Merge book records doesn't copy author and title ?

JackLiu · 09-25-2010, 07:18 AM

I used Alt + M to merge two books, since they are the same book but different format. I just wanted to copy the exact same meta to the other book.

As I mentioned, the result is author, title and isbn didn't copy to the new book.

So, is it possible to also merge author title and isbn?

I have to do it manually?

Starson17 · 09-25-2010, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackLiu

I used Alt + M to merge two books, since they are the same book but different format. I just wanted to copy the exact same meta to the other book.

As I mentioned, the result is author, title and isbn didn't copy to the new book.

Author and title only get merged when the destination author or title are "Unknown" ISBN never merges (and the warning message now says that.) There was a thread on the ISBN merge issue. Everyone who posted in that thread preferred that ISBN not be merged.

As to author/title, because Calibre uses the author and title as part of the filename, they both have to exist, so an "empty" author or title is always changed to "Unknown." The philosophy of Merge is to never overwrite (and thereby lose) metadata, but "Unknown" is considered to be empty for author/title. If you started with Add an empty book, both author and title would be Unknown. Deleting the author and title in your destination before merging will cause author/title to merge over from your source.

Note that when you used Alt-M (safe merge) you would have produced a destination record with two formats, and left a source record with only one.

JackLiu · 09-25-2010, 09:02 AM

But what is the problem with ISBN merge.

Is there a downside of merging ISBN? And Why?

Just curiosity.

Starson17 · 09-25-2010, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackLiu

But what is the problem with ISBN merge.

Is there a downside of merging ISBN? And Why?

Just curiosity.

Read the thread on this:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97999

speakingtohe · 09-25-2010, 11:36 PM

The book you select first will retain all the metadata and file formats.
Select book, hold control key and select second etc.
If I am merging into a book for metadata purposes amd I want to overwrite existing book format with an edited better version, I remove the format from the first and then merge.
An extra step but only takes a sec.

09-25-2010, 07:18 AM	#1
JackLiu Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Merge book records doesn't copy author and title ? I used Alt + M to merge two books, since they are the same book but different format. I just wanted to copy the exact same meta to the other book. As I mentioned, the result is author, title and isbn didn't copy to the new book. So, is it possible to also merge author title and isbn? I have to do it manually?

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09-25-2010, 09:02 AM	#3
JackLiu Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3	But what is the problem with ISBN merge. Is there a downside of merging ISBN? And Why? Just curiosity.

09-25-2010, 11:36 PM	#5
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	The book you select first will retain all the metadata and file formats. Select book, hold control key and select second etc. If I am merging into a book for metadata purposes amd I want to overwrite existing book format with an edited better version, I remove the format from the first and then merge. An extra step but only takes a sec.