Simon Clement

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September 2018

Tessera 417

2018-10-16T13:18:16+11:00

General

Payment comments now work as expected.

  • On iPhone Sales reports now work consistently.
  • Adding Collection Type to Collections now works as expected.
  • Interface changes to buttons making iPad usage more intuitive.
  • Multiple minor interface improvements.

Changes to Artwork LIST Screen

There is now the ability to specify four fields on the LIST screen giving users a more customisable interface.

Changes to Artwork Edit Screen

The more advance features of Tessera are now accessed under a separate tab on screen giving a simpler interface for most users.

Tessera 417 2018-10-16T13:18:16+11:00

August 2018

Tessera 416

2018-08-14T11:26:19+10:00

Performance improvements

  • On iPhone, insertion of images now works as expected.
  • On iPhone Sales reports now work consistently.
  • Adding Collection Type to Collections now works as expected.

Changes to Artwork Edit Screen

  1. The Edit screen has now one view only where the ability to review artworks by the current artist has been incorporated along with other details.

Changes to Artwork Form Screen

  1. Clicking onto artwork details on the Artwork Form screen now allows copying details to Clipboard.

Changes to List Screens

  1. On both list screen the option is included to check a selection of artworks then to search and find those artworks only. Making it easier to print or export a individually selected range of artworks.

Changes to Print Template

  1. Changes to print templates making them simpler to design and use.

iPad and iPhone

General improvements to usability and function of Tessera when used on iPad or iPhone.

Tessera 416 2018-08-14T11:26:19+10:00

May 2018

Tessera 415

2018-05-21T14:46:47+10:00
  • Adding a new client, in all scenarios, now works as expected.
  • When adding artworks to consignment documents users now have the option of turning on The Tracker while selecting artworks.
  • When adding artworks to a consignment document the full Stock ID is displayed making it easier to select the correct item.
  • Correction: New People records can now be created even when there are no records in the People Component.
  • Amend printout for single page images so that header appears on every page
  • When selecting to print from the artwork component users are prompted to print the current or all artworks being browsed.
  • On the Artwork Dashboard you can now copy artwork details to the Clipboard.
  • New download options when checking for new versions.
  • Pricing now appears on Print Templates as expected.
  • Custom menu labels now persist on restart.
  • Placeholders added to print templates are replaced by correct fields for all selections.
  • Option to export all images for a single artwork.
  • Option to export all images ever entered into Tessera sequentially numbered with artist name and artwork title.
  • When adding a new image record users are not immediately prompted to search their computer for an image. Instead a blank record is presented giving the user the option to drag or paste in an image or use the button provided to find an image on their computer.
  • When creating a new Payment Document the step where the person is added to the document now works as expected.
  • Clicking on the larger image on the Artwork Edit Screen now takes you to the Image Screen instead of the Image Share screen.
Tessera 415 2018-05-21T14:46:47+10:00

Sharing Tessera without networking

2018-05-02T16:27:16+10:00

One option if you want to use Tessera on two computers involves using one of the many cloud based sharing options available. Here an example is given using Dropbox.

(Dropbox.com a offers a free file hosting solution. Arawak has no association with Dropbox.)

There are potential limitations to this approach and as such this is not a recommended procedure but it is regularly utilised by users of our software without undue consequence.

When Dropbox is installed on your computer you’ll have a folder called “Dropbox” that automatically saves any data placed into it to the cloud. This means you are saving a copy off of your computer and also means that any other computer, with Dropbox installed and using the same account details, will also also have a Dropbox folder and the data in the Dropbox folders on the two computers will remain synchronised.

For example, you have two computers, Home and Work and you download and install Dropbox on both computers using the same Dropbox account details.

You place Tessera in the Dropbox folder on Home.

You go to Work and open the Dropbox folder. In the Dropbox folder there is now an identical copy of Tessera.

There are now two copies of Tessera. One at Home one at Work and one in the cloud. They are identical and contain your most up-to-date entries.

You can now work on Tessera at Home and when you go to Work you can resume where you left off.

(This depends on you allowing your computer at Home enough time for Dropbox to save your data to the cloud and, if your computer at Work was off-line, enough time for it to download your altered copy of Tessera to the Work Dropbox folder).

Limitations and suggested solutions

There are potential limitations to this approach.

It does not allow two people to work on Tessera at Home and Work simultaneously and attempting to do so may damage the Tessera file.

Working and storing Tessera in this manner may lead to damage to Tessera. Database files such as the Tessera data file are constantly being modified when in use and there is a chance Dropbox will try and save Tessera when it’s in a vulnerable state making it likely Tessera will not work as expected.

To limit the risk of damage it’s important to make your own backups outside of Dropbox and off of your computers.

Removing Tessera from the Dropbox folder when you work on it and returning it afterwards, having first closed Tessera, will help reduce potential risks.

It is recommended that you go one step further and zip the Tessera folder or before moving it back into the Dropbox folder. This adds another level of certainty towards making sure Tessera works as expected and reduces the size of the Tessera data file significantly reducing the time taken to synchronise the files.

Other considerations

If both computers are PCs or Macs you can save the whole Tessera folder to Dropbox. If one user is on a PC and the other on a Mac then only place the Tessera_data file in the Dropbox folder. The PC and Mac user should download and install the appropriate copy of Tessera to their machine. They should remove the Tessera_Data file from their Tessera folder. When they launch Tessera and are prompted to find the Tessera file they should point to the shared copy of the file.

Recommended steps for using a cloud based service

Whether or not the users are on Macs or PCs or a combination of Macs and PCs this is the recommended approach for a user.

  • Remove the zipped Tessera_Data file from the Dropbox folder and place it in their Tessera folder.
  • Unzip the Tessera_Data file
  • Open and use Tessera.
  • After use close Tessera
  • Zip the Tessera_Data file and place it in the Dropbox folder ready for the other user to repeat the process.

Taking these steps makes it close to impossible for one of the users to try and open and use Tessera at the same time as the other user.

Have a secure and regular backup system in place to ensure there is a backup available if required.

For galleries or collectors who need more than one person to access and use Tessera simultaneously then they can purchase copies of FileMaker Pro from filemmaker.com.

 

Sharing Tessera without networking 2018-05-02T16:27:16+10:00

Galleries and Tessera

2018-05-02T13:57:46+10:00

Highlighting Tessera features most suitable for use by a gallery. All of these features are available to artists, collectors, cataloguers and galleries alike. Some features listed require a Tessera Pro licence.

Issue invoices

Add any number of artworks and other items. Control the design of your invoice and the way tax is applied.

Security

Use security settings to limit access where required.

Adding artworks to invoices

Advanced range of options let you select from available editions and control the text that appears on the printed invoice.

Payments

Enter and track all payments made against invoices.

 

 

Document in detail all aspects of artworks

Multiple fields for the recording of a wide range of artwork details

Comprehensive reports on artwork inventory

Select if the report is for the purchase price or the inventory price of the artworks.

Other features

Attach any number of files such as contracts or letters to an artwork, link relevant websites, and add any number of images and videos.

Sales Reports

Produce sales reports on any date range and filter the report by category and other criteria.

Collections

Create collections of artworks to quickly display groups of artworks to clients.

Controls to speed data entry

Tessera’s Batch feature lets you alter entries in many fields at once.

 

Track frame costs

Retail price is highlighted in blue throughout Tessera when an artwork is framed.

Artwork Dashboard

Available throughout Tessera, where-ever an underlined name of an artwork appears, giving quick and easy access to essential artwork details.

Track artworks consigned into Tessera

Keep track of artworks that owners and artists have placed with you for sale.

Edit tax pricing

Manage text and pricing details from screens that allow multiple alterations at once.

 

Produce printed reports for clients and artists

Control the amount of descriptive text as well as the pricing details.

Snapshot Report: Review transactions for a specified date range

All of your clients and artist’s details collected together on one screen

Comprehensive pricing options

Includes the option to specify amounts payable to artists and owners on sale of their artworks.

Review all artworks belonging to selected artwork owners

 Pay owners and collectors on sale of their artworks

Compile documents detailing amounts payable on sale of artworks. Include tax and offset amounts payable with disbursements.

Galleries and Tessera 2018-05-02T13:57:46+10:00

Artists and Tessera

2018-05-02T13:17:44+10:00

Highlighting Tessera features most suitable for use by an artist. All of these features are available to artists, collectors, cataloguers and galleries alike.

Keep track of how you created artworks and the costs involved in production

Produce comprehensive reports on your artwork inventory

See how you’ll be paid by your gallery

Enter the gallery percentage or a whole amount amount if that’s how you’re paid by your gallery and keep track of tax amounts payable.

Keep track of artwork pricing

  1. Be precise on how tax is applied to your artworks.
  2. Specify an inventory price to give you accurate reports on the value of your artworks.
  3. Keep track of expenses incurred against an artwork.
  4. Record the production steps in creating an artwork.
  5. Display retail price in a foreign currency.

Extensive artwork features

Attach any number of files such as contracts or letters to an artwork, link relevant websites, keep a record of clients who’ve expressed an interest in an artwork and add any number of images and videos.

Sales Reports

Prodce sales reports on any date range and filter the report by category and other criteria.

Collections

Create collections of artworks to quickly display groups of artworks.

Comprehensive control over printing

Control the size of images and the text details that accompany them.

Artists and Tessera 2018-05-02T13:17:44+10:00

Collectors and Tessera

2018-05-02T13:17:10+10:00

Highlighting Tessera features most suitable for use by a collector. All of these features are available to artists, collectors, cataloguers and galleries alike.

Keep track of the changing valuation of your artwork

Comprehensive documentation

Provenance and related fields with extensive space for data entry

Multiple fields for the recording of a wide range of artwork details

Comprehensive reports on artwork inventory

Select if the report is for the purchase price or the inventory price of the artworks.

Other features

Attach any number of files such as contracts or letters to an artwork, link relevant websites, and add any number of images and videos.

Sales Reports

Produce sales reports on any date range and filter the report by category and other criteria.

Collections

Create collections of artworks to quickly display groups of artworks.

Controls to speed data entry

Tessera’s Batch feature lets you alter entries in many fields at once.

Consignment reports

Keep track of artworks that have been consigned out to galleries or auction houses. Control the data entered against each artwork. Options include ability to copy details for use in word processors or email clients.

Comprehensive control over printing

Control the size of images and the text details that accompany them.

Collectors and Tessera 2018-05-02T13:17:10+10:00

Cataloguers and Tessera

2018-05-02T13:16:27+10:00

Whether you are documenting a personal collection or producing a catalogue raisonné Tessera features an extensive suite of features to help you complete the task.

Highlighting Tessera features most suitable for use by cataloguers. All of these features are available to artists, collectors, cataloguers and galleries alike.

Documentation

Attach any number of files such as contracts or letters to an artwork, link relevant websites, add any number of images and videos.

Produce comprehensive reports on an artist’s works

Collections

Create collections of artworks to quickly display groups of artworks.

Add your comments to artworks

Add any number of comments to artworks. Mark comments that require attention. Review comments that require attention from a single screen.

Multiple option entries for fields

Artwork Dashboard

Review artwork details from a single screen

Add any number of keywords

Improve searching and cataloging artworks with the use of multiple keywords.

Multiple data entry fields

Add any number of custom fields for additional data

Compliant with  Dublin Core Metadata

Fields in Tessera accompanied by a star icon belong to The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set. This is a vocabulary of fifteen properties for use in resource description widely used by a range of organizations interested in facilitating movement of data between organizations.

You can use these fields as you would any other data field in Tessera. These fields have an accompanying extra field accessed under the star icon where additional values can be added. Allowing, for example, for an artwork to be given several titles or dates.

The fifteen element “Dublin Core” is part of a larger set of metadata vocabularies and technical specifications maintained by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative.

Comprehensive control over printing

Control the size of images and the text details that accompany them.

Extensive export options

Where required move your data to spreadsheets or word-processors.

Cataloguers and Tessera 2018-05-02T13:16:27+10:00

April 2018

Managing Stock

2018-04-23T22:32:23+10:00

When you create a new artwork you specify the number of items of stock to be attached to the artwork.

You can add and amend levels of stock for a artwork at any time.

Selling or consigning items of stock reduces the stock level.

Artworks with single items of stock

In many cases the stock level of the artwork will be one item only. Make sure you understand use of  The Tracker and why you should have the Tracker on even for single items of stock.

Artworks with multiple items of stock

In other cases there will be several items of stock for an artwork.

Examples:

  • Artworks where there are several unique editions.
  • Photographic prints where there are many prints available for an individual photograph.
  • Items such as jewellery where the gallery selling these items often takes on additional stock.

The Stock Management Screen and managing stock

Accessible from:

  1. Artwork Edit Screen
  2. The Artwork Dashboard
  3. Browsing an artist’s artworks when using Browse stock and sales

 

Features of the Manage Stock Screen

  1. Use the Stock button to show all stock entries for the current artwork.
  2. Artwork sales and artworks consigned out will be shown here. Stock level is a product of stock added – stock sold – stock consigned out.
  3. The inventory value of an artwork is the value used to calculate the value of inventory you hold. It can be edited from here or from the Artwork Edit screen.
  4. Use these buttons to review all artwork sales and artwork stock for the current artist.
  5. Individual stock entries are listed here.
    • May artworks will have a single entry with a stock level of 1.
    • Some artworks may have a single entry with a stock level of many. (For example an entry in Tessera for a book on an artist that you sell.)
    • Some artworks will have many single line entries all of one item of stock. (For example where the gallery or artist holds many items belonging to an edition where each edition has unique details such as an edition number. Or where a photographer, or a gallery selling a photographers artworks has many prints for sale some of which have unique prices and sizes).
  6. Artworks can be given an unique ID. Useful for tacking artworks belonging to an edition. Artworks with many items can be controlled in greater detail through use of the Set Controls.

Entering purchase price details for items of stock

  1. Click on the edit button to enter purchase details.

Purchase Price Settings

  1. Collectors and galleries can enter the purchase price for artworks.
  2. Tax settings can be amended where need be.
  3. Where appropriate enter a suppliers name.

Artworks with more than one item of stock

  1. Here 7 items of stock have been entered for an artwork. (Use the Add stock for this artwork button to quickly add a number of items of stock).
  2. To help identify items of stock each entry is given an ID that is a combination of the ID for the artwork, the ID of the set the item of stock belongs to (if the item of stock belongs to a set) and the ID you give to the item of stock. This helps in situations where more than stock item has the same edition number. e.g You have several prints of a photograph some large, some small and the first item in both the series of small print and large prints has the same edition number.
  3. You can specify whether or not an item of stock has been created. As an artist of gallery you can have an expectation that more editions may be printed when required and can enter them into Tessera in anticipation.
  4. Where need be large numbers of stock items can be divided into Sets. For example with photographs or you prints with different sizes, or signed or unsigned print editions that have different prices. Using Sets allows you to divide entries into sets that make it easier to specify exactly which item is sold.

 

Managing artworks with multiple items of stock

Adding artworks to sets

  1. Use the Set Controls button to reveal the available set features
  2. Use the Manage Sets button to move to the Set screen

The Set Screen

  1. The Set Screen is where you create the sets that you want to divide the artwork stock entries between.
  2. Here two sets have been created Large and Small and have been given the Set IDs lrg and sml.

Entering stock and assigning stock to sets

  1. Return to the Stock Manager Screen and use the Add Stock for this artwork button to specify details of the stock to be added. The dialog box allows you to make settings that speed the entry of stock with unique IDs.
  2. Once you’ve adjusted settings use the Add Stock button to create all the required stock.

Reviewing stock entries

  1. The stock entries have been made and the stock entries have been given an unique ID which is a combination of The Artwork ID + the Set ID + The Item ID.
  2. The Set the stock item has been assigned to can be adjusted here at any time.

Reviewing Set Screen

  1. Stock entries have been made, the Large set has 5 stock entries, the Small set has 6 entries.
  2. Use the Set edit button to manage individual settings.

The Set Management Screen

  1. Details entered on this screen affect the values for all items that belong to the individual items of stock are listed.
  2. Individual items of stock can be given individual values that take precedence over values given to the set itself.
  3. Give each set a title and a set ID to help identify each item of stock.
  4. Enter values for the set for fields such as Location and Medium where required.
  5. A number of Custom Fields are available for additional values.

Adjusting individual values for stock entries

  1. Here the location value for the Large set has been adjusted to “Studio”
  2. The default setting for the Dimensions for this set has also be adjusted.
  3. The values for Price, Location and Dimensions have been amended for this item of stock.

Additional editing of individual items of stock belonging to a set

  1. Use the edit button next to an individual item of stock to gain access to the full range of fields.
  2. Any values entered here will be carried through to invoices.

 

Adding an individual item to an invoice

  1. An artwork has been selected to add to an invoice. A stock item has been selected that belongs to the Large set. Individual settings have been adjusted and you can see the price and the dimensions are different from the other entries.
  2. The edition number of the item, the price and the dimensions will be reflected in the entry made on the invoice.

Adding individual items to a consignment document

  1. Here two items from the Small set have been added to a consignment document.

The Stock Manager Screen after Sales and Consignments have been made

  1. The stock entries will show details such as sales and consignments.
  2. Click on underlined items to reveal details about associated sales and consignments.
  3. Use the Log icon next to consignments to reveal details on when individual items were consigned in and out from Tessera.
  4. Items that are sold, or marked as consigned out from Tessera, cannot be deleted.

 

 

 

Managing Stock 2018-04-23T22:32:23+10:00

Selling artworks by way of Manual Sales

2018-04-17T18:55:39+10:00

If you have a Tessera Pro licence you can sell artworks by creating an invoice and adding artworks. Without a Tessera Pro licence you sell an artwork by making a Manual Sale.

Manual Sales

  1. Manual sales are managed from the Artwork Stock Screen which is commonly accessed from the Artwork Edit Screen.
  2. The Artwork Dashboard also has a link to the Artwork Stock screen and there are many other screens which will give you a similar link.

Selling the artwork manually

(For more details on managing stock see the Stock Manager help screen).

  1. Once on the Stock Manager screen use the Sales button.
  2. Existing sales, whether manual sales or sales through the issuing of an invoice, are listed here.
  3. Use this button to initiate a manual sale.

Specify Sale Details

  1. Once you’ve used the Sell Artwork button you’re presented with this screen. First of all select a client for the sale.
  2. Adjust the retail price here. This has no effect on the pricing settings for the current artwork.
  3. Quantity can be set to any levels but when the Tracker is enabled quantity can only be set to one.
  4. When the Tracker is enabled you will need to select an item of stock from the list provided. See managing stock for more details on entering multiple items of stock and managing edition numbers.

Committing to a sale

This is the screen you’ll see once you’ve committed to the sale.

  1. Adjust the date where required remembering that this date is used when running sales reports.
  2. If need be amend client details.
  3. The edition number, where applicable, will be displayed here. Editing the original artwork stock details is how you’d alter edition numbers.
  4. Apply discounts and amend tax rate where required.
  5. Delete entries at any time.
  6. The Artwork Dashboard can be accessed from here.

Once the sale is complete

  1. The Stock Sold column will reflect the sale.
  2. Manual Sales are listed as shown, click on Manual Sale to be taken to the sale screen.
  3. Invoice sales are listed as shown along with the invoice number. (When highlighted in red it indicates an invoice has yet to be paid for in full).

Reviewing sales elsewhere in Tessera

  1. The record for Howard French, the artist who’s artwork sold in the example above. Selecting the Sales tab in their People record shows the sale with the option to click on Manual Sale and return to the artwork stock screen to review details of the sale.
  2. The record for Helga Rio, who purchased the artwork in the example above, also shows the sale under the Purchase tab.

Reviewing Manual sales on Sales Reports

  1. Sales reports will detail manual sales if the sale falls in the date range specified.
  2. Click on the artwork to open the Artwork Dashboard or the Manual Sale item for more details and the option to edit the sale.

Selling artworks by way of Manual Sales 2018-04-17T18:55:39+10:00