Readerware Import Wizard

Readerware can import data from other databases and programs. This can be useful if you are currently using another product to maintain your collection and want to upgrade to the power of Readerware. As long as your current program can export data to one of two industry standard formats, you can transfer your existing data into Readerware.

If the Allow Duplicates option is on Readerware will accept duplicate ISBNs. If the Allow Duplicates option is off, duplicate ISBNs will be rejected.

Readerware can handle:

CSV or Comma Separated Value files - These files contain the data for each database column separated by a comma. The first line of the file is a mapping line which allows you to map the data to Readerware database column names.

TAB Delimited Files - These are similar to CSV files except that the data is separated by the tab character. Again the first line of the file is a mapping line which allows you to map the data to Readerware database column names.

HomeBase 2.0 - This is the format used by HomeBase  2.0 and the ABE online site. To transfer data from from Homebase, select File->Import / Export->Export from the HomeBase menu. Select the books you want to export and click OK. Then select the location and name of the export file. Make sure the file type is set to HomeBase 2.0. HomeBase will then export the selected rows to a HomeBase format file. 

Here is an example of a CSV file:
"Author","Title","Publisher"
"Smith, Harry","My Story","HS Publ."
The first row is the mapping line and identifies which Readerware database columns the data should be imported to. The remaining rows contain the data. Each column is contained in quotes and each column is separated by a comma. Notice that the field itself can contain a comma.

Use the following table to build the mapping line.


Readerware Column Names
Column Name
Contents
Author Authors name, required. Readerware uses a "last name, first name" format. This is the name of the first author.
Author2 - Author6 Additional authors, translators etc., optional
Title Book title, required.
ISBN ISBN, optional. Must be unique, a book with a duplicate ISBN will be rejected.
Publisher Publishers name, optional.
First First edition, optional. Must be Y or N
Signed Signed edition, optional. Must be Y or N
PubDate Published date, optional.
PubPlace Published place, optional.
BookFormat Book Format, optional. Readerware will add this to the format list if necessary
Copies Number of copies, optional. Must be numeric
Rating Rating, optional. Readerware will add this to the rating list if necessary
Condition Condition optional. Readerware will add this to the condition list if necessary
Category Category, optional. Readerware will add this to the category list if necessary
Read Read, optional. Must be Y or N.
Print Include in printed reports, optional.. Must be Y or N
HTMLExport Include in HTML exports, optional. Must be Y or N.
Value Estimated value, optional. Can include currency symbol, punctuation etc.
Comments Comments, optional. Maximum 4096 characters
Source Source of data, web site. Optional
Cart Include in Readerware shopping cart, optional. Must be Y or N.
Ordered Whether or not the book is on order, optional. Must be Y or N.
LCCN Library of Congress Card Catalog Number, optional
Dewey Dewey Decimal Number, optional.
UserNumber User defined number, optional
CopyrightDate Copyright date of book, optional.
ValueDate Book valuation date, optional.
Location Book location, optional. Readerware will add this to the location list if necessary
Series Book series, optional. Readerware will add this to the series list if necessary
Pages Book page count, optional.
Keywords Comma separated keyword list, optional
Dimensions Book dimensions, optional
DateEntered
Date entered. If you include this column in the mapping line all rows must contain a date entered. It must be in yyyy-mm-dd format.
User1 - User10 User defined fields, optional

If you use an invalid column name, the data in that column is not imported. This can be useful. If the file contains some columns that you do not want to import into Readerware, use a column name like "JUNK" and the data will be ignored.

Importing

These are the basic steps:
  1. Indicate the format of the file you are going to import
  2. Select the file
  3. Run the Readerware import
  4. Check the results

Format Selection

This is the first page of the Readerware import wizard. The first step is to select  which format the file you are importing is in. Your choices are CSV, (Comma Separated Value), TAB delimited or HomeBase 2.0. See above for more information on the file formats.
 

File Selection

You need to tell Readerware the name of the file you wish to import and where it is located. You can either enter this in the file name field or click on the Browse button and select the file from the file selection dialog.
 

Verification Page

Next up is the verification page. This is your last chance to change your settings prior to running Readerware import. A quick summary of your choices is listed. Click on Next if you are ready to go. Click on Back if you want to change your choices.
 

Import Running Page

When you reach this page, Readerware import is running. You will see a progress bar that will update as Readerware imports the data from the file. Immediately below the progress bar is a Cancel button which you can use to interrupt the import.

When the import completes, click on the Next button to proceed to the final page of this wizard.
 

Import Completed Page

This page displays the overall import statistics:
Normally this is all the information you need to ensure your data was imported correctly. If user logging is enabled, Readerware also creates a log file called rwuser.log. This file lists each book and any error messages. Click on the View Log button or you can view this log file in any text editor.

When you are done, click the Finish  button to exit the import wizard. 

Import Errors

There are a few errors that can occur when importing data:

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