# Part-DB 1.13.0 - PostgreSQL support, natural sorting and more 

## PostgreSQL

Part-DB now supports [PostgreSQL](https://www.postgresql.org/) as database. See [documentation](https://docs.part-db.de/installation/choosing_database.html) on how it compares with other database types.

## Natural Sorting

Part-DB now supports natural sorting in part tables and tress.

So instead of sorting elements like `DIP-14`, `DIP-28`, `DIP-4` , `DIP-8`, the elements now get sorted like expected as `DIP-4`, `DIP-8`, `DIP-14` and `DIP-28`.

If you are using PostgreSQL or MariaDB 10.7+ then this kind of sorting is supported natively and natural sorting gets automatically enabled.

If you are running SQLite or MySQL then it is possible to emulate natural sorting by setting the `DATABASE_EMULATE_NATURAL_SORT` to 1.

Please note that this emulation can be very slow and might have some issues and quirks.

# Full changelog

LCSC info provider

Part-DB now can use import part information from LCSC distributor. See documentation on how to use it.

Improved search bar

The search bar now makes suggestions for parts while typing. This should make searching much quicker in many cases.

API improvements

It is now possible to properly create new attachments and parameters on elements using the API like you would expect.

Also, it is now possible to upload files to attachments via API and let Part-DB download URLs. See API docs for more info.

Full changelog

https://github.com/Part-DB/Part-DB-server/releases/tag/v1.11.1

Part-DB is now featured on the official KiCad website under the external tools page:

https://www.kicad.org/external-tools/

Part-DB can be used with KiCad 8 as HTTP library as central inventory database.

KiCad integration

Part-DB now supports the experimental HTTP library feature in the KiCad nightly builds (KiCad 7.99). It allows to define metadata like the KiCad footprints and symbols on Part-DB parts and use Part-DB as libray inside KiCad.

See here for more information.

See Github release page for full changelog:

https://github.com/Part-DB/Part-DB-server/releases/tag/v1.10.0

See Github release for full changelog:  https://github.com/Part-DB/Part-DB-server/releases/tag/v1.9.0

## Update existing parts
Using the blue button in the tools tab on a part info page, you can update part info from an info provider. This means you can pull datasheets, price infos and more from digikey, octopart and more for existing parts.
You still needs to review and manually choose what infos you wanna keep

## Merge parts
You can now merge two parts together: If you have created two versions of the same part by accident, then you can now merge the two versions of the part into a single one. All information like datasheets, partLots, etc. are combined.

## Blue dot on newly created collection items
Newly created items of a collection, which were not persisted to database yet, are marked with a blue dot on the delete item: 

This is especially useful when merging parts together or update parts from info providers. 

## Part Associations
You can now associate part with each other. This can for example be used to denote alternative/compatible parts, or what part replaces an obsolete part.

With the new Version 1.8.0 release, Part-DB offers a REST API to let external applications interact with Part-DB.

It allows reading and edit datastructures, parts and projects via an JSON based interface, so you can write your own software that interacts with Part-DB.
To access the API an application requires an API token, which is generated on the users settings page. API access is experimental and must be enabled on a per user/group basis with the correct permission.

See documentation for an introduction on how to use the API. In your Part-DB instance under the /api/ path you will find an interactive documentation, that shows you all available endpoints and allow you to try them out.

You can look up all available endpoints and available parameters in the demo: https://part-db.herokuapp.com/api
(you will need to login with username user and password user first)

See the GitHub Release page for more info: https://github.com/Part-DB/Part-DB-server/releases/tag/v1.8.0

Part-DB now offers an information provider system, which allows you to query various cloud sources for part information.
For now only creation of new parts is possible based on cloud providers, in later versions it will be possible to also merge the information in existing parts.

The system is built to be universal, with just a little provider specific "driver" and the remain is done by Part-DB. That way it is pretty easy to integrate new data providers (so most likely other vendors and databases which offers APIs) into Part-DB.
For now the following data sources (which use the distributor APIs) are available:

• Octopart
• Digikey
• TME
• Farnell / Element 14

Depending on the provider, your created parts will automatically have a name, description, manufacturer and footprint info, part parameters, datasheets, pictures and shopping information/prices.

See documentation for more info, especially on the configuration.

You can test the new features in the demo (you need to login as user first).

Part-DB 1.3.0 was released and it offers a import/migration feature to import exsting PartKeepr databases to Part-DB and many more features.

See release notes: https://github.com/Part-DB/Part-DB-server/releases/tag/v1.3.0

With the new Part-DB 1.2.0 you can now import CSV files for parts. This allows you to migrate existing data into Part-DB.

https://github.com/Part-DB/Part-DB-server/releases/tag/v1.2.0

With version 1.1.0 Part-DB now supports Single-Sign-On via SAML. Using a identity provider server like keycloak you can connect Part-DB to your central user managment, which should be especially useful for larger organizations like companies, universities or makerspaces.

See https://docs.part-db.de/installation/saml_sso.html for more info