What's new in CLZ Movies? (page 12)
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.
Add by Barcode: Now directly connect to your CLZ Barry barcode scanning app!
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
- Open the App Store or Play Store on your device,
then search for “CLZ BARRY” and download the app. - Follow the Getting Started Guide to set up and start scanning.
Getting Started for iOS / Getting Started for Android
Changed:
- Made some improvements to the barcode scanner
Fixed:
- Manual focus for barcode scanning
- Add Auto: Able to get a duplicate barcode in the barcode search queue by inputting it manually
- Crash in the add auto screen when adding a mix of new movies and movies on wish list by barcode
- Crash in the pick cover option in the edit screen
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!
New:
- On restart the navigation state and view settings are restored
Changed:
- Old Import from Movie Collector has been moved to Settings screen
Fixed:
- Crash in search-as-you-type box
- Added new review popup
At the moment our entire web-team, 3 developers, is working full-time on our Connect editions. And it shows: lot of improvements and small tweaks are being released in rapid succession.
An overview of last week’s updates, now live in your Connect account:
Faster editing
This is a big one, as it makes editing your entries in Connect a lot quicker (and less annoying!).
Previously, after editing an entry, the entire list refreshed which A. was slow and B. caused you to lose your place in the list.
Now, the list does not refresh anymore. After an edit action, the edited item is simply updated with the new field values. Which is super quick and leaves you right where you were before you opened the Edit screen.
NOTE: this change has one implication: If your edit action would cause the item to be sorted in a different place in the list, or even to be moved to a different folder, that will not happen immediately. A simple manual refresh is all it takes in that case.
Updated Statistics screen
We re-wrote the Statistics screen using different charting tools, which makes them look and animate nicer AND solves several browser-specific problems.
Print to PDF enhancements
The new Print to PDF feature can now be used on a selection of items. So just go to Select mode, select some items, then choose Print to PDF in the toolbar top right.
Also, we have added a Margin setting, that lets you control the width of the margins of the generated PDF output.
More column and sort fields
We are regularly receiving requests for more fields to be available as column and sort fields. If technically feasible, we are adding these as we go. Some recent additions:
- Comics: Release Date and Cover Price are now available as column fields.
- Comics: Read It is now available in the Field Defaults settings.
- Movies: Director and Format are now sortable fields.
- Movies: Title Sort is now available as an Export field.
- Games: Genre is now available as a sort field.
This update to the CLZ Movies app for Android brings user interface improvements to the Add Movies screen:
- All panels are now resizable (list, details, camera)
- When adding a movie that is already on your wish list, the app now lets you change its’ status to “In Collection”.
- Adding By Barcode:
- Camera scanner is now integrated in Add screen, not a separate screen
- Tap the keyboard icon in the camera panel to enter a barcode manually
- Barcode queue is now remembered between sessions
- Press and hold to delete a barcode from the queue
- Adding By Title:
- Expand movie edition list using “V” icons on the right
- Movie not found? Easy add it manually using the special entry in the results list
New in the CLZ Cloud viewer and Movie Connect: a Print to PDF feature!
Generate a PDF file from your movie list, ideal for printing.
New in 4.5.2:
- New Details View templates which are easier on the eye:
- Clear Light template
- Clear Dark template
Fixed:
- Covers were not updated in the main list after editing a movie.
- Main Screen: Unknown Formats now have a text label in the cell.
- Login now does a receipt check.
- “Change Template” button moved to right sidebar in the main screen.
- Better thumbnail layout in Landscape Mode.
- After closing the add movies automatically screen, it now selects the latest added movie.
- Improved “tap” area of hamburger menu so you can back out of a folder more easily.
A huge v4.5 update for the CLZ Movies app is now available.
And prepare to be shocked 🙂 (in a good way, don’t worry):
The app looks completely different now, with a cleaner brighter look and an improved user interface.
What’s new in CLZ Movies 4.5 for iOS?
- A completely new look, that is cleaner and brighter.
- The choice between two skins/themes: Light & Dark.
- No bottom toolbar means more screen space for your movie collection.
- Big floating blue ‘+’ button on bottom right for adding new movies.
- Access all other features and tools from ‘hamburger’ menu top left.
- Access all view settings from menu on top right.
- Quickly switch between All / In Collection / Wish List at the top.
How to update your CLZ Movies app to version 4.5:
- On your device, open the App Store app.
- On the bottom, switch to the Updates tab.
- Find the CLZ Movies entry and tap “UPDATE” on the right.
Do you like the new look?
Then please let the world know by posting a nice review in the App Store!
Important: this is the FINAL iOS 7 compatible version.
Support for iOS 7 will be dropped for future versions.
Fixed:
- iOS 7: Crash in Add screen when opening the Add by Barcode tab.
Coming up: Fresh look and layout
Please look forward to the next build coming up in a couple weeks with a complete new fresh look and layout!
Whilst we make daily backups for you on our own servers, you can now create your own backup of your Connect database and download it to your computer!
If you ever make a big mistake and lose valuable data, you can upload a previously downloaded backup file and restore it to your current database.
Import any Text or .CSV file into your collection
You can now import any text file (.txt) or comma separated value file (.csv) into your collection on Connect using the new import page in your Connect account.
With this new import tool you are able to quickly import a list of movies from for instance an existing collection you may have in a spreadsheet or different software. All you have to do is export those movies from your other software to a text or CSV file and follow the steps on the new Import page in your Connect account.
This update introduces an easier way to deal with “Unrecognized Barcodes”.
A new screen that not only helps you to add the movie to your app anyway, but also helps your fellow CLZ Movies users by instantly adding the missing barcode to the CLZ Core online movie database.
What’s new in CLZ Movies 4.3.4 for iOS?
Easily add movies that come up as “Unrecognized Barcode”
- In the Add Movies screen when a barcode is not recognized, a new “Unrecognized Barcode” screen will appear.
- In this screen:
- Just find your movie by title (Search-As-You-Type is also active here!)
- Select the format (DVD, Blu-Ray, etc..)
- Then click Add Movie.
- This will:
- Add the movie to YOUR database with full movie details, your barcode and the selected format.
- Instantly add the barcode to OUR Core online movie database, connected to the movie you selected. Which means that the next users who searches for the same barcode, will instantly get a result 🙂
How to update your CLZ Games app to version 4.3.3:
- On your device, open the App Store app.
- On the bottom, switch to the Updates tab.
- Find the CLZ Movies entry and tap “UPDATE” on the right.
Enjoy!
v4.3.12: New: Easily add movies that come up as “Unrecognized Barcode”
A v4.3.12 update for your CLZ Movies app is now available.
This update introduces an easier way to deal with “Unrecognized Barcodes”.
A new screen that not only helps you to add the movie to your app anyway, but also helps your fellow CLZ Movies users by instantly adding the missing barcode to the CLZ Core online movie database.
Easily add movies that come up as “Unrecognized Barcode”
- In the Add Movies screen when a barcode is not recognized, a new “Unrecognized Barcode” screen will appear.
- In this screen:
- Just find your movie by title (Search-As-You-Type is also active here!)
- Select the format (DVD, Blu-Ray, etc..)
- Then click Add Movie.
- This will:
- Add the movie to YOUR database with full movie details, your barcode and the selected format.
- Instantly add the barcode to OUR Core online movie database, connected to the movie you selected.
Enjoy!
v4.3.11: Fixed an issue where “deletion changes” sometimes didn’t sync
Fixed:
- Local movie deletes sometimes not synchronized to the CLZ Cloud
If you are adding most of your movies “By Title”, then this will be a huge time-saver.
Here’s how the new “Search-As-You-Type” feature works:
- In the Add Movies Automatically screen, just start typing the first letters of the title you want to add.
- While typing, a drop-down list will appear, showing the five most popular titles that match, including the release year and a small thumbnail image.
- For recent / popular movies, it usually takes only 2 or 3 letters before it shows up. For older or less popular movies, type a few more letters.
- Once you see your movie appear, use the arrow keys to select it, then hit Enter.
- Then under Search Results, that exact movie will be listed, automatically Previewed on the right.
- Click the Add Selected button to add it to your database.
Fixed:
- Crashing merge dialog in the manage pick list screen on Android 6.0+ devices
- Facebook sign up button not working
- Reverting of custom uploaded cover when syncing an update
- Crash in the edit screen after pressing the next/previous movie button
v4.3.3: Redesigned “Edit Movie” screen and new folder grouping options
New:
- Edit screen with tabs (main details/personal details)
- Added location as an option in the manage pick list screen
- Added folder options: producer, writer, musician, cinematographer, distributor, store, packaging, edition, consition, subtitle, aspectratio
- Main list
- Scroll position now remembered after editing/removing a movie
- Now updates live after editing a movie
Fixed:
- Missing ‘show all’ folder item in empty folders on tablet devices
- List view section headers stopping at X
- Crash in the in-app-purchase screen
- Barcode can be added with voice dictation
- App was occasionally crashing when searching for a title
- Background image issue in the backdrop templates on phone devices
Searching your movie collection in Movie Connect or the CLZ Cloud viewer is now much faster.
However, to achieve this performance improvement, we have had to limit the searching to:
- Title
- Barcode
- Year
Previously the search feature also searched cast and crew names, but this turned out to cause server performance problems when searching large databases. That is, with the search engine we are now using.
We are currently working on the implementation of a different, much faster search engine, which may enable cast/crew searching again in the future.
Do you already have a list of your movies, books, cds, comics or games? E.g. entered in a spread-sheet program, or created using a different cataloging tool, then exported to CSV?
Cool, you can now easily get that list into your Collectorz.com program (desktop, mobile or Connect). Just use our new flexible import tool to import your existing list into the CLZ Cloud. This will make your list instantly available in Connect. Or sync to the mobile app or desktop software using the CLZ Cloud syncing.
Fixed:
- Fixed database limit message appearing in the old desktop sync when the limit was between 100 and unlimited
- Fixed iTunes Store credentials pop up on startup of app
As most of you know, at Collectorz.com we take Customer Support very seriously. We’re always here to answer your questions or to help with any problems you may have encountered with our cataloging tools.
To further streamline CLZ Support, Sven, one of our web-developers, has created a new Collectorz.com Help Center, at Help.CLZ.com
New:
- Split edit screen, easily switch between main and personal fields
Fixed:
- App respects the system screen orientation lock
- Background color for the searchbar on certain Lollipop tablet devices
- Long loading in manage pick list screen
Big launch this week, our new Collectorz.com Shop is live at Shop.CLZ.com !
Bernard, Sven, AJ and I (Alwin) have been working on this for quite a while, doing many iterations, to make the new shop super-clear and easy to navigate, even on mobile devices.
This new shop replaces both the shop/buy pages of the collectorz.com website and the shop of the My.CLZ.com website. Both websites now link to the new Shop.CLZ.com.