IMDB advanced info still not working

[Paulson]

I was hoping that the new version 4.5.0 would correct a problem I've been having with DVDpedia not getting information for the correct movie with the "Advanced Data" function. No so.

Example: I bought the movie "Chalk" and added it to my DVDpedia collection. As usual, DVDpedia gets the information and cover art from Amazon. Everything is fine, but cast and credits are lacking, so, as usual, I go to "Advanced Data for Selection" and choose IMDB. In the past, this has almost always filled in the cast and crew credits just fine. Lately, however, it has not worked at all, or grabs the data from some other movie. In this case, it got the cast and crew from the movie "Chaos Theory" starring Ryan Reynolds (!!??). Why did it chose a movie with no connection to "Chalk" at all?

As it is, I have no choice but to delete the record for "Chalk" and start over, and not add the "Advanced Data" until this gets fixed.

Any advice?

[sjk]

Sounds like an example of where you'd couuld manually enter the IMDb ID number before running Get Advanced Info for Selection > IMDb to ensure it uses the correct info, as I recently described. Or, use the multi-title search method Nora described earlier in that thread.

[Nora]

You're correct that the first result returned by IMDb for 'Chalk' is not the correct movie. To get around that, use the little gear button in the add/edit window to search for advanced info instead of the Advanced menu > Get advanced info feature. The gear button has the advantage that if there is more than one result returned for the search, the little drawer in the edit window will pop out and present you with the other choices so you can pick the correct one.

[Paulson]

sjk: Thanks for the reply, but I'm not sure where to get the "IMDB ID number." In the case of "Chalk (2006)," I see in the URL the number "tt0758738" which I'm assuming is the ID number. Assuming that is correct, I did try to plug it into the Edit/Extra/ImDb field, and it seemed to work. Thanks!

and Nora: The gear button works MOST of the time, but often brings up cast for the wrong movie. with sjk's technique, I think I have it licked.

Every time I think I understand DVDpedia, there's something more to learn. It can be inscrutable at times. A really good set of documentation and tutorial would be wonderful.

JP

[sjk]

sjk: Thanks for the reply, but I'm not sure where to get the "IMDB ID number." In the case of "Chalk (2006)," I see in the URL the number "tt0758738" which I'm assuming is the ID number. Assuming that is correct, I did try to plug it into the Edit/Extra/ImDb field, and it seemed to work.

Exactly.
You got it from where I do: web page URL, minus the "tt", e.g. 0758738 from imdb.com/title/tt0758738/ for Chalk (2006/I).

Nora's gear menu suggestion that searches for and lets you pick from multiple titles would be more useful if data could be previewed before making a choice. Something like this example from Dvd Hunter's "Autocomplete" sheet when searching for Chalk:


That's pretty cool, IMO.

Every time I think I understand DVDpedia, there's something more to learn. It can be inscrutable at times.

No kidding. It's quite a powerful/flexible app, so …

A really good set of documentation and tutorial would be wonderful.

Couldn't agree more! Lack of screen images and definitions of terminology are some omissions that have recently frustrated me. Certain things are documented thoroughly enough though the help viewer navigation/searching is painful; always seem like I've missed something. A sidebar would be handy, like in LaunchBar Help:



Actually, it's easier just using a web browser to access Help for a lot of apps, including DVDpedia, with the benefit of tabs.

[Nora]

Thanks for the tip on the LaunchBar Help file. That IS very nice looking and I prefer that it opens in a browser window too. (The Help window is always too small for me personally...) I'll take a look at that as I'm updating the Help for easier understanding and navigation. Alex is also working on a knowledge base for the Pedias, built especially on questions and answers from our support emails and threads here in the forum so that should be very helpful as well in the future.

If you have specific suggestions on entries that could be clearer or features that are obviously missing, please let me know so I can fix it/include it!

[sjk]

Thanks for the tip on the LaunchBar Help file. That IS very nice looking and I prefer that it opens in a browser window too.

Actually it's opened in the Help Viewer window.

I'll take a look at that as I'm updating the Help for easier understanding and navigation.

It was the first example that came to mind because the sidebar layout/navigation reduces the amount of tedious back-browsing when trying to move forward through different sections.

Alex is also working on a knowledge base for the Pedias, built especially on questions and answers from our support emails and threads here in the forum so that should be very helpful as well in the future.

Excellent idea. Forums can be great for discussions but are lousy long-term knowledge bases. It's unfortunate how much useful information can be buried in forum threads that most people never see.

If you have specific suggestions on entries that could be clearer or features that are obviously missing, please let me know so I can fix it/include it!

Two problems:

• Under Contents > Working with DVDpedia > The table view the paperclip and quicklogo PNG files are missing, which is causing Help Viewer to temporarily display the page before jumping to an "Internet connection required" page.
• The purple '?' help buttons on the General tab of Preferences don't launch Help Viewer. Removing caches didn't help.

I'll start a new thread if I have any ideas for improving the content/organization or notice any other problems.

[Paulson]

Major thanks to both sjk and Nora for help with this problem, and I agree that a new help system and/or tutorial would be wonderful. BE SURE to beta-test the help/tutorial with a few newbie users...you will find all kinds of "holes" and places were things are unclear. It is very difficult for people who are immersed in the program to see it in the eyes of a first-time user. My major problem starting out with DVDpedia was not knowing about shortcuts that would have saved me a lot of time early on. For example, at first I didn't realize that you could add IMDB information to the basic Amazon information--it was like a revelation to discover it while reading the forum. I just recently "discovered" that it's fairly easy to customize a label using Export/Text/Text Template... I wish I'd known that 2 years ago.

I agree completely that Help should incorporate information that is commonly asked on the Forum.

Again, great work by the Bruji team. I always thought it was unfortunate that Delicous Library seems to get all the publicity, and while DVDpedia doesn’t have the eye-candy, it's a much more useful and versatile program.

[sjk]

Major thanks to both sjk and Nora for help with this problem

You're welcome. Always nice to get an acknowledgement for helping, especially if it's understood and useful.

My major problem starting out with DVDpedia was not knowing about shortcuts that would have saved me a lot of time early on.

Not certain which shortcuts you mean, but the Contents > Shortcuts and tips > Keyboard shortcuts help page exists (and looks like it could use some attention).

at first I didn't realize that you could add IMDB information to the basic Amazon information--it was like a revelation to discover it while reading the forum.

Pretty sure I accidentally discovered that updating entries was cumulative, then later tried to better understand it from the help and forum.

I just recently "discovered" that it's fairly easy to customize a label using Export/Text/Text Template… I wish I'd known that 2 years ago.

My recent discovery of Print capabilities was similarly revelatory even though I've only been using DVDpedia for months, not years.

Must admit I didn't do a a very good exploration of menus, etc. when I started using DVDpedia, trying to get a general overview/familiarity of the UI and capabilities. That's typically the first thing I do with a new app, even before looking for/at any documentation that exists.

I agree completely that Help should incorporate information that is commonly asked on the Forum.

Though not necessarily in the built-in help, especially if it's relatively dynamic information that can be more easily updated elsewhere.

Something I've been thinking about is what function is the built-in help primarily intended to serve, for who, and how deeply? I won't attempt answering that now.

I always thought it was unfortunate that Delicous Library seems to get all the publicity, and while DVDpedia doesn’t have the eye-candy, it's a much more useful and versatile program.

Well said. I'd originally used DL1 (obtained in some bundle purchase) but wasn't satisfied with it as a long-term solution. DL2 had some improvements but not enough that were important to me so I didn't upgrade. Decided to take another look at DVDpedia, vaguely recalling that early versions hadn't impressed me for some reason (no offense, Bruji ), and it seemed like trying an entirely new app. Didn't take long to realize it addressed most all of DL's shortcomings for my purposes (which are relatively modest overall with some very specific points). What sealed the deal was Bruji's support. Being able to easily interact with developers, intelligently and effectively, is something I value very highly. Bruji scores big on that!

[thajeztah]

Writing good documentation takes a lot of effort. A nice idea is the way 'CakePHP' (an open source framework for php developers) handles this; they've set up a documentation project that works like a 'wiki'. Many people contribute to the documentation, add examples etc. This way the documentation will be kept up-to-date without asking too much time from the core developers (apart from approving some changes). Also examples, tutorials and some tips can be added by people, which can be valuable information.

have a look at it here:
http://book.cakephp.org/