Why isn't my CSV file importing?

There are three main settings for a CSV file within the app.  By default, the app will assume that the CSV file is created with a mac computer and uses commas to delimit the columns.  These assumptions, along with the file encoding, can be changed within the app on the Settings page.  

"Format" represents the line separator used by the spreadsheet application to delimit each line.  A Windows machine uses a carriage return ('\r') and a Macintosh uses a newline ('\n').  A symptom of this problem is that Book Crawler will read the entire file as one record even though you may have many records present in the file.

"Delimiter" represents the column separator used by the spreadsheet application to delimit each column.  This may presently be changed to comma, tab, or semi-colon.

"Encoding" represents how the character's within the file are saved.  This becomes more important for representing languages outside of the English language.  Not all of the characters can be expressed by the same encoding and the appropriate encoding may need to be selected.  Many different choices are available and trial and error may be necessary.

The first line of the file must be an expression of how the columns should be interpreted.  It should begin with a pound symbol ('#') and be followed by the names of columns used by Book Crawler.  Please see this link that describes the column names that can be used to describe the data:

http://www.chiisai.com/j25/index.php/support/documentation/34-crawlerdocumentation/56-csvcrawler

I can't seem to get the scanner to work.  What can I do?

The iPad2 and iPod touches have very low resolution cameras.  It is possible to get them to work with the Zbar scanner but it is fairly difficult.  You have to make sure that you have a very steady hand and the lighting has to be very good for it to properly detect the EAN code.

The pic2shop scanner is superior to the Zbar scanner and is available for download in the App Store at no additional cost.  The pic2shop scanner is used in the same way that the Zbar scanner is (meaning, you start the process from BC).  Instead of staying within the app, however, it will open pic2shop and then transfer back to BC after it reads the code.

You can select the scanner you wish to use by following these instructions:

ISBN Scanner

Some of my books are very old and their covers are not available in Google.  How do I update cover artwork on a book?

 When viewing a book, press the camera button (while in edit mode).  This will give you the option to select your image source or use the camera to take a picture.  It is also possible to change the artwork, by pressing the cover photo, then the camera button in the next view.

 You can save images to your photo library, by searching google images from Safari.  When you find the image you want, hold down the image and then select "Save Image".  This will save it to your Photo Library, which you can then select as described above.

How can I synchronize multiple devices?

The Book Crawler database can be transferred to another device through the backup/restore mechanism.

The fastest way is to use a single Dropbox account to perform the transfer.  On the device that you want to copy, press Settings -> Import/Export.  Now, press "Link".  Press "Backup" to copy the database to the server.  From your secondary device (the device you want the database transferred to) go to Settings -> Import/Export.  Link to the same account as you did before.  Press "Restore" to replace the database with the one on the server.

IMPORTANT: To merge results with another device, transfer the CSV file.  The CSV file is all text, so it won't be able to transfer images.  To do this, go to Settings -> "Update Entries" to download missing artwork from the internet.  Only transfer the database if you want to replace the database.

If your database is small enough (under 7MB), you can also transfer your data via email.  Go to Settings -> Import/Export and press the "Email" button.

It's also possible to transfer your database file via iTunes file sharing:
http://www.chiisai.com/j25/index.php/general/293-itunesfilesharing

I find using Dropbox on the Import/Export page the easiest to maintain.  I hope to implement the use of iCloud soon which will simplify the process greatly!  My initial tests with it weren't so great as it is a complicated process for a database file.