Creating a new module

Menu path: Modules > Create Module Wizard

In the main screen of Data Crow you'll find a menu called "modules". This menu contains wizards to customize, create and relate modules. In this chapter we will dive into the creation of you very own module.

Starting the wizard

Start the wizard by selecting "Create Module Wizard" from the modules menu.

Selecting a module type

There are 3 types of modules to choose from; property module, media module and "other" module.

Property Modules

A property is a very simple module. It has 2 important predefined fields; "name" and "icon" and cannot be extended with any other field. The property module is used by other modules to create property items such as genres, categories, storage media, etc. More on this when you start to define fields for your module.

Media Modules

This module type is very common within Data Crow. Software, Audio CDs and Movies are examples of media modules. This module type has a set of predefined fields common for all media modules: title, description, year, location, rating and the default "user" fields.

Other Modules

If any of the above doesn't suite you, go for this module type. This module type has no predefined fields (apart from the ID field which is required for all modules) making this the perfect candidate to create a module from scratch.

Filling the basic information

In this step you will name the module and its item(s), select the icons and enter a description. The name of the module and the object names cannot be changed aftwerwards so pick these carefully.
- Description A generic description of the module. This description is displayed in the module bar when hovering with the mouse over the module.
- Name the name of the module. For example "Software".
- Item name the name of the items of this module. For example "Software Item".
- Item name plural the plural of the defined name. For example "Software Items".


The icons can be changed by doing a single left mouse click on the specific icon. The large icon will be used in module bar (left hand side of the screen) the small version is use throughout the whole application.

The following options are available. Note that the available options can vary between module types.
- Items can be assigned to a container. Enabling this option makes the container dropdown available for items of this module. This allows items to be stored in containers. A container can represent a closet, a CD case, a box or anything else.
- Items represent actual files. If enabled file fields are added to the items of this module thus making it possible for your items to represent files in your system.
- Items can be lend to other persons. You can also indicate if items belonging to the module can be lend to other persons (not available for property modules). Enabling this will activate the loan functionality. You can change this information at a later stage (Alter Module Wizard).

Defining fields

See the "Defining Fields".

Finishing the Wizard

After all information has been supplied press the "finish" button or the "finish & new" button. The "finish" button finishes the module creation process. Data Crow needs to restart before you can use the new module. The "finish & new" button finishes the module creation process and restarts the wizard (which can be useful when you want to create more then one module).