Welcome to the Readerware Newsletter
Readerware 2.78 is now shipping. Auto-Catalog and Import changes, general
fixes.
In this issue, adding fields like condition during auto-catalog, site
news and more.
Visit the Readerware
Newsletter archive, all back issues of the newsletter are online.
Readerware 2.78 Now Shipping
Release 2.78 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 2.78 is available online:
Readerware 2.78
changes
Some of the highlights in this release.
Fixed a UPC check digit validation problem. Readerware would report
that 13 digit UPC codes were invalid.
CSV and TAB delimited files will now default required fields. This
means that you can import a file that does not contain a title and use Readerware
auto-update to retrieve it.
Barcode scans can now be included in CSV and TAB delimited files in
place of the ISBN. Readerware will convert the barcode to an ISBN.
Added support for the new Sam Goody sites.
Upgrade Policy
Most of you know this by now but Readerware 2.78 is a free upgrade.
All 2.x upgrades are free.
You can always download the latest 2.x release for free. If you ever want
the latest version on CD, you can order it from the web site for $12.
Readerware
CD
Adding condition during auto-catalog
Readerware auto-catalog is the fast easy way
to catalog your book, music and videos. Enter the product ID or scan the
barcode, Readerware does the rest, building your database for you complete
with cover art.
But what if you also wanted to enter the condition of a book while you
had it in your hands. You can bring up the book in the database once it
has been cataloged and enter the condition. But what about entering the
ISBN and condition during auto-catalog?
There is a way you can do this, not using Readerware auto-catalog but by
creating an import file and using Readerware auto-update.
Many of you may have used the Readerware import feature already. It was
designed as a way of transferring data from other programs or databases into
Readerware. It supports a number of file formats including the generic CSV,
(Comma Separated Value) and tab delimited formats. You can use Readerware
import to enter the ISBN and condition. Here is a simple CSV import file:
Condition,ISBN
Excellent,0-670-03139-9
Poor,978015100846952500
The first line of the file is referred to as the
mapping line, it tells Readerware what data is in the following lines. In
this case I am entering just the ISBN and the condition. You can enter any
fields this way. You could include the value, copies etc.
The remaining lines contain the books to be added, you can include any
number of books. Notice that for the first book, I entered the ISBN, for
the second I scanned the barcode. You can do it either way. You can create
this file using a text editor or word processor, just make sure that the
file is saved as a plain text file. This example shows a CSV file, you could
also create a tab delimited file.
Now start the Readerware import wizard and select this file. Readerware
will add these two books to the database. If you display them you will see
that the only information in these records is the ISBN and the condition.
The title and author are set to dummy values and all other fields are empty.
Now that you have these dummy entries in the database, you can use Readerware
auto-update to extract the remaining information from the web. Start by
searching the Readerware database for books with a title of "No Title".
This is the dummy value that Readerware import placed in the title field.
You now have your new books displayed.
Start Readerware auto-update. Select the sites you want to search, just
as you would if you were using auto-catalog. On the item selection page, select
the "Current search results" option, you only want to update the new books
that you have displayed. On the column selection page of the wizard, check
all the fields you want to import. Pay special attention to the title and
author fields. As Readerware import added default values for these fields,
make sure you select the "Always replace existing contents" option. Select
the title field, then check the replace option, select the author field
and check the replace option again. For the other fields, it doesn't matter
which option you select as those fields will be empty. You should probably
make sure the fields you imported are not checked, i.e. the condition field
in this example.
Run Readerware auto-update, it will search the web sites you selected and
update your dummy records. You now have your new books added to the database
along with their condition.
Readerware
Auto-Update
Readerware Import
Barcode Reader Tip
A tip for those of you using barcode readers. You may have noticed the
order of the fields in the above example, condition is first followed by
the ISBN. Readerware doesn't care what order they are in. Logically it might
make more sense to put the ISBN first.
The reason I put the ISBN last is because I use a barcode reader
instead of typing in the ISBN. Most barcode readers send a carriage return
following the barcode data. This advances to a new line in your text editor
automatically. So after scanning the barcode, you are ready to enter the condition
of the next book. Condition, scan, condition, scan and so on.
If you put the ISBN field first, you would have to backspace after scanning
the barcode and then enter the condition.
CD Price Fixing Settlement - File Your Claim
If you purchased a CD from a US store between Jan. 1, 1995, and Dec. 22,
2000, you are eligible for a refund as part of a legal settlement between
the major record labels and the attorneys general of 41 states. You have
until March 3, 2003 to file your claim.
The suit filed in August 2000 alleges that the record labels and music
retailers violated antitrust laws when they overcharged consumers. The case
stems from a practice record labels used to subsidize the cost of promoting
a CD for retailers that agreed to sell it for a "minimum advertised price".
You can get more information on this and file a claim online at:
http://www.musiccdsettlement.com
Site News
The Sam Goody family of sites which includes Sam Goody, Suncoast and Media
Play were recently revamped. Readerware 2.78 now supports the new site format.
They have done a great job on their site. Their new listings include a lot
of new information, reviews and great images. They also have a lot of interesting
columns on music news, new movies etc. So check them out next time you want
to catalog a new CD or video.
Sam Goody
Media Play
Suncoast
Readerware Palm Edition and OS 5
Palm recently released a new version of their OS and new hardware with
ARM based processors. I don't currently have one of the new OS 5 based devices
so haven't been able to test Readerware yet. I have had reports of users
running Readerware successfully on Palm Tungsten devices. Others have reported
problems. If you are trying to run Readerware on Palm OS 5 and run into problems,
please contact support@readerware.com.
Your Feedback
Your feedback is always welcome and does make a difference. Please
send in your comments. E-Mail support@readerware.com.
Thanks for your support.
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