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Stock list

Started by hvdkooij, May 07, 2023, 04:57:04 PM

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hvdkooij

I went over the archives but I could not find it so here goes another idea.

How about a stock list? So you can tel how much you have of each item in stock and then you can tell if you can build your design from what you have and if you need to buy more parts.

Not a big thing. we can do the match by hand as well. But it would allow anyone to know if they need to buy more or just adjust the model to fit what is available.

Regards, Hugo.

VictorPM

Stock list?? In Anyrail the stock is endless ;-))

Greetings, Victor

Nick the Cabin Boy

Hugo,  the List of Materials button on the Home screen gives you a list of what you need to build the plan. You can save this and put it into an Excel spreadsheet. From there, you can enter what you actually have, and see what you need to buy. This also works for any buildings for which you have used a User Object or an item from the Object Libraries.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Nick the Cabin Boy
Elizabeth Grove, South Australia
Building Pottersbridge, a fictional town a little North of London, served by a fictional Heritage Railway, in N

hvdkooij

I know I can do this with Excel or even a simple notebook and pencil. (That notebook might trump my Excel sheet expertise. ;D )
But knowing your limits while designing might be useful. Particular if one has no budget scheduled.

As I said it's not a big thing. Just a thought.

Nick the Cabin Boy

I vaguely remember a post some years ago where someone (might even have been me!) asked if it was possible to set up a stocklist in AR, with a field to add the value/price. Handy for budgeting, also possibly for insurance. Nothing happened, as David has far more important things to do!

I actually have most of the track and buildings for my proposed layput, except that I decided that I could put the empty filing cabinet in the shed, thus gaining 53cm of layout length. This, in turn, meant that I could now have a bigger loco depot, which means I need a bit more track, and so on.

Being a pensioner, I allow myself a certain amount each fortnight; the biggest expense coming up will be the timber and plywood, but I can buy that a bit at a time. In the meantime, I've got wiring to work out!

Cheers,

Nick
Elizabeth Grove, South Australia
Building Pottersbridge, a fictional town a little North of London, served by a fictional Heritage Railway, in N

railroads2005

Sometimes I have to design layouts for clients who send me a spreadsheet list of track components they have and I need to include as many as I can before they need to buy anything else. I simply keep the spead sheet open with an extra column added for "turnouts used" and each time I place a turnout I add it to the speadsheet cell and compare it to the number they have next to it....a manual solution but it works well when you get used to it.

AM Rail

#6
I registered here just to make this suggestion, although I submit a better term for it is INVENTORY. And to see people arguing "well you could do X amount of work and it's the same" is just beyond ridiculous. By your logic we shouldn't even be using AnyRail just a pencil and paper to design layouts. ::)

Developers, please add this simple and basic function. I use Kato Unitrack and designing a layout is frustrating when I don't know if I've gone over what I actually have. I would view implementation like this:

Add "Inventory" tab or option.

Menu allows you to choose any track library and enter the amount of any given piece you have. This is then reflected in the graphical library on the left as number in parentheses under each piece.

As you add pieces to the design, the amount is subtracted from the parentheses eventually reaching zero.

You can continue to add pieces, however a negative number in red is now shown in the parentheses to tell you how many you're over, so you can either adjust your layout or purchase more track accordingly.

I cannot see this being difficult.

David

The problem with the Inventory is that you want to have it per 'user', not per design. So it can't be saved with the design. We've not yet devised a way to do that so users clearly see the disctinction.
David Hoogvorst. Founder and Owner of DRail Software. Creator of AnyRail.

The Track Planner

As a professional track planner, I'm finding this thread rather "interesting". Having designed track plans professionally for over a decade, I can't ever remember a client asking me to stop designing once I had reached a specific number of turnouts used. When I start a design, I have NO IDEA how many turnouts I'm going to need or use. I can't imagine trying to design a custom track plan that way!

I have had clients send me an inventory of turnouts they have and ask me to use them. It is at that point that I remind the client, if I have to design a custom track plan based on using specific turnouts you already have, 1) you could be limiting my professional ability to design you the best possible track plan, 2) if so, the finished product will probably not be best, because I'll be using turnouts in areas where they shouldn't be used, 3) I advised the client, I will not warranty my design, if I am limited to using their specific turnouts and 4) in many cases, the turnouts the client wants me to use, are what I consider to be inferior products and I would not consider using them on any design I'm charging for.

What I find interesting is regardless whether you are a professional like myself or you're designing a track plan for your personal use, you would want to limit your design base on a turnout count. I would think the objective is to design the best possible track plan so you can build and enjoy the best possible model railroad.

Just my thoughts,

Bill - The Track Planner

Nick the Cabin Boy

I think that I am on record somewhere back in the bowels of the Forum as saying that I thought an inventory function would be a good idea. I no longer think that. I now feel that this is something that you do outside of AR.

Personally, I use a spreadsheet. Column 1, Part No. Column 2, Description. Column 3, How many have I got. Column 4, How many do I need. Column 5, How many do I need to buy (or have over). Column 6, Price each. Column 7, Total outlay.

Works for me!

Nick
Elizabeth Grove, South Australia
Building Pottersbridge, a fictional town a little North of London, served by a fictional Heritage Railway, in N