General
1.1 What are MBase's system requirements?
1.2 Is MBase open source?
1.3 Is there a Mac or Linux version?
1.4 Where does MBase get its data?
Features
2.1 What's the "Games"-tab for?
2.2 Does MBase have a plugin system?
2.3 Does MBase support Unicode?
2.4 Are there any other languages available?
2.5 How do I edit movies? The Edit Movie section is always grayed out.
2.6 When I update a movie with the online search, MBase always overwrites my data!
2.7 How can I minimize MBase to the tray?
2.8 I don't need that many columns. How do I remove them?
2.9 I want the simple list view from MBase 1.x!
2.10 What does the blue dot mean in front of some titles?
2.11 What are Custom Lists?
2.12 What's the Wish List?
2.13 Editing actors is slow!
2.14 MBase doesn't download the data even though it is there on IMDb?
Misc
3.1 I found a bug. What do I do?
3.2 I exported my movies before the Windows reinstallation and now all the covers and pictures are gone!
3.3 I want to reinstall Windows and save all my data. How do I do that?
3.4 How do I restore the default settings?
General
What are MBase's system requirements?
Generally very low. It was optimized to work fast with large data sets and would therefore also work with older computers.
We do recommend a good internet connection though. Especially in the beginning you'll find yourself waiting quite long for the data being pulled off the Internet. This is because you're most likely adding new actors which you don't yet have data, pictures, etc. for. If your connection is really slow, you should consider turning "Actor Data" off. Just right-click on the button next to the Title field and deselect the option.
Is MBase open source?
No and it's not likely to become open source ever.
Is there a Mac or Linux version?
A port to either of those platforms is not planned.
However, it might be possible to run it under Wine or similar. You could also always use a virtual machine (VM, Parallels, etc.).
Where does MBase get its data?
MBase gets its data primarily from the Internet Movie Database.
Features
What's the "Games"-tab for?
Don't worry. MBase is not supposed to be a manager for your video games too.
The Games will be integrated in the future and will entertain you with quiz games about your own personal collection.
Does MBase have a plugin system?
No and none is planned for the future.
Does MBase support Unicode?
Yes, it works across all Windows systems.
However, you cannot make an online search with special characters. Only Latin-1 characters are allowed.
Are there any other languages available?
Currently we only offer English and German versions.
However, in the future it could be possible to have the User Interface translated.
How do I edit movies? The Edit Movie section is always grayed out.
You have to select at least one movie in your collection and choose "Edit Movie(s)" from the context menu or simply press F2.
When I update a movie with the online search, MBase always overwrites my data!
Of course it does, that's why you started the online search for your Edit Movie. MBase assumes you want all fields to be updated, it can't guess which ones you really want.
Right-click on the button next to the entry field. There you can choose which data MBase should get off the Internet. When you (un)checked your options, click on "Save Temporary". This way your selection will only be saved for this one movie and not forever.
How can I minimize MBase to the tray?
Simply click on "Menu" in the upper left corner and select "Minimize to Tray".
You can also make MBase to be always minimized to tray. The "General" tab in the settings contains the needed option.
I don't need that many columns. How do I remove them?
Right-clicking on any column header opens the context menu from which you can choose the columns you want.
I want the simple list view from MBase 1.x!
It's still possible to have a more simple list view just like the one from MBase 1.x. All you have to do is hide the columns "Cover", "Director", and "Actors". You can hide columns by right-clicking on any column header.
What does the blue dot mean in front of some titles?
A blue dot indicates that you haven't watched that movie yet (i.e. your Watch Count is 0).
The settings allow you to turn that kind of notification off.
What are Custom Lists?
They're similar to playlists from music players. They allow you to group your movies (e.g. "Movies to sell").
A movie can be in as many lists as you want.
What's the Wish List?
It's intended for movies you don't actually have yet but are planning on getting.
Editing actors is slow!
If you really have a lot of actors and select the "Edit Actors" section in Management, it might take some time before you can work with your actors.
This is simply because all the actors have to be loaded first. You might also want to try turning off the loading of the actors' pictures and the counting of their movies.
MBase doesn't download the data even though it is there on IMDb?
It seems like IMDb changed their structure. This causes MBase not to find the information even though it is there.
If you have the newest version of MBase, please report it with a proper description (which movie and what data is missing or displayed incorrectly).
Misc
I found a bug. What do I do?
Try to see if the bug is reproducible first. If it is, search our Task Tracker to make sure this bug wasn't already reported. There you can also report a new bug or submit a suggestion.
I exported my movies before the Windows reinstallation and now all the covers and pictures are gone!
After an import covers and pictures are only available if they were also available before the import.
MBase backups and exports to the XML format. XML can only store plain data and therefore the exported file didn't contain your movie covers and actors pictures.
See below how to correctly backup everything.
I want to reinstall Windows and save all my data. How do I do that?
The most important files in your MBase installation directory are "MyMovies.mdb" which contains all your movie data and "standarddata.sd" which contains all your actors and other data. The pictures and covers however are separately stored in "covers" and "actors".
The best thing to do is to simply backup the complete MBase folder. This way all your settings, pictures, covers etc. are saved.
Just reinstall MBase and copy the backup into the installation directory.
How do I restore the default settings?
Close MBase and go to your MBase installation directory. There you'll find the file "settings.ini" which you need to delete.
The next time you start MBase, all default settings are used.
