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Philosopher · 04-01-2015, 05:15 PM

First - thanks for the recent help in pointing out to me the recent "embed metadata" addition to the program itself. It is working wonderfully - particularly with PDFs. I have to take a closer look still as I use it - with other formats.

But I have several ideas that go through my head - one of these I have mentioned elsewhere before - but think perhaps this may be a good place to raise it. It - and the second idea - would be equally applicable as either plug-in discussions or as new features functions. So I hope I am not overstating my case if I have discussed aspects elsewhere.

BUT HERE WE GO:

1) This would be an EXTENSION TO an existing feature - perhaps - the COMPARE LIBRARIES function.

What I am envisioning is certainly not a SIMPLE (at least in terms of LENGTH of programming needed) - but it is a "simple" or "natural" idea and extension of what is now a standard and highly useful feature.

But what I envision is - in doing a COMPARE LIBRARIES (looking for duplicates - and thus this is equally applicable as a possible feature within ONE library's duplicates) - is to have a NEW SCREEN pop-up - which will have a DUAL COLUMN browser - one for each Book entry that is "identical".

Currently - it tells me if I have identical title-author OR more useful to me by far - identical "file" (because I often have more than one file - of the same title). And thus I can very easily merge libraries without duplicating files - and thus reducing disk usage, etc. (If I am using some libraries as temporary holders - rather than as permanent stand-alone libraries). And can delete SECOND duplicate copy.

BUT - what it does not easily allow me to do - which is what I am getting at in this suggestion - is to SEE THE FULL CALIBRE DATABASE ENTRY for both of the books. One of the two may have a better set of metadata and comments, etc than the other - and that is the one I would PREFER to retain. Thus this SIDE-BY-SIDE view - would enable that decision to be made easily.

FURTHER - however - it may be the case that rather than merely choosing one and deleting the other - I MAY want to COMBINE parts of the data/metadata in the Calibre database from one to the other. And this would then be NECESSARY to really make that viable.

But I think that would be an EXCELLENT new tool and feature if someone could tackle it. It seems fairly straightforward - and thus not difficult on that aspect - but clearly more labor intensive than a more simple plug-in.

IDEA #2: I have been trying to articulate this idea in other posts in other forums. Not sure people have "gotten" what I have been seeking.

And this is probably more a new PLUG-IN capacity/feature - than a plug-in itself.

Essentially what I would like to see - is when in the EDIT METADATA WINDOW (where the main and secondary menu bars - and all other menus - are not accessible - without exiting that screen) - the ability to have an optional MENU BAR for PLUG-INS and FEATURES there too.

It could thus be used for many plug-ins - not necessarily restricted to that which brings this to my mind. But to explain the idea better - let me be more specific to the project as I first envisioned it.

One of the greatest time-saving plug-ins to have been created - for me - has been the "Get ISBN" plug-in. Being able to have it search and try and find such - and auto-enter it - saves an immense amount of time no longer having to manually look up and then enter the ISBN per book.

BUT - where it falls short - right now, for me, is when I am in the EDIT METADATA process (and thus have that window open - and am usually doing this for a whole series of books (rather than just one).

So - for example - as I go through my newly input books without full metadata, and update each record, and then click NEXT - I will often then encounter that next book entry - as WITHOUT an ISBN having been input. And it may be that I have not even attempted the auto search and entry via the plug-in.

Right now - to do this - I would have to exit the EDIT window - and go back to the main screen. Use the plug-in for that book - then RE-OPEN the EDIT menu and start back down that path (till the next time I encounter an entry where there is no ISBN already set.

THUS - what I am PROPOSING/ENVISIONING is that THIS PLUG-IN (but again - if it is done via a MENUBAR on that window - where plug-ins and functions can be placed as on the home screen - eliminating that multi-step EXIT, USE PLUG-IN/FUNCTION, RE-ENTER EDIT ...).

So without leaving the EDIT METADATA window and process - the GET ISBN (or other) plug-in/function would be readily available from that very window - I click it, it finds and enters it, and then I hit DOWNLOAD METADATA. All without those several extra steps it now takes.

(I hope in trying to be precise and complete - I have not confused this in how I presented it).

Thanks

04-01-2015, 05:15 PM	#687
Philosopher Connoisseur Posts: 77 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kindle	TWO NEW IDEAS (and a thanks for prior help): DUAL PANE VIEWS & MENU BARS IN EDIT META First - thanks for the recent help in pointing out to me the recent "embed metadata" addition to the program itself. It is working wonderfully - particularly with PDFs. I have to take a closer look still as I use it - with other formats. But I have several ideas that go through my head - one of these I have mentioned elsewhere before - but think perhaps this may be a good place to raise it. It - and the second idea - would be equally applicable as either plug-in discussions or as new features functions. So I hope I am not overstating my case if I have discussed aspects elsewhere. BUT HERE WE GO: 1) This would be an EXTENSION TO an existing feature - perhaps - the COMPARE LIBRARIES function. What I am envisioning is certainly not a SIMPLE (at least in terms of LENGTH of programming needed) - but it is a "simple" or "natural" idea and extension of what is now a standard and highly useful feature. But what I envision is - in doing a COMPARE LIBRARIES (looking for duplicates - and thus this is equally applicable as a possible feature within ONE library's duplicates) - is to have a NEW SCREEN pop-up - which will have a DUAL COLUMN browser - one for each Book entry that is "identical". Currently - it tells me if I have identical title-author OR more useful to me by far - identical "file" (because I often have more than one file - of the same title). And thus I can very easily merge libraries without duplicating files - and thus reducing disk usage, etc. (If I am using some libraries as temporary holders - rather than as permanent stand-alone libraries). And can delete SECOND duplicate copy. BUT - what it does not easily allow me to do - which is what I am getting at in this suggestion - is to SEE THE FULL CALIBRE DATABASE ENTRY for both of the books. One of the two may have a better set of metadata and comments, etc than the other - and that is the one I would PREFER to retain. Thus this SIDE-BY-SIDE view - would enable that decision to be made easily. FURTHER - however - it may be the case that rather than merely choosing one and deleting the other - I MAY want to COMBINE parts of the data/metadata in the Calibre database from one to the other. And this would then be NECESSARY to really make that viable. But I think that would be an EXCELLENT new tool and feature if someone could tackle it. It seems fairly straightforward - and thus not difficult on that aspect - but clearly more labor intensive than a more simple plug-in. IDEA #2: I have been trying to articulate this idea in other posts in other forums. Not sure people have "gotten" what I have been seeking. And this is probably more a new PLUG-IN capacity/feature - than a plug-in itself. Essentially what I would like to see - is when in the EDIT METADATA WINDOW (where the main and secondary menu bars - and all other menus - are not accessible - without exiting that screen) - the ability to have an optional MENU BAR for PLUG-INS and FEATURES there too. It could thus be used for many plug-ins - not necessarily restricted to that which brings this to my mind. But to explain the idea better - let me be more specific to the project as I first envisioned it. One of the greatest time-saving plug-ins to have been created - for me - has been the "Get ISBN" plug-in. Being able to have it search and try and find such - and auto-enter it - saves an immense amount of time no longer having to manually look up and then enter the ISBN per book. BUT - where it falls short - right now, for me, is when I am in the EDIT METADATA process (and thus have that window open - and am usually doing this for a whole series of books (rather than just one). So - for example - as I go through my newly input books without full metadata, and update each record, and then click NEXT - I will often then encounter that next book entry - as WITHOUT an ISBN having been input. And it may be that I have not even attempted the auto search and entry via the plug-in. Right now - to do this - I would have to exit the EDIT window - and go back to the main screen. Use the plug-in for that book - then RE-OPEN the EDIT menu and start back down that path (till the next time I encounter an entry where there is no ISBN already set. THUS - what I am PROPOSING/ENVISIONING is that THIS PLUG-IN (but again - if it is done via a MENUBAR on that window - where plug-ins and functions can be placed as on the home screen - eliminating that multi-step EXIT, USE PLUG-IN/FUNCTION, RE-ENTER EDIT ...). So without leaving the EDIT METADATA window and process - the GET ISBN (or other) plug-in/function would be readily available from that very window - I click it, it finds and enters it, and then I hit DOWNLOAD METADATA. All without those several extra steps it now takes. (I hope in trying to be precise and complete - I have not confused this in how I presented it). Thanks