What's New in Music Collector 3 for Mac OS X?

Music Collector 3 was released in January 2009, introducing many great new features.

In the meantime, we have already released a couple of small updates,
tuning the new stuff to perfection (the current build is 3.5.5).

Haven't upgraded yet? Then read on to learn what you have been missing out on.

Upgrading to version 3
You can upgrade any old Music Collector version to the new version 3 PRO for only US $24.95.
Yes, that's right, we will always give you the PRO edition, even if you own a Standard one now.
Just enter your current license key in the box on the right and click the "Upgrade Now" button.

What's New in Music Collector 3 for Mac OS X:

Improved Add Albums Automatically screen (Music Collector 3.4):

• The new screen makes it much easier and quicker to add albums, and thus replaces both the Wizard and Advanced Mode screen: Just search, select the best result from the list (usually at the top), then click Add.
• Hide / Show Search Queue button to switch between "Search Now" and "Add to Queue" mode.
• Select and add multiple results from one search result. (e.g.: search for "Metallica", select 5 CDs and click Add to "Add 'Em All").
• Edit searches in Queue with new Edit Search Criteria screen (right-click menu). This replaces the confusing Update in Queue system.
• New "Add Anyway" button to add an album anyway when no results are found, automatically using the Barcode or Artist, Title you already entered.
• New multi-column Search Results panel, with separate Artist, Title, #Tracks and Cover Yes/No columns.
• Search by barcode or TOC: after searching, the top (and best) search result is now automatically selected, checked and shown in the Preview Panel, so you only have to hit Add Checked to add the album to your database.
• Queue Mode: You can now double-click a queue entry to "Search Selected"
• Search Queue can now be sorted by clicking the column headers
• New option to download genre data Yes/No
• New Compact Preview template

Improved Collectorz.com Source (Music Collector 3.4):

• Now searches Discogs.com automatically, server-side, adding matching Discogs.com entries to the search results, ordering the full list by relevancy and quality.
• Search by CDID: Collectorz.com result will automatically be "enriched" with cover image and data from matching Discogs result.
• Search by Barcode: results from Collectorz.com and Discogs.com will automatically be merged into one result with full data, track lengths and cover image.
• Search by Author/Title: Improved results because of better "fuzzy matching" and by ordering results based on how close they match your search criteria.

New Installer (Music Collector 3.4):

• Simpler installation: just drag the app to the Applications folder.
• This also fixes the folder permission problems that many users have run into.

Fully Compatible with Snow Leopard (new in version 3.2)

Music Collector 3 is fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard).

Export to iPhone / iPod Touch (new in 3.1 PRO)

• Browse your CD collection on your iPhone or iPod Touch with the new Clz Music app
• Use File | Export to iPhone / iPod Touch to transfer your data to the Clz Music app (Requires Wi-Fi connection on your iPhone or iPod Touch, connecting to the same local network (LAN) that your Mac computer is in.)
• Clz Music is available in the iTunes AppStore here for $9.99 or €7.99. After purchasing the app, use iTunes to sync your Applications to your iPhone or iPod Touch.
  Alternatively, open the AppStore on your iPhone or iPod Touch and search for "Clz Music". This way you can buy the Clz Music app and have it installed automatically.

Database Changes

• Improved support for classical music:
  • Artist/Composer field separated into two fields Artist and Composer
  • new field: Composition
  • new field: Chorus
• New field: Subtitle.
• New field: Original Release Date.
• New field: Tags, for adding free-form key phrases to Albums.
• New In Collection Status value 'On Order'.

Main screen

• More polished and space efficient layout.
• Artists now appear in the order in which they are listed in the edit panels.
• Title sorting takes numbers into account ('Album 9' sorts ascending before before 'Album 10').
• Better key binding: Apple-F focusses the toolbar search field, if possible.

Edit Screens

• Improved layout of all edit screens, for Albums, Discs, Headers, and Tracks.
• Album screen: High quality artwork is now shown at its optimal size.
• Album screen: Better scrolling in the tracks table.
• Track Screen: Lookup items can now be edited directly.
• More streamlined editing of Lookup items, especially for musicians.

Add Albums Automatically

• Better results when searching on Amazon US, especially when using multiple keywords.
• Improved default values for newly added items.

Templates

• Improved listing of Musicians, Credits, and Details.
• Per disc track numbering.

Improved Barcode Scanner support

• Added support for the new Opticon OPN 2001 pocket barcode scanner.
• Improved support for the CueCat scanner.
• And, of course, still supporting the Flic scanner.

Other changes

• Currency formatting now uses correct format (. or ,) for the local currency.
• Automatic backup creation when upgrading the database to a new version.
• Better support for case sensitive file systems. (HFS+ Case Sensitive).
• Improved checks for submitting album information to Collectorz.com.