What's new in CLZ Music? (page 6)

Fixed:

When downloading new entries from CLZ Cloud, previously cleared fields could get filled in.
In the Add from Core screen, when adding an album 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.

In the Add Albums from Core screen, it was already possible to select multiple 1-disc search results and add them together as one multi-disc albums. But, as of today, you can also merge existing albums in your database into a multi-disc album.

Just select them in your list with the checkboxes, then select Merge Albums from the blue Action bar.

See this feature in action here:

Previously, the “Add to …” button in the Add screen let you choose between “Add to Collection” or “Add to Wishlist”. But as of today, you can now choose from ALL possible Collection Status option directly. For instance, this lets you add an item as “On Order” straight from the Add screen!

Now, the possible choices are:

In Collection
For Sale
Wish List
On Order
Not In Collection

adding collection status key

A big update for Music Connect again, in which we introduce many new settings for further customizing your software to your own liking.
And while we were at it, we updated the Settings screen with clearer grouping and naming of settings.

Here’s what’s new:

Auto Capitalization

This is a completely new feature, for automatically capitalizing your album titles.
Auto capping can be done:

when adding albums from Core. This is OFF by default as our Core delivers nicely capped album titles in general.
as you type titles in the Edit and Add Manually screens, very useful when adding albums manually
by clicking the AutoCap (aA) button above the Title box in the Edit screen

The Settings screen lets you choose between 4 Auto Cap methods:

First Letter of Each Word with Exceptions
First letter only with exceptions
UPPER CASE
lower case

The Auto Cap Exceptions list comes pre-filled with a sensible list of common exceptions, but is completely user configurable.

Date Format

Choose how date formats are displayed throughout Connect.

Timezone

Choose your own timezone and all Date Added and Date Modified fields will be displayed according to that timezone. (previously these all showed in UTC time)

BTW: also new today: new column options Date/Time Added and Date/Time Modified, for showing the full added and modified timestamps.

Sorting

Four new options that control the sorting and how names and titles are displayed.

When sorting, ignore sort titles: check this if you prefer to ignore all sort title when sorting and just have the software sort on the regular Title field.
When sorting, ignore sort names for Artists, Composers and Conductors: check this if you prefer to ignore all sort names when sorting and just have the software sort on the display name field.
When displaying, show sort title: when sorting by title, showing the actual sort titles that it sorts on can make your list a bit “easier on the eye”.
When displaying, show sort names Artists, Composers and Conductors: showing the actual sort names for persons can make your list a bit “easier on the eye”.

auto capitalization customization key settings timezone

A very nice cosmetic update for your Connect software today: a new “Shelves View”!

Shelves View is a fourth view for your album list, similar to Cover View, but with your cover images standing on a nice shelves background. You can even choose between 6 different shelf styles using the Shelf Style selector:

Wood Light
Wood Dark
Glass
Metal
Carbon
White

Also new, for both Shelves View and Images View, as “Size Slider” to control the size of the images.

Toolbar tweaks

Because of the introduction of the new view, the Shelf Style selector and the Size Slider, we have also made several changes to the various Connect toolbars:

A new “View” toolbar right above the list, with 4 buttons for switching between the 4 views (List, Card, Cover and Shelves), the Size Slider and the Style Selector (for Shelves) and finally the Sort Order button (on the far right).
The new “View” toolbar replaces the “Filter” toolbar that was in that spot.
The “Filter” toolbar now only appears when a filter is actually active, and now has a pale yellow background to make it super-clear that you are looking at a filtered list.
The number of albums indicator has been moved (back) to the center of the top toolbar.

key shelf shelves

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:

Manually added albums could get an empty RPM

clz cloud key syncing

Faster CLZ Cloud syncing!

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)

clz cloud key syncing

It’s been a bit quiet with Connect updates in the past 2 months, as we have been preparing a *huge* update. BUT it is live now!

All settings are now saved server-side, in your CLZ Cloud

We have taken the advantage of the Connect web-based software to the next level, by storing all your settings on the server side, your CLZ Cloud (instead of in local browser cookies).
So any computer or device you log in to will automatically have the same folder option selected, the same columns selected for the list view, the same sort order, the same layout, etc..

Connect now even stores your Add screen’s barcode queue on the server side, so you scan barcode into the queue on one computer and process the queue later, from any other device.

All your existing settings will be automatically transfered to the server, the first time you login.

BTW: this change finally resolves the problem of losing all settings for users who have their browser configured to remove all cookies on exit.

Create your own Favorites for Columns and Sort Orders

While we were working on the settings, we figured this was a good time to add some more customizability to the Columns and Sort Order features. You can now create and save your own Column and Sort Order settings as Favorites, then easily switch between them.

To create and manage your Favorites, click the Column or Sort Order button and choose Manage Favorites:

Manage Column Favorites:

Manage Sorting Favorites:

columns cookies favorites key settings sort order

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!

index key

A small update for your CLZ Music app today: When adding albums by Artist/Title, you can now filter the search results to only show a specific format.

After searching for artist/title, tap the new “All Formats” button at the top right and switch it to “Vinyl” to see vinyl results only, or set to “CD” to list CDs only.

adding format key

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 Artist, or Label, etc… tap a folder and the list will give you all albums for the selected Artist or Label.

However, if your collection spans thousands of albums, 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 albums contained.

Sorting by the counters is a nice way to find the most popular Artists, Labels, Genres, 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 Music 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).

barcode scanning clz cloud folders key performance search sorting

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 Artist, or Label, etc… tap a folder and the list will give you all albums for the selected Artist or Label.

However, if your collection spans thousands of albums, that “tap a folder” part is sometimes easier said than done. It may require lots of scrolling in the folder list.

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 albums contained.

Sorting by the counters is a nice way to find the most popular Artists, Labels, Genres, etc..

Switch between the Alphabetical and By Count sorting using the sort toggle at the top:

Filter search results on format

When searching by Artist/Title you can now filter the results to only show a specific format. After searching for artist/title, tap the new “All Formats” button to switch the results to “Vinyl” to see all vinyl results!

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

In today’s update, CLZ Music 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.

barcode scanning clz cloud folders key performance search sorting

Multiple small tweaks to your Connect software today, improving both the Edit Comic screen and the Add Comics 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. Artists, Genres, Studios) 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:

Artist
Composer
Genres
Studios
Extras
Conductor
Orchestras
Tags

Adding Albums by Barcode: instant adding to queue

Previously, when you searched by barcode (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 barcode now instantly appears in your queue, showing a “Searching” indicator. This gives you instant feedback the barcode was accepted and is searching. Then, when the search has completed, the queue entry is filled in with the album details and cover image.

The above tweak also applies to the opening of the screen while you still had some barcodes in the queue. This saved queue list will now populate faster.

adding checkboxes editing key

A big update for the CLZ Music app, introducing a new Statistics screen, a cool “infographic” style screen, showing totals and statistics about your music collection.
To open it, just choose “Statistics” from the menu.

In this new screen, you can find:

The number of albums in your collection, and how many artists.
How many tracks, and the total runtime.
A top 5 list of your most recent additions.
A nice pie chart showing the distribution of your albums over formats (CD, Vinyl, etc.)
A bar chart of your albums by artist.
A bar chart of your albums by genre.

key statistics

In this new screen, you can find:

The number of albums in your collection, and how many artists.
How many tracks, and the total runtime.
A top 5 list of your most recent additions.
A nice pie chart showing the distribution of your albums over formats (CD, Vinyl, etc.)
A bar chart of your albums by artist.
A bar chart of your albums by genre.

key statistics

A useful and fun new option in Music 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 albums contained.

Sorting by the numbers is a nice way to find the most important Artist, Labels, Genres, etc.. in your collection.

Switch between the Alphabetical and Number sorting using the new toggle to the right of the search box:

folders key sorting

The app could crash during syncing of certain items. Shouldn’t happen anymore now!

Fixed:

App could crash while syncing with CLZ Cloud

sync

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.

Read more

favorites folders key multi-level

A big step forward for the CLZ Music app today, in which we add more new editable fields:

Recording Date
Studios
Live (yes/no)
Extras
Conductors
Orchestras

Of course, all the new fields sync to/from the CLZ Cloud too.

clz cloud editing key sync

A big step forward for the CLZ Music app today, in which we add more new editable fields:

Recording Date
Studios
Live (yes/no)
Extras
Conductors
Orchestras

Of course, all the new fields sync to/from the CLZ Cloud too.

clz cloud editing key sync

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.

As of today, the new search engine is live in your account, and it is FAST!

Choose between 3 Search Types

Use the new “search type” selector on the left of the search box to choose to search:

Albums
Tracks
or both: Albums & Tracks

Track highlighting

After searching for tracks, click one of the resulting albums and the track that match will be highlighted in your album details panel.

key search tracks

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.

Read more

breadcrumb filter key statistics