Calibre formats and duplicate book entries

jgt1942 · 03-19-2013, 04:43 AM

New user question(s) I've been downloading from newsgroups and often I see multiple file extensions for the same book, LIT, MOBI, EPUB, AZW seem to be the most common. When I view an entry in Calibre for the "Formats" I often see multiple formats and I can actually remove one of the formats. If I attempt to transfer a book that I've downloaded from the newsgroup and I have three different file extensions Calibre will tell me that I'm about to load duplicate books and if elect to do so I do have multiple entries with the same title but of course they are different formats.

Why do some of the books in Calibre show one entry with multiple formats but when I transfer a book with different file extension (my example of three separate files I downloaded from the newsgroup) they end up being an entry for each file extension. I expected Calibre to merge them to one entry.

Have I done something wrong? Should I just transfer one of the files from the newsgroup, if so which file extension should I transfer?

My wife has an iPad and a Nook.

itimpi · 03-19-2013, 07:13 AM

It is perfectly normal to have multiple formats against a given book record. In practise that is probably what most people prefer to end up with so that Calibre can select the most appropriate format for any given reading device.

When adding new books, if Calibre finds multiple books with the same author/title it warns you about duplicates. There is a 'tweak' available to control what should be done in such situations - add them to existing records or add them as new records. You can get false positives so you do need to exercise a little caution in letting Calibre automatically merge different formats onto the same library record. Also there are scenarios where you may genuinely want multiple entries for the same book (e.g. different editions) which is one of the reasons Calibre allows duplicates to be stored.

You can also select multiple entries after they have been added and use the Calibre 'merge' option on the right-click menu to merge them into a single record as long as you are sure that they are really the same book.

HarryT · 03-19-2013, 07:19 AM

Just a general point: be very careful about downloading ANY book from a newsgroup. Most of them, I regret to say, infringe copyright.

jgt1942 · 03-20-2013, 02:02 AM

itimpi

Quote:

There is a 'tweak' available to control what should be done in such situations

Is this tweak part of Calibre or something I need to find and then add it to Calibre?

Quote:

You can also select multiple entries after they have been added and use the Calibre 'merge' option on the right-click menu to merge them into a single record

I don't see this as an option after selecting two books and right-clicking on one of the selected books. I'm running v0.9.23

HarryT - thanks for the heads up!

theducks · 03-20-2013, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgt1942

itimpi Is this tweak part of Calibre or something I need to find and then add it to Calibre?

I don't see this as an option after selecting two books and right-clicking on one of the selected books. I'm running v0.9.23

HarryT - thanks for the heads up!

It is on the Edit Metadata Menu (There does not seem to be a better place for it)

03-19-2013, 04:43 AM	#1
jgt1942 Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: iPad	Calibre formats and duplicate book entries New user question(s) I've been downloading from newsgroups and often I see multiple file extensions for the same book, LIT, MOBI, EPUB, AZW seem to be the most common. When I view an entry in Calibre for the "Formats" I often see multiple formats and I can actually remove one of the formats. If I attempt to transfer a book that I've downloaded from the newsgroup and I have three different file extensions Calibre will tell me that I'm about to load duplicate books and if elect to do so I do have multiple entries with the same title but of course they are different formats. Why do some of the books in Calibre show one entry with multiple formats but when I transfer a book with different file extension (my example of three separate files I downloaded from the newsgroup) they end up being an entry for each file extension. I expected Calibre to merge them to one entry. Have I done something wrong? Should I just transfer one of the files from the newsgroup, if so which file extension should I transfer? My wife has an iPad and a Nook.

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03-19-2013, 07:13 AM	#2
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,552 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	It is perfectly normal to have multiple formats against a given book record. In practise that is probably what most people prefer to end up with so that Calibre can select the most appropriate format for any given reading device. When adding new books, if Calibre finds multiple books with the same author/title it warns you about duplicates. There is a 'tweak' available to control what should be done in such situations - add them to existing records or add them as new records. You can get false positives so you do need to exercise a little caution in letting Calibre automatically merge different formats onto the same library record. Also there are scenarios where you may genuinely want multiple entries for the same book (e.g. different editions) which is one of the reasons Calibre allows duplicates to be stored. You can also select multiple entries after they have been added and use the Calibre 'merge' option on the right-click menu to merge them into a single record as long as you are sure that they are really the same book.

03-19-2013, 07:19 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Just a general point: be very careful about downloading ANY book from a newsgroup. Most of them, I regret to say, infringe copyright.