Database for reel-to-reel, cassette, or VCR tape collection
MyTapes.mdb is a Microsoft Access 2.0 and 2003 database for recording, organizing, and reporting the contents of a reel-to-reel, cassette, or VCR tape collection.
Locations on these media types are indicated by an odometer-style numeric "tape counter". One of the database fields is the counter value at which each track begins.
There are reports in 2 different formats for printing the contents of a tape onto a page that you can put in the box with the tape. By default, the print routine chooses which format is most appropriate for a given tape, but you can force either format to be used, which I did for the screenshots below.
There are queries to do some different searches and sorts, and a query to help locate tapes with contents that are expendable, available for reuse.
The database tables are:
- MyTapes - The main table.
- KeepCodes - Numeric "keep" (priority) codes with their text descriptions.
Fields of the MyTapes table:
| Tape | Tape number. |
| Side | A or B. |
| Counter | Counter number at which the track starts. |
| Channel | Stereo, Left, or Right (in case you recorded different things on the left and right tracks of the tape). |
| Keep | Keep code: 1=Best to 3=Average to 5=Worst. (Priority for how important it is to keep this track.) |
| Who | Artist or performer. |
| What | Song or selection. |
| RecDate | Date recorded (or best guess) |
| LastHeard | Last date that the listed tape contents were known to be accurate. |
| --------- | Only the Access 2003 version has these additional fields: |
| Speed | Tape speed. For reel tapes, 1=1 7/8, 3=3 3/4, 7=7 1/2 IPS. |
| HD | Whether it has been transferred to hard disk, and any notes about the transfer. |
Download
The zip file mytapesmdb.zip (about 52 KB) contains both the Access 2.0 and Access 2003 versions.
Screenshots of the tape box insert report formats
1) In this format, sorting is by counter number, Left/Right indicated by L or R:
2) In this format, Left is on left, Right is on right. Matching entries are in stereo. Unmatched entries stand out as being Left or Right only:
