Thread: Conversion over-wrote my edited epub file
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Old 12-23-2012, 06:28 AM   #3
Agama
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DoctorOhh View Post
Beside the stated metadata typo why else would you want to reconvert a book you just spent time editing to look as you wish it to look?
This was my thought too. Reconverting takes you back to your starting point and loses all your manual edits. The way calibre uses original ePub is to specifically NOT do incremental conversions of an ePub. I find it's main use is in establishing conversion options for a particular book and it then makes total sense to work from original ePub.

My method for working on conversions is as follows:

Use a library for finished books, (e.g. MAIN)
Use a second library for work in progress, (e.g. WORK).

(1) Any new source document, (usually a plain text file), starts life in the WORK library.

(2) Set the Metadata.

(3) Convert to ePub and check result.
If options need to be changed then do so and repeat (3).
(This is where original ePub comes in use)

(4) Copy book from WORK to MAIN, (but do not switch to MAIN).

(5) Use calibre's Tweak book function to explode the WORK ePub and with preferred text editor apply manual edits, proof reading corrections, regexes, style updates, etc.

Alternatively this could be done with Sigil.

Check changes in calibre reader and ADE. If there's more to do then repeat (5).

(6) When a 'milestone' point is reached, (or the book is finished), then goto (4).

This way you can incrementally improve your ePub and if any stage goes wrong you have a milestone version to revert to.

Notes

Conversions never takes place in the MAIN library, (therefore no scope for accidents. It would be nice to have an option in calibre to actually lock out conversions on a per library basis, but for now this is just discipline).

Books are only sent to my reader from MAIN, never from WORK. (I preview them from WORK using calibre reader and ADE.)

When the book is finished I delete it from WORK. If it later become active again the simply copy from MAIN to WORK and go to (5).

If metadata changes are later required then use the Modify ePub plugin.


Hope this helps.
Last edited by Agama; 12-23-2012 at 06:35 AM.
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