The Archive Manager

The archive manager is a handful of functions, which are sometimes nice to have. Want to reorder page because the archive creator was sloppy and got the filenames wrong? Can be done with the archive manager. You got a cbz archive, but (for whatever reason) you want a cbr archive? Can be done with the archive manager. You want to remove or rename pages? This can also be done with the archive manager. And last, but not least: You want to open a directory full of images and create a cbr or cbz archive from it? No problem with the archive manager. Hey, it works even with pr0n. And it works even with the cache of Mozilla ;-)

ComicMaster archive manager 1

The image above shows the control centre open with the page list widget in focus. The page list widget allows certain manipulations on the list itself.

Renaming Widget

The Rename Button opens the screen below:

ComicMaster archive manager 1



Renaming is a very important part of ComicMaster. By renaming an archive is also associated to a certain group and to a certain folder. The TitleList contains all members of the group 'Image'. Generally the group does not need to be a publisher and the group members does not need to be a title of a publisher, but hey, foremost this program is about comics. Each title can have a pattern for its filenames. Clicking on a title in the title list shows the associated pattern in the Rename Pattern widget. Clicking 'ok' now renames all image file of the currently opened archive AND puts it into the group 'Image'.

Renaming Patterns

With these patterns it is possible to create filenames like: Duperman.1.issue_4.volume_10.2020-10.jpg (Duperman.$(001).issue_$i(0).volume_$v(00).$y(0000)-$m(00).jpg), but who wants filenames like that? ;-)

Adding new Patterns

There are two ways to add new patterns. The method from this widget is to edit the text in the Rename Pattern line, select the whole line and drag it into the TitleList. The following popup window will open:

ComicMaster archive manager 1

The the pattern can be changed, the title can be added, a publisher for this title can be chosen (or a new publisher can be added), and a path selected, where this title should be written to.

Deleting/Editing Patterns

Try the right mouse button on the TitleList.

As seen in the pattern section, each title can have a folder/path attached. When the Create Button to write a new archive is pressed, the fileselector box automatically opens in this folder. If the title has no folder specified, the folder, which is associated to the publisher opens. If even this path isn't specified, the user's home folder opens and the clicking starts.

Reordering Images/Adding Images

The reorder widget allows to reorder images using a drag and drop mechanism. Though the pick and drop mechanism provided by the ImageList is sufficient to fix misordered sequences, this widget adds an additional featur: It allows to add images from a folder into an opened archive.

ComicMaster archive manager 1



The image above shows the reorder widget. To the left a list of thumbviews of the currently opened archive can be seen. Images can be moved around by drag and drop. Right of the archive thumbview list is the folder thumbview list. While the archive thumbview list automatically shows thumbs of all images in the currently opened archive, the images in the folder thumbview list must be selected manually. The 'open' button below the folder thumbview lis t opens a fileselector, which allows to select a folder. All images in the selected folder are placed into the folder thumbview list. From the folder thumbview list images can be placed into the opened archive by drag and drop. As usual, the original archive is not modified. To make the changes permanent, a new archive has to be created.

Grouping/Managing Database

The widget below is the second widget, which allows to manipulate patterns. Furthermore it allows to add/change/remove all group related data.

ComicMaster archive manager 1

The upper controls allow to add/change/remove publisher and associate a folder with it.

The middle controls allow to add folder.

The lower controls allow to add/change/remove new titles and associate a pattern, a publisher, and a folder.

Tracking Missing Or Corrupt Archives

With version 0056 a new feature has been added. I really hated it when I was reading my comics and found that I got an archive with missing pages. What to do in such a case? At once stop reading and start searching for a better version? What if there is no better version for the time being? I could write down the title and the number of the faulty or missing archive, but I am not that tidy-minded. And keeping track of dozens of titles spread over a filesystem isn't fun either. So I integrated a database table, which allows me the enter problem issues more or less while reading.

The image below shows the interface, which allows to enter/update or delete data:

ComicMaster archive manager 1

Of importance are only three of the input widgets (red markings): The three buttons 'add', 'update', and 'remove' should be self-explaining. To modify an entry it has to be selected with the correct path and number. The second problem interface is shown below:

ComicMaster archive manager 1

Nothing much to write here. It is all about the table to the right, which shows all the problem entries. The controls to the left limit what and how much is displayed in the table, e.g. select 'DC' in the upper most box and the table shows only entries, which belong to 'DC'.

This screen needs a minor enhancement to display the attached text if available.