ISBN 13 Converter (IC13) is a simple - and free - AppleScript utility for Mac OS X that converts 10 digit ISBNs to the new 13 digit ISBN format that comes into effect in January 2007. More information about the changes and a free eBook, ISBN-13 for Dummies, is available from the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). An online ISBN-13 Converter (single ISBNs only) is available at ISBN.org.

Instructions
1) Launch it (double click or do whatever you'd normally do)
2) Accept the terms of use (first run only)
3) Enter your ISBNs as a list separated by spaces (with or without punctuation) or by line breaks
4) Hit the OK button

The results are collated to the clipboard (see the warnings below) with up to 15 displayed as shown in the example screenshot below, formatted "ISBN-10, ISBN-13". Finally, click OK to use the data straight from the clipboard or Save to Disk.

Limitations
• IC13 should handle as many ISBNs as you care to throw at it: the longest list I've processed contained 1010 ISBNs, 7 non-ISBNs and took 6 minutes on a 600MHz G3. Naturally, the faster your machine the faster IC13 will run.
• Obvious non-ISBNs (such as words or strings that are not 10 characters long) are filtered out with a warning but IC13 doesn't check whether ISBNs entered are valid: any 10 digit number (or 9 digit number with a letter on the end) will be processed: it's up to you to ensure that the numbers you enter are genuine ISBNs. Remember the GIGO rule: "Garbage In, Garbage Out".

System Requirements
Compiled and tested under Mac OS X 10.3.9 running AppleScript 1.9.3. No testing has been carried out under other OS versions.

Important Warnings
• IC13 uses the clipboard to compile its results. It requires exclusive use of the clipboard for this; running any other processes that use the clipboard at the same time will result in corrupted data: don't do it.
• "Save to Disk" writes a file to your default hard drive using the first new ISBN in the list as a default filename. You can specify a different filename if you prefer, but saving it will overwrite any other file of the same name without further warning: choose your filename carefully.

Disclaimer
This utility is provided free of charge, with no warranty: use is entirely at your own risk. No liability whatsoever is accepted for any loss or damage of any kind howsoever incurred that may result from its use or from your use of the data it provides. Use is subject to acceptance of these terms.

Distribution
May be distributed freely provided that the document About ISBN13 Converter.pdf which accompanies the download remains with it.

Accept Terms and Download (132k binhex archive)

© Copyright Phil Groom, 2005