Importing a collection from xls/csv/tsv

[Talzaroff]

Hello there!

I'm new to these forums, because I was looking for a good program to document my collection. Magic Album seems to be perfect for it. Thing is, I have a couple thousand cards, and they're all sorted and accounted for in a huge spreadsheet. I have the Gatherer ID, the name, set and quantity all in there. Is there any way to import data into Magic Album from an xls file, or from a csv or tsv file?
If so, what format should it have?

[Goblin Hero]

Currently you can only import inventories from MWS or suitcase programs. Send me a part of your spreadsheet file.

[Talzaroff]

I've just sent you an e-mail with my spreadsheet file. Remember, you don't have to import them all, just the quantity and the combination of cardname and set. Or use the GathererID

[Goblin Hero]

Received. One question: all cards are considered nonfoil?

[woogerboy21]

This functionality in general would be a nice addition. Does anyone know if its included in an request yet?

[Talzaroff]

Received. One question: all cards are considered nonfoil?

Yes, I have not marked foiled cards seperately. Ofcourse you could use one more column for that, and leave it optional, considering no value a non-foil card.

[Talzaroff]

One more addition: it's a good idea to include a report after importing, so you can check if all cards were imported correctly. A misspelling is easily made, and the system is only good if it's reliable.

[Goblin Hero]

Done and will be available soon. See "Help\Import Example.txt" and "Help\Import Example.csv".

[Talzaroff]

You're a true (Goblin) Hero!

[Talzaroff]

I updated to the latest version, and noticed the import examples. I can't import my collection however. Actually, I can't import the example you provided either. Does that mean the function isn't available yet? Or is something else wrong?

[Goblin Hero]

I can't import the example you provided either.

Run MA. Inventory->Import->Select example csv file. It works.

[sho]

Couple of observations and suggestions to improve the experience:
1. include headers in the example file and the import code (set, name, number, foil, etc)
That way it becomes much easier for the average Joe to create the mandatory trailing notes field that is empty 99,99% of the time. Otherwise Excel just skips the column when saving and the import fails without explanation.

2. While it can be argued that a tab delimited file is a csv file, I believe it is not technically correct. Perhaps the program should allow importing of txt files? (Excel 2013 saves Tab delimited files as *.txt)
If nothing else it saves you a step in an otherwise convoluted process (renaming).

3. My version of Excel saves tab delimited files as ANSI/UTF-8 (depending on the apostrophes used). Allowing more encoding options would ease the process further (can it be a western/Cyrillic difference?).
Incorrect encoding will result in an an aborted import with an unexplained error.

Also, regarding export. Given that Magic Album uses a proprietary database schema and no way to export your inventory, it will never become my primary inventory tool, no matter how much I like its other features. I would kindly ask you to reconsider your stance regarding exporting of data. The output and what can be done with it is my problem after all.

[Goblin Hero]

Given that Magic Album uses a proprietary database schema and no way to export your inventory, it will never become my primary inventory tool

Right click on any card in your inventory -> All Data -> Export to .csv.

[sho]

Thanks, I was referring to this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3075
I was unaware of the feature, good to know things have changed for the better