Newbie question about downloading metadata

cabridges · 11-28-2009, 11:09 PM

Did a quick search and didn't see this answered, so hopefully I'm not rehashing a regular question.

I just installed calibre and started adding some books. My book titles were exact, but the metadata download renamed one book as a different one altogether and picked the audiobook info for another instead of the print version. Since that's in the first 10 books I tried I'm very hesitant to throw my thousands at it, mostly because I won't know if any other books get completely changed until I hunt for them and can't find them. The other 8 downloaded the correct data.

What I want to know is, is there an undo command? If I ask for a metadata download and it picks an entirely different book, can I undo that or do I have to manually change every field back to the correct ones?

And if you get the wrong metadata for a book, is there any way to reject it and request the next best guess?

Thanks,

kjk · 11-28-2009, 11:20 PM

I always cancel out of the requestor, and just try again.

Beau · 11-29-2009, 12:15 AM

As far as I know, this is a database generated and maintained as a public group project -- kind of like some music databases. There are always going to be differences based on an individual's preference. I always check to see if the parts that I'm interested in are correct by scrolling. I'm less interested in the ISBN, for example, but may want a decent cover image or description. For that reason I don't apply that option in bulk automatically.

Beau

polly · 11-29-2009, 03:50 AM

As you've now learned, doing bulk metadata imports often turns out poorly. If you want to try again, make certain that the title and author are correct and then delete the ISBN. Click the Fetch Metadata button and Calibre will redownload the metadata. Pick the one that matches the book and Calibre will repopulate the other fields for you.

Manichean · 11-29-2009, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabridges

What I want to know is, is there an undo command? If I ask for a metadata download and it picks an entirely different book, can I undo that or do I have to manually change every field back to the correct ones?

If you just download the metadata from the context menu (e.g. right clicking on a book or multiple books), Calibre will use the first hit it gets. If you open the dialog for editing metadata and download from there, you get a list of all found entries and can select the correct one. This may not help with thousands of books, but as far as I know, this is the only method that allows you to select which set of metadata you want to use.

cabridges · 11-29-2009, 01:26 PM

That helps a lot; I was downloading metadata with a rightclick from the list screen rather than opening the books one by one.

Considering the number I'm dealing with, I suspect I'll be using this to manage the books as I'm ready to put them my device -- when I can take the time to make sure they're correct -- but leaving the bulk out of it.

Although as I know from my music management, at some point I'll snap and start entering them all anyway.

guyanonymous · 11-29-2009, 04:14 PM

I wonder if it would be simple to change the behavior...to have it take only an exact match with title/author?

Sabardeyn · 11-30-2009, 11:26 PM

I've done some bulk meta data import and I'm less than impressed. Wrong information, inconsistent data entry, poor spelling, some strange tags, etc (from google). I realized that the problem was the site and not calibre, but it was still disappointing.

Knowing that individual comparison and importation of data allows for better results is a big help. Of course, I'm not sure I've got enough time to look them all up!

11-28-2009, 11:09 PM	#1
cabridges Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: iPod Touch	Newbie question about downloading metadata Did a quick search and didn't see this answered, so hopefully I'm not rehashing a regular question. I just installed calibre and started adding some books. My book titles were exact, but the metadata download renamed one book as a different one altogether and picked the audiobook info for another instead of the print version. Since that's in the first 10 books I tried I'm very hesitant to throw my thousands at it, mostly because I won't know if any other books get completely changed until I hunt for them and can't find them. The other 8 downloaded the correct data. What I want to know is, is there an undo command? If I ask for a metadata download and it picks an entirely different book, can I undo that or do I have to manually change every field back to the correct ones? And if you get the wrong metadata for a book, is there any way to reject it and request the next best guess? Thanks,

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11-28-2009, 11:20 PM	#2
kjk . Posts: 3,408 Karma: 5647231 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: never enough	I always cancel out of the requestor, and just try again.

11-29-2009, 12:15 AM	#3
Beau Connoisseur Posts: 77 Karma: 132 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: Sony 700, ipod Touch, iphone, Galaxy Tab	As far as I know, this is a database generated and maintained as a public group project -- kind of like some music databases. There are always going to be differences based on an individual's preference. I always check to see if the parts that I'm interested in are correct by scrolling. I'm less interested in the ISBN, for example, but may want a decent cover image or description. For that reason I don't apply that option in bulk automatically. Beau

11-29-2009, 03:50 AM	#4
polly Evangelist Posts: 454 Karma: 270240 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS 650, PocketBook 360, Astak PocketPro (RIP), Tungsten T3	As you've now learned, doing bulk metadata imports often turns out poorly. If you want to try again, make certain that the title and author are correct and then delete the ISBN. Click the Fetch Metadata button and Calibre will redownload the metadata. Pick the one that matches the book and Calibre will repopulate the other fields for you.

11-29-2009, 01:26 PM	#6
cabridges Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: iPod Touch	That helps a lot; I was downloading metadata with a rightclick from the list screen rather than opening the books one by one. Considering the number I'm dealing with, I suspect I'll be using this to manage the books as I'm ready to put them my device -- when I can take the time to make sure they're correct -- but leaving the bulk out of it. Although as I know from my music management, at some point I'll snap and start entering them all anyway.

11-29-2009, 04:14 PM	#7
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	I wonder if it would be simple to change the behavior...to have it take only an exact match with title/author?

11-30-2009, 11:26 PM	#8
Sabardeyn Guru Posts: 644 Karma: 1242364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Right Coast Device: PC (Calibre), Nexus 7 2013 (Moon+ Pro), HTC HD2/Leo (Freda)	I've done some bulk meta data import and I'm less than impressed. Wrong information, inconsistent data entry, poor spelling, some strange tags, etc (from google). I realized that the problem was the site and not calibre, but it was still disappointing. Knowing that individual comparison and importation of data allows for better results is a big help. Of course, I'm not sure I've got enough time to look them all up!

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