This is a map of how one person manages ebooks with calibre. It describes my workflow, configurations, and preferences.
The details of how I do things are intended as examples, not recommendations.
My Approach
Identify Needs. Identify current personal needs for ebooks.
Feed the reading habit with mostly text-based fiction, some text-based non-fiction and news, and some books with complex formats, image-laden content, or technical content.
Avoid reading books with annoying format problems.
Maximize time for reading, and minimize time fixing format problems and maintaining book libraries.
Read comfortably during short or long reading sessions, usually at home or occasionally while out and about. Avoid eye strain caused by glare, brightness, or too-small screen. Avoid sore wrist from reading on heavy device.
Define Strategies. Define strategies to meet needs, within the constraints of available ebook-related hardware and software.
Keep it simple.
Use calibre as the hub of my ebook universe. Use reading devices and software tools such as editors and reading applications as temporary peripherals, for fixing book formats or reading books.
Be discriminating about content. Be selective about which authors to read, their overall writing skill, and which subject matter or genres fall within my areas of interest.
Process books one author at a time.
Be discriminating about book source and quality of formatting. Some sources tend to have books with higher quality formatting and fewer format problems than other sources. Track format quality, and fix format problems that are quickly fixable.
Standardize on EPUB as the master format for most books, making exceptions as necessary.
Read image-laden, color-formatted, or complexly-formatted books on a tablet. Read simply-formatted text-based books on an e-ink device.
Derive Workflow. Derive workflow from needs and strategies, within the constraints of available software, hardware, and skill using them. Workflow is driven by needs and strategy, adapts to new information and technology, and is supported by configurations and preferences.
There is generally not one right way to do things with calibre. Various calibre users employ different workflows for different needs or strategies. See the section Links -> Workflow for examples of other workflows described by other calibre users.
I use three independent workflow sequences: Processing, Reading, and Maintaining.
Choose Current Author. Choose an author. This author becomes the Current Author for further processing. These are some ways to choose Current Author:
Browse New Releases. Choose an author by browsing new releases. To learn what new books are available now or will be soon, refer to a site such as Fantastic Fiction, which has lists of books released or forthcoming for the current month, the prior 3 months, and the next 3 months. Or refer to a site like Amazon, which has lists of new books by genre. Browsing new releases is an opportunity to investigate and potentially choose authors not yet in the library. Note: the third-party plugin Import List can import lists from various sites, match a list against books in the library, and automatically create empty book placeholders (wishlist records) for selected list items.
Browse Authors in Library. Check if any books are newly available for an author who has books in the calibre library. Periodically work through the entire library, with each successive author as the new Current Author. This is a way to gradually update all the authors in the library.
Other Possibilities. Choose an author after reading a book review, hearing something by word of mouth, or becoming aware of that author as a potential choice by any other means.
Search for Owned Books. Search to determine what books are already owned for Current Author. To limit the number of places to search, first consolidate books into as few places as practical. I keep all processed books in one primary calibre library, so I do one search for Current Author. In the past I kept unprocessed books in a Pending folder, and also searched that for Current Author with an operating system search, which gradually emptied the Pending folder one author at a time.
Find Author Book List. Find a list of all books written by Current Author, on a Good Metadata Site, such as Fantastic Fiction or Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Search for Current Author on that site, or use the third-party plugin Search the Internet to bring up the author page automatically. I usually go to ISFDB first, then Fantastic Fiction if ISFDB does not include that author.
Decide What Books to Get. Compare the list of all books by Current Author on the Good Metadata Site with the lists of owned books and determine what books to get. This may involve reading summaries, reviews, or samples of a book to determine whether to get it or not. Note that ISFDB does not have summaries, while Fantastic Fiction usually does have summaries. Occasionally I will refer to that title on Amazon for further information. If there are currently no books to get for this author, go back to the Choose Current Author step.
Compare Sources. If necessary, compare sources to determine which to use. In the Get Books feature in calibre, choose the desired sources, then search for Current Author. A list of books by that author at those sources displays. Sort by Store (source) to see all books there by that author, or sort by Title to compare prices for a title between sources. Get Books also shows which books have Digital Rights Management (DRM) and which formats are available at each source. Clicking a title brings up its page on the source site. Alternatively, compare sources using Inkmesh, eBook search engine, but Inkmesh often has outdated information and broken links.
Note, Digital Rights Management (DRM). I assume in this workflow that DRM is not an issue. If it is an issue, search the internet for Apprentice Alf.
Add Books by Current Author, For Each Source
Choose Source. Choose a source. I prefer buying from just one source when possible, to keep things simple and save time and effort. I usually use Amazon.
Download Books. Download the desired books by Current Author from that source. If possible, download to computer rather than directly to device.
Pre-Assess Multiple Book Formats per Title. For any books that have multiple formats per title obtained with the book, pre-assess the multiple formats to find the best format to Add. (In the operating system set the suitable reader or editor application for each file type, such as Stanza for EPUB, Kindle Previewer for MOBI or other Kindle formats, Adobe Reader or Acrobat for PDF. This allows double-clicking a filename in the operating system to open it in the appropriate application.)
Choose Method for Adding Books. If necessary, reset preference settings for Adding Books. My relevant settings are: Unchecked, Automerge added books; and Unchecked, Read metadata from file contents. See Preferences -> Import/Export -> Adding Books for my other Add settings. Reading from file contents usually works well when books are retail-quality from a good source. Otherwise, reading from file contents can be unpredictable and often requires more work later correcting bad metadata. For these newly downloaded and unprocessed books, the only metadata I want entered automatically during the Add is: Authors, Series, and Title, so I prefer calibre to read from filename according to a regular expression. Choose one of the following methods if reading metadata from file contents is unchecked:
During Adding. Successively Add Books in small batches, with the filename structure of each batch matching a different appropriate regular expression in Add Books preferences, to automatically put the relevant groups into the correct calibre columns for author, series, and title. The third-party plugin Quick Preferences can be set up with a menu of regular expressions tailored for various filename structures, allowing quick switching between different regular expressions. I prefer this method, using Quick Preferences. If a regular expression provided in Quick Preferences does not meet needs, other regular expressions for different filename structures can be entered in the Quick Preferences menu by creating them from scratch or by copying them from threads in the calibre forums. For examples of regular expressions for adding books, see the section Preferences -> Advanced -> Plugins, Optional -> Quick Preferences. For more information, see the section Configurations -> Regular Expressions, and the section Links -> Regular Expressions.
Before Adding, in Operating System. Standardize author, series, and title in the filename out in the operating system first before Adding Books. This can be done manually, or with a script using regular expressions, or with a file renamer tool using regular expressions. The filename structure needs to match the chosen regular expression for Add Books by reading from filename. Usually I Add just a few books at a time, so if no regular expressions in Quick Preferences are suitable for that filename structure, manually editing the filenames before the Add is not too time consuming.
After Adding, in calibre. After the Add, correct metadata for author, series, and title.
Add Books. Add the books. For books directly downloaded to device, connect device, add them from device, then delete them from device. For books in the Downloads folder (or Pending or other folder), drag and drop onto the Library View booklist, then move the original files from that folder to a Raw Books folder outside of calibre.
Enter Source Name. In the calibre library, for the newly added books from one source, enter source name in the custom column Source.
Edit Authors, Series, Title. If necessary, move metadata from Authors, Series, and Title into the appropriate columns. This can be done manually with cut and paste one column at a time for one book at a time, or with Edit Metadata in Bulk, Search and Replace, Regular Expression mode. For each search field (origin) that has metadata to be moved, do a pass to copy relevant metadata to the correct destination field, followed by a pass to delete the same metadata from the original field. See calibre User Manual, All about using regular expressions in calibre, Bulk editing metadata.
Add Wishlist Items for Current Author
Add Wishlist Items. Optional. Add empty book records for books by Current Author to be acquired in the future. An empty book is a book record with no associated book format.
Enter Authors, Series, Title. Enter Authors, Series, and Title for each wishlist item, referring to the metadata on the Good Metadata Site.
Enter Wishlist Tag. For each wishlist item, enter a tag to indicate wishlist status. To help distinguish wishlist records from real books in the Library View, I use the wishlist tag !q0 in the custom column FQ (Format Quality) to turn the text red in several columns of all wishlist records, as set in Preferences -> Look and Feel -> Column Coloring.
Assess Formats, For Each Newly Added Book by Current Author
Bulk Convert to Preferred Format. For all books except wishlist items, convert the Original Format to Preferred Format. Original Format is the format that was Added. Preferred Format is the Preferred Output Format set in Preferences -> Interface -> Behavior. The idea is to make minimal changes during this bulk conversion of Original Format to Preferred Format, then after the first assessment of Preferred Format in the calibre Viewer, make any necessary specific changes during a more tailored conversion of Original Format to Preferred Format in Convert Singly, which will replace the first Preferred Format with a totally or partially fixed Preferred Format.
EPUB as Preferred Format. My Preferred Format is EPUB. EPUB opens faster than other formats in the calibre viewer because calibre internally converts other formats to EPUB to display in the viewer, which takes extra time. EPUB is also good for initial assessment, fixing with the EPUB editor Sigil if necessary, or reading on devices that support EPUB reading applications. For reading on Kindle, calibre can automatically convert the EPUB to MOBI or another desired format before sending to Kindle.
EPUB as Master Format. When possible I use EPUB as a master format. After fixing a book format, I do all subsequent conversions from that master format. Some experienced users convert most books to a Preferred Format to use as master format, and some do not. For examples of conflicting opinions, compare this post (look inside the spoiler) calibre workflow with this post Thoughts for those new to ebook reading.
Conversion Settings. In the Bulk Convert dialog I use the same conversion options as set in Preferences, with one exception: I manually check the checkbox for Look and Feel -> Remove spacing between paragraphs. My permanent settings in Preferences -> Conversion are as follows. Input Options -> Comic Input: Checked, Disable conversion of images to black and white, because I read comics on tablet. Common Options -> Look and Feel: indent size 1.5 em. Common Options -> Look and Feel: Text Justification: Justify text. Common Options -> Page Setup -> Input Profile: Default Input Profile. Common Options -> Page Setup -> Output Profile: Kindle. Output Options -> MOBI Output: Unchecked, all checkboxes; MOBI file type, old; and Personal doc tag, [EBOK]. All other conversion settings are the original calibre default. No extra CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Reference, Conversion. For more information about conversion, see the calibre User Manual, eBook Conversion. Also see other resources listed in the section Links -> Conversion.
Formats Column. Initially, create a custom column to see formats at a glance in the Library View. I use the custom column Formats2, built with the template {formats}. It shows the contents of formats, a default non-column field.
Correct Authors, Series, and Title. Open Preferred Format in the calibre Viewer. Examine title and copyright pages. If necessary, enter or correct Authors, Series, and Title. My configuration options in the calibre Viewer are all calibre default, except I keep paging turned off so the content will scroll smoothly during the assessment. In the Viewer I do not use Themes or Custom Style Sheets (CSS), because I want to assess the format quality of the actual format without any additional layer of styles for the Viewer complicating diagnosis of any format problems.
Assess Preferred Format. Assess the Preferred Format in the calibre Viewer by scrolling or paging rapidly through the book format, looking for format problems.
Fix with Conversion. For any problems fixable with various conversion options, reconvert from the Original Format to Preferred Format using those options, then reassess. For each fix attempt, use the Original Format as the input format for the conversion to Preferred Format.
Assess Original Format. If there are still format problems in the Preferred Format, assess the Original Format by using the third-party plugin Open With to open it in the relevant application.
Enter Format Quality Rating. Enter a format quality rating in custom column FQ (Format Quality). This rating is useful later as a basis for comparison between any duplicates, and also identifies books with poor quality formats, which can be upgraded to better formats in the future. Some calibre users employ a column for retail quality versus not retail quality. Format quality ratings have a similar purpose with more options. My format quality ratings are:
!q0 is a wishlist record (placeholder). This is an Empty Book with no format, or any book with format problems that would be impossible or too time consuming to fix.
!q1 is for books that need to be fixed. The Original Format is the master format until the Preferred or Original Format is successfully fixed.
!q2 is for books best read in Original Format. The Original Format is the master format. Usually applies to PDFs but may include other formats. Contributing factors are: complex layout, lots of images, complex technical content, or PDF conversion problems.
!q3 is okay, readable with only minor annoyance. The Preferred Format is the master format.
!q4 is good, readable with no annoyance. The Preferred Format is the master format.
!q5 is excellent, no annoyance, excellent Table of Contents, excellent layout, no problems discovered at all. The Preferred Format is the master format. Do not assign !q5 until after reading a book, in which case !q5 replaces the initially entered !q4. Examples of good problem-free formats may be useful later, so I use !q5 occasionally to enable finding a few, and otherwise do not bother. Excellence is a moving target, less concrete than no annoyance. As I learn more about ebook formatting my standards for excellence get higher, while my annoyance level for trying to read past any particular format problem remains relatively constant.
Enter Other Format Quality Tags. Optional. For any book with format quality ratings of !q1 (to be fixed), !q2 (read Original Format), or !q3 (read with mild annoyance), add a tag in FQ for each type of format problem found, unless fixing the book right away. It is sometimes useful to batch books with a similar problem together, then fix that problem in all of them. But for each book that needs fixing, I usually combine Assess and Fix into one sequence by fixing it immediately after discovering the problems, so entering the problem tags is not necessary.
Choose Fix Method, For Each Book Needing Fix
Choose a Fix Method. One fix method is to apply specific conversion options in calibre. But that did not fix all the problems in the format during the assessment phase. So choose a method for further efforts to fix the format.
Tweak Book. Use the calibre feature Tweak Book to explode an unfixed format. Fix any problems in the relevant files with any HyperText Markup Language (HTML) editor. Then in Tweak Book preview the results and subsequently cancel or commit the changes. This method requires knowledge of format structure, HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and regular expressions. I am not skilled or knowledgable enough for successful use of Tweak Book.
Save Editable Format. From calibre, save out an editable format, and edit that copy in an editor. This is the method I choose, described in detail below.
Choose Conversion Output Format. Decide on a conversion output format that can be opened by an editing application. Some conversion output formats are:
RTF, for fix in Word, OpenOffice Writer, LibreOffice Writer, Pages, or other word processing editor. Note that calibre does not support these output formats: DOC (Microsoft Word), DOCX (Microsoft Word), ODT (OpenOffice Writer or LibreOffice Writer), or PAGES (Apple Pages).
EPUB, for fix in Sigil or other EPUB editor.
HTMLZ, for fix in any HTML editor.
MOBI, for fix using third-party plugin MobiUnpack and HTML editor.
PDF, for fix in Acrobat or other PDF editor.
TXT or TXTZ, for fix in Word, Writer, Pages or other word processing editor. Often loses text formatting such as bold and italic.
Choose Conversion/Fix Sequence. Minimizing the number of conversions in a conversion/fix sequence saves time, simplifies workflow, and achieves higher quality of format. Each conversion loses more formatting and content information while introducing more errors, like successively photocopying copies of copies. I tried many different sequences. Some conversion/fix sequences are:
Original Format -> RTF, Word fix, save as DOCX, open in Writer, anchor images, save as ODT -> Preferred Format. I usually choose this sequence.
Original Format -> RTF, Writer fix, anchor images, save as ODT -> Preferred Format.
Original Format -> RTF, Writer fix, save as HTML, zip -> Preferred Format. Writer produces somewhat cleaner HTML than Word.
Original Format -> RTF, Word fix, save as HTML (filtered), zip -> Preferred Format. Word produces large HTML files with lots of Microsoft crud in them.
Original Format -> EPUB, Sigil fix, save as EPUB -> Preferred Format if not EPUB. Sigil uses the fewest conversion steps and is more ebook friendly than editing directly in HTML editor, but requires some familiarity with HTML, CSS, and regular expressions. Many calibre users and ebook professionals use Sigil.
Original Format -> HTMLZ, unzip, HTML Editor fix of various files, zip -> Preferred Format. Alternatively, use Tweak Book and HTML editor. Either way requires knowledge of format structure, HTML, CSS, and regular expressions.
Review Preferences for Saving. Optional. Review preference settings for Saving Books to Disk. Reset them if necessary. My relevant settings are: Checked, Save cover separately. Checked, Update metadata in saved copies. Checked, Save metadata in OPF file, which enables metadata to be read back in during the future Add of the fixed book. Checked, Convert Non-English. Checked, Show files in file browser after saving to disk. File formats to save: all. My other Saving preferences are discussed in the section Preferences -> Import/Export, including the Save template.
Review Preferences for Adding. Optional. Review preference settings for Adding Books. Reset them if necessary. My relevant settings are: Unchecked, Automerge added books. Unchecked, Read metadata from file contents. My other Adding preferences are discussed in the section Preferences -> Import/Export, including the regular expression.
Convert to Editable Format. Convert Original Format to choice of editable output format. I usually choose RTF, though converting to RTF will lose the URLs of any links.
Save to Disk. Save to Disk into a working folder for fixing formats. It is safer to edit a saved copy of a format followed by adding it as a separate record, than to edit and save directly to the original book folder in the calibre library.
Open in Editor. Open the saved out editable format in the editor. When I understand regular expressions, HTML, and CSS better, I will use Sigil to fix book formats. Meanwhile I am still learning regular expressions. OpenOffice Writer and LibreOffice Writer require using regular expressions. Word (Word:Mac 2011) does not require using regular expressions, and I am comfortable in Word, so I usually choose to fix format problems in Word.
Avoid Extremes. The overall goal as a book consumer is not a perfect book, but to spend the least amount of time to make the book readable with as little annoyance as possible. I want to balance between two extremes. One extreme is to ignore any format problems. Another extreme is to spend a lot of time striving for the perfect problem-free format for every book. For more discussion, see Thoughts for those new to ebook reading.
Replace Each Problem with Fix. Fix any individual problem manually. For each problem that has multiple occurrences, choose options in Search/Replace (Find/Replace) carefully. Search for the problem, put the fix in Replace With box, test the Replace individually a few times, then Replace all. Get rid of headers, footers, and page numbers while avoiding splitting paragraphs. Put large section headings or chapter headings in appropriate style if they are not already. Fix any other annoyances that are quickly fixable. If editing EPUB in Sigil, fix problems with HTML tags, Table of Contents, and CSS.
Save. Save the fixed format as a file type that calibre can open.
From Sigil. If in Sigil, save as EPUB.
From Word. If in Word, save as DOCX, open in Writer, anchor each image to a paragraph, and save as ODT. I avoid saving from Word as HTML or RTF, because Word saves RTF as a very large RTF file, or HTML as a large file with unnecessary Microsoft crud in it. But if it is necessary to save from Word as HTML, create a new folder and rename it by copying from the title of the edited document, choose the option filtered if available, save into the new folder, then zip the folder. In Word:Mac 2011, filtered is not listed as an option, so I save as Web Page (.htm) with the option checked to save only display information into HTML.
From Writer. If in Writer, anchor each image to a paragraph, then save as ODT. I avoid saving as HTML or RTF, though they are somewhat cleaner than Word output. If it is necessary to save as HTML, create a new folder and rename it by copying from the title of the edited document, save into the new folder, then zip the folder.
Add into calibre. Drag and drop the fixed format into calibre.
Convert to Preferred Format. If necessary, convert to Preferred Format.
Assess. Do quick assessment of that new Preferred Format. If there are still problems, either convert the fixed format with different conversion settings to fix the problems, or fix it better in the editor.
Update Format Quality Tags. In the custom column FQ, update the format quality rating, remove any format problem tags for problems that were fixed, and (optional) enter tags for any newly discovered problems that were not fixed.
Remove Unfixed Duplicate. Compare metadata in fixed book record with corresponding unfixed book record. If necessary correct metadata for the fixed book. Remove the unfixed book.
Get Metadata, For Newly Added Books by Current Author
Go to Good Metadata Site. Choose a Good Metadata Site with consistent metadata across multiple authors and series. The metadata on this site provides a standard for comparison when entering or correcting metadata in calibre. I usually go to Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). When ISFDB does not include an author or book, I go to Fantastic Fiction. Use one of these methods to get to site: manually navigate there in browser and search for Current Author; or bring up author page automatically by clicking on Current Author name in the Book Details panel per the author template in Preferences -> Look and Feel -> Book Details; or bring up the author page automatically with the third-party plugin Search the Internet. To find other potentially useful sites, choose from the list in Search the Internet, Customize Plugin.
Create Wishlist Records. Optional. Add empty book wishlist records for any unowned but desired elements of newly added omnibuses. Enter or correct metadata in Author(s), Series, and Title, and enter !q0 in FQ (Format Quality). I do this occasionally for novels in omnibuses that I want on wishlist, but not for shorter elements such as short story, novelette, novella, or essay in omnibuses, collections, or anthologies. If I do not want them on the wishlist, later (after metadata download) I append the omnibus element titles to the omnibus Title.
Review Preferences for Metadata Download. If necessary, review the Preferences for Metadata Download and ensure only the desired options are checked, to avoid overwriting any of the columns previously edited. I download only Published date, Publisher, and Comments, as well as Cover and ISBN, from these sources: Amazon, Fantastic Fiction (third-party plugin), ISBNdb, and Open Library. I select Goodreads or Barnes and Noble (third-party plugins) only occasionally on a case by case basis, so usually keep them turned off. For more information about getting and editing metadata, see calibre User Manual, Editing Ebook Metadata.
Download Metadata and Covers. Select the first book that needs metadata, then bring up the Edit Metadata dialog. When done downloading metadata for that book, at the bottom of Edit Metadata click the button Next to bring up the Edit Metadata dialog for the next book. In Edit Metadata for each book:
Download Metadata. Click Download Metadata button and choose the edition and cover that best match the book. Downloading metadata singly this way offers more choices than downloading metadata in bulk, as well as an opportunity to edit comments and replace the cover.
Edit Comments. If necessary, edit the Comments field.
Replace Cover. If necessary, replace a bad or missing cover with good cover copied from Good Metadata Site or other site. For each short story or other book with no covers existing or available, generate a default cover. A generated cover means a cover was looked for but did not exist or was not found at the time the book was processed.
Get ISBN. Optional. If Metadata Download for any book had poor results, get an ISBN and repeat Metadata Download for that book. The ISBN makes the Metadata Download more precise, but it also may limit the choices in Metadata Download. To extract the ISBN from inside a book format, use the third-party plugin Extract ISBN. If ISBN is not inside book, copy ISBN from the Good Metadata Site and paste it by clicking the icon to left of IDs in Edit Metadata.
Edit Metadata, For Newly Added Books by Current Author (in column order)
Edit Author(s). Ensure any co-authors are entered and in correct order. This includes all books with credited co-authors. Edit as necessary, and set to desired conventions:
Author FN LN or LN, FN. The easiest way to swap conventions is to use the third-party plugin Quality Check with search scope set for selected books. Under the Fix menu, choose Swap author to switch to FN LN or LN, FN. I use the convention FN LN primarily because it is less work, and helpful when using internet sites to get books or standardize metadata; the ISFDB site wants the FN LN convention pasted into its Search box or sent automatically by an author template. For more information on changing the author name convention, including handling author sort issues, see calibre User Manual, FAQ, How does calibre manage author names and sorting?
Author Last Name Prefixes. If necessary correct prefixes to author last name. Examples of prefixes with potential sort problems include: de, de la, le, van, St. If using LN, FN with the Author Sort tweak set to copy, move the comma to the correct place for that author in the Author(s) column to automatically correct Author Sort. If using FN LN with Author Sort tweak set to comma (as I do), select a book by that author, in Edit Metadata click the head and shoulders icon to the left of Author(s) field to get to Manage Authors, and correct Author Sort for that author. Examples: I want Author Sort to be de la Cruz, Melissa rather than Cruz, Melissa de la. I want van Vogt, A. E. rather than Vogt, A. E. van.
Author Last Name Suffixes. If a last name has a suffix such as Jr, Sr, or III, enter the entire name including suffix in the People column, and in Author(s) column delete the suffix along with any preceding comma or following dot. Removing the comma_space_suffix from author name avoids author_sort confusion when author_sort tweak is based on comma. Removing the suffix and using dots after initials also avoids some trouble with certain Good Metadata Sites wanting or not wanting a comma before the suffix, the suffix itself, or dots after the initials when using an author template or directly copying/pasting to the search box of the site. Removing the suffix is a simple solution that does not work in all cases but avoids the need to implement more complex solutions for each author template, which will vary between sites, and might not solve all cases for each site.
Edit Series and Series Index. Enter or correct Series and Series Index according to Series and Series Index used by the Good Metadata Site. This is important particularly for multi-author series for which the series name and indexing should be consistent across various authors. Some calibre users employ multiple series columns for series and subseries. I use just one series column. Generally I try to use one convention for Series and one convention for Series Index consistently across all authors and series in the library, with some exceptions:
Individual Books. For individual books that are not in a series, I enter (1) in Series, and 1 for Series Index because in the past, when I noticed series was blank for a book processed months before that, sometimes I wondered if I previously had checked if the book was in a series.
Hierarchical Series. For a very large series (single-author or multi-author) with multiple levels of subseries, I use this convention: a unique Broadest Series Name Abbreviation; Subseries name; Sub-subseries name; …. If there are too many levels I abbreviate or skip some in the middle, but always use the exact name of the last subgroup. Also I make the Broadest Series Name Abbreviation combined with trailing semicolon unique within the Series column. I prefer the appearance of semicolon space over the standard calibre convention of dot no_space preceding each subgroup. (See calibre User Manual, Managing subgroups of books.) Also, the dot preceding a subgroup is not necessary for me, because I do not use the tag browser for searching, and do not need to see a Tag Browser breakdown of series by subgroup. I usually just search for the Broadest Series Abbreviation; including the semicolon. For a series such as Forgotten Realms I search series:FR; then sort the results by Series rather than Authors. I seldom search for any subseries names. ISFDB (Good Metadata Site) shows series numbers by the most specific subseries, in publication order within that subseries, and I usually apply those numbers for Series Index exactly. I apply these naming and numbering conventions across all of the books that belong somewhere within the broadest series name.
Complex Series. Sometimes novels, shorts, omnibuses, collections, and anthologies mixed in one large series complicate decisions about ordering all of those books. One example is Eric Flint, Assiti Shards. If the series does not have too many hierarchical levels, and the disorder from all the mixed kinds bothers me, I occasionally use the just the Broadest Series Name along with this series numbering convention to separate the series list into successive chunks by kinds: novels, shorts, omnibuses, collections, anthologies. I number novels with n, integers 1-499. Number shorts with 5n.ss, where n shows where it belongs among the novels, and ss where it belongs among any other shorts in the interval between novels. Number omnibuses with 7mm, where mm places it in omnibus sequence among any other omnibuses. Number collections with 8cc, where cc places it in collections sequence among any other collections. Number anthologies with 9aa, where aa puts it in anthologies sequence among any other anthologies.
Publication or Internal Order. Many series have books where the publication order of the books is the same as the internal order of events for the characters. If those orders are different, I may change the series from publication order to internal order when: it does not have too many hierarchical levels, I have all of the books, and the recommended internal chronology is published on an official site or in one of the books. An example is the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey, for which I changed all the small series names to Valdemar, and I indexed the books per internal Valdemar time. Another example is the Recluse series by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Other Variations. I sometimes use other variations for difficult cases.
Edit Title. When useful to help with later searching or to avoid duplicate matching, make the title more unique. When alternate editions, versions, or titles are available now or will be in future, append identifying information to title in parentheses. Examples of how and what I append to Title: (3rd Ed), (ARC), (Anniv Ed), (vt The Variant Title), (Omnibus Element Title1; Omnibus Element Title2; …) Some alternatives employed by other calibre users to avoid long filenames: enter such extras in Comments, in custom columns such as Edition or Title2, or separate wishlist records for alternate titles. I delete any subtitles, unless the Good Metadata Site uses it as part of the title, in which case I change any preceding colon_space to dash_space (not space_dash_space). I do not worry about title length because when necessary calibre automatically truncates the filename in the calibre library folder but leaves the long title in the database, viewable and searchable in Library View. For more information about operating system or file system limitations for path and filename, see the Links section, Filename Limitations.
Edit Published Date. Correct Published Date. The Metadata Download date often needs to be corrected. Change it to date of first publication for most fiction or popular non-fiction, or to specific edition date when that is important such as for technical books. Use dates from the Good Metadata Site, or when necessary from the publisher site.
Remove Unneeded Formats. Ensure each book has a Preferred Format shown in the custom column Formats2, except wishlist records with no format, books with format problems to be fixed later, or other exceptions such as PDFs best read in PDF format. For books with format quality rating of !q1 (needs fix) or !q2 (read original format), keep the Original Format. For the other format quality ratings, remove the Original Format and keep only Preferred Format, to help avoid later confusion about which format is the best/fixed format. Other calibre users may handle this in various ways. Some users keep all Original Formats. Some users keep no Original Formats. I keep only the specific Original Formats I think I will need, to avoid later confusion. If necessary to revert back to the original later, I can easily re-Add it from the Raw Books folder where I keep all downloaded originals.
Edit FQ (Format Quality). Ensure each book has a format quality rating in the custom column FQ. Ensure any wishlist records have a rating of !q0. Ensure format quality ratings are appropriate to any format problem tags.
Count Pages. Use the third-party plugin Count Pages to enter a page count in the custom column Pages for all books without a page count. If any empty books are in the selection, Count Pages will pop up a dialog box to announce: Could not analyze. Click OK and Count Pages will count pages for the other selected books. I do not use Word Count. For details of the Count Pages plugin customization see Preferences -> Advanced -> Plugins, Optional -> Count Pages.
Edit Genres. Enter tags for primary genre and any relevant secondary genres in the custom column Genres. I use secondary genre tags to track things such as young adult, vampire, magic, alternative history, military, and so on. These usually can be determined by reading the Comments.
Edit Kinds. Enter tags for anthology, collection, omnibus, short (short story, novelette, novella, essay), magazine, or comic in the custom column Kinds. Most of my books are novels so I do not enter the tag for novel unless there is also a book such as an omnibus or short with the same author/title. In that case I also make the titles unique by appending the Kinds tag to the title. Also enter tags here for multiple-author series, if book is a member of a series that has multiple contributing authors; and for Paper book, if own the paper-based book.
Edit Awards. Enter tags for awards in the custom column Awards. I track winners of prestigious awards for best novels in the genres science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance: Hugo, Nebula, Campbell, World Fantasy, PEARL, and RITA. I do not track year granted; year of publication is close enough. At present I do not track short-list runners-up, though I may add tags for those in future.
Edit Status. Enter tags in the custom column Status for: To Read, if want to read it soon, and My content rating, if previously read it and remember the quality of content.
Edit Note. Enter note if necessary in custom column Note. Note is for metadata that does not fit conveniently anywhere else.
Edit People. For each author in Author(s), if Author(s) contains a real author name, enter all associated pseudonym(s) in the custom column People; or if Author(s) contains a pseudonym, enter the real name in People. Apply the same naming conventions as the Author(s) column, except for names with suffixes include the suffixes.
Edit Publisher. Optional. Standardize variations in publisher name to the simplest name that identifies the publisher, such as Random House rather than Random House Inc or Random House Trade, or Tor rather than Tor Science Fiction or Tor Fantasy.
Edit ISBN. Ensure each book has an ISBN13 in custom column ISBN, unless an ISBN does not exist for it. To change an ISBN10 to ISBN13, copy ISBN13 from the Good Metadata site, or copy it from the web application ISBN Converter after conversion from ISBN10. Then paste the ISBN13 by clicking the button to left of the IDs field in Edit Metadata. Changing ISBN10s to ISBN13s is for cosmetic consistency.
Edit Source. Ensure custom column Source indicates origin of book.
Finish Processing, For all Books by Current Author
Ensure Metadata Consistency. For newly added and previously processed books of Current Author, refer to the Good Metadata Site and edit metadata for consistency at various levels: per set of co-authors, and per single-author series. If Current Author has any newly processed books that are members of a multi-author series, edit metadata for consistency across entire multi-author series, specifically for primary genre, series name and series index, and conventions for series name and series index.
Enter Updated. For all books of Current Author, including newly added and previously processed books, enter the current year and month in the custom column Updated (integer column), using the convention yyMM to sort correctly while minimizing horizontal space in the display. For example: 1209 for September 2012. The Updated tag is useful for deciding when to process this Current Author again.
Polish Books. Optional. For all books of Current Author, including newly added and previously processed books, use the Polish Books feature to update the cover and the metadata internal to the format. In Preferences -> Tweaks -> Save Original Files When Converting/Polishing, I use the setting: Save_original_format_when_polishing = False. Normally I do not bother to use this feature.
Purpose. The Reading workflow sequence gathers books for loading to devices, massages metadata for devices, loads and manages books on devices, supports reading books on devices, and updates the library after reading books.
Topics. Set Up, Load Devices, Read Books, Update Books.
Set Up
Set Up a Way to Find Books to Load. Use a tag or dedicated custom column to mark books to be loaded. The third-party plugin Reading List can help manage this and also sync books in specific reading lists to specific devices. Instead, I use a tag and a saved search. My saved search To Load includes the automatic calibre tags News and Catalog, and a tag for to read. At any time, usually while processing books or browsing the database, for any books I want to read soon I enter my tag for to read in the custom column Status.
Fetch News. Optional. In the Fetch News feature, initially schedule automatic News downloads, or use one of the manual Download buttons at any time. The News feature automatically converts the download to Preferred Format. For news downloads, I do not fix format problems or assign a format quality rating or other tags. I do not read much news, so I use the News feature manually whenever I want news. I select a recipe, click the Download Now button, glance through the resulting book using the calibre Viewer, and if something looks interesting, leave the book in the library so I can load it on device later from my saved search To Load, which includes books that calibre automatically tagged with News. My configuration for Fetch News is discussed in the section Configurations -> Miscellaneous -> Fetch News. For more information, see calibre tips and tricks blog, Custom news fetching.
Create Catalog in Book Form. Optional. Create a catalog in book form that lists all the books in the library, prior to loading devices. Calibre automatically assigns the tag Catalog in the Tags column. My saved search To Load automatically includes that. I do this occasionally when I want to load a recent catalog onto a device. For my configuration options, see the section Configurations -> Miscellaneous -> Create Catalog. For more information see calibre User Manual, Creating AZW3, EPUB, MOBI Catalogs.
Buy Suitable Devices. Buy one or more devices suitable for reading books according to personal needs, strategies, inclinations, reading habits, and the types of content prevalent in personal areas of interest. Some factors to take into consideration:
Glare. Tablets and smartphones have more glare than e-ink devices.
Other Uses than Reading. Tablets and smartphones can be used for other activities in addition to reading books, such as sending or reading email, playing games, and a multitude of others. They can be loaded with various applications. Also smart phones can handle phone calls. Most of those activities cannot be done on a dedicated e-ink reading device. On the other hand, for the same reason tablets and smartphones have more potential distractions than e-ink devices.
Weight. A large tablet weighs more than a small tablet. A small tablet weighs more than an e-ink device. Reading on my iPad was not comfortable except for brief reading sessions due to the weight. I can read comfortably on my Nexus 7, a small tablet, for 2 or 3 hours, but even its weight bothers me in longer sessions.
Display Size and Resolution. These vary among devices. In general, comfortable reading of various types of content on those display sizes and resolutions depends on the type of content and the individual person. A large tablet is ideal for reading comic books, glossy magazines, or books with color and large images, but a small tablet serves the same purpose for someone not bothered by the smaller screen size. I prefer at least a 6 inch diagonal display so when possible I avoid reading on smartphones. I usually read technical books, PDFs, text books, and other image-laden or complexly formatted content on the Nexus 7, which has a 7 inch diagonal display and adequate resolution.
Duration of Reading Sessions. Light weight and lack of glare allow comfortable reading for longer periods of time. An e-ink device is ideal for long reading sessions with text-based content such as novels, but a small tablet with quickly adjustable brightness might serve the same purpose for someone who is unbothered by the extra weight and is not prone to headaches or eyestrain from glare. This may vary among different people. I do a lot of extended reading sessions, and read content that is mostly text-based and image-free. My Sony PRS-T2 was one of the lightest e-ink devices available when I bought it so now I read text-based content on the PRS-T2 rather than on Kindle Touch or Kindle Keyboard, usually in long reading sessions. I read other types of content on the Nexus 7, in reading sessions of short to medium duration.
Formats and Workflow Different E-ink devices can handle a different set of formats. With Kindle e-ink devices, I had to do an automatic conversion from my EPUB master format to an allowable Kindle format such as MOBI, which annoyed me because most of the Amazon formats do not support all EPUB features. With the Sony PRS-T2, conversion from EPUB is not necessary so workflow for reading on it is faster and simpler. Workflow for reading EPUB or other formats on Nexus 7 is simple. Workflow for reading EPUB or other formats on iPad is more complex and annoying.
Set Collections. Optional, and not necessary after initial setup. Various devices handle collections differently. Some calibre users employ custom columns in calibre to track and manage collections on devices that support external manipulation of collections. The Metadata Management setting (Preferences -> Sending Books to Devices) can be used to help manage collections from calibre for some devices. I have that set to Automatic Management. When it is possible to avoid having an extra custom column devoted to collections, I use 1 or 2 automatic collections on devices, depending on the device. Further organization with collections is not necessary for the few books at a time that I load to devices temporarily for reading.
Android. I use an automatic collection for Genres with Calibre Companion on the Android device Nexus 7, as set in Preferences -> Advanced -> Plugins -> Device Interface Plugins -> SmartDevice App Interface, and also set in Calibre Companion -> Settings -> Custom Categories. Calibre Companion is available for devices with Android 2.3 or higher. To set up Calibre Companion for the first time, refer to Calibre Companion: Information, Change Log, and FAQ.
iOS. I set the Apple Device Interface plugin to use series as a category. That is automatically used by Connect to iTunes when sending books to iTunes for syncing to my iPad or iPhone. To set up the first time for iOS devices, follow instructions in calibre + Apple iDevices: Start Here.
Kindle. The third-party plugin Kindle Collections allows users of older Kindle models to manage Kindle collections from calibre, but Amazon does not support outside manipulation of collections for the Kindle Touch or Fire, and the Kindle Collections plugin requires using a custom column. I do not use the Kindle Collection plugin, or any collections on Kindles.
Sony PRS-T2. For the Sony PRS-T2, I use automatic collections for series and series_index. These are set in Preferences -> Advanced -> Plugins -> Device Interface Plugins -> Sony PRST1 and Newer Device Interface, and in Preferences -> Advanced -> Tweaks -> Specify how SONY collections are sorted. For details about setting up calibre for Sony Devices, see (Sony)…How do I set it up..., thread Post #15.
Set Templates. Optional, and not necessary after initial setup. Review and possibly revise the templates in the relevant areas of Preferences to tailor how calibre sets internal metadata in exported copies of books, or to revise how calibre sets folders and filenames of the path for exported copies of books. Specific reading devices may require specific templates, which can be set for each specific device. For template examples, see the section Links -> Templates, including templates that count characters in the path, and templates that truncate or abbreviate title or series. For my device-specific save templates, see the section Preferences -> Advanced -> Plugins, Default, Device Interface. For my metadata plugboards, see the section Preferences -> Import/Export -> Metadata Plugboards. For additional information about templates, see the section Configurations -> Templates, and see the section Links -> Templates.
Generate Catalog on Server. Optional. Start the calibre content server to generate an online catalog from which books can be downloaded by an application on a device. As an alternative to the calibre content server, generate an online catalog using one of the other available catalog/server solutions, such as Calibre-PHP Content Server, calibre2opds, or Calibre OPDS PHP Server (COPS). Occasionally I use the calibre content server to generate an online catalog, though normally I use other methods to load devices. For my content server settings, see the section Preferences -> Sharing -> Sharing over the net. For more information, see the section Links -> Catalog on Server, and the server-related loading methods discussed below.
Calibre Companion. Send (push) from calibre through wireless connection between calibre on computer and Calibre Companion on device. Calibre Companion is currently available for devices running Android 2.3 or higher. Calibre Companion using wireless connection is my usual method for loading Asus Nexus 7, an Android tablet. I like this method because it is simple, does not require a USB cable, allows loading books onto device in bulk, and also allows removing books from device in bulk from calibre Device View.
USB Cable. Send (push) from calibre through USB cable to device. For newer Android devices that require Media Transfer Protocol (MTP), including Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD, USB connections are supported on Linux and Windows Vista or newer, and not supported on OS X. For iOS devices, from calibre Connect to iTunes and Send then sync iTunes to device through USB cable; USB cable works on Windows XP or higher, and OS X 10.5 and higher, and does not work on Linux due to unavailability of iTunes. For Kindle e-ink devices, other e-ink devices, or any device that the operating system recognizes as a USB drive: loading through USB cable works on Windows, OS X, and Linux (as far as I know). USB cable is my usual method of loading Kindle Touch, Kindle 3 Keyboard, Sony PRS-T2, iPad1. I like the USB cable method because it allows sending books onto device in bulk, and also allows removing books from device in bulk from calibre Device View.
Email. Send (push) from calibre through email to device. For Kindle, to avoid Amazon treating multiple emails as spam, calibre automatically includes a delay between emailing each book of a bulk selection. For discussion of my Kindle email setup, see Preferences -> Sharing -> Sharing books by email. For various smartphones or tablets, books can be emailed to a mail account on the device then opened in a reading application. I avoid the email method for loading Kindles because I do not like the idea of a vender being involved in my book loading process, and the device must be connected anyway before removing books in bulk from Kindle from calibre Device View.
Web Browser from Server. Pull wirelessly by web browser on device from an online catalog generated with calibre content server or other catalog/server tool. The web browser on device downloads the selected format, then usually pops up a dialog box for choosing which reading application to open the book. For loading books from calibre, requires first generating an online catalog. Presumably works on any device with a browser. Tested on Android Nexus 7 with browsers Opera and Chrome and the reading applications Moon+ Reader Pro and Aldiko Premium; Opera offers a choice of reader applications for opening the book, but Chrome just downloads the book then offers no choices. Tested on iOS iPad with Safari and the reading applications iBooks, Stanza, Bluefire Reader, and MegaReader; Safari offers choices for opening a book. Also tested downloading books from content server through the Kindle experimental browser on Kindle 3 Keyboard and Kindle Touch with books in MOBI format; it works, awkwardly. On Sony PRS-T2, it works okay, much less awkwardly than on the Kindles. I avoid this method because it does not allow downloading books in one bulk operation, and the device must be connected first anyway to remove books in bulk from calibre Device View.
Reading Application from Server. Pull wirelessly by reading application on device from an online catalog generated with calibre content server or other catalog/server tool. For loading books from calibre, requires first generating an online catalog. Tested on Android Nexus 7 with Moon+ Reader Pro and Aldiko Premium. Tested on iOS iPad with Stanza. I avoid this method because it does not allow downloading books in one bulk operation, and unless the device is connected anyway, it is not possible to remove books in bulk from calibre Device View.
Dropbox from Dropbox. Pull wirelessly from a calibre library stored in a Dropbox folder on the computer by selecting a book link in the Dropbox folder on device, then selecting a reading application from the Dropbox popup dialog box. This presumably works on all devices on which Dropbox is installed, with various reading applications that can read a book with that file extension. Tested on Android Nexus 7 with Moon+ Reader Pro and Aldiko Premium. Tested on iOS iPad with iBooks, Stanza, Bluefire Reader, and MegaReader. I avoid Dropbox because it is not possible to load more than one book at a time, and unless the device is connected anyway, it is not possible to remove books in bulk from calibre Device View.
Load Android Device. I do this to load my Nexus 7. It should work with any Android device that runs Android 2.3 or later.
Connect Device. Ensure the wireless connection is on in calibre, in the Connect/Share menu, Start or Stop wireless device connection. Turn on device. On device, open Calibre Companion and click the Connect button to start the wireless connection to calibre.
Update/Remove Previously Read Books. For any previously read books still on the device, do the steps in the Update Books section below if they were not done shortly after reading the books. Switch to the Device View in calibre and remove the previously read books from device.
Find Books to Load. In calibre Library View, choose the Saved Search To Load to bring up a list of books to load to devices, including To Reads, Catalog, and News.
Select Books to Load. In calibre Library View, select books to load for this device, according to the type of reading material or type of formatting best suited for this device. I select books from the results of my Saved Search To Load.
Convert. Optional. If necessary, in calibre Library View do a pre-send conversion to tailor Page Setup Profiles of the format to this device. On the Conversion dialog Page Setup tab, set Input Profile to the Output Profile used in the prior conversion to master format (in my case that is Kindle) and set Output Profile to the recommended profile, which is Tablet. But note that Output Profile Tablet does no resizing of images, so this may not affect anything. I read on various devices, but seldom bother with this step because the books are readable regardless of these settings, though images may not be perfectly sized for this device.
Send Books to Device. In calibre Library View, send selected books to device.
Eject and Disconnect. In calibre, eject device. Calibre Companion automatically disconnects the wireless connection.
Load iOS Device. I do this to load my iPad. It works with my iPhone, and should work with any iOS device with which iTunes can sync.
Connect to iTunes. In calibre select Connect to iTunes on the Connect/Share menu.
Update/Remove Previously Read Books. For any previously read books still on the device, do the steps in the Update Books section below if they were not done shortly after reading the books. Switch to the Device View in calibre and remove the previously read books from device.
Find Books to Load. In calibre Library View, choose the Saved Search To Load to bring up a list of books to load to devices, including To Reads, Catalog, and News.
Select Books to Load. In calibre Library View, select books to load to iTunes for this device, according to the type of reading material or type of formatting best suited for this device. I select books from the results of my Saved Search To Load.
Convert. Optional. If necessary, in calibre Library View do a pre-send conversion to tailor Page Setup Profiles of the format to this device. On the Conversion dialog Page Setup tab, set Input Profile to the Output Profile used in the prior conversion to master format (in my case that is Kindle) and set Output Profile to iPad. Though I read on various devices, I seldom bother with this step because the books are readable regardless of these settings, though images may not be perfectly sized for this device.
Send Books to iTunes. In calibre Library View, send selected books to device.
Connect Device. Turn on device. Connect USB cable to computer and device.
Sync Books in iTunes to Device. Click Sync button on Book tab of iTunes, if the sync has not yet happened automatically.
Eject and Disconnect. In calibre, eject device. Disconnect the USB cable.
Load Other Device with USB Cable. I do this to load Sony PRS-T2, Kindle Touch, or Kindle Keyboard using a USB cable. This should work for any device that is recognized by the computer operating system as a USB drive.
Connect Device. Turn on device, and connect USB cable to computer and device. If device is a Sony, select Yes when device prompts Do you want the computer to recognize this device?. If device is a Sony and the Reader application launches when device is connected, in the Reader application Preferences -> General tab, uncheck Launch Reader Desktop when connecting the Reader device, then quit Reader.
Update/Remove Previously Read Books. For any previously read books still on the device, do the steps in the Update Books section below if they were not done shortly after reading the books. Switch to the Device View in calibre and remove the previously read books from device.
Find Books to Load. In calibre Library View, choose the Saved Search To Load to bring up a list of books to load to devices, including To Reads, Catalog, and News.
Select Books to Load. In calibre Library View, select books to load for this device, according to the type of reading material or type of formatting best suited for this device. I select books from the results of my Saved Search To Load.
Convert. Optional. If necessary, in calibre Library View do a pre-send conversion to tailor Page Setup Profiles of the format to this device. On the Conversion dialog Page Setup tab, set Input Profile to the Output Profile used in the prior conversion to master format (in my case that is Kindle) and set Output Profile to the recommended output profile (in my case that would now by Sony Reader). Note: a master format EPUB made with output profile Kindle usually does well on the PRS-T2, with good image sizes, without needing a conversion.
Send Books to Device. In calibre Library View, send selected books to device.
Eject and Disconnect. In calibre, eject device. Disconnect the USB cable.
Read Books
Read Books. Read some books on one or more reading devices.
Update Books, For Each Book Read
Rate Content Quality. Soon after reading each book, in calibre Library View rate the content. I put content ratings in the custom column Status.
Delete Tag for To Read. Delete the tag for To Read, so the search results from the next use of To Load will not include this book.
Revise Format Quality Tags. In cases where more serious format problems were discovered, fix them right away or change format quality rating to !q0 meaning wishlist, and (optional) enter tags for each unfixed problem.
Add or Revise Other Metadata. Add or revise other metadata, such as secondary genres, with the new knowledge about the book gained from reading it.
Remove Throwaway Format. If a MOBI (or other) format was generated from EPUB master copy of that book to read on Kindle, in the calibre library retain the EPUB master and remove the MOBI (or other) format. Some calibre users prefer to keep such extra formats, rather than remove them. I remove the Kindle formats because Amazon evolves formats for Kindle rapidly, Amazon may use completely different and better formats in the future, the conversion capabilities in calibre for Amazon formats such as old MOBI or the newer formats change to keep pace, and I may use different reading devices in the future. I rarely reread a book again within two years. So I prefer to generate on demand a fresh device-specific format from the EPUB master format if/when needed in the future. Note that EPUB format is relatively stable compared to Amazon formats.
Purpose. The Maintaining workflow minimizes the frequency and severity of maintenance issues and time spent dealing with them, as well as improving performance. Maintaining includes non-sequential initial or periodic workflow steps.
Ignore calibre Library Folder. In the operating system, avoid making direct changes to the calibre Library folder or its subfolders and files. Make any desired changes through the calibre Graphical User Interface or the calibre Command Line Interface. For further discussion, see Want to change the folder structure of the Calibre library?
Use Quality Check and Modify ePub. Optional. Periodically use the third-party plugin Quality Check to look for various problems in metadata and formats. Use the third-party plugin Modify ePub to fix those problems, without doing a conversion. I normally do not do this. I am still learning the precise meaning of some of the options in both plugins.
Update Metadata. Optional. The third-party plugin Modify ePub can be used periodically to update the cover and metadata in EPUBs without doing a conversion. Or use the Polish Books feature to update cover and metadata. Note that during Convert, Save, Send, Email (EPUB or MOBI), or Get from Content Server (EPUB or MOBI), calibre automatically updates cover and metadata in the copied or converted format, but does not update cover and metadata in the base format in the calibre library from which any copy or conversion is made. (See calibre operations that update metadata, in thread: Problem with editing metadata). This metadata is a completely different type of internal metadata than the options in Conversion -> Structure Detection, Polish Books, or Modify ePub to insert metadata jacket (similar to a dust-jacket on a hardcover book). I do not use metadata jackets.
Remove Duplicates. Periodically check for duplicates. For each set of duplicates, ensure they are duplicates, if necessary correct metadata for whichever book has the better format quality rating, then remove the duplicate(s) with worse format quality. I use the third-party plugin Find Duplicates to search the entire library for duplicates. I do several passes: Title/Author with similar Title and similar Author, Title/Author with similar Title and fuzzy Author, and ISBN Compare.
Check Library. Every few months, under the Library icon select the Library Maintenance command Check Library. Click Yes when the dialog box asks to check if the files in library match information in the database. If calibre reports any problems, look in the operating system in the calibre library folder at each problem to ensure each problem is okay to delete, but do not change or delete files there. If necessary, fix the problem by editing the relevant metadata in Library View. To delete any problems, in the Check Library dialog box put a check in checkboxes for the problem files to mark them, click the Delete Marked button, click the Done button. Or click the Fix Marked button when it is available for any problems that calibre can fix automatically.
Backup calibre Folders
Backup Configuration and Library Folders. Periodically backup the calibre configuration and library folders to another drive. If copying manually, quit calibre first to avoid any file-in-use issues. The configuration folder can be found by clicking the button Open calibre configuration directory in Preferences -> Miscellaneous. I use Time Machine (OS X) to keep hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly backups of my system.
Tune Performance
Tune calibre Performance. Calibre performance in various areas depends on many factors. Performance in one or more areas may be improved by a combination of one or more actions, depending on the specific performance area. For additional information and discussion, see the thread Calibre Speedup. These are some actions that might speed up calibre performance.
Set Antivirus Auto-Scan Exclusions. Initially, set the security/antivirus application to auto-scan all disk volumes but to exclude calibre Library folders from scans. After moving a library, reset the exclusion for that library; I usually forget to do that until the slower performance makes me remember. When auto-scan is on, books are scanned for malware such as viruses at download time so there is no need to scan them again whenever calibre accesses book files, which can cause significant slow-downs in performance because calibre accesses a lot of files during the normal course of business. If auto-scan was previously off, first have the security/antivirus application scan everything on all disk volumes, including any externals that are not always connected such as USB sticks, external drives, and reading devices that present to the operating system as accessible USB storage (such as Kindle, but not Apple iOS devices). It may take a long time, so I would let it run overnight. If the scan identifies any infected files, follow the instructions or Help given in the security/antivirus application to clean or delete the infected files.
Adjust Performance Settings. Preference settings, Behavior, Job priority controls the speed and resource use of calibre worker processes; I keep this at the highest setting, Normal. In Miscellaneous, Maximum simultaneous conversion/news download jobs limits the number of CPU intensive background tasks; I set this to 6. In Miscellaneous, I keep checked the option to Limit the maximum simultaneous jobs to available CPU cores. I chose these performance settings based on testing CPU intensive jobs (such as bulk conversion) on a computer with an Intel i7 quad-core, while leaving some capacity for the processes of other open applications. These are probably not the best possible settings.
Manage Composite Columns and Templates. Composite columns are custom columns built from other columns with templates. In Preferences -> Interface -> Create your own columns, remove unnecessary composite columns. For all remaining composite columns uncheck the checkbox Show in tag browser. Those actions will probably decrease calibre startup time. Avoid searching or sorting on composite columns, because those searches or sorts take longer to deliver results than searches or sorts on non-composite columns. For a composite column based on the template {formats}, calibre checks all of the book files to ensure it is accurate, so changing the template from {formats} to {:'approximate_formats()'} may decrease startup time for large libraries because {:'approximate_formats()'} does not check the files, at the price of possible inaccuracy if formats were added or removed from the library directly in the operating system. Translate complex template programming to General Program Mode, and ensure the tweak compile_gpm_templates is true, which is the default, so calibre automatically compiles those template programs to achieve faster performance.
Use Column Lookup Names in Searches. In large libraries use column lookup names in all searches, including saved searches, to achieve significantly faster search results than searches without column lookup names.
Limit Searched Metadata. In Preferences -> Interface -> Searching, turn on Limit the searched metadata, and enter just a few columns that non-prefixed searches are limited to. I limit non-prefixed searches to: authors, series, title, #genres, and #people. And do not include the field comments in that list, because searches including comments require more time. Limiting the searched metadata to a few fields provides search results significantly faster when search criteria are not prefixed with column lookup name.
Update Software
Update calibre. Updates of calibre are usually released every Friday, and can be installed manually by replacing the older version.
Update Third-Party Plugins. Updates for any installed third-party plugins that are available through calibre can be installed automatically with a few clicks from within calibre. For other installed third-party plugins, periodically check the relevant plugin site and install any updates manually.
Update Other Software. To minimize the frequency of maintenance or performance issues, for computer and devices keep operating systems and other software such as editors, reader applications, and security software up to date. I also keep firmware up to date for all devices.
Purpose. Configurations support workflow. The term configurations is used loosely to mean any calibre-related options, settings, and customizations that are not discussed explicitly in the Preferences or Workflow sections, or are not discussed there in sufficient detail.
Libraries in calibre. A library is a set of books, each book with associated files contained in a file system structure, along with corresponding metadata for each book in a database structure. There can be more than one library.
Scope. The scope of a library itself is library-wide. A library contains book files, a database file metadata.db, the metadata in metadata.db, default and custom columns, non-column fields, the categories and tags shown in the tag browser, and saved searches. All of those things are stored within the library structure of that particular library, along with relevant information about its own library structure.
Multiple Libraries. Multiple libraries can facilitate meeting various needs such as: testing versus stable, shared versus not shared, improving performance by splitting a huge library, or separating sets of books with different types of content. Some examples of types of content that might be managed in different library structures are: periodicals, comic books, technical papers, screenplays, technical books and textbooks, fan-fiction, and fiction or popular non-fiction. But there are some drawbacks with using multiple libraries.
Minimizing the Number of Libraries. Minimizing the number of libraries avoids extra work and associated headaches.
Different types of content can be managed using tags or custom columns in one primary library. If necessary, custom columns for metadata for different types of books can be managed within one primary library using the third-party plugin View Manager for different saved column views and Virtual Libraries based on tags.
Virtual Libraries provide some of the benefits of separate libraries. Both support simpler search criteria against a limited set of books, and limit Tag Browser metadata lists.
Searching an entire library is simpler and faster than sequentially searching multiple libraries.
Search, Content Server, Create Catalog, Edit Metadata in Bulk, and Library View are limited to books in that one Current Library.
Copying/pasting metadata across different libraries is not quick or practical.
The more libraries, the more work to implement common custom columns or changes in a tag scheme across libraries.
Comparing Library Views at a glance between two libraries simultaneously requires awkward solutions such as two computers side by side with extreme caution not to mess up the file permissions and database with changes written by different instances of calibre to any one library.
Comparing a Library View to a catalog of another library in ebook form on a device is useful but somewhat limited.
The downside to using just one large library is slower performance in some areas such as calibre startup time and time for delivery of search results, noticeable for example in a library of 10,000 books as compared to a library of 5,000 books. But that can be mitigated in various ways, such as always prefixing search criteria with column lookup names. For further discussion see the section Maintaining -> Tune Performance.
Primary Library. I use one primary library, include all types of content using relevant tags, and manage different types of content such as Fiction or Non-Fiction in Virtual Libraries. I add books a few at a time to the primary library, then process them immediately. I keep all processed books in the primary library, and also keep all original download files (the unprocessed originals) in a Raw folder outside calibre. Sometimes for testing potential big changes I create an additional temporary library, based on the structure of the primary library.
Columns
Columns in calibre. A column exists inside a library. A column represents a field in the database. The field may contain specific metadata for each book in that library. The metadata of a specific field is displayed in a specific column. A book has different kinds of specific metadata in various fields of the database. A library contains default columns, any user-defined custom columns, and default fields without corresponding default columns.
Scope. A column exists in one library. When creating a new library, all of the default columns are automatically created for the new library. A custom column is specific to the one library where it was created. Custom columns are not automatically created when a new library is created, except when creating a new library with the option checked to copy structure from the current library.
Default Columns. The default columns are Author(s), Series, Title, Published, Size, Publisher, Date, Tags, Rating, Modified, and Languages. Series Index is automatically displayed as part of the Series column.
Non-Column Fields. Non-column fields are not displayed in default columns. Some examples are: Author Sort, Title Sort, Comments, Formats, Identifiers (which contains ISBN), ID, and UUID. Some of those fields are displayed in the Edit Metadata Singly dialog. All of those particular examples are displayed in the Book Details window.
Custom Columns. Various types of custom columns can be created for entering and storing additional metadata. One kind of custom column is a composite column, built from other columns, which uses a template to display (and possibly manipulate) metadata from one or more columns or non-column fields. For example, a composite column can display a non-column field such as Formats or Author Sort. Metadata cannot be entered in a composite column, but the template for a composite column can be changed.
My Custom Columns.
Formats2. Built from other columns with the template {formats} to see at a glance the formats for multiple books. Not shown in Tag Browser, to speed up calibre startup. Formats is a non-column field, so this composite column is named Formats2 to avoid any potential confusion. With the template {formats}, calibre checks all of the book files to ensure it is accurate, so changing the template from {formats} to {:'approximate_formats()'} may decrease startup time for large libraries because {:'approximate_formats()'} does not check the files, at the price of possible inaccuracy if formats were added or removed from the library directly in the operating system. I tested Formats2 with {:'approximate_formats()'} but saw no perceivable difference in calibre startup time. Perhaps my library is not yet large enough for the difference to be noticeable.
FQ. Comma separated text, for Format Quality tags, including a format quality rating. Optional, any format problem tags for unfixed problems.
Pages. Integers, for page count by third-party plugin Count Pages.
Genres. Comma separated text, for primary genre and secondary genres.
Kinds. Comma separated text, for kinds of books such as novel, short, anthology, collection, omnibus, comic, magazine, series is multi-author, own paper book.
Awards. Comma separated text, for awards.
Status. Comma separated text, for tags indicating: my content rating for previously read books, or a tag for books to read soon.
Note. Text, for any notes or additional information.
People. Comma separated text (contains names) for any alternate names of the author, such as pseudonyms. Used in conjunction with grouped search term name for searching the columns Authors and People, to find all books by author in addition to all books by those alternate names.
ISBN. Built from other columns with {identifiers:select(isbn)} and not shown in Tag Browser to speed up calibre startup. Convenient for seeing ISBN at a glance in Library View.
Source. Text, for the name of retailer, download site, or other book source.
Updated. Integers, for the year and month that the author was last checked on a good internet metadata site, looking for any newly available books. Entered in bulk for all books by that author, as yyMM, such as 1208 for August 2012. This is helpful in a sort or search to quickly determine when to do another update for that author. The column type is integers rather than date for easier editing and simpler search criteria.
Template_Test. Normally kept blank and hidden. Useful occasionally to show the column to enter a template for a non-column field such as {author_sort}. The primary purpose is to test various templates, template functions, or template programs and immediately see the results. Easily edit the template language in the column template by clicking within the column in the Library View and entering any changes in the popup dialog box.
Hidden Columns. Hiding columns that are unused saves horizontal display space in the Library View. I hide Languages, Modified, Rating, and Tags because I do not use them. I hide the custom column Template_Test, and show it only occasionally when needed.
Order of Columns. The order of columns in the Library View and on the Edit Metadata form may affect ease of workflow and data entry. The third-party plugin View Manager can manage various column orders by quickly switching the Library View to various saved column configurations. Also, order of custom columns in Edit Metadata can be adjusted in Preferences -> Advanced -> Tweaks.
My Order of Columns. The order of my columns in the Library View is: Authors, Series, Title, Published, Formats2, FQ (format quality), Pages, Size, Genres, Kinds, Awards, Status, Note, People, Publisher, ISBN, Date, Source, Updated, Template_Test (when unhidden), Tags (when unhidden). I wanted to keep it simple so decided not to use the third-party plugin View Manager, instead using the one static column order for various purposes. I also use the tweak order of custom columns in Edit Metadata, for congruency with the order of custom columns in the Library View.
My Column Display. To maximize horizontal space I set the User Interface layout to Narrow (Preferences -> Interface -> Look and Feel), keep the Tag Browser and Cover Browser hidden, and usually keep the Note and People columns less than 0.5 inches wide. For most activities I can see all columns at once in Library View, along with all important metadata, without needing to adjust column widths, with 2 inches to spare on a 17 inch laptop display. When necessary occasionally, I may adjust column widths for: Authors if there are several co-authors, Title if it is a long title, Genres if there are many genres, and People or Note when it contains metadata. But it is usually easier to select the book and press E, to quickly see those fields in the larger field displays of the Edit Metadata dialog.
Tags
Tags in calibre. Tags are metadata entries that identify something about the book. A tag can reside in the Tags column or in a custom column. A tag can be a phrase, a word, an abbreviation. Tags can be downloaded from external sources into the Tags column automatically, per preferences set in Metadata Download. Tags can be created and assigned according to a custom tag scheme. Some users download tags, some use their own tag scheme, some do both. I use my own tag scheme without downloading any tags, for better consistency and flexibility as well as to save time by not having to correct or delete downloaded tags.
Scope. A tag lives in a universe bounded by its column. The scope of one tag is the intersection of a specific book record and a specific column, like a cell in a spreadsheet, but ideally any specific tag should be used for many books rather than just one book, otherwise the tag scheme would be unmanageable with potentially thousands of different tags. The scope of a specific set of tags is column-wide. The scope of the overall tag scheme is larger, at least library-wide, but ideally the same basic tag scheme should be used across all libraries calibre-wide, for consistency and avoiding confusion.
Abbreviations. Abbreviations are not as human-readable as the full word or phrase, so generally using abbreviations is strongly discouraged. I intentionally disregard that. I like using abbreviations for tags in calibre.
More Tags Visible. Abbreviations require less horizontal space in Library View, which allows quickly seeing at a glance many more tags.
Faster Data Entry. Abbreviations are faster to enter when processing new books.
Easily Learned. Any other user can learn the abbreviations quickly, if a few rules-of-thumb are applied when initially designing custom tag abbreviations and custom columns to house them. For most of my abbreviated tags, the spoken sound helps indicate the word or phrase. Each tag is unique within its assigned custom column. Each custom column has a unique focus (such as Genres, Kinds, Awards, Status), so the location of the tag in a specific column helps clarify the meaning by context.
Prefix Symbol for Multi-value Sorting. When using comma-separated tags in multi-value columns, sometimes it helps to prefix an important tag with a symbol. Exclamation point or underscore are good choices for prefix symbols because neither conflicts with any other calibre functions. Doing this sorts that primary tag to the left of any secondary tags in the displayed column, as well as making the tag more unique. I use the exclamation point for primary genre, format quality rating, primary kind, and primary status To Read.
My Tag Scheme.
FQ, primary. !q0, !q1, !q2, !q3, !q4, or !q5 for Format Quality ratings. Translation: wishlist record, to fix, read original format, mild annoyance, good, excellent. Rule: after processing a book can have just one FQ rating tag. See the Processing -> Assess Formats section for more discussion.
FQ, secondary. Tags indicating unfixed format problems. Previously used as an aid for fixing books with similar problems in batches. Example: hdr for header/footer. Now usually not needed because I fix the format right away, or delete the format and make the book a !q0 wishlist record. Rule: a book can have zero to many FQ problem tags.
Genres, primary. !adv, !fn, !hr, !main, !mys, !nf, !pn, !ro, !sf, !thr, !uf, !ws. Translation: adventure (includes action), fantasy (not urban), horror, mainstream, mystery, non-fiction, paranormal, romance (not paranormal), science fiction, thriller (including suspense), urban fantasy, western. Most of my reading is science fiction, fantasy (not urban), urban fantasy, and paranormal romance, so for convenience I treat them as primary genres. I also deal with non-fiction as a primary genre and include poetry and drama as non-fiction, because I do not read much non-fiction, poetry, or drama. Rule: a book can have one to many primary Genre tags.
Genres, secondary. alt, asn, cls, dgn, dmn, ero, fae, gst, hx, mgc, mil, ngl, shf, spy, stm, vmp, yng, bio, cmp, ebk, hmr, physics, poe, psych, py, ref, wri. Translation: alternate history, assassin, classic, dragon, demon, erotic, faery, ghost, historical, magic, military, angel, shifter, spy, steampunk, vampire, young (young adult or child), biography, computer, ebook, humor, physics, poetry, psychology, python, reference, writing. Rule: a book can have zero to many secondary Genre tags.
Kinds, primary. !an, !col, !nvl, !om, !shr, !cmc, !mgz. Translation: anthology, collection, novel, omnibus, short (short story, novella, novelette, essay), comic book, magazine. Rule: a book can have zero to many primary Kinds tags; no primary Kinds tag indicates novel.
Kinds, secondary. m, pb. Translation: multi-author series, own paper book. Rule: a book can have zero to many secondary Kinds tags.
Awards. h, n, c, wf, p, r. Translation: Hugo, Nebula, Campbell (for novel), World Fantasy, PEARL, RITA. Those are for winners in the novel category. In future when I have time to add tags for the short-list runners-up, the tags will be hierarchical, such as h.1 for winner and h.2 for short-list. Rule: a book can have zero to many Awards tags.
Status, primary. !TR. Translation: to read. Rule: a book can have zero to one primary Status tags.
Status, secondary. r1, r2, r3, r4, r5. Translation: bad, poor, okay, good, excellent. The content ratings also indicate I previously read those books. Rule: a book can have one secondary Status tag.
Tags. News, Catalog. Both are automatically assigned by calibre. Rule: a book can have zero to many tags in the Tags column. For creating a catalog or downloading news, calibre automatically assigns the tags Catalog or News to the Tags column even when the Tags column is hidden. I do not use the Tags column for anything except calibre-automatic tags.
Searches and Virtual Libraries
Scope. A search applies to the books meeting those criteria in the current library. A search can be saved, and later used as either a Saved Search or a Virtual Library in that library, applying to books only within that library. When a new library is created using the option to copy structure from current library, the Saved Searches and Virtual Libraries from the current library are included as menu choices in the new library.
Quick Search Box. I used calibre for eight months before finally deciding to wean myself off the tag browser and directly use the the Quick Search box above the booklist. Now I rely on the Quick Search box, and usually keep the Tag Browser hidden. Using the Quick Search box is faster and more convenient.
Contains versus Equals. If the equals sign is not used in a search, by default calibre searches using contains rather than equals. For most searches I use contains, because most of my tags reside in multi-value custom columns.
Non-Prefixed Searches. Search terms without the column lookup names can be useful if they are unique rather than commonly used words, where that search term matches anything in the metadata of the columns chosen in Preferences -> Look and Feel -> Searching for search terms without prefixes. For fastest delivery of search results, limit those fields to just a few columns, and do not include comments. I limit to: author, series, title, #genres, and #people. One example of an unprefixed search is:
Code:
"rogue angel"
Prefixed Searches. In large libraries or Virtual Libraries, prefixing search terms with column lookup names provides results faster than using non-prefixed search terms. For example in the search box type:
Code:
series:"rogue angel"
and for custom columns remember to use the hash symbol # in the column lookup name:
Code:
#pages:<150
Grouping Search Terms, Quick Search Box. Search terms can be grouped in parentheses and used with operators such as or, and, not. Enclose in quotes any tag that contains spaces or parentheses.
Grouped Search Terms, Preferences. Search terms that are commonly grouped can be set and saved in Preferences -> Interface -> Searching. Under Grouped Search Terms, I set name to include both the Authors column and the custom column People. Under What to search when searching similar books, I also set name as What to search for Similar authors. For example, for books authored by pseudonym Robin Hobb, I entered Robin Hobb in Authors and the real name Megan Lindholm in People, and for books authored by Megan Lindholm I entered Megan Lindholm in Authors and Robin Hobb in People. Either of these searches using the grouped search term name brings up books by Robin Hobb and books by Megan Lindholm in the results list:
Code:
name:"robin hobb"
Code:
name:lindholm
Saved Searches and Virtual Libraries. Click the Virtual Library button to the left of the Quick Search Box to create Virtual Libraries based on Saved Searches or other criteria. Selecting a Virtual Library in the Virtual Library menu box applies that criterion as a Virtual Library, in contrast to selecting a Saved Search name in the Saved Searches menu box which applies the search but does not apply the corresponding Virtual Library restriction. The Virtual Library restriction is reflected in the lists of tags by category in the Tag Browser, now limited to any tags for books meeting the search criteria of the associated saved search. Searches or Bulk Metadata Edits done within a Virtual Library are limited to only those books inside the Virtual Library. Virtual Libraries allow using simpler criteria for searches. Within one library, Virtual Libraries provide some of the benefits of separate libraries.
Regular Expressions in calibre. Regular expressions (regexp, regex) manipulate strings of text. Regular expressions are useful in various areas in calibre. Some of those areas are:
Search in Quick Search Box or Advanced Search, for searching metadata.
Adding Books, for reading metadata from filename.
Conversion -> Search and Replace, for fixing problems in book formats.
Editing Metadata in Bulk -> Search and Replace, for editing, copying, or deleting metadata.
Templates in Various Areas, in some template functions that use regular expressions.
Saving Regular Expressions. Regular expressions can be directly saved in each of those calibre features for reuse later, except in Adding Books. Regular expressions for Adding Books can be saved in the third-party plugin Quick Preferences. A template function using a regular expression is stored in the relevant Preference setting for that template.
Scope. The scope of a regular expression depends on the area of calibre in which it is used.
Collecting Regular Expressions. It is useful to collect regular expressions, particularly for people like me who are not adept at writing new ones. For examples of regular expressions for adding books, see the section Preferences -> Advanced -> Plugins, Optional -> Quick Preferences. For some posts containing various regular expressions, see the section Links -> Regular Expressions. Other regular expressions can be found by searching for keywords in the calibre and Sigil MobileRead Forums. There are also also some examples in the calibre User Manual.
Templates in calibre. Templates in calibre use the lookup names of default columns, custom columns, and non-column fields (formats, comments, etc.) inside curly brackets to return associated metadata from the book records. Formatting can be applied. Single function mode supports applying a function to the metadata. Some functions can employ regular expressions. Template program mode supports combinations of lookup names, functions, and arithmetic for metadata manipulation. General program mode templates begin with program: (including the colon), allow dropping the curly brackets, support more complexity, and are automatically compiled by calibre for faster performance, when the associated tweak is set to: compile_gpm_templates = true (which is the calibre default). Templates are necessary or useful in various areas, such as:
Composite Columns. To set custom columns built from other columns.
Saving Books to Disk. To set the folders and filenames (the path) on the computer or device for the saved copy of the format(s).
Sending Books to Device. To set path on the device for the sent copies of the format(s).
Device Interface Plugins. To set the path for a specific device, which calibre uses when sending to that device, instead of the generic template in Sending Books to Device.
Metadata Plugboards. To set the internal metadata fields in the copies of sent or saved formats, from which reading applications read the metadata.
Editing Metadata in Bulk -> Search and Replace. To set in the search field, to assist editing metadata.
Book Details. To set the Author Link Template.
Search the Internet Plugin To bring up the relevant web page for a selected book at one of many sites with a built-in template for Author, Title, or Book. See the Customize dialog in this third-party plugin for a list of available templates, which can be copied out and used elsewhere, such as in Book Details.
Scope. Templates apply only to the books within the library, or a subset of them per a current Virtual Library. Within that limitation, the scope of a template depends on the area of calibre in which it is used. For example, a template in a composite column applies only to that column. The save template in a Device Interface Plugin applies only to books sent to that specific device when that device is connected.
Template Testing. As recommended in the template section of the calibre User Manual, I use a custom column Template_Test. The column is normally hidden and set to nothing (blank). When the column is unhidden, clicking within the column in the Library View allows easy entering, editing, and testing of a template in the popup dialog box. This is a good way to use templates temporarily, or to test new templates, functions, and programs and quickly see the results in the column.
Finding Examples. The template references mentioned above contain examples of various types of templates. Template examples for counting characters in the entire path or filename of a book in a calibre library are provided in the thread custom column: count number of characters (in book path). Also see the section Links -> Templates for other posts with template examples.
Examples of My Templates. I use the composite columns Formats2, ISBN, and Template_Test. Those are discussed in the section Configurations -> Columns. My other templates are listed under the relevant subheadings in the Preferences section.
Miscellaneous
Create Catalog. The feature to create a catalog in book form applies only to books within the current library, either all books if one or zero books are selected, or the current selection of books if more than one book is selected. I use these settings in the Create Catalog dialog. Catalog options tab, Catalog format: EPUB. Catalog title: _My Books. Unchecked, Send catalog to device automatically. E-book Options tab, Included sections: Checked, Books by Author. Prefixes: checked Rule 1, name Wishlist, prefix x, field FQ, value !q0. Excluded books: none. Excluded genres: none. Other options: Generate new cover.
Fetch News. This feature is available across all calibre libraries, but applies only in the library in which it is used. In the Fetch News feature, I set Delete downloaded news older than: 30 days. In Preferences -> Interface -> Behavior, my settings are: Unchecked, Automatically send downloaded news to ebook reader. Unchecked, Delete news from library when it is automatically sent to reader. The News feature automatically converts the download to Preferred Output Format, set in Preferences -> Interface -> Behavior to EPUB.
Replacement Icons. Icons and toolbars are used calibre-wide, across all libraries. For an alternative to the Remove Books icon, see a nice grey and red trashcan icon; I replaced the default icon because I often clicked it by mistake. For complete sets of alternative icons, see Drop-in Icon Replacement Sets; I do not use any replacement icon sets.
Main Interface. User interface style: calibre style. User interface layout: Narrow, which puts the Book Details display below the booklist rather than to the right, and allows more horizontal space to see columns in the booklist. Choose language: English. Checked, Show tooltips in the book list. Checked, Show splash screen at startup. Unchecked, all others. Interface font: Lucida Grande 13. Icon size: small. Show text under icons: never.
Book Details. Displayed Metadata, Checked: Title, Series, Authors, Identifiers, Comments, and custom columns FQ (Format Quality), Genres, Kinds, Awards, and Status. Unchecked, Use Roman numerals for series (box located at top right), because roman numerals are not easy to understand at a glance. The Default author link template is useful for getting more author and title information by double-clicking an author name in the Book Details panel. The default author link template for wikipedia is good for popular authors, and is available for use in the third-party plugin Search the Internet:
Tag Browser. Tag browser category partitioning method, disabled. Unchecked, Show average ratings. I do not use the default Rating column or downloaded ratings. Categories with hierarchical items: none. Unchecked, Use alternating row colors in Tag Browser.
Cover Browser. Unchecked, Show in separate window. Unchecked, When Showing use fullscreen. I do not use Cover Browser.
Column Coloring. I use a !q0 value in the custom column FQ (format quality) to indicate a wishlist record or placeholder. I set Column Coloring to show red text for !q0 records in these columns: Authors, Series, Title, Date (timestamp), and FQ. That helps me easily distinguish between wishlist/placeholders and real books in the booklist.
Column Icons. None.
Behavior. Checked, Show notification of new version. Checked, Yes/No columns have 3 values. Unchecked, Automatically send downloaded news to ebook reader. Unchecked, Delete news from library when it is automatically sent to reader. Preferred output format: EPUB. Default network timeout: 5 seconds. Job priority: Normal. Virtual library to apply when opening library: none. Edit metadata (single) layout: Default. Preferred input format order: 1 EPUB, 2 MOBI, 3 LIT, others default order. Use internal viewer for: checked, all formats except PDF. Double-clicking a PDF in the booklist opens it in Acrobat rather than calibre viewer, per settings in the operating system for which application to open which file extension. For other formats the third-party plugin Open With is useful for bringing up the relevant reader application to accurately render a specific format when necessary.
Add Your Own Columns. Columns are discussed in the Configurations section.
Toolbar. I load the Main Toolbar with the primary calibre icons, any icons for third-party plugins that apply commands to all books in the library, and icons for plugins that are frequently used, so my Main Toolbar contains icons for Add Books, Edit Metadata, Convert Books, View, Choose Library, Fetch News, Get Books, Save to Disk, Connect/share, Help, Preferences, Remove books, various third-party plugins, and Polish Books. Toolbar with Device Connected is set similarly to Main Toolbar for for consistency. Context Menu for Library has calibre and plugin commands that work on current book selection, and Context Menu for Device is similar but without the plugin commands. Menubar contains: calibre, Add Books, Edit Metadata, Convert Books, Select Library, Save to Disk, Connect/Share, Preferences, and Help. Menubar with Device Connected is similar. I do not use the Optional Second Toolbar or Context Menu for Cover Browser.
Searching. Unchecked, Search as you type, for faster performance. Unchecked, Highlight search results instead of restricting the booklist to the results. Unchecked, it groups search results all together in their own booklist; checked, it moves the results to wherever they belong in the sort order of the larger booklist while highlighting only the books of the search result. Note the Highlighting button (3 blue lines with red slash to the left of the saved searches menu box above the booklist) toggles the highlight behavior on or off. Checked, Limit the searched metadata. Columns that non-prefixed searches are limited to: authors, series, title, #genres, #people. For faster search results do not include the field comments in that list. Limiting the searched metadata to just a few fields provides search results significantly faster when using the search box without column lookup names. Grouped Search Terms, name for multi-column search of Authors column and custom column People. What to search for similar books, Similar Authors command is also set to name.
Conversion
Input Options -> Comic Input. Checked, Disable conversion of images to black and white. I prefer reading comics in color on a tablet rather than in black and white on an e-ink device.
Common Options.
Look and Feel. Indent Size.1.5 em. Text Justification: Justify text.
Output Options -> MOBI Output. Unchecked, all checkboxes. MOBI file type: old. Personal doc tag: [EBOK].
Defaults. All other conversion options are default.
Import/Export
Adding Books
Various Settings. Unchecked, Swap author last and first name. I use the third-party plugin Quality Check to do the swap after the Add, rather than switching the option on and off in Preferences. Checked, When using Copy To Library preserve the date. Unchecked, Automatically convert added books to current output format. Unchecked, Automerge, because I want to assess any duplicates or variations of multiple formats for a book before keeping the best of the formats, which is easiest to do when formats for the same book are not merged into one book record. Tags to apply when adding a book: none (blank).
Automatic Adding. Usually I add books by dragging and dropping directly onto the Library View booklist, only a few books at a time, so I have not needed to use Automatic Adding. I would choose these options if I used it: Unchecked, Check for duplicates when auto-adding files, and Unchecked, Automatically convert added files to current output format.
Reading Metadata. Unchecked, Read metadata from file contents rather than filename. Reading metadata from file contents usually works well when books are retail-quality from a good source. Otherwise, reading from file contents can be unpredictable and often requires more work later correcting bad metadata. The only metadata I want entered automatically during the Add of newly downloaded (unprocessed) books is: Authors, Series, and Title. So I prefer calibre to guess metadata from the filename. I use various regular expressions, provided in or added to the third-party plugin Quick Preferences. A useful regular expression provided in Quick Preferences is:
Various Settings. Checked, Save cover separately. Checked, Update metadata in saved copies. Checked, Save metadata in OPF file. Checked, Convert Non-English. Checked, Show files in file browser after saving to disk. Those five settings are useful when saving book formats out to fix with other tools. Unchecked, Replace space with underscores. Unchecked, Change paths to lower case. Format dates as: %b, %Y. File formats to save: all.
Save Template. I use Author_sort in the path to sort the folders by last name, and Authors rather than Author_sort in filename to be consistent with the FN LN convention I use in the Authors column, so when I Save To Disk books to be fixed then Add the fixed versions into calibre using read metadata from filename, I do not have to switch the Author name back from LN, FN. I append the book id (unique within that library) to title in the path to ensure that all books with the same authors and title such as multiple editions of the same book are saved out to the file system, rather than all but one being ignored by file system. Series_index is formatted to prepend a zero for correct sorting of large series for 2 digits or less, and I do not worry about sorting in rare cases of decimal digits or 3 digits. Save template:
Sending Books to Devices. Metadata management: Automatic Management. Format dates: %b, %Y. Note this save template is overridden during Send by the template in the relevant Device Interface Plugin. Save template:
Metadata Plugboards. When a format is exported, a metadata plugboard uses templates to put metadata into the relevant destination fields inside the format. A reading application on the device reads that metadata from the fields in the format to display on the device.
Android Devices. Works with Calibre Companion. Format: any format. Device, SMART_DEVICE_APP. Substitute author_sort for authors, and prepend series and series index to title for title.
Destination field authors:
Code:
{author_sort}
Destination field title:
Code:
{series:| - | }{series_index:0>2s} - {title}
Apple iOS Devices Works with Connect to iTunes. Format: any format. Device, APPLE. Substitute author_sort for authors, and prepend series and series index to title for title.
Destination field authors:
Code:
{author_sort}
Destination field title:
Code:
{series:| - | }{series_index:0>2s} - {title}
Kindle Devices. Works with Kindle e-ink devices. Unsure if this works for Kindle Fire models - if not, try SMART-DEVICE_APP rather than KINDLE2.) Format: any format. Device, KINDLE2. Substitute author_sort for authors, and prepend series and series index to title for title.
Destination field authors:
Code:
{author_sort}
Destination field title:
Code:
{series:| - | }{series_index:0>2s} - {title}
Sony PRS-T1 or PRS-T2, Plugboard 1. Format:device_db. Device, PRST1. Append series and series index to author_sort for authors.
Destination field authors:
Code:
{author_sort}{series:| - | }{series_index:0>2s}
Sony PRS-T1 or PRS-T2, Plugboard 2. For discussion of why two plugboards for authors field, see (Sony)…How do I set it up..., thread Post #15. Format:epub. Device, PRST1. Append series and series index to author_sort for authors.
Destination field authors:
Code:
{author_sort}{series:| - | }{series_index:0>2s}
Sharing
Sharing Books by eMail. Set up and tested but seldom used. Works well on Kindle 3 Keyboard and Kindle Touch from a Gmail account to the relevant kindle email address. The email addresses listed in Amazon -> Manage Your Kindle -> Personal Documents are amended in the email addresses in calibre to include the word free. For each Kindle email address, Formats are AZW, MOBI, TPZ, PRC, and AZW1 (note: not AZW3), Subject is blank, and Auto send is unchecked. A Tweak, the number of seconds to wait before sending emails, regulates the delay between consecutive email sends for a bulk selection; I leave that Tweak at the default setting: public_smtp_relay_delay = 301.
For my Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Touch the email addresses in Sharing Books by eMail look like this:
The Gmail account uses port 587 and TLS encryption, with hostname:
Code:
smtp.gmail.com
and Username (same as in Send email from):
Code:
unique_name@gmail.com
Sharing over Net. Content Server set up, tested, seldom used. Server port: 7070. User name: blank. Password: blank. Max cover size: 600x800. Max OPDS items per query: 30. Max OPDS ungrouped items: 100000. Virtual Library to apply: blank. URL prefix: blank. Unchecked, Run server automatically when calibre starts. The URL for access by the browser or reading application on device is:
Code:
http://my_computer_name.local:7070/
Metadata Download
Metadata Sources. Downloaded metadata fields: Comments, Published date, Publisher. Sources checked and configured: Amazon (1; Comments, Published date, Publisher), Fantastic Fiction (1; Comments, Published date, Publisher), ISBNdb (1; Comments, Publisher), Open Library (3, sometimes useful for cover only). Optional installed plugins are Fantastic Fiction, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble. I usually keep Goodreads and Barnes and Noble turned off. Occasionally for testing purposes or if one of the usual sources is down, I temporarily change fields or sources. Note: Goodreads is the only metadata source with configurable mapping of downloaded genres to desired genre tags, but I do not use it.
Downloaded Metadata Fields. Checked: Comments, Published date, Publisher. Unchecked, convert all downloaded comments to plain text. Unchecked, Swap author names from FN LN to LN, FN. Max number of tags to download: 20. Max time to wait after first match is found: 30 secs. Max time to wait after first cover is found: 30 secs.
Ignored Devices. None (blank list).
Advanced
Plugins Functionality in the calibre application is primarily based in various plugins. Default plugins are part of the calibre download. Many optional third-party plugins are available through the calibre command Get plugins to enhance calibre in the Preferences menu, or through the Index of Plugins, a sticky on the calibre Plugin Forum with a list with descriptions and plugin attachments. Optional third-party DRM-removal plugins are available elsewhere. Also, people with some knowledge of programming in Python can create their own optional third-party plugins. An optional plugin installed from within one library is also available for use in any other library. Some default or optional plugins are customizable.
Plugins, Default, Device Interface. To customize a default Device Interface plugin, choose Configure this Device under the Location Manager icon (the icon for switching View to Device) when the device is connected, or, in Preferences -> Advanced -> Plugins select the plugin under Device Interface plugins and click the Customize Plugin button. Note that the save template in the relevant Device Interface plugin supercedes the global save template in Sending Books to Devices. These are my settings for Device Interface plugins:
Apple Device Interface. Select available formats and their order, Checked: EPUB, PDF. Checked, Use Series as Category in iTunes/iBooks. Checked, Cache covers from iTunes/iBooks. Checked, Copy files to iTunes Media folder, because that is enabled in iTunes Preferences -> Advanced. This plugin is disabled, but sending through Connect to iTunes uses the settings in this plugin anyway. I followed instructions in calibre + Apple iDevices: Start Here, with some exceptions and customizing: Preferences -> Conversion -> Common Options -> Page Setup -> Output Profile is set to Kindle rather than iPad, and in Metadata Plugboard I do not bother to send a genre for Apple devices.
Folder Device Interface. This plugin is for dealing with a folder as if it were a device, with the Connect to Folder command under the Connect/share icon. Select available formats and their order: Checked, all formats. Checked, Read metadata from files on device. Unchecked, Use sub directories. Save template:
Kindle 2/3/4/Touch Device Interface. Select available formats and their order, Checked: mobi. Checked, Read metadata from files on device. Unchecked, Use sub directories. Checked, Send page number information. Unchecked, Use slower but more accurate page number calculation. Custom column name to retrieve page counts from: #pages. Save template:
SmartDevice App Interface. This plugin is for Calibre Companion and Android smartphones or tablets. Unchecked, use sub directories. Checked, Enable connections at startup. Unchecked, Use fixed network port. Port number: 9090. Unchecked, Print extra debug information. Comma separated list of metadata fields to turn into collections on the device: #genres. Checked, enable the no-activity timeout. Use this IP address: blank. Save template:
SONY PRST1 and newer Device Interface. Select available formats and their order, Checked: epub. Unchecked, Use sub directories. Unchecked, Use author sort for author. Comma separated list of metadata fields to turn into collections: series, series_index. Unchecked, Upload separate cover thumbnails for books. Unchecked, Refresh separate covers when using automatic management. Checked, Preserve cover aspect ratio when building thumbnails. Unchecked, Use SONY Author Format (First Author Only). Save template:
Plugins, Optional. To customize a customizable optional plugin, under the plugin icon choose the Customize Plugin menu choice if it has one, or in Preferences -> Advanced -> Plugins select the plugin and click the Customize Plugin button. Some optional plugins apply an operation to all books in the current library or Virtual Library, some apply the operation only to the current selection of books, some may have menu or option settings that change the scope. I use various optional third-party plugins available through calibre. Conversion input plugins: DOCX Input. Metadata source plugins: Fantastic Fiction, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads; Goodreads and Barnes and Noble are unchecked in Preferences -> Sharing -> Metadata Downloads until I use them occasionally and temporarily to supplement other sources. User interface action plugins: Count Pages, EpubMerge, EpubSplit, Extract ISBN, Find Duplicates, Generate Cover, Import List, Modify ePub, Open With, Quality Check, Quick Preferences, Search the Internet. These are my settings for optional plugins that are available through calibre:
DOCX Input. Does not need customization.
Fantastic Fiction, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads: See the section Preferences -> Sharing -> Metadata Download.
Count Pages. Custom column: #pages (Pages), Paragraphs (APNX Accurate), Word count and Readability options: none, Button default: Estimate page/word counts, and Checked, Always overwrite an existing page/word counts. Keyboard shortcuts: none. I do not use the Word Count.
EpubMerge. Basic tab: Checked, Insert Table of Contents entry for each title? Unchecked, Flatten Table of Contents? No Keyboard shortcuts. Custom columns tab: All blank.
EpubSplit. Basic tab: Metadata copied (checked): Title, Authors, Series, Cover, Date, Published Date, Publisher, Languages, Comments. No Keyboard shortcuts. Custom Columns tab: checked, to copy columns Source, Genres. Source column for template from source book, none.
Extract ISBN. When the scan completes: Do not change my search. Valid prefixes for ISBN 13: 977,978,979. Selected books before running as a background job: 1. Batch size running as a background job: 100. Keyboard shortcuts: none.
Find Duplicates. No keyboard shortcuts.
Generate Cover. Does not need customization.
Import List. Display columns: title,authors,series,pubdate,#fq,#kinds. No keyboard shortcuts.
Modify ePub. Does not need customization.
Open With. Menu items to display, checked: Sigil (EPUB), Pixelmator (COVER), Preview (COVER), Adobe Acrobat (PDF, brings up Acrobat X Pro). No keyboard shortcuts.
Quality Check. Check excess tags options: maximum tags, 5; Exclude tags, none. Other options: Author initials format, A. B. Visible menus checked: all. No keyboard shortcuts.
Search the Internet. Menu items to display: ISFDB for Author, ISFDB for Title, Fantastic Fiction for Author, Fantastic Fiction for Title, Amazon.com for Book, Barnes and Noble for Author, Demonoid for Author, Goodreads for Author, Inkmesh for Author, Library of Congress for Author, NYTimes for Author, Wikipedia for Author. No Submenus or Open Groups. Keyboard shortcut: ISFDB for Author, Command I. Note that when an author name has initials, ISFDB for Author brings up an ISFDB error page when the template sends an author name with initials, but in those cases the template is still useful for quickly bringing up the ISFDB site.
Quick Preferences. Include in menu: Checked, Swap author name; Checked, Read metadata from file; Unchecked, Automerge added books. No keyboard shortcuts. Configure the file pattern menu items to display; all with Unchecked, Swap Names:
FN LN [- Series #]- Title (QP plugin, my usual setting)[/i]
Control sorting of titles and series in library display. For consistency in sorting, to match the convention used by most sites that I refer to for correcting and standardizing metadata:
Code:
title_series_sorting = 'strictly_alphabetic'
Control formatting of titles and series in templates. For consistency, and useful in Author templates for some Good Metadata sites:
Order of custom columns in edit metadata. For consistency in workflow and data entry, I set this to be congruent with the order of custom columns in the Library View.
Save Original File When Converting/Polishing. Save_original_format = True. Save_original_format_when_polishing = False.
Default. All other tweaks are default.
Miscellaneous. Max simultaneous conversion/news download jobs: 6. (My computer has one quad-core i7 processor.) Checked, Limit max simultaneous jobs to available cores, to leave some room for processes belonging to other applications. Abort conversion jobs that take more than: Never abort. I rarely use Command Line Tools, so (on OS X) I do not install them unless I need them.
Keyboard. Command I, for the third-party plugin Search the Internet to bring up the browser on the page of an author (selected in calibre Library View) at Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB).
Purpose. The Links section provides in one place a list of links to ebook-related information and tools. It is also an informal list of references.
Topics. calibre (various subtopics), Calibre Companion, Catalog on Server, Conversion, CSS, Devices, DRM, eBooks, eBook Creation, Filename Limitations, Filename Renamers, Formats (various subtopics), Images, KISS Principle, Metadata Editing, Metadata Standardization, Regular Expressions, Sigil, Templates, Workflow, Version History.
Links Key. The links are color-coded.
Green. Information on MobileRead Forums.
Purple. Information on other websites.
Blue. Software tools that may be useful with ebooks. Tools recommended by experienced people at MobileRead Forums are tagged recommended. Any I have not tried myself are tagged noted.
*Amazon Formats. Usually: AZW is MOBI6 (aka old MOBI), AZW3 is KF8 (aka new MOBI), AZW4 is Print Replica (PDF in MOBI wrapper), AZW1 is Topaz, TPZ is Topaz.
Note: Word, Writer, and Pages can open and save TXT, RTF, and DOC but not necessarily other word processing formats. Writer and Pages can open DOCX. Word, Writer, and Pages can export PDF. Word and Writer can import or export HTML with varying degrees of success. Pages can export EPUB.
I removed "KISS", "Methods and Examples", and "for New calibre Users" from the title. Some of what I do probably is not "keep it simple stupid" enough, though I strive toward that. This is more a map of personal strategy and workflow than method. It's an example of one person's approach to managing ebooks with calibre. Parts of it may be beyond some "new" calibre users, other parts blatantly obvious to some "new" users—how new is "new", and what is new to who? So I named it what it is, how I manage ebooks with calibre.
Much of the content in this document and its prior incarnations originally came from you, the MobileRead community. Thank you.
Please observe rules for this thread:
Please post elsewhere any questions about how calibre works, by starting a new thread in the main calibre forum or appropriate calibre subforum.
Please post in this thread any comments or feedback about content in the document at Post #1, regarding errors, bad assumptions, recommended changes, or alternative and possibly better ways to manage ebooks with calibre.
Last edited by unboggling; 07-29-2012 at 10:44 AM.
Reason: Changed thread rules.
@Unboggling; any thought into putting this into an alternate format, maybe (oh horrors) an ePub?
I'd thought about it. Generating an ePub would be relatively easy to do. But it seems like it's more accessible online here than in an ePub that might be added to someone's library then forgotten. At least if I added it to my library, I'd probably forget it was there. It's easier for me to deal with frequent revisions by just pasting new version over older version at Post #1 of this thread.
Last edited by unboggling; 07-20-2012 at 01:05 PM.
Reason: Minor clarification
Translating the BB code formatting of the version at Post #1 into HTML is relatively painless, per suggestion of theducks to copy the HTML of the post page and paste it from there into an editor, but then spoilers need to be stripped and formatting redone to be more suitable for a book. I need to revise this document frequently with changes to fix unwitting errors and keep it congruent with my actual settings, customizations, and workflow. A book version doesn't seem practical.
Last edited by unboggling; 07-22-2012 at 12:25 AM.
The content of Post #1 now seems relatively stable and problem-free, though it will still need revisions for changes in calibre or in my workflow. Please let me know if you find any problems I missed, so I can fix them. Meanwhile I've been thinking about the future direction of this project.
1. Searching the forums works best for small posts, when each post is limited to one specific topic. This large document has lots of topics, so it pops up often when using forum-search for keywords, which may annoy people searching for solutions to specific problems. That brings up the post but doesn't show where keywords are in the document unless the spoilers are expanded to allow looking for the highlighted keywords. Alternatively, if all spoilers are expanded first, a browser search of the document for keywords works well. Without expanding spoilers first, a browser search for keywords when viewing the page source also works but shows any keyword hits from HTML tags. All the search methods are awkward for one reason or another.
2. If I transform this project into a website:
+ People could link to it from a post or sticky here, avoiding the search problem here.
+ Site would have internal search feature.
+ HTML and CSS would be more flexible than BBcode for formatting.
+ After each revision of content, it could be transformed into an ebook with significantly less work than from the BBcode-formatted document here.
- Implementation would require learning more HTML and CSS along with the initial work of setting up the site. Good for me in the long run for eventual use with ebooks, but still time-consuming.
3. I'm not sure how useful this project is to other people. The content is different from and broader than the usual calibre forum content of "how do I do this new-feature-to-me?" or "how do I solve this small specific problem?" Last year, as a new user I looked for content like this, overall maps of how other people used calibre, including strategy and workflow along with examples. Couldn't find anything as broad as I wanted, just disorganized bits and pieces throughout these forums. So started the KISS thread, and that eventually grew into this document. I still wonder if others find it useful, if there's a common need for this kind of content.
What do you think? Feedback will help me decide what to do. Please comment, either by private message or in this thread.
Last edited by unboggling; 08-17-2012 at 12:36 PM.
Reason: details about searching
I already gave you karma points - as you know - 'cause I found this thread very very useful: I think that it contains a lot of information that everybody needs! Once starting using Calibre more in depth, than maybe will not follow al of your suggestion, but sure they are excellent example to show us what Calibre can do and how we should think at this program.
I prefer to read the post little by little, a paragraph at once,to be sure to really understand it and with the intention to try by myself your approach..
I don't know what you should do to give more emphasis to this post, but I'm pretty sure you should do it! And, more, if you can and if you want, you should try to make it always better and complete!!
Examples are always the best way to learn when we are talking about software and practical things to do..
thank you very very much, once again!
I really appreciate this "little" but precious work!
see you!!
You're welcome. Glad to hear you find it useful. Thanks for the glowing endorsement. Made my day.
Edit:
And thank you again for the karma last week. I like karma. And I like feedback even more. I plan to continue revising and adding to it, at least for awhile. I'm still thinking about the "give more emphasis to this post" thing, as well as future direction of the project.
Last edited by unboggling; 08-31-2012 at 02:27 AM.
Reason: added comments.
'Assessing Formats' - Bulk Convert to Preferred Format.
Seems a bit pointless to me. Pros - makes nice uniform library.
Cons - 1. Book that I fix today and feel happy about coloring headings purple may seem rather ghastly few years hence.
2. Any conversion may lose or add something (I'm presently reading a mobi book where there's no blank lines for the scene breakes, I doubt that they will appear after conversion. This particular book has such a twisted css that I must uglify very nice ePub in order to replace some code especially for the conversion to mobi. In this case I'll keep both nice formats).
3. When I don't read the book immediately, leaving original format be saves lot of time - just quick quality check is all.
4. By the time I get around to reading it, several things may have happened: I may have found better quality/preferred format; I may have gotten new reading device; my html skills will definitely increase.
5. Maybe next book in the series has different but nicer formatting, then I can change first one more easily, having an example.
Fixing Formats - Convert to Editable Format
IMHO converting anything html to word and back is not good practice. Editing for example ePub in Sigil is much more under control, it won't accept mistakes, and you can see right away the change (and maybe undo it).
Editing Metadata - Title
I prefer shorter title. Probably it's subconcious answer to Windows path length limit. A friend gave me his zipped library, and many books there were unextractable because the title was too long.
Maintenance -
Maybe warning about not to mess around directly in the Calibre folders should be capitalized?
'Assessing Formats' - Bulk Convert to Preferred Format.
Seems a bit pointless to me. Pros - makes nice uniform library.
Cons - 1. Book that I fix today and feel happy about coloring headings purple may seem rather ghastly few years hence.
2. Any conversion may lose or add something (I'm presently reading a mobi book where there's no blank lines for the scene breakes, I doubt that they will appear after conversion. This particular book has such a twisted css that I must uglify very nice ePub in order to replace some code especially for the conversion to mobi. In this case I'll keep both nice formats).
3. When I don't read the book immediately, leaving original format be saves lot of time - just quick quality check is all.
4. By the time I get around to reading it, several things may have happened: I may have found better quality/preferred format; I may have gotten new reading device; my html skills will definitely increase.
5. Maybe next book in the series has different but nicer formatting, then I can change first one more easily, having an example.
Fixing Formats - Convert to Editable Format
IMHO converting anything html to word and back is not good practice. Editing for example ePub in Sigil is much more under control, it won't accept mistakes, and you can see right away the change (and maybe undo it).
Editing Metadata - Title
I prefer shorter title. Probably it's subconcious answer to Windows path length limit. A friend gave me his zipped library, and many books there were unextractable because the title was too long.
Maintenance -
Maybe warning about not to mess around directly in the Calibre folders should be capitalized?
@travger. Thank you for the feedback. It helps me. A lot.
Assessing Formats - Bulk Convert.
I will clarify what options I use in conversion. The issues of bulk convert and deleting original format both need careful reconsideration. I'll at least add some discussion of pros/cons for each of those issues, both of which I've seen discussed here more than a few times. I vaguely recall we also talked about some of this last year, and revisiting these issues now from the perspective of a year's additional experience will be good.
Fixing Formats - Convert to Editable Format
I agree, that needs some clarification and rethinking too. I've been learning HTML, CSS, and Sigil gradually and am probably to the point where I should ditch fixing in Word, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice in favor of preferably fixing in Sigil in my real-life workflow. In the workflow document I was thinking of changing the simple fix example from Word back to OpenOffice, but first I need time to figure out and test how to anchor graphics to paragraphs in OpenOffice. I wanted to use a simple example. And I wish I'd started learning ins and outs of Sigil sooner. I'll rewrite this section into at least 2 fix subsections, one for Sigil fix, one for OO fix.
Editing Metadata - Title & filename lengths
Yeah, Windows filenames does throw a wrinkle into long titles. And I suppose also long series names, when those are included in saves/sends. It's been years since I used Windows and I simply forgot…. Now you pointed it out and I read this Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces, (Windows Dev Center) I realize I should change how I deal with title addendums and long series names such as with hierarchical series subgroups, since we all might as well try to be interoperable as possible with filenames, for principle's sake if nothing else. For Title, off the top of my head: only append very short items such as " - 3 Ed" or " - ARC" to make title more unique for editions. And put any omnibus elements into their own empty book wishlist record, rather than appended to title. And put long title addendums in custom column Note. For Series, I need to think about it some more, and test some templates for truncating and abbreviating - - and I can probably use or adapt one of chaley's examples from calibre user manual section on Template Language. This issue is probably why he used that particular example in the first place.
Maintenance - Calibre Library Folders
Done. Made entire paragraph bold - at least until I think of some other way to emphasize it significantly but more subtly (if that's even possible….)
It may take a few days to a week before any of these other changes (and subsequent dependent changes) go into effect in the document. My general rule is that any changes in the document get tested and worked into my real-life workflow first. Though to my regret and later rework, on some occasions I screwed up by including something I hadn't tested sufficiently. Such as un-KISS series numbering for Complex Series (in Edit Metadata section), that I'd tested with insufficient number of cases when overly tired. Which I just somewhat fixed, and probably still needs more work along with the other series conventions toward being simpler. (The more specific I get, the more I get in trouble….)
travger, thanks again for the feedback.
@all, you're welcome to chime in with discussion, comment, feedback.
Edit: So what is a good compromise on title or series name length, taking into account the whole path with filename needs to fit into what, 260 char? - Would you say 40 char for title? Seems too short…. Oops, let's see. Would also need path including title + series + series_index. So series name saved or sent by template needs to be a very short abbreviation derived from longer string in Series column.
Last edited by unboggling; 09-02-2012 at 07:28 AM.
Reason: minor corrections & last question
Always happy to be in the position to help; you're welcome.
You better be prepared that in Windows path starts with C:\ ...
I think it may be rather personal for what purpose anybody uses save/send and accordingly the needs for filename may be different. For example if screen is small and reader app is showing filenames, there's not much point having every filename like: Gordon Dahlquist - Miss Temple, Doctor Svenson, and ... disappearing at the edge of the screen.
That said, now I must confess that I use send/save very rarely - for me it's drag'n drop from Calibre folder to SD card.
I keep Book panel open, so Comments field is perfect for me to enter long title for the book. For example - Simple Smith: How Even a Village Fool Can Have a Fulfilling and Happy Life I enter into Comments with h5 or h6 tags, and Simple Smith into book title field.
For series I have 'Cycle' field as subseries, but if I needed to save to disk, I'd use just main series name and numeration. Cycle, Awards, Artist etc. info goes into file itself.
OMG, you speak so easily about templates and still hesitate about html ! (In Sigil you just have to click 'Insert picture'. Though I suspect you need something more complicated.)
One more point - when adding retail ebooks (or even most ePubs/mobis) it's rather safe to read metadata from the file itself. Pro side being also, that name of the downloaded file will not matter. I must add some info into custom columns manually anyway, so I'm eyeballing all the other fields too.
You better be prepared that in Windows path starts with C:\ ...
Only absolutely true if your system has a Single HD (with a single Windows accessible) partition)
Modern Systems can have multiple R/W drives (you should not have to worry about path length with Read Only media ), some removable. some networked. On a few occasions, I have had more than half of the available drive letters in use (data collection and processing. Hoo-Ray for the old Netware 4.x. No problems.)
Approach:
Added brief intro to clarify what it is and isn't.
Adding Books - Choose Method for Adding Books:
Added sentence that reading from file contents usually works well for retail-quality books from good sources.
Editing Metadata, Title or Series - and path/filename length issue:
Shortened the appends to Title. Mentioned an alternative for people wanting shorter titles might be putting that metadata into comments or custom column(s). Added separate paragraph (after Authors) about string length in Series and Title. Decided not to go into specifics about calibre automatically truncating when necessary to deal with various file system path/filename limitations, or the tech specs of those limitations (that would have been off-topic; and I don't know all the details). But added a few links under Filename Limitations in Links section. And added links for template info and examples in separate paragraph Set Templates in Reading Books section, and added links in Sending Books in Preferences section.
Other issues:
Still thinking about the issues with bulk convert, delete original format, and preferred fix with Sigil. Any changes there may be awhile since I want to get comfortable with any changes in real-life workflow before revising the document.
But I'm tending toward never deleting original format. In most cases that would give every book 2 formats, Preferred and Original. In the case of Preferred to Preferred, it would be Preferred and Original_Preferred, requiring Tweak save_original_format=true. For users learning how to fix books it's probably more important to keep the original formats, than for experienced book fixers who know what they're doing. I'm still in the learning how category, particularly with Sigil.
And I finally learned how to anchor a selected graphic to a paragraph in OpenOffice, preceding add of ODT into calibre. With menu command Format/Anchor/To Paragraph. All I had to do was look.
I'm also tending toward always bulk converting after adding books, for all books. For me using EPUB as preferred format, that makes sense for the assessment in calibre viewer. With further assessment of original format if necessary in other reader app for that format.
Last edited by unboggling; 09-04-2012 at 05:45 AM.
Reason: revision of revision notes :)
I still don't understand why so many people use forums as a kind of wiki (I think of XDA in particular.) It seems strange to me, given how many great wiki-type tools are out there.Does MobileRead or Calibre have a wiki space that can be used?
I still don't understand why so many people use forums as a kind of wiki (I think of XDA in particular.) It seems strange to me, given how many great wiki-type tools are out there.Does MobileRead or Calibre have a wiki space that can be used?
There is a calibre article on MobileRead wiki. AFAIK nothing prevents there being other calibre wiki pages with different focus or content.
These are some reasons this document is here:
It is still under development, being added to and refined, with rapid revisions.
Feedback spurs that along.
I want to keep control of the edits. AFAIK, any registered user can edit a wiki article. I might be wrong because I never contributed to a wiki before, and don't know specifics of that process.
The focus, as currently written and structured, is on how "I" manage ebooks with calibre, my needs, strategy, workflow, configs, and settings and how they interrelate. Not necessarily on how other people manage ebooks with calibre, which is usually different for each person. (General discussion of what other users do is mostly for context or contrast. Any discussion of methods to choose from is usually for context or contrast, and/or workflow contingencies.)
I suspect most of the people reading this in a calibre forum are more calibre-focused than a broader group reading it as a wiki article.
If I'm wrong about anything in that reasoning, anybody, please let me know.
Last edited by unboggling; 09-04-2012 at 06:36 AM.
Reason: clarify
07-19-2012, 04:11 PM
- and I can probably use or adapt one of chaley's examples from calibre user manual section on Template Language. This issue is probably why he used that particular example in the first place.
), some removable. some networked. On a few occasions, I have had more than half of the available drive letters in use 
(data collection and processing. Hoo-Ray for the old Netware 4.x. No problems.)
Similar Threads