KindEbook Wishlist

[TheSaint]

KindEbook Wishlist and the other programs are now being updated at a new topic - KindEbook Suite

Formerly known as KindEbook Price Query.

Please read IMPORTANT ADVICE here at Post #57.  (9th May 2016)

Spoiler

The previous topic has become slow and painful when editing the first and second posts, and because the program also no longer works as it did, and I am about to add a different type of automation back in, I felt it was time for a new name and new topic.

The former topic may be viewed here.

The new automation will be slower (adjustably so), but less prone to changes by the store in question (hopefully).

NOTE - There is still the possibility of getting the old automation to work again, especially for others (those living in the U.S. most likely). For that reason, the new automation will be a selectable option called - 'semi-auto', and the program will not be changing greatly.

Reading some sections of the previous topic could be helpful. There is also a Disclaimer reference etc.

OLDER DOWNLOADS

Spoiler

KindEbook Wishlist v1.0.zip Previously: 188 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.1.zip Previously: 199 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.2.zip Previously: 254 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.3.zip Previously: 199 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.4.zip Previously: 184 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.5.zip Previously: 190 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.6.zip Previously: 179 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.7.zip Previously: 182 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.8.zip Previously: 219 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v1.9.zip Previously: 180 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v2.0.zip Previously: 165 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v2.1.zip Previously: 162 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v2.2.zip Previously: 151 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v2.3.zip Previously: 162 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v2.4.zip (BUGS detected). Apologies to those 3 who downloaded it. Details.

KindEbook Wishlist v2.5.zip Previously: 202 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v3.2.zip Previously: 184 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v3.4.zip Previously: 177 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v3.6.zip Previously: 162 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v3.8.zip Previously: 167 downloads

AZWPlug v2.2.zip Previously: 178 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v4.0.zip Previously: 153 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v4.1.zip Previously: 184 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v4.2.zip Previously: 128 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v4.4.zip Previously: 132 downloads

AZWPlug v2.3.zip Previously: 211 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v4.5.zip Previously: 125 downloads

AZWPlug v2.4.zip Previously: 124 downloads

AZWPlug v2.5.zip Previously: 124 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v4.7.zip Previously: 131 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v4.8.zip Previously: 20 downloads   NOTE - Program has a bug that crashes it if Exchange Rate Conversion is enabled. See Advice here, until next update.

KindEbook Wishlist v4.9.zip Previously: 14 downloads  BUGFIX

AZWPlug v2.6.zip Previously: 125 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v5.0.zip Previously: 30 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v5.1.zip Previously: 10 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v5.2.zip Previously: 19 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v5.3.zip Previously: 17 downloads

AZWPlug v2.7.zip Previously: 42 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v5.4.zip Previously: 13 downloads

Add Book & All Formats To Calibre v1.4.zip Previously: 16 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v5.5.zip Previously: 18 downloads

Add Book & All Formats To Calibre v1.5.zip Previously: 15 downloads

KindEbook Wishlist v5.8.zip Previously: 24 downloads

BONUS -  AZWPlug v2.8.zip Previously: 26 downloads

BONUS -  Add Book & All Formats To Calibre v1.7.zip  BUGFIX. Previously: 15 downloads

Screenshots in second post.

See Post #51 for information about the Bonus program (AZWPlug).

See Post #96 for Instructions & Screenshots for Bonus program (Add Book & All Formats To Calibre).

(11-12-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v5.8
Added a 'Both' option to the Search category dropdown, though it only works for selection display, plus copy to clipboard with the new clipboard button. Star button relocated to left of selection display (input) field, with the new clipboard button taking its prior location at right. NOTE - This now provides a quick easy way to copy Author &/or Title text for the selected entry, to the clipboard.
Added a 'Simple' option to the Search category dropdown, which justs finds the specified text in the chosen column (Title or Author), and selects that row. Search starts at the selected entry and will wrap around at need. The Clipboard button, can now be set in the program settings (or used with CTRL), to minimize the program window when clicked.
Moved the right-click 'Save the Ebook list to file' option to a sub-menu entry, and added a 'Save to List for Excel' option there to, which is mostly just for my specific personal use, but others might find it useful (includes SHIFT+X accelerator key usage). NOTES - This new feature assists me, when I want to add new entries to my Booklist.xls file (in batch mode). It just helps to quickly create the basic entries, which I then flesh out later at my leisure, and helps avoid a lot of repetitive clicking. Used in conjunction with my related Excel macros.

Add Book & All Formats To Calibre updated to v1.7    (NOTE - This has only been tested with calibre v2.x.x, not the newer v3.x.x.)
A bugfix for duplicate title issue - I had not realized that a failure due to a duplicate was based solely on a title match. All duplicates are now added unless an ID match occurs. VIEW button can now view a saved specified format.

(30-11-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v5.5
Improved the Copy/Move input box dimensions, to more easily accommodate long titles. Mode for troubleshooting (me only) has been improved, to avoid me losing my sanity again (I'd forgotten it even existed). Replaced the (last version update) new CTRL option at program start, with a 5 second dialog prompt instead.

(11-11-2017) AZWPlug updated to v2.8
Database list can now be set not to display when starting that window, plus a LOAD button added to load that list when desired. CTRL used with the open Kindle Content folder button, will now close the program. If CTRL used when selecting the MODE on the Results window, it will just save the setting without making changes to existing results. Option added for slicker loading of list, plus alternate list lines are now pale pink. Two find options added for the Author and Title, with FIND jumping to each entry found and SHOW just displaying all found.
NOTE - With LOAD deselected, the list will only show the added ebook title (if any).

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KindEbook Wishlist - Most controls get disabled now during a Query, plus the same occurs during an 'Exchange Rate Query'. Plus if 'Please Wait' splash is disabled for Query, then a splash is no longer shown during an 'Exchange Rate Query', with that text shown instead in both the 'Please Wait' and 'Timer' labels, which are temporarily unhidden for that purpose. The Timer label can also be reshown if hidden by the new feature, by clicking the FIND label.
Mouse cursor now changes during Query and Ebook list loading etc, to indicate when busy working. Extended the 'Please Wait' label to loading & sorting the Ebooks list, which also applies to any other process that re-populates or changes number of list entries (ebook removal, changing user, relocating bought, etc). Those are all dependent on the "Use a flashing 'Please Wait' ..." setting being set. NOTE - This feature was added to this and the previous version, so that having a 'Please Wait' splash displayed on top of all windows, for a lengthy period perhaps, could be avoided, if desired.

Previous Versions (newer)

Spoiler

(30-11-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v5.5
Improved the Copy/Move input box dimensions, to more easily accommodate long titles. Mode for troubleshooting (me only) has been improved, to avoid me losing my sanity again (I'd forgotten it even existed). Replaced the (last version update) new CTRL option at program start, with a 5 second dialog prompt instead.

Add Book & All Formats To Calibre updated to v1.5    (NOTE - This has only been tested with calibre v2.x.x, not the newer v3.x.x.)
Added new features to the FIND window - Position on screen (left, right, center), VIEW button & a restore option.
See Instructions & Screenshots at Post #96

(11-11-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v5.4
Bugfix for '/gp/' and/or '/product/' in ebook URL. Holding down CTRL when the program starts will prevent the last user list from loading (if you are quick enough). Minor improvements to COPY and MOVE options. Accelerator Keys for COPY and MOVE now changed to (Shift-C) and (Shift-M) from (Ctrl-C) and (Ctrl-M) respectively, to avoid possibility of hotkey conflicts. Accelerator Keys added for Shared Comments (Shift-S) and Private Comments (Shift-P).

Add Book & All Formats To Calibre v1.4     (NOTE - This has only been tested with calibre v2.x.x, not the newer v3.x.x.)
Another bonus complimentary program added to the mix, that has a dropbox for adding an ebook and all associated ebook formats to calibre, using the OPF metadata file. See Instructions & Screenshots here.

(07-10-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v5.3.
Bugfix for 'Move To Another User' and 'Relocate All Bought Ebooks', when using right-click menu options with the new 'Slicker visuals for low powered PC' option enabled. The bug meant you ended up with a blank list (requiring a sort or load to fix). Added three more Accelerator Keys - Selected Entry (text) Detail (Ctrl-T), Set a SWEET price (Ctrl-S), Set a Warning (Ctrl-W).

(05-10-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v5.2.
Have now made the improvements for last version, optional via a 'Settings' window option.

(04-10-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v5.1.
Bugfix for Mouse cursor. Improved how list items are loaded, added, relocated, removed & sorted etc.

(03-10-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v5.0.
Accelerator Keys added for Bought, Favorite, Copy, Move, Image & Text, Edit Title/Author.
A right-click option 'Price -> Change' and Update window has been added.
NOTES - Accelerator Keys are listed on the right of right-click option title, but are as follows (Ctrl-B) (Ctrl-F) (Ctrl-C) (Ctrl-M) (Ctrl-I) (Ctrl-E). If 'Ctrl' is held down when clicking the UPDATE button on the Price Change window, $0.00 is returned to all the input fields.

AZWPlug updated to v2.7.
Added a DEL (remove) button to results window, plus a 4th method to get ebook detail.

(21-09-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v4.9.
Bugfix and improvements to 'Google Converter Address' for 'Exchange Rate'. This includes a new field on the 'Settings' window (near bottom left), and changes noted in newly extended 'Settings Information' dialog (i.e. label clicking). NOTE - This was due to recent changes in Google's Exchange Rate Converter address, which revealed a program bug. The Address has been updated in program defaults, and it is easier now to update on any future changes. The search column field has now been belatedly widened for previous version change.

(04-05-2017) AZWPlug updated to v2.6.
Added improvements & bugfix for changing the default folder for ebooks (some elements were not working if no longer in the standard default location in My Documents).

(24-08-2017) KindEbook Wishlist updated to v4.8.
Added an extra column called 'Last' to display last (previous) price. Window now wider. Right-click 'Selected Entry -> Edit the Title or Author name' process now uses the values stored in 'Html Read Replacements' to show any corrections (fixes) that can be saved. Improvements to 'Html Read Replacements' process.

(14-02-2017) AZWPlug updated to v2.5 and KindEbook Wishlist to v4.7.
AZWPlug - Added support for an ebook being stored in first sub-folder (file name derived) of the default 'My Kindle Content' folder on PC. Browsing to set default ebook folder, has been added to SETUP window, along with an Info report button. Minor bugfix for browsing.

(28-11-2016) AZWPlug updated to v2.4.
Added an ON TOP toggle button to top of Display window.
Last ebook entry is now automatically selected on the Display window when location is not specified.
Holding CTRL when clicking the UP/DOWN arrow at first or last entry jumps to the other.
Implemented a personal EXCEL jump facility.

(26-11-2016) (v4.5) IMPORTANT BUGFIX for COPY LIST.
Added a REMOVE LIST option for removal of multiple entries at once.
Bugfix for List not being cleared after a COPY LIST process, despite item lines having their color restored.
Clear is now optional via a prompt, in case copying to more than one User.

(19-11-2016) (v4.4)
Added another right-click Query button option, to get total combined price of items placed on a list, using CTRL and left click (includes exchange rate conversion if available). Or if CTRL is held down while clicking the QUERY button, then the total price of ALL listed ebooks for the current user, will be returned. Changed CTRL to SHIFT when clicking the QUERY button, for the 'Single Item Query Report' options.

(v4.3) Option added to Image Data GUI (Selected Entry Detail) window, for updating the URL.

(08-11-2016) (v4.2)
Bugfix for a program crash due to an error caused by price that started with a $ sign but was a chunk of text, that erroneously got saved/stored. Subsequent queries caused the crash. Price is now checked for digits only after stripping currency sign and period. When making a Price Query of a corrupted entry, in single item query mode, the program attempts to restore the original price from a backup or just restores to $0.00 or your currency equivalent.

(03-10-2016) (v4.1) Bugfix, Improvements, New Options.
Improvement to ADD item option, to show CTRL message in Input Box label for next URL.
Code corrections and improvements (including extensive check of declarations).
Last recipient for a Copy or Move ebook, is now stored and recalled for default.
Added a 'Copy List' and 'Move List' as other alternatives. To switch between the List choices, select or deselect the appropriate one available as a right-click option for the QUERY button.
Changed the CTRL option for adding to or removing from the Query List etc, to now be LEFT CTRL.
Bugfixes for sticky CTRL and SHIFT.

(14-09-2016) (v4.0) Improvements & another screenshot.
Minor bugfix for 'Single Item Query' report.
The no results splash has also been enabled for single item queries.
Added options for a 'Query List'.

AZWPlug also updated - Added another Registry entry to just get ebook detail if in database.

(v3.9) Improvements.
Added the option to show a report dialog for changes found in single item query.
Made adjustments for improved timer updating.

(30-08-2016) (v3.8) Bugfixes & Improvement.
Clearing any asterisk or hash character indicator from the current price column for selected ebook, during a Query, has been improved with changes & new options.
Query price error numbers now shown in final report.
Bugfixes for 'Title' etc detection on ADD ebook, plus count in Query report.

(v3.7) Improvements.
Where an ebook is a Pre-order and a Publication Date exists, that will now be the default in the Comments field.
Added a right-click 'Selected Entry -> Clear query indicator' option, to clear any asterisk or hash character indicator from the current price column for selected ebook.

(11-08-2016) (v3.6) Bugfixes & Improvement.
Bugfix for changes in new Amazon pages, for detection of the JPG cover file URL, and for incorrect checking of multiple author names, with result of book description failure.
Added a right-click 'Selected Entry -> Check line values' option.

(v3.5) Bugfixes.
Bugfix for bad maths in split of a Query report (after 2nd loop). Initial Low Price of $0.00 is now updated when relevant (incorporates a fix for previous instances).

(15-06-2016) (v3.4) Added some improvements.
Clicking on column headers for the Ebook list has been modified a little, to include Columns 5 (Start) & 7 (High) as jump buttons, going to first and last ebook entries respectively, plus Column 6 (Low) sort now displays an explanation dialog.
Program Information dialog has now been shrunk in height and expanded to 3 pages.
Added a 'Missing.jpg' file, that is coded to display when a cover image is missing.

(v3.3) Bugfixes & Improvements.
Bugfix for changes made by Amazon, that prevented price etc being determined on some ebooks.
Added a FAVORITES toggle button on the Image Data viewer window.
Discovered that code for removing Asterisks & Hashes from a previous Query (current session), had not been completed enough to remove previously colored lines and that visual indicator in the Current price column (unless a Sort occurred or User changed) ... now fixed during a full new Query (same session). In any case, that status did not persist after program was closed.
Improved some dialogs (Start at first entry + Remove Asterisks queries).

(29-05-2016) (v3.2) BUGFIXES (minor & major) & lots of improvements.
Re-arrangement of a few things, bugfixes, etc.
Right-click context menu for the Ebook list, has had the position of some items changed.
When doing a Query ALL, the button now displays a title indicative of whether 'Favorites', 'Non-Favorites' or neither is selected (also adapted for my personal EXCEL mode).
A few minor bugfixes (variable declaration & naming).
Improvements to Image Data checking code (kind of a bugfix for if exists).
A major bugfix, for when creating a first time username (affected new users only).
An important bugfix for changes in new Amazon pages, that prevented the gleaning of Title and Author names, plus the detection of the JPG cover file URL.
Another bugfix for the rare occasion the URL doesn't contain the normal split character after the ISBN type ID, but includes trailing text starting with a question mark.

See Post #59 for details of other updates not listed.

See important details in Post #5. See the WARNING in v1.7.

 

Previous Versions  (older)

Spoiler

(11-03-2016) (v2.5) BUGFIX for v2.4 bugs etc, plus a new Screenshot.
BUGFIX for v2.4 bugs where some menu settings were being declared before menu was created.
The QUERY button now displays 'QUERY ALL' when a 'Query All' is selected.
Added a 'Sorted' checkbox, so that a User can specify their default sort arrangement or recall the last one.
If using the WAIT option between each entry query, the code has now been improved to not only have more variability (now includes a single decimal point, for part of a second), but to also (hopefully) give a smoother Time display and a quicker response to indicate a STOP has been received. However, there is still the inevitable lag involving server responses, because of no multi-threading capability.

(07-03-2016) (v2.4) A perhaps, Experimental update.
A major reworking of right-click List entry selection. This means, you should be able to reliably make a List entry active, with a right-click, as well as the normal left-click.

(17-02-2016) (v2.3) Minor update.
Added a Tooltip for Ebook List to show ISBN, Title & Author (updated when an entry is selected). The tooltip is also updated after a single item Query, displaying 'Queried' plus a trailing date and time.
If the Ping process fails, but GetIP doesn't, and the Ping Error is 'Other Errors', then you can optionally choose to continue with connecting (or try to). I added this option, because of a seeming issue while using a VPN, where www.google.com refused to return a successful ping.
To change the 'Server Address' to a default, either clear the field or type in 'autoit', then close the 'Settings' window. Cleared returns 'www.google.com' and 'autoit' returns 'www.autoitscript.com'.
'Finished!' is now briefly displayed in the green 'Please Wait!' label, after Querying a single ebook entry.

(09-02-2016) (v2.2) Several new options & Bugfixes etc.
Minor bugfix for Users' temp file, so that changes are cleared for all users on program exit.
Bugfix for wrongly named key in 'Compare to another user'.
Bugfix for Store Search, when editing or replacing criteria (sorry about that).
Improved the restoration of line color when changing between users after a Query.
'Exchange Rate Query' now shown on the PLEASE WAIT splash, after a 3 second prompt to abort the query, with the added option to about any further queries that session.
The 'Exchange Rate' is now re-queried from Google if more than 59 minutes has elapsed since last query, and the program is still running in the same session. That default can be modified to a user preference, by modifying the minutes value in the 'Settings.ini' file, under the 'recheck' key in the '[Conversion]' section (i.e. recheck=59).
Added a 'Last' price record and right-click option 'Price -> Last' to recall it. This may remain blank until a price change occurs for that ebook entry (except for first time installers or new ebook additions, as it is prefilled to the 'Start' price).

(05-02-2016) (v2.1) Several new options & Screenshots etc.
'Save the List to file' can now optionally save to a TXT file, instead of CSV. It is a simpler list, with just Ebook Title followed by Author Name.
An 'Exempt' option has been added per user for the 'Exchange Rate' when enabled.
A bugfix for URL format, when not using the main (American) Amazon store. I had foolishly included a trailing backslash after '.com', which would have impacted those from other countries (though I've had no complaints ... perhaps they are doing what I am, and are not using their local Amazon store ... if they even have one).
Various other improvements, including the option to just add basic details from another user, when adding an already existing ebook, that you weren't aware of perhaps (though I'm using that feature, so I can add the same ebook from another Amazon site, with a different URL, but same ISBN type identity), plus a Splash added for initial 'Exchange Rate' process.
A comparison option was added, with an entry 'SET current as Compare participant' on the right-click menu option for USERS. This is really only useful, if you are wanting to compare prices from two different (country based) Amazon Kindle stores for the same ebooks. When the second participant is added, you get prompted to continue with the Compare process and an eventual text file list of results.
Another Compare price option, for just the selected ebook title has been added to the'Selected Entry' menu, named 'Compare to another user'. That user must have been set on the Settings window. A 'Save' option there will also enable recording of the other user price during a purchase. It is up to you to ensure that price is up-to-date.
Cosmetic changes- SEARCH label renamed to FIND, and other related inputs resized.
A Search Store option was added, with the specific Amazon address taken from an input field on the Settings window. An InputBox with currently selected Ebook Title and Author Name is  displayed, but those values can be edited or replaced, prior to commencing the Search. Remove the pipe '|' separator between Title and Author, to do a non-author specified Title or Author search.
I've now added some other currencies (country codes). Those few who downloaded v2.0 may want to clear the 'Settings.ini' entry (Conversion -> currencies) so that it can be updated. The newly added 'CODES' button will do this easily while preserving any older differences, and also allows easy addition of other country codes.
Country codes can be found at - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217
Bugfix for a missing zero and required two decimal places when an integer, for exchange rate converted price.

(03-02-2016) (v2.0) Several new options & Screenshots etc.
Relocated the SAVE LIST button to a right-click list entry - 'Save the List to file'.
The 'Restore after last Query' right-click list entry has been relocated to 'Restore previous prices' under the 'Query' right-click menu.
The ON TOP button has taken SAVE LIST button location, and the ADD button has been halved in height.
A black 'from -> to' label and an 'exchange rate currency conversion price' input field have been added on main program window, and options to enable them (etc) have been provided on the 'Settings' window. Clicking that black label, will show the currently set (if any) exchange rate in a dialog. If enabled, the exchange rate and price is also recorded when an ebook is designated as bought.
Colors for price changes, can now be changed by clicking the colored labels on the 'Settings' window, which will show a color picker window.
An extra color and 'Sweet' price have been added (white by default), so that an entry line will change to that color if the changed price is at or below that value.
To set a 'Sweet' price, select an ebook entry and then use the right-click list entry 'Set a SWEET price', found under the 'Selected Entry' menu options.
Other minor improvements added or changes made.
A secret setting was added to show the number of price changes per ebook entry. This is not set (by default), but can be manually set by editing the 'Settings.ini' file if you wish, under the [Total Changes] section ... just change 'get=4' to 'get=1'. When enabled, it displays the count of changes after the displayed number of ebook entries in the list (List Of Kindle Ebooks), each time you select an ebook entry.

Earlier information can be found in the second post below.

The KindEbook Wishlist, is basically a compliment to your regular store wishlist, but has a history element and allows you to check current and previous prices etc in a better, quicker and more organized fashion. Essentially it assists and hopefully improves with decision making, when it comes to determining whether to make a purchase yet or not.
You could compare it to manually and painfully creating something like an Excel spreadsheet for the same purpose, without the time, complexity and pain involved.
You can sort by Title, Author, Current Price, Lowest Price, Add Order, Favorites, etc.
You can view details - Book Description, Price Changes, etc.
You can open the ebook URL in your web browser, where you can elect to make the purchase.
The program supports multiple users, shared titles, shared comments and private comments, etc.
After purchase, an ebook can be relocated to a bought list (per user).
Price can be queried on an individual title basis or ALL titles (starting at first or selected or only favorites or not favorites).
Dates are recorded for most processes, with various reporting options.
I call it a wishlist on steroids.

 

Edited April 20, 2018 by TheSaint
Update

[TheSaint]

Previous Versions

Spoiler

(11-12-2015) (v1.9) Several new options & Screenshots etc.
Added a check process to bring the program window to the fore, if minimized or non-active (if executed again while running).
Added a WARNING comment option for each title, via right-click, that displays a message if an entry has a warning, when clicked/selected.
Added a SKIP ability via right-click for an entry during any Query ALL, with each entry row with that applied, being shown as dark pink.
Improvements (bugfix) to the application of color for a row.
An Alert option added to Settings window, for determining large price change amount, and displaying colors for rows according to that during a Query (YELLOW = minor change, GREEN = large reduction, ORANGE = large increase). On a Re-Sort after a Query, all changes will be shown as Yellow rows. Same applies after changing users and returning to that user. Previously (v1.8) all price changes were indicated by bright green.
Search has been expanded to include Authors, and an input field added to show selected entry, where text displayed matches the column for Search (author or title).

(03-12-2015) (v1.8) New options & Screenshot etc.
Search option added for Titles, which creates a 'Search' user. Pre-Orders can now be included with Query of Favorites. Alternate list lines are now two different colors (pale green & pale pink). An entry line where a price has changed during a Query, is now colored bright green or red if the price was not available. A 'Changed' user can now be created, to list just those ebooks where the price changed (or failed) in a Query. Added a RENAME User option.

(27-07-2015) (v1.7) Just mainly minor improvements.
WARNING - While this update does create a backup during the FIX process (requiring manual removal), unless you are sure of a previously created backup for each user, I would recommend creating your own manually. Each user file is only fixed, the first time it is selected by a user. NOTE - The above process is skipped if you've run the previous (v1.6) update already.
Cosmetic changes to presentation of ebook detail, to reduce number of lines.
Fixed an overlooked reset of the Flash label to 'Please Wait!', which was only noticed on repeat queries while the program was still running.
Report Query now uses a split method, rather than just truncating the report at specified number of lines (default is 20 lines). This means any larger reports will get shown in a repeated dialog until all lines have been shown.
Looked into replacing some code with a Regex, but still lack a little understanding, so holding off until I gain enlightenment. However, thanks to the example of Regex provided by AutoIt Developer guinness, I was reminded of the benefits of using @extended, so have improved things a bit with that for now.

(14-07-2015) (v1.6) Various improvements & new features.
WARNING - While this update does create a backup during the FIX process (requiring manual removal), unless you are sure of a previously created backup for each user, I would recommend creating your own manually. Each user file is only fixed, the first time it is selected by a user.
Start and Stop item can now be one and the same and work correctly.
Start and Stop item once set, can now have ISBN shown in a dialog.
A once off FIX (for each user as selected) for spaces in any price value.
Errors for failed read of a Price or Web page missing, are now continued on from after 6 seconds.
Added another Get Missing option, to retrieve an image via it's url, where an input is presented to user for pasting the URL into, but automated if on the clipboard.

(09-07-2015) (v1.5) Bugfixes and extra features.
Bugfixes for adding an ebook, where Author name was sometimes being doubled and the ebook mistakenly being recognized as a Pre-Order (due to a missing leading zero in some date elements).
A random delay option between queries has been implemented.
Go to the Wikipedia page for Author or Title of currently selected ebook has been added.
Mode warning message has been adjusted for when selecting 'automatic' mode.

(02-07-2005) (v1.4) Back to cooking with Gas again. Full automation restored.
An option added to remove blank lines in the Summary when adding an ebook.
Adding an ebook in 'automatic' mode, may now work for some people (Pre-Order detection is not yet fully tested, and dealing with multiple authors/editors remains untested, plus Image Data extraction may not be perfect).
Likewise with a Query in 'automatic' mode, it may now work for some people, hopefully all.
The divisor for Html Read is now 6 instead of 4, and is a value in the 'Settings.ini' file, which can now be manually adjusted. Basically a sixth of the read is chopped from both start and end.
A 'prompt' mode has been added, along with a 'Mode Selector Prompt' window which will appear at the start of a Query or ADD, if 'prompt' mode is selected, allowing on-the-fly temporary mode selection.
The program window 'On Top' setting is now de-selected during ADDing of an Ebook. This setting can be changed if desired, by manually changing the value in the 'Settings.ini' file (i.e. to '4').

(02-07-2005) (v1.3) More minor improvements.
Can't believe I hadn't given the Settings or Image Data windows a parent of the main GUI, which I have now. I guess it hadn't bothered me enough until recently.
An extra delay option added for tab loading, for automatically increasing delay after a copy failure for price and or title match. If enabled, this delay will increase by the extra delay value every time there is a failure, but is reset for every Query start. This can help where you may have a slower connection than normal, and don't wish to adjust regular settings, along with stopping the Query ALL to do so.

(24-06-2015) (v1.2) A few minor improvements.
Previous current price is displayed on splash screen while price checking, and ebook title is slightly longer with splash being a little wider to accommodate.
First Query item now has an additional delay of 10 seconds when Tab Load is applicable (but manual editing of that value in the Settings.ini file is available).
Splash is now updated to show 'Stopping!' when PAUSE key is held down long enough.
A facility and right-click Query menu option for 'Last Time Taken' has been added.

(20-06-2015) (v1.1) A few bugfixes and improvements. Updated screenshot - Settings.
I had renamed the variable for the 'Failed.txt' file, and overlooked the instance where it gets wiped at program start, now fixed.
Ebook title (first 20 characters) is now also included on the splash screen while price checking.
Decided to add timeouts to some dialogs, so that you can start and forget and deal with those items that failed afterwards.
If Price &/or Title Match fail, then a Try Again option has been added, and occurs automatically (once) after 50 seconds, after which a Continue on to the next ebook is the 50 second default.
An option to activate any Amazon Browser Tab has been added, which can be enabled to help overcome web page text copying, but increases the chances of wrong browser tab if others are open, so it is not enabled by default.

(19-06-2015) (v1.0) Source included in zip file.
Leading and trailing whitespace now removed from every element when manually ADDing an ebook.
A 'semi-auto' mode has been added for Query.

(19-06-2015) Added some screenshots to second post (not much changed). Currently testing a finished version of the program.

LATEST SCREENSHOTS

Main GUI

Main GUI - Right-click Menu

Settings Window

Right-Click Menu

NEW SCREENSHOTS

Spoiler

 

Main GUI

Main GUI - Right-click Menu

Settings Window

 

OLDER SCREENSHOTS

Spoiler

 

Main GUI

Main GUI

 

 

Edited September 14, 2016 by TheSaint
Update

[TheSaint]

Nearly getting there, ironing out the issues.

Thought I would have had it uploaded by now, but little hiccups and interruptions keep occurring.

It's mostly working correctly now.

I may upload tonight ... though I am off to do something else for a while now, so we will see.

[TheSaint]

I just did all 46 items (ebooks) on my list, in 24 minutes 22 seconds, without a hiccup (finally).

I think I have things well covered now.

I could probably pare that time back  to under 20 minutes without issue, but on my slow Netbook unavoidable delays occur from time to time, and memory usage is a regular pain. So better safe than sorry. I suspect that most people's PC will deal much better than mine, and they can cut the Browser Tab load time right back, whereas mine is set at 25 seconds per ebook.

So look for the upload of v1.0 shortly.

I won't be surprised if a little tweaking is required from time to time. There are settings both evident as well as undocumented in the 'Settings.ini' file which can be adjusted to improve things. I could spend a lot more time testing, but I'm counting on those few users who use my program, as having a much more efficient PC than mine, and therefor a better experience, with less or no problems.

[TheSaint]

v1.0 uploaded, see first post.

Leading and trailing whitespace now removed from every element when manually ADDing an ebook.
A 'semi-auto' mode has been added for Query.

NOTES - The 'semi-auto' mode relies on being able to select all text from the currently active web page. It uses Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C to do this, so you should not be doing anything else on your PC during a Query. It could also be helpful to avoid errors, if you have no other browser tabs open.
The program also relies on two delays when trying to obtain Kindle Price. The first delay, should only occur once, at the start of every Query ALL and single queries, and is a delay for browser start up. To avoid this delay, if your browser is already running, you can specify the browser executable, when you select the 'semi-auto' mode. To change that value once set, currently requires manual editing of the 'Settings.ini' file. The second delay is unavoidable, but in both instances, you can adjust the number of seconds, from '0' to '999'. This second delay, is the wait while your ebook page loads into a browser tab/window, and occurs for every query, except when the 'Browser Start Up' delay is used.
If all the timings are correct, and the web page text has the price, and it can be obtained, then all should be seamless. Multiple prices means the 'manual' mode input is displayed for use.
Issues that may occur, aside from incorrect delays and multiple prices, are dealt with by a report to the user.
Getting the wrong price for the ebook, could occur if you have other web pages open.
That last can occur regularly, if tabs for previous queries remain open, and delay is insufficient or the 'Close Browser Tab' option is not selected.
In an effort to prevent a wrong price, the program does attempt to do a title name comparison, but is very much subject to Amazon variables in page layout, etc. This setting can be disabled in the "Settings.ini' file, by an edit of the 'Semi Auto Title Compare' -> 'check=1' setting, which can be set to 'check=4'. This is not documented elsewhere (or given a control to click), as there is inherent risk in doing this, but if you are sure that all else is working well (delays, etc), you could turn off this check to get around Amazon ebook title issues.
All ebook price queries that fail, are saved to a 'Failed.txt' file, which is wiped on program start, but is shown after the Query has finished, and can be viewed again via a right-click Query menu option.
In addition to that, a file called 'Webcopy.txt' is created/overwritten in the program folder, for every Query where web page text has been successfully copied. A perusal of that file might indicate where a problem lies. Current required keywords for price are 'Kindle Price:' or 'Pre-order Price:'.
To stop or quit a Query ALL, you are recommended to use the PAUSE key on your keyboard, only.

P.S. I know this new version feels very 'b' grade compared to the original, but it works. The worst thing of course, is how much longer a Query ALL takes, but I just view that as an opportunity to take a break and make a cuppa, etc.

Edited June 19, 2015 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

Well, it was an epic fail for me today on a few counts (i.e. 99 seconds wasn't enough for a browser startup, after boot up).
No doubt due to the vagaries of my Netbook, but anyway I managed to improve a few things, and it worked flawlessly just now, so I will upload v1.1 shortly. Who said life was boring ... or coding.

[TheSaint]

v1.1 uploaded, see first post.

A few bugfixes and improvements.
I had renamed the variable for the 'Failed.txt' file, and overlooked the instance where it gets wiped at program start, now fixed.
Ebook title (first 20 characters) is now also included on the splash screen while price checking.
Decided to add timeouts to some dialogs, so that you can start and forget and deal with those items that failed afterwards.
If Price &/or Title Match fail, then a Try Again option has been added, and occurs automatically (once) after 50 seconds, after which a Continue on to the next ebook is the 50 second default.
An option to activate any Amazon Browser Tab has been added, which can be enabled to help overcome a web page text copying issue, but increases the chances of wrong browser tab if others are open, so it is not enabled by default.

NOTES - I found enabling that Activate option, improved things for me.

 

Edited June 20, 2015 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

Well, I just did another Query ALL with all 46 ebooks on my list, and it only failed on one of them, but then succeeded with that on an auto retry, which cost me extra time, but hey who cares, I was off listening to some music.

All up it was 22 minutes and 25 seconds, with the delay for Browser Tab Loading set at 20 seconds.

So I'm relatively happy, as it is very much better than the manual alternative of using my store wishlist and browsing.

Just click one button, and then go and do something else for 20 or so minutes ... even less time if you have far less ebooks on your list.

[TheSaint]

Please let me know, if any of you are experiencing issues or failures that aren't fixed by adjusting options.

There is an undocumented option in the 'Settings.ini' file, in the section - Copy Delay. The key name is 'wait' and the standard value (I think) is 1000 (1 second). I've adjusted mine to be 2000 (2 seconds). That seems to help with my Netbook vagaries.

The program is continuing to work well for me, with the occasional failure for first item on the list, which passes on the auto retry. This only seems to occur on first use of the program since boot up. I believe I sort of fixed it when the browser isn't already up and running (by adjusting Start Up time), but I'm guessing the reason it does fail otherwise is down to not having visited Amazon yet with my surfing. Which I imagine could be fixed by me increasing the Tab Load delay for all, which I naturally don't want to do, so I am considering adding an extra delay for the first query item in that instance. Once I've visited Amazon for the first time, subsequent visits load faster, which is common browser behavior I believe.

Not to forget though, that using the previously mentioned 'Activate .. ' option, helps me lower the Tab Load delay and avoid other issues. You do need to be aware of the possible side effects though, and act in accordance with that.

P.S. As I've said previously above, I cannot get the program to work in the automatic (original) mode, until I get a Html.txt file from someone in the U.S. I need that file (which is created when you add an ebook to the list), to see what changes I need to code for. Unfortunately, due to the zone I live in, the program is broken for me, as I don't get the necessary elements in my Html.txt file..

Edited June 22, 2015 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

v1.2 uploaded, see first post.

A few minor improvements.
Previous current price is displayed on splash screen while price checking, and ebook title is slightly longer with splash being a little wider to accommodate.
First Query item now has an additional delay of 10 seconds when Tab Load is applicable (but manual editing of that value in the Settings.ini file is available).
Splash is now updated to show 'Stopping!' when PAUSE key is held down long enough.
A facility and right-click Query menu option for 'Last Time Taken' has been added.

NOTES - Not much of an update, but a few helpful things that might be appreciated.
If you don't want that extra 10 seconds delay, just set the value for the First Query Item --> 'delay' key to '0' (or other low/higher number), in the 'Settings.ini' file.

I'm experiencing issues with the PAUSE key on my Netbook, not being recognized or not recognized very often or taking very long to be recognized.
Hopefully that quit ability is working fine for others?

Edited June 24, 2015 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

v1.3 uploaded, see first post.

More minor improvements.
Can't believe I hadn't given the Settings or Image Data windows a parent of the main GUI, which I have now. I guess it hadn't bothered me enough until recently.
An extra delay option added for tab loading, for automatically increasing delay after a copy failure for price and or title match. If enabled, this delay will increase by the extra delay value every time there is a failure, but is reset for every Query start. This can help where you may have a slower connection than normal, and don't wish to adjust regular settings, along with stopping the Query ALL to do so.

NOTES - I was going to hopefully be working on the Automatic mode and fixing that, but I got sidetracked by Query issues that needed addressing, probably due to a slow connection for me today. So I worked on the Extra delay option for that and then remembered about the parent GUI issue. That along with some testing etc, drained me of desire to do anything further today.

I've spent this week, mostly getting over last week, which was spent getting over the week before that, which was spent ..... you get the gist.

[TheSaint]

v1.4 uploaded, see first post.

Full automation restored etc.
An option added to remove blank lines in the Summary when adding an ebook.
Adding an ebook in 'automatic' mode, may now work for some people (Pre-Order detection is not yet fully tested, and dealing with multiple authors/editors remains untested, plus Image Data extraction may not be perfect).
Likewise with a Query in 'automatic' mode, it may now work for some people, hopefully all.
The divisor for Html Read is now 6 instead of 4, and is a value in the 'Settings.ini' file, which can now be manually adjusted. Basically a sixth of the read is chopped from both start and end.
A 'prompt' mode has been added, along with a 'Mode Selector Prompt' window which will appear at the start of a Query or ADD, if 'prompt' mode is selected, allowing on-the-fly temporary mode selection.
The program window 'On Top' setting is now de-selected during ADDing of an Ebook. This setting can be changed if desired, by manually changing the value in the 'Settings.ini' file (i.e. to '4').

NOTES - Hopefully the program is now restored to its former glory of fully automatic mode, but with useful additions and alternatives now included. All apart from the elements mentioned above, which can however be set manually anyway. Prior to automatic mode troubles, I had found it best to use the program, with 'On Top' de-selected most of the time. However, it became necessary to manipulate this setting in the other Query modes. Having to remember to de-select it before adding an ebook, became annoying for me, so I added the automatic toggle ability for that process.
Removing blank lines, is a visual thing mostly, but also helps with very long summaries.
Bothering with character removals from the 'Html Read', is very debatable on its benefit (speed & memory), and I should probably get rid of it altogether. However, instead of half the read being removed (2 quarters - start and end), it is now removing a third (2 sixths - start and end). To permanently disable any removal, just manually set the divisor below '3' in the 'Settings.ini' file setting.

So far, I am pleased to say, it is working well for me, with roughly the same time as previously (about 3 minutes for 46 ebooks). I have decided, at this point, to add about 3 seconds of delay (using that program option), between each price query, which adds about another minute and half to overall time, which I can easily live with ... beats the 23 minute semi-auto mode. That may make the queries look less like a scraper, especially if I increase the delay further.

Obviously something changed again, which has allowed 'automatic' mode to work again (after modification).
If it goes belly up again, then at least we have the other two modes now, while waiting for a fix.

EDIT

Adding a randomness to the Query delay, is slotted as a future update, probably next update. With something like between 1 and 20 seconds. That should give it the appearance of non-automation.

Edited July 6, 2015 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

Couple of bugs detected (Author name repeating & incorrectly diagnosing date for Pre-order detection).

I half forgot to make sure that couldn't happen with Author name.

Must be something wrong with my date comparison code or a variation exists.

So the next update should be soon and have fixes, plus the random delay previously mentioned, plus I'm considering adding a Wikipedia element - right click menu options to go to Author or Book.

EDIT

It has also come to my attention, that I forgot to look into what I thought could be redundant options. These being 'Get Missing --> Image Data' and 'Get Missing --> Summary'. I have decided they probably need to stay, but the code needs updating for them to work. It is always a pleasure to find that you were smart enough, that something like this was already catered for, and no further coding was necessary ... the joy of having done the proper function approach in the first place.

I've now done some most of the update, so it could be available tonight or more likely, tomorrow.

Edited July 8, 2015 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

v1.5 uploaded, see first post.

Bugfixes for adding an ebook, where Author name was sometimes being doubled and the ebook mistakenly being recognized as a Pre-Order (due to a missing leading zero in some date elements).
A random delay option between queries has been implemented.
Go to the Wikipedia page for Author or Title of currently selected ebook has been added.
Mode warning message has been adjusted for when selecting 'automatic' mode.

NOTES - To activate the Random option, you may first need to de-select the Delay checkbox and then re-select it.

Going to the correct Wikipedia page for Author or Ebook Title, will always be problematic. This is because of a few things, not least of all, how Wikipedia choose to list their pages and how Amazon list their ebook titles. There will no doubt be issues with illegal characters and other textual things. To that end, the concocted URL is displayed in an Input Box, so that the user who has experience and or knowledge, can make a judicious edit before clicking OK. Not to mention, that the Wikipedia page you wish to go to may not exist (yet).

Both bugs were easy to fix, and just minor oversights. 5 is more than 08 apparently, so it failed a day comparison, so a leading zero is now added to day and month as appropriate.

I guess I could have also just used the Number function on day and month macros.

P.S. One possible bug I forgot to check out, is the Stop Query At option. I tried to do a single ebook with this the other day, such that Start and Stop were the same entry, and while is started correctly, the Query failed to stop and would have continued to the end of the list if I hadn't manually stopped it. It is possible I have forgotten how it is meant to be used, but it doesn't seem right to me, so I need to investigate. At the very least, I may need to have a notification displayed when start and finish locations are the same entry ... or perhaps disallowing it to be so.

Edited July 8, 2015 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

Image Data for one of my ADDed ebooks, is not working despite the content of the dat file looking ok. Must be something incorrect or missing in what is extracted, as the image is ok on the web page. So I will be looking further into this, but I have decided I will probably add an input box option to paste the ebook cover URL into, so that it can be downloaded to the correct location and filename, without any other manual interaction. It will be saved as a regular image file, using the recently added ability of the program to show a jpg instead of a dat file (either or).

So that makes two three things now for the next update.

EDIT

Decided I can/should now make some Messages (one at least) use a timeout to avoid Query holdups. So that's another improvement/addition for next update.

Edited July 11, 2015 by TheSaint
More to add

[TheSaint]

Busy at work on the next update and about half done.

Obviously I'm not that busy or I wouldn't be here. Truth is though, after coding the Stop At fix and two other things, I'd forgotten what else I'd thought of and mentioned here, I also wanted to bleat about INI files (which should make guinness happy).

A couple of days ago, I discovered an entry on my Ebook list, where the Low price was higher than the Start price. As this is never supposed to happen, I of course had to look into it. Out of a list of about 52 items, it is the most expensive item, and the only one to ever show this behavior. During investigation, I discovered spaces in some prices (all trailing spaces I think). This made me wonder if that was the cause, because I spent a lot of time on the maths on more than one occasion, and feel it shouldn't be to blame. Those spaces not doubt occurred when I first introduced Manual mode, and happened if the user wasn't diligent enough with Copy & Paste. That issue was fixed a version or two later, and I just presumed prices would correct themselves after a few queries, but didn't think too much about it, as there had been very few downloads of the program at that point for that particular version.

So anyway, I was surprised to see those spaces, but have implemented a once-off fix for any such in the next update. That fix became a bit of a bugger though and took me far longer than I had reckoned on. The issue was INI related.

For some odd (stupid if you ask me) reason, you can write leading and trailing spaces to an INI entry, but cannot read them back, even though they are clearly visible in the INI file. Worse still, while you can simply rewrite to the INI entry to remove the leading spaces, you can never remove the trailing ones ... short of probably deleting the key altogether.

So if the system won't let you read spaces, then why let you write them?

Anyway, in the end I had to solve it by read writing all keys to another INI file and then renaming it as the first. Not that leaving the spaces seemed to matter, but I like to be diligent.

All that aside, it seems extremely unlikely that spaces had anything to do with the Low price issue. So at this stage, as I really don't feel like revisiting all the maths again at the moment, I am presuming it was down to another error preceding the space addition period, and it had probably just escaped my attention. It may have even been related to the reason I started working on the mythical v4.0. Time will tell.

Edited July 14, 2015 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

v1.6 uploaded, see first post.

WARNING - While this update does create a backup during the FIX process (requiring manual removal), unless you are sure of a previously created backup for each user, I would recommend creating your own manually. Each user file is only fixed, the first time it is selected by a user.
Start and Stop item can now be one and the same and work correctly.
Start and Stop item once set, can now have ISBN shown in a dialog.
A once off FIX (for each user as selected) for spaces in any price value.
Errors for failed read of a Price or Web page missing, are now continued on from after 6 seconds.
Added another Get Missing option, to retrieve an image via it's url, where an input is presented to user for pasting the URL into, but automated if on the clipboard.

NOTES - Spaces in prices may have occurred when the Manual Query option was first introduced. It was dependent on the copy & paste diligence of the user, but later catered for with a bugfix. The FIX probably won't fix anything for most users, but I've enabled it to be sure, just for completeness.
I guess the improvement to Start and Stop item, can be seen as a bugfix, though in reality using Query for one item would be much smarter than fiddling around with Start and End points for a Query ALL, and then doing only one item.
With the failed errors, each occurrence is indicated by a hash # character at the end of the Current price anyway, but I am considering having the failures listed after a Query ALL has finished, so this may be in a later version of the program. If you want to adjust the timeout for the Error dialogs, see the 'Error Dialog' pause key in the 'Settings.ini' file and change the value.
Adding an image via it's URL is a right-click 'Get Missing' option, that downloads the image to the correct folder and filename for the currently selected ebook entry. This really only needs to be used if getting the Image Data failed or doesn't work correctly. The process deletes any existing DAT or JPG file for the selected ebook entry, first.

 

Edited July 14, 2015 by TheSaint

[guinness]

; Something like this...
$summary = StringReplace($summary, "| |", "||")
$summary = StringReplace($summary, "|||", "||")
$summary = StringReplace($summary, "|||", "||")

; can be improved with a regex
Do
    $summary = StringRegExpReplace($summary, "(?:\|\s\||\|{3})", "||")
Until @extended = 0
; Match | | OR \\\

 

Edited July 14, 2015 by guinness

[TheSaint]

Regex has never been my forte, and I'm gathering you actually meant to use StringRegExpReplace in your Do loop?

I'll seriously consider using it, but I am generally ruled by simplicity and what I understand, especially when I may need to troubleshoot, though that shouldn't be so in this case, so I thank you for both taking the time and sharing it.

I keep promising myself, that I will actually spend some time delving into Regex until I get a handle on it, but I always have too much on my plate and never enough time. What you have provided me will certainly make a good start, and seemingly not too hard to study, so I truly do thank you ... and you never know, you may have just started me down that path.

[guinness]

Whoops, fixed that. Also good to hear that I might have inspired you!