AutoCat
AutoCat is a very intuitive software for keeping track of your MP3s, videos, pictures, any kind of files on your CDs, DVDs, or any kind of disks, by using aliases. You navigate through your catalog with the best interface: there is no interface! You just use the Finder, so you can access your catalog via all the Finder features, and also via Open dialogs, or remotely via the network. Simply use Spotlight on Mac OS X to search your catalog. No other software needed.

AutoCat on Mac OS X


Download the latest AutoCat now!
AutoCat 3.0.8
395 KB - ZIP format

AutoCat 3.0.8
369 KB - StuffIt format

AutoCat is not compatible with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

AutoCat 3 requires Mac OS X < 10.7 or Mac OS 8.6 or later with the latest CarbonLib.


Highlights
  Navigate through your catalog directly from the Finder.
  Navigate through your catalog from Open/Save dialogs.
  No application to launch to navigate through your catalog.
  Use Spotlight directly from the Finder to search your catalog.
  Catalog all your CDs, CDRs, DVDs, any kind of disks or folders, in a very Mac way.
  Navigate through your catalog remotely via the network.
  Work with a super-easy drag & drop interface and in the background.
  Catalog the contents of StuffIt archives.
  Appearance-savvy, Navigation Services-savvy, Aqua-savvy on Mac OS X.

only in AutoCat


Requirements
PowerPC processor with System 7.6 or better.
Available for Mac OS X.


Some AutoCat customers

The Wall Street Journal   Pioneer Press Newspapers

KraftWorks   Belkin   SAFECO


What AutoCat users are saying
"AutoCat offers an appealing low-cost disk tracking system that takes up little room and works very well." - A.B., Macdownload

"This is a marvelous little program that will prove indispensable to anyone tired of wading through piles of floppies." - MacFormat Issue 22

"Superb piece of software. Many thanks." - R.B., London, UK

“Thank you for writing such a useful program. I really appreciate those program that are small & elegant and do things in the Macintosh way.” - A.T., Vancouver BC, Canada

"I'm quite happy with the performance of AutoCat and the different ways that it works.... I have tried some of the others and really don't like the feel." - F.S., Cary NC, US

"Hey, I've found this a very useful utility over the years. It is the first piece of shareware that I tried, and it has been well worth the registration fee." - B.B., US

“AutoCat continues to be one of my all-time favorite downloads. That coming from someone who has close to fifty filled floppies with archived shareware! Which, of course, is why I like AutoCat so well. Keeping track of all of that before was a nightmare.” - J.R., Bare VT, US

“... and think it is the easiest system to use.” - M.S., Somerville MA, US

“...I took refuge to your simpler AutoCat. I do not regret it.” - J.D., Amsterdam, The Netherlands

“Very fast, very efficient. I've changed to using this from a more expensive commercial one!” - S.D., archivist at the University of Michigan

 Previous Version
AutoCat 3 requires Mac OS X or Mac OS 8.6 or later with CarbonLib, which can be downloaded from the Apple Software Updates website.

If you have an older system software, you can still use AutoCat 2.9.3.

AutoCat 2.9.3 - 475K


 AutoCat Tips
Place AutoCat close to the Trash on the desktop. When you are done with a disk, just drag onto the AutoCat icon: it will be cataloged (if you made changes) and ejected.
Press the Option key while draging a disk onto AutoCat. This will force the disk to be cataloged.
If you don't press Option, the disk is cataloged only if it has been modified since it was last cataloged - but sometimes the Finder doesn't update the modification date of a disk, and AutoCat might forget to catalog this disk.


 AutoCat & AppleScript
You can use AppleScript to catalog your disks. The script below will catalog the disk called 'myDisk'.

tell application "AutoCat"
  activate
  open {alias "myDisk:"}
  quit
end tell


 Version History
AutoCat 3.0.8
Fixed -50 error (volume couldn't be put away) on Mac OS X 10.3 Panther.
AutoCat 3.0.7
Fixed -50 error (volume couldn't be put away) on Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar.
AutoCat 3.0.6
Fixed minor cosmetic problems under Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar.
AutoCat 3.0.5
Fixed a bug under Mac OS 9 that prevented AutoCat to catalog the content of certain subfolders.
AutoCat 3.0.4
Added support for long Unicode filenames on Mac OS X.
AutoCat 3.0.3
Fixed some problems with StuffIt archives, and updated to StuffItEngineLib 6.5.1.
Minor changes and corrections.
AutoCat 3.0.2
Preferences were not created correctly.
'Catalog comments' deactivated on Mac OS X (didn't work).
Minor changes and corrections.
AutoCat 3.0.1
Fixed the #48 error (due to invisible "Icon" files).
Allocated more memory to AutoCat (Mac OS 9).
Items counter now in international number format.
AutoCat 3.0
First version for Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 with CarbonLib.
Older versions

Catalog your disks with AutoCat
 

Drag a disk or a folder onto the AutoCat icon or the AutoCat window. It will be automatically cataloged and ejected.
It is suggested to put the AutoCat icon close to the trash on the desktop (Mc OS 9) or on the dock (Mac OS X).

Insert a disk while AutoCat is in the front. It will be cataloged and ejected. This is a practical way to catalog a series of disks. (pre Mac OS X only.)

Let AutoCat catalog your disk in the background
You don't have to wait until AutoCat has finished its cataloging to continue to use your Mac. AutoCat works in the background and automatically ejects your disk when it's done. AutoCat only catalogs disks not included in your catalog: if you have already cataloged a disk and didn't change its contents, AutoCat doesn't catalog it again. (You can use the Option key to force AutoCat to catalog your disk.)

Here is a Mac OS X example of a catalog of several CDs, an iDisk, and a server.

A catalog example

Navigate through your catalog from the Finder
The same as you navigate through your disk! With Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, ou can even use Spotlight to search your catalog.
You can also navigate through Open and Save dialogs from within all your applications. Actually, you can access your catalog from everywhere! You can share it and access it via a network if you want.



"Small is beautiful."
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication".

©1994-2008 Olivier Lebra