Help:Collections

For you diehard TMBG collectors out there, you can track your collection online through TMBW. You will be able to tell us what albums you own, and allow others to see what you own.

How Do I Track the Albums I Own?

Instructions

You can track your collection through TMBW's Release Details pages, which can viewed in one of two ways:

• On an album's page, click the "Show" link next to the "Full release details", and it will display all the individual releases for that album, or...
• Navigate directly to the release details page from the Discography page.

Once you are viewing the release details, click "Add to my collection" for the release that you own, and it will be added to your collection. Note that this is only available to registered users, and only available for albums that have a release details page. It is not available for most Various Artist compilations, and other non-TMBG albums.

Once you have tagged an album, you can remove it from your collection on the same page it was added.

Can I Track Digital Albums That I Own?

If the album was originally released as a download, or has a unique download-only version, you can track its digital release.

What Are Catalog Numbers and Where Do I Find Them?

Catalog numbers are used by record labels to identify specific releases of an album. TMBW.Net also uses these catalog numbers when possible to track your collection. You can find them in various places on the albums you own:

• Back cover: Start on the back cover of the album, usually on the lower portion.
• Album spine: On some (but not all) CDs, the catalog number will be printed on the album's spine.
• Disc / Record: Some CDs have the catalog number printed on the physical CD itself. Many vinyl records have the catalog number printed on the center label.

Note: not all releases will have a catalog number. This is especially true for promotional releases. In this case, we track the item with a made-up identifier called "UniqueID". The UniqueID is also used when multiple releases have the same catalog number.

What If I Own a Release That Isn't Listed?

If you own a release that isn't listed, help us out by adding that release to the album's "Release Details" page. (You can get to the release details directly from the Discography or by clicking the "edit" link when the release details are displayed on the album page.)

Displaying Your Collection

Example Collection

CDs

Vinyl

Cassettes

If you'd like to display your collection on your userpage, paste this simple template into your userpage to display the cover art for all of your albums in chronological order, sorted by format.

{{Collection}}

If you would like to hide the "shelves" which separate the formats of releases you own, set the shelves parameter to off: {{Collection|shelves=off}}

Finding Other Owners of an Album

On the release details page, you can click the link that says "x owners". It will take you to another page that shows all the owners of that album.

Browsing All Collections

Start at Special:Collection to search across TMBW for all user collection pages.

Bugs, Feedback, Etc.

This MediaWiki extension was written by & for TMBW. If you find any bugs or if you have feedback, post it to this article's talk page.

Have fun!