Collection Organization Issue....Weird

ScoutPilot · 12-06-2010, 07:31 AM

Hey Kindlers,

Here is a screen shot of one of my collections. Its organized by Author but for some reason, one of the authors isn't in the right order (For Example: Dean Koontz in the screen shot attached).

I've gone in to calibre and checked the metadata to make sure that they match. Initially they didn't but I changed them to match. I figured that would fix the problem but as you can see it hasn't. Does anyone know why this happens and how to fix it?

Thanks ya'll!

TallMomof2 · 12-06-2010, 08:35 AM

Do have the author name on both lines (Author and Author Sort) in Calibre as "Koontz, Dean"? That should do the trick to sort by last name first.

ScoutPilot · 12-06-2010, 07:04 PM

I just checked in calibre. They match exactly. Any other ideas?

:P

bjones6416 · 12-06-2010, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScoutPilot

I just checked in calibre. They match exactly. Any other ideas?

:P

Then, do all of the OTHERS match exactly? Because mine don't -- I have the first line as "Dean Koontz," and the second one as "Koontz, Dean" in calibre. When I do an author sort on my kindle they sort by first name. If you have both instances as Koontz, Dean in that Lightning book, it's going to sort that one by the "K." I bet you have the others in calibre like mine are, so they are sorting by the first name, and only that one books isn't.

trekchick · 12-07-2010, 08:35 AM

The Author field controls how the name is displayed, and the Author Sort field controls how it's sorted. If both fields are "Dean Koontz", then the book will fall alphabetically under "D". if the Author sort is "Koontz, Dean", then it will sort under "K".

In my experience, simply changing the values in Calibre doesn't fix the file's metadata, it only fixes Calibre's database. In order to fix metadata on the file, I've had to convert it (you can convert it to the same format that you started from). For my Sonys, I've edited the device interface plugin in Calibre to feed the Author Sort field to the reader's database, but there's not an equivalent tweak for Kindle.

Robot Monkey · 12-07-2010, 01:38 PM

It can be done! I just switched from Sony 505 to Kindle and discovered this combing through calibre's options. Do this:

1. In metadata the Author(s) field should say Dean Koontz (as an example).

2. The Author sort field should say Koontz, Dean. Don't bother typing this in -- clicking the button on the right of this field will populate it for you once the Author(s) field is completed.

3. Check all books for this consistency. I believe that's why it Dean Koontz is sprinkled throughout the list seemingly at random.

4. Now, click Preferences --> Output Options (under "Conversion") --> MOBI Output. Put a check in the box next to next "Use author sort for author".

That's it. When you browse your authors will be in alphabetical order, although they will still be listed FirstName Lastname.

Here's the caveat: Like trekchick points out, I think this only works on books that are converted. So I converted all my books to MOBI even if they were already in MOBI. Not a big deal and hardly time-consuming. Books from the Kindle store already obey this convention.

I *think* the "Automatic management" option in Output might avoid deleting books from the device and resending them, but I didn't explore this.

ScoutPilot · 12-07-2010, 04:12 PM

Trekchick/Robot Monkey

Thanks for the posts. I'll check it out tonight and report back!

12-06-2010, 07:31 AM	#1
ScoutPilot Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Sony Pocket, Kindle 2, Kindle 3 3G+WiFi	Collection Organization Issue....Weird Hey Kindlers, Here is a screen shot of one of my collections. Its organized by Author but for some reason, one of the authors isn't in the right order (For Example: Dean Koontz in the screen shot attached). I've gone in to calibre and checked the metadata to make sure that they match. Initially they didn't but I changed them to match. I figured that would fix the problem but as you can see it hasn't. Does anyone know why this happens and how to fix it? Thanks ya'll! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by ScoutPilot; 12-06-2010 at 07:56 AM.

12-07-2010, 08:35 AM	#5
trekchick Lurker Posts: 226 Karma: 9245 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Walton, KY Device: Sonys and Kindles and Nooks, oh my!	The Author field controls how the name is displayed, and the Author Sort field controls how it's sorted. If both fields are "Dean Koontz", then the book will fall alphabetically under "D". if the Author sort is "Koontz, Dean", then it will sort under "K". In my experience, simply changing the values in Calibre doesn't fix the file's metadata, it only fixes Calibre's database. In order to fix metadata on the file, I've had to convert it (you can convert it to the same format that you started from). For my Sonys, I've edited the device interface plugin in Calibre to feed the Author Sort field to the reader's database, but there's not an equivalent tweak for Kindle. Last edited by trekchick; 12-07-2010 at 08:39 AM.

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12-06-2010, 08:35 AM	#2
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	Do have the author name on both lines (Author and Author Sort) in Calibre as "Koontz, Dean"? That should do the trick to sort by last name first.

12-06-2010, 07:04 PM	#3
ScoutPilot Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Sony Pocket, Kindle 2, Kindle 3 3G+WiFi	I just checked in calibre. They match exactly. Any other ideas? :P

12-07-2010, 01:38 PM	#6
Robot Monkey Member Posts: 12 Karma: 80 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Kindle 3, HTC Incredible, Sony PRS-505	It can be done! I just switched from Sony 505 to Kindle and discovered this combing through calibre's options. Do this: 1. In metadata the Author(s) field should say Dean Koontz (as an example). 2. The Author sort field should say Koontz, Dean. Don't bother typing this in -- clicking the button on the right of this field will populate it for you once the Author(s) field is completed. 3. Check all books for this consistency. I believe that's why it Dean Koontz is sprinkled throughout the list seemingly at random. 4. Now, click Preferences --> Output Options (under "Conversion") --> MOBI Output. Put a check in the box next to next "Use author sort for author". That's it. When you browse your authors will be in alphabetical order, although they will still be listed FirstName Lastname. Here's the caveat: Like trekchick points out, I think this only works on books that are converted. So I converted all my books to MOBI even if they were already in MOBI. Not a big deal and hardly time-consuming. Books from the Kindle store already obey this convention. I think the "Automatic management" option in Output might avoid deleting books from the device and resending them, but I didn't explore this.

12-07-2010, 04:12 PM	#7
ScoutPilot Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Sony Pocket, Kindle 2, Kindle 3 3G+WiFi	Trekchick/Robot Monkey Thanks for the posts. I'll check it out tonight and report back!