DVD Album - Amazon(r)-enabled Movie Collection

Introduction:
DVD Album is  an application designed to help you track your collection of movies. With this application, you can organize movies in your collection, rate them, and look up information about them online using the Amazon Web Service.

System Requirements:
- Microsoft(r) Windows XP(r) SP2 or Vista(r). 
-SQL Server(tm) 2005 Express.  A free database program.  If you don't have it, the installer will download it for you if you are connected to the internet.  You can obtain a free copy here:  http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/sql/default.aspx (copy and paste to your browser).
-.Net Framework 2.0
If your system is compatible with the above software, it will run DVD Album.

Getting Started:

1) To install DVD Album:
Unzip DVD_Album.zip
Double-click on Setup.exe, follow the installer prompts.
To remove DVD Album, go to Contol Panel >> Add/Remove Programs >> DVD Album >> uninstall.

2) Starting the Application
 To run the application:
Go to Start Menu/All Programs, click on the dvdCollector program.
The form for the application is displayed. This is the form where you’ll enter information about your movies, organize them, and search through your collection.

3) Adding Movies to your Collection manually

To add a movie to your collection manually:
On the form, click Add Title. 
A new entry, called a record, opens in the list above the Add Title button. 
In the dvd details boxes to the right, add the title of a favorite movie and other information, such as director or movie rating. 
The database file that is part of your project is updated with the information automatically anytime you add, delete, or modify data.
At any time, you can select a movie from the grid and view its details.

4) Updating Information about your Collection

Updating a record is just as easy as entering one.
To update a record in your movie collection:
In the list, click the record you would like to update. 
The data from this record is displayed in the boxes to the right. 
Choose the data that you would like to update and make your change. Your new information is saved as soon as you move from a box. 

5) SEARCHING ONLINE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT A MOVIE!
 If you are connected to the internet, you can take advantage of the rich movie collection that is provided by the Amazon.com Web service. The dvd aLBUM application is already connected, and you can use this connection to download information about your favorite films. Don't forget: You need to be connected to the Internet for this to work.
 
To get online information about a movie:
-Connect to the Internet, if you are currently offline. 
-On the form, click the Search Online button. 
-In the first box, type a keyword or keywords related to the film, and then click the Search button. The keywords can be words from the title, actor names, or any other words having to do with the film. The first ten films that match are added to the results list; if the film that you were looking for is not included in the first ten, you can enter additional keywords to narrow the results. 
-If there's a match with the film you were looking for, select it and click Add To Collection.   The movie is added to your collection.
-If you see a movie in the search results that is not in your collection and you are interested in having it, you can click on View/Buy Online, and dvdCollector will conveniently open a webpage where you view more information and have the option to purchase it!

6) Assigning a Rating to a Movie

Movies that are added via the Web don't have ratings or comments, but you can add your own.

To assign a rating to a movie:
-Using the mouse, click the number of stars to assign a rating (1 through 5). The stars turn yellow when selected. Your rating is automatically saved. 
To add a comment for a movie:
-Select the Comments field and enter your comments. The comments are automatically saved. 

PRINTING/EXPORTING

We've added a database report viewer so you can print you dvd list or export it to .pdf or excel files.

To View/Print/Export a report:
-First of all, BEFORE you click on one of the report buttons (Quick Report or Detailed Report), 
 you should remove the "[New row - select to enter details]" row from the dataview grid.  To do this,
 hightlight this row ([New row - select to enter details]) and click the "Remove" button, then click
 the "Refresh" button.
-Now you're ready to choose a report.
 -The Quick Report is formatted and ready to print the titles, length, and ratings.
 -The Detailed Report needs to be exported to the .xls format or you won't be able to see all the data. 
  You can then use Excel or Open Office to view and format the data.  The data includes all the fields that 
  can see in the dataview window (on the "View My DVDs" panel).
-Once you click on a report you can use the tools on the toolbar to navigate, print, and export your movie list!  