[GUI Plugin] Kobo Utilities

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Yes, it runs in the foreground. Apparently I haven't added a progress bar to this. I will do that or look at doing it in the background when I have a chance.

Thank you. Windows really doesn't like programs doing intensive things in the foreground and it whites out after five seconds or so.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If the KePub is originally an ePub2, I would think it would be the same as for an ePub2 with RMSDK.

Why would you think that that? Especially with how much discussion there has been on exactly what the differences between epub and kepub handing. And I have detailed how covers work on Kobo devices so many times that I find it hard to believe you have never seen it.

[JSWolf]

With KePub, can a cover be displayed without an XML file to display the cover?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Thank you. Windows really doesn't like programs doing intensive things in the foreground and it whites out after five seconds or so.

Since when?

I've never seen that and done overnight 3D renders!

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Since when?

I've never seen that and done overnight 3D renders!

If an application goes five seconds without reading the event queue, Windows assumes it's hung and whites it out. Most applications try to avoid this by shuffling the heavier stuff off to another thread.

There's some more reading here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...s-applications

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

With KePub, can a cover be displayed without an XML file to display the cover?

Already answered in all those other places covers on Kobo devices have been discussed, but, also in this discussion.

Either that, or you need to actually expand on the question you are asking. "Displayed" where?

[ownedbycats]

now I am curious: What if a kepub doesn't have a cover marked in the OPF? Does it just try to show the first page?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

now I am curious: What if a kepub doesn't have a cover marked in the OPF? Does it just try to show the first page?

In that case, you get the default cover which has the title and format with boxes around the edge. This is also used for formats that do not have a cover (such as TXT) or when the cover image cannot be created.

[ownedbycats]

I see that sometimes when my Kobo is a bit slow to generate a cover after re-importing an updated fanfic.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I see that sometimes when my Kobo is a bit slow to generate a cover after re-importing an updated fanfic.

Yes, it is shown in the library when the cover image is being generated. And when your resend a book from calibre, the existing stored cover images are removed. The device sometimes doesn't regenerate the cover and you see this. It is probably related to caching on the device as it gets fixed after a restart.

[ownedbycats]

It does regenerate, it's just slow and I see the generic cover for a few seconds before it changes.

[davidfor]

Attached (assuming I remember to), is a beta with a new function. This is to update the ToC in the database for books on the device. The function checks for any differences, displays what books are different and then lets you update the books or the ToC.

At this point the ToC updating only supports kepub and epub on the device. And supports both epub2 and epub3.

The function works by:

1. Connect the device and wait for the connection jobs to finish.
2. Select some books in the library.
3. Select the "Update TOC for Selected Books" option in the plugins menu.
4. The function will analyze the ToC for the book in three places: calibre, on the device and the database on the device.
5. A dialog is displayed showing the ToC status of the books.
   
6. On the dialog, you can select books to send to the device or update ToC in the device database.
7. Press the "Send Books" or "Update ToC" button and the action will be taken.

The dialog shows the results of the comparison and hence the status. The columns shown are:

• Overall status of the book as an icon.
• Title of the book.
• Author of the book.
• "Library ToC" - The number of ToC entries in the book in the calibre library.
• "Library Format" - The format of the book in the calibre library.
• "Kobo ToC" - The number of ToC entries in the book on the device.
• "Kobo Format" - The format of the book on the device.
• "Status" - Shows if the book matches or if it needs to be sent to the device.
• "Send" - Checkbox to for whether to send book when the "Send Books" button is pressed. It will be selected if the above status indicates the book on the device needs to be updated.
• "Kobo Database ToC" - The number of ToC entries in the database on device.
• "Status" - Shows if the ToC in the database needs to be updated compared to the book on the device.
• "ToC" - Checkbox to for whether to update the ToC in the database when the "Update ToC" button is pressed. It will be selected if the ToC status indicates the database on the device needs to be updated from the book on the device.
• "Reading Position" - Reading position in the database. Currently this is not used.
• "Comment" - Describes the status of the book and what needs to be done.

The three status columns use the following icons to show the status:

• Green tick - ToC matches and nothing needs to be done.
• Device icon with arrow - The ToC does not match between the calibre library and the book on the device.
• ToC icon with hand - The ToC needs to be updated in the database on the device.
• Red x - Nothing can be done for the book on the device. This usually means the format on the device is not one supported for this function.
• Red minus - Some other problem. This will probably not be displayed, but, is used internally.

The icons used are part of calibre so may be replaced by an icon theme.


The comparisons are done purely on what Kobo extracts from a book as the ToC. This is done when the book is imported on the device. The details are from the ToC in the book and the manifest. The changes considered are the actual ToC in the book and any related internal file names. This means the ToC will be considered different if any of the following are different:

• Total number of ToC entries.
• Internal file name for a ToC entry. Including any directory names.
• Text for a ToC entry.
• ToC entry depth.

No attempt to check for any other changes in the book are made. If things like spelling or styles are changed, these will not trigger any issues on the device if the book is replaced properly.

When the ToC is updated in the database, it is completely replaced. It is always updated from the copy of the book on the device. If this copy does not match the book in the library, the book should be sent to the device first.

The way I use this is:

1. New or changed books are added to the send-to-device Reading list.
2. Books where the ToC has changed are added to an "Updated" reading list.
3. When I connect the device, the books on the send-to-device Reading list are sent and the list is cleared.
4. I display the books in Updated reading list and select them all.

As far as I can tell, everything is working after updating the ToC in the database. I have been using this for a while no for testing. I did the epub code several years ago with no issues. The kepub updating is much newer and more complex but works well. But, it is not very fast. It reads two copies of each book plus the database. This takes time. I recommend only using it for books where you believe there have been changes.

The function in the beta is fully working and I do not believe there are any problems with the actual ToC updates. There are probably some things that can be done to make the interface better. Please try the function and report what happens, either good or bad. If there are problems, I will need to see a debug log from calibre and possibly the books involved.

[theducks]

Does this require the book have an Inline (HTML) TOC or does it work with the NCX or NAV?

[ownedbycats]

I presume the NCX/NAV. I will test this as soon as I get another fanfic to update.

[ownedbycats]

I got some fanfic updates. I set KoboTouchExtended to "do not treat replacements as new books" and then put the books on my reading list then plugged in my Kobo and let it send and then restored ToC. It worked perfectly.

I will keep testing and mention if I come across any glitches.

I swapped my "Restore Device Bookmarks" chain with an "Update Fanfics on Device" one.

I did notice that the number of columns was rather high and I had to stretch it to nearly my entire screen width to see things well. Not sure if that can be fixed though unless you want to use something other than table layout. Being able to rearrange the columns would help a bit though.