Odd Cover Question

ParadiseLost · 09-10-2013, 07:00 PM

I was wondering if there was a way to tell if a new book cover has been downloaded for a file. Ie it is not currently in the file just in calibres database.

speakingtohe · 09-10-2013, 07:13 PM

Double click on the book to view it or use the quality check plugin to check for books with missing covers?

Helen

ParadiseLost · 09-10-2013, 07:24 PM

Double clicking would work if i was referring to only one book. I'm working on cleaning up my library (a little under 2000) and just wondering if when i first started i got a bit over zealous in downloading "different" covers.

ParadiseLost · 09-23-2013, 03:27 AM

Still hoping that someone might have an idea on how to tell if the book cover (image file) in the metadata is the same as that stored in the actual epub file. Hopefully, without having to manually open each and compare.

Adoby · 09-23-2013, 04:25 AM

Why do you care? Just curious.

ParadiseLost · 09-23-2013, 06:17 AM

When i initially installed calibre i added a lot of covers that look OK when seen in just the metadata but as ive moved from black and white kindle with poor resolution to ipad some of those same books now have covers that when blown up look absolutely horrible. So instead of manually comparing all 1900+ books by hand i was wondering if there was some shortcut that compares the current metadata cover with the actual cover.

Sabardeyn · 09-23-2013, 07:45 AM

How could this be tested?

The only things that I imagine can be tested for is a larger pixel image size and a larger number of colors used within an image's palette. Both values would have to increase in order for an image to be considered newer.

But even then we're just guessing. A new cover, at a higher pixel size, consisting of random colored noise spread over several layers is going to meet the criteria above and assumed to be newer. Yet it doesn't contain any content - there is no visual or textual data conveyed to the reader what-so-ever.

There are no other quantifiable factors that can safely be used to compare against:

Date? It's easy enough to use a utility that will change the date and time to something newer/older (as needed for tested).
File size? Increasing the image's pixel size and/or layers, but not actually changing anything else within the image, would result in erroneous results. But this also assumes that newer covers tend to get more complex and this frequently is not the case; masterwork compilations tend to get simplified covers.
Filename? Most book covers are named "cover.ext" or similar. I don't think I've ever seen a book cover with version info in the filename.
Metadata? Theoretically possible, but it is unlikely to have been included. Even when it is, it tends to be generic creator info that is useless for comparison.

Note that I'm not adverse to the idea of being able to compare included cover images. Just that I cannot think of a viable means of automating the test and consistently getting the best possible result of the available choices.

The best that I could imagine is something like a thumbnail viewer option with a multiple choice, prioritized cover listing. This would allow users to add or remove cover images while also allowing images to be organized into prioritized viewing order. Not sure how ereader software or hardware would respond to all these images, but it might allow for international editions, reprints, etc without changing the metadata.

Of course, technically, this would be flat out wrong because any change to a book results in updated metadata (ie, a new record). But some users don't care about this so much. Wanting the newest, most error-free text, maybe a particular cartography style for the map, and the cover art from when the user first read the book.

Of course, it's quite possible that this is more of a Sigil feature request... but that isn't likely to happen.

ParadiseLost · 09-23-2013, 07:58 AM

Sabardeyn, you got me thinking and when a cover is changed in only the metadata (i.e. the Polish books or Modify epub plugins havent been used) the date modified changes but the epubs does not. So i guess a better question is: is there a way to easily run a comparison of the cover.jpg modify date against the epubs modify date? Then apply that comparison against each of the books in the library?

speakingtohe · 09-23-2013, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParadiseLost

Double clicking would work if i was referring to only one book. I'm working on cleaning up my library (a little under 2000) and just wondering if when i first started i got a bit over zealous in downloading "different" covers.

The easiest thing is just convert them all. If you have keep original file tweak true you can always go back to original.

Other than that you can select x books at a time and visually inspect them. For 10 books would take less than a minute just to look at covers so 2000 approximately 2-3 hours. PITA but then it is done

.

Helen

itimpi · 09-23-2013, 10:47 AM

I would just use the Polish Book option on any books you are not sure off. That will replace the cover with the one in Calibre without doing a conversion. If the books are epub format then the Modify ePub [;ugin is another option that gives you more options.

BetterRed · 09-23-2013, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParadiseLost

Sabardeyn, you got me thinking and when a cover is changed in only the metadata (i.e. the Polish books or Modify epub plugins havent been used) the date modified changes but the epubs does not. So i guess a better question is: is there a way to easily run a comparison of the cover.jpg modify date against the epubs modify date? Then apply that comparison against each of the books in the library?

That is a good idea.

But it's an operating system issue not an application issue. You might want to ask in a forum relevant to your OS, or a relevant scripting forum.

BR

ParadiseLost · 09-23-2013, 05:56 PM

Thank you all. Betteread I will try that. Thanks again

DoctorOhh · 09-23-2013, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itimpi

I would just use the Polish Book option on any books you are not sure off. That will replace the cover with the one in Calibre without doing a conversion.

...

...

In the time taken to further ponder the big picture on how to figure out which covers need changing you could be done.

Hampshire Nanny · 09-25-2013, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itimpi

I would just use the Polish Book option on any books you are not sure off. That will replace the cover with the one in Calibre without doing a conversion.

Dumb question. What is the "Polish Book option"? I saw a reference to this in another topic, but I still haven't located it.

BetterRed · 09-25-2013, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

Dumb question. What is the "Polish Book option"? I saw a reference to this in another topic, but I still haven't located it.

Select book(s) in list and press 'p'

You can add Polish Books to button bars and menus via Preferences->Toolbars

BR

09-10-2013, 07:00 PM	#1
ParadiseLost Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 20364 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: None	Odd Cover Question I was wondering if there was a way to tell if a new book cover has been downloaded for a file. Ie it is not currently in the file just in calibres database.

09-23-2013, 07:45 AM	#7
Sabardeyn Guru Posts: 644 Karma: 1242364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Right Coast Device: PC (Calibre), Nexus 7 2013 (Moon+ Pro), HTC HD2/Leo (Freda)	How could this be tested? The only things that I imagine can be tested for is a larger pixel image size and a larger number of colors used within an image's palette. Both values would have to increase in order for an image to be considered newer. But even then we're just guessing. A new cover, at a higher pixel size, consisting of random colored noise spread over several layers is going to meet the criteria above and assumed to be newer. Yet it doesn't contain any content - there is no visual or textual data conveyed to the reader what-so-ever. There are no other quantifiable factors that can safely be used to compare against: Date? It's easy enough to use a utility that will change the date and time to something newer/older (as needed for tested). File size? Increasing the image's pixel size and/or layers, but not actually changing anything else within the image, would result in erroneous results. But this also assumes that newer covers tend to get more complex and this frequently is not the case; masterwork compilations tend to get simplified covers. Filename? Most book covers are named "cover.ext" or similar. I don't think I've ever seen a book cover with version info in the filename. Metadata? Theoretically possible, but it is unlikely to have been included. Even when it is, it tends to be generic creator info that is useless for comparison. Note that I'm not adverse to the idea of being able to compare included cover images. Just that I cannot think of a viable means of automating the test and consistently getting the best possible result of the available choices. The best that I could imagine is something like a thumbnail viewer option with a multiple choice, prioritized cover listing. This would allow users to add or remove cover images while also allowing images to be organized into prioritized viewing order. Not sure how ereader software or hardware would respond to all these images, but it might allow for international editions, reprints, etc without changing the metadata. Of course, technically, this would be flat out wrong because any change to a book results in updated metadata (ie, a new record). But some users don't care about this so much. Wanting the newest, most error-free text, maybe a particular cartography style for the map, and the cover art from when the user first read the book. Of course, it's quite possible that this is more of a Sigil feature request... but that isn't likely to happen.

09-23-2013, 07:58 AM	#8
ParadiseLost Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 20364 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: None	Sabardeyn, you got me thinking and when a cover is changed in only the metadata (i.e. the Polish books or Modify epub plugins havent been used) the date modified changes but the epubs does not. So i guess a better question is: is there a way to easily run a comparison of the cover.jpg modify date against the epubs modify date? Then apply that comparison against each of the books in the library? Last edited by ParadiseLost; 09-23-2013 at 08:10 AM.

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09-10-2013, 07:13 PM	#2
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	Double click on the book to view it or use the quality check plugin to check for books with missing covers? Helen

09-10-2013, 07:24 PM	#3
ParadiseLost Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 20364 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: None	Double clicking would work if i was referring to only one book. I'm working on cleaning up my library (a little under 2000) and just wondering if when i first started i got a bit over zealous in downloading "different" covers.

09-23-2013, 03:27 AM	#4
ParadiseLost Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 20364 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: None	Still hoping that someone might have an idea on how to tell if the book cover (image file) in the metadata is the same as that stored in the actual epub file. Hopefully, without having to manually open each and compare.

09-23-2013, 04:25 AM	#5
Adoby Handy Elephant Posts: 1,737 Karma: 26785684 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Southern Sweden, far out in the quiet woods Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra	Why do you care? Just curious.

09-23-2013, 06:17 AM	#6
ParadiseLost Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 20364 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: None	When i initially installed calibre i added a lot of covers that look OK when seen in just the metadata but as ive moved from black and white kindle with poor resolution to ipad some of those same books now have covers that when blown up look absolutely horrible. So instead of manually comparing all 1900+ books by hand i was wondering if there was some shortcut that compares the current metadata cover with the actual cover.

09-23-2013, 10:47 AM	#10
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	I would just use the Polish Book option on any books you are not sure off. That will replace the cover with the one in Calibre without doing a conversion. If the books are epub format then the Modify ePub [;ugin is another option that gives you more options.

09-23-2013, 05:56 PM	#12
ParadiseLost Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 20364 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: None	Thank you all. Betteread I will try that. Thanks again

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