Changes included in the 5.0 version: > All cards in Magic: 2011 > GUI re-worked: Cards rendered differently, more open-ended, making way for new features in the works. > Most minor fixes have been put on hold, while the other changes were in progress.
For more detail on the updates presented with this release, please see this post.
Next update: Shortly before or after the Summer Reprint sets (such as FTV-R).
Under development: > Continued improvements to the GUI, paving the road for complete features in the future. > Improved reliablity for Flavor Text, Artist Credits, and Card Art. Presently, these features have been overlooked in favor of more functional changes. > Increased accuracy for Print Version checklists > More complete Product images and database records. > Rise, and other minor sets released in the interm.
POSSIBLE BUG:
griffenwolf wrote:
The program acts a little buggy when you input data. I had numbers pop-up on cards I never touched. Also when I was adding numbers for more than two cards the last entry tends to get erased. Other than that this program is great. Thank You
Possible problem: The computer may be glitching when you change a number and turn the page right away. The computer might start changing the number WHILE it is changing the page, and some numbers get put in the wrong place for some reason. This is increadibly hard to track, because slowing the program down to track the error will fix it. I'm looking in to the problem, but in the meantime just give the PC a second or two to think before turning the page or changing the search buttons, and REPORT ANY PATTERNS you notice if it does it again.
Feel free to download and try it out. In fact, I'd encourage anyone with reasonable-speed internet to do so. You can try it on not-high-speed, but you might cause yourself bodily harm while waiting for things to load.
To make things easier on everyone, I've separated the art files from the rest of the program. The program itself is about 55 MB, and the art packages total an additional 350 MB or so. As of now, the program has every standard printing of every card, including Alara Reborn. Most special printings (player rewards, DCI, etc) are now included. The database has complete oracle information on each card, a complete GUI interface, and fairly high-res art from the awesome guys at MagicCards.info. All I ask of anyone who downloads this are the following: 1) Give me credit. I've been working on this for about 2 years. 2) Report any bugs you find. 3) Share/blatantly advertise to friends (assuming you like it. )
When the new forums were unveiled I started compiling a list of legitimate complaints and recommendations. Many of these problems have been fixed, but if you have anything to contribute, please do
Want a free, graphics-based, collection database to inventory your cards? I made one! Feedback welcome. Beta 5.0 (Magic 2011) now available! Program runs offline, includes art, Oracle text, import/export options, and a complete list of every printing of every card.
1) Download the installer package Download the zip file and run the Setup file. As of Beta 5.0, the installer should update a previous edition.
You may get some angry firewall messages, which is normal (I am, after all, unregistered with Microsoft. ). That's it!
If it doesn't work, check the error report for any refference to SQL: you may not have Microsoft SQL Express on your PC. No worries! It's a free utility, which you can download here. Update: It appears the program may speciffically require SQL 2005. If you have Windows 7 or Vista, you may need to download the 64-bit version (rather than the 32 bit version). If this link doesn't work (which has happened before), Google "My SQL 2005 free download Microsoft" or something like that. I will continue looking into the problem, and try to make the database-connection more open-ended.
2) Use the Program Fiddle with the buttons, and see what it can do. I recommend you simply leave the program running for several hours, and use it instead of your normal MTG database (Gather, magiccards.info, exc). In fact, it has a nifty right-click-the-card feature that lets you copy the card's name to your computer's clipboard (copy/paste utility), meaning you will never have to remember how to spell Seizan, Perverter of Truth's name again.
3) Art Packages (optional) Here are the links to more zip files with packages of card art. I have them grouped by set, and by their classification. Recent Sets - This contains all new sets, Mirrodin - Eventide. Old Sets, part 1 - All old-frame blocks between Ice Age and Prophecy. Old Sets, part 2 - All old-framed blocks between Invasion and Scourge Starter Sets - Starter and Core sets. This contains Beta, and 5ED - 9ED**. Early Sets - Arabian Nights, Homelands, The Dark, Fallen Empires, Antiques, etc. Misc - Includes some random things like Duel Decks and Promo Cards. Un-Sets - Unhinged and Unglued full scans. *read the note below*
How to install Art Packages Start the program, then click on Help > About > Update Packages. A folder should open up. In most cases, you need to open the CardImages folder. *For Full Card scans, like Unhinged, open Frames > Unique. Unzip the file, and move the folders to the directory you just opened (CardImages or Unuque). **Note that Beta - 4ED all used repeat art.
A note on art packages - The art for Card Tracker has been optimized, both to get the best scan of a particular piece, and to conserve hard drive space. What this means is that art files are used by several cards. This is particularly obvious for Alpha, 2ED, 3ED, and 4ED, which all use art from previous sets (mostly Beta). This also means that downloading a particular file may/may not fill all the card art from those sets. For example, if you download the Old Sets file, an Ice Age card with Beta art will still be missing the art. Whenever possible, I made the most logical choice for what art goes where. In general, the first printing of a particular piece gets priority. I did make an exception for anything in 10E, because that's what I'm already including in the basic install. This means that many Mirrodin cards that were reprinted in 10E, actually have their art in the 10E folder, despite Mirrodin's status as first printing. The second exception is for cards with old art in a new frame. I could have used the same art, but I didn't feel that would be appropriate. Much of the art for the new frames was cropped differently, and in many cases was thoroughly recolored, resulting in some shocking differences. The third, and final group of exceptions was when an old art was reprinted in an old frame again, but with a significantly higher quality. This occurred mostly in 5ED/6ED, when the printing quality of cards increased noticeably. Instead of giving the Beta art an errata, I went ahead and included another source file. The washed out colors from the early era of Magic is, after all, one of those card's most distinguishing features.
When the new forums were unveiled I started compiling a list of legitimate complaints and recommendations. Many of these problems have been fixed, but if you have anything to contribute, please do
Want a free, graphics-based, collection database to inventory your cards? I made one! Feedback welcome. Beta 5.0 (Magic 2011) now available! Program runs offline, includes art, Oracle text, import/export options, and a complete list of every printing of every card.
A: No! Think of it like this: The program is similar to downloading Gather, but adds some functionality and lets you keep track of your cards, including alternate printings, alternate art, and other things like that.
A: Yes. ... Q: ... Would you please do so? A: Sure! Icons and button detailsShow
OK, the icons in the top right are basically check boxes in disguise. When you click on them they turn off/on, and when you double-click it turns all the OTHER related buttons off. By this I mean that if you double-click on Red, the other colors (White, blue, black, green, colorless) turn off and red stays on.
When you click "go" the search is performed. Only cards that meet the criteria are returned (show up). Keep in mind that adding more search filters will make the program run slower, especially as they get more complicated. I''ve done my best to speed up the process, but that fact is inevitable.
OK, first of all, take a look at the search options buttons
The buttons are as follows: Color: {White} {Blue} {Black} {Red} {Green} {Colorless} Type: {Land*} {Artifact} {Creature*} {Instant} {Sorcery} {Enchantment*} Rarity: {Basic/Token} {Common} {Uncommon} {Rare} {Mythic} {Special} *Note: When filtering by Type, Planes are included with the Land option, and Planeswalkers are included with Creature or Enchantment searches. I may add another button later.
The next tool is a drop-down list to select which set(s) to view. The current options are: All Sets, Standard, Extended, and each set/block chronologically starting with the most recent. An advanced search lets you choose individual sets via a checklist.
Next we have the VERSION or MY CARDS filter, which allows you to do things like "only show cards that I own at least 5 of". The options for the first box are: "Total", "All", "Regular", "Foil", "Other1", and "Other2" This tool lets you filter what version of each card to apply the filter to. If you select "Total," the program will find the total of all printings you own and compare that to the next set of filters. "All" simply means it checks each printing independently. As long as one version passes, the card will show up. The next four options only check that particular version.
Following that are the VERSION boolean and numeric filters. The boolean list should have the following: " ", "<=", "<", ">", "=>", "==", and "!=" or [nothing], [less than/equal to], [less than], [greater than], [greater than/equal to], [equal to], and [not equal to] The second box is simply an number up/down box where you enter a number. If you enter "Total" ">=" "6," the database will show you the cards that you own at least 6 of, total (counting all versions)
Next we have Mana Cost, or more accurately CMC. This works much like "My Cards" settings, but checks the card's CMC with the desired comparison.
The big box is the search terms you want to enter. Currently, the box is treated as one search term; in other words "Elf AND Warrior" will only show cards with the exact phrase "Elf AND Warrior," of which there are none. Just do a search for one or the other.
Last of all, we have the sort by options. For some examples of search settings and results, see the screenshot section below.
The search box is actually linked to the card's NAME, TYPE, and RULES TEXT Any results in any of those three parts of the card that match the exact phrase entered in the text box show up. That means a search for "Elf" will return cards with Elf in the type line, Elf in the name, or Elf somewhere in the card text.
Searching for Mana Icons Mana symbols are distinguished in the text within {} brackets. For example, would show up in the text as {W}{U}{B}{R}{G}{T}{4}{2}
To search for the Llanowar Elves ability, the search phrase is: "{T}: Add {G} to your mana pool" If you have any questions, check out the MagicCards.info website. The card text there is similarly formatted.
One final note: sometimes formatting information is contained within the card text. Generally, this is for italics, such as Domain, Kinship, and Hellbent. This formatting information is simple HTML, meaning the "<" and "/>" brackets are used. If any search results come out weird, these are probably to blame.
Q: Why don't you have a button for planeswalkers? And Tribal?Show
A: Cause it would throw off my beautiful layout I did, however, include planeswalkers under the "Creature" and "Enchantment" buttons.... just because. You can also simply search for "Planeswalker" in the text field. That works too.
Tribal is a bit trickier, but generally you want something that's "Tribal Something - Creature Type" In that case, just turn off creatures and search for said creature type.
Again "Tribal" is also a legitimate search word, too.
A: That's where you enter the number of cards you have. The number boxes under each card are supposed to be for the normal version and the foil version, and you can change some settings to display two more boxes as well.
I chose this method, because displaying the foil version as a separate card seemed excessive and silly. Also, if I want to know how many Holy Days I have, I don't particularly care if they are foil or not. I just want to check if I have a playset!
As I said above, there are options to view two more number boxes. I have no idea what these would be for, exactly, but at a guess you could use them for foreign printings or something. four number boxesShow
A: Yes Making money off of copyrighted material (IE: basically everything in Magic) is a tricky situation I'd rater avoid. Also, I like making things for fun.
A: You can do this in any basic text editor, but an Excel variant is best. Just make sure you open Excel first, because Excel likes to be clever and turn some almost-number fields into numbers, which buggers things up. In particular, it likes converting the set code "10E" (for 10th edition) into "1.0E5" or something, which is scientific notation for big scary numbers.
To get around this, open your Excel variant first. Then open the file (I'll tell you where it is in a second). You should get a popup message asking how you want to interpret the data. The two important things you should do are thus: 1) Tell the computer the file is TAB DELIMITED 2) Tell the computer column 1 should be a TEXT FIELD
Once you do that, it should be pretty easy. The first column is the card's ID number. This code is a combination of the set code, followed by the card's collector number. The easy way to find this is by looking at the bottom of the card. If you need to add another row to the text file, go ahead. The file is read when you open the program. Just don't change the file while the database is running, because your changes will be overwritten.
After that should be 4 numeric columns. The first is for the regular printing. The second is for foil printings. The other two are for whatever you want to use them for. I'll be using them to designate my foreign printings. Technically, you can use columns 1 and two for whatever you want, but the database will treat them as i have described. Note that many cards don't let you change some of the columns within the program (because those cards were never printed in that way).
You can find the text file in the following default location: "[filepath]\Card Tracker\Resources\My Cards.tab" If you don't know what that means, try this: Start Card Tracker, but don't open any save files when prompted. Using the toolbar at the very top of the window, click Help -> About... -> Update Packages This should open the program's resources folder, where art and things are saved. Open the Data folder. Your save file should be in here somewhere.
A: Click on HELP in the top right, scroll down to IMPORTING COLLECTIONS Then just follow the instructions. Not every card will be imported successfully. My database uses an ID number to save information, and MOL uses the card name. Because of this, I had to do a conversion, comparing each name from your MOL file to my database. Then I had to figure out the card's ID number from there.
The importing function generates a list of conversion errors, and opens it for you when it is done. These cards have something wrong with the formatting on the text, and the database doesn't recognize them properly. Most of the records work, however. I imported my MOL saved data, and it successfully imported nearly 99% of the cards. Most of the errors are bugs in the database involving: 1) non-english letters (such as the AE in Aether Tradewinds 2) cards with inconsistent/eratta'd names (the infamous Aerathi Berserker) 3) mistranslated set codes Simply add these cards manually and you should be fine.
When the new forums were unveiled I started compiling a list of legitimate complaints and recommendations. Many of these problems have been fixed, but if you have anything to contribute, please do
Want a free, graphics-based, collection database to inventory your cards? I made one! Feedback welcome. Beta 5.0 (Magic 2011) now available! Program runs offline, includes art, Oracle text, import/export options, and a complete list of every printing of every card.
Please, please report any bugs. If you don't report it, I may not notice it myself. If I don't notice it, I can't fix it. Please report any bugs in this thread, as I'm awful at checking my PM's. Also, it will provide a nice record for anyone else to help track down the problem.
In general, I will be releasing updates just before or just after each set's release. If something goes horribly wrong, I will correct it as soon as possible, but I won't be releasing weekly updates or anything to fix minor issues.
General problems (I'm working on these) > The program runs somewhat slow, but that may just be my computer. > Lots of art is missing. That's OK. You can download these separately. I just didn't include them for now, because the total file size for the source art is 375 MB. > Some extra features are currently disabled. I could have simply removed these buttons, but I want to give people an idea of what ELSE I have planned.
Data Errors Much of the database work was actually clever use of formatting macros. Since I haven't personally looked at every line of information, something probably got messed up somewhere. Data errors are very easy to fix, I just have to notice it first. Things to look out for include: > Wrong card frame > Wrong art > Cards out of order (but still correct) > Unnecessary reminder text (mostly from oracle wording of core set staples) > Gibberish ("&bnsp;" " " and "/r/n" come to mind) > Missing text > un-parsed mana symbols (meaning a card says "add G to your mana pool" instead of "add to your mana pool)
Program Bugs Bugs, on the other hand, are harder to track down. If the program actually crashes, that's a bug. Bugs are often caused by overlooked logic, and by things not working as planned on the user's machine. In many cases I have fix the bug by re-creating it on my machine.
For this reason, when reporting a bug, please include WHAT happened, HOW it happened, and WHEN it happened. The more information the better. Don't just tell me "An error message came up." Tell me what you were doing to get that error message. For example, "I did a search for Black Treefolk, turned to page 5, and the computer crashed with an error saying 'Out of Bounds'"
Credits > Thanks to everyone from the original thread, who offered ideas, guidance, and sometimes a mildly impatient post. 'Yall kept me honest and kept my interest up. > Thanks to WotC for giving a bored guy something to do during the summer, and for a pretty cool hobby. > Thanks to the MSE crew, for the source images for about 90% of my card frames. If you enjoy creating your own cards, check their program out. It's pretty snazzy, and very powerful. > Thanks to MagicCards.info, and several other database sites that I forget right now, for your services. It was only through the work they started that I was able to complete the database. MagicCards.info was also the source of ALL my card art. > Also, for record-keeping purposes, here's the previous release's thread:
When the new forums were unveiled I started compiling a list of legitimate complaints and recommendations. Many of these problems have been fixed, but if you have anything to contribute, please do
Want a free, graphics-based, collection database to inventory your cards? I made one! Feedback welcome. Beta 5.0 (Magic 2011) now available! Program runs offline, includes art, Oracle text, import/export options, and a complete list of every printing of every card.
Again, notice the filter settings and the results. When a color filter is turned off, it does not EXCLUDE cards of that color, it simply fails to include them. What this means is that green/white hybrid cards show up below, but green/white multicolor cards do not.
This screenshot shows two things. First, the search filter is for Standard, but older printings of cards in standard show up. Secondly, the database doesn't bother splitting the results into chapters until it hits a particular number of results (which you can change in the search options)
Using some nifty number crunching, the database is able to figure out not only a card's multicolor/monocolor/colorless status, but it can also group cards by how many colors it is.
Here's a nifty search to see how many different groups of cards there are. See the search Options box up next to see just how speciffic you can get. Distinguishing a card's Legendary Status will separate it from non-legendary cards. The same is true for a card's snow, aura, equipment, tribal, and token status. If you turn all of those on, Legendary Snow creatures are separated from all the Snow, Legendary, and regular creatures. They then get all lonely and need a hug.
===== Features =====
Here's some features that aren't entirely obvious, but I think are quite useful.
Right-clicking on a card
When you right-click on a card, you are presented with several options. The copy-based options use the computer's Clipboard, allowing you to paste various things into a Word document very easily. Most of these are fairly self-explanitory. but here's some notes anyway: > You can copy the card's name, and the card's name in Autocard tags. > You can copy a text-summary of the card, allowing you to paste it in a text document. > You can copy the card's art directly (uncropped and at origional size) > You can copy an image of the card. This is perfect for printing proxies, because the Preview Card is actually Actual Size! > You can make a note about a card, which will be saved in the save file
Immortal Coil {2}{B}{B} (4) Artifact ALA R ---------- {T}, Remove two cards in your graveyard from the game: Draw a card. If damage would be dealt to you, prevent that damage. Remove a card in your graveyard from the game for each 1 damage prevented this way. When there are no cards in your graveyard, you lose the game. ---------- Illis: Dan Scott 79/249 ID#: ALA-079
Display Options (Customization Options) Several people have requested additional options when viewing the cards, and I've done my best to add all these options. You can change the location of the controls, manipulate the number of cards to display at once, and change the way cards are displayed.
When the new forums were unveiled I started compiling a list of legitimate complaints and recommendations. Many of these problems have been fixed, but if you have anything to contribute, please do
Want a free, graphics-based, collection database to inventory your cards? I made one! Feedback welcome. Beta 5.0 (Magic 2011) now available! Program runs offline, includes art, Oracle text, import/export options, and a complete list of every printing of every card.
When the new forums were unveiled I started compiling a list of legitimate complaints and recommendations. Many of these problems have been fixed, but if you have anything to contribute, please do
Want a free, graphics-based, collection database to inventory your cards? I made one! Feedback welcome. Beta 5.0 (Magic 2011) now available! Program runs offline, includes art, Oracle text, import/export options, and a complete list of every printing of every card.
Congratulations :D Just downloading it now, and well done! Thanks for all your hard work matey! Now the daunting task for going through all ma cards hehe
Speaking of which, did you have chance to add my "make a note" thing?
Alright well I get to test this on a nice new build of Windows 7
Really low on time to do this ever since they took half my staff away and increased my workload. In this economy, I'm taking the overtime if they are giving it (for all I know that could be their version of a severence package, seeing as the company is laying off thousands of people over the next year and a half and none of knows who is on the list). But it does mean less free time just in general. I appreciate your efforts and I'll test this as much as I can!
Oh yeah, today is that Conflux thingy. My friends have convinced me to hit the local store and if I can get a handle on this cold I'll head there (not looking good :surrender). If not, I will be entering in my collection and really giving this a test!
If it doesn't work, you probably don't have Microsoft SQL on your PC. No worries! Download it for free here
Did you try this? The part of the error message I can see says something about an SQL problem. That's probably it. If not, try restarting? Let me know if it does/doesn't work!
ALSO: While I was at the prerelease today I noticed some significant errors in the database for Conflux cards. Apparently I accidentally replaced every in the card text with . Most of the time, this glitch is pretty obvious. In most cases it is either a clearly non-black shard with a clearly red activated ability. In several cases it is part of a cost, but it shows up as . This error compounds a couple of other things that bug me, so I'll probably go ahead and release a Beta 3.1 in a week or two. All the basics should still work fine, but some of the bonus features don't work as I intended. The following cards had the problemShow
When the new forums were unveiled I started compiling a list of legitimate complaints and recommendations. Many of these problems have been fixed, but if you have anything to contribute, please do
Want a free, graphics-based, collection database to inventory your cards? I made one! Feedback welcome. Beta 5.0 (Magic 2011) now available! Program runs offline, includes art, Oracle text, import/export options, and a complete list of every printing of every card.
OK, so I download the program, and I put it in it's c/program/card tracker folder instead of a folder named supr secret tech. Then I put on the setup and installer, and I can't find it on m cpu. So I search, and there's nothing, and then I have to download again. I still can't find it can you help me mr. creator?
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). That's it! 
