What's new in CLZ Comics Web? (page 5)

Up until today, the quick search box in Comic Connect (and the CLZ Cloud viewer for comic) only searched in the Series title, Issue title, Barcode and Tags fields. Pretty limited, but necessary for performance reasons.

However, with the new search engine we created last year, it became possible to search more fields while keeping the search super-fast. So lets use that capability!

From now on, if you use the search box, it will also search in many more fields. The complete lists of fields that are now searched:

• Series Title
• Issue Title
• Barcode
• Crossover
• Story Arc
• Series Group
• Plot
• Tags
• Notes

Example: searching for the crossover “Crisis On Infinite Earths” will return all issues that are part of that crossover:

Over the last week Joël from team Connect worked on splitting the settings into more logical places, and added new tooltips to explain what all the buttons do. The full what’s new:

Added tooltips

Hovering your mouse over the various buttons will now show tooltips to explain what the buttons do! Hover your mouse over the buttons to see what they do.

Split the settings

All settings used to be together in one screen, but they weren’t easy to find so we decided to split the settings up into their own logical pages. You can now find them by opening the menu (top left), and look for:

• Field Defaults: to set up default field values for new items
• CLZ Cloud Sharing: to set up all your CLZ Cloud sharing options
• Settings: with just the behaviour and display settings

A cool user interface update for your Comic Connect software today, in which we makes it easier to select comics and easier to perform batch actions on the selected comics.

Select using checkboxes

To select comics, just click the checkboxes on the left of each comic entry in the list. Checkboxes are also available in Card View and Images View, just hover your mouse over an item.

No more need to go into “Select Mode” first. The Select Mode is automatically activated as soon as you checkbox the first comic, clearly indicated by the blue Batch Action Bar that replace the regular toolbar.

Batch Action Bar

While in Select Mode, the blue Batch Action Bar is visible, always showing you the number of selected comics. Also:

• Use the “Select all” checkbox to select all comics in the current list in one go
• Use the “x Cancel” button on the right to leave Select Mode
• And of course, use any of the action buttons (Edit, Delete, Print, Export, Duplicate and Loan) to perform an action on the selection comics

You can now loan comics in Comic Connect: just find and select a comic (or select multiple with the Select tool), and click the “Loan” button at the top!

Loan Manager

Click the menu top left, and then Loan Manager to access the new Loan Manager where you can see all your loaned out items, and directly return them. Alternatively you can also use CLZ Barry to scan a barcode of a comic, find it in your outstanding loans, and return it.

In the Loan Manager, you can click on a loaned item to modify the loan date, due date, return date, loaner and notes about the loan.

Print current loans to PDF

You can print out all your current loans to a PDF file by clicking the Print to PDF button in the Loan Manager screen.

Alternatively, you can select a loaner from the dropdown menu there, and only print out his/her current loans to a PDF file!

New:

• Loan comics by selecting a couple in your list, or by viewing the details of a comic, and then click “Loan” at the top.
• Return comics straight from the loan manager or by scanning their barcodes with CLZ Barry.
• Check outstanding loans and loan history in the Loan Manager.
• Edit outstanding or returned loans by clicking on them.
• Print out current loans to a PDF file

Coming up:

We will be adding the syncing of loan information to Comic Collector for Windows and macOS, and CLZ Comics for iOS and Android.

By popular demand, we have added 7 more fields to Comic Connect that used to be automatic Core fields but are now fully editable:

• Edition. Previously set automatically, now fully editable.
• Crossover. Previously set automatically, now fully editable. Also available as a folder option.
• Story Arc. Previously set automatically, now fully editable. Also available as a folder option.
• Imprint. Previously set automatically, now fully editable. Also available as a folder option.
• Age. Previously set automatically, now fully editable. Also available as a folder option.
• Cover Price. Previously set automatically, now fully editable.
• Cover Date. Previously set automatically, now fully editable.

A small user interface tweak today:
The Add Comics screen is now a pop-up screen that lays over your comic list.
(previously it was a separate full screen page)

Looks cooler, feels more “snappy” and while adding comics, you can actually see the new additions appear in your comic list in the background!

Persistent barcode queue

Barcodes scanned on the add page are now remembered! This means you can scan your barcodes into the add queue, leave the page, return later and still add the barcodes you scanned.

If you wish to remove barcodes from your queue, use the Edit button top right of the list of barcodes!

Last week we updated the field selection popup for Connect and CLZ Cloud, and this week we bring that same field selection popup to your “Export to Text” and “Print to PDF” pages.

The update also includes an update Preview box for Export to Text, and an updated way for dragging/dropping fields for your columns or sort order.

Open up your Export to Text or Print to PDF screen via the menu top left in Connect.

New field selection popup:

Updated “Export to Text” page:

With new preview panel:

Updated “Print to PDF” page:

The ability to select your own Columns for the List View is an important customization feature of Comic Connect. The same holds for selecting the Sort Order fields.

However, the “field selection” screens for doing these customizations were a bit outdated and finding a field could be tricky. So we decided to re-imagine the field selection screens to make them easier to understand, easier to use and better to use on mobile devices too.

Redesigned Field Selection screen:

• Available fields are now grouped, like the tabs in the Edit 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.
• For sorting: use the ASC/DESC button to change the sort direction of that particular field.
• Works great on both your desktop and mobile browsers!

Select Columns screen:

Select Sort Order screen:

Live today in your Comic Connect software: a completely re-designed Edit Comic screen with an improved look, layout and usability!

New look and layout

We’ve moved some fields around and to have them grouped and placed more logically. You’ll notice that we’ve also updated the look of certain buttons so it’s all easier on the eye, and there’s only one big blue important “OK” button to save your changes.

Updated dropdown and pick list fields

The pick list fields have been updated so they’ll only show options from your own collection instead of all available options in our online database. This makes it a lot faster to quickly pick something from a pick list that you used before!

You can just start typing to filter to the pick list entry you want to use, or open up the dropdown to scroll and pick.

Multi value pick list fields such as the Tags field, have a blue plus button to pick a tag from your tag list. Click it, and either start typing or just pick a tag from the list.

New Pick List fields

We’ve updated the following fields from plain text fields to “pick list” fields. This means that those fields now have a dropdown which you can click to quickly pick an existing pick list entry for that field.

The following fields haven been updated from plain text to pick list fields:

• Location
• Condition
• Purchase Store
• Owner

These field now all have a dropdown to pick an entry. You can also type into them to search or create a new entry for that field.

Panel with personal fields on all tabs

At the bottom of the edit screen we added a “sticky” panel that you can see on all edit tabs. This panel contains some of your most important personal fields so you can always edit them quickly.

New Find Cover pop-up

The Find Cover pop-up has been updated to the latest version we introduced in the Add Screen. Check it out:

Now live in your Comic Connect software, a complete re-design of the Add Comic screen, with a new look, easier interface and new features.

Adding Comics by Barcode

• Scan multiple barcodes in one go! Scanned barcodes will be automatically added to a queue, with the comic information populating instantly.
• Use the big blue Add to Collection button at the bottom right to add the selected comic to your database.
• OR use the little blue “+” buttons to add straight from the queue.

Adding Comics by Series

• Search by series title to see a list of matching series results.
• Expand a series entry to see the issue list for that series, with cover thumbnails!
• Use the Asc/Desc switch at the top to reverse the sorting of the issue list.
• Use the checkboxes on the right to select the issues you want to add.
• Use the checkbox to the right the series entries to Select All / Unselect All issues.
• Use shift-clicking on the checkboxes to select ranges of issues in one go.
• When done selecting issue, using the big blue “Add x to Collection” button at the bottom to add them all to your database in one go.

Not the right cover image? Use the built-in Find Cover tool to pick the correct one.

We have just updated both the Connect web-application and the free CLZ Cloud viewers to make them a lot faster.

• The folder panel now uses “lazy-loading” which makes it load (a lot) faster.
• When selecting a folder, only the list panel is re-loaded, where previously the entire page was refreshed.

The above changes will make browsing your CLZ Cloud or Connect app a lot snappier and will prevent server performance problems (two birds with one stone!).

The performance improvements are especially noticeable for large book, music and comic collections, as these generally have loooonnnngggg lists of author, artist and series folders.

In this “between Christmas and New Year” week, a huge update to the look and feel of our Connect web-based software.

• We removed the tabs at the top that let you switch between the programs, to give you more screen space for the software you are in. (you can still switch using the app-switcher button top right).
• Dark toolbars with white text and buttons everywhere, while keeping your list and details pages light and clear.
• All tools and feature are now accessible from the “hamburger” menu on the top left.
• Your account settings and log out options in a “user menu” on the right.
• TIP: the new look is also available in your free CLZ Cloud viewer!

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:

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).

Read more

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!

With all the sharing features we’re building we’ve now added a way for you to set a default view for your friends so they can browse your collection the way you want them to.

To set a default view for your friends:
Go to your CLZ Cloud / Connect page, login at the top right and set the columns, sorting and folder view you wish your friends see when they browse your collection.

Once you’re happy with the setup, choose Settings from the “wrench” icon menu top right. Then click the blue button “Set current view as default view” and you’re done! Anyone viewing your collection for the first time will now get the view you’ve just set for them.

You can now quickly share your entire collection or one single item in your collection with anyone using the Share button at the top of your collection. You can share your collection or single item on Facebook, Twitter, via email or just copy a direct link using the Share icon top right.

Go to your cloud page, login at the top right, and use the Share icon at the top to begin:

Share entire collection

For your entire collection, make sure you’re on your Cloud / Connect page with all your items in view and then click the Share icon top right:

Share one single item

For one single item, click the item in your collection and then click the Share button at the top:

This is a new way to show your collection list to specific people, without making it Public. Just set your Cloud Visibility to Private, hiding it from public view, then generate a secret Private Cloud Sharing link. Send this link to your friends and only they will be able to see your collection. Best of both worlds!

To change our Cloud Visibility, go to your cloud page, login at the top right, then choose Settings from the “wrench” icon menu.

Previously, the search feature in the cloud viewer took you to a separate page showing the search results.

Now, the search is fully integrated into the regular collection viewer. Which means that you can now search, then further drill down using folders and/or the alphabet bar. Super handy, especially for large collections.

Another productive week here for our Connect pages! Our web developer Joe has finished work on 2 improvements for your Connect page:

New layouts in Edit Screen

We recently took a look at our Edit Screen and figured it was time to change some fields around as we thought they weren’t all logically placed. So for all 5 Connect titles we’ve now changed the layout and placements of your fields in the Edit Screen. We also consolidated all “Cover” tabs in the edit screens so they work the same in all 5 Connect titles.

New: Duplicate feature

You can now duplicate an item in your database. To do this, click on an item in your database to view its details, then at the top click on “Duplicate”.
The new duplicated item will be an exact duplicate of the previous item, but it will be unlinked. You can Link the duplicated item with the “Link” button at the top of the details page.

We’d love to see more users enjoy the fun and ease of adding items to their database by scanning barcodes with their phone or tablet. So we also decided a couple of weeks ago to make our CLZ Barry app FREE (previously US $10).

New: Directly connect to CLZ Barry from Connect

Previously you needed a special program to connect and send barcodes to your computer, but today we added a direct connection to CLZ Barry on all “Add by Barcode” pages on Connect, which means you can directly connect to any mobile device running the barcode scanning app “CLZ Barry” and scan barcodes straight into your Add by Barcode page on Connect!

Reminder: What is CLZ Barry ?

CLZ Barry is the Collectorz.com barcode scanner app. It lets you:

• Scan barcodes with your mobile device’s camera.
• Instantly send the barcodes (the 12 or 13-digit numbers) to the Add page on Connect.

How to get started with CLZ Barry

1. Open the App Store or Play Store on your device,
   then search for “CLZ BARRY” and download the app.

2. Follow the Getting Started Guide to set up and start scanning.
   Getting Started for iOS / Getting Started for Android

Improvements to “Selection Mode”

You can now enter selection mode and use the “Select All” button top left to select all items in a list, or use “Shift clicking” to select a bunch of items in one go (hold the Shift button on your keyboard and click a couple of items to select/deselect them).

Use these selection mode improvements to select a subset of your database and quickly export them to PDF for instance!

New “None” folder added

We added a new “None” folder to your folder group view. The “None” folder will display when the field you’re folder grouping on is empty for that item.

Example: if you folder on “Genres” but you have one item where the Genre is not filled in, that specific item will appear in your “None” folder!

Print to PDF: Field Names on every page

We added a new checkbox in the settings for Print to PDF to include the field names column header on every single page.

New statistics added

We added some more collection statistics to the statistic screen. In your Connect page, click the “wrench” icon top right and then “Statistics” to check them out!