About localizations

[Alexôme]

I'm using the standard (US English) version of Bookpedia and I'm wondering how much the application with the German localization differs: Does a localization involve more than a translation of words that are part of the application's graphical user interface? Are there additional or less functions? For example, do any of the options in the Advanced menu change? Are there geographical differences (other than language) for which Bookpedia's localized applications have been programmed to be aware of?

Somehow connected with this question of localization is the question how Bookpedia generates all those links: 'Amazon Marketplace', 'Reviews', etc. - does Bookpedia track and store which site was used to add information to an entry? Let's say I have an entry about a book in German and click on 'Reviews'. Bookpedia will then access amazon.de. How does Bookpedia know which Amazon site to access and does this behavior differ in localized versions of the application?

Also: Do localized versions of the application create a new database, or do they work with an existing database?

And: how may I obtain Bookpedia in German - do I have to purchase a new license?

[Nora]

There's no difference between the localizations in terms of functionality, they are all identical since they run on the same program, i.e. if you wanted to switch to the German version of Bookpedia right now, all you have to do is go into your System Preferences/Language & Text and drag 'German' to the top of your list. Then restart Bookpedia and you'll see it in German.
The localizations are simply folders inside the program that get called upon depending on your System Preference settings. If your computer is in
Portuguese (a localization the Pedias do not have) then it would automatically default to whatever language comes next in your settings that the Pedias are localized in.

The database file is always the same, no matter which localization you run it in or whether you switch between languages.

As for how the program knows which Amazon site to access, it keeps that information when you add an entry to the program so that it knows which site to return to when you click on the Amazon link. The locale information isn't displayed but you can see it in the URL field (Add/Edit window) unless you have replaced that URL with another one.

[Alexôme]

Good reply. I understand. As for the locale information, I probed a bit into my entries, but questions remain:

1. If the search site, from which Bookpedia retrieves data to create an entry, is not one of the Amazon sites, does Bookpedia disable (grey out) the Amazon links (under the Advanced menu) for that entry, or does Bookpedia still use the ISBN or ASIN (or something else) to construct those links (or to retrieve data in case of 'Amazon Marketplace and 'Reviews')?

2. Does Bookpedia change the internal locale information after adding information from another (Amazon) site via 'Get Advanced for Selection'? I guess it does not, but what confuses me here is the word 'Advanced'. What is advanced about this option when all it does is to check other search sites? Or does it attempt to fill out empty fields only? It's not clear and Bookpedia hangs while trying to update an entry.

3. You wrote that Bookpedia keeps the locale information. I actually found one entry with amazon.de in the (unaltered) URL field, but when loading 'Amazon Marketplace' offers, Bookpedia retrieves them from amazon.com... a rare case I guess?!

This topic and my questions arose because I'd like to offer a few books for sale at amazon.de, and thus would like to tell Bookpedia's build-in Amazon options to use amazon.de, irrespective of which search site I originally used to create the entry. Those two things are separate things, while it is your intention, I guess, to make them correspond - to make Bookpedia's locale information, and the Amazon options under the Advanced menu, correspond with the locale of the initial search site.

[Conor]

1. The menus are grayed out if the ASIN is not present to ensure that it would be possible to open Amazon and the Barnes & Nobles link if there is no ISBN. So you would have to use the "get more info" or the gear button in the edit panel to associate with Amazon.

2. Bookpedia only fills in empty fields so the locale and ASIN would not change unless you remove the ASIN in the edit window first to remove that information and then fill it again from a new country site. For the hang please send us more information including messages from your console log (can be viewed with the program of the same name in your utilities folder). Also drag the problem entry from you table view to your desktop to create a .bcard that you can then email to us so we can try it out as well here, do let us know what site your downloading more info from.

3. Try removing both the URL and the ASIN in the edit window and then using the gear button and selecting Amazon DE to build a new link. This should also work for the books you want to then sell on Amazon DE.