Carlisle Development - Tech Support

tech support

FAQ Section

Collector's Assistant Plus (Version 6.0)

New Users
Where do I find the values?
If you have purchased a version with coin or currency values they will appear in two ways:
1. Browsing the database - Select "Database: US Coin" or "Database: US Paper Money" in the View dropdown. Select a database category (eg. Dollar-Peace or Demand Note). Click on the first item in the listing that appears - its numismatic information will populate the green tabbed folders. Click on the Values button on the toolbar to bring up the table of values.
2. The same table described in (1) will appear for coins or paper money in your collections (View set to My Collections) as long as you copied the items into your collections from the database. When adding items to your collections for US Coins and US Currency you should always copy them from the database. This brings with it all of the information in our database including values and pictures. The easiest way to copy items is to click on the New Item button which will bring up the database in a small window from which you can copy items to your collection. You may also copy items by selecting them in the database, clicking on the copy item(s) button and then going to your collection and clicking on the Paste Item(s) button.
Every time I start the Collector's Assistant the help system appears?

The first time you start the Collector's Assistant Plus, the electronic User Manual will appear automatically with the Getting Started section displayed. You may click on User Manual on the action bar and then uncheck the line stating "Always Show Manual at Start"..

Is a hardcopy manual available?

A fully formatted MS Word document is provided consisting of a 60 page manual which may be viewed and printed using MS Word. The document is located in the installation folder, usually c:\CollectAsst\ and is named Collector's Assistant Plus - Users Manual.doc

The collection listing grid does not contain a column for some of the information I would like displayed?

The contents of the collection listing grid are user customizable and determined by the currently selected Listing Format (default is Standard). This format may be modified (or new ones created). To modify a format, select the format in the Listing Format dropdown and then click on the Modify Format button. A window will appear allowing you to add/remove columns, resize and re-order columns as well as format the columnar information. Once your changes are complete click on Done and all of the changes will be permanent and affect all collections which use this format.

I notice that some grades in the values tables have letters next to them, what do these indicate?

For some coin types, letters are added to further qualify the grade and can greatly affect its value. For example copper coins in higher grades often have the designation R, RB, or B for red, red-brown and brown respectively. Some coins use DC for deep cameo, C for cameo, D for deep-mirror prooflike. Some series have letters indicating features such as full bell lines on a Franklin Half dollar.
Adding Items to a Collection and Editing Information Fields

How do I access the coin or currency database?

Standard databases are accessed for browsing or copying. All standard database that you have purchased will appear in the View dropdown. Currently available databases are United States Coin, United States Currency, World Coin, World Currency, Euro Coin, and Ancient Coin.

How do I copy coins or currency from the database?

To copy items from a standard database perform the following steps. First make sure that "My Collections" is selected in the View dropdown and then select the Collection Name to which the items will be copied. Click on the New Item button, and the database will be accessible in a small window. Select the type and specific items to be copied and click on Add Selected Items.

You may highlight more than one item for copying by holding the "ctrl" key down on the keyboard as you select items.

I'd like to manually enter some items, but the standard database appears every time I click on New Item?

If you are going to manually enter a group of items and wish to disable the standard database selector you may do so by clicking on the Edit choice on the action bar an then unchecking the preference "Display database selector on New Item".

Why is the Apply button not lit?

The Apply button will only be lit (enabled) if four conditions are met; First the View must be set to My Collections, second a collection must be displayed in the grid, third a single coin must be selected (highlighted) in the collection listing grid, and finally you must have started editing any of the information fields. The Apply button will never be active when the View is set to one of the standard databases.

Why are my changes to information fields not there when I return to an item later?

After making changes to the currently selected item on each of the tabbed folders, you must click on the "Apply" button located on the right side of the toolbar in order to save the changes..
Coin and Currency values and Grades

I am not getting automatic values for the coins and currency in my collection?

If you are not getting automatic values, there are three possibilities: values are not installed, the item was not copied from the database, or there is no value provided for the grade of your item. The first step is to select the item in your collection and then click on the Values button on the toolbar. If the Values button is not present or grayed out, then you may have purchased a version without values. If the Values button is present, click on it. If a table of values appears then there is most likely not a value from the Grade you have entered. If no table appears, locate the same item in the standard database and see if it has a table of values. If there is no table in the database then it means that our suppliers do not provide values for the particular item. If the table appears in the database but not your collection, then it means that the item was not copied from the standard database

What grade should I use for proof and mint sets and American Eagle bullion coins?

Coin World provides values only for MS-65 and PF-65 for government sets such as proof and mint sets, thus if you want to use the Coin World Trends value you must use this grade, which is the assumed grade for sets as issued by the mint without any noticable problems. MS-65 and PF-65 are also the only grades for which Coin World provides values for American Eagle bullion coins.

How do I prevent the system from overriding a value I entered?

If you wish to manage the value of a specific item, enter your value into the Unit Value field and check the checkbox "Manual Value". The automatic values will not affect coins which are marked as "Manual Value".

How do I know what grade to assign to my coins?

There is no easy answer to this question, as it requires that either you educate yourself to be able to grade coins yourself or have your coins graded by someone else. For expensive coins you may want to have the graded and certified by one of the companies such as PCGS, ANACS, or NGC which grade coins. We offer a companion product, the Grading Assistant which assists you in assigning grades to US coins which is mostly useful for circulated grades.

Some of my coins are being valued at Face Value or Bullion Value which is much less than they are worth?

The Collector's Assistant has a user preference which allows it to use these lower values when no Coin World value exists for the selected grade or a nearby lower one. If you do not want Face or Bullion values, you can disable them under File->Options->Change User Preferences on the Values tab. Once changed they will no longer be used, but coins which were already assigned bullion or face values will retain them until you manually enter other unit values - in general when you manually enter a value also check the Manual Value checkbox so that it will not be affected by future updates.

I want to enter grades that do not appear on the Choice List?

As delivered, the choice list for Grades is populated with the grades most commonly used by all collectors. You may add any additional grades to this choice list by typing them in directly. Once added new choices will be available. If you are relying on the built-in Coin World Trends values, you want to use grades consistent with those for which values are supplied whenever possible. In this case, the easiest way to enter the grade is to display the Values table and double-click on the grade to select it (and also update the Unit Value).

There is no value in the table for my coin or currency item?

Values are supplied for common grades of most coins, but for many coin types there will not be values for intermediate grades (for example AU-53, MS-61). If you don't see a value for the grade you have you can either enter one manually, or if you note that the value is probably similar to that of a common grade (for example MS-60 is $12 and AU-50 is $9), you probably could use the AU-50 value. There are user preference settings under File->Options->Change User Preferences on the Values tab which allow the automatic values to accept slightly lower grades, bullion, and/or face value
Backup and Restore

I am unable to backup to a CD?

The Collector's Assistant backup function requires that the blank CD be properly formatted prior to use as a backup. This formatting is done by the utility provided with your computer. Usually when you place a blank CD in the drive, the utility will appear and ask what you want it to do. The correct answer will be something similar to open a folder for the Windows Explorer or My Computer. This formats it in such a way that all applications can copy files to the CD. Note: blank CD's are generally purchased unformatted as there are several commonly used data and audio formats.

I made a backup but cannot open the backup files by clicking on them?

The Collector's Assistant always accesses the database based on the working directory as set under File->Options->Change User Preferences. If you want to look at the data on the backup, you can start the Collector's Assistant and temporarily change the Workding directory to point to your backup ( for example m:\MyData\ if your backup drive was the letter M. In order for the backup to be accessible it must be read/write media, the Collector's Assistant will not open a read-only file. We are looking into the possibility of adding a backup viewer in an upcoming service pack.

What does the Backup function do?

The Collector's Assistant Plus backup function copies all files in the working data directory of the currently selected user into the selected destination. It also copies user customized data entry screens, and shared choice lists which may also have user customizations. The backup requires media with sufficient space for all of the files that are copied.

It is recommended that empty media be used for each backup and that permanent backups be created monthly and in the event of a major set of additions.

Other recommendations and limitations. If a 3 1/2" diskette is used as the backup media, it will not successfully backup any single file which is larger than 1.3 MB. In the event such a file is included an error message will appear during the backup. In this event you should back up to a different media or use a file compression program such as Winzip to manually back up large files.

If you extensively customize the Collector's Assistant, it is also recommended that copy the following folders to a backup media using the Windows Explorer or My Computer: C:\CollectAsst\ Combos\ and C:\CollectAsst\Video\.
Choice Lists

How do I delete misspelled or unwanted entries from choice lists?

You may manage choice lists by clicking on File->Options->Change User Preferences and then the Choice Lists tab. All choice lists are available for editing on this tab. Choice lists are grouped by the collectible application (Coin, Currency, etc) except for special choice lists which are used for all collectibles, which are under the application Shared. Shared includes buyers and sellers and locations and containers. After selecting the application, select the desired list and then add and delete items as needed. For two level lists such as Location->Container, you select the Location containing the Container you want to edit and work with the sub-list for that container.

What is Quick Add Mode?

When you type a new entry into a choice list, one of three things will happen depending on your QuickAdd mode setting. It will automatically add it to the choice list, not add it, or ask you what to do. This setting is also changed under File->Options->Change User Preferences on the Choice Lists tab.
Printing & Reports

How do I print in landscape mode?

While in the Collection Manager click on Print->Print Setup and you may select landscape mode. You should also select a report format that takes advantage of the wider paper format. Most of the standard formats provided will have the word "Landscape" in their names if they take advantage of the additional space.

How do I print information from all of my collections?

While in the Collection Manager click on Print->Print All Collections Using Current Listing Format. A window will appear allowing you to select which collections will be included. All selected collections will be printed. Since this function uses the Collection Listing Grid to accomplish the printing, the Collector's Assistant Plus will be busy until all collections have been transmitted to the Print Spooler. You will also see them as they appear momentarily in the Collection Listing Grid.

How do I change the fields that appear on a report?

All report formats are user customizable. To access the customization screens, select a report format and then click on Modify Format. This will bring up a window allowing changes to the listing grid. Consult the full manual for information on how to make various customizations.
How to organize collectibles

How should I organize my coins or other items into collections?

The organization of coins into collections should be aligned to how you like to collect. For example, many coin collectors create a collection for each coin type such as Morgan Dollars. Others will create a collection for each denomination (United States Dollars which would contain all types of dollars). There is no one correct way. The Collector's Assistant is intended to support your preferred way of organization.
Working with Pictures

I attached some pictures to items in my collections but they are now gone?

When pictures are attached to an item in a collection, the attachment is to your original file wherever it was located. The Collector's Assistant does not make a copy of your picture. If the picture is no longer available it must have been deleted or relocated.

Where should I store pictures I would like to use with the Collector's Assistant?

We recommend creating a folder MyPictures underneath c:\CollectAsst\MyData\ so that your pictures will be backed up with your data. If they are placed elsewhere they will not be backed up by the Collector's Assistant backup function. Do not place the pictures in My Documents or My Documents\My Pictures\ as these folders have very long actual paths and the Collector's Assistant picture attachments are limited to 80 character file names, including full path.

What picture formats can I use?

The Collector's Assistant will accept .jpg, .gif or .bmp files, jpg is recommended.

How do I attach a picture to an item in one of my collections?

Select the item and then click on the Pictures tab. Right-click on the desired slot and click on Change Picture. A disk navigator will appear - locate the picture and it will be attached. Note - if you place it in one of the two upper left slots it will also appear on the Item Detail tab. Other slots may be used and incorporated in printed reports or placed on other tabs by user customization of the data entry screens.
Installation and Troubleshooting

The Collector's Assistant was working before but won't start now?

The most common cause of this problem is the removal of needed system files as a result of defects in Anti-Spyware products. To correct this problem, run the installation CD selecting the repair option. If this resolves the issue, you may prevent its recurrence by indicating to your AntiSpyware software that it should trust the files sssplt30.ocx and vsflex7l.ocx.

I re-installed using the Repair function, but it still will not start and an error message appears?

This indicates a problem with the alphabetically first collection file which is automatically opened when the Collection Manager is started. To correct, e-mail this file to support@carlisledevelopment.com for repair - while waiting for the repaired file, you will be able to access your other collection files if you move the defective file out of the folder c:\CollectAsst\MyData\My Collections\ to another temporary location (the History folder is a good choice).

I click on the Collector's Assistant icon but it won't start?

This usually occurs if the Collector's Assistant exited abnormally. In this case, Windows may be confused as to whether or not it is still running. To correct, bring up the Windows Task Manager by holding down the ctrl and alt keys and clicking on delete. Once the Task Manager is displayed, locate the process AssistantPlus, click on it and then End Process or End Task. Rebooting your computer will also clear this condition but take considerably longer.

Can I install the Collector's Assistant in a folder I choose?

Yes, but choose wisely. The Collector's Assistant normally installs in c:\CollectAsst\. Common alternate locations are c:\Program Files\CollectAsst\, X:CollectAsst\ where X is another drive on your system. Not recommended are folders such as My Documents or the root of a drive. These folders have other purposes or in the case of My Documents a very long actual path length which will cause problems. Some customers choose to rename the folder CollectAsst to something else. Though this can be done in makes providing customer support more difficult as often customers forget where they placed it.

Collector's Assistant Plus (Version 5.0), Home Assistant Plus & Collector's Helper

New Users
Where do I find the values?
If you have purchased a version with coin or currency values they will appear in three ways:
1. Browsing the database - Select "United States Coin" or "United States Currency" in the Current View dropdown. Select a database category (eg. Dollar-Peace or Demand Note). Click on the first item in the listing that appears - its numismatic information will populate the green tabbed folders. Click on the Buy/Sell tab and then the Show Values button and a table of values should appear. If you do not have a Show Values button, then no values are installed.
2. The same table described in (1) will appear for coins or paper money in your collections (Current View set to My Collections) as long as you copied the items into your collections from the database. When adding items to your collections for US Coins and US Currency you should always copy them from the database. This brings with it all of the information in our database including values and pictures. You may copy items by selecting them in the database, clicking on the copy item(s) button and then going to your collection and clicking on the Paste Item(s) button.
Every time I start the Collector's Assistant the help system appears?

The first time you start the Collector's Assistant Plus, the electronic User Manual will appear automatically with the Getting Started section displayed. You may click on User Manual on the action bar and then uncheck the line stating "Always Show Manual at Start"..

Is a hardcopy manual available?

A fully formatted MS Word document is provided consisting of a 60 page manual which may be viewed and printed using MS Word. The document is located in the installation folder, usually c:\CollectAsst\ and is named Printed.doc

The collection listing grid does not contain a column for some of the information I would like displayed?

The contents of the collection listing grid are user customizable and determined by the currently selected Listing Format (default is Standard). This format may be modified (or new ones created). To modify a format, select the format in the Listing Format dropdown and then click on the Modify Format button. A window will appear allowing you to add/remove columns, resize and re-order columns as well as format the columnar information. Once your changes are complete click on Done and all of the changes will be permanent and affect all collections which use this format.
General Usage

How do I access the coin or currency database?

Standard databases are accessed for browsing or copying. All standard database that you have purchased will appear in the Current View dropdown. Currently available databases are United States Coin, United States Currency, World Coin, World Currency, Euro Coin, and Ancient Coin.

How do I copy coins or currency from the database?

To copy items from a standard database perform the following steps. First make sure that "My Collections" is selected in the Current View dropdown and then select the Collection Name to which the items will be copied. Next select the database containing the desired items in the Current View dropdown. Select the appropriate category and sub-category (if available) and then highlight the items to be copied. Finally click on "Copy Selected Items to Current Collection" and the selected items will be copied. Repeat as needed and then select My Collections in the Current View dropdown to view and work with your collections.

Why are my changes to information fields not there when I return to an item later?

After making changes to the currently selected item on each of the tabbed folders, you must click on the "Apply" button located on the right side of the toolbar in order to save the changes..
Coin and Currency values

I am not getting automatic values for the coins and currency in my collection?

If you are not getting automatic values, there are three possibilities: values are not installed, the item was not copied from the database, or there is no value provided for the grade of your item. The first step is to select the item in your collection, then select the Buy/Sell tab. If a Show Values button exists then you can assume that values have been installed. If there is no Show Values button then no values have been installed. Values may be purchased from Carlisle Development. If the Show Values button is present, click on it. If a table of values appears then there is most likely not a value from the Grade you have entered. If no table appears, locate the same item in the standard database and see if it has a table of values. If there is no table in the database then it means that our suppliers do not provide values for the particular item. If the table appears in the database but not your collection, then it means that the item was not copied from the standard database (One exception is for currency values due to a defect - in this instance make sure you have downloaded SP3 and are running at version 5.0.8 or above.)

How do I prevent the system from overriding a value I entered?

If you wish to manage the value of a specific item, enter your value into the Unit Value field and check the checkbox "Manual Value". The automatic values will not affect coins which are marked as "Manual Value".

There is no value in the table for my coin or currency item?

Values are supplied for common grades of most coins, but for many coin types there will not be values for intermediate grades (for example AU-53, MS-61). If you don't see a value for the grade you have you can either enter one manually, or if you note that the value is probably similar to that of a common grade (for example MS-60 is $12 and AU-50 is $9), you probably could use the AU-50 value. To do this change the "Grade" to the standard grade and make a notation of the actual grade in the Detailed Condition field or some other field you use for this purpose.
Backup and Restore

What does the Backup function do?

The Collector's Assistant Plus backup function copies all files in the working data directory of the currently selected user into the selected destination. It also (in versions 5.1.1 and above), copies user customized data entry screens, and shared choice lists which may also have user customizations. The backup requires media with sufficient space for all of the files that are copied.

It is recommended that empty media be used for each backup and that permanent backups be created monthly and in the event of a major set of additions.

Other recommendations and limitations. If a 3 1/2" diskette is used as the backup media, it will not successfully backup any single file which is larger than 1.3 MB. In the event such a file is included an error message will appear during the backup. In this event you should back up to a different media or use a file compression program such as Winzip to manually back up large files.

If you extensively customize the Collector's Assistant, it is also recommended that copy the following folders to a backup media using the Windows Explorer or My Computer: C:\CollectAsst\ Combos\ and C:\CollectAsst\Video\.
Printing & Reports

How do I print in landscape mode?

While in the Collection Manager click on File->Print Setup and you may select landscape mode. You should also select a report format that takes advantage of the wider paper format. Most of the standard formats provided will have the word "Landscape" in their names if they take advantage of the additional space.

How do I print information from all of my collections?

While in the Collection Manager click on File->Print All Collections Using Current Listing Format. All collections will be printed. Since this function uses the Collection Listing Grid to accomplish the printing, the Collector's Assistant Plus will be busy until all collections have been transmitted to the Print Spooler. You will also see them as they appear momentarily in the Collection Listing Grid.

How do I change the fields that appear on a report?

All report formats are user customizable. To access the customization screens, select a report format and then click on Modify Format. This will bring up a window allowing changes to the listing grid. Consult the full manual for information on how to make various customizations.
How to organize collectibles

How should I organize my coins or other items into collections?

The organization of coins into collections should be aligned to how you like to collect. For example, many coin collectors create a collection for each coin type such as Morgan Dollars. Others will create a collection for each denomination (United States Dollars which would contain all types of dollars). There is no one correct way. The Collector's Assistant is intended to support your preferred way of organization.