Check a CWR file before you send it
Drop a CWR file to see every record split into its fields. We check it against the CISAC specification and show each problem on the characters it’s about, with the rule and its source.
What this checks, and what it doesn’t
The checks follow the CWR 2.1 and 2.2 functional specifications and lookup tables that CISAC publishes. Each problem names its rule and links to the document behind it. This page cites those documents and doesn’t reproduce their text, so open the document for the exact wording.
Checked: 172 rules
- File structure: record order, groups, and the counts in GRT and TRL records
- Every field: required fields, numbers, dates, upper case, record lengths
- Codes against CISAC lookup tables: roles, publisher types, societies, territories, languages
- Shares: PR, MR and SR ownership totals per work, and collection shares per territory
- Links: publisher chains, writer-to-publisher (PWR) links, territory records
- Identifier formats: IPI, ISWC, EAN. IPI check digits rest on a secondary source, and say so.
Not checked
- Whether an IPI, ISWC or agreement exists. That needs a society or CISAC database.
- Society-specific rules, such as edits marked "ASCAP only" or "SGAE only"
- Whether a work was registered before, and your sender ID
- Territory groups other than World are not expanded into countries
- CWR 3.0 and 3.1 files
What the tools don’t do
The Tools tab writes IPI numbers, ISWCs and ISRCs in the form the specification asks for, and changes text in titles and names, in a copy you can download. It marks every change in the file before it makes it, lists the first 200 of each kind, and lets you undo it. It also makes a new file from the works you choose, renumbered and recounted, and reads that file back and checks it before you get it. It finds works that look like duplicates and shows what your parties own and collect in each work. It makes a works list as a CSV for a spreadsheet.
- The tools that change your copy never change shares, dates, record types or codes from a fixed list.
- Extract works copies each record you choose exactly, apart from its numbers and counts. The new file gets today’s date and time unless you keep the header’s.
- They never change a check digit or guess a missing digit.
- They can’t make a society accept a file. Only the society decides that.
- Your file is never uploaded. Your copy and your reports are built in this tab and saved by your browser.
A clean result is not a registration. It means we found no problems in the checks we ran. Societies apply their own rules, and only they can accept a work. Curve’s visualiser shows and edits CWR; this one also checks it against the spec, cites every rule and never uploads your file.
Questions
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The checker runs in your browser, in a background thread on this page. Your file is never sent to Royalti or anyone else. Once the checker has finished loading, it runs on your device and needs no connection. We count how many files are checked and which tools are used, with rough sizes such as “11 to 100” works, results or changes. We never send your file, its name or anything in it.
Do the tools upload my file?
No. Your file is never uploaded. The tools run in this tab, and your browser saves the copy, the new files and the CSV files they make. Your original file isn’t changed. We count which tools you use and roughly how many changes or results they give, such as “11 to 100”. We never send your file, its name or anything in it. The text you type into a tool stays in this tab too.
Will a fixed file be accepted?
Not necessarily. The tools fix how values are written and rebuild files. Societies apply their own rules, and only they can accept a work.
Can I undo a change?
Yes. Undo and redo step through the changes in your copy, and “Start again from your original” goes back to the file you opened. After each change we check your copy again and say how many problems it fixed and how many are new.
What can Find and replace change?
Text in titles and names, such as a work title, a writer’s name or a publisher’s name. It never changes shares, dates, codes, identifiers or record prefixes. Every change is marked in the file before it is made. If one change can’t be written, none is made. You can undo it.
What does Extract works do?
It makes a new CWR file from the works you choose. It builds the file header, each group header and the trailers again, with fresh numbers and counts, and copies every chosen record’s content exactly. Records that sit outside any work aren’t copied, and it tells you how many. Before you get the file, it reads it back, checks its structure and compares every record with yours. If a check fails, you get no file. A file that passes is still not a registration.
Can I leave out the later copies of duplicate works?
Yes. Find duplicate works lists works that look like the same work. From a group, or from the list, you can open Extract works with every work chosen except the later copies. It’s a guide, not a rule: an NWR and the REV that revises it share a number on purpose. Check the list first.
Is this a CWR validator?
It checks a file against CISAC’s published specifications, as a validator would. It won’t say a file passes, because a society applies more rules than the specifications. It tells you which problems it found in the checks it ran.
Which CWR versions does it check?
CWR 2.1 (revision 8) and CWR 2.2 (revision 2). It reads the version from the group header. CWR 3.0 and 3.1 are different formats, and it won’t open them.
Does "no problems found" mean a society will accept my file?
No. It means the file passed every check we ran: 154 rules for CWR 2.1 or 163 for CWR 2.2. Societies apply their own rules and check identifiers against their databases.
What’s the difference between an error, a warning and a note?
An error is something the spec says a society rejects: a file, group, work or record. A warning is a field the spec replaces with a default, or a check that rests on a secondary source. A note is information, such as a blank line.
Where do the rules come from?
They follow the CWR 2.1 and 2.2 functional specifications and the CWR lookup tables that CISAC publishes. Each problem shows its rule id, the name of the document it rests on and a link to it. The page cites those documents but doesn’t reproduce their text, so open the document for the exact wording. Three checks rest on a secondary source and are marked that way.
Sources
- CWR 2.1 functional specificationCISAC, revision 8, 2019 · CISAC document
- CWR 2.2 functional specificationCISAC, revision 2, 2019 · CISAC document
- CWR lookup tables (CRF020)CISAC, 2008 · CISAC document
The checks follow these CISAC documents. This page names them and links to them but doesn’t reproduce their text. The checker is Royalti’s own work, not a CISAC product.