Readerware 2.0 New Features

Readerware 2.0 is a major upgrade and includes new and enhanced functionality. The user interface, the database, reports, auto-catalog, import/export, preferences, have all been enhanced. Searching your database is now even easier, there is a new database statistics display and a brand new client/server edition for multiple user support.

Views

Readerware now includes three basic view types, you can create as many view instances as you want, and fully customize each one.

Table View - This is the standard Readerware view, but with Readerware 2.0 you can drag the columns around and arrange them in any order. Show or hide columns, Sort the rows on any column.

The columns themselves contain the standard Readerware links that you can click on to refine your searches and easily get to the data you want. Display the detail view. In edit mode you can update any of the columns right in the table.

Tree View - This is a new view type in Readerware 2.0. It has a familiar explorer like interface. There is an author, title tree in the left pane. When you click on an author node in the tree, the right pane displays a table listing all books for that author. Again the table is fully customizable and the data is editable.

Click on a title node in the tree and the detail panel is displayed with the image. Use the back and forward buttons to browse your collection. Note the redesign of the detail panel. The buttons are now fixed in place to reduce scrolling on systems with lower screen resolution.

Fish Eye View - The final view type is the fish eye view, another carry over from Readerware 1.x. Reaction to this has ranged from what the hell is it? to way cool! It is a great way to navigate large collections, bringing the area you are interested in easily into focus.

Wizards

I was surprised by the number of novice computer users interested in Readerware. 2.0 introduces several new wizards to make Readerware 2.0 even easier to use.

The new auto-catalog wizard guides you step by step through the process of entering your books, with or without a bar code reader,

Wizards are a simple, effective way to get to know the power of Readerware. Wizards can be turned on or off.

There are also wizards for Readerware import/export, again these will step you through format and data selection etc.

Miscellaneous UI Enhancements

The UI has been streamlined. There are now fewer menus and tool bar items. A new preferences tabbed pane means you can easily change all your preferences without bringing up different dialogs.

Database Enhancements

There are now more standard fields in the database. Readerware 2.0 adds:

• LCCN
• Dewey Number
• User defined number
• Copyright date
• Valuation date
• Location, i.e. where are the books stored
• Series
• Page count
• Book dimensions
• Keywords

The database now also supports multiple authors. Again auto-catalog will bring in all authors, translators, editors etc. You get to define the book formats just like you do with categories.

Plus you can now add your own fields to the database.

There is also a new database statistics panel. Many people have asked for an easy way to get the total value of their collection. Readerware will summarize your database displaying the total value, number of first editions etc.

Search Enhancements

Most of the new fields including the user defined columns are searchable. An author search will search all authors.

Searches are no longer case sensitive. Plus Readerware searches now automatically search for the text anywhere in the column. You no longer have to use wild cards.

Auto-Catalog

Readerware auto-catalog is probably what attracted you to Readerware in the first place. The auto-catalog feature has been improved in a number of ways.

Readerware now plays an audio que as you scan bar codes or enter ISBNs into the auto-catalog window. You will know instantly if you had a problem without having to look at the computer screen. The screen itself has been simplified.

Readerware now displays an icon next to each ISBN you enter. As auto-catalog progresses through the list. the icon changes as each ISBN is processed. You will know instantly whether the ISBN has been found, if an image was captured etc.

Help

A brand new help engine means that Readerware help is now fully searchable. there is an index, table of contents as well as the full text search. Help can also be printed, with page formatting like portrait and landscape modes etc.

Reports

A lot of you asked for more control over reports and now you have it. Simply drag columns around to format your report. Define a summary view with a few columns or an inventory report with valuation columns etc. You define which columns are included, the order they appear, the amount of space given to each column and the sequence of the data.

Readerware Client/Server Edition

Finally, something a lot of you have been waiting for. The new Readerware Client/Server Edition supports multiple users.

Simple to setup and extremely powerful. The Readerware Client/Server Edition comes in two configurations, one designed for home users and one for corporate use. Each license is for a single server with multiple clients. Perfect for libraries, schools, churches and corporations.

Free Trial

I can't possibly cover all the new features of Readerware 2.0 here, but hopefully this has given you a good feel for the power and simplicity of Readerware 2.0.

Try it for yourself. You can test drive Readerware 2.0 for a limited evaluation period. Then upgrade to Readerware 2.0 or the new Readerware 2.0 Client/Server Edition. Special upgrades are now available.