Both types of licenses include the same features and allow installation on any number of computers per a license, but Personal license is restricted to non-commercial or educational use, only whereas Professional / Business license includes all types of use, including enterprise, professional and managed IT, non-profit and government use, plus priority technical and maintenance support.
In other words, if you plan to use WinCatalog at home, it is enough to buy a personal license. But if you want to use it at work or for your business, you should buy a professional license.
Posted on: December 26, 2014
Hello, we’re glad to announce the release of WinCatalog 2024.12. This update brings several important improvements and fixes to make your cataloging experience smoother and more efficient.
Improved support for multi-part archives
In this version, we’ve fixed the support for multi-part Zip and 7zip archives, along with multi-part RAR archives. We’ve also added .001 and .z01 extensions to the list of default archive extensions. If you have multi-part archives in your catalog, just update the corresponding drive or folder—the contents will now appear correctly in the catalog.
Translation updates
This update includes a major fix for the Greek translation and minor improvements for Korean and Hungarian. Thank you to everyone who helped report and verify the translations!
Updated Office document libraries
The libraries responsible for processing Office documents have been updated to their latest versions, ensuring better compatibility and performance when cataloging Word, Excel, and other Office files.
As always, we recommend installing the update to take advantage of these improvements.
There is no need to uninstall your current version — just install the update over your existing installation. If you’re not yet a WinCatalog user, feel free to try our free trial and explore all the new features.
Thank you for using WinCatalog!
— The WinCatalog Team
Posted on: June 13, 2025
We’d like to inform our users that BitDefender has recently shown a false-positive alert for the latest WinCatalog installer. We’re aware of this issue and have already submitted a false-positive report to BitDefender.
We’re pleased to share that BitDefender has completed their analysis and confirmed that the file is clean. The detection will be removed in one of their upcoming database updates.
In addition, we’ve verified the installer using VirusTotal, which scanned the file with over 70 different antivirus programs. The results confirm the file is safe. You can view the report here:
If you prefer not to wait for BitDefender’s next update, you can update WinCatalog manually. Simply download the “no installer” version, unzip it, and replace the entire WinCatalog folder in your Program Files (x86) directory.
👉 Download WinCatalog (no installer version)
Thank you for your understanding and continued support!
— The WinCatalog Team
Posted on: May 28, 2025
Hello, we are pleased to announce the release of WinCatalog 2024.11, bringing you more accurate cataloging, richer media information, and smoother search and user interface performance.
Improved Importing Accuracy
Root Virtual Folder Size Update: Importing from another catalog file now correctly updates the size of the root virtual folder that hosts all imported contents, ensuring that your catalog always reflects the true storage footprint of your media and files.
Smarter Handling of Reparse Points
Better Support for Cloud-Synced Folders: WinCatalog now handles reparse points more intelligently. If a reparse point refers to the same location where it resides and the folder has the cloud attribute (as in OneDrive or Synology Drive), it is now treated as a regular folder, not a symbolic link.
This means these folders will be included in the catalog even when the “Do not follow symbolic links (shortcuts to folders)” option is enabled, ensuring more complete and accurate scanning of cloud-synced directories.
Enhanced Statistics Tracking
Stats Counter by Extension: Statistics are now incremented by file extensions rather than by processing modules. Even if the Basic File Info profile is selected, the stats counter is fully populated, giving you immediate visibility into your file-type distribution.
New Media Information Fields
Expanded MediaInfo Support: We’ve added new metadata fields sourced from MediaInfo: General Title, HDR Profile, Color Range, Color Primaries, Transfer Characteristics, and Matrix Coefficients. Searchable Metadata: All newly added fields are now fully searchable, allowing you to filter and locate files based on any of these advanced media attributes, or include them into Reports.
Advanced Search Capabilities
Non-Latin Character Queries: Fixed an issue that prevented the use of additional search options when queries contained non-Latin characters. You can now rely on consistent, diacritic-insensitive search behavior across all scripts and languages.
User Interface Fixes
Main Tabs Close Button Access: Resolved a UI issue where very long captions in the Main Tabs would obscure the close “[×]” button. You can now close tabs without difficulty, regardless of caption length.
Minor Fixes and Improvements
Various under-the-hood optimizations and stability improvements to make WinCatalog even more reliable.
To upgrade to WinCatalog 2024.11, simply download and install the latest version:
There is no need to uninstall your current version — just install the update over your existing installation. If you’re not yet a WinCatalog user, feel free to try our free trial and explore all the new features.
Thank you for your continued support and feedback. We hope you enjoy these enhancements!
— The WinCatalog Team
Posted on: May 21, 2025
We recently released WinCatalog 2024.10, and shortly after the release, some users reported a critical issue affecting the core functionality of the application.
The issue was caused by a new feature that is still under development. Although the feature was not enabled, part of its code was unintentionally included in the release. As a result, the bug blocked the ability to add new drives to the catalog or update existing ones, which is a key function of WinCatalog.
We’ve now addressed the issue by fixing the unfinished feature and released a revised version: WinCatalog 2024.10.1 (Build 410).
If you downloaded WinCatalog 2024.10 before this announcement, we kindly ask you to re-download the updated version using the link below:
👉 Download WinCatalog 2024.10.1 (Build 410)
This build restores normal functionality and ensures the application performs as expected.
We sincerely apologize for the disruption this issue may have caused. Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your continued support. Special thanks to those who quickly reported the issue and helped us resolve it swiftly.
— The WinCatalog Team
Posted on: April 10, 2025
Hello, we are pleased to announce the release of WinCatalog version 2024.10, introducing a range of enhancements and fixes aimed at improving stability, performance, and the overall user experience.
WinCatalog now processes the content of PDF files more efficiently by eliminating extra whitespace during text extraction. Additionally, the handling of date fields from PDF metadata has been improved—WinCatalog now correctly interprets dates stored in various formats, ensuring accurate recording of document creation and modification times.
The Properties pane now displays “Added” and “Updated” fields for drives. These fields provide timestamps for when a drive was first added to the catalog and when it was last updated, helping with better organization and version tracking.
The application now supports thumbnail extraction from AVIF and AFIF image formats, broadening the range of media file types that WinCatalog can catalog.
The tags list has been updated for better compatibility with high-DPI monitors and high scaling factors. Visual clutter on the Tags page has been eliminated.
A new “Tape” drive type has been added to support users utilizing tape-based storage solutions. WinCatalog does not detect tape drives automatically; however, the drive type can always be changed manually via the Properties window, under the Volume Info tab.
The “Open in Explorer” command has been renamed to “Reveal in File Explorer” for improved clarity and consistency with modern operating system terminology.
An issue where thumbnails generated for Microsoft Office files displayed a “trial” watermark has been resolved. Thumbnails now appear cleanly without any unnecessary markings.
To upgrade to WinCatalog 2024.10, simply download and install the latest version: download now. There is no need to uninstall your current version. For existing users, upgrade eligibility can be checked on the website. If you’re new to WinCatalog, a free trial is available to explore the full range of features.
Posted on: April 9, 2025
Hello! The latest update for WinCatalog has just been released. This maintenance update resolves an issue where the support for symbols like ♣ and ♦ in search queries disrupted diacritic-insensitive searches.
If your files don’t contain diacritic characters in their names or comments, you can skip this update. Otherwise, we recommend downloading the latest version: click here. There’s no need to uninstall the previous version of WinCatalog — simply install the update over your existing installation.
Posted on: January 3, 2025
Hello, we’re excited to announce the release of WinCatalog 2024.9! This latest update brings improvements, feature additions, and fixes, making your cataloging experience more efficient and enjoyable. Here’s a detailed look at what’s new in this version.
Restrict Search by Fields
One of the most requested features is finally here! Previously, WinCatalog searched across multiple fields simultaneously, which could lead to too many results—especially when text from PDF files and documents was included. The new feature allows you to restrict searches by specific fields such as filenames, comments, or other text fields individually, enabling a more focused and precise search experience.
Expand Your Archive Support:
WinCatalog 2024.9 now supports TAR and TAR.GZ archives, allowing you to catalog the contents of these compressed formats. The support of BZ2 and XZ archives is also included.
Smarter Archive Rescans:
WinCatalog now employs a “smart” rescanning feature for archives. If the “scanning inside archives” is on, disregarding the “skip unmodified files” feature, the Update process finds archives where the content might be missed during initial scans and ensures your archive contents are accurately captured and reflected in your catalog.
Virtual Folders Stay Accurate:
Virtual folders are a great way to organize your catalog without physically moving files. We’ve fixed an issue where the size of virtual folders wouldn’t decrease after deleting an item within them. Now, your virtual folders will always reflect the accurate size of their contents, ensuring a clear picture of your data organization.
Improved PDF Text Processing
An issue affecting the PDF files processing module has been fixed. Previously, the module ignored the unmarked “Limit text to keep” option, failing to capture full text. This fix ensures comprehensive text extraction, enhancing your document cataloging process and enabling the full-text-search capabilities.
Search Engine Recognizes Special Characters
Previously ignored symbols like ♣ and ♦ are now recognized, allowing you to conduct more refined and accurate searches based on specific characters within your files.
Improved Search UI in WinCatalog Reader App
An issue in the search UI of the WinCatalog Reader App has been fixed: you can now select tags to refine your searches.
MKV File Duration Export in Reports
We’ve resolved an issue that prevented the export of MKV file durations to reports. Now, you can include video or audio length in your reports using the same Duration column.
How to Update
Upgrading to WinCatalog 2024.9 is easy! If you’re a licensed user, simply download it here. You do not need to uninstall a previous version of WinCatalog. Just install the latest version over the existing one.
If you’re a user of a previous version, check your upgrade status here.
Not a user yet? This is the perfect time to experience the power of comprehensive cataloging with a free trial.
Posted on: December 23, 2024
Today marks a very special milestone — 23 years since the beginning of WinCatalog! Over the past 23 years, we have worked hard to make WinCatalog a reliable tool for cataloging your media, and your support has been at the heart of every update and improvement.
From our early days, when cataloging involved Zip disks and floppy drives, to today, where WinCatalog handles massive collections across terabytes of storage, the journey has been incredible. And that journey would not have been possible without your suggestions, feedback, and trust.
We’re excited to share that we’re working on new features and enhancements for upcoming releases, including a revamped user interface with a dark theme, enhanced search capabilities, and improved flexibility. Our goal is to keep WinCatalog at the forefront of technology, providing you with even faster, smarter, and more flexible tools to manage your collections.
On this special day, we want to say thank you for being with us, for your ongoing feedback, and for helping shape WinCatalog into what it is today. Here’s to 23 years of growth and to many more to come!
Happy birthday, WinCatalog!
Best wishes,
The WinCatalog Team
Posted on: October 12, 2024
Hello, we are pleased to announce that a new version of WinCatalog, version 2024.8.1, has been released.
This is a maintenance update that addresses two issues: the generation of thumbnails for Office files previously displayed a ‘trial’ watermark, and the duration of video files was not included in reports.
Please note that when updating a drive, the new version of WinCatalog will not automatically regenerate thumbnails for Office files.
By default, to expedite the update process, WinCatalog skips unmodified files during disk or folder updates. Only files that have been modified since the last scan will be updated.
If you want to update all files, you will need to temporarily disable this option. To do so, click the “Scanning Options” button on the toolbar, select your scanning profile (most likely the “Full file info (default)” profile), and on the “General Scanning” tab, uncheck the option: “While updating a disk or folder, skip unmodified files (speeds up the update process).” Afterward, click Save and proceed with updating your disk(s).
Remember to re-enable this option afterward to ensure faster updates in the future.
Download
To download WinCatalog 2024.8.1 please click here. You do not need to uninstall a previous version of WinCatalog. Just install the latest version over the existing one.
Posted on: October 3, 2024
Hello, we’re excited to announce the release of WinCatalog version 2024.8! This update introduces several new features, including two new command-line options, enhanced file format support, improved stability, and increased performance.
New Command-Line Options: “Update All” and “Update Connected”
With this release, you can now use the -UpdateAll and -UpdateConnected command-line arguments to update all drives in the catalog or just the currently connected drives.
Example commands (please read the details in the User Manual here):
WinCatalog.exe -UpdateConnected -Log "D:\UpdateConnected.log"
WinCatalog.exe -UpdateAll
To make things easier, we’ve also included a UI tool to help you configure the command-line options for these new features. It is included into the installation package.
Separate EXIF and Thumbnail Extraction for RAW Files
You now have the option to extract only EXIF tags from RAW files without retrieving thumbnails. This can be configured in the Scanning Options.
WavPack File Support
WinCatalog now supports WavPack (.wv) files, allowing you to extract media information and tags from this file format.
Out-of-the-Box Adobe Illustrator (.AI) File Support
We’ve added native support for Adobe Illustrator files (.ai) to the image files processing module, so you can easily manage these files within your catalog.
Enhanced Stability and Performance
This update also brings more efficient memory usage when working with catalog files and greater stability in modules that handle external resources, especially when managing a large number of files.
Fast Search Index Generation is Now Faster
The speed of generating the Fast Search Index has been increased. You’ll notice this improvement during full index regeneration or when updating a drive with a large number of files and folders.
Other Improvements
Download
To download WinCatalog 2024.8 please click here. You do not need to uninstall a previous version of WinCatalog. Just install the latest version over the existing one.
Posted on: August 26, 2024