Previews Reader
A GNOME interface for reading the Diamond Comics Previews catalog.
Requires python 2.3.x, gnome-python2 2.0.x, pygtk2 2.2.x, libxml2-python 2.6.x
Where to get the required Previews files
- Order forms Can be downloaded from this url:
http://previews.diamondcomics.com/support/previews_docs/orderforms/archive/
It is the Consumer Order Forms in text format that should be
downloaded from here. They are called cof.txt or MM_YY_cof.txt for
some of the older ones.
Download the ones you want and rename them to fit this pattern:
previews-YYYY-MM-orderform.txt
So for instance the order form downloaded for September 2004 will be called previews-2004-09-orderform.txt
- Previews text file catalogs Can be downloaded from either of these urls (and probably from other locations as well):
http://www.heroesanddragons.com/Subscriptions/DownloadPreviewsFiles/Archive/DEFAULT.htm http://www.comicbookresources.com/resources/previews/
At the moment only the Previews Catalog and the Marvel Previews are supported, so those are the ones you want to download.
They must then be renamed to fit this pattern:
previews-YYYY-MM.txt
previews-YYYY-MM-marvel.txt
So for instance the Previews Catalog downloaded for September 2004 will be called previews-2004-09.txt and the corresponding Marvel Previews will be called previews-2004-09-marvel.txt
Alternatively you can use the included previews-downloader.py commandline program. For example to download all the needed files for September 2004 the commandline would look like this:
previews-downloader.py 2004 09
Where to place the files
After downloading and renaming the files according to the previous section they must be placed in the following directory for Previews Reader to find:
~/.previews-reader/Previews/
The only files that are absolutely required are the order forms. The Previews text file catalogs are only needed if you want to be able to see extra information about specific items.
How to use the program
Select File/Open to access a specific Previews Catalog. It may take a while to load, so be patient.
You will then be presented with a list of all the items in the order form for the month you have selected.
By double-clicking on an item you will see more detailed information in the Description field. Here you will also find the Favorites check box, which you can use to make Previews Reader automatically mark future items in a series as something you want to order.
In the main Items field there is an Order column. Checking of item here will add them to your order list, which can be seen be clicking the View/Order list menu item.