Frequently Asked Questions
General
What's the difference between the free and the pro versions?
Are there any plans to add Android or macOS support?
Do I need to purchase the app for my iPhone and my iPad separately?
Can I access my library online?
How can I restore my In-App Purchase?
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Download and open the free app on your device. -
Select Settings > Upgrade. -
Select "Restore Purchase".
Can I create a Wish List?
What is the difference between categories and tags?
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Assume you wish to track which items are in your home and which are in your office. Ask yourself: “Can an item be located only in one of the places, or in both at the same time?”. Since the answer is clearly “only one place at one time”, you should use categories to classify this criterion. -
Assume you wish to track which animals appear in each of your nature movies. Since several animals can appear in each movie, use tags to classify this criterion.
Why can't I read a backup file?
Basics
How do I sort authors by their last name? (BookBuddy App)
How can I get the app to ignore leading articles ("The", "An", and "A") when sorting by title?
How do I back up my library?
How do I transfer my library from the free version to the pro version?
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In the free version, select Settings > Backup > Dropbox tab > Back Up Library, and wait until the backup process completes. -
In the pro version, go to Settings > Backup > Dropbox tab, be sure the Dropbox account shown is the same one used in the free version, and select “Restore Library from Backup”.
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In the free version, select Settings > Backup > Any Service tab > Back Up Library, select a folder in a storage service such as iCloud Drive, and select “Add”. Wait until the backup process completes. -
In the pro version, select Settings > Backup > Any Service tab > Filename, and browse to the file where you backed up the free version. Then select “Restore Library from Backup”.
Can I move an item to a different category?
How do I add an item to a specific category?
How do I create a series and then add items to it?
Select an item to be included in the series, and select Edit. In the Edit page, select the “Series” field. Enter a new series name in the search box, or select a series name from the list. Select “Save” at the top right corner.
After a series name is selected, an additional field named “Volume” appears below the “Series” field in the Edit page. Select the “Volume” field to enter the volume number of the item in the series, and save it.
How do I add a new Genre value?
Where do I indicate an item’s format, such as “DVD”/“Blu-ray” for a movie, or “hardcover”/“paperback” for a book?
Can I email my wish list to myself or to others?
Yes. Go to Settings > Import & Export > Export tab. Depending on the app, select “Book Lists” or "Movie Lists" or "Album Lists". Ensure that only “Wish List” is turned on and that the other options are turned off, and return to the Export tab. In the “Export To” field, select Email, and return to the Export tab. Choose the desired file format (HTML or CSV), and select Export at the bottom of the page. Voila! The wish list file is attached to an email ready for you to send. You can even customize the email subject and body.
What is “Uncategorized” and why does it include items?
Troubleshooting
Importing a file from another app failed. Why?
However, if the data to be imported is modified in any way, such as through a spreadsheet application, its structure could change. This could cause the detection described above to fail. For this reason it’s essential that the file remain “as-is” once it is exported from the other app.
We recommend that you export the file again. Do not modify or even open it. Then import it into our app. If the import still fails, please contact us so we can take a closer look.
Importing my existing catalog failed. Why?
The file to be imported must be in CSV format with:
- comma (“,”) as the field delimiter
- UTF-8 encoding
We recommend saving the CSV file using OpenOffice or Apple Numbers due to compatibility issues with some versions of Microsoft Excel.
For more information see “How do I import my existing catalog?” in the “Import, Export, Print” FAQs.
Why can't I restore an In-App Purchase via Family Sharing?
Apple’s Family Sharing feature does not support In-App Purchases as described in https://support.apple.com/en-il/HT203046. (See the “What you can't share” section.)
Why was I charged twice by Apple for purchasing the same app?
There are two separate apps in the App Store for each of our products. For example, BookBuddy is available as both:
- “BookBuddy” which is free to download.
- “BookBuddy Pro” which is a paid app.
The only difference between these two apps is that the free “BookBuddy” app has a 50-book limit. A “BookBuddy” user who wishes to remove this limit can purchase the “Pro Features” upgrade from within BookBuddy via an In-App Purchase.
On the other hand, some users prefer purchasing the “BookBuddy Pro” app, which has no book limit, directly from the App Store. Both of these purchase methods involve the same fee and offer the exact same app features and capabilities.
A duplicate purchase occurs when a user purchases the “BookBuddy Pro” app from the App Store, and also the “Pro Features” In-App Purchase from the free app. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t provide a way to link between purchases made through separate apps, and so we have no way to prevent users from making duplicate purchases.
That being said, we believe that if you ask Apple for a refund by explaining your use case, they would fully refund your fee. To submit a refund request, we suggest that you follow this link: http://www.imore.com/how-to-get-refund-itunes-app-store.
How can I tell if the sync is working properly?
First ensure that the same sync service (iCloud or Dropbox) is selected on all devices. Then select Settings > Sync on each device and check the value in “Number of Items”.
If the values are not identical on all syncing devices, select “Sync Now” and wait a few minutes. If the values are still not identical, then the devices are not in sync. (See the next FAQ, "How do I fix sync issues?")
Note that it may take several hours to complete the initial sync.
How do I fix sync issues?
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On each device to be synced, open Settings > Sync. Make sure that the version number that appears in the “App Name” field is identical on all devices. -
Completely restart all devices to be synced. (Hold the power button and then "slide to power off".) -
Open the app again on each device, and check if the sync is working properly. (See the FAQ “How can I tell if the sync is working properly?” above.) -
If the sync is still not working, on each device select Settings > Sync > Sync Now. -
If the “Last Sync” field on all devices is updated with the current time, then the data should eventually sync successfully across all devices. Contact us if the data has not synced after waiting several hours. -
If the “Last Sync” field is not updated with the current time on any device, then a sync error occurred. Continue to the next step.
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Be sure your service is not out of space. -
If the sync service is Dropbox, check the available space in your Dropbox account. If your Dropbox space is full, free some space and try syncing again. -
If the sync service is iCloud, check the available space on your iCloud Drive. If your iCloud Drive is full, free some space and try syncing again.
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Only on the devices where the “Last Sync” field is not updated with the current time, select Advanced > Replace with Synced Data > Replace. This will delete the local library and will replace it with a fresh copy of the library from the sync service. Wait patiently until the sync completes. Allow additional time for an iCloud sync, as it is performed in the background. -
If the “Last Sync” field on all devices is now updated with the current time, then the data should eventually sync successfully across all devices. Contact us if the data has not synced after waiting several hours. -
If the “Last Sync” field on any device is still not updated with the current time, contact us for further assistance.
Sync
What does the "sync" feature do?
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You own multiple devices, such as an iPhone and an iPad, and you wish to view and manage your library on both. -
You and your family members wish to keep your home library in sync across your personal devices. -
You and your co-teachers wish to keep your classroom library in sync across your devices, so that all the teachers can keep track of the check-ins and check-outs made by students.
Which sync service should I use: iCloud or Dropbox?
How do I sync my library across all my devices using iCloud?
How do I sync my family’s library across all our devices using Dropbox?
- First you need a single Dropbox account for all the devices. You can create one for free at http://www.dropbox.com or use the Dropbox app available on the App Store.
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Ensure that all family devices are configured with the same Dropbox account at Settings > Backup > Dropbox tab > Account. -
Select Settings > Sync > Select Service > Sync with Dropbox. If this is the primary device (the one with the largest library), we recommend selecting Backup to back up the library now. If this is not the primary device or if you recently backed up the library, select Sync with Dropbox > Merge. -
Depending on the size of the library, the initial step may take up to several hours. For the sync to run successfully, do not close the app until the sync completes. You can continue syncing all the devices in the meantime. -
After all the devices have been synced, any change made on one device should automatically replicate to the other devices pretty quickly. You don't have to do anything else to keep the devices in sync.
How do I sync the library across my own and my colleagues’ devices?
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First you need a single Dropbox account for all the devices. You can create one for free at http://www.dropbox.com or use the Dropbox app available on the App Store. -
Ensure that all the devices are configured with the same Dropbox account at Settings > Backup > Dropbox tab > Account. -
Select Settings > Sync > Select Service > Sync with Dropbox. If this is the primary device (the one with the largest library), we recommend selecting Backup to back up the library now. If this is not the primary device or if you recently backed up the library, select Sync with Dropbox > Merge. -
Depending on the size of the library, the initial step may take up to several hours. For the sync to run successfully, do not close the app until the sync completes. You can continue syncing all the devices in the meantime. -
After all the devices have been synced, any change made on one device should automatically replicate to the other devices pretty quickly. You don't have to do anything else to keep the devices in sync.
Import, Export, Print
How do I export my library?
Can I export my library in multiple file formats?
You can export your library in any of these popular file formats: HTML, CSV, or TSV.
- CSV and TSV files are delimited text files that use commas or tabs to separate values. These file formats store tabular data (numbers and text) in plain text, but they cannot store styles or images. If your library is exported in CSV or TSV format, you’ll have a lightweight text file that can be viewed in tabular format using a spreadsheet application such as Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers.
- An exported HTML file is larger than a CSV or TSV file containing the same exported library. HTML format provides a rich representation of your library including various text styles and cover images. HTML is the standard file format for web pages and web applications, so your HTML files can be easily viewed in web browsers such as Google Chrome and Apple Safari.
How do I import a file from another app?
Most library apps let you export a file in CSV format to your device or to a storage service such as iCloud Drive or Dropbox.
To import that file, go to Settings > Import & Export > Import tab. Select the saved file in the "Filename" setting, and select Import at the bottom of the page.
Can I view my library on my desktop computer?
How do I import my existing catalog?
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comma (“,”) as the field delimiter -
UTF-8 encoding
How do I import my GoodReads library? (BookBuddy App)
- Go to the GoodReads website, log in, and select “My Books” at the top of the page.
- Under “Tools” in the left pane, select “Import and export”.
- Under “Export Your Books” at the top right, click the “Export Library” button to start exporting your library.
- When the export is completed, select the “Your export” link under “Export Your Books”. Your library is downloaded to a file in CSV format.
- Import the CSV file into the app.
How do I import my iBooks library? (BookBuddy App)
How do I import my Kindle library? (BookBuddy App)
How do I print out my library?
If your printer is AirPrint enabled, you can print your library directly from your iOS device. Select Settings > Import & Export > Print tab, and select the appropriate values in each field. You can limit the data to be printed by selecting specific lists and field groups. Then select Print at the bottom of the page. You’ll be prompted to select the printer and other options. Your library will be printed in rich HTML format that includes various text styles and cover images.
Alternately, you can export your library into a CSV or HTML file and print it from either your iOS device or from your desktop computer. CSV files are printed in a tabular and more compact layout, and they don’t include any images.