THANK YOU for this excellent reply. It educated me on how it works (characterization) and your 4 ideas on how to possibly fix set me off to more testing and problem solving. I think you may like what I came up with. It should be easy to follow :-)
Modify Epub doesn't seem to get the job done. I looked over the explanation for the functions and just cannot reconcile that. I tried; it didn't work. So I tested some Polishing in steps (vs. 3 options checked off) and because UnMerge Epub is so handy & faster than EpubSplit should I ever want to go back and split the books up.
Here is what I found ( Relevant info here - my SOLUTION at the bottom )- * I can update just the cover in the Merged file (compiled covers that I make) via Polish and still do the UnMerge function without incident.
- * I cannot update either metadata option (Update metadata in the book files, Add metadata as a "book jacket" page) without it using the 1st jacket file it finds (as you noted happens). It not only changes the 1st jacket file, but since that file corresponds to the first book it also means that changed jacket is what gets seen in the 1st book when I UnMerge Epub.
You probably expected the above based on what you shared with me.
*TESTED: Using Edit Book, I
manually added a jacket.xhtml file which I positioned immediately after the "merged cover" (whether the cover I updated or what creates during Merge doesn't matter) (note:this is a jacket file that I exported from another book). I then ran Polish as above and it found that jacket file first and updated it according to what I did in Edit Metadata. I then tested UnMerge Epub, and it worked perfectly returning the original books to their original states.
MY SUGGESTION BASED ON THIS SUCCESSFUL TEST: If you can make this happen, that would obviously be great. It seems (from my point of view) that:
- -Merge Epub could add a blank jacket file at the "top" of the file list as you mentioned (using the Calibre template as with all books - this is important because people such as myself may customize the jacket info template that comes with Calibre (ProgramFiles/Calibre/resources/jacket/template.xhtml). OR Merge Epub could automatically add this jacket file and populate its metadata with the merge files metadata if "blank" isn't ok. This seems the more logical thing to do.
- -UnMerge Epub could then IGNORE this added jacket file (as it does the "merge cover") when unmerging. Remember, it ignored the jacket file that I added to the merged book when I used the UnMerge Epub plug-in.
- -Polish would then affect the added jacket by updating the metadata book jacket when the user chooses to do so. This isn't a needed change. I'm just noting how it's used now and its role in the final product.
This is my end user and non-code writer and non-plugin maker point of view
MY SOLUTION FOR NOW: Since adding a jacket file by updating via Edit Book/Import/drag to position/Polish is time consuming and cumbersome for the value, I think the following is a simple solution whether temporarily or if you cannot add the jacket file.
I only realized it after all this testing. I'm used to quickly using keystrokes to get the job done, so this is faster for now. After testing it A LOT it turns out to be quite nice.
I'll get to the point verses listing all the in's and out's of what I tried before
resolving on the following:
- I created a blank epub "template" which I use as an "extra book" when merging. This creates a jacket in the correct place for me when I use Merge Epub and
allows for EASY POLISHING of the merged file (cover and metadata jacket) without affecting the UnMerge Epub ability. After running Polish on the merged file and then Unmerge, each of the entries returned exactly as they were before merging. Interestingly, the unmerged metadata jacket placeholder entry shows the polished data in the saved epub but the Edit Metadata window shows the old, original metadata.
I've attached a zip of the entries. This time it's just saved epubs that can be imported quickly, no folder setups necessary. Feel free to use the Metadata Jacket Placeholder epub for any ideas.
Thanks!!!
