[KoboGlo] Require Character After Z For Sorting

[Cherry Picker]

Surely this must have come up before...just can't find any previous threads on it. I use Kobo Utilities with Calibre to create Collections on my GloHD (for some of you, your reader calls them Shelves). I manage all collections via Calibre...none on the reader directly. I love the add-on.

I need to create (in Calibre) a "special" collection that will sort last on the reader when created (after "Z"). Any special (decent looking) leading character will do. Something that looks like a dash/tilde/asterisk etc is fine with me.

This character would need to work fine with Calibre, Kobo Utilities and the GloHD of course.

Thanks.

[BetterRed]

@Cherry Picker - Try Ω (last letter of Greek alphabet), works in most places, such as Windows file names and Calibre Tags, but not everywhere.

It's Alt 234 in Windows, I keep it in a global snippet of handy special characters.

BR

[Cherry Picker]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@Cherry Picker - Try Ω (last letter of Greek alphabet), works in most places, such as Windows file names and Calibre Tags, but not everywhere.

It's Alt 234 in Windows, I keep it in a global snippet of handy special characters.

BR

Thanks Red, great idea. Do you know if that is the case with all Greek characters? (A somewhat "lazy" question, I admit I could test a few). If it is all Greek characters then I could review and "choose" one I like the look of.

In any case, that's exactly the kind of thing I was inquiring about. Thanks, you're awesome.

[BetterRed]

AFAIK all Greek letters will sort after 'z' - I use Ω because it sorts after all other greek letters. If I wanted something to sort after Ω I'd use 末 (Kanji - End) after that I'd give up and resort to numeric prefixes

I have no idea if any of this will work on your Kobo.

BTW a google search for 'what sorts after z' finds 34.5 million pages.

BR

[Cherry Picker]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

AFAIK all Greek letters will sort after 'z' - I use Ω because it sorts after all other greek letters. If I wanted something to sort after Ω I'd use 末 (Kanji - End) after that I'd give up and resort to numeric prefixes

I have no idea if any of this will work on your Kobo.

BTW a google search for 'what sorts after z' finds 34.5 million pages.

BR

The last letter Omega idea makes total sense. I did the Google search prior and found pretty much the same info. The reason I inquired here is I wasn't totally sure how those characters would interact with the reader software or Calibre's encoding. I was certain it worked within Windows...just didn't want to risk freezing the reader out (or making Calibre choke) because of it.

[BetterRed]

Windows and Calibre are OK with Ω - at least in the places I've used it.

I've inserted a KoboGlo prefix into the thread title, and I moved the thread to the Devices sub-forum - that should attract the attention of the Kobo aficionados.

BR

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Cherry Picker

The last letter Omega idea makes total sense. I did the Google search prior and found pretty much the same info. The reason I inquired here is I wasn't totally sure how those characters would interact with the reader software or Calibre's encoding. I was certain it worked within Windows...just didn't want to risk freezing the reader out (or making Calibre choke) because of it.

Sorry, no real idea what will happen, but, I don't think it will cause a problem. And it if does, it should only be when you try to display the collection list. The Kobo interface can handle book titles in various languages. I know people have used Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese and Chinese. The only issue is if the font used in the interface supports the language. And, there is a workaround for that.

While I don't think there will be a problem, what I would suggest is taking a copy of the the user partition of the device before doing this. Then, if the device needs to be reset, you can restore that and get back to where you were. Or just restore the database if that is where there problem is.

[Cherry Picker]

SOLVED
As it turns out, there is an even better solution to creating a "sort after Z" than using a special character. We can use an actual letter (or what appears to be an actual English Alphabet letter) to begin the Collection name with.

The following are all Greek capitalizations. All sort after "Z" and are listed in the order in which they sort among themselves (yes, Z sorts after E within themselves):

Α Β Ε Ζ Η Ι Κ Μ Ν Ο Ρ Τ Υ Χ

• The above list is a copy/paste of the actual Greek letters...so a copy/paste of the letter from this post will also work for those who need to use
• Calibre handled this flawlessly and as intended in all tested fields (Custom Collections, Tags, Title, Author etc.)
• Kobo Utilities, Kobo Driver, Configure Kobo Driver handled this flawlessly and as intended (it created the Collections folder after "Z" without problems as well as removing it after emptying upon testing)
• Kobo GloHD reader handled this flawlessly and as intended
• Source site for the Greek keyboard used: http://greek.typeit.org/

Thanks to BetterRed and davidfor (as usual) for all help.

[BetterRed]

@Cherry Picker - to each his own, but if I saw ΑArchimede's Screw at the end of a list after Zeno's Paradox I would be scratching my head and asking, "Why has a typing mistake forced that item to be at the end of the list?".

Whereas if I saw ΓArch... or ΩArch... I'd guess the unusual first character was a contrivance to force that item towards the end of a list. Much like the first characters in $Plato's Republic or !Herodotus' Histories force those items towards the top of a list.

I like Penn State's Symbol Codes pages for this sort of thing, here's their Greek alphabet page ==>> Greek Unicode Entities

BR

[Cherry Picker]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

to each his own, but if I saw ΑArchimede's Screw at the end of a list after Zeno's Paradox I would be scratching my head...

Hi BR,

• You don't get duplicate "A's"...you just use use the foreign letter as the first letter...and type in the balance of the word. It comes out indistinguishable as a "special" entry.
• You are 100% correct on the sort result. You would have to remember that you used the foreign character or you would be very confused indeed. (I just tested it with Titles and Authors etc...but I wouldn't dream of using it on those fields). Thankfully, I only needed it for one single "special" Custom Collection that I wanted to show at the end of the Collections listing.

BTW...that Penn State Symbols Page is a keeper. Thanks for that.

[BetterRed]

@Cherry Picker - I appreciate you only want a solution for yourself for one particular situation, but what would you suggest others should use if they wanted Shakespeare at the end of a sorted list?

BR

[Cherry Picker]

Completely admit you got me on that one...great question. I was fortunate to be able to name a Collection with one of the available 14 letters above. I suppose perusing another language for an "S" character that appears unobtrusive (that hopefully works with the reader and Calibre as well as the Greek letters do). This is assuming of course one would like to have that leading letter indistinguishable on purpose...otherwise, a leading contrived character, as you mentioned, ahead of Shakespeare would be the ticket.

[BetterRed]

As in Ŝhakespeare

That 'ess with an hat' may not be available in all fonts, then what? As I said to each his own.

BR

[Cherry Picker]

Ѕhakespeare (works)

The "S" from above is taken from the Cyrillic Alphabet page of the Penn State link. I think if need be all 26 letters can be found working from foreign alphabets for playing with custom sorting. Bottom line is sure, it's a pretty customized inquiry/solution (wouldn't be surprised if it's a "one-off" even)...and you are bang on the money "to each his own".

In any case, the solution (for me) came out better than originally asked...as well as future leading character tweaks (if need be) via your Penn State link. It's a small thing...but, with your help, I learned something new today and gained a pretty cool resource link. You're Aces BR...big thanks.