News: all updates for our software and apps
This is Alwin, of Collectorz.com, with this month’s CLZ Newsletter.
April was a quiet month, that is, in terms of big releases. However, at the CLZ HQ it has not been quiet at all, as we’re working on some great updates, all to be released within the next 4 weeks:
- Windows editions: Quick Filter panel + Light vs Dark Skin options
- iOS apps: Field Defaults screen + Re-designed Edit screens.
- Android apps: new folder options.
- Core : improved “Add by Title” searches for all editions.
Windows editions: Quick Filter panel + Light vs Dark Skins
5 big updates for all 5 Windows editions are coming up within a few weeks, adding one new feature and a complete visual overhaul!
Quick Filter Bar in main screen
Everybody loves the recently introduced Alphabet Bar, as it helps you to quickly zoom in to specific parts of your collection. So we expanded on that idea…
For example, to quickly find a movie to watch: find all movies (not TV Series), that you actually own, that you have not seen yet, having an IMDb Rating above 7, reasonably recent and not over 2 hours.
The new Quick Filter Bar lets you make simple selections like the above quickly and easily, right from the main screen.
Skins for all screens: Light and Dark.
Yes, it’s time to get rid of the gray. The upcoming v16.3 versions will give you the choice between a Light Skin and a Dark Skin, which will affect all screens.
The Light Skin will be a clean look, white backgrounds, dark fonts. Very readable, easy on the eye.
The Dark Skin is going for a cooler, modern design, with dark backgrounds, light fonts.
Of course, there will still be a “No Skin” option for users who prefer their software to adhere to their configured Windows theme.
iOS apps: Field Defaults screen + Re-designed Edit screens
If you are doing a lot of your editing using the mobile apps, then you’ll love the upcoming updates for iOS:
- New Field Defaults screen: set default values for your new additions, e.g. for the Read It / Seen It fields.
- Re-design of the Edit screens, with:
- Easier editing of pick-list fields like Artist, Author, Format, Genres, Subjects, etc..
- Improved layout of field list.
Android apps: new folder options
The Android apps just received their 4.0 updates last month, but we’re already working on further updates. First up, a small update that will add Collection Status as a new folder option, so that you can now filter your “On Order” and “For Sale” items too.
CLZ Movies will also get a new “IMDb Rating” folder option.
After the above update to the folder options, we’ll immediately proceed to implement the Field Defaults and Edit screen improvements that I described above for iOS.
Core : improved “Add by Title” searches for all editions
Apart from all the updates to our desktop programs, mobile apps and Connect web-apps, there’s always a lot of “behind-the-scenes” work going on in our online department, e.g. like the recent server upgrades.
At the moment, we are completely rewriting our Core search engines, that is, the online code that gives you results when you search Core by Title (or Artist/Title, or Author/Title) in your Add screen.
The new search engines will provide better search results that are more “to-the-point” and less “fuzzy”. Also, results will be returned much faster, especially noticeable for book and music searches.
Next step: use the faster search engines to provide “search-as-you-type” functionality in all programs and apps, to make it even easier to find and add the items you bought.
Breaking news: new search engine now live for games!
This just in: Core for Games has just been switched over to the new search system. The effects can be immediately seen in your Game Collector, CLZ Games or Game Connect software, no update needed.
That’s all for now. Keep an eye on your inbox for specific emails about the updates that I announced above.