Use file name as metadata ??

Anthraquinone · 12-16-2015, 12:49 AM

I have looked through this forum but cannot find the answer to an apparently simple question.
Is there any way of automatically copying the file name into the metadata. I want to do this on a batch of files if possible.
I have my own file naming convention and I would like to simply use that as the metadata (minus the file extension is possible)

So simplified example would have the file names

Space opera 01 - An adventure.mobi
Space Opera 02 - All die
etc

The the title fields of the metadata should be changed to

Space Opera 01 - An adventure
Space opera 02 - All die
etc

I would have thought that this would be easy to do but I cannot see how.

AQ

eschwartz · 12-16-2015, 01:01 AM

Preferences ==> Adding books
Uncheck "Read metadata from file contents rather than filename"

jecilop · 12-16-2015, 01:06 AM

1st - Preferences/Adding Books/The Add Process tab - uncheck the first box "Read metadata from file contents rather than the file name"

2nd - same place - at the bottom there is a test area where you can type a file name as above and play with the Regular Expression field to get what you want.
There are some pull down pre-made templates. This one: (?P<title>.+) will do exactly what you want as above. Note, however, it does NOT yield an author. That yields Unknown.

I just played with the expression: (?P<author>[^_-]+) -?\s*(?P<title>[^_].+) ?

It will give an author name and what you want IF your file names are set up such as:

Author Name - Space Opera 01 - An adventure.

Anthraquinone · 12-17-2015, 05:30 AM

Thanks very much to eschwartz and jecilop. That was just what I was looking for. I had totally missed that option in Calibre.

I have not tried the expression you gave but I will. Although I think I know a little about computers these regular expressions are a bit of a mystery. I may be back for a bit of help.

AQ

eschwartz · 12-17-2015, 11:36 AM

Ask away, that's what we're here for.

If you want a good tutorial on regular expressions, I found http://www.regular-expressions.info to be extremely helpful.
It taught me everything I know about them, and is my go-to reference.

I particularly appreciated the step-by-step "Looking Inside The Regex Engine" sections.

12-16-2015, 12:49 AM	#1
Anthraquinone Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2015 Device: Kindle	Use file name as metadata ?? I have looked through this forum but cannot find the answer to an apparently simple question. Is there any way of automatically copying the file name into the metadata. I want to do this on a batch of files if possible. I have my own file naming convention and I would like to simply use that as the metadata (minus the file extension is possible) So simplified example would have the file names Space opera 01 - An adventure.mobi Space Opera 02 - All die etc The the title fields of the metadata should be changed to Space Opera 01 - An adventure Space opera 02 - All die etc I would have thought that this would be easy to do but I cannot see how. AQ

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12-16-2015, 01:01 AM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Preferences ==> Adding books Uncheck "Read metadata from file contents rather than filename"

12-16-2015, 01:06 AM	#3
jecilop Addict Posts: 260 Karma: 139980 Join Date: Mar 2014 Device: Android	1st - Preferences/Adding Books/The Add Process tab - uncheck the first box "Read metadata from file contents rather than the file name" 2nd - same place - at the bottom there is a test area where you can type a file name as above and play with the Regular Expression field to get what you want. There are some pull down pre-made templates. This one: (?P<title>.+) will do exactly what you want as above. Note, however, it does NOT yield an author. That yields Unknown. I just played with the expression: (?P<author>[^_-]+) -?\s*(?P<title>[^_].+) ? It will give an author name and what you want IF your file names are set up such as: Author Name - Space Opera 01 - An adventure.

12-17-2015, 05:30 AM	#4
Anthraquinone Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2015 Device: Kindle	Thanks very much to eschwartz and jecilop. That was just what I was looking for. I had totally missed that option in Calibre. I have not tried the expression you gave but I will. Although I think I know a little about computers these regular expressions are a bit of a mystery. I may be back for a bit of help. AQ

12-17-2015, 11:36 AM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Ask away, that's what we're here for. If you want a good tutorial on regular expressions, I found http://www.regular-expressions.info to be extremely helpful. It taught me everything I know about them, and is my go-to reference. I particularly appreciated the step-by-step "Looking Inside The Regex Engine" sections.

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