How do YOU use column coloring?

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by alansplace

good plan

Thanks!

[unboggling]

I just use one color red (not counting black), to color text in most fields of a record that is a wishlist item. I haven't had need to get more complicated than that.

[Sabardeyn]

I'm currently working on manga, trying to get the titles and metadata entered correctly. So I'm using colors to highlight various error condition tags. For instance:

• Authorless: books without author info within the file itself (no title page, credits, etc)
• Error: read error when trying to open the book (file download errors which only appeared after I started viewing files)
• Chapter Order: books with chapters out of sequence (3,1,2...)
• Renumber Pages: books with pages out of sequence (1, 10-19, 2, 21-29, 3...) (Remember, Windows handles numbers as text within a string so "alphabetical order" differs from "numerical order")
• Change Format: convert zip/rar archives to cbz/cbr

Coloring these tags makes it easier to see which books still need additional work. It's a kind of visual "red flag" while looking through the database.

Additionally, I use:

• Unknown Author (crimson) which is the default input when adding a new book
• Delete tag (orangered) for those occasions I'm almost absolutely positive I've got multiple copies of a book - but want to double check (page by page comparison) before destroying it

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by gweminence

Cmon, Dwanthy, Starson. You guys must use the feature. Give!

While aware that this feature existed I never felt the need to use this feature. After reading the comments in this thread maybe I'll change my mind.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by gweminence

Cmon, Dwanthy, Starson. You guys must use the feature. Give!

My library is large enough that I don't do a lot of scrolling through randomly, so I don't rely on this feature heavily. I mostly search specifically, so I don't use color for anything fancy.

I tag books with my initials or my wife's as a "to be read" tag. Those tags are used to color the title, with a different for color for each and a third when tagged by both of us. It's kind of a visual reminder, but the saved search does the real work.

I turn formats red if I have no EPUB, although the formats column is often turned off.

I sometimes use color as a temporary marker while working on a specific problem in the library.

[raynedrop]

HMMMM TY all of you for the different suggestions. Have been playing with ideas for organizing more on my PanDigital and Laptop so they cross ref each other and the coloring is a good way to narrow down some ideas. Yes I am dangerous with new toys lol --have to play ya know!

[travger]

For now I use color mostly in 'awards' column. Some book may have lots and lots of awards, but I keep the column narrow and color varies according to what I consider important.

For example: Hugo + Nebula - color1; Hugo or Nebula - color2; Hugo or Nebula nomination - color3; any other award - color4... In future I may hide this column and switch coloring to 'Title' or 'Author'.

I'm still in the process of deciding what columns I need, 'Awards' is only one I've given any thought to.

[Joanna]

I turn the title of a book violet if I have some audio/software attached (based on the tags). There aren't many of them; it's mostly the case of e.g. foreign language textbooks with extra audio CD, so it is good to know straight away there is something more than just the book.

I also color the language of a book (depending on the language). I have four colours defined for my four main languages. I don't know whether that's useful for anyone but I am a language junkie .

I'm new to Calibre so I still have to figure it out what columns and colours I need; I gonna share them when I know . This thread is really useful. But I do get a little OCDish as well .

[unifaerie]

I know the feature exists - just cannot work out how to do it! Would love some help, please.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by unifaerie

I know the feature exists - just cannot work out how to do it! Would love some help, please.

Start reading from post #4 in this thread.

[JSWolf]

I have a column that says if I have read a book or not. I have the title in blue for unread and normal black for read. This way I can see what I have yet to read and I can also see what I have not marked read that should be.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by unifaerie

I know the feature exists - just cannot work out how to do it! Would love some help, please.

You can play around with the feature by adding rules in Preferences > Look and Feel under the Column Coloring tab, which you can easily edit by double clicking on the rule, or delete if they don't work the way you want.

If you can give specifics about which column you want colored for what reason, then I could tell you what the rule should look like.

[chilady1]

I am not as advanced in using the color method as others here, but I do use RED for those books within Calibre that I have read.

As soon as I put in the date under a Custom Column I created, it turns the title of the book into RED text. When I go through Calibre I know that anything RED has been READ. It has made going through Calibre a lot easier as I can filter on this as well.

[OddCosine]

I added a price column to track how much I spend on books, and I set the color light gray if the price equals zero. That way the books I paid for stand out from the freebies.