MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Stopping Calibre from resorting source docs

MacEachaidh · 05-12-2010, 08:23 AM

Greetings all,
Maybe I'm being really dumb here (definitely possible!), but I've got a real stumbling block between how Calibre seems to work and how I like to manage my files that is making things difficult, and I can't see what I'm maybe misunderstanding. I'd really appreciate some insights.

Let me explain: On my storage drive, I have books sorted into folders and then sub-folders - primary folders by genre, then within that by author, then within that by either titles alphabetically or publication year where reading sequence is important.

I'm new to Calibre, but I'm finding that it keeps wanting to make its own collection and arrangement of all the files. Whether I tell it to make the database in an established folder or in a new, unpopulated one, Calibre wants to make a new copy of every single book file, putting each one into a separate folder at the same hierarchical level. Some of the folders are named according to just the book title, and some by a combination of the book title and the author's name - there doesn't seem to be any consistent pattern, in my experience - and all of the folder titles and file names are truncated.

It seems to mean that none of the books is easily managed except through the Calibre interface itself, and their titles and place in any ordered scheme only make sense from within Calibre, not externally through, say, Windows' Explorer.

I'm most interested in Calibre for its ability to republish other formats into ePub. I can see that's only a fraction of its capabilities, but I'm happier being able to see at a glance in Explorer what books I have, and to drag and drop them that way onto my Story when I want them. But with Calibre effectively obscuring this access to the files, doesn't it mean that, if I convert or modify one of the documents, to have a copy back in my original sorted folders I have to find the file in its renamed Calibre-generated folder and copy it back to the other copy of the documents. And it means having two copies of everything, doesn't it?

So, genuine question:
What have I missed? What am I not understanding?
Or is it simply that Calibre - for all its abilities - is not a tool that accommodates the way I prefer to manage my files?

Thanks for your thoughts.

05-12-2010, 08:23 AM	#1
MacEachaidh Browser Posts: 745 Karma: 578294 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura HD	Stopping Calibre from resorting source docs Greetings all, Maybe I'm being really dumb here (definitely possible!), but I've got a real stumbling block between how Calibre seems to work and how I like to manage my files that is making things difficult, and I can't see what I'm maybe misunderstanding. I'd really appreciate some insights. Let me explain: On my storage drive, I have books sorted into folders and then sub-folders - primary folders by genre, then within that by author, then within that by either titles alphabetically or publication year where reading sequence is important. I'm new to Calibre, but I'm finding that it keeps wanting to make its own collection and arrangement of all the files. Whether I tell it to make the database in an established folder or in a new, unpopulated one, Calibre wants to make a new copy of every single book file, putting each one into a separate folder at the same hierarchical level. Some of the folders are named according to just the book title, and some by a combination of the book title and the author's name - there doesn't seem to be any consistent pattern, in my experience - and all of the folder titles and file names are truncated. It seems to mean that none of the books is easily managed except through the Calibre interface itself, and their titles and place in any ordered scheme only make sense from within Calibre, not externally through, say, Windows' Explorer. I'm most interested in Calibre for its ability to republish other formats into ePub. I can see that's only a fraction of its capabilities, but I'm happier being able to see at a glance in Explorer what books I have, and to drag and drop them that way onto my Story when I want them. But with Calibre effectively obscuring this access to the files, doesn't it mean that, if I convert or modify one of the documents, to have a copy back in my original sorted folders I have to find the file in its renamed Calibre-generated folder and copy it back to the other copy of the documents. And it means having two copies of everything, doesn't it? So, genuine question: What have I missed? What am I not understanding? Or is it simply that Calibre - for all its abilities - is not a tool that accommodates the way I prefer to manage my files? Thanks for your thoughts.