MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Bulk Delete All But the Very First Format Added?

enuddleyarbl · 06-15-2021, 11:35 PM

Over the years, I've used various book formats in Calibre. In some cases, I've got five different formats saved: MOBI, ORIGINAL_AZW3, AZW3, ORIGINAL_EPUB, and now EPUB. Is there any way to bulk delete all but the original format added to Calibre?

My searches here aren't giving me a good feeling about being able to do that. I've found references to:

Edit Metadata > Edit Metadata in Bulk > Basic Metadata > Restore Pre Conversion Originals, If Available.

But, I'm not sure what the result will be. Assuming the five formats listed above, would the existing AZW3 and EPUB formats be deleted and the ORIGINAL_AZW3 and ORIGINAL_EPUB be renamed to AZW3 and EPUB? But, even so, is there any way to figure out in bulk which of the MOBI, AZW3 and EPUB formats are the version first added to Calibre?

I'd assume that just from the age of the format definitions and from my having just started using an ereader capable of reading EPUBS, if a MOBI existed, that would be the original. If not, and an AZW3 existed, then that would be the original, and if nothing else was there, then, of course, the EPUB would be the original. But, I can't guarantee that. Plus, I'd still be in the situation of having to bulk delete those assumed non-original formats. Is there any way to do that?

06-15-2021, 11:35 PM	#1
enuddleyarbl Guru Posts: 792 Karma: 1538394 Join Date: Sep 2013 Device: Kobo Sage	Bulk Delete All But the Very First Format Added? Over the years, I've used various book formats in Calibre. In some cases, I've got five different formats saved: MOBI, ORIGINAL_AZW3, AZW3, ORIGINAL_EPUB, and now EPUB. Is there any way to bulk delete all but the original format added to Calibre? My searches here aren't giving me a good feeling about being able to do that. I've found references to: Edit Metadata > Edit Metadata in Bulk > Basic Metadata > Restore Pre Conversion Originals, If Available. But, I'm not sure what the result will be. Assuming the five formats listed above, would the existing AZW3 and EPUB formats be deleted and the ORIGINAL_AZW3 and ORIGINAL_EPUB be renamed to AZW3 and EPUB? But, even so, is there any way to figure out in bulk which of the MOBI, AZW3 and EPUB formats are the version first added to Calibre? I'd assume that just from the age of the format definitions and from my having just started using an ereader capable of reading EPUBS, if a MOBI existed, that would be the original. If not, and an AZW3 existed, then that would be the original, and if nothing else was there, then, of course, the EPUB would be the original. But, I can't guarantee that. Plus, I'd still be in the situation of having to bulk delete those assumed non-original formats. Is there any way to do that?