Data Crow / News: Recent posts

Data Crow takes a big step forward: version 5.1.2 brought the long-awaited Android app and now, Data Crow Reader is available on iOS as well.
Your full collection, always within reach, completely offline and set up entirely your way.

The Data Crow Reader App for Android and iOS

Every collector knows the feeling: you're at a flea market, an auction, or a dealer's table, and you want to know exactly what you already have in your collection. With the Data Crow Reader App, that problem is a thing of the past. Install the app on your Android device or iPhone, connect it to your Data Crow installation, and synchronise your entire collection straight to your phone or tablet.... read more

A new Data Crow release is available, focused on a handful of fixes and quality-of-life improvements across the server, client, and web interface.

On new installations, the created and modified timestamps were missing the time component; this has been corrected going forward. The advanced filter dialog in the server-to-client connection also failed to open for Books, TV Series, and a few other modules; that issue has been resolved as well.... read more

This release addresses a number of issues found in the server and web components, including two significant server-side bugs.

Fixed
A session key management issue in the server caused each client request to be treated as a new login, resulting in excessive overhead. This has been resolved. Additionally, the container tree hierarchy panel now correctly displays items when a parent container is selected, a continuous drop-down refresh loop in the web version has been fixed, and the Drive Manager now correctly handles Unicode paths.... read more

Data Crow takes a big step forward: version 5.1.2 brings the long-awaited Android app. Your full collection, always within reach, completely offline and set up entirely your way.

The Data Crow Reader App for Android

Every collector knows the feeling: you’re at a flea market, an auction, or a dealer’s table, and you want to know exactly what you already have in your collection. With the Data Crow Reader App (version 1.00 for Android), that problem is a thing of the past. Install the app on your device, connect it to your Data Crow installation, and synchronise your entire collection straight to your phone or tablet.... read more

This small release mainly contains updates for the web version of Data Crow.

[Fixed]

• Picture of card view element not updated in server-client mode.

[Changed]

• Better size of the login dialog.
• Web; better layout of the overview screen.
• Web; added support for multiple search conditions.
• Web; added sorting to the overview.

Picked up and closed off all tickets (well, honestly, not all as I did reject some).
Implemented 9 specific online services. Added a new module for TV Series.
And, introduced a new method for maintaining editions of something.. well, in this case specifically for books and comic books.
It's a generic piece of functionality, as always, but it is not available through configuration as of yet (you can enable it by editing the module XML though).
But, (comic) books now can now hold editions (which are basically also (comic) books / works).... read more

This releases fixes issues, brings small changes to functionality and improves the overall security and stability of Data Crow.

[Fixed]

– Ticket 147: Error download file with comma in name.

– Ticket 151: web server: API server cannot be reached. It tries to conmnect to the incorrect address. Changed the startup parameters for the server to accommodate. Provide -hostname and optionally -bindto.

– Ticket 152: User with correct privileges cannot add or edit images.... read more

With ample time in the past few months to introduce new functionality I have decided to release this maintenance release. It will will fix the upgrade process (as it was broken for some users) as well as fix reports not being available straight after the initial installation.

Apologies in case you already downloaded and installed the server version; I forgot to include the correct version of the web application.
This has now been fixed. If you downloaded the server version, please do so again. There's a corrected package waiting for you.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

Changes:

• Web; added field selection for the search
• Quick search now correctly searches on boolean values as well
• JasperReports has been upgraded to version 7.0.3. Data Crow now compiles the reports on startup (if needed).
• Major library upgrades: Apache Tika from 2.9 to version 3.2 / PDF Box from 2.0 to 3.0.5.
• Reporting: Data Crow now compiles the report templates from JasperReports on startup, if the template was changed. The functionality to deploy your own reports is still there and still the same. The main difference is that Data Crow no longer has deliver compiled reports. Data Crow tracks whether a (re)compile of the report is required.... read more

Finally! Data Crow 5.0 is here! The main addition is a completely new web version which works well on any device. Thanks to everyone helping out, either by translating labels and messages and/or helping in testing. And of course a big thanks to all my Patrons!

[New]

• Picture management has been completed changed; Data Crow now allows for unlimited number of pictures to be added.
• A completely new web version has been created.
• [Changed]
• Add from memory for pictures now also allowed URLs to be pasted.
• Removed the memory usage message from the log; only shown now using the -debug option.
• Edit as New; external references will no longer be copied as well as online service update information (as it is incorrect source documentation).
• Create item; when the item form is accidentally closed Data Crow does not warn the user; it just closes the item form and all changes are lost.
• Larger pictures in the quick view description panel (max 500x400).
• Added image server address as a parameter (optional).
• Certain processes in Data Crow were too actively checking for things to do; lowered the polling frequency.
• Improved the preview for the find and replace.
• Improved the find and replace regular expression support.
• Added failed login message if credentials are incorrect.
• Added clear option to the update all form.
• On startup the report versions (based on modification date) are checked against the systems reports. If the system reports are newer, the reports in the user folder are updated.
• Also added the picture preview pane to the icon browser.
• Create Multiple now adds items in top to bottom order.
• Scrolling performance has been significantly improved for the card list.
• Performance improvements for client-server mode have been made.
• Updated libraries as used by Data Crow to avoid exposure to vulnerabilities: Apache Maven plugins, IZ Pack, Metadata-extractor, Log4j, Bouncy Castle, twelvemonkeys.imageio, org.apache.tika, org.apache.pdfbox, org.jsoup, com.google.code.gson, Xalan, org.hsqldb, org.apache.xmlgraphics.
• Jasper Reports libraries have been bumped up to version 7.0.
• XML Export has been updated; empty values are no longer exported | a valid XSD is now generated for both individual modules as well as for the media module | IDs of items are now exported | attachments can now be exported | related references items are exported in full as well as the current summary for the item that references these.
• XML Import has been updated: no longer need to select the module for which the items are imported. The items as part of the XML know to which module they need to imported for. | IDs are respected
• Small layout improvements for the item form and the login dialog.
• Extended the supported image types for the local art import for movies and music files. ... read more

The new version can be downloaded from here: Sourceforge Download Page

For all intents and purposes this should be the last release candidate. I would like to release the final 5.0 within a short period of time.

Below are the fixed on the release candidate 1 version;

[Fixed]

• Ticket 139: XML not created correctly
• Pictures not shown in picture list for client-server mode
• Log on error after the first attempt has failed
• Web; cannot login with user with no password
• XML's as created by the export are not valid according to the XSD
• In the tree panel, for client-server, numbers are shown as .0
• Uploading images for client<>server is extremely slow
• Performance issues in general for client<>server
• Web; page number not remembered when navigating back
• Web; related items is a bit slow (it's now paginated)... read more

It's my pleasure to bring to you the first release candidate of Data Crow 5.0. After many beta versions, fixes and changes you are now looking at the end result. The major changes of this version are the new picture functionality, allowing you to store unlimited numbers of pictures per item, and... a completely new web version. The server edition contains the new web server version. It has been build using the latest technology. One of the benefits is that the new web client runs very smoothly on any device.... read more

I have created a new version of the Beta of Data Crow 5.0, focussing on fixing what was broken by recent changes and improving some minor things. The previous beta version had a quite significant issue with multi value lists not showing their content, that is the main thing that has been fixed now.
The web version still remains absent as I am still working on this.

It can be downloaded from here.... read more

I have been busy creating a new version of Data Crow. Not a minor version this time, but a major one. As this is taking its time I am releasing what is called a beta version. This is essentially a test version – an uncompleted version of Data Crow 5.0.

It can be downloaded from here.

Word of warning: this is a test version (beta) and has therefore not been fully tested. So be careful. I supply this for testing purposes. Reporting issues you encountered will help me greatly making a stable final Data Crow 5.0 build. I would not advise to just upgrade your current installation (although I just did).
If you are going to do this: make a backup first!... read more

I have been busy creating a new version of Data Crow. Not a minor version this time, but a major one. As this is taking its time I am releasing what is called a beta version. This is essentially a test version - an uncompleted version of Data Crow 5.0.

It can be downloaded from the Files section > Test versions.

Word of warning: this is a test version (beta) and has therefore not been fully tested. So be careful. I supply this for testing purposes. Reporting issues you encountered will help me greatly making a stable final Data Crow 5.0 build. I would not advise to just upgrade your current installation (although I just did).
If you are going to do this: make a backup first!... read more

It's about time that I gave another update on Data Crow. I am currently working hard on a new way Data Crow will be handling pictures.

The plan (honestly, we're just doing this..) is to make the picture fields disappear and allow you, as a user, to just… add pictures. Similar as to the attachment functionality. Any changes you make to picture are immediate, there's no item saving required to store picture information.... read more

[Fixed]

• Sometimes items could not be saved due to an error in calculating the file hash.
• Sometimes an attachment could not be opened.
• Added better management of number of requests for the Google Book Search. In case of a "too many request" error, Data Crow will retry after 1.5 seconds and will do so for a maximum of 4 retries.
• MobyGames.com did not show & and other characters correctly in the title.
• Create tab window size was not stored.
• Icon cannot be selected when creating a new tab for the item form.
• When a data folder / user folder was newly set up, Data Crow would (try to) create nulldc.script and nulldc.properties in the installation folder.
• Removed synchronizer for persons (should not have been there)
• Removed calendar export for loans for modules not supporting loan management... read more

Many thanks to everyone that helped in testing as well as to anyone who has updated the translations! This version brings you a lot of fixes and small changes as well as a new feature; the ability to attachment files to items.

[New]

• Attachments can now be added to items. These documents are stored within the Data Crow data set in a compressed format (zip). All main modules allow for attachments to be added.
• Added drag and drop support for pictures (from file and directly from web pages) and attachments.
• New Russian translations has been added (not finalized) - major thanks to Ilya Sigidin.
• Portuguese translation has been revamped - major thanks to Pedro Albuquerque.... read more

I have released a new version of the Data Crow – a test version. Please help me in testing the 4.10 release version. It can be found in the Downloads sections of this site.

I know, I know - another beta version... seriously!!?? Yes. I had too much to fix and too much to enhance that I felt a second beta is almost necessary. Also, the translation are trailing a bit behind - this gives the translations (and thus the translators as well) a bit of more time to finish (hopefully - please don't let me down).... read more

This beta version can be downloaded from: https://datacrow.org/downloads/

The following is contained within this beta version:

[New]

• Attachments can now be added to items. These documents are stored within the Data Crow data set in a compressed format. All main modules allow for attachments to be added.
• Images are now stored with a maximum resolution. The maximum resolution can be selected when upgrading Data Crow. For new installations Data Crow will automatically set it to 1920 x 1080, a value which can be changed through the Image Size Coversion settings tool.
• Added drag and drop support for pictures (from file and directly from web pages) and attachments.
• New Russian translations has been added (not finalized) - major thanks to Ilya Sigidin.... read more

I am on a holiday at the moment, returning next week. As usually around this part of the month I would release a new version Data Crow I'd thought it would be a good idea to give a heads up on the current short term plans. Once back from holiday I will focus on another small release where I will mostly either fixing or improving current functionality. This will be version 4.9.2 which I am planning to release at the start of August 2023 at the latest. ... read more

A new version has been released;

Many thanks to Ariel Chyłek for all the translation work and to SandBird for the extensive testing.

[Fixed]

• Issue with self referencing items; right-click menu not showing in view for referenced item.
• Fixed an issue where quick search is not working when the item holds a reference to an item of module with having the first numeric field set as descriptive.
• Settings not saved on exit when Data Crow asks for a restart.
• When an item has a self referencing field it caused the item form to always say there are unsaved changes regardless of having made changes.
• Values present in self referencing fields were exported to XML with their ID only.
• Item was able to referencing itself. This causes all kinds of issues; now, when trying to save an item that references itself, the system will prevent you from doing so. Note that it was not possible to filter them from the various fields, this would trigger a rewrite of the way fields are generated. Maybe something for later. The upgrade will remove self referencing values if present (silently).
• Custom property modules can now be deleted, also when they have not yet been assigned to a reference(s) field.
• Reference drop-down not sorted per the user settings.
• Collation issues in the tree view in case the first descriptive field is a numeric field.
• Tree view did not always adhere to the descriptive settings.
• Apply button will now remain disabled when a merge has been completed.
• Server error response was not correctly send to connected clients.
• Editing an item in the table view could result in loss of multi-reference values.
• JasperReports dependencies were missing causing in functions to fail when generating the report.
• Stop button for report generation did not work. It now stops the exporting process. Known issue is that the report generation process of Jasper Reports can not be stopped.
• Stop button is for report generation is only active when a process is running.
• Update All dialog could be opened multiple times. Now it blocks access to the view and therefore also blocks the selection of items as made on opening this tool.... read more

This beta version can be downloaded from: https://datacrow.org/downloads/

The following is contained within this beta version.

[Fixed]

• Issue with self referencing items; right-click menu not showing in view for referenced
  item.
• Fixed an issue where quick search is not working when the item holds a reference to
  an item of module with having the first numeric field set as descriptive.
• Settings not saved on exit when Data Crow asks for a restart.
• When an item has a self referencing field it caused the item form to always say there
  are unsaved changes regardless of having made changes.
• Values present in self referencing fields were exported to XML with their ID only.
• Item was able to referencing itself. This causes all kinds of issues; now, when trying
  to save an item that references itself, the system will prevent you from doing so.
  Note that it was not possible to filter them from the various fields, this would trigger
  a rewrite of the way fields are generated. Maybe something for later.
  The upgrade will remove self referencing values if present (silently).
• Custom property modules can now be deleted, also when they have not yet been assigned
  to a reference(s) field.
• Reference drop-down not sorted per the user settings.
• Collation issues in the tree view in case the first descriptive field is a numeric
  field.
• Tree view did not always adhere to the descriptive settings.
• Apply button will now remain disabled when a merge has been completed.
• Server error response was not correctly send to connected clients.
• Editing an item in the table view could result in loss of multi-reference values.
• JasperReports dependencies were missing causing in functions to fail when generating
  the report.
• Stop button for report generation did not work. It now stops the exporting process.
  Known issue is that the report generation process of Jasper Reports can not be stopped.
• Stop button is for report generation is only active when a process is running.... read more

Version 4.9 brings you a whole new module to register Comic Books. It is supported by the invaluable online source that is https://comicvine.gamespot.com.
I have not yet created a DMG for MacOS, I am planning on creation and uploading this package, as part of this release, within the next few days.

[New]

• Data Crow synchronization service for external (to Data Crow) devices. This service allows both module and data to be synchronized. At the current stage, it's a one way synchronization going from Data Crow to the external device. This is the build up for something great(er) in the near future.
• New module: comic books.
• New online search for comics: Comic Vine
• New online search for comic book characters: Comic Vine... read more