Better way to keep track of page numbers

[JSWolf]

I rather dislike when the Calibre eBook viewer modifies the eBook to keep track of the page number last read. Would it be possible to change this behavior so that instead of modifying the eBook, that Calibre instead used the eBook's metadata.opf file to keep track of the last page read? Thanks.

[BetterRed]

@JSWolf - what about people who don't read from the calibre library directories but from their Save to Disk location.

BR

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@JSWolf - what about people who don't read from the calibre library directories but from their Save to Disk location.

BR

A metadata.opf file can be created alongside the eBook.

[BetterRed]

Jon, I think you need to think it through

Once an epub is it outside of a calibre library it belongs to 'me'. I don't want metadata.opf files sprinkled all through my file system, it's bad enough that windows sprinkles its desktop.ini files like confetti all over the place, they did at least get rid of thumbs.db.

I run a video player that remembers the last viewed position, the data is stored for the last N videos in Appdata, where N is specified by me. That's works well... until I copy the video to my netbook to watch on the train.

BR

[phossler]

I would guess that adding a new Preference "To Update or Not To Update" would be easy to add and allow flexibilty

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by phossler

I would guess that adding a new Preference "To Update or Not To Update" would be easy to add and allow flexibilty

I thought there already was an option not to store the last read location.....

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I thought there already was an option not to store the last read location.....

Yep, its always been there for me

I think I saw a hint somewhere that it's possible to write a viewer PI, if so then perhaps 'someone' could write a PI that would update the "metadata.opf" as Jon suggests - but only if it was present in the same folder as the EPUB. Not sure what the ramifications would be if one say added a tag - would the reading position be lost.

I understand Jon's objection to having it in the epub, it changes the file which means it gets backed up, which means that one is lead to ask why so... I didn't change that epub!

BR

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I thought there already was an option not to store the last read location.....

There is such an option. But what happens is that (for ePub), a file is stored inside the ePub that lets the viewer know what page the ePub was last opened to. This (IMHO) is not solution I want. I don't want my ePub modified just to keep track of the page number.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There is such an option. But what happens is that (for ePub), a file is stored inside the ePub that lets the viewer know what page the ePub was last opened to. This (IMHO) is not solution I want. I don't want my ePub modified just to keep track of the page number.

Buuuut... That's what turning the setting off already does! It does not store the last read location ANYWHERE.

Maybe the point I am not getting is that you DO WANT the last read location stored, just not in the ePub itself?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Maybe the point I am not getting is that you DO WANT the last read location stored, just not in the ePub itself?

Not often I speak for others, but it's pretty clear that's what Jon wants - but the question is, where to put the last read position.

If it were written to the metadata.opf file then that would change the raison d'être for those files, the means to reconstruct metadata.db. It would become a sidecar file that would need to follow the epub wherever it roams and it would have to have a unique name because as things stand they're all metadata.opf.

If one was willing to forgo having last read position follow the epub when and where ever it roamed then perhaps one could put the last read position (calibre_bookmarks->calibre_current_page_bookmark) with the viewer_open_history in viewer.json in calibre's config data.

I think you'd need a 3 choice setting for Save last read position - don't save, save with recently read, and save in the book.

BR

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Buuuut... That's what turning the setting off already does! It does not store the last read location ANYWHERE.

Maybe the point I am not getting is that you DO WANT the last read location stored, just not in the ePub itself?

Yes, exactly. I want to be able to store the last read page, but not in the ePub itself. So since we already have metadata.opf, I suggest using that to store the page number last read.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Not often I speak for others, but it's pretty clear that's what Jon wants - but the question is, where to put the last read position.

If it were written to the metadata.opf file then that would change the raison d'être for those files, the means to reconstruct metadata.db. It would become a sidecar file that would need to follow the epub wherever it roams and it would have to have a unique name because as things stand they're all metadata.opf.

If one was willing to forgo having last read position follow the epub when and where ever it roamed then perhaps one could put the last read position (calibre_bookmarks->calibre_current_page_bookmark) with the viewer_open_history in viewer.json in calibre's config data.

I think you'd need a 3 choice setting for Save last read position - don't save, save with recently read, and save in the book.

BR

I do have another suggestion, if the eBook is stored in Calibre, use meatadata.opf to store the last read page. If the eBook is not in Calibre, don't store the page number at all.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I do have another suggestion, if the eBook is stored in Calibre, use meatadata.opf to store the last read page. If the eBook is not in Calibre, don't store the page number at all.

Jon, That would remove a feature currently enjoyed by those who have chosen to keep their books beyond the calibre walled garden - a.k.a. the library manager's library/author/book folder (directory) structure.

Are you prepared to suffer all the slings and arrows of outraged calibre users

It would also add a new design goal to the metadata.db file, doing that is never a good idea without due consideration of conflicts of purpose.

BR

[chaley]

In the end it is up to Kovid, but I cannot imagine putting the last read position into metadata.opf. It would be lost the next time you change metadata, because the opf file is first and foremost a backup file. Alternatively, someone finds all places where the file is created/written and builds some merge facility. Also, someone would need to deal with library syncing not destroying the read position when the backup is copied from some other machine.

The reading position is part of the data associated with the human doing the reading. It is not part of the metadata of the book. The info should be stored external to calibre or calibre should support logins and store the info under the user id. Neither of these are likely to happen soon, unless someone who cares will build it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by chaley

The reading position is part of the data associated with the human doing the reading. It is not part of the metadata of the book. The info should be stored external to calibre or calibre should support logins and store the info under the user id. Neither of these are likely to happen soon, unless someone who cares will build it.

I agree that the reading position should be kept external to the eBook. But I'd need to have someone able to code this as I don't program in Python and I don't know the Calibre code.