Importing fields from DVD Cache

[palwagner]

Hi,

I tried to search the forum on this subject, but did not find anything. I hope I haven't overlooked anything.

This is the issue; I have a huge DVD database on DVD Cache, and I want to move it over to DVDpedia. However, I have used the "Comments" field in DVD Cache as a custom field for my own identification of the DVD. The DVDs are numbered 55001 and upwards so that I can easily retrieve them in my shelf.

When I import the DVD Cache xml-file, many of the Comments-fields are copied over to the Comments field in DVDpedia, but if there is a "Tagline" field present in DVD Cache, that information is overwriting the Comments field.

I tried to rename the "Tagline" to "***Tag", and many of the Comments identification numbers are now copied over to DVDpedia, but not all. Is there a way I could import the Comments fields from DVD Cache into a Custom field, and retain the Tagline as a comment where that is available?

Best,

Paul Wagner

[Conor]

I have updated the beta so that the comments are not overwritten by the Tagline or Box Set, it's now appended on in a new line.

The importer for DVD Cache is hard coded and not flexible like the the text import. So one option is to do a tab delimited import instead of the XML file. But another option is to rename the "Comments" field in the DVD Cache XML to a field that is not being used (look for "Store", "Media Location", "IMDB ID" or "Country"). Then you would use the SQL backend of the database to move that field into the custom field using an SQL command.

However, in the current beta I added the import of "collectionID" into the collection ID. This sounds exactly what you were using the comments field for. Change "Comments" to "collectionID" in the XML and use the beta to run the import.

[palwagner]

PERFECT! Exactly as I wanted

Thank you very much!!

Paul

[palwagner]

Hi again,

I tried to import the collectionID now with the latest version, but I could not make it work. Could you check if something has changed in this version?

Best,

Paul Wagner

[Conor]

The change was done personally for you in the beta version only. I have re-added the change in the current beta.

[sjk]

Sorry to drift from the main topic, but this caught my attention …

The change was done personally for you in the beta version only. I have re-added the change in the current beta.

I guess the change was added to a previous beta, removed in a later beta, and now you've re-added it again?

I'm interested in know more about public beta releases, e.g. if they're (ever) intended for general use. A forum search shows lots of references to betas, usually with an explanation of purpose, but I couldn't find more formal information about them anywhere on the site.

[Conor]

The betas linked from the forum can be used all the time. The include only minor changes such as this one, localizations and other small improvements. We would have a hard time spotting the differences to the release version ourselves. The beta also provides a zip version of the release version for users that prefer that download format.

For more serious betas, UI changes, database changes and code flow changes we keep a beta users mailing list. This is the kind of beta where things can break and will break, so backups are essential (although everybody should be backing even without beta. Especially with the number of options to do so, TimeMachine, Backup's Quickpick, our export-->backup command or making a copy of the data folder located at "~/Library/Application Support/...pedia"). If you would like to be included in the beta mailing list just let us know and we will add your email.

[palwagner]

Thanks, now I managed to import the final version from DVD Cache.

There's one thing I didn't manage to get transferred correctly, but which I believe could be easy to import from IMDb etc;

the Original Title information. I see there is a column called Original Title, but even though it is empty, it does not update this field with info from IMDb or others, as far as I can see. Is this a bug, or am I doing something wrong here?

One more thing, which I have not found, is separate information about editor, DOP etc, which was included in my original DVD Cache file. Is this information possible to import automatically from IMDb? I would very much like to see how many movies I have that are edited by a certain editor or shot by a certain photographer. I'm sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, or if I am drifting far from the heading of this thread

Paul

[Conor]

DVDpedia has no field for editor. It can be downloaded as a cast information (check the IMDb plug-in settings under the last menu, after the help menu, of a plug-in icon). After checking the appropriate boxes use the "get more info" command again to download that information. This will allow you to search for an editor or photographer with the internal search field after clicking on the magnifying glass and selecting credits. You will also be able to set up smart collection to look for a certain editor's name in the credits.

The original title does not get downloaded since the IMDb plug-in puts this information into the regular title field. IMDb is all original title based, and has an AKA, so in essence it's backwards from DVDpedia. We did look at adding the title into the original title field if it deferred from the current title, but the subtleties in title spellings would cause a lot of mistakes.

[sjk]

The betas linked from the forum can be used all the time. The include only minor changes such as this one, localizations and other small improvements.

Okie dokie.

We would have a hard time spotting the differences to the release version ourselves.

It's confusing to me because, for example:

The beta also provides a zip version of the release version for users that prefer that download format.

Not sure what you mean since the beta.zip file downloaded with the link earlier in this thread only contains a single version, which is 4.2.2 in a Get Info window but since it was created/modified at 07:43 today presumably it's a new build with publicly unmentioned minor changes.

For more serious betas, UI changes, database changes and code flow changes we keep a beta users mailing list. […] If you would like to be included in the beta mailing list just let us know and we will add your email.

Thanks for the offer. I might do that after registering and and getting up to speed with the non-beta version.

I've been spoiled by Agile Web Solution's public 1Password versions page, which includes both beta (if any; currently none) and non-beta releases. When a non-beta is released the previous beta change history is merged, e.g. the 2.9.9 Changelog combines most/all of the previously separate 2.9.9beta history. It's easy to choose whether to download a particular beta on specific changes, or revert to older non-betas. Something similar for significant public 'pedia beta releases would make them easier to keep track of.

[Conor]

since it was created/modified at 07:43 today presumably it's a new build with publicly unmentioned minor changes.

You are correct that it's not the exact same version and we don't advertise the beta as an alternative download link, only in special cases like yours where a minor change was needed, sorry for the zip confusion. Thank you for the information about the 1password release information. We keep a similar page for our release information, but we dod not provide links to the older versions as we like for users to use the latest version. The idea about listing the changes in the beta is a good one and we will consider adding this to the website in the future.

[sjk]

…, only in special cases like yours where a minor change was needed, …

Actually it was palwagner's special case; I only interrupted the thread with some beta questions/comments.

I'd looked at DVDpedia's version history page awhile ago and forgot to acknowledge it in my post.

The different versions of the Pedias page seems sufficient for its purpose. No need for links to every older non-beta version when you're encouraging using the latest possible. 1Password is different, especially with its dependencies on changes to other software, though I've never needed to downgrade it. Rather, I might install a newer beta for compatibility reasons.

The idea about listing the changes in the beta is a good one and we will consider adding this to the website in the future.

Thanks for the consideration. I always appreciate more through version histories, unlike sparse ones (if any) that some companies (cough, Apple, cough) often provide.

I'm done interrupting this thread so it can resume its primary topic again, if desired.