The Readerware Newsletter

Readerware 2.50 is now shipping. This is a major upgrade with enhancements to Readerware auto-catalog and new features like auto-update and search and replace. Plus all Readerware products now support Half.com.

Also in this issue, custom extraction examples to automatically assign user numbers to your database and revalue your database using a percentage of any web price. New download servers and web site news.

Readerware 2.50 Now Shipping

Release 2.50 is now available for all products (Readerware, ReaderwareAW and ReaderwareVW), and all platforms, (Windows, Mac OS X and Linux). A full list of the changes included in 2.50 is available online:

• Readerware 2.50 changes

This is a major upgrade with the focus on building and maintaining your Readerware databases. Readerware auto-catalog can now merge data from multiple web sites to extract the maximum amount of information.

Readerware auto-update is a new feature that lets you update existing databases by searching the web. Look for more images, pull in additional information like dewey numbers from the Library of Congress, revalue your collection by getting the latest prices from the web.

New search and replace functionality allows you to update a database column in all or selected database rows. For example move books from one category to another, assign locations etc.

All Readerware products now support Half.com, build and update your database from the massive Half.com web site. Works with auto-catalog, auto-update and the drag and drop interface. Even the shopping cart will now find prices at Half.com.

Readerware 2.50 is a major upgrade.

• Download Readerware 2.50

New Download Sites

When you download the latest version of Readerware, you will notice that there are now two download sites available. Next to most downloads you will see a primary site link and a secondary site link.

The primary links are on a new high capacity server which should provide faster and more reliable downloads. The secondary link is the old server at readerware.com. Right now this new server is being evaluated so not all downloads have been moved over. But if it works out all products will be available on both servers.

So check out the new server as you download Readerware 2.50 and be sure to let me know if you encounter any problems. E-Mail support@readerware.com.

Readerware Auto-Catalog Enhancements

Readerware auto-catalog is now able to merge data from different web sites. Instead of just adding the first match to the database, Readerware can now continue to search other sites and fill in additional information. Turning on this feature is as simple as checking the Merge data from all selected sites option in the auto-catalog wizard.

Readerware gets as much information as possible from each site before moving on to the next site looking for still more information. This means that the order you search sites can be important.

For example, suppose you like the Amazon listing but would also like to include the dewey number in your Readerware database. In this case you would search Amazon first and then the Library of Congress.

But supposing you prefer the Library of Congress listing but would also like to get images from Amazon. You simply search the sites in the reverse order, The Library of Congress first.

Other auto-catalog enhancements include the ability to delete an item from an auto-catalog list and to save lists.

• Readerware Auto-Catalog

Readerware Auto-Update

New in version 2.0 is Readerware auto-update. This powerful feature lets you search the web and update your existing databases.

The Readerware auto-update wizard will step you through the process. It is very similar to auto-catalog. You start by selecting the sites you want to search.

Next you pick the rows you want to update. You have several choices here. You can update your entire database or you can update the current search results. So you can first search your database to establish the rows you want to update. As a further refinement, you can update only the selected search results. Finally you can input a list of ISBNs or UPCs to update. So there are a number of ways to control which rows are processed by Readerware auto-update.

When searching for new images, it is best to first perform an image search and search for those items without images. Then in the auto-update wizard, select the current search results option. This means that Readerware will only look up items without images. If you selected the entire database, it would look up all items.

Finally you need to identify the columns you want to update. Again you can easily select all columns or select only the columns you are interested in. For example if you want to search for new images, you would select the image column. If you want to add dewey numbers to an existing database, you select the dewey column. You can select as many columns as you like.

You can also control how Readerware updates columns, it can update them only when empty or it can always update them, replacing the current contents. Readerware will only update the column if data is returned by the web search. So when searching for additional data, you would normally update when empty. When updating the value field, you might want to get the latest valuation so you would always update the column. This specification is made on a column by column basis. So you could update the image column only when empty but always update the value column in the same auto-update run.

After you have verified your selections Readerware auto-update starts. It will search through all the sites you selected looking for each item in turn. If a value is returned for one of the columns you selected, it will update the database. If nothing is returned the current contents are unchanged. Note that your changes are applied to your database immediately.

Readerware displays the normal progress dialog as it processes your request. On completion it displays a statistics page with the number of items updated, the number unchanged, images added etc.

You can use Readerware auto-update to add more data to your existing databases. And you can make regular auto-update runs to update volatile information like value.

Readerware auto-update is a very powerful feature, but you could also overwrite important data if you are not paying attention. You can use the Readerware backup and restore facility to make quick and easy backups before running an auto-update. It is never to often to backup your database.

• Readerware Auto-Update

Search and Replace

Row selection is identical to auto-update. You can run the replace against your entire database, the current search results, selected search results or you can input a list of ISBNs or UPCs.

For example if you wanted to move all items from one category to another, you would first search for all books in the category and then run the replace selecting the current search results.

You can only update a single column in each replace run. So the next step is to select the column you want to update. As you change the column selection, a suitable edit field is displayed where you can enter or select the new value. If you do not enter a new value, then the current contents of the column are erased. So you can use the replace function to clear out fields as well as change them.

When using the drop down list database columns like category or format, you can maintain the lists right in the wizard using the standard popup menu. For example, if you wanted to set the location of the items, you can add the new location right there in the wizard.

After you have verified your selections Readerware replace starts. You will see the now familiar progress dialog as it updates your database. Note that your changes are applied to your database immediately. On completion it displays a statistics page with the number of items updated etc.

Readerware replace is a very powerful feature, but you could also overwrite important data if you are not paying attention. You can use the Readerware backup and restore facility to make quick and easy backups before running a replace. It is never to often to backup your database.

• Readerware Replace

Give Readerware this Holiday

Yes, it's that time of the year again. If you are trying to decide on the perfect gift for the book, music and video collectors on your list, consider Readerware on CD.

You can give a single product or one of the product bundles.

Just place your order from the Readerware web site. When ordering as a gift, please be sure to include the name of the recipient so that the license key will be generated in the correct name. When ordering via RegSoft, select the gift option. When ordering via PayPal use the special instructions field to indicate that it is a gift.

In both cases, the CD will be shipped to you.

• The Readerware CD
• Order online

Tech Tip: User Numbering System

Readerware databases include a user number field that you can use to assign your own item numbers.

Did you know Readerware can automatically assign numbers to items for you? Utilizing Readerware custom extraction you can write a script that assigns the user number in whatever format you require, automatically.

Readerware custom extraction interfaces with the Readerware auto-catalog and auto-update functions. It is designed to allow you to access the data Readerware extracts from the web but before the database is updated. It gives you a chance to manipulate the data. You write a custom extraction script using the Python language. Your custom extraction file is named userexit.py and is stored in your Readerware scrapers directory.

• Readerware Custom Extraction

So how does this help you assign custom numbers? The user number column, like all columns can be changed in your custom extraction script. Therefore you can generate your user number in a script.

The following sample script shows you how to do this. You can easily customize this script to format the user number to exactly meet your needs. You can change the starting value and the increment. It works by keeping track of the last number in a file called "SEQ.TXT". So to reset the numbering system, all you have to do is delete this file. Look at the comments in the script for more information.

This script will be used during Readerware auto-catalog to assign numbers to new items as they are added to the database. It can also be used with Readerware auto-update to assign a unique user number to all items in your existing database. Just run auto-update, select all items in your database, in the column selection page, select the user number column and set it to always update. Readerware auto-update will then go through the database and assign a unique number to each item.

Note that indentation is important in Python scripts. If you copy/paste the above example you might have problems. You can download the sample script from the Readerware web site. If your browser displays the file rather than download it, right click on the link and select the save item. Be sure to save it as userexit.py.

• Sample user exit

Tech Tip: Pricing using web sites

Another use for Readerware custom extraction is to price each item using an online database. As you are probably aware, Readerware will extract the value of an item from web sites like Amazon. But what if you wanted to value each item at say 75% of the Amazon price.

This Readerware custom extraction script will do exactly that. You can use it as is or change the percentage to meet your needs.

Using Readerware auto-update you can update all the prices in your database on a regular basis. Just run auto-update, select the all items option, in the column selection page, select the value column and set it to always update. Readerware auto-update will then go through the database and update the value of each item.

Note that indentation is important in Python scripts. If you copy/paste the above example you might have problems. You can download the sample script from the Readerware web site. If your browser displays the file rather than download it, right click on the link and select the save item. Be sure to save it as userexit.py.

• Sample user exit

Site News: Alibris

Alibris is now fully supported in Readerware. Now that Alibris has an ISBN search you can use Alibris with Readerware auto-catalog and auto-update. You can also use it with the drag and drop interface and the Readerware shopping cart.

Because Alibris can return multiple search results for an ISBN search, Readerware will extract the information from the first book returned. If you want greater control over which book is used, you can use Readerware drag and drop.

Site News: Half.com

Half.com is now fully supported by all Readerware products. You can use Half.com with Readerware auto-catalog and auto-update. You can also use it with the drag and drop interface and the Readerware shopping cart. The huge Half.com database is now fully accessible in Readerware products, plus they have some great prices, so be sure to use Half.com with the Readerware shopping cart.

Site News: Fatbrain

Looking for international books? For some strange reason the US technical bookstore Fatbrain.com has a large database of non technical international titles and ISBNs. So next time you are cataloging a French title for example, be sure to include Fatbrain in your site selection.

Your Feedback

Your feedback is always welcome and does make a difference. Please send in your comments. E-Mail support@readerware.com.

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