Adding albums automatically

Open up the Add Automatically screen by clicking the left most button on your toolbar. With this screen you will unleash the power of Music Collector by quickly and efficiently adding albums to your collection.

(BTW: Music Collector uses the word "album" as a generic term for entries in your database, whether they are CDs, LPs, cassettes or any other format.)

Adding CDs using the Scan CD feature

The best way to add a CD to your database is to let Music Collector "scan" the CD's ID using your computer's CD-ROM (or DVD-ROM) drive. The program can then use this unique CD ID to look up the CD's information in the Collectorz.com online CD database. Laser-targeted and fast.

• Insert the CD in your computer and click Scan CD.
• Click Next. You will instantly see the results from Collectorz.com.
• Select the correct one and click Next.
  (In most cases their will be only result, automatically preselected for you.)
• The CD will now be added.
  Click Finish to finish or Add Another to add another :-)

Searching by Artist and Title

A convenient way to find CDs in the Collectorz.com online CD database. Just enter the artist name and CD title, click Next and select the correct entry from the Search Results.

A few helpful tricks to be aware of...

• Watch the Number of Tracks and Cover indicators, they will help you find the best result.
• Double-click a result to preview its data in the Preview panel.
• Can't find your CD in the Collectorz.com database? Then you may want to try having the program search one or more of the Amazon sites. You can select them using the Info Sources button on the first page of the Wizard. Be aware though, each extra source you select adds an extra "select result" step to the process of adding CDs.

Instant Info from the Barcode

Searching by barcode has several advantages...

• It instantly returns only *one* result: the exact edition that you own.
• Better chance of finding your edition, especially if you search Amazon.

( Like how that works? Then consider speeding it up with one of our barcode scanners )

The Advanced Mode

Ready for some advanced stuff? Then let's try the Advanced Mode, a way to do searching, selecting and adding in batch. Here's how to use it:

• Open the Wizard Mode screen like you are used to
  (leftmost button on the toolbar).
• Now click the Advanced Mode button (bottom left).
• Type an album title and artist in the boxes and click Add to Queue
• Do this a couple of times for some CDs you own. You will see the titles appear in the Search Queue.
• Click the Search button to have Music Collector go out and get the search results for all CDs in the queue, all in one go.
• When it's done, click one of the entries in queue and select the correct search results at the bottom.
  You can preview here too, just double-click a result.
• Do this for all queued searches, one by one.
• Finally, click the Add button to add all CDs to your personal database, again all in one go.
  The added entries will be removed from the queue automatically.

Using the Advanced Mode can be useful when you're on a slow dial-up connection, because it lets the program do the slow internet stuff in big batches. And while it's doing its thing, you can brew come more coffee, take a nap, run some errand... whatever!

And it is essential when using one of our cool laser barcode scanners with built-in memory. These gadgets can automatically unload hundreds of barcodes into the queue, ready to be searched!

Don't like it? No problem, just click the Wizard Mode button to switch back to your trusted sorcerer.

Can't find your album?

Tried all possible searches but still can't find your album? You may want to add the album manually.