Virtual libraries and hiding categories in the tag browser

[Joanna]

Is there any way to hide categories in the tag browser for a given virtual library only (especially those that are not used in this VL)?

I decided to merge two Calibre libraries. The thing is some custom columns were used for one of the libraries only, and this probably won't change (now the columns are simply empty for some books).

Therefore I'd prefer hiding some categories when working with one VL only.

[fidvo]

The only way I know of to hide columns without having to go through the setup and restart Calibre is with the View Manager plugin.

Unfortunately, it's not integrated with the Virtual Libraries. The closest you can get is to use Views that apply saved searches.

[Joanna]

I don't mean the columns in the normal table view. I can manage this with the View Manager plugin, indeed (even though it would in fact be more efficient if the plugin was integrated with the Virtual Libraries).

What I mean are the categories as shown in the tag browser. It would be nice to hide those with a [0] next to them. But that's, I guess, not possible.

[chaley]

If I understand correctly you want calibre to hide a column name in the tag browser if no values are being shown for that column. This can happen whether or not a VL is applied.

I would be nervous making this the default behavior. I can see no end of bug reports saying that "precious column A" disappeared from the tag browser. I will think about whether or not it could be an option. (What I mean by that is that I will ask Kovid if he is OK with it. ). The bug reports will arrive even if it is optional, albeit fewer of them. There are also possible interactions with Kovid's new content server work.

[chaley]

The new option, Preferences / Look & Feel / Tag Browser / Hide empty categories (columns) in the tag browser, will be in the next calibre release.

[Joanna]

Chaley, that's exactly what I meant (sorry if I didn't explain myself clearly). E.g. if you have no books rated, 'Rating' would not be shown in the tag browser (because there is no point in clicking on that).

It will be great to have this option in Calibre, thank you!

One more question, if I may hijack my own thread :

When I posted this bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/calibre/+bug/1521004 (thanks a lot for fixing this, btw!) you suggested I should use a comma separated text, like tags column (with the "Contain names" box checked) for translators' names. Would you use the same type of column for original titles of books?

For what kind of data would you recommend using a single-value custom text column?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Joanna

Chaley, that's exactly what I meant (sorry if I didn't explain myself clearly). E.g. if you have no books rated, 'Rating' would not be shown in the tag browser (because there is no point in clicking on that).

You weren't unclear. I like to repeat back what I understand just to be sure. In some cases doing so can save a lot of work.

It will be great to have this option in Calibre, thank you!

No problem. It is a very reasonable request, something I should have thought of way-back-when.

One more question, if I may hijack my own thread :

When I posted this bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/calibre/+bug/1521004 (thanks a lot for fixing this, btw!) you suggested I should use a comma separated text, like tags column (with the "Contain names" box checked) for translators' names. Would you use the same type of column for original titles of books?

For what kind of data would you recommend using a single-value custom text column?

There are two questions here.

First question: should "contains names" be used for alternate titles? Answer: no, unless lots of titles contain commas and none of them contain ampersands. And even then I would consider changing the commas to semicolons (or something) because "contains names" carries connotations that aren't appropriate for titles. For example, contains-names columns are sorted by entry order. Non contains-names columns are sorted alphabetically.

Second question: where to use single-value columns. That is harder. The easy answer is "where there can be only two values: empty or "something". That answer falls apart for alternate titles if a book can have more than one alternate. I can imagine this happening if the book is translated, if it has multiple editions separated by time or geography, or ???. In the end: up to you.

[BetterRed]

@Joanna - Would Publisher be an example of a 'single-value custom text column'

If you define a custom column with the same type (Text, column shown in the tag browser) but you don't want it shown in the Tag Browser then you can use the Hide option in the Tag browser for your custom column. I use this for my Strapline (subtitle) column.

FWIW 1 - I tried combining 3 physical libraries with differing custom columns into a single physical library, I used Virtual Libraries and Views to 'segregate' them. But after a while I found it too unwieldy and of limited benefit, so I went back to having separate libraries.

FWIW 2 - if books with multiple titles are infrequent, I would probably put them in my Book Notes (Long text, like comments) column, So, for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" I might have something like:

Alternate Titles

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - USA
Harry Potter Und der Stein der Weisen - Germany

BR

[Joanna]

Originally Posted by chaley

You weren't unclear. I like to repeat back what I understand just to be sure.

Good to know! Being a non-native speaker of English, I can never be sure whether I'm making myself absolutely clear .

Originally Posted by chaley

In some cases doing so can save a lot of work.

I can relate to that .

Thanks for your clarifications about column types.

So if I understand correctly, "contains names" basically behaves like the Authors column, i.e you use the ampersand to separate items?

What kind of column would you use to put the original title of the book, assuming that one book has no more than one original title and that the original title may include commas? Would that be a single-value column custom text column?

And is there any way to display that original title in italics, other than using a series column? (In fact, this what I'm doing now, as I started entering original titles, having realized I wanted to group various language versions of one book together, and I was thinking about them as a kind of a 'series'. Obviously, it's not the best approach, as the order of books here is irrelevant. (I used 1 for original, 2 for a translation into my mother tongue etc. but it's not intuitive and redundant.))

In fact, can you somehow control how various categories are displayed in book details? (I don't usually have the title displayed but now I've realized that with most of the categories being clickable and, at least on my computer, shown in blue, the title might be the hardest one to notice ).

@BetterRed

I've just switched from having a couple of physical libraries to having just one, with several "main" Virtual Libraries. We'll see whether this will work out (if not, splitting the libraries shouldn't be difficult, as I've added a custom column, indicating the main VLs).

I was inspired by my very recent discovery of the virtual library tabs feature (I gotta say when you hide VL tabs they're really well-hidden ), which makes switching between VLs more 'intuitive'. This would be even better if the views changed automatically when you're switching between tabs... I have to see whether that's a dealbreaker.

I knew about the possibility to hide columns in the Tag Browser but having merged a couple of libraries (including my latest experiments: audiobooks and the newly born language learning materials library), I've ended up with a couple of categories I wouldn't like to see when browsing through books only (e.g. the target language, used for learning materials, and actors, used for audiobooks). With Chaley's modification, this is gonna be perfect!

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Joanna

Thanks for your clarifications about column types.

So if I understand correctly, "contains names" basically behaves like the Authors column, i.e you use the ampersand to separate items?

Yes. It is also sorted by entry order, not alphabetically.

What kind of column would you use to put the original title of the book, assuming that one book has no more than one original title and that the original title may include commas? Would that be a single-value column custom text column?

Yes, except see below.

And is there any way to display that original title in italics, other than using a series column? (In fact, this what I'm doing now, as I started entering original titles, having realized I wanted to group various language versions of one book together, and I was thinking about them as a kind of a 'series'. Obviously, it's not the best approach, as the order of books here is irrelevant. (I used 1 for original, 2 for a translation into my mother tongue etc. but it's not intuitive and redundant.))

There are two ways to display info in "non-standard" ways in book details: custom comments columns and custom columns built from other columns (a "composite" column) with the "Display as HTML" box checked. Which, if either, to choose depends on how you want to use the data and where the data comes from.

If you choose a comments column then you have total control over the contents and the HTML, along with an HTML editor to enter the data. Along with this control comes the requirement that you enter all the data you want to see, even if that data exists somewhere else. These columns will not show in the tag browser and show on the right in book details.

If you choose a composite column then you can combine information from other columns in rather arbitrary ways, and you can show these values in the tag browser. For example, if you have a single-value column "#original_title" that contains the obvious thing, then you can make a composite column (another custom column) that shows the "main" title in normal text along with the original title in italics. This mash-up can be shown in book details instead of the main title.

The following template, if used in a composite column with the HTML box checked, will show the normal title then the original title in italicized green.

{title} - <font color="green" style="font-style: italic;">{#original_title}</font>

One downside with composite columns is that they can be slow. If you have a reasonably powered computer with enough memory and only a few composite columns then the slowness shouldn't even appear until 5,000 to 10,000 books. It may never be enough to worry about, especially if the templates are not complicated.

Templates are documented here. See the section Using templates in custom columns for more info about composite columns.

In fact, can you somehow control how various categories are displayed in book details? (I don't usually have the title displayed but now I've realized that with most of the categories being clickable and, at least on my computer, shown in blue, the title might be the hardest one to notice ).

No, other than as explained above.