Features

Everything to describe a fonds, nothing superfluous.

Memory Atlas brings together in one window what an ISAD(G) description demands: arrangement, the elements of the standard, context, files, and transfer preparation.

Archival tree

Build the arrangement of a fonds from the general to the specific: fonds, sub-fonds, series, sub-series, files, and items.

Reference code composed automatically: FR-STX/PH/1/A/NEG
Drag and drop or Move To… from the keyboard (⇧⌘M), tree filter (⌘F)
Trash: a branch can be restored, under a new parent if needed

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — Archival tree — Archival tree

ISAD(G) description

All 26 elements of the standard, in 7 areas. Essential mode shows only 6; Complete mode shows them all (⌘E).

Saved automatically, no Save button
Free-text dates, interpreted (“1996-2003”, “circa 1950”)
Guidance from the standard on every field, elements 3.1.1 to 3.7.3

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — ISAD(G) description — ISAD(G) description

Inheritance and context

State once, at the right level, what applies to a whole branch: the ISAD(G) rule of non-repetition, applied on screen.

Inherited values shown with the level they come from
“Override here” for a local exception
The inspector sums up the context of the selected unit

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — Inheritance and context — Inheritance and context

Authority records

Persons, families, and corporate bodies described once, then linked to units as creators or as subjects.

Fields aligned with ISAAR(CPF)
Creator inherited by all descendants
One authority reused across the repository

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — Authority records — Authority records

Terms and access points

A controlled vocabulary of places, subjects, and genres to index descriptions and find them later.

Places, subjects, genres and forms
Terms shared across the repository
Search by access point

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — Terms and access points — Terms and access points

Accession register

Keep track of how records arrived: gift, deposit, purchase, bequest, or transfer, with an accession number.

Feeds the immediate source of acquisition (3.2.4)
Create a fonds from an accession
A purged accession number is never reassigned

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — Accession register — Accession register

Digital objects

Attach scans, photographs, PDFs, or sound files to a unit. Memory Atlas keeps a link to each file, never a copy.

Drop files from the Finder, one item per file
Quick Look preview and header metadata
“Born digital” checkbox; “File not found” flagged, then Locate…

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — Digital objects — Digital objects

Search and palette

Full-text search across the whole repository, with filters and a breadcrumb on every result, plus a command palette.

Global search (⇧⌘F) with filters by level, date, creator…
Command palette ⌘K: commands and units
Built for repositories of 100,000 units

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — Search and palette — Search and palette

Validation

Before handing over, Memory Atlas checks every unit of a branch against fourteen rules, from title to creator.

Blocking errors, warnings to accept
“Fix” opens the unit on the field at fault
A “Validated” event is recorded in each description

Read the guide chapter

Transfer package

“Prepare for Preservation” exports a validated branch as a documented package, which you import into Obscura Flow.

Documented, stable JSON exchange contract
Additional transfer checks (P-01 to P-10)
Transfer tracking: exported, then delivered

Read the guide chapter

Memory Atlas — Transfer package — Transfer package

Principles

An app that respects your archives.

Local, no account, no changes to your files, and reversible at every step.

100% local

No account, no data sent: the only connection is the update check, which you can turn off. A repository is a file on your Mac.

Your files untouched

Memory Atlas never copies, moves, or modifies a digital file: it keeps a link, and only reads its header.

Everything undoes

⌘Z undoes every change, including moving a branch, a validation, or an export.

Safety copies

A copy of the database each time it opens, then periodically while you edit, a full check every week, and a restore in a few clicks.

Built for volume

Tested on 100,000 units: opening, searching, and moving branches stay instant.

Native and accessible

A real Mac app, in French and English, usable from the keyboard and with VoiceOver.

Next step

Give your archives a description that lasts.

Memory Atlas 0.3 is available on request. Tell us about your fonds and we will send you the app.