News: all updates for our software and apps

Here’s my second “v9 feature hilite” email, about another area of improvement in last week’s CLZ Books v9 release.
(tip: if you missed yesterday’s feature hilite #1 about the collection tab-bar, you can read it here).

Today, we are going to discuss the improvements we did to the Add Books screen:

Adding Books: quick “Confirm” pop-ups, instead of full screen Preview pages

The main change to the Add Books screen is that we dropped the Preview page, you know, the full screen page where you could preview book details of a selected book entry from the results list. That page was quite slow and outdated looking and cause a lot of back and forth tapping between results and the Preview page.
We replaced the Preview page with a quick and small “Confirm” popup, that slides in, in-place, from the bottom and shows the exact details you need to know if this is the edition you want to add. Easier and snappier!

Add by ISBN: Faster camera barcode scanner for scanning ISBN barcodes

Adding books by scanning ISBN barcodes is one the main features of the app. An essential part of adding by ISBN is the built-in camera barcode scanner.

For this update, our mobile app developer Pim has spent a few days optimizing that camera barcode scanner. The idea was to make better use of the power of today’s devices, both in terms of camera resolution and computing power.
And the results of his tweaks are amazing. Adding by ISBN is now much faster, as the scanner picks up the barcode you point at much quicker.

Last week’s CLZ Books 9.0 update was big one, with 3 areas of improvement. To make sure you did not miss any of the new stuff, I am going to do three “v9 feature hilite” emails this week, each one highlighting one of the big improvements.

Today’s “v9 feature hilite” is about all the new collections tab-bar.

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A big update v9.0 update for your CLZ Books app today, with many new features and improvements!

Here’s the full list of What’s New:

• New collections tab-bar: easily switch between collections using tabs at the bottom
• Adding Books: quick “Confirm” pop-ups, instead of full screen Preview pages
• Add by ISBN: Better screens for dealing with “ISBN not found” situations
• Add by ISBN: Faster camera barcode scanner for scanning ISBN barcodes
• New setting “Show Read-It” for showing/hiding Read-It eye icons from list and details

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A small update for your CLZ Games app today, in which we rectify a big mistake we make in version 9.0 (two mistakes in fact). Also, we improved the camera barcode scanner and introduced a new setting for customizing your app.

Summary of today’s changes:

• Game values are back in the Add Games screen
• Check Values screen now accessible for “grandfathered” users too
• Faster camera barcode scanner for adding games by barcode
• New setting in Settings screen “Show Completed”

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The best day of the week: NCBD! Quite a difference compared to last week. We have worked on 545 new releases and 255 actual new unique issues.
Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #2 releases this week. This gives us a continuation of what was hinted at in the previous issue: The Hood (Parker Robbins) as Ghost Rider! After a slight delay, Moon Man sees their #2 releasing this week. A few facsimiles are also due this week, don’t forget to pick those up if you get the chance!

All new books are now available in the CLZ Core online database, easily found through your trusted Add Comics screen.
TIP: use the Pull List tab in the Add Comics screen to see all this week’s releases in one place!

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For this update, we have improved the camera barcode scanner, to make better use of the power of today’s devices, both in terms of camera resolution and computing power.

The scanning should now be faster, that is, it should be quicker in picking up the barcode from the camera image. The difference is most noticeable when scanning the longer 12+2 and 12+5 digit barcode found on today’s comic books.

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Are you ready for some nice Comic Connect updates? Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks, as multiple improvements and new features are coming up. Today is the first one, a special addition for CovrPrice subscribers:

Value Totals for any issue list

A common request from CovrPrice subscribers has been: How can I see the total value for a Series? Or per Storage Box? Or per Publisher?

So here’s our solution: a CovrPrice value total is now always showing at the top, next to the issue counter!
Combined with the Folder tool, this gives you values for any sub-selection of your collection you can think of, per Series, or per Storage Box, per Cover Artist, per Grading Company, per Tag, etc…

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Just over two months ago, we released a huge v9.0 upgrade for the CLZ Movies app. But today, we’re back already, with a v9.1 update with two improvements related to cover images, a nice new setting for further customizing your app and finally, an improvement to the barcode scanner.

• Add cover images for “Unrecognized Barcodes”
• Update from Core now also let you REPLACE cover images
• New “Hide Seen It” setting
• Faster barcode scanner

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NCBD! Not as many as the previous weeks, we have worked on 395 new releases and 158 actual new unique issues.
Rat City releases this week which gives us a Spider-Man 2099/ Batman Beyond spin on the Spawn universe. Another Disney character has been added to Dynamite’s comic title roster: Hercules! Edge of Spider-Verse gives us a new Spider-Man variant but this time in space. Issue 2 of Batman / Dylan Dog releases this week, that has been a solid read so far!

All new books are now available in the CLZ Core online database, easily found through your trusted Add Comics screen.
TIP: use the Pull List tab in the Add Comics screen to see all this week’s releases in one place!

Read more

A big update for your Music Connect web-based software today, which is all about pick list fields.

Pick list fields (and the pick lists behind them) are an important part of your music database. These are the fields in the Edit screen that let you pick from a list of possible values, with that list being fully configurable by you the user.
Examples of pick list fields are Location, Owner, Genres and Tags (both multi value pick list fields), but also Artist and Label.

Now, a lot of the questions we usually get about Music Connect are related to pick list fields and can usually be answered with:

“Just use the Manage Pick Lists screen”

Renaming Locations, Merging duplicate Artists, fixing artist sort problems, fixing typos in musician names, etc… it is all done in the Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen. An important and powerful screen, but… not so easy to find if you don’t know where to look or don’t even know what to look for.

With today’s Connect update, we are making this a lot easier: We have improved the Manage Pick Lists screen itself AND made it more accessible / discoverable:

In short:

• Improved Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen
• Easy access to the MPL screen right from the folder panel
• Refreshed Edit Comic screen, with better pick list fields and direct MPL access

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A big update for your Comic Connect web-based software today, which is all about pick list fields.

Pick list fields (and the pick lists behind them) are an important part of your comic database. These are the fields in the Edit screen that let you pick from a list of possible values, with that list being fully configurable by you the user.
Examples of pick list fields are Storage Box, Owner, Genres and Tags (both multi value pick list fields), but also Series, Series Group and Publisher.

Now, a lot of the questions we usually get about Comic Connect are related to pick list fields and can usually be answered with:

“Just use the Manage Pick Lists screen”

Renaming Storage Boxes, Merging duplicate Series, fixing series sort problems, fixing typos in creator names, etc… it is all done in the Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen. An important and powerful screen, but… not so easy to find if you don’t know where to look or don’t even know what to look for.

With today’s Connect update, we are making this a lot easier: We have improved the Manage Pick Lists screen itself AND made it more accessible / discoverable:

In short:

• Improved Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen
• Easy access to the MPL screen right from the folder panel
• Refreshed Edit Comic screen, with better pick list fields and direct MPL access

Read more

A big update for your Movie Connect web-based software today, which is all about pick list fields.

Pick list fields (and the pick lists behind them) are an important part of your movie database. These are the fields in the Edit screen that let you pick from a list of possible values, with that list being fully configurable by you the user.
Examples of pick list fields are Format, Series, Owner, Genres and Tags (both multi value pick list fields), but also Studio and Distributor.

Now, a lot of the questions we usually get about Movie Connect are related to pick list fields and can usually be answered with:

“Just use the Manage Pick Lists screen”

Renaming Formats, Merging duplicate Locations, fixing typos in actor names, etc… it is all done in the Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen. An important and powerful screen, but… not so easy to find if you don’t know where to look or don’t even know what to look for.

With today’s Connect update, we are making this a lot easier: We have improved the Manage Pick Lists screen itself AND made it more accessible / discoverable:

In short:

• Improved Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen
• Easy access to the MPL screen right from the folder panel
• Refreshed Edit Movie screen, with better pick list fields and direct MPL access

Read more

A big update for your Game Connect web-based software today, which is all about pick list fields.

Pick list fields (and the pick lists behind them) are an important part of your game database. These are the fields in the Edit screen that let you pick from a list of possible values, with that list being fully configurable by you the user.
Examples of pick list fields are Location, Owner, Genres and Tags (both multi value pick list fields), but also Platform, Developer and Publisher.

Now, a lot of the questions we usually get about Game Connect are related to pick list fields and can usually be answered with:

“Just use the Manage Pick Lists screen”

Renaming Locations, Merging duplicate Genres, fixing series sort problems, fixing typos in Platform names, etc… it is all done in the Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen. An important and powerful screen, but… not so easy to find if you don’t know where to look or don’t even know what to look for.

With today’s Connect update, we are making this a lot easier: We have improved the Manage Pick Lists screen itself AND made it more accessible / discoverable:

In short:

• Improved Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen
• Easy access to the MPL screen right from the folder panel
• Refreshed Edit Comic screen, with better pick list fields and direct MPL access

Read more

A big update for your Book Connect web-based software today, which is all about pick list fields.

Pick list fields (and the pick lists behind them) are an important part of your book database. These are the fields in the Edit screen that let you pick from a list of possible values, with that list being fully configurable by you the user.
Examples of pick list fields are Location, Owner, Format, Genres and Subjects (both multi value pick list fields), but also Author, Publisher and Series.

Now, a lot of the questions we usually get about Book Connect are related to pick list fields and can usually be answered with:

“Just use the Manage Pick Lists screen”

Renaming Locations, Merging duplicate Authors, fixing author sort problems, fixing typos in author names, etc… it is all done in the Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen. An important and powerful screen, but… not so easy to find if you don’t know where to look or don’t even know what to look for.

With today’s Connect update, we are making this a lot easier: We have improved the Manage Pick Lists screen itself AND made it more accessible / discoverable:

In short:

• Improved Manage Pick Lists (MPL) screen
• Easy access to the MPL screen right from the folder panel
• Refreshed Edit Comic screen, with better pick list fields and direct MPL access

Read more

Adding comics by barcode is one the main features of the app and an essential part of that is the camera barcode scanner.

For this update, our mobile app developer Pim has spent a few days optimizing that camera barcode scanner. The idea was to make better use of the power of today’s devices, both in cameras and computing power.

And the results of his tweaks are amazing. The scanner is now much faster!

The difference in scanning speed will be especially noticeable when scanning the longer barcodes seen on modern comics, with a 2 digit or 5 digit extension. Correctly scanning that extension is essential for identifying the exact issue and variant.

We would love to hear how the new scanner works out for you, please let us know in this Club CLZ post here!

Fixed

• Fixed: Update from Core would always report updates even if there were none

Adding comics by barcode is one the main features app and an essential part of that is the camera barcode scanner.

For this update, our mobile app developer Pim has spent a few days optimizing that camera barcode scanner. The idea was to make better use of the power of today’s devices, both in cameras and computing power.

And the results of his tweaks are amazing. The scanner is now much faster!

The difference in scanning speed will be especially noticable when scanning the longer barcodes seen on modern comics, with a 2 digit or 5 digit extension. Correctly scanning that extension is essential for identifying the exact issue and variant.

We would love to hear how the new scanner works out for you, please let us know in this Club CLZ post here!

A more compact NCBD. With this week we have 476 new releases and 208 actual new unique issues. Ghost Machine is releasing their universe with Rook: Exodus, Redcoat and Geiger getting a new volume. Deadpool is being re-launched along with a new issue for Grim (Boom! Studios). Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Transformers this week, a bunch of reprints for issue 1 through 4 are due this week!

All new books are now listed in the CLZ Core online database, easily searched and browsed through your trusted Add Comics screen.

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This build fixes a couple of crashes that have been reported through our systems.

Since November 2021, CLZ has been providing you Key Comic information for your comics, like first appearances, cameo appearance, deaths, iconic covers, etc.. Up till now, we have been indicating the importance of Key Comics using Major Key (yellow) and Minor Key (blue) designations.

However, starting today, we are renaming Major and Minor and are introducing several extra Key Comic importance levels, so that we can give you a more granular indication of a comic’s importance.

Here’s an overview of the new Key Comic levels, with some examples:

We hope you will enjoy these new key indicators!
Got any questions or feedback? Please post your comment in the special topic on the Club CLZ forum here!

Fixed:

• Sync with CLZ Cloud: A crash could occur during downsyncing

This is Alwin, the CLZ guy, with your CLZ News for March 2024.

This month, the main events were an enormous v9.0 update for the CLZ Games mobile app and a nice CLZ Comics 9.1 update with 2 often requested features. With these alive and kicking, our mobile devs Pim, Bernard are proceeding with v9 updates for the CLZ Books and Music apps!

Also, a big update for all Connect flavors is imminent. AJ and Joe are doing the final testing and fixing at this very moment. Launch next week?

In the meantime, our content team is still checking and correcting lots of video game cover images, and have also proceeded to do the same for movie cover images. The improvements should already be noticeable in your software!

Today’s topics:

• App and software updates:
  • CLZ Games 9.0: better Add by Title, Collection tabs, Check Value, etc…
  • CLZ Comics v9.1 use Edit Multiple to set Creators & Characters
  • Coming up: big “pick lists” update for all Connect flavors
  • Coming up: big v9 updates for CLZ Books and CLZ Music
• CLZ Core updates:
  • Core for Games: “Wrong Covers” project, 89% cloud coverage!
  • Core for Movies: “Wrong Covers” project, 24% cloud coverage!
  • Core for Comics: New Comic Book Day summary
• Sign up for the Club CLZ forum, over 3,500 members now!

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New:

• Check Value screen will now highlight titles/barcodes to show if you already have them in your collection (blue = in collection)
• Added 3 new platform icons: MSX, MSX 2 and Atomiswave

Fixed for iOS:

• Search as you Type was not working in the “Check Value” screen (by Title)
• A crash could occur on devices running iOS12
• Update from Core now leaves the value alone (use Update Values to get new values)

Fixed for Android:

• Sync with CLZ Cloud: A crash could occur during downsyncing
• Updating Game Values: A crash would occur on loading the “Updated Values” report
• Unrecognized Barcode: An error would show if no images were found for the barcode

After the huge version 9.0 update back in November 2023, our mobile team has been focusing on two big v9.0 updates for our CLZ Movies and CLZ Games apps.

But… we’re back working on CLZ Comics now, bringing you a nice v9.1 update, with two often requested features:

• Use Edit Multiple to set Creators and Characters for multiple comics in one go
• Tap a creator name in comic details to instantly see all comics he/she worked on

Next to that, we are working to improving the barcode scanning, this is now live for Android in this update. Coming up for iOS.

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NCBD! This week brings us 516 new releases and 223 actual new unique issues. Our eyes are on X-Force #50 and Monstress with both titles having their milestone issue this week. X-Men ’97 #1 to coincide with the show which is now on streaming. Don’t forget to pick up Sam and Twitch: Case Files #1, that’s looking like a good read.

All new books are now listed in the CLZ Core online database, easily searched and browsed through your trusted Add Comics screen.

Read more

It’s Friday, so this is my fifth and final “CLZ Games 9 Feature Hilite” email.

All five v9 Feature Hilites are now available on our CLZ Blog here, including lots of screenshots:

• Hilite #1: Improved adding games by title
• Hilite #2: The new collections tab-bar
• Hilite #3: The new Check Value screen
• Hilite #4: Dealing with “unrecognized barcodes”
• Hilite #5: Update from Core now lets you replace images

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