News & updates
This is CLZ Alwin, taking a quick break from answering Black Friday Sale related questions, to bring you the CLZ News for November 2019.
My wife Sytske and I are currently handling over 200 support tickets each day (!!), most of them about the sale, providing product info and buying advice, fixing wrong orders, helping with problems, etc…
No complaints though, the Black Friday Sale is a huge hit again, because up till now over 5 thousand users (!!) have already grabbed this opportunity to renew their subscriptions and to subscribe to more apps and software! If you haven’t yet, don’t miss out, there’s just 3 days left!
The CLZ Newsletter for November 2019
Okay, with that out of the way, back to the news. Busy times at the CLZ HQ with Team Desktop preparing for the upcoming Vee Twenty (v20), for both Windows and macOS (ETA: within a few weeks, at least before the end of the year). So that means no Windows or Mac updates this month 🙁
In the meantime, our 3-headed Team Web is making big steps on the Connect web-based software again (inc. track search for Music Connect!!), consolidating Connect’s status as the preferred solution for use on your computer or laptop.
Two big updates from Team Mobile too, with new fields for CLZ Music and CLZ Books.
So let’s go over the Connect and CLZ Mobile updates in November:
- Connect web-based software:
- Music Connect: Search box now searches your tracks too!
- Improved Statistics pages
- New Breadcrumb / Filter bar
- Create your own multi-level-folder favorites
- CLZ mobile apps::
- CLZ Books and CLZ Music: more editable and syncable fields
Music Connect: Search box now searches your tracks too!
Wait what? Track searching in Music Connect? Yes, it is finally here!
For many years, the most requested missing feature for Music Connect and CLZ Cloud has been the ability to search for track titles and track artists. The main reason for the lack of a track search has always been performance. Searching a cloud database with over 500 million (!!) songs is not an easy task.
However, a few months ago we finally decided to start on this huge and challenging project.
And I am happy to announce that we found a solution that works! We have created a humongous new search index for the music cloud data, that now includes track titles and track artists. A new flexible search engine is now available behind your familiar search box that lets you search album details, track details or both!
Check out some Track Search screen shots here.
If you have tried Music Connect in the past, and the deal breaker has been the lack of a track search, then please check it out again!
Connect: Improved Statistics pages
The Statistics pages of all five Connect flavours have been updated with new totals, new charts and new top lists for your collection. Find the total amount of entries, your most recent additions, items by release year, by Format, by Genre, etc… and many more cool bar charts and pie charts!
Screen shots: Movie Connect / Book Connect / Music Connect / Comic Connect / Game Connect
Connect: New Breadcrumb / Filter bar
Our main design principle with Connect is ease-of-use. So to help you keep track of where you are and what searches and filters are active, we have introduced a new breadcrumb / filter bar above your list panel. This bar always indicates what list you are currently seeing there, that is, which folders, filters or searches are active:
- When using multiple collections: which collection you are in
- Collection or Wish List filter (when not set to ALL)
- Your select folder(s) in the folder panel
- Whether a letter filter is active in the alphabet bar
- Whether a search is active in the search box top right
To make your life even easier, small “x”‘s let you remove filters easily.
Screen shots: Movie Connect / Book Connect / Music Connect / Comic Connect / Game Connect
Connect: Create your own multi-level-folder favorites
Next to ease-of-use, another prime goal for the Connect web-based software is customizability, while preserving ease-of-use. So when introducing the multi-level-folders feature to Connect, we looked at the interface of the desktop software… then decided “we can do better”, so we threw it away and completely re-designed from scratch 🙂
This has resulted in a nicely customizable “favorites” system for the folder panel, while preserving the ease of just picking one field as your folder field.
The Favorites are shown at the top of the Folder menu, with the single-field options still available at the bottom. Choose “Manage Favorites” to create your own favorites, either single level or multi-level.
BTW: The favorites you create are stored in your account, on our servers, so they will instantly be available on any device that you use Connect on!
Screen shots: Movie Connect / Book Connect / Music Connect / Comic Connect / Game Connect
CLZ Books and CLZ Music: more editable and syncable fields
Last month, we updated CLZ Movies with a lot of new fields. This month, we did the same for the CLZ Books and CLZ Music apps. All 3 received many new fields, to bring them more in line with the desktop and Connect software.
All the new fields are editable in the Edit screens and fully sync to/from the CLZ Cloud and the Collector desktop software.
(Of course, you DO need the latest version of the desktop software, that actually is capable of syncing those new fields! Always keep the two compatible!)
The new fields for CLZ Music:
- Conductors
- Orchestras
- Studios
- Recording Date
- Live (yes/no)
- Extras
The new fields for CLZ Books:
- Illustrator
- For audiobooks:
- Narrator
- Length
- Abridged Yes/No
- About the original book:
- Original Title
- Original Subtitle
- Original Country
- Original Language
- Original Publisher
- Original Publication Date
- Cover Price
- Extras
That’s all folks, enjoy!
Don’t forget our Black Friday Sale, just 3 days left!
Buy everything CLZ at a 33% discount: »» LOGIN to the BLACK FRIDAY page here ««