Can I generate Additional Authors column which shares Authors data?

GeekyGal · 10-04-2011, 05:07 AM

Esteemed Calibre Genius Types:

I am hoping someone has a more elegant solution than the one I am using for my issue.

I want to list all of the contributors to an anthology or magazine, list known pseudonyms, list editors and translators or contributors of significant forwards, etc to locate all material by a given author.

If I list all of that in the Authors column, with ampersands, they all show up as Authors in the Tag Browser [Very good] and the count of authors is accurate [except for the few pseudonym duplications], *but* (1) the generated catalogs are a mess with that long an author field [very bad], (2) the alphabetic sort in the books list forces all of the books with only one author before the ones with a pseudonym or more contributors [mildly bad] and (3) where there is more than one author listed in that field, the display of author on the Kindle 3 Keyboard is odd. Randall Garrett & Laurence Janifer listed in one field displas as "Randall & Janifer, Laurence Garrett". Same with Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle who become "Larry & Pournelle, Jerry Niven". LN1 & FN2, FN2 LN1 / embedding Author 2 into author 1 is just odd.
With more than two authors, it gets worse.

If I list all of the additional authors, pseudonyms, translators, etc. as part of the Comments field, that solves the catalog entry issue, and is searchable, but those authors do not show up in the Authors list and/or the counts are incomplete. I didn't like that.

So far the best I have come up with is two more columns for Additional Author [Names Column which appears in tag browser] and Role [defined text values of Author, Pen Name, Editor, Translator, Intro, Other]. That solves the catalog entry issue and is searchable, but I have to add the Additional Author "stats" mentally to the Authors.

My ideal solution would be an additional authors field which integrates with the Authors in the Tag Browser, pulls names from that list, counts into that list, BUT can be excluded from the Author listing in a send to the device and in catalog generation.

I am using the current version of Calibre [8.21] and have my Authors listed as LN, FN in the Author Column and Author sort, since I find that easier to deal with when I look into the Calibre directory to check on files now and again.

Does anyone have a more elegant solution for dealing with additional authors?

Thank you all so much for your unfailing patience and assistance.

theducks · 10-04-2011, 09:49 AM

You might explore the Search and Replace tab features, of the Bulk Metadata editor, as a possible means of populating the new Custom column.

As for the "K" problem, no clue

GeekyGal · 10-04-2011, 03:49 PM

Thank you very much, theducks.

Search and Replace will move the information around quickly, but I'm more concerned with whether / how the Additional Authors can be part of the Author database, without being printed in the catalog or sent to the device (or -- better yet -- only being sent to the device on request, assuming that the Kindle oddity may be cured at some future time.

Is what I'm asking about possibly a Plugin idea which is in the wrong place? I'm not able to program a plug in myself at this point, but am always willing to try if someone can point me in the right direction. Part of this feels like it ties in with a part of drMerry's Author Metadata plug in discussion. Or is this a feature request for the far future, particularly now that Kovid is in transit?

Thank you all for the assistance.

theducks · 10-04-2011, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeekyGal

Thank you very much, theducks.

Search and Replace will move the information around quickly, but I'm more concerned with whether / how the Additional Authors can be part of the Author database, without being printed in the catalog or sent to the device (or -- better yet -- only being sent to the device on request, assuming that the Kindle oddity may be cured at some future time.

Is what I'm asking about possibly a Plugin idea which is in the wrong place? I'm not able to program a plug in myself at this point, but am always willing to try if someone can point me in the right direction. Part of this feels like it ties in with a part of drMerry's Author Metadata plug in discussion. Or is this a feature request for the far future, particularly now that Kovid is in transit?

Thank you all for the assistance.

Do flip of the above

Leave all the Authors in the Author column (which leaves them in the Authors DB) and Make a Main Authors column with what you want to transfer.

THEN
use the custom col in your Send/Save templates.

Note: You either need to copy single authors over
OR
Use a conditional Template:
If the custom col is Blank, use the Author_sort instead. (see the advanced template language in help.)

GeekyGal · 10-04-2011, 09:17 PM

Dear theducks:

Oh. I see. Elegant solution. I didn't think of it from that direction at all, but it makes great sense. Thank you.

Maybe this is a "cake & eat it situation for me, but my remaining issue is how to generate a catalog which includes the Main Authors index. The only way I can see to include a custom column in a catalog is to include the Descriptions and merge in the Custom Column with the Comments.

That won't give me an index by Authors, and the Authors index is only populated by the native Authors db, so that will give me my problem of impossibly long Author entries in the catalog for anthologies. This may be a case of picking a personal priority and sticking with it. I may have to let the other go until someone else figures it out.

Unless I'm just missing something, I can't customize the Catalog generation plugin, and I can't find a tweak for this.

Thank you for the solution; I really do like the approach. You have been most generous with your time.

10-04-2011, 05:07 AM	#1
GeekyGal Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 13888 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle FireHD, Kindle3G, iPad, MacBook, iRex Illiad (ret)	Can I generate Additional Authors column which shares Authors data? Esteemed Calibre Genius Types: I am hoping someone has a more elegant solution than the one I am using for my issue. I want to list all of the contributors to an anthology or magazine, list known pseudonyms, list editors and translators or contributors of significant forwards, etc to locate all material by a given author. If I list all of that in the Authors column, with ampersands, they all show up as Authors in the Tag Browser [Very good] and the count of authors is accurate [except for the few pseudonym duplications], but (1) the generated catalogs are a mess with that long an author field [very bad], (2) the alphabetic sort in the books list forces all of the books with only one author before the ones with a pseudonym or more contributors [mildly bad] and (3) where there is more than one author listed in that field, the display of author on the Kindle 3 Keyboard is odd. Randall Garrett & Laurence Janifer listed in one field displas as "Randall & Janifer, Laurence Garrett". Same with Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle who become "Larry & Pournelle, Jerry Niven". LN1 & FN2, FN2 LN1 / embedding Author 2 into author 1 is just odd. With more than two authors, it gets worse. If I list all of the additional authors, pseudonyms, translators, etc. as part of the Comments field, that solves the catalog entry issue, and is searchable, but those authors do not show up in the Authors list and/or the counts are incomplete. I didn't like that. So far the best I have come up with is two more columns for Additional Author [Names Column which appears in tag browser] and Role [defined text values of Author, Pen Name, Editor, Translator, Intro, Other]. That solves the catalog entry issue and is searchable, but I have to add the Additional Author "stats" mentally to the Authors. My ideal solution would be an additional authors field which integrates with the Authors in the Tag Browser, pulls names from that list, counts into that list, BUT can be excluded from the Author listing in a send to the device and in catalog generation. I am using the current version of Calibre [8.21] and have my Authors listed as LN, FN in the Author Column and Author sort, since I find that easier to deal with when I look into the Calibre directory to check on files now and again. Does anyone have a more elegant solution for dealing with additional authors? Thank you all so much for your unfailing patience and assistance.

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10-04-2011, 09:49 AM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,801 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	You might explore the Search and Replace tab features, of the Bulk Metadata editor, as a possible means of populating the new Custom column. As for the "K" problem, no clue

10-04-2011, 03:49 PM	#3
GeekyGal Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 13888 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle FireHD, Kindle3G, iPad, MacBook, iRex Illiad (ret)	Thank you very much, theducks. Search and Replace will move the information around quickly, but I'm more concerned with whether / how the Additional Authors can be part of the Author database, without being printed in the catalog or sent to the device (or -- better yet -- only being sent to the device on request, assuming that the Kindle oddity may be cured at some future time. Is what I'm asking about possibly a Plugin idea which is in the wrong place? I'm not able to program a plug in myself at this point, but am always willing to try if someone can point me in the right direction. Part of this feels like it ties in with a part of drMerry's Author Metadata plug in discussion. Or is this a feature request for the far future, particularly now that Kovid is in transit? Thank you all for the assistance.

10-04-2011, 09:17 PM	#5
GeekyGal Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 13888 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle FireHD, Kindle3G, iPad, MacBook, iRex Illiad (ret)	Dear theducks: Oh. I see. Elegant solution. I didn't think of it from that direction at all, but it makes great sense. Thank you. Maybe this is a "cake & eat it situation for me, but my remaining issue is how to generate a catalog which includes the Main Authors index. The only way I can see to include a custom column in a catalog is to include the Descriptions and merge in the Custom Column with the Comments. That won't give me an index by Authors, and the Authors index is only populated by the native Authors db, so that will give me my problem of impossibly long Author entries in the catalog for anthologies. This may be a case of picking a personal priority and sticking with it. I may have to let the other go until someone else figures it out. Unless I'm just missing something, I can't customize the Catalog generation plugin, and I can't find a tweak for this. Thank you for the solution; I really do like the approach. You have been most generous with your time.

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