[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by rishidiams

The lines that I posted from my personal.ini are exactly as they appear in Calibre. I took nothing out except the lines in between. Is it even possible for mycharacters be concatenated with add_to_extra_valid_entries?

The add_to_X mechanism works by concatenating what you give it to the X setting. So if extra_valid_entries:categories and you put add_to_extra_valid_entries:mycharacters, the final result is categoriesmycharacters. But if you use add_to_extra_valid_entries:,mycharacters, then it will be categories,mycharacters which is what you want.

It's a bit non-intuitive, I admit, but otherwise there would be problems using add_to_ with multi-line values like replace_metadata.

Originally Posted by rishidiams

Regardless, I tried adding the comma, selected both Characters and nothing in the pull down box on the Custom Columns tab, but I still got the same result as before.

Custom and site-specific metadata entries are never shown in the drop downs. Those only show standard metadata. You have to use custom_columns_settings, which I thought you where already doing from:

custom_columns_settings:
 mycharacters=>#characters

Originally Posted by rishidiams

Ships, specifically is the name I'm using to access the Relationship tag on AO3. I'm trying to, first, make it a Character entry; second, split it in two, "Tenth Doctor" and "Rose Tyler"; and, third, change "Tenth Doctor" to "The Doctor.Tenth". I made the changes you suggested, but had no different result.

Not sure what to tell you, there. For me those settings are doing what I understood you to want. Note that your problem may be integrating with the other settings you have. You can only have one setting for each keyword in each section, so you have to combine them correctly.

Here's the exact personal.ini I used and the title page that results:

Spoiler:

# 2nd Test Library

[archiveofourown.org]
include_subject_tags: characters, status, fandoms, freeformtags, ships

add_to_titlepage_entries:,fandoms, freeformtags, ships,mycharacters,characters

[defaults]
add_to_extra_valid_entries:,mycharacters,mytags,mystatus
include_in_mycharacters:characters,ships

custom_columns_settings:
 mycharacters=>#extranotes
replace_metadata:
 mycharacters=>(.*)[/&](.*)=>\1 \, \2
 mycharacters,ships=>(The )?Tenth Doctor=>The Doctor.Tenth

To Kiss it All Better by Brilliantly_Strange

Series: Prompt Fics [3]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Cold Weather, F/M, Fluff, Hot Chocolate, Kissing, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Relationships: The Doctor.Tenth/Rose Tyler
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2016-03-13 13:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Summary:
When Rose drinks her hot chocolate, she gets burned. The Doctor makes a proposition she can't refuse.....


Fandoms: Doctor Who
Freeform Tags: Cold Weather, Fluff, Hot Chocolate, Kissing, Snowball Fight
Relationships: The Doctor.Tenth/Rose Tyler
Mycharacters: Rose Tyler, The Doctor.Tenth

Originally Posted by rishidiams

As for a story with redundant tags, here is an example:
http://archiveofourown.org/works/4057936
which uses both the "Alternate Universe" tag and the "Alternate Universe - All Human" tag.

Here's an example that works for me to exclude just "Alternate Universe" if you also have "Alternate Universe(anything)":

Spoiler:

[archiveofourown.org]

# add another copy of freeformtags that doesn't have 
# replacements/in/exclude applied.  Otherwise it gets 
# thrown out in the infinite-recursion filter.
add_to_extra_valid_entries:,rawfreeformtags
include_in_rawfreeformtags: freeformtags.NOREPL

add_to_exclude_metadata_post:
# discard exact freeformtags "Alternate Universe" if there's a 
# (raw) freeformtags that is is "Alternate Universe(anythingelse)"
 freeformtags==Alternate Universe&&rawfreeformtags=~Alternate Universe.+