Add/Edit Item



Add/Edit Item Overview

The Add/Edit Item page is one of the most important and most used pages in My Train Tracker. It allows you to quickly and easily add and edit the details about each Item in all of your Collections and Layouts.

Each Item can have up to four (4) pictures associated with it. They can be uploaded from your computer or imported from a picture hosting website. See Uploading Pictures to learn more about how to use the picture uploading/importing window.

Please visit the following pages to learn the many ways of getting to the Add/Edit Item page:

Using The Add/Edit Item Page

Some Fields on the Add/Edit Item page are Standard Fields, some are Required Fields, and some can be renamed, removed, re-ordered, and you can even add some of your own! Please see Edit Fields to learn more about editing fields.

Required Fields - A field that is "required" means that when you're adding or editing an Item, you must provide a value for that field. If no value is assigned, you will receive a message prompting you to provide a value before the Item can be saved. This is a list of the required fields and their names are depicted on the page with either red or orange text.

  • Collection/Layout

    Each Item must belong to either a Collection, a Layout, or one of each. This is why the field names "Collection" and "Layout" are depicted in orange and not red, because only one of them is required, not both.

  • Title

    The Title is displayed in all depictions of an Item throughout the site. It should describe the Item as briefly, but also as detailed as possible.

  • Category

    This field has a list of values which you can add to and edit, and each value dictates the list of values displayed in the Sub-Category list.

  • Sub-Category

    This field has many lists of values which can be added to and edited, and the list displayed is dependent upon the value assigned to the Category field.

  • Please see Edit Lists to learn more about editing the values that appear in your drop-down lists on the Add/Edit Item page.

Standard Fields - Some of the fields cannot be removed and are therefore considered "Standard Fields". These are those fields in their default order displayed on the page:

  • Title

    The Title field cannot be removed, renamed, re-ordered, or have a list.

  • Item Id

    The Item Id field cannot be removed, renamed, re-ordered, or have a list.

  • Scale

    The Scale field cannot be removed, renamed, or re-ordered, but it does have a list by default.

  • Category

    The Category field cannot be removed, renamed, or re-ordered, but it does have a list by default.

  • Sub-Category

    The Sub-Category field cannot be removed, renamed, or re-ordered, but it does have a list by default.

  • Manufacturer

    The Manufacturer field cannot be removed or renamed, but it can be re-ordered and it does have a list by default.

  • Roadname

    The Roadname field cannot be removed, but it can be renamed, re-ordered, and it does have a list by default.

  • Quantity

    The Quantity field cannot be removed, renamed, or have a list, but it can be re-ordered.

    * Note * - By default, the Quantity field is filled in with a zero (0). Once the Item is saved, if the value is left as a zero (0), it automatically gets changed to a one (1).

  • Cost

    The Cost field cannot be removed, renamed, or have a list, but it can be re-ordered.

    * Note * - By default, the Cost field is filled in with a zero dollar value (0.00) and will remain a zero dollar value (0.00) upon saving.

  • Estimated Value

    The Estimated Value field cannot be removed or have a list, but it can be renamed as well as re-ordered.

    * Note * - By default, the Estimated Value field is filled in with a zero dollar value (0.00) and will remain a zero dollar value (0.00) upon saving only if the Cost field is also left as a zero dollar value (0.00), otherwise it will be given the same dollar value as the Cost field.

    Also - If you rename the Estimated Value field, bear in mind that the behavior of the field will not change! It will always be used to calculate the value of your Collection(s)/Layout(s).

** NOTE ** - When assigning dollar values to the Cost and Estimated Value fields, remember that these values will be multiplied by the Quantity value for each individual Item when My Train Tracker calculates total costs and values of your Collection(s)/Layout(s).
For instance, if you purchased two (2) identical boxcars for $9.99 each, you would enter the boxcar once with a Quantity of two (2) and a Cost of $9.99 - NOT $18.98! Otherwise, when My Train Tracker calculates the cost of these Items, it will multiply the Cost by the Quantity giving a total Cost of $39.92 rather than the correct total Cost of $18.98.


Adding Item To Collection and/or Layout

If got to the Add Item page by clicking an Add New Item link from a specific Collection, your Collection field will already be filled in with the name of the Collection you're adding the Item to. The same thing applies to the Layout field if you're adding the Item to a Layout. You can select a different Collection and/or Layout from the drop-down list(s) to add the Item to a different Collection and/or Layout from which you originally intended. When saving an Item, it will be added to the Collection and/or Layout selected in the drop-down list(s) regardless of from which Collection and/or Layout you clicked the Add Item link.

(We know that's very wordy and complicated sounding, but it's actually much simpler than it seems.)

If you've created one or more Collections, but have yet to create any Layouts, the Layout drop-down list will be disabled as there are no Layouts available. The same applies to the Collections drop-down list should you have only created one or more Layouts, but no Collections.


Fields With or Without Lists

We're sure you've noticed by now that some of the fields have drop-down lists and some of the fields do not. And if you've used the Edit Fields page, you also may or may not have noticed that some of the fields which are supposed to have lists simply do not have a an available drop-down list. The reason for this is that some of the fields come with a prepopulated list that we've provided for you, such as the Scale, Category, and Manufacturer lists. But the Roadname field also has a list by default, but we do not provide a prepopulated list for that field. Since there are no entries to the list yet, there simply is no list to display and you are given a simple input field. Once you've added your first Item with a value in the Roadname field, the next time you add an Item, you will be given a drop-down list and it will be populated with your first value. This will also happen to fields that you create on the Edit Fields page when you indicate you want that new field to have a list.

When you enter value into a field that has a list and that value doesn't already exist in the list, once you save the Item, that new value will be added to that field's list. This feature can be turned on and off for each field with a list, as well as removing unwanted values from each field's list on the Edit Lists page.