Build, check and download your file

Use this guide to build your CWR file in step 4 of the CWR creator, read what the check found, and download the file. CWR (Common Works Registration) is the text format publishers use to register works with collecting societies.

Your file is never uploaded. The creator builds the file in your browser tab.

Before you build

The creator builds the file when two things are true:

1. You added a sheet with no errors. Until then, the page says "Add your sheet first." or "Fix the errors in your sheet first, then add it again." Warnings do not stop the build. See Fix row problems.
2. The sender details have no problems. See Sender details.

The file has one group of new work registrations, with one work for each WORK row, in the order of your sheet. The creator writes the header, the group and file trailers, the counts and the sequence numbers itself. Nothing in them comes from your sheet.

Read what the check found

When the file is built, the creator checks it with the same rules as the CWR checker. The result shows:

• A headline, such as "No problems found in 1,322 checks", or a count of problems.
• Three counts: errors, warnings, and notes.
• The number of works and the size of the file. A clean result also shows how many records the check covered.
• A line that says the check ran against the CISAC CWR 2.2 functional specification.

A clean result is not a registration. A society applies its own rules, and only it can accept a work. The creator says so on the page.

If the check found problems, a list called "What the check found" follows. Each entry has a headline, a rule ID, where it is ("Line 12 · SPU", or "Whole file"), and a message. Errors come first. The list shows up to 100 entries and says how many more are not listed. These problems are about the built file. They are not the same as the row problems in your sheet. For more about rule IDs, see Read your results: errors, warnings, rule IDs and sources.

If your sheet has letters outside plain A to Z, the result adds a note: the file names its character set as UTF-8. Ask your society whether it reads UTF-8.

Name and download the file

1. Look at the "File name" box. We name the file with CW, the year, 0001, and your sender code, and end it with .V22. Sender code 123456789 in 2026 gives CW260001123456789.V22.
2. Change the name if your society asks for another. A name cannot be empty. It cannot contain / \ : * ? " < > |.
3. Select "Download the .V22 file". Your browser saves the file, and the page says so.

The download works whatever the check found. The list tells you what to look at before you send the file.

Look closer in the checker

1. Select "Open the CWR checker", or go to the CWR checker.
2. Open the file you downloaded. See Open a CWR file in the checker and read the viewer.
3. The checker shows every field and every problem with its rule. It also runs in your browser.

More than 25 works

The free creator makes files of up to 25 works. If your sheet has more, the page shows "This sheet has" and your number of works, and it does not check or build the sheet. Choose another file with "Choose another file", or split your works into sheets of 25 or fewer.

For larger files, use Royalti. The page has a link to the Royalti sign-up.

Change something and build again

If you change a sender detail after you build, the result goes away. Select "Build the CWR file" again to get a file that matches. To use a different sheet, select "Choose another file".

What to check next

1. Read the list and fix what matters in your sheet, then build again.
2. Open the file in the checker and look at the shares. See Owned shares.
3. Ask your society what it needs before you send. See Download your edited copy if you edit the file in the checker.