What's new in CLZ Books? (page 7)
An old feature from the Windows and macOS editions, that somehow never made it to Connect: Re-Assigning Index Values. But now it’s available in Connect too!
What are index values?
Connect automatically assigns and increments index numbers to items that you add to your collection. The Index value is assigned when you add an item to the database. The next item you add to your collection will have an index number that is incremented by 1.
Index numbers are only used once. When an item is deleted, the next added item will still increment on the highest index number present in your collection.
New: Re-Assign Index Values:
With the new “Re-Assign Index Values” tool, you can automatically assign new and consecutive index values to all your items, according to a sort order you select, e.g. by Title, Release Year or your own Purchase Date.
To begin, click the menu top left and select “Re-Assign Index Values”. Now choose your desired Sort Order.
Please note that this action can not be undone!
In this update we introduce a new quick-search for your folders, sorting your folders by the counters, and more stable cloud syncing through our brand-new dedicated Sync-server.
Quick-search your folders
Grouping in folders is a powerful way to browse and filter your collection. Just group by Author, or Publisher, etc… tap a folder and the list will give you all books for the selected Author or Publisher.
However, if your collection spans thousands of books, that “tap a folder” part is sometimes easier said than done. It may require lots of scrolling in the folder list.
But not anymore! This version introduces a new search box right above the folder list, that lets you instantly search/filter the folder list as you type! Just typing a few letters is often enough to bring the folder you are looking for into view:
Sort folders by count
By default, the folders are sorted alphabetically. But as of today, there is another option: sort your folders by the counter, that is by the number of books contained.
Sorting by the counters is a nice way to find the most popular Authors, Publishers, Genres, Subjects, etc..
Switch between the Alphabetical and By Count sorting using the sort toggle at the top:
Improved barcode scanning
We have improved the scan engine and gave it a larger “scan area”. This should help scan barcodes faster and easier.
Now uses our brand-new CLZ Cloud Sync-server
Previously one big server was handling the Connect website, the CLZ Cloud website AND the CLZ Cloud syncing from the desktop programs and the mobile apps.
But this week we have set up a brand-new dedicated Sync-server to handle just the CLZ Cloud syncing.
In today’s update, CLZ Books has been updated to sync through this new server, which should result in faster syncing and a more stable syncing experience during high load times (weekends).
In this update we introduce a new quick-search for your folders, sorting your folders by the counters, and more stable cloud syncing through our brand-new dedicated Sync-server.
Quick-search your folders
Grouping in folders is a powerful way to browse and filter your collection. Just group by Author, or Publisher, etc… tap a folder and the list will give you all books for the selected Author or Publisher.
However, if your collection spans thousands of books, that “tap a folder” part is sometimes easier said than done. It may require lots of scrolling in the folder list.
But not anymore! This version introduces a new search box right above the folder list, that lets you instantly search/filter the folder list as you type! Just typing a few letters is often enough to bring the folder you are looking for into view:
Sort folders by count
By default, the folders are sorted alphabetically. But as of today, there is another option: sort your folders by the counter, that is by the number of books contained.
Sorting by the counters is a nice way to find the most popular Authors, Publishers, Genres, Subjects, etc..
Switch between the Alphabetical and By Count sorting using the sort toggle at the top:
Improved barcode scanning
We have improved the scan engine and gave it a larger “scan area”. This should help scan barcodes faster and easier.
Now uses our brand-new CLZ Cloud Sync-server
Previously one big server was handling the Connect website, the CLZ Cloud website AND the CLZ Cloud syncing from the desktop programs and the mobile apps.
But this week we have set up a brand-new dedicated Sync-server to handle just the CLZ Cloud syncing.
In today’s update, CLZ Books has been updated to sync through this new server, which should result in faster syncing and a more stable syncing experience during high load times (weekends).
Fixed:
- Field Defaults: It wasn’t possible to set the rating field back to zero.
- Manage Pick Lists: Merging list items caused too many sync changes.
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 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.
Fixed:
- Rare incident where timeouts occurred during CLZ Cloud sync.
Fixed:
- Rare incident where timeouts occurred during CLZ Cloud sync.
A big update for the CLZ Books app again, introducing a new Statistics screen, a cool “infographic” style screen, showing totals and statistics about your book collection.
To open it, just choose “Statistics” from the menu.
In this new screen, you can find:
- The number of books in your collection, and how many authors.
- A top 5 list of your most recent additions.
- A nice pie chart showing the distribution of your books over formats (Hardcover, Softcover, etc..).
- A bar chart of your books by author.
- A bar chart of your books by publisher.
- A bar chart of your books by genre.
- A bar chart of your books by subject.
- A pie chart showing your how many of your books are marked as read.
A big update for the CLZ Books app again, introducing a new Statistics screen, a cool “infographic” style screen, showing totals and statistics about your book collection.
To open it, just choose “Statistics” from the menu.
In this new screen, you can find:
- The number of books in your collection, and how many authors.
- A top 5 list of your most recent additions.
- A nice pie chart showing the distribution of your books over formats (Hardcover, Softcover, etc..).
- A bar chart of your books by author.
- A bar chart of your books by publisher.
- A bar chart of your books by genre.
- A bar chart of your books by subject.
- A pie chart showing your how many of your books are marked as read.
A useful and fun new option in your Book Connect software today!
By default, the folders in your folder panel are sorted alphabetically. But as of today, there is another option: sort your folder panel by the numbers, that is by the number of books contained.
Sorting by the numbers is a nice way to find the most important Authors, Publishers, Genres, Subjects, etc.. in your collection.
Switch between the Alphabetical and Number sorting using the new toggle to the right of the search box:
The app could crash during syncing of certain items. Shouldn’t happen anymore now!
Fixed:
- App could crash while syncing with CLZ Cloud
Roughly a month ago we introduced the ability to use multiple levels of folders in the folder panel. At the time, limited to several built-in field sensible field combinations.
Today we’re giving you the next logical step: the ability to create and save your own multi- and single-level favorites for the folder panel.
The Favorites are shown at the top of the Folder menu, with the single-field options still available at the bottom.
New:
- Group by “Purchase year”
New:
- Group by “Purchase year” and “Reading year”
Fixed:
- Details panel showed “publication date” where it should show “original publication date”
- Grouping on “publisher” didn’t always work correctly
A big step forward for the CLZ Books app today, in which we add many new editable fields:
- Illustrator
- Cover Price
- Extras
- For audiobooks:
- Narrator
- Length
- Abridged Yes/No
- About the original book:
- Original Title
- Original Subtitle
- Original Country
- Original Language
- Original Publisher
- Original Publication Date
Of course, all the new fields sync to/from the CLZ Cloud too.
A big step forward for the CLZ Books app today, in which we add many new editable fields:
- Illustrator
- Cover Price
- Extras
- For audiobooks:
- Narrator
- Length
- Abridged Yes/No
- About the original book:
- Original Title
- Original Subtitle
- Original Country
- Original Language
- Original Publisher
- Original Publication Date
Of course, all the new fields sync to/from the CLZ Cloud too.
Two updates for your Connect software today. An improved Statistics screen, with cool new charts and lists, plus a re-designed toolbar that clearly shows your currently selected folders and filters.
Fixed:
- Custom images were uploaded too often
Fixed:
- Custom images were uploaded too often
A very cool and useful addition to your Book Connect software today: the folder panel on the left now allows multiple levels of folders!
This is a powerful way to browse your book collection, e.g. by Publisher then Author, or Read it then Genre.
Changed:
- Add by barcode: Swipe to remove a single barcode wasn’t working. To remove a single barcode now, just press and hold on it!
Fixed:
- When changing a cover, the list and images view wasn’t updated correctly
- Date pickers weren’t showing correctly
- Some colours were wrong (tabs/switches)
Instead of working on new features, we decided to take a few weeks to look at existing screens and functionality and see where things could be improved, of course all based on your feedback.
Today’s update brings you the first batch of user interface improvements that we implemented (more coming up!), plus it bring the app fully up-to-date with the new iOS 13 “sheet-style” popup screens!
A big step forward for the Book Connect software today, in which we add many new editable fields and Back Cover images. Also, a handy new tool to fill/update your entries with information from our Core online book database.
Many new fields
Today we have added many fields to the software, all now editable in the Edit Book screen.
- 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
Of course, the pick list fields are immediately available as folder fields too, so that you can browse your collection in folders by Illustrator, Narrator, Original Country, etc…
New: Add your own back covers
With this big update for Book Connect we have another surprise for you: Back Covers! That’s right, a brand new back cover field you can modify yourself.
Use the “Find Back cover” button to find one, or upload one yourself:
New Update from Core tool
Update from Core fills in the fields in your data entries with data from our Core central online book database. By default, it only adds new data into fields that were still empty on your side, but the config screen also lets you opt to overwrite your data with our Core data.
This new feature is now available for the following fields:
- Publisher
- Title
- Subtitle
- Format
- Language
- Number of pages
- LC Classification
- LCCN
- Dewey
How to use Update from Core on your book entries?
- Select the books you wish to update by clicking the checkboxes in front of them.
- Click “Update from Core” from the blue action toolbar (it’s under the 3 vertical dots
button)
You can choose if the update process should leave, update or replace the current data for each field with the Update from Core settings popup:
Instead of working on new features, we decided to take a few weeks to look at existing screens and functionality and see where things could be improved, of course all based on your feedback.
Today’s update brings you the first user interface improvements we implemented (more coming up!):
Easier to find Edit and Remove buttons on book details screen (phone only)
Easier editing of pick list fields, especially multi-value fields
- Selected/checked values are now always at the top
- For multi-value fields (like Genre, Studio), check/uncheck multiple values in one go!
- Easier to find big button at the top for adding NEW values..
Complete Re-design of Manage Pick List screen
- Easier to find big button at the top for adding NEW values.
- Remove Unused and Merge action have now been moved to action (…) button top right.
- Easier to use Merge mode.
Add by barcode: New Clear Queue button and new “Scanning tips” popup
Fixed:
- Edit screen: the “Read it” checkbox wouldn’t always work
- Re-introduced a “sync changes pending” icon to the “Sync with CLZ Cloud” menu item
Fixed:
- Fix for a crash that some iPhone users experienced after adding/editing entries