New User Advice

nffc191 · 07-31-2018, 11:16 AM

Good evening guys,

I've uploaded around 5k of my books into calibre today as I really need to organise my collection.

I've around 1500 with no author, 900 tags and need to get to grips with editing this lot. I feel like I'm in over my head though as this is a very complex and powerful tool that I've no idea (yet) how to negotiate.

Where in simple terms should I begin? Is there an editing metadata tutorial around?

Any help is greatly appreciated,

Thanks very much!

gbm · 07-31-2018, 01:53 PM

The first and best advice is go and read the Manual.

Next

Calibre blog

Now make a copy of your library rename it to say learn calibre then use that copy to learn how to do what you want, that way you never try new things with your good library.

bernie

Quote:

Originally Posted by nffc191

Good evening guys,

I've uploaded around 5k of my books into calibre today as I really need to organise my collection.

I've around 1500 with no author, 900 tags and need to get to grips with editing this lot. I feel like I'm in over my head though as this is a very complex and powerful tool that I've no idea (yet) how to negotiate.

Where in simple terms should I begin? Is there an editing metadata tutorial around?

Any help is greatly appreciated,

Thanks very much!

theducks · 07-31-2018, 03:48 PM

what gbm said

I would first get a handle on variations in metadata and normalize those.

In the Tag browser: select a section to work with:

OK, there are advantages and disadvantages to each of these.

Right click: rename, delete <<working in the Tag browser itself, you get to see what books are affected, simply by making the Red + appear

Right click: Manage << allows you to scroll and fix or delete, but you don't get to see what was affected while working

Each section works the same.

Caution with Series: Your library may have books with the same series names that are NOT in the same series. For those I chose to put the authors initials in paren as a tie breaker Series (AB)

BTW rename to an existing value will merge the tags

nffc191 · 07-31-2018, 07:51 PM

Great. Thanks, guys.

I've got a feeling it will take some time to used to this so I'll take my time and do things bit by bit.

fidvo · 08-01-2018, 12:29 PM

My first recommendation is to come up with a way to identify which books you've already "cleaned," i.e. fixed the metadata. That way, you can measure your progress and know when you're done. I use a custom Yes/No field. Other people use an intake library where they clean up the book then transfer it to their main library.

One of the first decisions you should make is whether to make the Tags column hierarchical. Non-hierarchical tags would be things like "Fantasy" or "Historical Fiction". Hierarchical tags would be things like "Fiction.Fantasy" or "Fiction.Historical". You can set up Calibre to treat these as subcategories, as many levels deep as you want.

One thing to keep in mind is that tags only exist if they are used in at least one book. You could create a dummy book with all the tags you want to use, so that they exist before you start applying them.

You can rename field values in the tag browser. It's okay to rename a field value to something that already exists; that will "merge" the old value with the new. This can be a huge help in normalizing your data.

You can download metadata, but sometimes the results are inconsistent or illogical. Treat downloaded metadata as merely suggestions. Always do a manual confirmation afterward.

These are just a few suggestions I thought of. I hope they help.

07-31-2018, 11:16 AM	#1
nffc191 Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 27146 Join Date: Jul 2018 Device: kindle	New User Advice Good evening guys, I've uploaded around 5k of my books into calibre today as I really need to organise my collection. I've around 1500 with no author, 900 tags and need to get to grips with editing this lot. I feel like I'm in over my head though as this is a very complex and powerful tool that I've no idea (yet) how to negotiate. Where in simple terms should I begin? Is there an editing metadata tutorial around? Any help is greatly appreciated, Thanks very much!

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07-31-2018, 03:48 PM	#3
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,047 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	what gbm said I would first get a handle on variations in metadata and normalize those. In the Tag browser: select a section to work with: OK, there are advantages and disadvantages to each of these. Right click: rename, delete <<working in the Tag browser itself, you get to see what books are affected, simply by making the Red + appear Right click: Manage << allows you to scroll and fix or delete, but you don't get to see what was affected while working Each section works the same. Caution with Series: Your library may have books with the same series names that are NOT in the same series. For those I chose to put the authors initials in paren as a tie breaker Series (AB) BTW rename to an existing value will merge the tags

07-31-2018, 07:51 PM	#4
nffc191 Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 27146 Join Date: Jul 2018 Device: kindle	Great. Thanks, guys. I've got a feeling it will take some time to used to this so I'll take my time and do things bit by bit.

08-01-2018, 12:29 PM	#5
fidvo Addict Posts: 309 Karma: 1645952 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: none	My first recommendation is to come up with a way to identify which books you've already "cleaned," i.e. fixed the metadata. That way, you can measure your progress and know when you're done. I use a custom Yes/No field. Other people use an intake library where they clean up the book then transfer it to their main library. One of the first decisions you should make is whether to make the Tags column hierarchical. Non-hierarchical tags would be things like "Fantasy" or "Historical Fiction". Hierarchical tags would be things like "Fiction.Fantasy" or "Fiction.Historical". You can set up Calibre to treat these as subcategories, as many levels deep as you want. One thing to keep in mind is that tags only exist if they are used in at least one book. You could create a dummy book with all the tags you want to use, so that they exist before you start applying them. You can rename field values in the tag browser. It's okay to rename a field value to something that already exists; that will "merge" the old value with the new. This can be a huge help in normalizing your data. You can download metadata, but sometimes the results are inconsistent or illogical. Treat downloaded metadata as merely suggestions. Always do a manual confirmation afterward. These are just a few suggestions I thought of. I hope they help.

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