The Readerware Web Browser Window

The Readerware Web Browser Window is your gateway to the World Wide Web. You can use it to search internet catalog and bookseller sites, import individual titles into your local database, run price checks on a book and securely order books. It is a browser customized for the book collector and reader.

The Readerware web browser is displayed when you select one of the Search and Import or Vendor Home Pages items from the Web menu. When you first open the Readerware Web Browser, the Readerware User Home Page will be displayed. This is a special home page for Readerware users, not our normal home page on the web. It will contain useful information about Readerware, news and updates etc.

The format of the Readerware Web Browser window will be customized for the function you select. Once the Readerware Web Browser is displayed, you can change the format by selecting the equivalent option from the Browse By combo box.
 

ISBN/Bar Code Browser Window

In this mode an entry field is displayed where you can enter an ISBN, formatted or unformatted, or a bar code. If you have a bar code reader attached to you system, you can enter the ISBN by scanning the bar code on a book.

The URL combo box is a multiple selection combo box. You can select one or more sites to search. To select a single site from the list simply click on it. To select multiple sites, click on the first site and the ctrl-click on additional sites. To select a range of sites shift-click to select all sites between the starting and ending sites. There are three function buttons that can be pressed once you have entered an ISBN or bar code:

When you add a book to your database, it is also added to your Shopping Cart. If you uncheck the Shopping Cart box in the Readerware Data Entry Window, it will be added to the database only. By adding books to your shopping cart you can easily run price checks to find the lowest price for a book, order selected titles online or print out a shopping list.

Basic Search Browser Window

In this mode you can select a single site from the URL combo box. As you select a new site, the basic search page for that site will be displayed automatically. If you want to navigate to the currently selected site simply press the Go button. The basic search page is provided by the site you select, so it will differ from site to site. It will generally be a page where you can enter basic search criteria such as author and title. You can search the site just as you would in a normal browser, you can use any of the links provided by the site to find the book you are looking for.

Once you have found the book you can click on the import button. The data will be extracted from the current web page and displayed in the Readerware Data Entry window. If the Automatic Database Update option is on, the extracted data will be automatically added to your database.

You should always navigate to the full results page. Some sites will display a listing of matched items. You must select the link you want before pressing the import button so that Readerware knows which book to import. If for some reason Readerware cannot extract data from the page, it will extract as much as possible before displaying an error message.

Advanced Search Browser Window

In this mode you can select a single site from the URL combo box. As you select a new site, the advanced search page for that site will be displayed automatically. If you want to navigate to the currently selected site simply press the Go button. The advanced search page is provided by the site you select, so it will differ from site to site. It will generally be a page where you can enter advanced search criteria such as ISBN, publisher in addition to the basic search criteria. You can search the site just as you would in a normal browser, you can use any of the links provided by the site to find the book you are looking for.

You can import titles from the advanced search window in the same way as you do for the basic search window.

Some sites only offer a single search page. In this case the same page will be displayed for both the basic and advanced searches.

Online Ordering

You can order a book from the Readerware browser just as you would in your normal browser. Readerware fully supports secure access to remote sites so you can safely enter confidential information such as credit card numbers. You should note the padlock icon in the top right hand corner of the window. When the padlock is closed, it indicates you have a secure connection and all messages will be encrypted. If the padlock is open, you have an insecure connection and no data will be encrypted. Always ensure the padlock is locked before entering confidential information.

The best way to order a book using Readerware is to import the books into your database. They will be automatically added to your Readerware Shopping Cart. Using the Readerware Shopping Cart you can find the lowest price for any book and order it online. Plus, the Readerware Shopping Cart automatically tracks your purchases.

The power of the Readerware Shopping Cart makes it the preferred way to order a title online, and as it works with the Readerware browser, it offers full access to secure ordering.

So as you are browsing a site and come across a title you wish to purchase, you can first import it into your database and shopping cart with a single click, then place the order. You can run a price check on any title and find the lowest price offered. You can easily import from one site and order from another.

The Menu Bar

The Readerware Browser window menu bar provides access to all features of the browser.

The Web menu duplicates the functionality of the search and import buttons. Like the buttons, the actual contents of the Web menu will differ based on your current Browse By selection.

The View menu provides the standard web navigation items such as backwards, forwards and reload.

The Options menu allows you to customize the Readerware browser:

Automatic  Database Update - If this option is checked the book is automatically added to the database after an import. The data extracted is always displayed in the Readerware Data Entry Window. You can review and update this data if needed. With the Automatic Database Update option turned off, the data is extracted and displayed in the data entry window but it is not added to your database. You can review the data and simply press the Add button when you are ready to add it to your database. Initially this option will be turned off.

Switch to Data Entry Window - If this option is checked the Readerware Data Entry Window is brought to the front after an import. You can then review the extracted data. This option is independent of the Automatic Database Update option but the two are often used together. Initially this option will be turned on.

Load Images - If this option is checked all images in a page are loaded. If you have a slow connection and don't need to see the images you can turn this option off. Initially this option will be turned on.

The Help menu provides access to the Readerware online help system.

The Toolbar

The Readerware Browser Window toolbar provides quick access to  commonly used features:

    Go back to the previous page

    Go forward to the next page

    Reload the current page

    Interrupt the loading of the current page

    Go to the Readerware User Home Page. This is a special home page for Readerware users, not our normal home page on the web. This page will alert you to news about Readerware, updates etc.

    Display this help page.
 
 
 

 

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