Fred Slota
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Posts posted by Fred Slota
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Update - having identified many of the connecting covers and looking at the provisional notations I've generated, I don't like what I've proposed. There are several large connected covers that cross so many different titles, attempting to include even abbreviated references to all issues is unwieldy and really serves no purpose, you have to search on the unique string to get a search result that includes all the issues; including the issues in the string is a waste. And, splitting the information across 2 fields is also a complicating factor.
Instead, I'm now leaning towards a single notation to be placed at the beginning of the Item Description field. A brief, unique string identifying the collage image, containing the keyword 'ptych', and ending with 1/2, 3/5, 06/12, etc (or collage, to link the various wraparounds and gatefolds to the individual components). Where multiple related sets exist (regular vs. adult, etc), modifiers will be placed after the common unique string (after the 'ptych' label). Being at the start of the Item Description field, it will be sortable. Search for "ptych" will return all connecting covers, sorted by cover and piece. Search for the brief, unique string will return all the pieces of the particular cover set, sorted by piece.
For example,
2022 SDCC Cosplay diptych 1/2
2022 SDCC Cosplay diptych 2/2
2022 SDCC Cosplay diptych collage; wraparound cover
2022 SDCC Cosplay diptych Z-rated 1/2
2022 SDCC Cosplay diptych Z-rated 2/2
2022 SDCC Cosplay diptych Z-rated collage; wraparound cover
Earth-X 14-ptych 09/14
Earth-X 14-ptych 10/14
Bottom line: useful search, useful sort, useful information, compact
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Ah, Elias Chatzoudis...
Diptych shown in Grimm Fairy Tales (Vol. 2) #58/M.
'Pooh' is Belle: War of the Giants #1/C (and Z-rated 1/D).
Can't find 'Tigger'.
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Title is a single issue, #1/D, which is a duplicate of Belle vs. The Black Knight #1/D.
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Another Elias Chatzoudis special - these are driving me nuts, as they are all over the place, split across various titles.
Diptych shown in Belle vs. The Black Knight #1/N
'Donald Duck' is 1/I (and 1/J Z-rated).
Can't find 'Bugs Bunny'.
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Piecing together a number of Elias Chatzoudis connected covers.
There's a 5-ptych of Steampunk Wonderland characters, as shown on Van Helsing: Return of the League of Monsters #2/E.
There's a full set of 5 regular covers, and 4 of the 5 Z-rated (usually the variant after the regular issue). Robyn Hood: Hellfire #1/F is the last listed variant for that title, and is missing the Z-rated issue.
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We need a style guild.
A collected list of the grammar, punctuation, syntax and vocabulary used throughout the database.
Things like
- Titles don't start with "A", "An" or "The"
- We use the ellipses, not a triple period
- When to use flat versus curly quotes
- wraparound, not "wrap around" or "wrap-around"
- People with initials are entered "A. B. Smith", and not "AB Smith" or "A.B. Smith"
- Names are entered "First Last" and not "Last, First"
- Lists of Names do not use "&" or "and" between them.
It would be great if the program enforced these things. But it doesn't.
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#1/B is the third of a triptych with Red Sonja (Dynamite, Vol. 3) 1/B and Dejah Thoris 1/B
Both of the others have additional virgin cover and B&W cover variants.
I assume 1/J is the virgin variant.
1/K has the wrong cover scan.
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Wrong cover. This is Powers of X 1/K.
This might connect with Powers of X #1/Q, but can't tell without proper scan.
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cover scan is askew
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#1/A and 1/C have identical cover scans, but different UPCs
#1/B and 1/D have identical cover scans, but different UPCs
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Wrong cover scan, dupe of #50/B
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My .csv, which includes all owned and unowned issues of owned titles has about 120,000 entries.
I think with v3.01, it supports a .csv of up to 500,000 entries.
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New link. version 3.01
First Time use instructions
Excel
Data
Queries & Connections
Right Click on Item Checklist in the side panel and choose Delete
Confirm Delete in Popup
Close Queries & Connections side panel
Delete the "Item Checklist" tab
Data
From Text/CSV
Select "Item Checklist.csv" and click "Import"
Load
Close Queries & Connections side panel
F9 to RecalculateAfter this, the normal instructions of simply needing to refresh the connection will re-read from the .csv file.
Looks like I only had to rewrite about 5 formulas, to protect the formulas in strings and INDIRECT() them so they don't break when a new user makes a new association.
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And that's why we test with other people...
I need to add an insulating layer in between the data connection and the formulas that are accessing that page.
I can replace the .csv file and just click Refresh. It looks like, as part of the process for other people to make a new connection, they need to delete or rename tabs, and that permanently breaks the formulas that currently directly point at the "Item Checklist" Tab.
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I worked with the data connection because, once connected, there were no data formats needed - no numbers interpreted as dates, I forget what other weird things happened. Copy/Paste did some odd things, File import did some odd things. Making the data connection to the .csv file, once made, just worked.
Give me a few minutes to test out reconnecting to a new file.
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Lion Forge titles, covers by John Cassaday
Accell 1/D (6/1/2017)
Incidentals 1/C (8/1/2017)
Kino 1/C (11/1/2017)
Kino claims connecting status in Item Description. The cover sure looks like it should. The other two are in the same style. None connect to each other. Any others I'm missing at the moment?
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First pass, starting in on 'K'.
about 830 issues identified, for about 250 connected covers.
I've so far managed to find about 140 issues that had no indication of their being part of connected covers.
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A work of many, many... many hours... soooooo many hours
All formulas, no macros. Uses Spill formulas, so might not work on sufficiently older versions of Excel.
Finds holes of unowned issues from 1-10 issues long in owned titles, where "owned issue" is configurable between Prime Var or Any Var, First Print or Any Print. (Prime Var is regular issue, or VarA if no regular issue). Works separately on normal issues, Anl, Bk, etc.
Also finds missing issues in near complete titles, those titles missing up to n or at least n% issues (normal, Anl, Bk. etc.).
Also also finds fractional issues between or adjacent to owned issues.
Has several other reports.
ComicBase
Report | Item Checklist
Series to Print | Selected Series | Choose…
Series in Stock
Select all Series
OK
Report Items
Check Items in my collection
Check Missing Items
Cover Size
None
Uncheck everything else
Preview
Export Report
File Type .CSV
Save as "Item Checklist.csv" in the same folder as this spreadsheet
Close
Excel
Data
Queries & Connections | Refresh All
Set Options on the Options Tab
F9 to RecalculateUses a data connection to the saved .csv file - best way to avoid 1-2 -> Jan 2 and other Excel import shenanigans. I'm not sure how automatically this will work for others with directories for saving data; whether Excel will see the file in the local directory, or if you'll have to reconnect the file.
Takes a good minute or so to open. Takes a good minute or so for it to churn through my data. I tend to disable the automatic calculations and use manual F9 to recalc the sheets. (Excel | File | Options | Formulas | Calculation Options), but I've saved it with Automatic turned on. It used to take a good 30 minutes to an hour to process. Spent a lot of time tweaking for efficiency, adding subsets that were sorted so XLOOKUPs could operate efficiently, etc. Uses a lot of named ranges to improve readability and understanding of the process.
Feedback appreciated.
Enjoy.
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Hey, what are you doing in my forum? 😉
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Thematically, there appears to be an attempt at a 5-ptych, but the apparent middle issue doesn't appear to connect on either side. 0/V30(and V31) connects with 1/V30, and 3/V32(and V33) connects with 4/V32(and V35), but 2/V29(and presumably V30) don't. I presume this should go as two diptychs?
Also, anyone with info on a partner for the singular 1/V30?
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The title consists of issues 1/A-6/A...
...and an issue 1/F, Cover Artist "Marcio Doug", Item Description "Ed Benes Studio Connecting Cover by Marcio Doug"
- there are no issues 1/B-1/E
- is the only issue in the entire database where Marcio Doug is Cover Artist
- is the only issue in the entire database that mentions "Ed Benes Studio" in the Item Description.
Is this a real issue?
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Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 22H2
Installed on 1/28/2023
OS build 22621.1265
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22638.1000.0
ComicBase v23.1.0.2209
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I woke up to a heart-attack scenario...
I was running a Rebuild Lists overnight, this morning came to my sleeping laptop, tapped the power button, and the system froze on the initial login screen with the audio stuck on a tone.
10-second power, and the laptop froze 5 seconds into Dell logo with the spinning wheel.
3 more 10-second powers, and I got to a BIOS, which said there was a OS issue, and hung while trying to load a network interface.
10-second power, got to a safe mode DOS prompt, and when I tried switching to c:, was told it was Bitlockered.
Turned everything off in anticipation of taking it for service.
Half hour later, pondered what the status of the other drive was (I have both SSD and standard drives), pressed power, and the laptop booted normally.
Backed up all important stuff, then started digging, and found that BitLocker was enabled, which I didn't think I had been using.
Now, I've done Rebuilds before, as recently as last week. And, I've applied Windows Updates and upgraded the OS, but I don't anything was all that recent. I don't think I had enabled BitLocker intentionally when I first started tis laptop 1-2 years ago, and don't think I enabled it subsequently.
But I have to wonder and share...
For some reason, I feel the need to scrutinize my backup process...
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Thanks.
The Amazing Spider-Man (5th Series) #5/E
in Content and Corrections
Posted
Removed. Thank you.