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Why do I have so many problems doing an initial import?

There could be several reasons, such as not using the correct file format (the file must be in either HomeBase, UIEE or tab-delimited format).

You can not import directly from any database, the file has to be in one of the previously mentioned formats.

One of the other problems is that you import file is missing some of the required elements (or fields), such as Title, Author, Price, Publisher, etc. You can see visually the required fields on the import page (or tab).

How do import my books from Amazon.com?

  1. Download your current inventory, it has only one format, delimited text file. Amazon will call it something like "X1P9YSOAGYNZV0.txt".
  2. Open the text file from step 1 in WordPad. Select All and Copy to the clipboard. Launch Excel, save the file as a spreadsheet, for example as "Inventory1-1-09.xls".
  3. Select the entire column "W" , go to the "Format" menu and choose "Cell" and from the column, select "Text" (this is an important step, if you skip this, the ISBN codes will be turned into Scientific notation and the leading zeros will be dropped i.e "8.87E+08").
  4. Open the text file from step 1 in WordPad. Select All and Copy to the clipboard.
  5. With the cursor in cell A1 of the Excel spreadsheet, Paste the clipboard from step 2 into Excel.
  6. Save what you have.
  7. Create a new column AA and label it BINDING
  8. Create another column AB can label it AUTHOR
  9. Create a third column and label it PUBLISHER
  10. Select all the cells below the title in the BINDING column; in the Formula bar, type "Soft cover" (without the quotes) and press Alt-Enter. That should put "Soft cover" in all the cells below the title of the column.
  11. Repeat the process for the other two columns you created. It won't matter what you put in them as content, this will be changed later anyway.
  12. Do a "Save As" in Excel, select Text (Tab delimited)(*.txt) from the drop down menu. Name it as you choose with a TXT extension.
  13. Switch to the Prager Inventory application. Go to the "Import Records" tab. Follow the instructions to import a Tab Delimited file. Be sure to select "Tab delimited" on the left.

Is there any way you can do the initial import for me?

Absolutely! All you have to do is export a file from whatever you are using to control your inventory (HomeBase, Excel, etc.) in HomeBase, UIEE or tab-delimited format and send it to us in an email. We'll take it from there and return either a copy of the database to you or a file that you can restore to the database (very simple procedure). It will be our choice depending on the file size; whichever is smaller will be sent. If you have any questions, please contact us for specific cookbook instructions on how to create the file to send us.

Is there anything special I have to do to run the programs under Windows Vista?

Windows Vista (all versions) has a new roadblock called UAC (User's Access Control). What that does to you is inhibit others from running programs on your computer. There are three ways to get around this:

  1. Disable the UAC.
  2. Run the program as Administrator (right click on the program in the c:\Program Files\Prager directory).
  3. Give rights on the folder c:\Program Files\prager. The rights should be given to the user under which this application is running (Genarally it is ASPNET user) & rights should be both read & write.
  4. Make sure you change the Inventory.cfg file (located in the installation directory) to point to the correct location of the Firebird database engine (for instance, if your installation directory is c:\Program Files (x86), you must change the config file to reflect this.

Can the Inventory program be networked?

Absolutely! For instructions on what changes you need to make, see the program Help file (press F1 or click on Help on the main menu bar).

What is BETA code?

BETA code is program code that has not been released to the general public. It is usually cutting-edge, and as such, may or may not work correctly. We release BETA code after we have tested the changes for validity and any "fallout" (the ability for one change to adversly affect another piece of code). Although it has been tested by us, because of the unique makeup of other environments, it still needs to be tested by other "brave souls" that are aware it may not work as it was designed. It is always good to make a backup of your database before you install BETA code (which you should be doing daily anyway!).

Why is the ISBN/ASIN in the description field for Amazon.com export files?

Amazon.com does not strictly follow the UIEE specifications; therefore, they require that the ISBN/ASIN be the first field in the description field. They do this because ASIN's are not in the same format as ISBNs. We decided to go back to our old format (tab-delimited) which solved this problem.

How do I send you a screen shot?

Follow these steps:

How do I get the "Amazon Access Key and where do I place it?

You can get your access key from Amazon Web Services by joining the community at http://aws.amazon.com. You’ll be given an AWS key to use in all your web service requests after you register. Take the key and place it in the textbox on the UserIDs and Passwords page.

How do I get the Database Panel to show only books "For Sale"?

If you place your mouse over the Database Panel (the top panel) and do a right-click, you will see a pop-up menu that lists all of the filters to control which books are displayed in the Database Panel. Just left-click on your choice and it will automatically change.

Why do I keep getting the error: 403 Forbidden?

Depends on what you were trying to do. In either case, it has something to do with your Amazon passwords or keys. If you were trying to do an upload to Amazon, then either your User ID or Password, or both are wrong (they could have leading or trailing spaces). If you were trying to do a Get Info on the Book Detail page, your Amazon Key or Secret Key is invalid; again, check for leading or trailing spaces, the most common culprit! One way to test the later, is to delete both the Amazon Key and Secret Key, then try to Get Info again. If it works, then it's your keys; if it doesn't work, then go back to the Support page and fill out an issue with Bug Genie.

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