CLZ Comics v9.1 Use Edit Multiple to set Creators & Characters

[CLZ_Alwin]

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 a 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.

Use Edit Multiple to set Creators and Characters

The ability to add or modify your own Custom list for Creators and Characters was introduced in version 8.5, about 6 months ago. But… only when editing your comics one by one.
In this version 9.1, we are taking the next step: you can now set Creators and Characters for multiple comics in one go, using the Edit Multiple feature.

Note that for Creators, each Creator role is seen as a separate “field” for Edit Multiple. So to set Cover Artists, choose the Cover Artist field, to add Writers and the Writer field, etc… You can of course add multiple persons for the role you choose.

Tap a creator name in comic details to see his/her comics

Another request we regularly get from our users:

“When I am looking the creator list for a comics, it would be cool if I could tap a creator’s name and instantly see all other comics I own that he/she worked on”

So we figured, let’s make it so:

Android only: Improved barcode scanning for barcodes with a 2 or 5 digit extension

Scanning comic barcodes is tricky, especially the longer ones with a 2 or 5 digit extension. We are using an off-the-shelf barcode scanning engine, but fully customized in-house to scan 12+2 and 12+5 as efficiently as possible. As phones have better camera’s these days and are much faster, we have tweaked our barcode scanning engine to make use of the extra camera resolution and device performance. This should make a considerable difference when adding comics by barcode.

Our tweaks are now live in the Android version. Coming up soon for iOS!

Fixes for iOS:

• Using the filter search (at the top of a list of folders) would flash the screen
• Search as you type in own collection searched “middle of words” too, now changed to “only beginning of words”
• Tapping on a series shown in the suggestions in “Search as you Type” didn’t work if the app was set to “Show sort names for Series”
• When sorting series folders “by count”, for series with the same amount of comics the series sort title is now used to sort
• iPad: details panel switched to “white” (no comic selected) sometimes when switching between folders
• Pre-fill screen forgot the last selected Label Type

Fixes for Android:

• Add by Barcode: Screen would “pause” and eventually “hang” for some users after scanning a couple of barcodes
• Keyboard could disappear when searching in a list of folders
• Sync button could stay on screen even if there were no changes to be synced

[FatIsBad]

There’s a minor issue with tapping a creator’s name and seeing other comics they’ve worked on. That works, the issue is going back. The back button doesn’t go to the specific original comic, it goes to the overall list. It’d be better to return to the original, to check the next creator.

[Thwip]

Another awesome update, thank you!

I particularly like the tap-a-creator name feature. I was quite accustomed to using Select Folder for that, so it’s a great feature. I’m sorry to be that guy, but is it still in the feature queue to perhaps expand on this feature, to have it show all comics by that creator in Core, not just those that I own?

Always, appreciative of the work being done, just politely inquiring.

[CLZ_AJ]

@Thwip

I’m sorry to be that guy, but is it still in the feature queue to perhaps expand on this feature, to have it show all comics by that creator in Core, not just those that I own?

No worries about “being that guy”. This new feature is all about searching in your own collection.

An “Explore Core”, to search Core with other search options, to find comics by a particular creator for instance is a feature that is completely different from this one (for us to build anyway), and is still on our projects list. We can’t give an ETA though.

@Thwip

Another awesome update, thank you!

I particularly like the tap-a-creator name feature. I was quite accustomed to using Select Folder for that, so it’s a great feature.

Great to hear you like the new feature!

[CLZ_AJ]

@FatIsBad

There’s a minor issue with tapping a creator’s name and seeing other comics they’ve worked on. That works, the issue is going back. The back button doesn’t go to the specific original comic, it goes to the overall list. It’d be better to return to the original, to check the next creator.

The way you describe it is actually intentional - but I understand why you would want it.

The feature we built works like so:

1. You tap on a creator
2. The app goes to the “root”, so it actually goes “back” to the top folder, and then filters all comics on that creator.

You can cancel the filter to see all comics again. But you can’t go “back” to the comic you were viewing indeed.

If it were to work like you wrote down it would be:

1. You tap on a creator
2. The app goes to the “next” page, to the right, and shows all comics by that creator.
3. You could then in theory tap another creator, endlessly and make a massive “breadcrumb” which would mean you’d have to tap back as many times as you go deep.

Now the above becomes quite weird if you were to… do other stuff, like adding etc. You’d still be “very deep” into your collection (tapping multiple creators, continuing “forward”). I’m not sure if that’s something we can make work without it becoming very confusing for the user. Still, I’ve noted your suggestion.