Idea: Edit Book Cover

cgrapski · 04-01-2022, 02:25 AM

As far as I am aware (correct me if I am wrong) there are no plug-ins to edit the Book Cover.

I was thinking that such would be good - or even better - for it to be a built in feature.

So for example - let's say I have a "dirty" cover that I want to "clean up" (graphically). The option would be there to EDIT the cover image - either directly within Calibre (if such tools were included ... similar to tools to edit epubs - but for graphics) or to have the cover opened in an app/program that can edit the image file.

So again for example - just to be clear - let's say my cover has an unwanted black bar covering part of the cover (say from a bad scan). And I want to replace the black with the color of the actual cover (let's say red). In the editor I can select the black area then fill it in - using a color picker to match the cover's red - with red. It would then save the image file back to the book's directory - which now would have a "cleaned up" cover.

Another good example - You could reorient the cover - let's say it is slightly off the vertical. You could ROTATE the image to align it properly. I think this would come in handy.

Just a thought and suggestion. Would be interested in other people's thoughts.

Karellen · 04-01-2022, 02:51 AM

Nice suggestion, but I don't think there is a need to duplicate image editing software when there are already so many editors available. Simply edit the cover image in your image editing software, then import back into Calibre.

Plus adding a graphics editor to Calibre would be a major task, for such little benefit. Not all covers can be fixed with an eraser and paint brush. Some covers need some pretty substantial work.

See one of my examples here... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=342846
It would be near impossible to do this with basic software. (fyi... that example was recreated, not edited. The only original component is the silhouette of the man)

kovidgoyal · 04-01-2022, 04:29 AM

Right click on the cover in the book details panel in calibre and choose 'Open cover with' that will allow you to edit the cover with whatever program you like.

cgrapski · 04-13-2022, 10:48 AM

Thanks - that works great. Any chance of getting the Right Click Menu on the Edit Metadata screen to be able to do that?

04-01-2022, 02:25 AM	#1
cgrapski Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2016 Device: Kindle	Idea: Edit Book Cover As far as I am aware (correct me if I am wrong) there are no plug-ins to edit the Book Cover. I was thinking that such would be good - or even better - for it to be a built in feature. So for example - let's say I have a "dirty" cover that I want to "clean up" (graphically). The option would be there to EDIT the cover image - either directly within Calibre (if such tools were included ... similar to tools to edit epubs - but for graphics) or to have the cover opened in an app/program that can edit the image file. So again for example - just to be clear - let's say my cover has an unwanted black bar covering part of the cover (say from a bad scan). And I want to replace the black with the color of the actual cover (let's say red). In the editor I can select the black area then fill it in - using a color picker to match the cover's red - with red. It would then save the image file back to the book's directory - which now would have a "cleaned up" cover. Another good example - You could reorient the cover - let's say it is slightly off the vertical. You could ROTATE the image to align it properly. I think this would come in handy. Just a thought and suggestion. Would be interested in other people's thoughts. Last edited by cgrapski; 04-01-2022 at 02:32 AM.

04-13-2022, 10:48 AM	#4
cgrapski Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2016 Device: Kindle	Thanks Thanks - that works great. Any chance of getting the Right Click Menu on the Edit Metadata screen to be able to do that?

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04-01-2022, 02:51 AM	#2
Karellen Wizard Posts: 1,611 Karma: 9500498 Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2	Nice suggestion, but I don't think there is a need to duplicate image editing software when there are already so many editors available. Simply edit the cover image in your image editing software, then import back into Calibre. Plus adding a graphics editor to Calibre would be a major task, for such little benefit. Not all covers can be fixed with an eraser and paint brush. Some covers need some pretty substantial work. See one of my examples here... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=342846 It would be near impossible to do this with basic software. (fyi... that example was recreated, not edited. The only original component is the silhouette of the man)

04-01-2022, 04:29 AM	#3
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,353 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Right click on the cover in the book details panel in calibre and choose 'Open cover with' that will allow you to edit the cover with whatever program you like.

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