Book Collector Manual
for Windows edition
Welcome to Book Collector Download and Install Navigating the Main Screen Adding Books How to search your Collection Adding Books Automatically Adding Books Manually Barcode Scanning Adding e-book Files Search Settings Importing from text Managing your Wish List Importing from Windows/XML Field Defaults Editing Books Editing Multiple Books List Items and more Adding Links and Files Update File Links Find Cover Image Managing Pseudonyms Editing List Icons Adding a Box Set Changing the layout Sorting your Collection Custom Field Names Using Folders Custom Views Edit, Merge List Items Customizing Book Collector Activating Connect Sync & Share Linking your books for Connect CLZ Books for iPhone/iPod CLZ Books for Android CLZ Books HD for iPad Loan Manager Printing a Simple List Lists for insurance purposes Using the Filter screen Updating Book Collector The Options Screen Print screen Keyboard Shortcuts Creating a Backup Data Submission Guidelines Lists for insurance purposes Collection Statistics Validating Book Collector Field Reference
The Options Screen
Book Collector has many, many options. That's a good thing, because it allows you to keep complete control over your collection. When you just start off archiving your collection, you will most likely agree with the default settings of Book Collector - nothing wrong with those, actually 
. But, as every collector has his/her specific wishes, a lot of these settings can customized.
The Options Screen
Open the Options Screen bij clicking: Tools > Options.
General Tab
Ask for confirmation[ ] Checking (one of) these boxes will either show/not show a confirmation dialog box when performing the mentioned actions.
When double-clicking a book in the list..
Choose one of the options.
[ ] Show names as "Last Name, First Name"
If you want the Artist Name displayed last name first
[ ] Show Collection Status indicator in list
Show the Collection Status icon next to the title
[ ] Show Counter in Tree Folders
When checked, Book Collector will show the number of books per folder next to the Folder name
[ ] Auto Increment Index
By default, this option is checked. Giving each album a unique Index. The Index value is assigned when you add an item to the database. Removing an item from your database will not make the software use that index value, but you can re-assign them through the menu Tools > Maintenance > Re-Assign Index Fields. There you will need to define a field which sets the order for the re-indexing (commonly title is taken). Re-assigning the index value is a permanent change to the index field, and can not be undone.
[ ] Activate barcode scanner when program starts
Check this box when adding new books to your collection using a scanner. When not using a scanner, uncheck this box.
Auto Generate Character Display Names As:
Choose your preferred display format. Please note, this is just how the Character name is displayed, it will not alter the Character's name and/or Alias.
Font
Choose your preferred font. When you want to reset Book Collector to use the original font (which is Tahoma), click the Reset button.
User Template Folder
This is the folder wherein Book Collector stores your templates and settings. By default, this folder is located in the (My) Documents\Book Collector folder.
User Files Folders
The folder where your settings and database file(s) are stored. (My) Documents\Book Collector by default. Unless you're sure what you're doing, don't change this.
Check For Update
Automatically Check for UpdateOn this tab you can tell Book Collectorr how often to check for Updates. You can also Check for Update Manually under Help > Check for Update
Proxy Info
When you access the internet through a Proxy server, check the settings here. You probably want to not touch these settings, though.
Backup
On this tab, you can set the folder on your computer where Book Collector stores the Backup of your collection. Check the [ ] Automatically backup collection option to create backups automatically. By default, you backup is saved in (My) Documents\Book Collector\BackupImages
When Book Covers are retrieved, they are by default stored in the Images Folder of (My) Documents\Book Collector. Thumbnails are automatically generated by Book Collector and stored in the Thumbnails folder.When you change these paths (for example to an external hard disk), you will need to update these links in Book Collector under: Tools > Maintenance > Update File Links
[ ] Resolve Image File Names at Start up
Unchecked by default, this option should only be checked when sharing the database on a network.
[ ] Multi-threaded Thumbnail Viewer
Checking this option, will preload thumbnails images for faster viewing. This option is turned off by default and can be checked with very large collections, to speed up loading thumbnails.
Image editing program
When on the Covers tab in the Edit Book Screen, you can edit the cover image of an album. When clicking the Edit button, Book Collector will automatically open the image editing program of your choice. By default, this program is MS Paint.
When droppping a cover image:
[ ] Copy Image to Image Folder, then Link
[ ] Just link to Dropped Image
[ ] Prompt me each time
On the Covers Tab in the Edit Book Screen, you can add a cover image by dragging an image to the cover area. You can drag an image from the internet, or from a folder from your computer. When doing so, you will be prompted to make a choice:
Don't choose Link to dropped file when dropping an image from the internet. When the image is removed from the online source, you will lose the image. Choosing: Copy dropped file to default image folder, then link will do just that: copy it to your Images Folder and link it.
Image Scanner (TWAIN compatible)
If you have an external image scanner (TWAIN compatible), you can select it here. It will enable you to scan and add images to your books. In the Edit Album Screen on the Images Tab, click Acquire and scan your cover (or other) images.
Scale down scanned images if height exceeds ...
To save disc space and speed up performance, Book Collector can automatically resize your custom images to not exceed a certain height. By default, this value is set to 500 pixels.
Capitalization
In this tab, you can set Auto Capitalization options for your (future) entries. The options on the Capitalization tab are pretty much self-explanatory, but here's some of the most used options.
Book Collector allows you to choose how you want to capitalize your entries (ALL CAPS, non caps, First letter only, etc.) - check the options in the screen.
You can also check, add and edit exceptions in the right-hand screen.
Left to right: Add Phrase, Edit Phrase, Delete Phrase, Move Up, Move Down
Please note: The settings for capitalization will be applied to new entries only. Previously entered books can be capitalized according to the settings, while in Edit Album mode. Just click the Capitalize Album Automatically button:
Title Sort
When sorting Titles, Book Collector omits articles like 'a', 'the', 'an' ... and many others. This list can be customized. You can add, edit and/or delete articles. How? Just click the list and add or edit, as in a text file (one article per line).