Book Collector 4.6.2 - User Guide and FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions - Book Collector

1. Can I add a new site to the list of Info Sources in the Add Books Automatically screen?
   
   Sorry, it is not possible to add a new site to the list of Info Sources yourself. Adding a new Info Source is a technically complex procedure, that requires programming a Perl script to retrieve the data from that specific website layout. It also requires changes to the program's source code itself. It sure isn't as simple as entering the website's URL.
   
   
2. How do I print a list of all books in the database?
   
   This can be done by following these simple steps:
   
   
   • Click the Print button on the toolbar. This opens the Print screen.
   • Under "Books to print", select "All Books".
   • Under "Sort Order", select "Use main screen setting" to print the list in the order in which you had your albums displayed in the Book Collector main screen. Alternatively, choose "Custom setting for printing" and click Edit to choose a different order.
   • Click the Template tab on the top of the screen to make further settings.
   • On the Template tabpage, make sure "Customize Template" is selected and then choose "List Layout".
   • Now click the Fields button to specify which fields you want included as columns in the list. This opens the "Column Field Selection" screen.
   • Use the arrow buttons to select the fields you want to print (e.g. Author, Title, Publication Year, Language and ISBN)
   • Use the Print Preview button to see what the printed list will look like.
   • Once you are satisfied with the Preview, click the Print button to print your list.
   
   
   
3. When I print a list, the items do not appear in the correct order. How can I fix this?
   
   First, make sure you have specified the order in which you want the items to appear. In the Print screen, under "Sort Order", select "Use main screen setting" to print the list in the order in which you had your albums displayed in the program's main screen. Alternatively, choose "Custom setting for printing" and click Edit to choose a different order.
   
   
4. When I try to change the columns that are shown in my printed list, it doesn't seem to have any effect. Why?
   
   That sounds like you are using the Edit button in the Sort Order section of the Print screen. This button is for changing the order in which the items are printed, it does not affect the columns that are listed.
   If you want to change which fields are listed as columns, you can do so on Template tab page of the Print screen. Use the Fields button under Customize Template.
   
   
5. How do I print a list of all items that are loaned out?
   
   This is possible using the Filter feature in combination with the Selected Items option of the Print screen. Here's how to do it:
   
   
   • Click the Set Filter button on the toolbar
   • Click the Add Filter Field button and select "Loan / Loaned To" from the menu. The Loaned To field will appear in the Filter Field list
   • Leave the Value box empty
   • Click the "Show all EXCEPT" filter results checkbox. You have now created a Filter that select all items of which the Loaned To field is filled in (not empty).
   • Click OK.
   • In the main screen, make sure you are in No Folders mode (choose View / Folders / No Folders), so that your list shows all items that are loaned out.
   • Now hit Ctrl-A to select all items in the list
   • Choose Print.
   • In the Print screen, select the "Selected Items" option.
   
   
   
6. What is the maximum number of items I can enter into the database?
   
   There is not hard set limit to the number of items you can enter.
   5,000 to 10,000 items should be no problem at all. After that, you may experienced slightly decreased performance when sorting, searching, etc... depending on your computer configuration and your View settings (any Folder view is faster than No Folder mode, List View is faster than Image View, etc..).
   
   
7. I moved my images to another location on my computer. How can I update the image links in the program?
   
   You can let the program update its image file links automatically using the Update Image Links command in Tools / Maintenance.
   In this screen, first specify the new location of the images using the Browse button. Then click Search to let the program search this new location to try and find the missing cover images. The results will be show in the Missing Files list. Finally click Update to update your database with the new images file links. This will automatically regenerate your thumbnails.
   
   
8. My computer does not have a serial port. Can I still use the Flic barcode scanner?
   
   Yes, this is possible by using a Serial-to-USB adapter cable.