[Dan__]

I've got my Calibre library stored in Dropbox and I access it frequently from the iPad. I have read the comments that have been posted about the relationship between the author name field and the author_sort field. This comment is not about the technical details or the merits of the comments. It is simply this.

When I'm scrolling through my library with its 604 folders, each of which begins the authors first name, it is extremely difficult to locate the book that I wish to import to the iPad. While the titles of the books are frequently very descriptive, like "Clojure in Action", the author's name "Amit Rathore" is anything but familiar. In scientific writing, which I do, the emphasis when referring to works is placed on the author's last name, not the first. This means that if I am likely to remember any part of the author's name it will be the last name.

So, from my point of view, having the folders listed by author's first name is the least useful of the possible alternatives.

Now on the other hand, if there was a Calibre app for the iPad that would let me navigate the metadata, this problem would vanish entirely and I suppose that if I devoted a couple of years to becoming a proficient iPad programmer and working on this, I could write such an app myself. That's not likely. So, for me, it would be much better if Calibre automatically handled the arrangement of the folder name rather than requiring me to edit each one to reverse the first and last names

I realize that the Saving to Disk prefs indicate that the folder name will be derived from author sort, but I as far as I can tell the save-template has no effect on the folder name that is generated. It is the author name, NOT the author_sort.

It may be that this is not feasible, in which case, it would be helpful if the import process prompted (perhaps as a pref) to adjust the author name layout BEFORE the folder was created in the library, rather than after.