Difference between revisions of "Magic Album"
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Magic Album is a Windows program for Magic: The Gathering collectors. You can use it to keep track of your card inventory and build decks. | Magic Album is a Windows program for Magic: The Gathering collectors. You can use it to keep track of your card inventory and build decks. | ||
=Features of Magic Album= | =Features of Magic Album= | ||
| − | * | + | * Utilises the biggest and the most accurate Magic: The Gathering database. This includes all possible information gathered about each card such as copyright info, real collector number, printed card text, rulings, and more. This database contains information, not only about standard cards, but also on tokens, planes, schemes, vanguards, inserts and oversized cards. If you have a card which is not in the database or have found an error, just report it in the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/tracker.php?p=3 Bug Tracker] and it will be appended in a future update |
| − | * Full unicode support. | + | * Full unicode support. The database includes cards in all languages including Chinese and Japanese |
| − | * Support for non- | + | * Support for non-standard cards such as those from Unhinged (i.e. Mox Lotus, Little Girl) and double faced cards from Innistrad and Dark Ascension |
| − | * | + | * Feature heavy multilevel sort with a complex card filter |
| − | * Fully customizable interface. You can move | + | * Fully customizable interface. You can move, dock or float the different panes any way that you like as well as saving individual Layouts |
| − | * Card pricing with online price updates | + | * Card pricing with online price updates |
| − | * Decklist and proxy printing | + | * Decklist and Oracle wording proxy printing |
| − | * Automatic updates | + | * Automatic updates |
| + | * Full support of different mana symbols including snow, hybrid and Phyrexian mana | ||
| + | * Robust inventory management system allows for finding out how many cards you are missing from a set (or playset) and creating buy lists | ||
| + | * Set releases can be listed in a hierarchy tree structure or a simple list that can be organised in chronological or alphabetical order | ||
| + | * Deck pane can generate sample hands, show you the probability of certain draws and visual interpret the mana curve of your deck | ||
| + | |||
=System Requirements= | =System Requirements= | ||
Magic Album is a Windows only application capable of running with a minimum 256MB of memory. | Magic Album is a Windows only application capable of running with a minimum 256MB of memory. | ||
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The Magic Album pictures folder follows a special structure. Card pictures need to be placed in the correct folders in order to be shown correctly in Magic Album. | The Magic Album pictures folder follows a special structure. Card pictures need to be placed in the correct folders in order to be shown correctly in Magic Album. | ||
| − | The easiest way to create this structure is to download the latest [http:// | + | The easiest way to create this structure is to download the latest [http://ma.slightlymagic.net/Pictures.torrent Magic Album Card Picture Torrent]. This torrent has all the card pictures already structured into the correct folders and is updated multiple times a year. If you have already downloaded an older version of this torrent, just point the new torrent file to your picture directory to have it download only the updates rather than the whole torrent from scratch. You can always find the latest version of the torrent in the Magic Album root folder if you've run the Magic Album Updater recently. |
| + | |||
| + | For those of you inexperienced with using torrent files, you'll first need to download a Torrent Client, such as [http://www.utorrent.com/ µTorrent] or [http://www.bittorrent.com/ BitTorrent] in order to start the download. You'll find more information and help regarding how to use torrents on their websites. | ||
After downloading the torrent, go to '''Tools -> Preferences''' and enter the path where the torrent files are stored. Alternatively, make sure the files are downloaded directly into the Pictures subfolder so that you do not need to change any preferences and can keep the torrent seeding. | After downloading the torrent, go to '''Tools -> Preferences''' and enter the path where the torrent files are stored. Alternatively, make sure the files are downloaded directly into the Pictures subfolder so that you do not need to change any preferences and can keep the torrent seeding. | ||
| − | + | If you want to create the Magic Album folder structure yourself and/or use your own pictures, you'll find more information on the [[Magic Album Pictures Structure]] article. | |
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=Online Prices= | =Online Prices= | ||
By default, Magic Album includes only one pricing script for online price updates. This script is for MTG Mint Card. | By default, Magic Album includes only one pricing script for online price updates. This script is for MTG Mint Card. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Note that the checkboxes besides the scripts in the Price Manager dialog only select which scripts's data is taken into account for min/max/average price calculation. To select which script to run, it has to be highlighted. Multiple scripts can be selected by holding CTRL whilce clicking them. | ||
It is possible to write your own scripts to update card prices from your favourite Magic: The Gathering sites. Please see the [[Magic Album Lua API]] to find out more about the LUA scripting language used and how to format your scripts. | It is possible to write your own scripts to update card prices from your favourite Magic: The Gathering sites. Please see the [[Magic Album Lua API]] to find out more about the LUA scripting language used and how to format your scripts. | ||
| − | Submit your working scripts on the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=32 Magic Album forum] | + | Submit your working scripts on the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=32 Magic Album forum] for constructive feedback. A set of outdated script files exists but have not been updated to work with the latest version of Magic Album. |
| + | |||
| + | You may also want to take a look at [[LHpi|LordHelmchen's price import]], which offers some ready-to-use price import scripts and a library that might help you write your own lua scripts. | ||
=Bugs and Suggestions= | =Bugs and Suggestions= | ||
Magic Album is constantly being developed. So any user feedback would be appreciated. | Magic Album is constantly being developed. So any user feedback would be appreciated. | ||
| − | If you've discovered a bug or have a feature request, use the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/tracker.php?c=1 Magic Album Bug Tracker] or feel free to post in the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=32 Magic Album | + | If you've discovered a bug or have a feature request, use the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/tracker.php?c=1 Magic Album Bug Tracker] or feel free to post in the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=32 Magic Album Forum] instead. |
For a complete version history visit the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1662 Magic Album Update History] topic in the forums. You can also subscribe to the forum topic to be notified about new versions. This is useful if you do not want to, or are unable to, use the automatic update. | For a complete version history visit the [http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1662 Magic Album Update History] topic in the forums. You can also subscribe to the forum topic to be notified about new versions. This is useful if you do not want to, or are unable to, use the automatic update. | ||
Revision as of 15:40, 14 August 2014
Magic Album is a Windows program for Magic: The Gathering collectors. You can use it to keep track of your card inventory and build decks.
Contents |
Features of Magic Album
- Utilises the biggest and the most accurate Magic: The Gathering database. This includes all possible information gathered about each card such as copyright info, real collector number, printed card text, rulings, and more. This database contains information, not only about standard cards, but also on tokens, planes, schemes, vanguards, inserts and oversized cards. If you have a card which is not in the database or have found an error, just report it in the Bug Tracker and it will be appended in a future update
- Full unicode support. The database includes cards in all languages including Chinese and Japanese
- Support for non-standard cards such as those from Unhinged (i.e. Mox Lotus, Little Girl) and double faced cards from Innistrad and Dark Ascension
- Feature heavy multilevel sort with a complex card filter
- Fully customizable interface. You can move, dock or float the different panes any way that you like as well as saving individual Layouts
- Card pricing with online price updates
- Decklist and Oracle wording proxy printing
- Automatic updates
- Full support of different mana symbols including snow, hybrid and Phyrexian mana
- Robust inventory management system allows for finding out how many cards you are missing from a set (or playset) and creating buy lists
- Set releases can be listed in a hierarchy tree structure or a simple list that can be organised in chronological or alphabetical order
- Deck pane can generate sample hands, show you the probability of certain draws and visual interpret the mana curve of your deck
System Requirements
Magic Album is a Windows only application capable of running with a minimum 256MB of memory.
Supported Operating Systems
- Windows XP SP2 and above
- Windows Vista
- Windows 7
- Windows 8
Minimum Resolution
The Object Filter dialogue cannot be resized and therefore sets the minimum screen resolution at which Magic Album can run. This is of particular importance if running Magic Album on a small resolution screen such as those on some netbook models. The minimum resolution limits are:
- Approximately 953 pixels by 563 pixels if using a curved edges Windows theme (Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 default themes)
- Approximately 942 pixels by 550 pixels if using the Windows Classic theme (available on all supported operating systems)
Screenshots
Installation
Magic Album features an auto-updater that also functions as the initial installation program.
Download the Updater.exe installation file.
On first run, it will download all the other components required to run Magic Album. These files will be placed in the same directory as the updater, so it is a good idea to create a new folder first and run the updater from that folder. A subfolder structure will be created with the main folder.
The subfolder structure is as follows:
- Config - This contains the default filters and layouts folders as well as the Magic Album settings files
- Database - This contains the extensive Magic Album database files. These are regularly updated when new promos, sets or products are released
- Decks - This folder will start off empty and is the default save to folder for Magic Album deck files (.MAD file extension)
- Fonts - This is where the fonts used by Magic Album are stored
- Graphics - This contains all the graphical elements used by Magic Album and includes the set symbols, mana symbols, interface icons/buttons, and the fonts and image pieces used by the card rendering engine
- Help - This folder is used to store tips and tricks. A sample import file is in this folder to help with importing your databases into Magic Album
- Images - This is the card image folder. The folder structure of Magic Album is important in order for the images to show up correctly in the card image panes and for use in the card rendering engine
- Inventory - This is the default folder for Magic Album inventory files (.MAI file extension). Some preconstructed inventories will be placed in this folder by the installer/updater
- Prices - This folder contains the LUA files and the resulting CSV price files when the Price Manager is run. Any LUA scripts you develop should be placed here and will be recognised by Magic Album when it launches. By default, only MTG Mint Card's pricing script is available in this folder.
The root folder of Magic Album will include all the DLL libraries required by the program as well as the actual launch file, Magic Album.exe, and the Updater.exe file you placed here.
A DOS command line tool, MWSConv.exe, allows you to convert files from Magic Workstation formats into Magic Album formats.
Pictures
The Magic Album pictures folder follows a special structure. Card pictures need to be placed in the correct folders in order to be shown correctly in Magic Album.
The easiest way to create this structure is to download the latest Magic Album Card Picture Torrent. This torrent has all the card pictures already structured into the correct folders and is updated multiple times a year. If you have already downloaded an older version of this torrent, just point the new torrent file to your picture directory to have it download only the updates rather than the whole torrent from scratch. You can always find the latest version of the torrent in the Magic Album root folder if you've run the Magic Album Updater recently.
For those of you inexperienced with using torrent files, you'll first need to download a Torrent Client, such as µTorrent or BitTorrent in order to start the download. You'll find more information and help regarding how to use torrents on their websites.
After downloading the torrent, go to Tools -> Preferences and enter the path where the torrent files are stored. Alternatively, make sure the files are downloaded directly into the Pictures subfolder so that you do not need to change any preferences and can keep the torrent seeding.
If you want to create the Magic Album folder structure yourself and/or use your own pictures, you'll find more information on the Magic Album Pictures Structure article.
Online Prices
By default, Magic Album includes only one pricing script for online price updates. This script is for MTG Mint Card.
Note that the checkboxes besides the scripts in the Price Manager dialog only select which scripts's data is taken into account for min/max/average price calculation. To select which script to run, it has to be highlighted. Multiple scripts can be selected by holding CTRL whilce clicking them.
It is possible to write your own scripts to update card prices from your favourite Magic: The Gathering sites. Please see the Magic Album Lua API to find out more about the LUA scripting language used and how to format your scripts.
Submit your working scripts on the Magic Album forum for constructive feedback. A set of outdated script files exists but have not been updated to work with the latest version of Magic Album.
You may also want to take a look at LordHelmchen's price import, which offers some ready-to-use price import scripts and a library that might help you write your own lua scripts.
Bugs and Suggestions
Magic Album is constantly being developed. So any user feedback would be appreciated.
If you've discovered a bug or have a feature request, use the Magic Album Bug Tracker or feel free to post in the Magic Album Forum instead.
For a complete version history visit the Magic Album Update History topic in the forums. You can also subscribe to the forum topic to be notified about new versions. This is useful if you do not want to, or are unable to, use the automatic update.