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Answers to what a house asks while it catalogues a sale — 40 short articles, written for the people doing the work.

Something not answered here? Write to support@algd.store with the details in what to tell us. If the book seems slow or unreachable, look at the status page first.

Getting started

What Lotdesk does, and where it stopsThe work Lotdesk takes off your desk, and the work it leaves to the software you already run.
Opening a book for your houseThe four things the sign-up form asks for, and what you have the moment it is done.
Trying the sample sale firstA house with lots already written in it, open to anyone, with a login you can use to write a lot yourself.
Your first sale in an afternoonThe order that works for a new house, from an empty book to a printed catalogue and a CSV.
Using Lotdesk on a phone and at the deskOne book, opened in the browser on the phone at the lot and on the computer in the office.
Which browsers and phones workWhat Lotdesk asks of a browser, and the two settings that quietly cause most trouble.

Writing a lot at the pieceEvery field on the lot screen, what it is for, and which ones the catalogue cannot do without.
Condition notes and gradesThe six grades Lotdesk uses, what each means, and how the condition note and grade print together.
Estimates, and the rules they followHow the low and high estimate are entered and held, and why a lot without one stays out of the catalogue.
How lot numbers workWhere a lot's number comes from, why it never changes, and how a phone keeps its own run of numbers.
Sublots like 27AHow to number a lot that belongs under another, and the rules for it.
A lot number was refusedThe sentences Lotdesk gives when a lot number is not accepted, what each means and what to do.
Why a lot was turned downThe reasons a lot is refused when it is saved or sent, in the words Lotdesk uses, and the fix for each.
What a lot's state meansBeing written, in the catalogue, hammered and withdrawn: what each does and what it needs before you can set it.
Correcting a lot after it is writtenHow to change a title, an estimate or a photograph afterwards, and what happens to a correction made without signal.
Start bid, reserve, quantity and the restThe optional fields under "How it sells", which of them are private to the house, and the rules each one follows.
The house's categoriesHow a lot is filed under a category, how to keep the house's own list, and what happens when a category is in use.

Photographs on a lotFormats, the size limit, how many a lot holds, the cover picture, what the phone does to a picture before saving it, and how to take one off.
The outbox, and what its count meansWhat the bar at the foot of the screen is telling you, and what each of its sentences means.
My photos aren't syncingA short checklist for a lot that is still in the outbox, in the order that finds the cause fastest.
Working with no signalWhat is safe where the signal is gone, what the phone is keeping, and the few habits that protect a day's lots.

Starting a saleThe fields on a new sale, what each is used for, and how to correct them later.
Sections and their orderHow to add the rooms a sale runs in, put them in order, and remove one.
Consignors and their termsHow to take a vendor in at intake, what the terms fields mean, and how a lot gets filed against them.
Taking a sale off the bookWhat removing a sale does, why it cannot be undone, and what to take first.
Two cataloguers, several phones, one bookHow a team works at a sale: their own logins, one shared book, one outbox per phone, and numbering that does not collide.

Printing the catalogue, or saving it as a PDFWhat the printed sheet contains, how it is ordered, and how to turn it into a PDF with your browser.
Exporting the CSVWhere to find the file, every column in it in order, and what the file leaves out.
Opening the CSV in a spreadsheetHow to open the export in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets so pound signs, accents and line breaks come through.
Getting the CSV into your own softwareWhat to check before importing the Lotdesk file into AuctionFlex, Wavebid, HiBid, LiveAuctioneers or another system.

The plan, the free first lots, and when the book reads onlyWhat is free, what the plan costs and covers, and exactly what a house can and cannot do in each state.
Cancelling, refunds and the cardHow to cancel, what you get back, and how to change the card the plan is paid with.
Getting your data outHow a house takes its sales with it, and how to ask for an account to be closed and its records deleted.
Who can see your book, and where it is keptWho can read a house's lots and photographs, where they are stored, and what Lotdesk does not do with them.
Passwords and keeping the login safeWhat makes an acceptable password, how sign-in works on each device, and how to keep a login safe.
Adding and removing a cataloguerHow the house gives each cataloguer their own login, what they see, and how to take one off.
Choosing a new password after forgetting itHow the "Forgot your password?" link works, how long a reset link lasts, and what to do if no email arrives.

I can't sign inThe usual reasons the sign-in page says "That email address and password do not match a book", in the order to check them.
If Lotdesk seems slow or downHow to tell whether the problem is Lotdesk, your connection or your phone, and why your lots are safe either way.
What to tell us when something is wrongThe five details that let a problem be found quickly, and where to write.