is the name of
the user on Windows.
Read also question #49 and the related ones.
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You have to inform Windows what application you want to open a file with such an extension. There are a lot; one of the most used is VLC Media Player,
but Microsoft also includes Windows Media Player in each installation.
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If you are talking about the Edit form, the keys you need to quickly move inside are Home and End, but the app itself will display a bubble hint with the entire
field content when you put the mouse pointer over the box. But if you have the problem in the main grid, then I suggest that you increase the column size. In this case, you may
want to read question #14 for details.
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You should set the correct language driver:
1. Open the BDE folder at Utilities > Open... (only MMCC version 4.5.1.25.03.07 or higher).
2. Close MMCC (don't forget).
3. Run the application bdeadmin.exe (BDE Administrator) as a Windows administrator (read how to run a program as administrator in the
question #74).
4. Follow the menu sequence Configuration > Drivers > Native > Paradox > Langdriver, drop the associated list, and select a driver beginning
with Pdox or Paradox that is nearest to your language.
5. When closing BDE Administrator, don't skip saving the changes.
6. Check whether MMCC is now working as expected.
7. If it doesn't, repeat steps #1 to #5, selecting a different driver.
8. Sometimes it may be necessary to reset the computer to make it work.
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In the About screen. It is a string formed by 6 numbers separated by a period: major version followed by minor version (the last three numbers).
The minor version indicates the date of the app compilation.
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Don't worry. Check if you are executing the program as before. If you have been doing so as administrator, close MMCC and open it again as administrator.
This is the recommended way. On the contrary, open it again as limited user. The missed records should be available again. Please search on this very page, the string as an
administrator, for more details.
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The problems with the indices are very annoying, but fortunately they can be solved almost all of the time. First, it's a pity you don't have a backup copy,
since the app performs it automatically if you set it in the Preferences (read question #94). Open the folder where the program is installed (usually
\Program Files (x86)\Minerals) and carefully delete all the files whose name is minerals, except minerals.exe, minerals.db, minerals.mb and minerals.ini. Then open the
application as usual. A message saying Table is not indexed will be shown. Then make a Clean reindex again.
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Yes, beginning with version 4.5.4, press the F11 key to change the window state, and press it again to restore it. It also works with the
Contacts form.
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No, it is not possible to reverse the process, which involves regaining access to the data from a worksheet.
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Go to File > Filter and then click on Clear. That's all.
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Check whether you have MS Excel properly installed on your computer.
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Didn't find your answer, or want to report a mistake, or a
bug? Let me know at moc.xmg@8491c, and
be sure to include a screenshot of the Help > About MMCC box.
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