New Features on TroveStar

gdmichaels Aug 23, 2016

  1. gdmichaels

    gdmichaels TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks to a huge push from the N Scale curators, we added a huge pile of features to the database in the last month.

    The count of N Scale Products is now 22,482 and covers a pretty wide range of new and old products from many different brands.

    The new features are primarily concerned with prototype data such as logos, history of road names and more background data on the engines and rolling stock. Much of this data now appears below the traditional image/fact-grid that enumerates the core features of every N Scale item. The ability to link external sites has really helped and all the manufacturers have been very supportive.

    Here is an example that uses road name and brand logos that I created yesterday:

    http://www.trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=110328

    I would like to use this thread for any bug reports or feature requests. Many features can be added directly by the TroveStar curators who will also be watching this thread. Some will require programming and may take a little longer.

    Thanks for all your support. This project is going very well!
     
    Hardcoaler likes this.
  2. gdmichaels

    gdmichaels TrainBoard Member

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    Images used as logos will now be cached on the server.
     
  3. gdmichaels

    gdmichaels TrainBoard Member

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    Default body styles will now also be cached.
     
  4. AlanUS

    AlanUS TrainBoard Member

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    ntbn1 likes this.
  5. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    Nice work on this everyone. Soon you'll make my UMTRR Release Tables obsolete :D
     
  6. AlanUS

    AlanUS TrainBoard Member

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    George,
    I doubt that anyone can make your amazing monthly report obsolete in any way. Always a great moment when receiving a new issue.
     
  7. TwinDad

    TwinDad TrainBoard Member

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    Question: If I have, say, a piece of rolling stock that is not in the database... how do I add it, or provide the information so that it can be added?

    For example, I have a Con-Cor Amtrak material handling car. There are several in the db, but not the specific road#/con-cor part# that I have.
     
  8. AlanUS

    AlanUS TrainBoard Member

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    This is very easy - please have a look at the help page that has recently been updated:
    http://www.trovestar.com/general/Help/ntrains.php

    If you don't find an existing type of rolling stock that matches your item, either use body style '000_UNK' or any existing body style that is close enough to your item, and put a note in the 'Specific Item Information' with relevant information that are specific to your item type. With this indication, TroveStar's curators will be able to create the appropriate body style.
    An alternative is to contact TroveStar at admin@trovestar.com to request creation of a new body style.

    If body style exists, then you can create as many items as you wish without going through this process.

    You will only need a gmail account to register. If you don't have one, just create it, it is a few steps to follow and totally free of charge.
     
  9. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    It's indeed pretty easy to join up and contribute. I was uncertain about things at the start, but gdmichaels got me going and it's been a lot of fun.
     
  10. AlanUS

    AlanUS TrainBoard Member

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    Don't hesitate to contact me either. I'm a regular contributor and curator.
     
  11. AlanUS

    AlanUS TrainBoard Member

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    By the way, since this post was started, a few more features have been added such as an image gallery per body style, that we use to display images of the prototype.
     
  12. AlanUS

    AlanUS TrainBoard Member

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    And item count is now over 35,000
     
  13. gdmichaels

    gdmichaels TrainBoard Member

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    The TroveStar N-scale Model Trains Database continues to grow and evolve.

    Each day our Rewards Participants and staff add more items. Our current tally is 44,698.

    Over the summer, we launched the N Scale Enthusiast – TroveStar Classifieds, a peer-to-peer, fixed price marketplace to facilitate buying and selling of N Scale items.

    We constantly add new search capabilities. Most recently, we added functionality so users can now select which e-bay site (US, Germany, France, etc) they would like to search when shopping for an item.

    To give credit where credit is due, we have to thank Alain, our France-based Rewards Participant (who has entered more than 3,100 items to the database and earned close to a dozen items worth more than $500) for suggesting this new functionality. He specifically wanted to be able to access the eBay Germany site. Before we added this new shopping feature, TroveStar (by default) searched only the U.S. eBay site.

    How to Choose Your Preferred eBay Site
    It is easy to limit or expand which eBay sites you would like TroveStar to search when shopping for an item.
    1. You must be a registered TroveStar user.
    2. Go to your Profile page.
    3. At the bottom of the Profile page, go to “List of eBay Site” and simply type in your preference. For example, “EBAY-DE” = Germany. You can list several eBay sites*. You just need to separate each site by a comma.
    4. Hit “enter” or click the Update button.
    5. When you “Shop for an Item” on any individual item page, TroveStar will now show results for the eBay marketplace you have specified.
    *As of the writing of this blog, eBay Japan yields 0 search results, even for items available on that particular site. We are not sure why this site is not included as an option on eBay's developer global-id list. We will continue to research this.

    Please use this list to expand and / or limit your eBay country site searches.
    1. eBay Austria = EBAY-AT
    2. eBay Australia= EBAY-AU
    3. eBay Switzerland= EBAY-CH
    4. eBay Germany= EBAY-DE
    5. eBay Canada (English) = EBAY-ENCA
    6. eBay Spain= EBAY-ES
    7. eBay France= EBAY-FR
    8. eBay Belgium (French) = EBAY-FRBE
    9. eBay Canada (French) = EBAY-FRCA
    10. eBay UK= EBAY-GB
    11. eBay Hong Kong= EBAY-HK
    12. eBay Ireland= EBAY-IE
    13. eBay India= EBAY-IN
    14. eBay Italy= EBAY-IT
    15. eBay Motors= EBAY-MOTOR
    16. eBay Malaysia= EBAY-MY
    17. eBay Netherlands= EBAY-NL
    18. eBay Belgium (Dutch) = EBAY-NLBE
    19. eBay Philippines= EBAY-PH
    20. eBay Poland= EBAY-PL
    21. eBay Singapore= EBAY-SG
    22. eBay United States= EBAY-US

    Alan, thanks so much for suggesting this new functionality!
     
  14. AlanUS

    AlanUS TrainBoard Member

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    Thank you this George!
    Working fine and displaying the proper currency according to the search results.
    First step to Internationalization!

    Alain LM
     

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