News: all updates for our software and apps (page 40)
v20.1 Improved Add Movie Files / Better Tag editing / Faster syncing
Here’s the Jan 2020 edition of the Collectorz.com Newsletter, as always brought to you by CLZ Alwin. No rest for the wicked, as we started 2020 with five big v20 releases for all five Collector programs for Windows. Read on for an overview of what went live this month, plus some sneak preview “what’s cooking” items.
Let’s start with the coolest:
Collectorz.com on AMC NewsWatch TV!
Last Monday, AMC’s NewsWatch TV program had a short feature about Collectorz.com, giving an overview of our products and services, with a focus on the CLZ Books mobile app.
Watch the “CLZ on NewsWatch” video here:
What’s Live and what’s Cooking?
- Collector desktop software:
- Live: V20 for Windows: Folder panel improvements + new Statistics screen
- Cooking: Improved movie file cataloging for Movie Collector Windows
- CLZ mobile apps:
- Live: CLZ Comics 5.1: Better barcode scanning!
- Live: CLZ Music 5.2: New Statistics screen
- Cooking: Sort and search your folder list.
- Cooking: Report unrecognized barcodes, straight from the CLZ Comics app.
- Connect web-based software:
- Live: Improvements to Edit and Add screens
- Live: Faster loading of images through WebP image format
- Cooking: All settings stored server-side, no more cookies
Read more
Adding comics by barcode is most popular feature of the CLZ Comics app, so let’s see if we can make it even better! Today’s version 5.1 is all about barcode scanner:
Improved scan engine
First, we have improved the scan engine and gave it a larger “scan area”. This should help scan barcodes faster and easier.
Automatic scanning of any barcode type
In previous versions, you had to manually set the scan mode (+0 | +2 | +5), depending on the type of barcode you were scanning. But not anymore!
We have made the scanner much smarter now. Just set it to “Auto” and it will automatically scan every barcode you throw at it. It will automatically pick up extensions, whether 2 digits long or 5 digits long. Super easy, super quick.
BTW: in rare cases, the scanner may “give up” on finding the extension too quickly. E.g. with lower quality cameras or in “less than optimal” lighting conditions. In that case, set the scanner to “EXT” mode, which will force it to find the extension.
Adding comics by barcode is most popular feature of the CLZ Comics app, so let’s see if we can make it even better! Today’s version 5.1 is all about barcode scanner:
Improved scan engine
First, we have improved the scan engine and gave it a larger “scan area”. This should help scan barcodes faster and easier.
Automatic scanning of any barcode type
In previous versions, you had to manually set the scan mode (+0 | +2 | +5), depending on the type of barcode you were scanning. But not anymore!
We have made the scanner much smarter now. Just set it to “Auto” and it will automatically scan every barcode you throw at it. It will automatically pick up extensions, whether 2 digits long or 5 digits long. Super easy, super quick.
BTW: in rare cases, the scanner may “give up” on finding the extension too quickly. E.g. with lower quality cameras or in “less than optimal” lighting conditions. In that case, set the scanner to “EXT” mode, which will force it to find the extension.
WebP is a new image format, developed by Google, that is producing smaller images compared to JPG and PNG, while preserving image quality. All modern browsers fully support the new WebP format so many websites are now using WebP for a faster browsing experience, consuming less bandwidth.
Of course, our Connect web-based software and the free CLZ Cloud viewer sites are quite heavy on cover images, especially in the Image and Card Views. So we figured switching to WebP could produce a nice boost in performance!
So today, we switched over and are now delivering all cover images and backdrops in WebP format, on all browsers that support it (older browsers still get JPG images).
You will find that your Image View and Cards View will load faster now. The difference is especially noticeable on slower internet connections and mobile devices (if you have a very fast internet connection, the difference will be minimal).
Noticeable on all connection types is the faster loading of the details panel after selecting a different item in your list. Because of the huge difference in the backdrop image sizes, viewing item details is now a lot snappier.
Enjoy!
Multiple small tweaks to your Connect software today, improving both the Edit Comic screen and the Add Comics screen.
Editing pick list fields: checkbox multiple values in one go
The Edit screen is where many users are spending most of their time, so we’re always trying to make your editing life faster and easier.
Today, we improved all multi-value pick lists fields (e.g. Artists, Genres, Studios) by letting you add multiple values in one go. In the Select Value screen we have introduced checkboxes now, that let you checkbox multiple values and add them instantly.
This is now available for the following fields:
- Artist
- Composer
- Genres
- Studios
- Extras
- Conductor
- Orchestras
- Tags
Adding Albums by Barcode: instant adding to queue
Previously, when you searched by barcode (either by typing or scanning), the barcode instantly disappeared from the search box, but only appeared in the queue when the search was complete. Also with no “loading” indicator showing in the meantime. Not a problem when searches are instant, but it could lead to confusion in situations where it took a bit longer for the search to complete.
So we got to work and made it better: after hitting search, the barcode now instantly appears in your queue, showing a “Searching” indicator. This gives you instant feedback the barcode was accepted and is searching. Then, when the search has completed, the queue entry is filled in with the album details and cover image.
The above tweak also applies to the opening of the screen while you still had some barcodes in the queue. This saved queue list will now populate faster.
Multiple small tweaks to your Connect software today, improving both the Edit Game screen and the Add Games screen.
Editing pick list fields: checkbox multiple values in one go
The Edit screen is where many users are spending most of their time, so we’re always trying to make your editing life faster and easier.
Today, we improved all multi-value pick lists fields (e.g. Genres, Developers) by letting you add multiple values in one go. In the Select Value screen we have introduced checkboxes now, that let you checkbox multiple values and add them instantly.
This is now available for the following fields:
- Developers
- Publishers
- Genres
- Tags
Adding Games by Barcode: instant adding to queue
Previously, when you searched by barcode (either by typing or scanning), the barcode instantly disappeared from the search box, but only appeared in the queue when the search was complete. Also with no “loading” indicator showing in the meantime. Not a problem when searches are instant, but it could lead to confusion in situations where it took a bit longer for the search to complete.
So we got to work and made it better: after hitting search, the barcode now instantly appears in your queue, showing a “Searching” indicator. This gives you instant feedback the barcode was accepted and is searching. Then, when the search has completed, the queue entry is filled in with the game details and cover image.
The above tweak also applies to the opening of the screen while you still had some barcodes in the queue. This saved queue list will now populate faster.
Multiple small tweaks to your Connect software today, improving both the Edit Comic screen and the Add Comics screen.
Editing pick list fields: checkbox multiple values in one go
The Edit screen is where many users are spending most of their time, so we’re always trying to make your editing life faster and easier.
Today, we improved all multi-value pick lists fields (e.g. Genres, Tags) by letting you add multiple values in one go. In the Select Value screen we have introduced checkboxes now, that let you checkbox multiple values and add them instantly.
This is now available for the following fields:
- Genres
- Signed by
- Tags
Adding Comics by Barcode: instant adding to queue
Previously, when you searched by barcode (either by typing or scanning), the barcode instantly disappeared from the search box, but only appeared in the queue when the search was complete. Also with no “loading” indicator showing in the meantime. Not a problem when searches are instant, but it could lead to confusion in situations where it took a bit longer for the search to complete.
So we got to work and made it better: after hitting search, the barcode now instantly appears in your queue, showing a “Searching” indicator. This gives you instant feedback the barcode was accepted and is searching. Then, when the search has completed, the queue entry is filled in with the comic details and cover image.
The above tweak also applies to the opening of the screen while you still had some barcodes in the queue. This saved queue list will now populate faster.
Multiple small tweaks to your Connect software today, improving both the Edit Book screen and the Add Books screen.
Editing pick list fields: checkbox multiple values in one go
The Edit screen is where many users are spending most of their time, so we’re always trying to make your editing life faster and easier.
Today, we improved all multi-value pick lists fields (e.g. Authors, Genres, Subjects) by letting you add multiple values in one go. In the Select Value screen we have introduced checkboxes now, that let you checkbox multiple values and add them instantly.
This is now available for the following fields:
- Authors
- Illustrators
- Genres
- Subjects
- Extras
- Narrators
- Tags
Adding Books by ISBN: instant adding to queue
Previously, when you searched by ISBN (either by typing or scanning), the barcode instantly disappeared from the search box, but only appeared in the queue when the search was complete. Also with no “loading” indicator showing in the meantime. Not a problem when searches are instant, but it could lead to confusion in situations where it took a bit longer for the search to complete.
So we got to work and made it better: after hitting search, the ISBN now instantly appears in your queue, showing a “Searching” indicator. This gives you instant feedback the ISBN was accepted and is searching. Then, when the search has completed, the queue entry is filled in with the book details and cover image.
The above tweak also applies to the opening of the screen while you still had some ISBNs in the queue. This saved queue list will now populate faster.
Multiple small tweaks to your Connect software today, improving both the Edit Movie screen and the Add Movies screen.
Editing pick list fields: checkbox multiple values in one go
The Edit screen is where many users are spending most of their time, so we’re always trying to make your editing life faster and easier.
Today, we improved all multi-value pick lists fields (e.g. Genres, Subtitles, Tags) by letting you add multiple values in one go. In the Select Value screen we have introduced checkboxes now, that let you checkbox multiple values and add them instantly.
This is now available for the following fields:
- Genres
- Studios
- Extras
- Audio Tracks
- Screen Ratios
- Subtitles
- Tags
Adding Movies by Barcode: instant adding to queue
Previously, when you searched by barcode (either by typing or scanning), the barcode instantly disappeared from the search box, but only appeared in the queue when the search was complete. Also with no “loading” indicator showing in the meantime. Not a problem when searches are instant, but it could lead to confusion in situations where it took a bit longer for the search to complete.
So we got to work and made it better: after hitting search, the barcode now instantly appears in your queue, showing a “Searching” indicator. This gives you instant feedback the barcode was accepted and is searching. Then, when the search has completed, the queue entry is filled in with the movie details and cover image.
The above tweak also applies to the opening of the screen while you still had some barcodes in the queue. This saved queue list will now populate faster.
This update fixes an issue with the sync where it would always re-upload the custom front/back covers if such a movie had any change at all. This resulted in many unneeded re-uploads of custom front/back covers.
Important: After updating to this version:
- the program will run a process to index your custom covers
- all movies with custom front/back covers will re-upload
Both processes might take a while!
Fixed:
- Custom front/back covers were re-uploaded too often
- Quick Search: using arrow buttons and clicking results wasn’t working correctly
This update fixes an issue with the sync where it would always re-upload the custom front/back covers if such a comic had any change at all. This resulted in many unneeded re-uploads of custom front/back covers.
Important: After updating to this version:
- the program will run a process to index your custom covers
- all comics with custom front/back covers will re-upload
Both processes might take a while!
Fixed:
- Custom front/back covers were re-uploaded too often
- Quick Search: using arrow buttons and clicking results wasn’t working correctly
This update fixes an issue with the sync where it would always re-upload the custom front/back covers if such a book had any change at all. This resulted in many unneeded re-uploads of custom front/back covers.
Important: After updating to this version:
- the program will run a process to index your custom covers
- all books with custom front/back covers will re-upload
Both processes might take a while!
Fixed:
- Custom front/back covers were re-uploaded too often
- Quick Search: using arrow buttons and clicking results wasn’t working correctly
Fixed:
- Creating a new database wasn’t possible anymore.
Fixed:
- Sort title of a series was not generated correctly during adding/editing of a series.
This update fixes an issue with the sync where it would always re-upload the custom front/back covers if such an album had any change at all. This resulted in many unneeded re-uploads of custom front/back covers.
Important: After updating to this version:
- the program will run a process to index your custom covers
- all albums with custom front/back covers will re-upload
Both processes might take a while!
Fixed:
- Custom front/back covers were re-uploaded too often
- After merging albums the disc index number would not update correctly
- Quick Search: using arrow buttons and clicking results wasn’t working correctly
v20.0.2: Made folder counters always visible and some fixes
Fixed:
- Folder counters weren’t always visible
- Grade couldn’t be set to N/A for single comics
- Template could show a random “a” near the Value Details
- Updated the about screen
- Updated the installer image
New:
- You can now folder group on 4 extra fields:
- Cover Date Year
- Release Date Year
- Read Date Year
- Purchase Date Year
Fixed:
- Rare incident where timeouts occurred during CLZ Cloud sync.
- Main list cells now show release date instead of cover date.
New:
- You can now folder group on 4 extra fields:
- Cover Date Year
- Release Date Year
- Read Date Year
- Purchase Date Year
Fixed:
- Rare incident where timeouts occurred during CLZ Cloud sync.
- Main list cells now show release date instead of cover date.
Fixed:
- Rare incident where timeouts occurred during CLZ Cloud sync.
Fixed:
- Rare incident where timeouts occurred during CLZ Cloud sync.