[cybmole]

I would like Calibre to help me guard against overwiting a "good" conversaion with a bad one due to poor search replace or structure detect parameters.

Here is how I think it could work - simply ???

before the convert book output routine overwrites an existing epub, mobi... it renames any existing file to a nonsense extension, say ebak, mbak.

that backup is not part of the library database - it is accessible only via open path / view folder - for manual retrieval & renaming.

the check library integrity routines could either be set to ignore those file types , or could report them for occasional manual deletes.

thus no need to code much at all really just do what word / excel etc do when saving a file with "keep backups" set.

I appreaciate i can do this manually -go to view path, copy file , paste ( thus creating a copy of.... file ), then do the conversion, but it would be nice to have it automated.

I am wanting it for conversions to those 2 types but it could be generalised, and arguably it could also be used within add/ merge books process