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Originally Posted by Iskariot
why not have Calibre ask you which file to use as a source.
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I'm not really against that as an option, as long as it can be set permanently and not interfere with my normal processing by asking me questions every time.
Calibre and the various plugins were written with the assumption that there is only one of each type of format in each book record. That "single format" limit is now partially lifted and it has created some issues (as you know well), but the purpose wasn't to make it possible to store multiple copies of the same format in a single record.
Anyone who uses the many tools written before the ORIGINAL_FORMAT fix like Tweak EPUB or Edit With, etc. would be well advised to 1) delete the ORIGINAL_FORMAT pseudo format file since those tools were written with the assumption that the EPUB format in your library is the one and only EPUB format in that record, or 2) copy the "best" source format to the ORIGINAL_FORMAT after any editing.
Quote:
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In most cases, I would want to use the target file as a source and not the original source.
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I assume that's because the "target as a source" is an edited/improved EPUB format, while the "original source" is the poorer quality ORIGINAL_EPUB. If that's the case, then why keep the ORIGINAL_EPUB? If it's no good delete it. If it's good, then delete the EPUB. If both are good for different purposes, then keeping them both in the book record violates a long standing assumption built into Calibre that there's only one of each format. Until that assumption is changed, it would be smart to just move the ORIGINAL_EPUB into another book record and rename it EPUB, then use that new book record for the purpose it fits best.
Many posts have referred to the ORIGINAL_FORMAT file as a "backup," but that's not its purpose. IMO, we should all be keeping our original files in a backup stored elsewhere.
I completely agree with you that the new ORIGINAL_FORMAT file can create problems for users who use third party or plugin tools to directly modify the FORMAT file and don't update the ORIGINAL_FORMAT.
One possible alternative would be to treat the ORIGINAL_FORMATs as a selectable one of the available source formats in the conversion screen (and in the format priority screen). You could choose to convert from ORIGINAL_EPUB to EPUB or from EPUB to EPUB, and any time you were about to do a same format conversion that would overwrite the source, a warning could be displayed asking if you want to use the ORIGINAL_EPUB instead. That wouldn't interfere with my workflow as I don't keep ORIGINAL_FORMAT files after I'm done with my same format processing. Those who want to overwrite originals with EPUB->EPUB formats could do so by accepting after reading the warning message.