'Sticky' Sorts

[TheArtfulDodger]

Hello:

I have a question about what I am calling 'sticky' sorts. I am using Calibre Portable version 5.23 and Windows 10, x64. Here's the process I am using:
1. I do a three level sort: Title, Author, then Genre. This, if I do it correctly, will put all of my books with no genre listed at the top. This indicates a new book for which I have not processed the metadata.
2. I select the top book.
3. I create a virtual library for the author of the book I have selected.
4. In the virtual library, which includes the new book(s) with no genre as well as any previously added books by the same author with included genre, I process the metadata for the book with the blank genre field, including adding information to the genre field.
5. I close the virtual library.
Here's where the change has occurred: Before, I would return to the library as sorted before the creation of the virtual library: Title, Author, Genre and I could select the top book as before. Now, all sorting is lost, and I have to click Title, Author, Genre again and then move the slider to the top of the list.

I have also noticed lately that after downloading a book's metadata, when changing the series name, upon completing the name change, the series number always changes immediately to 1.0, regardless of what it was before the change.

Has something changed in the way sorting is saved or have I changed a parameter that has changed the behaviour, or am I going nuts?
All suggestions would be most appreciated.

Sparky

[kovidgoyal]

1. I dont see the sort changing when closing a virtual library

2. Editing the book metadata where? in the edit metadata dialog or directly in the book list?

Try running calibre from the command prompt as


calibre --ignore-plugins

and see if these still happen.

[TheArtfulDodger]

Hello, Kovid:

Thanks for answering. In a word, yes, everything still behaves as I described. Perhaps I didn't describe it correctly, so here's some snaps:
A. First, I hit title, then author, and finally genre. Then I selected the first book and created a virtual library from that author. In figure 1 I have entered some false info as a series name and called it '5' in the series. In Figure 2 I changed the name of the series and clicked just below the box to enter the change. Instantly, the series became 1.0 from 5.0.
B. I then saved those changes to the book in the database and closed the virtual library. Figure 3 shows the main library as it was when I returned to it. And, figure 4 shows it after I once again clicked title, author, and genre and re-positioned the file to the top of the file. This last is the way it used to return from the virtual library.

I hope this makes it a bit clearer what is happening.

Sparky

[kovidgoyal]

The edit metadata dialog has always changed the series number to the "next" number when changing the series. As for the sort being lost after closing a virtual library, I still cant make that happen.

In any case if you are using a complex sort, you can use the view manager plugin to easily re-apply it.

[TheArtfulDodger]

Hello, again Kovid:

Here's a short video clip which demonstrates the thing that's happening to me. Prior to the start of the clip, I have clicked on Title, Author, and finally, Genre. When I do that, it brings the books with an empty Genre field to the top, sorted next by author, and then titles sorted within author.
In case you can't understand the audio, I select the first book and create a virtual library from that author. When the virtual library comes up (in this case, only the book I selected in the library because the author has only one book in the main library - here's where if it were possible to place the number of books beside each author's name in the author selection box would be a help) I select the book, select edit, perform a short edit, placing items in the Tag and Genre fields, and save. I then close the virtual library and return to the main library where it should still be sorted with empty genre fields and remaining authors and their books at the top. However, instead, it follows the book.

This last bit is what has changed.

Sparky

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by TheArtfulDodger

Hello, again Kovid:

Here's a short video clip which demonstrates the thing that's happening to me. Prior to the start of the clip, I have clicked on Title, Author, and finally, Genre. When I do that, it brings the books with an empty Genre field to the top, sorted next by author, and then titles sorted within author.
In case you can't understand the audio, I select the first book and create a virtual library from that author. When the virtual library comes up (in this case, only the book I selected in the library because the author has only one book in the main library - here's where if it were possible to place the number of books beside each author's name in the author selection box would be a help) I select the book, select edit, perform a short edit, placing items in the Tag and Genre fields, and save. I then close the virtual library and return to the main library where it should still be sorted with empty genre fields and remaining authors and their books at the top. However, instead, it follows the book.

This last bit is what has changed.

Sparky

Click the Configure button at bottom of then Tag Browser and then click Show Counts

BR

[TheArtfulDodger]

Hello

I guess when I made that statement I wasn't clear enough about which list I meant. The one that would help me the most is the Author List which appears when creating a Virtual Library (see attachment). I have not found the list in the Tag Browser to be consistent enough to be useful. As an example, the first book I attempted to use the tag browser with was an author named "L. A. Dobbs" and, while there are other authors with names that appear similar, for example "L. A. Clayton" and "L. A. Couriel" that appear under "L", "L. A. Dobbs" appears under "D" as in "Dobbs, L. A.".
The Author List in the Virtual Library List has always been consistent!

Thank you for the reply.

Sparky

[TheArtfulDodger]

Hello, again:

I must admit that I don't have to find the author in this list; I can search after pasting the name in the search box. If I then click on the result, I get the same as the virtual library (at least as I use it) without the hassle of searching through the virtual author which has no search capability. It has the added advantage of not changing the sort order! So, I must thank you for the tip (I knew the list was there but you got me to examine it in a different light to which I had used it in the past)!

So, a hearty thank you.

Sparky

[BetterRed]

The Similar Books tool might be even easier





Note the shortcut - Alt+A

You can put it in a toolbar if you don't like shortcuts and context menu's

BR

[TheArtfulDodger]

Hello, BR:
Will look at this tool but I don't think it will be useful for what I'm doing right now. When I download new books, I usually just leave them in a folder until there quite a few of them and I have the time to work with them. When I'm ready, I bring all of them into a temporary library; there I fix the author names and titles and the respective sort fields; I convert them to epub; and insert their page numbers. Then I copy all of them into my main library.
Once in the main library I gradually add and edit their metadata - that's the function I was performing on each new book.
Before, I was creating a virtual library by author so I ccould see all the books by the same author so I could check for duplicates, including books which exist in box sets.
Using the tag browser proved to be much quicker than the virtual library technique and I shall be using it in future.
However, I will take a look at the tool you suggested. I'm always learning about Calibre!!
Thanks for the suggestion!

Sparky

[DNSB]

Personally, I use the Find Duplicates plugin with a fuzzy compare on the author to locate author files.

Another difference is my workflow keeps new ebooks in my Intake library until they are ready to be sent to my ereader at which time, they get moved to my main library.

[TheArtfulDodger]

Hello, David:
I started out that way but I found I was duplicating metadata searches, especially with books that were duplicates in box sets. This way I can see every entry from the same author, even in anthologies!

Sparky

[TheArtfulDodger]

Hello, BR:
Well, despite considerable doubt, I rearranged my toolbar to accommodate the "similar" tool and I was amazed to see that the tool was better by far than either of the other two methods I had tried. Part of my hesitation was that I didn't understand what it did. I thought it would go out on the net and find books that were sililar to the one I was processing!
So, once again I need to say a hearty "Thank You"!

Sparky