[GUI Plugin] Generate Cover

[DMee]

Ah - unticking the "separate window" - thats what I was after

[drcjsnider]

Every time I click 'generate cover' icon calibre crashes. It worked for awhile, but then started crashing when I clicked the icon. I've updated calibre several times since the initial crashing started (including the most recent update), but it hasn't stopped the crashing when I click the generate cover icon. any clues about how I can fix it?

[JSWolf]

Instead of a picture of a Kindle, can we please have a pictures of a PRS-T1 in red?

[JimmXinu]

kiwidude: Found an obscure bug for you:

When you clear the plugin's library settings, it warns that you should restart and offers an 'OK' and a 'Restart' button. But it restarts whichever button you click.

Looks like the PrefsViewerDialog._clear_settings() method is setting a do_restart flag, but not checking it:

        .......
        d.do_restart = False
        def rf():
            d.do_restart = True
        b.clicked.connect(rf)
        d.set_details('')
        d.exec_()
        b.clicked.disconnect()
        self.close()
        self.gui.quit(restart=True)

[DMee]

I spotted something weird too. Was trying to set covers for a series of short stories. Found an image I like and CTRL-C to copy it. Within generate cover I CTRL-V to paste and it pasted in. So I clicked ok. And the initial boring image Generate Covers was set to use was copied to everything. Working as it should just threw me that it allows you to paste an image from clipboard.

[kiwidude]

@dcrjsnider - not the foggiest about your issue sorry. No-one else is reporting issues. I'm guessing you fall into the very small but unfortunate minority who have been having crashing issues with calibre since a while ago. You don't say anything about your OS etc but honestly I wouldn't have anything to suggest to you. I suggest you go hunting in the main forums about calibre crashes specific to your OS, and verify whether you can find other ways to crash calibre that don't involve this specific plugin.

@JSWolf - what drugs are you on? You can have a picture of whatever you like, I don't include any images with this plugin.

@JimmXinu - I think you picked the wrong plugin, as this plugin doesn't use that code. It is however in a file that gets shared with various other plugins and those that have that latest version of it will indeed have that bug which I will fix for their next release, thanks.

@DMee - it took me a while to figure out what you meant, some random clicking I think found it. I presume you mean the right-click menu that happens to exist on the generated cover image on the right side of the dialog? That menu came "for free" because I reused a calibre widget, I hadn't even realised it did that. It really shouldn't (nor should it support drag/drop onto that panel either), so I will replace it with something more basic sometime...

[DMee]

:-) sorry - was typing on my phone so not as good an explanation as should have been

Actually, if you could get it so it worked, that would be brill. In the same way as you can cut and paste an image into the book metadata screen, rather than, find image, save image, start plugin, load image into plugin list, use image.......

[kiwidude]

You don't need all those steps. Just drag/drop your image onto the "Select Image" list on the left side of the plugin dialog. That is at least as fast as copy/paste. And has the advantage of being reusable.

[DMee]

Ah.... now that IS good

[rhban]

Well, this plug-in is clearly what I was looking for, but I haven't the faintest idea how to use it properly. I managed to use a filed jpg as the cover, but I couldn't find any way of placing the text where I wanted it. I also downloaded the zips of example covers - I suppose I could adapt the code there if I knew where to put it. I feel like someone who's just been shown a computer for the 1st time and been told to write a tax spreadsheet.

[kiwidude]

@rhban - Krittika has some instructions mentioned in her blog post here which may be of interest:
http://blog.calibre-ebook.com/2011/1...continued.html

There have been quite a number of ways to customise the covers added over time which is why perhaps all the options might seem intimidating at first. If you still can't work it out, crank up your favourite paint program and attach a screenshot of the layout that you want and one of us can tell you what settings you need to set for it. For instance are any of the layouts you see on the screenshots in my first post of this thread along the lines of what you want? (Forget the image itself as that is easily adjusted - just the basic layout of where you want the title text, authors and image placed, either as a background or inset on the cover).

[rhban]

I rather liked the Firefly and Roswell ones.

[kiwidude]

@rhban - you do realise that the actual text on those was not generated by this plugin, right? They were posted by a user to make available as *images* for people to include in their generated cover. Those images would have been produced by a graphic artist spending hours in Photoshop creating them, orders of magnitude beyond anything this plugin can or will ever do.

[Vaesse]

That is NOT true! I found promotional images for the shows which contained the title of the show, true, but the text about episode and such WAS added by the plugin (I use them as covers for scripts of the episodes). I used specialty fonts and color matched the background. Admittedly, without the background the cover image wouldn't have been half as nice, but I'm sure I could do something similar for almost any TV show based book/scripts in minimal time.

I do appreciate the implied compliment, however.

[kiwidude]

@Vaesse - you are saying the word "firefly" on the Firefly cover was added by this plugin?