Need Help with Searching and Sorting

Archon · 12-13-2010, 03:39 PM

Hey all,

I searched around a little but can't find an answer to my question.

In Calibre I have created a custom column called "Length". In it I store "Novel", "Novelette", "Novella", or "Short Story". Works great for sorting.

However, when I do an advanced search to eliminate other lengths with the following:
#length:"Short Story" - finds all the short stories
#length:"novella" - works great only finds novellas
#length:"novelette" - works great only finds novelettes
#length:"novel" - this one finds novels, novellas, and novelettes

It seems the search acts as a <find everything that contains "novel"> instead of <find everything that is an exact match of "novel">.

So I do a regular search with
=Novel
and it finds all the novels. Woohoo! Likewise =Novella, =Novelette.

However, =Short story gives me nothing. :-(
No joy in Mudville.

I guess I can use #length:"Short Story" and =Novel but when I don't know how something works I must haves it.
So...
Does anyone know how to get Calibre to do an exact match search on a custom column when doing an advanced search (e.g. #length:"novel") ?

And does anyone know how to get Calibre to ignore the space in the data in a custom column when doing a regular search (e.g. =Short story) ?

I have tried using all kinds of wild card characters like \ and * but no joy.
I am sure it is simple to those who do DB searches all the time but that would not be me.

TIA for constructive advice.
Archon

Archon · 12-13-2010, 03:55 PM

Just a follow up. I tried the pull down box in the advanced search. The one that says what kind of match to use. It doesn't work and it doesn't stay on "Equals: the word or phrase must match the entire metadata field"

chaley · 12-13-2010, 04:04 PM

When you say 'advanced search', do you mean the title/author/series tab in advanced search dialog? A bit of experimentation shows that the search type combo box isn't used correctly there. I will look at it more tomorrow.

The way to express exact match searches using your examples is #length:"=novel" and #length:"=Short Story".

You can use the tags browser (left hand pane) to generate search terms. For example, expand the tags section (click the little triangle), then click on a tag to search for that tag. Click it again to search for everything but that tag. Hold the shift key and click multiple tags to search for more than one thing.

Archon · 12-13-2010, 04:16 PM

Yes the title/author/series tab.

Ahhh yes see I knew it was something easy but my little rat brain was not getting it.
The equals sign INSIDE the quotes. So simple.
Thanks for the quick reply and excellent help.
That was nattering at me.

Yes, I like the tag browser but I made custom columns for whether I have read it or not, length of story, Nebula award, Hugo award, and the award year so I can group them easier.

Thanks again for the help.
Archon

chaley · 12-13-2010, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archon

Yes, I like the tag browser but I made custom columns for whether I have read it or not, length of story, Nebula award, Hugo award, and the award year so I can group them easier.

You can use the tags pane to search custom columns as well.

That is what I do. I almost never search tags.

Also, build up a library of your favorite searches. This will save you a lot of time.

And you are welcome.

Archon · 12-13-2010, 04:42 PM

Oh wow! I never looked over there but the columns I created for "length" and "my rating" are in the tag browser so that makes things faster. I had other stuff expanded and didn't see them there.
Excellent.

12-13-2010, 03:39 PM	#1
Archon Zealot Posts: 110 Karma: 5176 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Mac OSX, iPad, iPod, & Nook	Need Help with Searching and Sorting Hey all, I searched around a little but can't find an answer to my question. In Calibre I have created a custom column called "Length". In it I store "Novel", "Novelette", "Novella", or "Short Story". Works great for sorting. However, when I do an advanced search to eliminate other lengths with the following: #length:"Short Story" - finds all the short stories #length:"novella" - works great only finds novellas #length:"novelette" - works great only finds novelettes #length:"novel" - this one finds novels, novellas, and novelettes It seems the search acts as a <find everything that contains "novel"> instead of <find everything that is an exact match of "novel">. So I do a regular search with =Novel and it finds all the novels. Woohoo! Likewise =Novella, =Novelette. However, =Short story gives me nothing. :-( No joy in Mudville. I guess I can use #length:"Short Story" and =Novel but when I don't know how something works I must haves it. So... Does anyone know how to get Calibre to do an exact match search on a custom column when doing an advanced search (e.g. #length:"novel") ? And does anyone know how to get Calibre to ignore the space in the data in a custom column when doing a regular search (e.g. =Short story) ? I have tried using all kinds of wild card characters like \ and * but no joy. I am sure it is simple to those who do DB searches all the time but that would not be me. TIA for constructive advice. Archon

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Searching a bible	shore_pk	Amazon Kindle	8	12-01-2010 03:53 PM
V 0.6.40 keeps searching my floppy	nothatkind	Calibre	8	02-19-2010 07:17 AM
Title Sorting / Author Sorting	ahi	Sony Reader	0	09-14-2009 01:51 PM
Searching on the Kindle	bob315	Amazon Kindle	13	12-01-2007 04:42 PM
How Robust is Searching?	ewayde	iRex	17	11-02-2007 03:33 AM

12-13-2010, 03:55 PM	#2
Archon Zealot Posts: 110 Karma: 5176 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Mac OSX, iPad, iPod, & Nook	Just a follow up. I tried the pull down box in the advanced search. The one that says what kind of match to use. It doesn't work and it doesn't stay on "Equals: the word or phrase must match the entire metadata field"

12-13-2010, 04:04 PM	#3
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,734 Karma: 6690881 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	When you say 'advanced search', do you mean the title/author/series tab in advanced search dialog? A bit of experimentation shows that the search type combo box isn't used correctly there. I will look at it more tomorrow. The way to express exact match searches using your examples is #length:"=novel" and #length:"=Short Story". You can use the tags browser (left hand pane) to generate search terms. For example, expand the tags section (click the little triangle), then click on a tag to search for that tag. Click it again to search for everything but that tag. Hold the shift key and click multiple tags to search for more than one thing.

12-13-2010, 04:16 PM	#4
Archon Zealot Posts: 110 Karma: 5176 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Mac OSX, iPad, iPod, & Nook	Yes the title/author/series tab. Ahhh yes see I knew it was something easy but my little rat brain was not getting it. The equals sign INSIDE the quotes. So simple. Thanks for the quick reply and excellent help. That was nattering at me. Yes, I like the tag browser but I made custom columns for whether I have read it or not, length of story, Nebula award, Hugo award, and the award year so I can group them easier. Thanks again for the help. Archon

12-13-2010, 04:42 PM	#6
Archon Zealot Posts: 110 Karma: 5176 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Mac OSX, iPad, iPod, & Nook	Oh wow! I never looked over there but the columns I created for "length" and "my rating" are in the tag browser so that makes things faster. I had other stuff expanded and didn't see them there. Excellent.

Advert

Advert