[chaley]

Several people are doing interesting and useful things with templates, plugboards, and composite fields. This thread is both a request that they share what they have done and a place to put the information.

Suggestions/recipes are summarized below. Don't hesitate to post corrections and useful variants.

Kindle/Kobo

• Metadata: Show series - series Index - Title as Title (Kindle/Kobo) (economix)
  
  Spoiler:

  I have been playing around with the Metadata plugboards to get the titles on a Kindle 3 to show series information. I used the following template:
  format: mobi
  device: kindle2
  template: {series}{series_index:0>2s| - | - }{title}
  destination: title
  
  This works very nicely for books that are part of a series e.g.:
  

  A Song of Ice & Fire - 01 - A Game of Thrones
  A Song of Ice & Fire - 02 - A Clash of Kings
  A Song of Ice & Fire - 03 - A Storm of Swords
  A Song of Ice & Fire - 04 - A Feast for Crows

• Metadata: Show series [series index] - title as title (Kindle) (Scott Nielsen)
  
  Spoiler:

  format: mobi
  device: kindle2
  template: {series:|| }{series_index:0>2s|[|] - }{title}
  destination: title
  
• Metadata: Show author name as Initial and Surname (Kindle) (inspired by brewjono)
  
  Spoiler:

  1) Verify author_sort values are Surname, Firstname order.
  2) Uncheck 'use author sort' in the mobi output plugin.
  3) Create a plugboard
  format: mobi
  device: kindle2
  template: {author_sort:re(\, (.).*?( &|$),\, \1\2)}
  destination: authors
  
• Reading/read status custom column (Kindle) (pchrist7, w/ideas from beckywc):
  
  Spoiler:

  Extract reading/read status from kindle annotations and show them in a custom column. See this post for details and instructions..
  

Filename (Save Templates)

• Filename: author sort/series/title - version (WinCE/Mobile (Mobipocket))(sweetpea)
  
  Spoiler:

  Using a version custom column in filenames
  {author_sort}/{series}/{title} - v{#version:0>2s}
  
• Filename: Create file paths grouping authors into [A - D]-like categories (WinCE/Mobile (Mobipocket)) (Sweetpea)
  
  Spoiler:

  {author_sort:switch(^[A-D],[A - D],^[E-J],[E - J],^[K-O],[K - O],^[P-T],[P - T],^[U-Z],[U - Z],[Other])}
  
• Filename: Create path based on series index (sweetpea, inspired by Arco Witter)
  
  Spoiler:

  If you have a lot of books in a series, and want them in a folder hierarchy like series/00-09/author/title, series/10-19/author/title. You want just author/title if there is no series.
  Create a composite column called (for example) #s_index.
  Column: #s_dex
  Template: {series_index:0>2s}
  
  Save template:

   {series}{#s_dex:switch(0.,00-09,1.,10-19,2.,20-29,3.,30-39,4.,40-49,5.,50-59,6.,60-69,7.,70-79,8.,80-89,9.,90-99,)|/|/}{author}/{title}

General Metadata

• Metadata: Put series into the title, using either initials or a shortened form. Strip leading articles from the series name (any) (inspired by Gary_M_Mugford)
  
  Spoiler:

  The solution requires creating three composite columns. The first column is used to remove the leading articles. The second is used to compute the 'shorten' form. The third is to compute the 'initials' form. Once you have these columns, the plugboard selects between them. You can hide any or all of the three columns on the library view.
  
  First column:
  

  Name: #stripped_series. Template: {series:re(^(A|The|An)\s+,)||}

  Second column (the shortened form):
  

  Name: #shortened. Template: {#stripped_series:shorten(4,-,4)}

  Third column (the initials form) (Modified/corrected by eschwartz 6/Jan/14):
  

  Name: #initials. Template: {#stripped_series:re([\s]?([^\s])[^\s]+(\s|$),\1)}

  Plugboard expression:
  

  Template:{#stripped_series:lookup(.\s,#initials,.,#shortened,series)}{series_index:0>2s| [|] }{title}
  Destination field: title

  This set of fields and plugboard produces:
  Series: The Lord of the Rings
  Series index: 2
  Title: The Two Towers
  Output: LotR [02] The Two Towers
  
  Series: Dahak
  Series index: 1
  Title: Mutineers Moon
  Output: Dahak [01] Mutineers Moon
  
  Series: Berserkers
  Series Index: 4
  Title: Berserker Throne
  Output: Bers-kers [04] Berserker Throne
  
  Series: Meg Langslow Mysteries
  Series Index: 3
  Title: Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos
  Output: MLM [03] Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos
  
• Author pen names.
  
  Spoiler:

  Use User categories and templates to manage multiple pen names for authors. See this thread, in particular posts #7 and #15.

Useful stored templates

• Get the lookup name of the current column in the books view:
  
  Spoiler:

  Stored template:
  

  python:
  def evaluate(book, context):
  	from calibre.gui2.ui import get_gui
  	gui = get_gui()
  	cv = get_gui().current_view()
  	return cv.column_map[cv.currentIndex().column()]

  Preferences / Stored templates screen capture:
  
  Example:
  

  current_column_name = current_column();
  column_value = field(current_column_name)

• Check if a date is less than another:
  
  Spoiler:

  Stored template:
  

  python:
  def evaluate(book, context):
  	args = context.arguments
  	if args is None or len(args) != 2:
  		return "date_less_than requires 2 arguments"
  	d1 = book.get(args[0])
  	d2 = book.get(args[1])
  	if d1 is None or d2 is None:
  		return '' # return no if either date isn't defined
  	return 'Yes' if d1 < d2 else ''

  Preferences / Stored templates screen capture:
  
  
  Example:
  

  if date_less_than('#mydate1', '#mydate2') == 'Yes' then something fi

Template Searches

• Search for books where title and series have the same value.
• Search for books with the highest series index.
• Search for books with the lowest series index.
• Search for books with extra files
• Count the number of books with the same column value, for example 'series', then show the books with the count greater than or equal to some value.
• Search for books where at least one author has a note attached. Be sure to use the third version of the template found in post #10. You can search for other columns by following the instructions in post #10.
• Search for one book per field value, for example authors.
• Search for books where a value in some field, for example tags, has notes.

Common composite custom columns

All the recipes below require the creation of a custom column of type 'Column built from other columns', called a composite column. Creation instructions are under the spoiler.

Spoiler:

1. Go to preferences, Interface (the first row), Add your own columns.
2) Click the green plus sign.
3) Choose a lookup name. This will be the name you use for searching and in templates. It must be letters, all lowercase. Note that when you use the lookup name you must prefix it with a '#' character. Do not enter that character here.
4) Choose a column heading. This is what will appear at the top of the column.
5) Choose a column type. For the recipes below, that type must be 'Column built from other columns'.
6) Enter the template from the recipe into the template box.
7) Press OK, Apply, etc. Restart calibre.

• Display the ISBN. Template: {isbn}
• Display the formats for a book. Template: {formats}. EDIT: calibre 6.17 has a native Formats column. See Preferences / Add your own columns and check the box for Formats (lookup name 'formats')
• Display Yes if the book has an EPUB format. Template:{formats:contains(EPUB, Yes,)}
• Display the author sort. Template: {author_sort}
• Display the title sort. Template: {title_sort}

Deprecated

• Sony Metadata
  
  Spoiler:

  
  Metadata: Show author and title for title (Sony) (Sweetpea)
  

  Spoiler:

  format: device-db
  device: any device (or PRS505)
  template: {authors} - {title}
  destination: title
  

  
  Metadata: Show title [series [series index]] as title, limiting series to 8 letters (Sony) (chaley)
  

  Spoiler:

  Put 8 characters of the series plus the series index at the end of the title. The plugboard is:
  [CODE]format: device-db
  device: PRS505
  template: {title}{series:<.8s| [|}{series_index:| [|]]}
  destination: title
  

  
  Metadata: Show series - series index - title, with series as initials (Sony) (inspired by speakingtohe)
  

  Spoiler:

  The plugboard is:
  format: device-db
  device: PRS505
  template: {series:re(([^\s])[^\s]+(\s|$),\1)}{series_index:0>2s| - | - }{title}
  destination: title
  

  
  Metadata: Given a yes/no 'Read' custom column, have the collections display Read, Reading, Unread (Sony) (sweetpea)
  

  Spoiler:

  Assume that you have a custom yes/no column where you keep whether or not a book is read. Yes means the book is read, No means that the book is being read, and Unknown (empty) means that the book is to be read. This recipe will create a column containing Read/Reading/Unread that can be used to create a collection.
  
  Create a composite custom column, named as you will. In this example we assume that the yes/no column is named #read. The new column's template will be:
  template: {#read:switch(Yes,Read,No,Reading,Unread)}
  Then put the new composite column's name into the fields to be used for series list in the Sony's device customization.