Multiple Libraries

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Azkahuna

My apologies, didn't realize I was facing such a heavyweight, And you're right, if the metadat for a file were able to be stored independently from the file itself, and still link to it, that would also help solve my Calibre dilemma, but the program doesn't allow for that either.

Metadata.db contains the (internal) link to the file/folders used within the Library. The required tight-coupling of this is some of the reasons why making calibre multi-user is so difficult.

There are single-user solutions for splitting metadata.db from the books folder if extreme care is used and file system delays are not introduced (see restrictions about use on NAS).

You might spend some time reviewing (in the online Help) the advanced options obtainable via the CLI

I still don't see the problem with huge books:
You store a Book ONCE.
You usually transfer books to a device, one at a time.
You might convert more than one book at a time. But at those sizes I think you might want to limit that to ONE to prevent resource exhaustion crashing.

[Azkahuna]

Wow, I am one happy camper. Thanks to the suggestions and ideas you guys have been so generous in sharing, I have come up with a solution that rocks! Perhaps it will help some of the rest of you.
I moved my entire Calibre Library to my external hd (1-TB), except for a library I labeled 'bookshelf'. I also put all my audio books, Video Tutorials and Opera MP4's on the ext hd as well, freeing up 250gb+ on my laptop.
On my ext. hd I created a 'Master Library' with a category for Genre, and a yes/no category for 'Bookshelf'
I created separate Libraries for Audio books, for video Tutorials and one for music, in addition to the ones I already had for Fiction, Magazines, Science Journals, etc.
Then I created an 'empty book' for each of my audio books, Opera recordings and video tutorials in the appropriate library, and using the 'Add files to selected book record' I added the appropriate file by first indicating 'all' in the file type drop down list. In cases where the audio book or recording, spans more than one file, I first created a playlist in Windows media player or BS Player pro, to include all the files in the particular audio book or tutorial series, saved the playlist, and referenced that.
After bulk identifying the metadata in each separate library to reflect the Genre of the library, (Audio book, Science Journal, etc.), and adding whatever info I felt was relevant, I transferred the books to the Master library. Now my library includes all my books, audio books and video tutorials which I can access directly from Calibre and includes whatever tags and information I want.
The reference books I access the most, and books, tutorials and videos I want to keep handy, I simply copied to my 'Bookshelf' library on my laptop. (Note: multiple file playlists will not play if the original files on the list have been moved or are not available, because only the list is moved, not the files the list refers to, but single audio/video files are transferred the same way as any single book, and as long as a playlist can access the location of the individual files, it will work as well. In cases where everything is stored on a single hard drive that is usually not an issue, but in cases like mine where the files in my master library are stored on my ext hd, and the playlist might be in my 'Bookshelf' on my laptop, it won't work if I unplug my ext hd. (Playlists reference files by relative accessible location).
Now I have nearly all my books, audio books, tutorials and Opera recordings accessible through one Master Library. I'm already starting to add my commercial videos as well. I keep a copy of my top reference books, books I want to read or reread, magazine and journal articles I haven't read yet, my most frequently listened to recordings, and most frequently used video tutorials (Maybe 300-400 entries total) in my 'Bookshelf' and simply remove them when I'm done, while the master copy stays on my ext. hd. In the case of tutorials and recordings I use frequently that span multiple files, I simply store all the associated files on my laptop, and create my playlist from them, then reference that playlist in my Master and/or Bookshelf Library.
I still keep multiple genre libraries on my ext hd, but that's just because it is easier to dump multiple publications into a genre library as a 'presort', instead of an 'unsorted' library, before I transfer them to my Master library. The majority of the time my 'genre' libraries are now empty or close to it.
I don't know if anyone else will find this feature useful, but I am thrilled. I am so grateful for the brainstorming you guys helped me with. MAHALO & ALOHA
P.S. While I understood what theducks said about metadata, I'm not sure what the point was since my concern had to do with the size of the entire library and the fact that you could only access a particular book from one library without doubling the total file size, if you wanted to access it from two separate libraries, rather than having the same file accessed from two different metadata files. But I thank you for your imput. For me the question is now moot. Aloha

[theducks]

edit your (m3u) playlists to remove the common, absolute path portion. make it relative to the Playlist.
That way you leave the play list in place and you can launch it from any path. even over a network share

[speakingtohe]

Eeek

Glad you are hppy

Helen

[Azkahuna]

Originally Posted by theducks

edit your (m3u) playlists to remove the common, absolute path portion. make it relative to the Playlist.
That way you leave the play list in place and you can launch it from any path. even over a network share

Calibre automatically copies the playlist or the audio/video file into its own library. In the case of an a/v file, it will play from Calibre. In the case of a multi file playlist, it will play as long as the playlist has continued access to the files on the list, which are not copied into Calibre. Hope that helps.

[Azkahuna]

I apologize for my overly verbose and convoluted explanation of my discovery about Calibre. I guess my salient points are that:
1. By storing the library and all its associated files on an external hard drive, the size of the database is no longer an issue (Up to the size of the drive).
2. I can include audio books, video tutorails, music files, and even regular videos in the library, which will play direct from Calibre, by using 'empty books', and associating the proper file; giving me a complete catalog of all my stored media, regardless of format.
3. By creating 'Genre' libraries with specifically related customized columns, categories and tags, (ie for composers, & artists in music files; subject, producer, lecturer and length for tutorials; subject, author, department and school for specific articles in reseach journals or magazines; etc. it is easier to edit a large group of publications, (since I frequently download epub dumps and research journal dumps that may contain 60 to 100 publications at a time), including information relevant to that genre before moving the files to a Master database that contains all the custom categories, etc, from all the genre libraries, making it easier to create a virtual library that best serves the need based on genre.
4. By creating a 'Bookshelf' library on my laptop, and by 'moving' entries to it from the Master Library, without deleting them, I can access my most frequently used books, records, videos and tutorials from my laptop, whether my external hard drive is plugged in or not, and simply 'remove' (delete) the publication from the bookshelf without impacting the Master Library.
5. My laptop now only has 6GB in Calibre files, (instead of 60GB plus another 200GB+ for the addition media files now included in the Master Library on my external hd).

The ability to have a complete working library and catalog of all my ebooks, pdf's records, videos and research journals in one location without having to try to link them is a huge advantage for me. Aloha

[BetterRed]

@Azkahuna - if you don't already use it, you might want to look at the ViewManager plugin. In essence it allows you to save Views that differ in the columns shown, their left to right order, and their sort ordering.

It is not as integrated with Virtual Libraries as one might want - i.e. to associate a specific View as the default for a specific Virtual Library. But the PI author has something like that on his list of to-do,s.

BR

[Azkahuna]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@Azkahuna - if you don't already use it, you might want to look at the ViewManager plugin. In essence it allows you to save Views that differ in the columns shown, their left to right order, and their sort ordering.

BR

Mahalo BetterRed, that is helpful, and will be even more so when the plug-in is revised as expected.