Organizing your pets

This guide was originally written by [url=http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=123788]Ziel[/url]

Getting Started

So, you've joined CS. Or maybe you've been on here for a while. You have decided you want to organize your pets... but how to do it? First off, you'll have to decide on how you want to sort your pets.

You can sort them by Species, Date, Rarity, Special Events, and Other Groups such as Hoards. You can even sort them by color or theme if you'd like!

Once you've decided on how you want to sort your pets, now you must name your groups. Do you want to give them a special name? Perhaps you want a practical name? I prefer practical names, but you can choose your own style!

Special names often don't describe the pets within, and are best used for hoards, or pets that are special to you in some way. Practical names usually describe the pets within. They are best used for Trading Groups, or normal groups you wish to sort.

For more information on naming Pets and their Groups, go see Chry's Guide [url=http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=156984]here[/url]!

So, now that you've decided on how you want to sort your pets, it's time to move onto the next step!

Deciding on a Style

Ok, now that you've decided how you want to sort your pets, it's time to decide on the style in which you want to order them.

You can order them in a few of the following ways:

Using Numbers Using Letters Using Alt Code Symbols

There are probably more ways to order your pets, but these are the most practical!

All of these methods of sorting have an order. Letters and Numbers are obvious, but Alt Code Symbols... not so much. The order of known Alt Code Symbols is as follows:

# % & * + < ^ ~ ¢ £ ¥ « ° ¶ º æ ç ö Θ Φ Ω δ • ↕ ∞ ≈ ≤ ≥ ⌂ ■ ▲ ► ▼ ◄ ○ ◘ ◙ ☺ ☻ ☼ ♣ ♥ ♦ ♪ ♫

Ordering Your Groups

Next, is to decide the order of your groups. A useful thing to keep in mind are "Spacer Groups". These groups are at the top or bottom of every group, and though they may not hold any pets, they are useful for breaking up your groups.

An example of a Spacer Group is as follows: "►' ▬▬▬▬▬ 2011 Canines ▬▬▬▬▬" This spacer group is a header, and I've placed it at the top of all of my 2011 Canine groups.

Here is an example of how to order your groups: [code] #' Header Group

#. Group 1
#.. Group 2
#... Group 3[/code]

First off, every group has a Symbol infront of it. You can use any Number, Letter, or Symbol you'd like. This will keep the groups in the same area. Also, the higher the Symbol is ordered, the higher the group will be ordered. In this case, the # is the highest Symbol in the Alt Codes, so it will be the very top section.

The second thing you should notice is that the Header Group has an apostraphy (') beside the Symbol. This will keep it at the top of your group. It is important that there is no space between the apostraphy and the Symbol.

The thrid thing you will notice is that after the Header Group, the other groups all have a period (.) right after the Symbol. This is what you will use to sort the inner order of your groups. The more periods, the lower your group will be ordered. It is important to note that there is no space between the Symbol and the periods, but there IS a space between the periods and your group name. If you do not include the space after the periods, the group order will be off.

Here is another example of how to order your groups: [code]A1 - Header Group A2 - Group 1 A3 - Group 2 A4 - Group 4[/code] This is pretty obvious. It needs no real explanation. Using the Numbers, Letters, and Symbols, keeping in mind their order, you can make a variety of different ways to sort your pets. I've only decided to include the style I use, as well as a very basic style. :3

That's all you need to know! I hope this was helpful! Now go my fellow neat freaks, and order them groups!

Other ways of ordering your groups (suggested by you!)

Here are some other ways fellow players order their groups. You can look here for more ideas, and possibly find a style you like!  :)

[quote="Geode"]I have my groups with spacers between my trade groups, collection, and special groups (hoards, Tess hoards, birthday pets ect.) For each group I use the following method: 20XX-##L Month

Basically, it starts with the year and then the number of the month. If the month has a special event, like Easter, then I will include a letter. After that is the name of the month. Here is a better look:

2011-03A March 2011-03B St Patrick's Day 2011-04A April 2011-04B CS 3rd Birthday 2011-04C Easter 2011-05 May

So far May does not have any events so it does not need a letter.

This keeps my groups in order of date very easily, although it may seem complex at first. I think it is helpful because if you have just signed up and put your first month's pets in a group called 'Group 1', then get a pet from last year, you don't have to keep renaming the groups to keep them in order. They will organizes themselves this way![/quote]

[quote="Katt n Breezie"] Our collection is first and we just have everything organized by year. So it's 2008 2009 2010 2011 KALI'S NURSERY This is our entire collection minus the PPS's which are in their own group underneath. Next are our favorites with ~around them~ Then our hoards and themed groups with ~~around them~~ And lastly random extras organized by species or artist with ~~~around them~~~[/quote]