AVCataloger Newsletter

May 2005

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Can you believe it's almost June?  Time is flying while we keep busy here at NC Software improving products based on the continued outstanding feedback from our AVCataloger community.  We have exciting things to come in AVCataloger's future.  If you have a request for a feature you'd like to see in this popular cataloging solution, please post your feature requests in our AVCataloger Wish List forum.  We listen to all customer feedback and enjoy accommodating your suggestions to make AVCataloger a better product for the entire community.  We strive to ensure you have the best all-in-one cataloging solution available.  Don't hesitate to tell us if we fall short in an area and we will do our best to improve.  Our motto is continuous improvement, always striving to be the best at what we do.
 

As you use AVCataloger over time, and with the flexible ability of AVCataloger allowing you to create your own items to appear in drop down lists, you may accidentally make an entry you don't want, or no longer use.  AVCataloger brings all of the data items used in drop down lists, etc. in a central location called the "Data Manager" as shown below.

The data manager is broken down into the four main data entry areas represented by the toolbar buttons along the top horizontal bar.  Press Music, Video, Books, or Software to manage the data items related to each area.  After pressing the desired area to manage, the left side bar will update to reflect the available options.  As with the example shown above, the Genre drop down list manager is showing.  You can see the items that appear when clicking the Genre drop down in the Music data entry area.  There are three columns represented in this case; the far left is a red "x" which can be clicked to delete this item, the "Usage" which shows how many times this item has been selected in data records, and then the value in the far right column. 

The key to the data manager is that items "in use" cannot be removed until they are reassigned.  For example, if you try to delete the "Blues" genre, you will receive a prompt that it is in use and cannot be deleted as 21 entries have "Blues" assigned.  However "Big Band" can be deleted at this time as it has yet to be used.  The easiest way to reassign items is to go to the Music area, in this case, click the Genre column so your data is sorted by Genre then change the values and come back to the Data Manager to remove the Genre you wish to delete.

Prior to removing any data it is always a good idea backup your data file (File..File Operations..Backup).  After doing so, feel free to explore the Data Manager and do so without fear as you can always restore to your prior backup if necessary.  The easiest way to learn the capabilities of the Data Manager, or AVCataloger for that matter, is to experiment.  AVCataloger is extremely flexible but is also looking out for you to make sure you don't do something you may not be able to recover. 
 

It's one thing to enter data upon data into a computer program, but what good is it if you can't find it later?  AVCataloger comes with powerful features to help you find the data you're looking for, anywhere, any time.  Searching in AVCataloger is broken down to three section: Find, Replace, and the full blown Search engine within.

The Find Utility:

The find utility can be accessed from the main data entry areas by pressing CTRL + F on your keyboard or clicking Edit...Find... from the AVCataloger menus.  The Find dialog allows you to easily search the opened data entry area for specific information constrained to a particular column as selected from the drop down list of available columns, including custom columns you may have created.  Enter the information you wish to search for in the "Search For" text box.  You can use the * as a wildcard, for example, searching for Boston* would find the band "Boston" or "Boston Pops" etc.  After clicking the Find Next button, AVCataloger will highlight the next row of data containing your search term.  Click Find Next to move to the next row that matches.  There are several options on the bottom of the Find dialog to control the Find utilities search patterns.  From the Options area, you can choose to always search starting from the top row, or search from the current row.  If selecting "Search from the current row" a drop down will appear allowing you to choose whether to search up or down from the currently highlighted row.  Constraints on the lower right control whether the search must be an exact match or whether to allow wildcards in the search via pattern matching.

The Replace Utility:

The Replace utility allows rapid changing of data within AVCataloger constrained to the desired column.  You can access the Replace function by pressing CTRL + H on your keyboard or by clicking Edit...Replace... from the AVCataloger menus.  As with any data modification such as this, it is highly recommended to backup your data file prior to performing a mass data change operation so you have a checkpoint to fall back to if needed.  Select the desired column on which you want to conduct a search and replace.  Enter the exact data to search for then the data you wish to replace the search item with. 

The AVCataloger Search Engine:

For advanced search functionality in AVCataloger, press F3 while in the main data entry areas or click Edit...Search from the AVCataloger menus.  The AVCataloger search engine interface will appear to the left of the data entry area preset to search the currently opened data entry area.  Select the area to search from the top drop down list if different from the current area.  The AVCataloger search engine can search a specific column or All Columns from the available drop down list.  The next two columns are critical in refining your search.  The "Condition" will change the available options based on the column selected and the corresponding type of data the "Search In" column contains.  Options such as "Like" or "Not Like" allow for pattern matching type searches with the use of wild cards, as shown above.  Other types of conditions available include "equal to" or "not equal to" "greater than" etc. based on numeric comparisons.  For columns such as dates a beginning and ending criteria can be set to capture a range.  For example a "Price" column can be searched for all entries between two price points.  The options for searching data in AVCataloger are many.  After clicking the "Search" button the data area displayed on the right will filter for data meeting the search criteria and only display the rows of data that match.  If searching a track level item, the main rows will filter, however, check the track area for the corresponding results that match in this case.

AVCataloger has a unique and powerful search engine allowing users to take control of their data.  Going far beyond just a storage and organizing mechanism, enjoy the powerful search capabilities AVCataloger offers, as described above.
 

We appreciate all of the great referrals to AVCataloger and we want to make sure we are compensating you for your efforts.  At the top right of AVCataloger is a menu item "Refer-a-Friend" which allows you to register for a referral "promotional" code (if AVCataloger is registered).  Click this button and provide a few details (US customers only) and refer your friends, co-workers, etc. to AVCataloger.  Write down your referral code and when they order, have them enter the referral code on the last screen of the order process where the credit card numbers are entered.  They will see a "Promotion Code" box where they enter YOUR referral code and you will be paid $10 for each and every purchase, paid out monthly.  It's that easy, just spread the word and in just a few referrals your software is paid off! Keep referring and pocket a few extra dollars to spend as you wish.

*Referrals are not retroactive and can only be paid out when the referral code is used when placing an order.
 

Are you still surfing the net with your dial-up modem connection?  Broadband is certainly taking off rapidly and with speeds now up to 4-8 Mbit/sec which is outstanding.  However, we know not everyone is fortunate to have high-speed Internet connectivity, therefore we continue to offer our software on CD-ROM for only $9.95.  The software on our Software CD-ROM is identical to that which is available for free download.  The CD-ROM is perfect for those that want to preserve the current version or cannot download the 15-20 meg installation file.  We also offer a "web installation" system where installations can resume at any time and only required files are downloaded; the preferred download option for dial-up users.  Ordering a CD-ROM is easy, click here and place your order and we'll ship your CD-ROM within 24 hours.