# Where to Start?

Okay.. I have installed Data Crow and have no idea where to start. Luckily I found the help.
I am going to assume you know that Data Crow is a collection management program. In Data Crow you can register your items. To allow the registration of items Data Crow comes with a set of modules, such as the movie, software and books modules. You'll find these modules in the module list, you can't miss it.
First thing you'll do is open the module you want to use. Just click on the icon.
You have opened the module and are ready to start filling it with your items.
Now, how you are going to do this depends on whether you currently have a listing of your items or not. Maybe you are using another product or you just might have an Excel or text file with basic information on your items.

## I do not have anything registered

In case you are starting fresh you will have to create your items manually. Now, don't be afraid, you do not have to type everything!

### My items are represented by files on my system

If you want to create items within Data Crow based on files in your system, for example Movie or Music files, you can use a File Importer to create Data Crow items based on these files. Data Crow will extract as much as possible information from your files.
Read this section for information on the File Importer.

### My items are not file based

If you have no files to import you could try and use the online search to find information on your item. This will save you a lot of typing! The online search uses sites (or services as we call them) like Amazon, Imdb.com and others to find information and pictures for your items.
Now, there is an Item Wizard which makes use of the Online Search functionality. I would recommend you start there. Click on the icon in the tool bar. This wizard is there to help new users adding items one by one.
If you consider yourself a proficient user you can also try and use the Online Search tool directly. The benefit is that you can quickly add multiple items. Read this section for information on the Online Search function.

### I could not find any information on my items

Well, so... you start from scratch, your items are not represented by files and the online search did not find anything of use to you. You'll have to enter the items manually.
Press the icon on the tool bar to a new item. This will open the Item Form. Enter the information manually within this form.
Data Crow can still help you in making this as much as a straightforward task as possible.
For example, if you have files that have many values in common you can create a template with the default values. Items based on this template will get these values assigned. Read more on this here.
Now, if you have many items to add there is one last option. Use the "Create Multiple Items" utility. This is explained in the items section of the help. Make sure you switch the Table View. From there you can enter the items in an Excel like overview.

## I already registered my items somewhere else

Data Crow has the ability to import text files, such as XML and CSV (or other delimited text files). If you registered your items in a text format as mentioned, or, if you can save the information to one of these formats you can import the information directly into Data Crow.
You'll be using the Item Import utility.