A collection tracks one subject: comics, trading cards, vinyl, video games, books, action figures, stamps, cameras, houseplants. Collectd brings no opinion about the subject. You define what each item records, which is the difference between a list of names and a catalogue you can search.
1. Pick what you are cataloguing
Choose a subject narrow enough that one set of fields fits the shelf. “My Comic Collection” works. “Cool stuff I own” leaves you guessing at the form for each entry.
2. Create the collection
On your Collections page, choose New Collection. The editor opens with two sections, Collection Details and Fields. Start with the details:
- Name the collection the way you would say it out loud, such as “My Comic Collection” or “Pokémon Card Inventory”. The name feeds Discover search, so use the words a collector would type.
- Add a description for context on your profile and in search results.
- Add tags to sort the collection into Discover. Press Enter after each one, and use the pinned tags when they match, since those carry their own Discover pages. Free holds five tags per collection, Pro holds ten.
- Leave Make Public off while you build, then turn it on once the collection is worth showing. That is Pro-only. On Free a collection becomes visible as soon as Public Profile and Public Collections are on.
3. Design your fields
The Fields section opens with a single Text field named “Name”, already set as the primary title. That field names each item in the gallery, in lists and in search, so keep it and rename it to suit.
Click Add Field and choose a type for each thing you track. A comic shelf that records issue numbers, publishers and values looks like this:
- Name (Text, primary title)
- Issue # (Number)
- Publisher (Dropdown: Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse)
- Year
- Condition (Dropdown: Mint, Near Mint, Very Fine, Fine, Good, Poor)
- Value (Price)
Drag the fields to reorder them. The order here becomes the order of the item form and of the gallery columns, and the first few fields show on each item. The editor itself has no preview, so the collection page is where the layout first appears.
Four things stop a schema from saving: an empty field list, two fields sharing a label, a Dropdown holding fewer than two options, and a collection with no primary title. Only a Text field can hold that role.
Free holds ten fields per collection; Pro holds forty.
Understanding custom fields walks through the ten field types and when to reach for each.
4. Add your first items
Once the schema saves, you land on the collection page, where the empty state gives you one action: Add Item.
The form shows one input per field you defined. Fill in what you know. Fields stay optional unless you marked them required. Attach images to each item: Free holds one per item, Pro holds ten with captions and drag-to-reorder. On Free a collection stops at 100 items; Pro has no cap.
Add three or four items before you open the gallery. One entry reads as a test; four read as a collection. Then click View to see the page the way a visitor will.
5. Make it public
Two switches decide who can see a collection, and they are independent.
- Public Collections in Settings → Privacy. This is the one that opens your collections to visitors, and it comes with Pro. Free accounts keep it on, so their collections stay reachable.
- The collection's own visibility toggle, in the editor's Collection Details section and in the “...” menu on the Collections list. Hiding a single collection is Pro too.
Public Profile on the same page is separate, and only affects your profile page: turn it off and /u/{username} stops resolving, while your collections stay listed and reachable. Turn Public Collections off and every gallery address stops resolving instead. Collectd names the switch blocking a hidden collection, so you are never left guessing.
With both on, the collection has a public address at /u/{username}/{slug}, with a copy button in the collection header.
From there the collection can appear in Discover, other collectors can star it, and copying it hands them your schema and items. You get a notification when either happens.
Start a collection and the editor walks you through these steps in order.