What's new?
v18.0.4: Fixed sorting in the pick item screens and more
Fixed
- Pick Item Screens: when using the quick search the list wasn’t always sorted correctly
- Manage Pick List:
- When using the quick search the list wasn’t always sorted correctly
- “auto resort” check box didn’t work
- Reassign Index fields sort fields were stored as “reassignindex” as sort fields preset
- Manage Presets: removing all presets would cause an Access Violation after closing the screen
- Edit Comic: navigating Content or Links using ALT+N or ALT+P would navigate the comics instead
New:
- Pick Item Screens: adding a new item will now use the quick search string to pre-fill the name field
Fixed:
- Edit Screen: ALT+N/ALT+P for Next/Previous played a Windows sound
- Edit Screen: Adding a new item to a list sometimes displayed a popup that was too small
- Reassign Index Fields: Saving your selected fields wasn’t possible sometimes
- Export/Print field selection menus were missing “Manage Presets…” caption
- Clean Templates: Several layout improvements
New:
- Edit Comic: Add Credits/Characters: When searching for a credit/character and clicking “New Credit” (for example), the screen will now use the search words for the name of the new person you’re adding.
Fixed:
- Edit Comic: Add button for User Defined Field comboboxes were not positioned correctly when resizing the Edit Comic screen
- Main Screen: the bread crumb at the top didn’t reflect the “Collection Status” filter from the quick filter panel
- Add from Core: the program could freeze when experiencing connection problems
- Edit Series: “Generate” buttons were overlapping front of “Display Name” and “Name” fields
v18: Auto-Cloud-Syncing, revamped Edit screen, new “Clean” template and more!
NEW: Fully Automatic CLZ Cloud Syncing!
The free CLZ Cloud service is at the center of all our cataloging solutions (desktop, mobile and web), the glue that binds them all together.
Tens of thousands of users are using the CLZ Cloud syncing every day, to transfer data between their desktop, Connect and mobile software, to update their online collection list, or simply for keeping an online backup of their precious database.
Now, it is time to take the CLZ Cloud to the next level, with automatic syncing:
Add or edit comics in Comic Collector and these changes will auto-upload to the CLZ Cloud instantly. Did you make changes using CLZ Comics or directly in Comic Connect? Just start your software and changes will download automatically.
No more need to go to the Sync with CLZ Cloud screen, ever.
With “Sync Automatically” switched on…
- Your online cloud backup is always up-to-date.
- Your cloud viewer always shows the current state of your collection.
- All your CLZ tools (desktop, mobile and Connect) will always be in-sync.
Automatic Cloud Syncing is an optional feature, switched OFF by default. If you don’t want to auto-sync, or don’t want to sync with the CLZ Cloud at all, just leave it switched OFF.
Revamped Edit Comic screen
A huge refresh of the Edit Comic screen, bringing the look and feel more in line with the recent Add Comics from Core screen.
- Button bar is now at the bottom of the screen
With OK button high-lighted in blue, nice Next/Prev arrow buttons, etc… - Clearer blue + buttons for checkbox list fields (like Genres)
- Same blue + buttons for dropdown fields (like Series, Publisher, Imprint)
- Revamped Edit screen for pick list items
Button bar at the bottom with blue OK button, smaller generate buttons, etc..
But it’s not all just cosmetic changes:
Improved interface for adding Creators and Characters
The new interface helps you make better use of your existing creator and character pick lists:
- Cleaner lists, showing just Display Name and Role/Alias.
- Right-click to Modify the name and sort name of a person in the list.
- Drag the icon in the first column to change the order.
- Click the “x” in the last column to remove entries.
- 1. click the “+ Add Creator” button, or hit Insert on your keyboard
- 2. Select the creator type (Writer, Penciler, Inker, etc…)
- 3. A new screen appears, showing your existing creator pick list.
- 4. Type a few letters in the search box to find the creator you want to add, e.g. enter “stra” to find J. Michael Straczynski.
- 5. Hit the down arrow on your keyboard a few times to select the creator from the search results
- 6. Hit Enter to return to the Edit Comic screen with the creator added to the list.
ONLY when the creator is not in your pick list yet, there’s 3 extra steps:
- 4a: click the New Creator button top right
- 4b. enter/paste the display name
- 4c. click OK
Simplified: Edit Multiple Comics screen
- Now use checkboxes to explicitly indicate which field(s) you want set.
Safer and clearer, no more unexpected changes. - To clear a field, just click the checkbox and leave the box empty.
The box will highlight in red to indicate the CLEAR action. No more hidden F8 keys.
Simplified screens for selecting Column, Sort and Folder fields.
The ability to select your own Columns for the List View is an important customization feature of our Comic Collector software. The same holds for selecting the sort order and the folder fields for the folder panel.
However, the “field selection” screens for doing these customizations have always been an area of confusion. So for v18 we decided to re-imagine both the field selection screens and the system for creating/managing your own presets.
- Simplified Field Selection screen:
- Available fields are now grouped, like the tabs in the Edit Comic screen.
- Easily find the field you want with the search box top left.
- Use checkboxes on the left to select fields.
- Use the “x” button on the right to remove fields.
- Drag and drop fields on the right side to change the order.
- Rename the field set at the top right.
- Simplified system for managing your field presets:
- Just click the Columns or Sort Order button to EDIT the current preset.
- Click the little arrow to the right of the Columns or Sort Order button to open the preset menu and switch to a different preset.
- Choose Manage Presets from the preset menu to edit your presets and create new ones.
NEW: “Clean” template for the details panel, in Light and Dark styles
A complete refresh, based on the recent Connect/Cloud details page updates. Clean, clear and modern, with some fresh layout ideas:
- Cleaner look, in both Light and Dark styles.
- Clear display of Series, Issue Number, Date and Edition.
- Nicer display of contents of Trade Paper Backs:
No more Standard edition: Pro-only features now available for everyone!
Since last week, we stopped selling the Standard edition of Comic Collector. From now on, the Pro edition is the only edition we sell, and will just be called “Comic Collector” now.
Our gift to all users on the Standard edition who have a valid Update Plan:
Starting with v18, you now get access to all Pro-only features:
- Batch editing with the Edit Multiple feature:
Save time by editing multiple items in batch, e.g. to fill in a field value for many items in one go. - Customizable pre-sets for sorting, columns and folders:
Create your own pre-set field combination for sorting and columns. Define your own folder options, even multi-level folder combinations. - User Defined Fields:
Create your own fields (text, number, pick list, checkbox or date) and rename pre-defined fields. - Export features:
Export your database to a CSV or XML file.
A new v4.8 update for your app is available now, with:
Automatic CLZ Cloud syncing
Add or edit comics and your changes will auto-upload to the CLZ Cloud instantly.
Made changes on the desktop or Connect side? Just start the app and changes will download automatically.
Note: Auto-Syncing is switched OFF by default. Switch it ON in the “Sync with CLZ Cloud” screen.
Don’t have a CLZ Cloud account yet?
If you don’t have a CLZ Cloud account yet, I strongly recommend signup up for one from the app. Using the CLZ Cloud is completely free!
The CLZ Cloud syncing will let you:
- Sync your data between devices, e.g. between your phone and your tablet. Or from your old phone to your new phone.
- View your database online using the free CLZ Cloud viewer website.
- Make an online backup of your data. Better safe than sorry!
In today’s update for the CLZ Comics app, we have made further tweaks to the Add screen, to make it clearer than previous versions:
- Add from CLZ Core:
- Color high-lighting: Comics already ‘on wish list’ now have an orange title, comics already “in collection” show up with a blue title.
- Clearer result entries for Add By Barcode searches, especially in cases of multiple results.
Fixes in this update:
- After restarting the app an empty details template could sometimes show.
- Duplicate comic credits after updating coming from CLZ Core.
- After restarting the app it would sometimes repeatedly scroll to the last added comic.
- Small CLZ Cloud sync tweaks.
- After changing the sort order the list could sometimes scroll to a random position.
- After manually typing a barcode in the add by barcode screen you weren’t able to search another one.
- Sorting not working within a series folder in the main screen.
In today’s update for the CLZ Comics app, we have made further tweaks to the Add screen, to make it clearer and (hopefully) more stable than previous versions:
- Slightly smaller font for the series name, so that longer titles fit better.
- Clearer result entries for Add By Barcode searches, especially in cases of multiple results.
- Color high-lighting: Comics already ‘on wish list’ now have an orange title, comics already “in collection” show up with a blue title.
- Improved scroll behaviour.
Fixes in this update:
- Some covers (Preview art) weren’t showing in the main screen thumbnail view
- Series have/want header in main list was cut off in certain situations
- Full screen cover scroller on iPhone/iPod devices was not properly updating its title bar
Now live, a new design and layout for the comic detail page in both Comic Connect and the free CLZ Cloud viewer.
Some highlights of the new look:
- bigger cover image
- new and bigger publisher icons
- more logical layout and placement of all fields
Screen shot:
New
- Optimized layout of main screen on 10.5 and 12.9 inch iPads
- Optimized the performance of the main screen thumbnail view
- Fresh placeholder cover images
Fixed
Fixed:
- Crash in add screen on devices running iOS10 or lower
New:
- Redesigned Selection Mode
- Tap and hold on a comic/series to select it, select as many comics as you like (or select all, using the “Select All” top right).
- Then use the blue action button to perform an action on the selected comics (Remove / Update from CLZ Core).
Fixed:
- Crash when saving a cover image to the camera roll
- Odd scrolling behavior when expanding/collapsing a series title search result in the Add Automatically screen
- Odd scrolling behavior when scanning comic barcodes in the barcode scanning screen
- Stuck keyboard after searching in main list
- Autocorrect was enabled for the main list search bar
New:
Add Comics from CLZ Core: “check/uncheck all issues in this series” now also available when right clicking an issue.
Fixed:
- Add Comics from CLZ Core:
- When checking/unchecking all issues, the add all button didn’t update accordingly.
- After adding an issue all barcode searches containing that issue would be removed from the queue.
- Expanding a result would sometimes scroll to a different part of the list.
A nice upgrade for the search feature today, in both Comic Connect and the free CLZ Cloud viewer for comic collections!
We have completely replaced the search engine, making the searches much faster and giving you better, more focussed, less “fuzzy” search results.
On top of that, we have now added our popular “Search-As-You-Type” mechanism to the search box for quick finding and selecting a particular series in your database:
- In the Quick Search box, just start typing the first few letters of the title you are looking for.
- While typing, a drop-down list will appear, showing the first five matching series, with small cover images.
(for most series, it only takes 2 or 3 letters before it shows up.) - Once you see the one you were looking for, use the up/down keys to select it, then hit Enter.
- This will instantly take you the issue list for that series.
All Connect apps: Manage Pick Lists, edit, merge and remove pick list entries.
A Manage Pick Lists screen is now available in Connect!
Finally, you can easily manage your pick lists for Artists, Authors, Series, Genres, Formats, etc… To edit your sort names, merge duplicate entries or remove entries.
The new Manage Pick Lists screen can be found in the Tools menu top right (the wrench icon).
Fixed:
- Missing app icons for 12.9 inch iPad
Fixed:
- Autocorrect/complete was disabled on the notes field in the edit/add manually screens
- Series/comic summary showed 0/0 when opening the iPhone app in series thumbnail view mode
- Cover Artist was missing in the Clear/Carbon detail templates
- The on-screen keyboard was covering the lower input fields in the edit/add manually screens
v17.0.6: Fixed a bug with the Quick Search and Alphabet bar
Fixed
- Quick Search suggestion box could crash the app.
- Alphabet bar wasn’t working anymore.
Next week, Apple will release the new macOS 10.13 “High Sierra”.
If you are planning to update your Mac to this new OS, then we strongly recommend to update your Comic Collector software to today’s version 17.0.5!
Comic Collector problems on High Sierra:
We have been testing our software on beta versions of High Sierra for quite a while, to make sure we were ready for it’s release. We found that most of the software seems to be working as normal.
Unfortunately, we found a big problem in the Preferences screen, it does not open at all anymore, making it impossible to make any changes to program settings.
Luckily, our Mac developer Ronald was able to fix the Preferences screen to make it work on the new macOS. A fix was released today, in version 17.0.5.
Fixed
- Preferences screen didn’t load properly on macOS 10.13 “High Sierra”.
- Upload Cover to CLZ Core: Images were not always uploaded properly even if they were within the 500KB file size limit.
- Main Screen: Quick Search: Occasional crashes in the quick search when using the “Search-as-you-type” suggestions.
- Sync with CLZ Cloud: Sometimes crashed during the upload of covers.
v17.1.5: Fixed Access Violation in Add from CLZ Core screen
Fixed
- Add Comics from CLZ Core: Access Violation when adding several issues by barcode
v17.1.4: Bug fixes for the Add Comics from CLZ Core screen
Fixed:
- Add Comics from CLZ Core:
- (un)checking an item in a selection would not (un)check all those items
- Preview art was downloaded into the front cover field if no front cover art was available
- Adding/updating comics from CLZ Core could crash the program when a credit had no role assigned
- Scanning multiple issues from the same series could cause a problem with the search results cells
Fixed:
- Add Multiple Comics Manually: the first two comics of the added list would get the same index number.
- Linking Comics with CLZ Core didn’t mark them “dirty” for syncing with CLZ Cloud.
- Main Screen: Quick filter panel option “keep active” wasn’t applied directly after restarting software.
- Edit Comic: Links tab: When editing a local link, the “previous” button didn’t work.
Improvements:
- Add Comics from CLZ Core:
- Right click menu:
- You can now right click a series result to “check/uncheck” all issues.
- Sort series by Title or by Publisher on “by Title”, “Pull List” and “Daily Updates” tab.
- New “barcode not found” result in your list if a barcode doesn’t return any results.
- Performance optimizations of the result list on all tabs.
- Right click menu:
Fixed:
- Add Comics from CLZ Core:
- “This barcode is already in the search list” would be returned when searching for two variants of the same issue with slightly different barcodes.
- After entering a barcode manually (or with certain barcode scanners) focus didn’t return to the barcode entry box.
- The “Quick Fill” popup could pop up outside of the screen area.
Big changes today! For version 17.1 we have completely re-designed the “Add Comics from CLZ Core” screen (previously called “Add Comics Automatically”). The new screen is both easier-to-use and easier-on-the-eye:
- A clear two-panel design: Search Results on the left, Preview on the right.
- The Search Results now show cover images for both series and issues.
- Automatic Preview of selected issues (no more double clicking).
See it in action:
Here’s the full list of improvements:
New:
- New fields you can now sort your comic issues on:
- Format
- Publisher
- Series Group
New fields for Edit Multiple
We’ve expanded the amount of fields you can edit in the Edit Multiple screen.
Improved interface
We’ve made it more clear how you can clear information from specific fields for all selected items you’re editing. Use the X button to clear a field for all selected items.
Using “Edit Multiple”
Quick reminder how to use Edit Multiple: Click the “Select” button at the top of your Connect page, select a couple of items, and click “Edit” (again, at the top).
Be advised that changes you make here affect all selected items, and can not be reverted once done!