What's new in CLZ Comics Mobile? (page 13)
Fixed:
- When downloading new entries from CLZ Cloud, previously cleared fields could get filled in.
- In the Add from Core screen, when adding acomic that is already in your app as ‘On Wish List’ or ‘On Order’, the app will now offer to change its status to ‘In Collection’.
- On devices with intermittent internet connection, app could revert to trial mode
- After down-syncing updated cover images, the list could still show old cover.
- Improved error messages in case of core search problems.
Fixed:
- The app could crash when editing certain fields.
Fixed:
- Downsync from CLZ Cloud, comics without series were not added.
- Downsync from CLZ Cloud: cleared fields could get filled in.
- Edit screen: Multi-value fields are now saved in the order they are picked.
- Add from Core did not display subscription related errors.
- Add from Core now suggests move to collection for WishList entries.
- When scanning barcodes, the beeping sound was broken.
- Field Defaults: ‘Storage Box’ was still called ‘Location’.
Fixed:
- Issues could end up in another series after syncing.
- Crash when syncing a removed comic without an issue title.
Faster CLZ Cloud syncing!
We have made several structural changes to the CLZ Cloud syncing, making it much much faster than before, especially when syncing large amounts of entries up to the CLZ Cloud or down from the CLZ Cloud.
To enjoy the faster syncing, you need to use the actual Sync with CLZ Cloud screen.
(The Auto-Syncing in the background is also slightly faster now, but if you need to sync many entries up or down, please use the Sync with CLZ Cloud screen.)
New design for Sync with CLZ Cloud screen
While we were at it, we decided to do a quick make-over for the Sync screen, with a new look and layout and a direct link to your CLZ Cloud page online.
Fixed:
- Made the touch area for scrollbars a bit bigger (useful for quick scrolling)
Faster CLZ Cloud syncing!
We have made several structural changes to the CLZ Cloud syncing, making it much much faster than before, especially when syncing large amounts of entries up to the CLZ Cloud or down from the CLZ Cloud.
To enjoy the faster syncing, you need to use the actual Sync with CLZ Cloud screen.
(The Auto-Syncing in the background is also slightly faster now, but if you need to sync many entries up or down, please use the Sync with CLZ Cloud screen.)
New design for Sync with CLZ Cloud screen
While we were at it, we decided to do a quick make-over for the Sync screen, with a new look and layout and a direct link to your CLZ Cloud page online.
Easily add and report comics with “unrecognized barcodes”
In general, our CLZ Core online comic database gives you excellent results on your barcode searches. However, it can always happen that you scan a comic’s barcode and it comes up as “unrecognized”, meaning that the barcode is not listed in our CLZ Core yet.
In today’s update, we have added a new “Unrecognized Barcode” screen, that serves two purposes. It lets you:
- Easily add the comic to your database anyway
- Report the barcode as missing, so that we can add it to our Core ASAP
Just fill in the following fields:
- Series
- Issue No and Variant
- Variant Description
- Cover Year and Month
and hit Add to Collection at the bottom.
BTW: please make sure that you scanned the FULL barcode before reporting it as missing!
Let’s work together to get all comic barcodes added to the CLZ Core!
Barcode search now supports multiple results
For older comics (1970 to 1990 era), publishers sometimes re-used barcodes on different issues in the same series. The CLZ Comics app has never supported that situation well, it would just returned ONE of those issue.
However, with more and more barcodes for older comics now being added, we have updated the barcode search engine to fully support this situation. When searching for a barcode that was used for multiple issues, the app will now give you all matching results, for you to choose from.
Easily add and report comics with “unrecognized barcodes”
In general, our CLZ Core online comic database gives you excellent results on your barcode searches. However, it can always happen that you scan a comic’s barcode and it comes up as “unrecognized”, meaning that the barcode is not listed in our CLZ Core yet.
In today’s update, we have added a new “Unrecognized Barcode” screen, that serves two purposes. It lets you:
- Easily add the comic to your database anyway
- Report the barcode as missing, so that we can add it to our Core ASAP
Just fill in the following fields:
- Series
- Issue No and Variant
- Variant Description
- Cover Year and Month
and hit Add to Collection at the bottom.
BTW: please make sure that you scanned the FULL barcode before reporting it as missing!
Let’s work together to get all comic barcodes added to the CLZ Core!
Barcode search now supports multiple results
For older comics (1970 to 1990 era), publishers sometimes re-used barcodes on different issues in the same series. The CLZ Comics app has never supported that situation well, it would just returned ONE of those issue.
However, with more and more barcodes for older comics now being added, we have updated the barcode search engine to fully support this situation. When searching for a barcode that was used for multiple issues, the app will now give you all matching results, for you to choose from.
Re-introduced the Images View for Series lists (which can now also searched and sorted!)
Fixed:
- Slowness and crashes, especially on large collections.
(BTW: to fix the slowness, we have temporarily removed the Images View for the series list. Will be back soon.)
In this update we introduce a new quick-search for your folders, sorting your folders by the counters, an [All Comics] option at the top of your series list, 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 Series, or Publishers, etc.. tap a folder and the list will give you all comics for the selected Series or Publisher.
However, if your collection spans thousands of comics and hundreds of series, 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 comics contained.
Sorting by the counters is a nice way to find the biggest Series in your collection, your most popular Publishers, etc..
Switch between the Alphabetical and By Count sorting using the sort toggle at the top:
For the Series folders we also added a counter on the right hand side so you can see how many issues you have per series!
New “[All Comics]” option
While in Series folders, you now have a new “[All Comics]” option at the top, for a full list of all comics over all series.
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 Comics 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.
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 Series, or Publishers, etc.. tap a folder and the list will give you all comics for the selected Series or Publisher.
However, if your collection spans thousands of comics and hundreds of series, 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 comics contained.
Sorting by the counters is a nice way to find the biggest Series in your collection, your most popular Publishers, etc..
Switch between the Alphabetical and By Count sorting using the sort toggle at the top:
New “[All Comics]” option
While in Series folders, you now have a new “[All Comics]” option at the top, for a full list of all comics over all series.
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 Comics 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).
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.
Fixed:
- Sort title of a series was not generated correctly during adding/editing of a series.
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:
- Add by Barcode: For older barcodes sometimes the wrong issue would be pre-selected
- Custom images were uploaded too often
Fixed:
- Add by Barcode: For older barcodes sometimes the wrong issue would be pre-selected
- Custom images were uploaded too often
- The amount of items for each pick list could be wrong
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 new iOS 13 style “sheet” screens and a batch of user interface improvements we implemented (more coming up!):
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 comic 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), 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
Other tweaks:
- Re-introduced a “sync changes pending” icon to the “Sync with CLZ Cloud” menu item
Fixed:
- In some cases the recent purchases list in the statistics screen was incorrect.
- Cover price was not downloaded when adding/updating from Core.
Last week, we released CLZ Comics 5.0, of which the most popular new feature was the new automatic comic values tool.
After the release, we immediately started getting questions from many users “Okay, I see the values now, but where can I see the TOTAL value of my collection”?
Of course, we were way ahead of you! Planned for inclusion in the v5.0 release was a cool new Statistics screen, with charts, totals, everything. Sadly, we had to skip this feature because of time constraints, as we really wanted to make our planned v5 deadline.
However, 10 days later, the Stats screen has been finished now, waiting for you in version 5.0.4!
New Statistics screen
A cool “infographic” style screen showing totals and statistics about your comic collection. Find your biggest series, your most recent purchases, your most valuable comics and the value by series and of course, the total value.
Last week, we released CLZ Comics 5.0, of which the most popular new feature was the new automatic comic values tool.
After the release, we immediately started getting questions from many users “Okay, I see the values now, but where can I see the TOTAL value of my collection”?
Of course, we were way ahead of you! Planned for inclusion in the v5.0 release was a cool new Statistics screen, with charts, totals, everything. Sadly, we had to skip this feature because of time constraints, as we really wanted to make our planned v5 deadline.
However, 10 days later, the Stats screen has been finished now, waiting for you in version 5.0.4!
New Statistics screen
A cool “infographic” style screen showing totals and statistics about your comic collection. Find your biggest series, your most recent purchases, your most valuable comics, the value by series and of course, the total value of your collection.
Fixed:
- Purchase store could display twice in the details template