metadata problems

Snauzoo · 06-21-2011, 05:34 PM

I was given a group of books (a series by a favorite author) that had already been given metadata information by someone using Calibre. Unfortunately, none of the original covers were included, and an annoying "jacket" page was added, and the titles were skewed - rather than First Last for Author they were all titled Last, First - Series Number, Title (year). So, I used Calibre myself to edit each and every one, added the covers etc, and when done, added to my iPad. None of the covers stuck. They all reverted back to the generic Calibre cover, And the titles etc are a mess as well. So I hacked the crap out of them with Sigil, and used iTunes to add my cover.

It was frustrating to say the least. I did a search for this cover issue, and found only one instance of it (the cover image).

What I want to know, outside of how I can actually accomplish this using Calibre, is, does there exist a metadata tag editor like mp3tag for music files? When all one wants is to get proper titles, caps and spelling, Calibre is a bit too much work. Especially if the changes do not stick.

After posting I did a search for "simple epub metadata editor" and found a real gem! No doubt it is well known but will add a link to it. It's called (duh) epub-metadata-editor

itimpi · 06-21-2011, 06:08 PM

How did you transfer the book to the iPad? The metadata and covers only get updated in the actual ebook file when you use the Send to Device or Save to Disk options in Calibre. Therefore simply taking the file directly from the calibre library would not pick up the chages. The other way is to run a conversion (even if it is ePub->ePub).

Snauzoo · 06-21-2011, 10:46 PM

The changes were not even saved in the book when I viewed it in the Calibre viewer. That said, I did not save the book to disk.

As far as adding to my iPad, I generally tend to open the containing folder, then drag the title to iTunes, and do further editing once a copy is in my iTunes library. Then I delete the copy in the Calibre library.

Going to try a epub to epub conversion. The books I was given all seem to be bold italics through the entire books and they have a css that I cannot decipher. I pitched the lot of them.

Okay, I went back and converted one of the books. Prior to conversion I downloaded metadata and proper cover. After conversion, I selected save to disk, and chose my desktop. However, the book never appeared there! Totally stymied....

Snauzoo · 06-23-2011, 10:34 PM

Not intended as a bump but to add more information. I got tired of sounding like a moron here so I searched and read the forum for Save To Disk posts and discovered what it was all about and also that I am not alone in my confusion. Now I understand that the metadata.db is not updated with every change so for the books that I could I re-converted them, to get rid of the extra cover and add proper metadata, then converted.

I was able to resurrect the ones I trashed, and used Sigil to get rid of the darn bold italics that pervaded the entire bunch. Thanks for the input, itimpi!

theducks · 06-23-2011, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snauzoo

Not intended as a bump but to add more information. I got tired of sounding like a moron here so I searched and read the forum for Save To Disk posts and discovered what it was all about and also that I am not alone in my confusion. Now I understand that the metadata.db is not updated with every change so for the books that I could I re-converted them, to get rid of the extra cover and add proper metadata, then converted.

I was able to resurrect the ones I trashed, and used Sigil to get rid of the darn bold italics that pervaded the entire bunch. Thanks for the input, itimpi!

When you save to disk, the 'save' template still is in effect. so you may have a top folder of a nest of folders, not the book file on the desktop .

06-21-2011, 05:34 PM	#1
Snauzoo Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 282 Join Date: May 2010 Device: iPad	metadata problems I was given a group of books (a series by a favorite author) that had already been given metadata information by someone using Calibre. Unfortunately, none of the original covers were included, and an annoying "jacket" page was added, and the titles were skewed - rather than First Last for Author they were all titled Last, First - Series Number, Title (year). So, I used Calibre myself to edit each and every one, added the covers etc, and when done, added to my iPad. None of the covers stuck. They all reverted back to the generic Calibre cover, And the titles etc are a mess as well. So I hacked the crap out of them with Sigil, and used iTunes to add my cover. It was frustrating to say the least. I did a search for this cover issue, and found only one instance of it (the cover image). What I want to know, outside of how I can actually accomplish this using Calibre, is, does there exist a metadata tag editor like mp3tag for music files? When all one wants is to get proper titles, caps and spelling, Calibre is a bit too much work. Especially if the changes do not stick. After posting I did a search for "simple epub metadata editor" and found a real gem! No doubt it is well known but will add a link to it. It's called (duh) epub-metadata-editor Last edited by Snauzoo; 06-21-2011 at 06:07 PM. Reason: new discovery!

06-21-2011, 10:46 PM	#3
Snauzoo Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 282 Join Date: May 2010 Device: iPad	The changes were not even saved in the book when I viewed it in the Calibre viewer. That said, I did not save the book to disk. As far as adding to my iPad, I generally tend to open the containing folder, then drag the title to iTunes, and do further editing once a copy is in my iTunes library. Then I delete the copy in the Calibre library. Going to try a epub to epub conversion. The books I was given all seem to be bold italics through the entire books and they have a css that I cannot decipher. I pitched the lot of them. Okay, I went back and converted one of the books. Prior to conversion I downloaded metadata and proper cover. After conversion, I selected save to disk, and chose my desktop. However, the book never appeared there! Totally stymied.... Last edited by Snauzoo; 06-22-2011 at 02:43 PM.

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06-21-2011, 06:08 PM	#2
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	How did you transfer the book to the iPad? The metadata and covers only get updated in the actual ebook file when you use the Send to Device or Save to Disk options in Calibre. Therefore simply taking the file directly from the calibre library would not pick up the chages. The other way is to run a conversion (even if it is ePub->ePub).

06-23-2011, 10:34 PM	#4
Snauzoo Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 282 Join Date: May 2010 Device: iPad	Not intended as a bump but to add more information. I got tired of sounding like a moron here so I searched and read the forum for Save To Disk posts and discovered what it was all about and also that I am not alone in my confusion. Now I understand that the metadata.db is not updated with every change so for the books that I could I re-converted them, to get rid of the extra cover and add proper metadata, then converted. I was able to resurrect the ones I trashed, and used Sigil to get rid of the darn bold italics that pervaded the entire bunch. Thanks for the input, itimpi!

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