[GUI Plugin] Quality Check

[Hoods7070]

@eschwartz - all I got when I tried following what you said was an extra column which shows the code you gave me against every book. Not sure WHAT it's suppose to do and I do realise I am just being dense. My headspace is pretty poor at the moment ...

@DMee - it's a long rambling one I can't duplicate at will. What does happen consistently is that an error box tells me it can't do anything because the files are open in another process - this being when I am working on a bunch of files already selected with Check Series. When I return to Calibre it has usually processed a decent percentage of the books despite complaining.

Seriously guys, I don't want anyone to waste any more of their time on this as tidying up my library was a once-off procedure I hope never to have to do again. Backups, maintenance etc. will be diligently done!!

If OTOH you are interested at an academic level, I'm happy to keep the thread going.

[eschwartz]

guilty as charged academics.

What happens when you doubleclick a book cell in the custom column? Do you get the template editor? If so, try repasting in everything in the box.

Note: often, people new to templates do not realize that "program:" is itself part of the template. It is what triggers general program mode, which allows arbitrary combination of functions.
If I had to guess, this is what tripped you up. I have mistakenly failed to introduce the concept in multiple threads this week.

In other words, the template is NOT:

swap_around_comma(field("author"))

It is:

program:

swap_around_comma(field("author"))

[PeterT]

Remember that if you are using calibre 2.2, you can also add the "Template tester" to either a menu or the right-click on book menu, and enter and test templates out that way.

[DMee]

Originally Posted by Hoods7070

@DMee - it's a long rambling one I can't duplicate at will. What does happen consistently is that an error box tells me it can't do anything because the files are open in another process - this being when I am working on a bunch of files already selected with Check Series. When I return to Calibre it has usually processed a decent percentage of the books despite complaining.

If OTOH you are interested at an academic level, I'm happy to keep the thread going.

OK, thing you need to do is narrow down which other prog is "opening" the book files as Calibre is trying to deal with them - it won't be Calibre tripping itself up - it will be an extranal prog doing so.

Usual suspects - over zealous antivirus prog - disable it whilst doing intensive Calibre stuff
another is Dropbox - if you store book files in Dropbox - eg. to use Calibre2OPDS to access your files whilst out and about - then Dropbox will keep trying to resave the files as Calibre updates them and the two don't play happily together - again - disable / exit whilst using Calibre

Or... might be something else

Whats running on your system?

[Hoods7070]

Originally Posted by DMee

What errors does selecting a lot of books produce?

Just a thought - you're not storing your books in DropBox are you? (or similar)

OK, the PI's dialog box, instead of disappearing, remains on screen but is white.

Everything on my entire system slows down - i.e. forget trying to use a browser or whatever while the plugin is beavering away.

Dropbox is "on" in a ready state in the system tray, but not running. To ascertain everything was vanilla as far as I can, I turned off my AV entirely and closed Dropbox. It made no difference.

[Hoods7070]

Originally Posted by DMee

OK, thing you need to do is narrow down which other prog is "opening" the book files as Calibre....

Or... might be something else

Whats running on your system?

On screen I only have Calibre when testing it. Normally, I'd have my browser and Photoshop open as well. When NOT using the plugin that's all perfectly fine. As for running processes, I've tried turning everything nonessential off right down to my audio processor etc. Absolutely no difference.

Got me stumped, I tell ya! When @Red talks about processing about 7000 books in a few seconds I can only shake my head. Running @eschwartz's column code took just under a minute for 4500 books. Using FN/LN takes about the same length of time to process 20 books. The column code interferes with the plugin - it (the plugin) returns the "other process running" error as mentioned elsewhere.

[BetterRed]

@Hoods7070 - longshots

Did you run a chkdsk on the library drive - with the fix option?

Did you try Windows in Safe Mode?

How many calibre_parallel processes are running when the swap is running.

BR

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Hoods7070

Got me stumped, I tell ya! When @Red talks about processing about 7000 books in a few seconds I can only shake my head. Running @eschwartz's column code took just under a minute for 4500 books. Using FN/LN takes about the same length of time to process 20 books. The column code interferes with the plugin - it (the plugin) returns the "other process running" error as mentioned elsewhere.

Well, my code is all handled by the database, whereas the plugin rename has to update the filesystem too.
I take it that means you got it working? It was just missing the "program:"?

What do you mean when you say the column interferes with the plugin?

[Hoods7070]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

guilty as charged academics.

What happens when you doubleclick a book cell in the custom column? Do you get the template editor? If so, try repasting in everything in the box.

Single click opens the template editor, double click opens the book viewer. What program code would I use to return the original order? I apologise if you already mentioned that elsewhere.

Note: often, people new to templates do not realize that "program:" is itself part of the template. It is what triggers general program mode, which allows arbitrary combination of functions.
If I had to guess, this is what tripped you up. I have mistakenly failed to introduce the concept in multiple threads this week.

It was. It works now !! You clever man (I assume) you!

So, now I have two columns, and have hidden the custom column. Your script redoes all 4500 books in seconds as the plugin **used** to work!!

Aside: With the plugin, maybe it is a hard disk thing. Higher up, Ducks and Red (I think it was) were talking about drives, copying to another drive etc. I'm not sure what speed my HDD runs at, but the system info tells me it's an ATA (!!!!). However, I copied the library to a USB3 portable (Seagate, 1.75TB) in under an hour, which was fine - just walk away. I haven't had any issues with the disk speed using other things that are notoriously disk-intensive.

Unfortunately this successful column template is only half a victory. Whilst it admirably deals with the name-swap speed issue, however, the two means of inserting a jacket with FN/LN - either GUI PI Modify epub or Polish - insert the default Author column LN/FN data even if the original author column is hidden. An obvious work around for that is for me to use the custom column by default, sorted to LN/FN (my preference for everything OTHER than the jacket) and hide the default column, set to FN/LN.

Alternatively: I again tried adding _sort to author in the template, but with that addendum/suffix whatever you call it the jacket loses the author line entirely as it did before when I tested it. Any thoughts? Because going via the jacket template really does seem the obvious and easy was to do things, doesn't it? (As originally suggested.)

Other purely academic questions for you to sink your teeth into:

1) If I were to use the custom column when choosing books for "jacketing", is there any way to limit the column script to run for just a **selection** of books rather than switching names for all the books? Not that it matters with the quickness. It *IS* all academic unless that =true.

2) Is there a way to get the jacket modifying PIs to return data from the CUSTOM column rather than the default column?

What fun. Later I will pick brains about why my own modified template looks glorious in the book viewer but my e-reader/s don't like it. It sucks not fully understanding all that stuff.
.

[eschwartz]

The book jacket can use custom columns, using an underscore instead of the hash symbol that usually prepends it. You cannot use functions or tests of any sort, which is why we use them in a custom column and then use the custom column in the jacket.

That is, given custom column "#some_column", the jacket template expects to see "_some_column".
(template.xhtml should have some comments describing this.)

You MUST edit the template.xhtml in order to use different column ids in the metadata jacket.

What criteria would you use to determine which books get the default LN, FN in the template? We are using general program mode anyway, we might as well throw in a few frills and acrobatics.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Hoods7070

Single click opens the template editor, double click opens the book viewer.

So it does!
I changed that via a tweak.

It was. It works now !! You clever man (I assume) you!

You assume correctly.

[Hoods7070]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

The book jacket can use custom columns, using an underscore instead of the hash symbol that usually prepends it.

Well that was easy! Thank you, boss.

What criteria would you use to determine which books get the default LN, FN in the template? We are using general program mode anyway, we might as well throw in a few frills and acrobatics.

Well, none, for author name in the jacket. The above modifications to the jacket template sorted that out and answered ALL my questions from the start of this thread, pretty much, including the speed issue. i.e. jacket will ALWAYS say FN/LN book list view will always read LN/FN. Joy to the world. Making the Quality Check swap FN/LN redundant.

HOWEVER, now that I know (roughly) how to add custom columns I might have a little fiddle with some other stuff after some further reading of the code. I do love a good fiddle. I do use basic regex in Sigil but only the most basic and obvious of editing commands.

BTW perhaps this screen shot will make what I do more meaningful. As you can see, I tailor covers with my own originals much of the time, but always add series info to them. Very helpful. The inset is of the customised jacket as it shows in ebook viewer.

[BetterRed]

@Hoods7070 - I can't see that image, use the MR facility see ==>> MR - FAQ: Posting Attachments

BR

[Hoods7070]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@Hoods7070 - I can't see that image, use the MR facility see ==>> MR - FAQ: Posting Attachments

BR

Sorry, didn't realise this forum had its own method. This should work:

[Hoods7070]

@ BetterRed: Ta for all your help with the plugin BigRed. It was starting to embarrass me how long it was dragging on. Anyway, I can live with things the way they are now that I have done a marathon (hours) sort of Authors to LN/FN using the plugin. Having Modify Epub applying the FN/LN (column is hidden) sort and metadata in one process is brilliant - wish I'd got that far at the beginning. Anyway, many thanks for that one.

@ everyone else: I have exhausted every possibility/probabilty with running processes etc. etc., safe mode, fixed database blah blah, and whilst I concede it obviously is a problem with MY setup, whatever I do have running by default is essential to my other software. So thanks guys for all assistance offered.