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I don't think this is an FFF issue specifically but I'm assuming ya'll also read works in progress so maybe someone has ran into this issue before.
Since I started sideloading my fics after Send to Kindle dropped MOBI support, I'm running into a issue where my Kindle sees my updated fics as READ and with the original date that I send the first version.
It's like my Kindle is smart enough to know it's the same "book" even though they're two different files. I'm assuming this is a sideloading issue since sideloading (a) sees the files as ebooks, where as Send to Kindle saw them as documents, and (b) I recall sideloading having indexing issues with covers(?) so maybe it also has indexing issues with Kindle's status of the book?
I'm going to make up an example to explain what happening.
On Janaury 1st, I download an EPUB from AO3. That fic is a work in progress with 1/5 chapters posted. I download the EPUB from AO3 and drop it into Calibre. I then use FFF to get the metadata from AO3, convert the EPUB to MOBI in Calibre, and then use Calibre to "send to device" via USB. This "first chapter" fic shows up on my Kindle at the top of my Uncollected folder as NEW (I have my Uncollected folder sorted by MOST RECENT and filterd for UNREAD). All good so far.
That night, I finish reading the first chapter. Kindle marks the file as READ. I then go on to read another fic or two before I fall asleep, without moving the file to a collection or deleting it.
A month goes by...
On January 2nd, that fic updates to chapter 2/5. I download the EPUB again from AO3, drop it into Calibre to replace the existing EPUB, use FFF to get the updated metadata from AO3, convert the EPUB to MOBI--tell Calibre it's okay to overwrite the existing MOBI. And to double check the conversion process because I know I'm having issues with WIPs, I open the new MOBI file via Calibre's viewer to check the cover and chapter count. Once that's done, I use Calibre to "send to device" via USB.
This "second chapter" fic does not show up at top of my Uncollected folder as NEW like I expect it to. Instead, when I search for it on my Kindle, it shows up as READ (and sometimes the location is in the middle of the fic where the last chapter ended?). And when I remove my "UNREAD" filter from my Uncollected folder I have to scroll scroll scroll until I find it.
Now, in Calibre, if I right-click on the fic and choose "Remove Books" -> "Remove match books from device", the table will list both files on my Kindle as it should, but the date of the new updated fic is from... a month ago. Hence why on my Kindle it's showing further down my list than it should be.
I'm also running into the issue where if I "Remove Books" -> "Remove match books from device" via Calibre, the fic will still exist on my Kindle, but now the cover is gone, and I have to delete it from the Kindle UI. This is why I'm thinking there might be an indexing issue at play?
Troubleshooting
I've tried various combinations of deleting the updated fic and disconnecting my Kindle. The only thing that worked (at least today) was the following but I'm not sure what in this list did it because I kinda over did it.
I did this process on the four WIP fics that have been giving me trouble:
1. Delete both the original and updated fic from my Kindle via Calibre
2. Disconnected my Kindle from Calibe
3. Remove the USB cable from my Kindle
4. Search for the fic on my Kindle and if I find it, delete it there via the Kindle's UI
5. Restarted my Kindle
6. Reconvert the updated fic's EPUB to MOBI (I did not delete the existing MOBI files from my computer, just confirmed to overwrite them)
7. Reconnected my Kindle to my PC/Calibre
8. Used "Send to Device" to send those 4 fics to my kindle.
When I look at those fics via "Remove Books" -> "Remove match books from device", the dates show as today (good!). On my Kindle, I just scroll up and down a bit to refresh the UI--I see all four fics as NEW with the correct chapter count. Awesome. But doing this every night or so is not sustainable for me. First world problems, I know.
I'm assuming it's still impossible for Kindle to tell Calibre which fics are NEW vs % vs READ on the device? Because if that existed, I could easily delete the READ fic file on my Kindle via Calibre before sending the updated WIP. Assuming even having the "first chapter" fic on my Kindle still when I sideload the WIP is even the issue.
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