[Disfrutalavida]

I've experimented, read the forums, calibre.epub and tried to do the things below with no luck.

I think all these are about the add books function or how the database/library is read/written to in Calibre.

If anyone besides Kovid knows the answers please let me know since I am sure he is busy making other changes.

The viewer, metadata, send to device, and library functions work great once I get the data into Calibre. I even get book covers automatically. Cool.

1) Where can I get the expressions to build the database from the file names as I have them setup? Is there a central post? It's not in a sticky.

I will sort my books into separate folders with file names like
Author - Series 09 - Title.lit
Author - Title - Series 04.lrf
Last name, first name - Series 02 - Title.html
Last name, first name - Title - Series 05.txt
Same without the series info.
Then 7 imports and I'm done.

This should just be a matter of finding the correct expressions.
Anyone have a list?

2) Is there any way to import the author's name from the folder containing the files instead of from the file name? Can there be?

3) Can the ebooks be cataloged without copying the files to a new location?
Please please please. It takes a LONG time to copy 8000 books as they are being cataloged. It also wastes a lot of space.
If this can be done there will be no need to save them elsewhere until I need to convert them to read in my portable device.
I used to work with dbase and other database software and it can be done easily with them. I hope the same is true here but I don't know the architecture of this program and what's possible.

4) Can the SAVED folder structure be Lastname, Firstname instead of First Last? {author_sort[0]} or {authors} doesn't do what I want and the docs imply it cannot be done.

I have my ebooks stored on my drive in the format
Author'slastname, Firstname/Series/Title.ext which is the way books are organized in a library and at my age is logical to me.
Yeah I know. I should change. Sigh.
My audio files are organized the same way and my iTunes substitute can import and save the way I wish. Please say it's also possible with Calibre.

It also makes it really easy to find any book/FLAC/MP3 I want to give it to a friend. Sorry, but I was trained to use hierarchal structures for databases instead of metadata. I use Rockbox on my iPod instead of the stock Apple software for just that reason.

Thanks for reading and here's hope Calibre can become even better than it is now.