The value displayed on the grid comes from the "Market value" field, not the transaction value field.

But in your preference settings, you can have Cellar! automatically set the market value to the last transaction value when entering a new transaction (adding bottles).

For wines that are already created, you will have to edit them and manually input the market value of each.

Thanks

Updated: January 10, 2006

Months have been added for wines that have very short lifespan, like 2 to 5 years. For such a wine, a full year is not precise enough to set drinking points.

BUT, one thing is important to point out: You do NOT need to input months if you don't want to! You can opt to only enter the year (even using only the last two digits of the year). Cellar! completes the entry itself, inserting a month in the middle of the year (month 7).

The months will still be displayed, but in a future release, we may add an option to hide them if you don't want them at all. But internally, Cellar! will always compute dates and charts using the year-month combination.

Note that you can either input dates directly, or you can use the sliders to draw the chart.

Updated: January 19, 2004

In short, no.

UPC barcodes are not international, they are not fully standardized, and they may be linked to a specific wine but with different vintages.

You can still input a UPC inside one of the user-defined field and even use your barcode to scan & search the database, making sure to position the cursor on the correct user-defined column on the grid first.

Updated: August 22, 2005

To set a different region for a producer/winery, you will need to create two wineries/producers.

For example, Producer A is present in both Bordeaux and Burgundy but in the current database, you only find the Bordeaux one. Create a new winery and name it "Producer A (Burgundy)". It is also probably be a good idea to modify the original to "Producer A (Bordeaux)".

For producers/wineries with multiple appellations, when you create a wine for a winery that has a default appellation set, you can always overide the default appellation, but note that the appellation must still be located in the same region as the winery.

Updated: February 19, 2005

The error comes from some anti-virus / anti-spam / anti-spy tool installed on your computer which prevents the file "cellar_news.dat" from being downloaded correctly from our site.

This file contains the latest news about Cellar! and is totally harmless to your computer.

You can simply click "Ignore" when this error happens. You will not get the news, but you will be able to resume your work in Cellar!.

Some protection software allow you to specify a list of files that you want them to bypass. You could include the file "cellar_news.dat" in this list.

Before checking for updates inside the software, you could also disable your anti-virus / spam / spy software and re-enable them after the check.

Updated: January 10, 2006

The auction data does not come pre-loaded with Cellar!. To download the auction data, choose the "C! Online/Check for updates" menu item. Check the "Auction file" checkbox and perform the update. Now you should be able to perform a search. Try searching for "Dom", which will definitely return some entries.

Updated: June 24, 2003

When you're on the screen that displays all of the wineries that can be imported, click the button labeled "View/Hide More Options Panel". There are several options here that will automatically "answer" questions about country/region/appellation conflicts. This will greatly speed up the importing process.

Also, keep in mind that you don't have to download all of the wineries to use the information. Instead, when entering a new wine, if the winery is not found in the local Cellar! database, the system will ask to query the online database. If a match is found, it can be downloaded into your local database.

Updated: May 20, 2003

To print out a report for just one or a few wines, highlight one or more wines using the leftmost column in the grid that has the right-arrow icon in it (just like you'd highlight a link in Excel). Use Shift-click or Control-click to highlight multiple entries. Then use the "Tools/Reporting/Cellar Book/" (choose the report you want) to generate a report for just the wines you highlighted.

Updated: February 19, 2005

As the relation between a wine and its tasting notes are 1 to many (meaning you can have more than one tasting note for each wine), it is impossible to know which tasting note to display on the grid.

However, you can use one of the user-defined fields to score information to accomplish this.

Updated: February 19, 2005

To rename your database file (it has the extension .CLR), you need to perform the following actions:

1. Make sure Cellar! is not running.
2. Go into Windows File Explorer.
3. Locate the folder where your database file is located.
4. Select your database file (with the .CLR extension).
5. By clicking once more on the filename, you will be able to rename it.
6. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE THE FILE EXTENSION AS .CLR

Now, when you will start Cellar! again, it will tell you it cannot locate the last database and will open the sample one instead.

Simply select File|Open database to locate and reopen your newly renamed database file.

Updated: February 19, 2005

Yes, there certainly is. Look under the "File/Export to" menu item. You can export to an HTML file, an Access database, or a text file (which can be imported into Excel).

Updated: January 5, 2003

One of our user reported a conflict with the following software:

OFOTO (OFUSBS.DLL)

When he disabled the tool from the Startup file in Windows, the problem was solved.

Updated: January 5, 2003

Yes, you can!

Althought we are currently adding some new features that will allow you to do this easier, you can already do so by following these steps:

Requirements: You must have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer, and your PDA (Palm or Pocket PC) must be equipped with a software to read or import Excel (XLS) files.

1. Export your data to text or HTML format using the "File/Export" menu.
2. Import the resulting files in Microsoft Excel and re-arrange data if you want to (put the tasting notes and transactions in the same XLS file under a different worksheet for example).
3. Save the resulting XLS file.
4. Follow the procedure to export the XLS file to your PDA.
5. Open the XLS file on your PDA.

Voilà! You now have full read access to your data.

Note: if you have a decent HTML browser on your PDA, you can also simply put the exported HTML files along with their icons on your PDA.

Updated: January 5, 2003

To view all the wines currently flagged for purchase, select the included query "** Shopping List **" from the drop-down list right above the grid in the main toolbar.

And yes, whatever gets displayed in the grid you can print out. Simply select "File/Print all rows" from the menu.

Updated: February 19, 2005

Right now, the answer here is the same as the one about importing data. We just don't have enough demand for this feature to expend the effort to implement it. Maybe later...

Updated: January 5, 2003

No we do not. This material is the copyright of the authors that create them.

However, you can add any rating or critics' notes as a tasting note yourself. You can also use one or more of the 5 user-defined fields where you can record critics' ratings, along with your own personal ratings, if you would ratings to appear on the main grid.

Keep in mind that you can use the Cellar! Online tasting notes database to download tasting notes written by other Cellar! users. To see if a tasting note is available for a wine, right click on a wine and select "C! Online Search for Tasting Notes".

In addition, with creative use of the WebLinks feature, you can search many wine sites for more tasting notes.

Updated: January 5, 2003

Yes, with Cellar! there is not limit to the number of separate cellars that you can track.

Use "New Cellar! Database" under the "File" menu to create a new database.

Updated: January 5, 2003

No, we do not (yet).

Cellar! has been serving wine enthusiasts since 1995 and during that time, we have been tempted to succumb to the "glitz and glitter" of having a graphical representation of a cellar's contents. Each time we look at this, we find that it is much more trouble for the end user than the "sexy look" is worth. Our fundamental driving force behind Cellar! is that it be quick, easy, and fun for the user. To date we have seen NO graphical interface that is truely effective. With all the of different shapes of cellaring arrangements and the limitations of a 2 dimensional screen, such graphic representations are very difficult to use and to maintain.

Just one example: Some say that "you can see all of the contents of your cellar directly on the screen" by using these graphical images. All that you see are shots of racking where you are looking end-on at the bottles. Thus .. what happens if you have double deep racking and you have a bottle of Wine A in the back of a cell and a bottle of Wine B in the front? There is no way that you "see" Wine A without dragging out Wine B.

One other thing... what happens when you change your racking method and/or have a multiple of different size, shape and depth racks?

If you desperately need this feature, then there are programs out there that provide this. But in the end, our users tell us they usually get tired of it quickly.

Nevertheless, we think we found a better way to do graphical representation, and we are evaluating the effort it will take to add it to Cellar!'s features. We just don't know when it will be done since it is not at the top of our users' priority list.

Updated: January 5, 2003

Cellar! can't determine the agability of a wine without your help.

There are other programs out there that pretend to give the aging characteristics of a given wine. However, they tend to do this based on the type of grape in the wine. Thus they "say" the a wine made from Chardonnay would be ready in X years, peak in Y years, and decline in Z years. We feel that this is a great disservice to the wine drinker! There is no way that a $10 California Chardonnay made for drinking today will age the same as a Grand Cru white wine from Burgundy! Each wine carries with it the signature of its producer and thus no two wines will age the same way.

With Cellar!, we allow you to enter wine aging dates for each individual wine based on your experiences and/or the experiences of others whom you trust. Keep in mind that you can create pre-set aging profiles in the settings, so that it's easy to select a setting that might be "close" and then modify it accordingly. To set these up, navigate to "Tools/Preferences/Drink Profiles" through the menus.

Updated: February 19, 2005

You can use any barcode reader that is compatible with your computer. The only requirement is that the reader be set to read CODE 39 style barcodes (this is the default setting for most readers) and that it acts like a keyboard (the same as if you actually were typing the code on your keyboard). We suggest that you use the "Gun" type instead of the "Wand" type, as they are much more forgiving of the condition of the bar-code label.

Some barcode readers have both a "normal" and a "full" or "extended" mode. You need to set it to the normal mode. For example, WASP CCD Bar Code Scanners come from the factory set to read Code 39 Full ASCII. This causes the scanner to ignore a second $ in the bar code or to interpret it as a special character. The WASP is shipped with a programming guide which is a series of bar codes that program the scanner. Chapter 5 of the guide is Code 39 Settings. You need to scan the bar code labeled "Disable code 39 Full ASCII" and the scanner should then read the Cellar! bar codes correctly.

You can check any barcode scanner by printing out Cellar! bar codes and scanning them while running MS Word or Notepad. You should see the letters/numbers on the barcode appear.

Other users have reported that the "locations" need to be fairly short (6 characters); otherwise the barcode was too wide for the scanner to read correctly.

We recommend using the Avery 5260 sized lablels. Avery also makes a removable label in this same size, Avery 6460.

Updated: January 20, 2004

This can also be accompanied by an "Out of memory" message.

Cellar! uses a sizeable amount of Windows resources, which on Windows 95, 98 and ME, are fixed in size (it doesn't depend on how much memory you have).

The solution in this case would be to make sure you are running Cellar! with ALL other software/tools closed. Or, alternatively, you can upgrade to Windows 2000 or XP.

Please read the following FAQ for more information on system requirements.

If you experience this problem on Windows 2000 or Windows XP, please contact us at support@cellarwinesoftware.com

Updated: January 5, 2003

There is no limit; you are only limited by the amount of disk space available on your drive.

Updated: January 5, 2003

There can be several reasons for this:

First, make sure you are looking at ALL the wines in your database. The fastest way to do this is to select the "All wines" query and then make sure you are not hiding wines with 0 bottle (see the Display menu).

If you still cannot see your wine, then verify these facts:

Do you have a wine in your database with the same winery name, vintage, appellation, label and bottle size than the one you are trying to add? Check these above fields only, do not include anything else (wine type, variety, etc.). If so, then your question is answered.

These fields above makeup the "unique" key in Cellar! which will uniquely identify each wine. The label field should be used to add the detail that uniquely differentiate two wines with the same values in the other 4 key fields.

For example, because varieties aren't considered in the wine's "Uniqueness", you may need to put in the primary variety into the label field (Merlot, Cabernet).

For more information on a wine's uniqueness and understanding wine labels, please review this wine label reference.

You may wonder why "variety" isn't part of the uniqueness calculation. We do have good reasons!:
First, it would be complicated to do so. Varieties are stored in individual fields, along with percentages in individual fields too. In addition, the variety field is an optional field and not every wine indicates their varieties. Finally, if you put in "64% Cabernet" in one wine, and then when entering the same wine, put in "100% Cabernet Blend" (or don't enter variety information at all), these "identical" wines would show up as two separate wines. It's complicated, to say the least!

Updated: August 23, 2003

Right now, Cellar! does not include a charting feature.

Since 1995, we have come to realize that most of our users find this attractive at first but really don't use it much. That's why we decided not to include any charting feature until we are satisfied with a set of features the users use the most. We do hope to add charting in a future release.

However, you can still export the data to an Microsoft Access database or Microsoft Excel and create all the graphs you want from there.

Updated: January 5, 2003

Because of the very complex relational database model, Cellar! does not have an import capability. Running any kind of import would require you to answer too many questions for each wine you import, making the process painful and slow. The risk of not importing all your data correctly is also highly possible.

Since entering wine information into Cellar! is easy, we recommend you print out your data and enter it into Cellar!. There's no rush, as this is not a time-critical application.

Updated: February 19, 2005

If you are using Cellar! version 3.4 or greater, you can use the "File --> Backup" menu to create a backup of your data files. If you're using an older version of Cellar!, the following are the files that contain your Cellar! data:

• *.CLR files are the main database files containing the data (e.g. "mycellar.clr").
  You may have specified a different folder to store your database files.


• SETTINGS.DAT contains all of your preferences, customized queries, display data, etc.


• WEBLINKS.DAT contains all of the WebLinks.


• MAINGRIDLAYOUTS.GRX contains the main grid layouts.


• PRODUCERSLAYOUTS.GRX contains the address books layouts.

Unless specified otherwise, all of these files are located in the folder where you installed Cellar!

To restore your Cellar! data files (or to copy data to another computer running Cellar!), first make sure that you can successfully start Cellar! and view the sample database. Then, exit Cellar!, copy the files from your backup directory into your Cellar! directory and start Cellar!

Updated: August 22, 2004

SL = Shopping List
TN = Tasting Note
L = Label
DHI = Drink/Hold Indicator

For the above there will be an Icon in that position if there is data for the wine.

Inv = Quantity on hand (Inventory)

Updated: February 19, 2005

This feature is not currently implemented in the software, but it is on our todo list for an upcoming update.

Updated: February 19, 2005

The only way to "modify" the quantity of a transaction is to create a new transaction. We implemented strict control between transactions and quantity in your Cellar! and your bottle locations to insure correct inventory count, you are not allowed to modify the quantity of a transaction nor delete the transaction.

We suggest you create a new transaction with the same date and write in the note "Correction of quantity..." or something similar and enter an offsetting quantity to bring your quantity to the correct value.

Updated: January 5, 2003

Ok .. I'm assuming what you want to do is print barcodes for your bottles but then be able to key in the barcode for bottle removal instead of using a scanner.

Yes this can be done quite easily.

As a test .. go ahead and create and print a barcode for one of your wines.

You will see under the barcode the a number that looks something like this *38$$E18*

- the * are only barcode delimiters .. you can ignore these
- the 38 is the wine id the $$ tells Cellar! a barcode is coming its way
- the E18 is the cellar location

When you have the main grid in front of you you can start typing the number 38$$E18

HOWEVER, read on...

Since the $$ tells cellar to expect a barcode scan there is only 1 (one) second allowed between the $$ and the rest of the input. Unless you're a good typer than us, you won't beat the one second.

Here's what you can do:

On the main grid type in 38E18

The search box will pop up with that value in it.

Place your cursor after the 8 and before the E and type $$

Then Cellar! pops the barcode removal menu!

Updated: January 5, 2003