Advanced Find with Publisher?

[Fred Slota]

Not sure if this is Tech Support question or Feature Request...

 

Looking to search for Marvel Annuals from 1993.  Advanced find doesn't include Publisher field?

[Fred Slota]

I can search T.[Publisher] = "Marvel", or I can search I.[ItemType] = "Anl", but not the two together with an AND.

[Steven L. Dasinger]

Try this:

ComicTitles.Publisher = 'Marvel' AND [ItemNumber] LIKE 'Anl %'

[Fred Slota]

That just looks weird.  I'm used to building these things with I.[xxx] and T.[xxx], and here you're using two different constructions.  Could you provide a little more explanation on the above, teaching a man how to fish and all that...

 

 

[Steven L. Dasinger]

The new database has apparently had some redesign of some of the Tables.  Not sure there are individual Titles and Issues tables anymore. I have no knowledge of the actual Tables/Columns and structures than any other user of CB.

I can just see little glimpses from the failed SQL statements that are printed in the error messages.

However, with SQL there are two ways to qualify column names (normally to distinguish between the same column name in more than one table).

One is if the Table is given a reference name. An example is FROM TITLES T where columns in TITLES can be reference with T. i.e. T.Publisher.

Two is the actual Table name. An example is FROM TITLES where columns in Titles can be referenced with TITLES. i.e. TITLES.PUBLISHER.

I have worked with Databases and SQL for almost 30 years so I can sort of figure some of this stuff out.  It is not easy to pass that on when so much is just guess work on a tiny view into the database.

[Fred Slota]

And can I just say that the Date fields in CB are a disappointment, they are so intermittently filled in as to make attempts to use them leaving you with uncertainty.

[Steven L. Dasinger]

Yes, any column requires data to be useful.

Some of this is the Publishers fault as far as Books go. In the past most all books had a Published date in them. However, for the last several years, this information has been removed. Without this information, there is no Cover date data to add to the Issue.  For current items, Street Date can be used (but, again, only if that information is known and entered).

Getting Street Date for old issues is problematic.

To get around this, to some extent, I use one of my Custom Date columns to store dates (I call it Pub Date) for items that don't have data (actually, I store it for all the items I own). This allows me to do some of the date searches you are probably trying to do.