Orphaned files after "Remove from iTunes device"

TheRealRalph · 04-17-2011, 12:26 PM

I am currently testing Calibre 0.7.55 on Mac OS X, and it looks very promising. There is one aspect, however, which I have yet to figure out. When Calibre is connected to the iTunes pseudo device and I chose "Remove book from device", the books are removed from the iTunes library but are not moved into the OS X Trash folder. This of course means that unused files clutter my "~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Books" folder.

iTunes does not appear to have a cleanup feature for orphaned ebooks, and I have not yet found anything in the Calibre user guide and FAQ.

Can you please give me a hint? Thank you.

-Ralph

GRiker · 04-18-2011, 05:37 AM

In the FAQ, see step #2 of the Quick start:
Quick start: 'Connect to iTunes' mode

1. Launch iTunes with no connected iDevices.
2. In iTunes Preferences|Advanced, uncheck Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library. This tells iTunes to use calibre's copies of your books.

Unfortunately iTunes doesn't clean up deleted files in its own database, so this is the best solution.

G

TheRealRalph · 04-18-2011, 06:00 AM

Thanks, I've seen this FAQ entry, but it does not help me with the existing files. Do you perhaps know of a third-party tool to clean up the surplus ebooks? I found several tools to cleanup orphaned audio files, but they seem to rely on "iTunes Music Library.xml", in which ebooks and PDFs are unfortunately not recorded.

-Ralph

GRiker · 04-18-2011, 06:41 AM

Sorry, I don't know of a tool to remove those dups. If you're comfortable coding, you could write a script that walk the itunes directory looking for epubs, then process them.

You can also check at Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes to see if there's something there that might be useful.

G

TheRealRalph · 04-18-2011, 09:13 AM

I asked Doug about his scripts, and from what I understand, they make use of the iTunes library XML file aswell. Ebooks are not listed in this catalogue, which is why the current versions of Doug's scripts can not find duplicate EPUB or PDF files. Of course I don't blame Doug in any way. IMHO, Apple should provide means of cleaning up the iTunes library.

04-17-2011, 12:26 PM	#1
TheRealRalph Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: iPad 2	Orphaned files after "Remove from iTunes device" I am currently testing Calibre 0.7.55 on Mac OS X, and it looks very promising. There is one aspect, however, which I have yet to figure out. When Calibre is connected to the iTunes pseudo device and I chose "Remove book from device", the books are removed from the iTunes library but are not moved into the OS X Trash folder. This of course means that unused files clutter my "~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Books" folder. iTunes does not appear to have a cleanup feature for orphaned ebooks, and I have not yet found anything in the Calibre user guide and FAQ. Can you please give me a hint? Thank you. -Ralph

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04-18-2011, 05:37 AM	#2
GRiker Comparer of the Ephemeris Posts: 1,496 Karma: 424697 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: iPad	In the FAQ, see step #2 of the Quick start: Quick start: 'Connect to iTunes' mode 1. Launch iTunes with no connected iDevices. 2. In iTunes Preferences\|Advanced, uncheck Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library. This tells iTunes to use calibre's copies of your books. Unfortunately iTunes doesn't clean up deleted files in its own database, so this is the best solution. G

04-18-2011, 06:00 AM	#3
TheRealRalph Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: iPad 2	Thanks, I've seen this FAQ entry, but it does not help me with the existing files. Do you perhaps know of a third-party tool to clean up the surplus ebooks? I found several tools to cleanup orphaned audio files, but they seem to rely on "iTunes Music Library.xml", in which ebooks and PDFs are unfortunately not recorded. -Ralph

04-18-2011, 06:41 AM	#4
GRiker Comparer of the Ephemeris Posts: 1,496 Karma: 424697 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: iPad	Sorry, I don't know of a tool to remove those dups. If you're comfortable coding, you could write a script that walk the itunes directory looking for epubs, then process them. You can also check at Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes to see if there's something there that might be useful. G

04-18-2011, 09:13 AM	#5
TheRealRalph Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: iPad 2	I asked Doug about his scripts, and from what I understand, they make use of the iTunes library XML file aswell. Ebooks are not listed in this catalogue, which is why the current versions of Doug's scripts can not find duplicate EPUB or PDF files. Of course I don't blame Doug in any way. IMHO, Apple should provide means of cleaning up the iTunes library.

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