Add new cover without deleting older cover

[MMV]

I apologize if this has been addressed here before but I haven't been able to find anything about it. There have been a few books that I've downloaded that are missing their covers and the interior title page serves as its cover. I've downloaded the cover that I want to use from the internet but if I try to add that while editing metadata, it will delete the title page, which I don't want to do. I want both the proper cover and the title page. How on earth do I go about doing this?

Layman's terms, please. I'm not the most technologically proficient.

[BetterRed]

What format are the books, PDF, EPUB, AZW3… ?

BR

[MMV]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

What format are the books, PDF, EPUB, AZW3… ?

BR

They're all epubs.

[BetterRed]

Drag/drop the downloaded cover onto the book details panel (right sidebar)

To get the cover in the EPUB itself, press 'P' (Polish Book), check the update cover option, then click OK.

Added - you can polish multiple books, by selecting them before pressing 'P'

BR

[ownedbycats]

From my own experience, polishing the ePub will sometimes remove the title page, which is stored as a cover for some reason.

[MMV]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Drag/drop the downloaded cover onto the book details panel (right sidebar)

To get the cover in the EPUB itself, press 'P' (Polish Book), check the update cover option, then click OK.

Added - you can polish multiple books, by selecting them before pressing 'P'

BR

Dragging and dropping and then polishing the epub did delete the title page. I still have the original downloaded copy so I can try different methods if you know of any others.

[davidfor]

I've hit this a few times. From memory, what you need to do in the editor is:

1. Rename the current file that displays what calibre thinks is the cover is so that it is not "title_page.xhtml". In the file browse, this is shown with an icon.
2. Rename the current cover image in the book so that it is not "cover".
3. Add the new cover image.
4. Right-click on the new image and select "Mark as cover image".
5. Add an new text file. The contents do not matter.
6. Mark the new text file as the cover.
7. Open the "Add cover" tool.
8. Select the new cover image added above as the cover and press OK.

I think each time I have done it, I have done it in a slightly different way, and have needed backout and start again. But, I think these are what I have just done with a test book. They should leave the book with the correct cover and in a state where if you update the cover in the metadata editor, calibre can save it to the book properly.

[kovidgoyal]

If the title page is marked as a cover it will be replaced when the cover is updated, for obvious reasons. You can change that by inserting a new HTML file in the book right clicking on it and marking it as the cover. Similarly for a cover image.

[MMV]

Still getting the same results. Losing the title page and getting the cover, blank page, and cover again. Not sure where to add the new cover from davidfor's list or how to fix it by adding an HTML file, or even how to do that. Everything I've done comes up wrong.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by MMV

Still getting the same results. Losing the title page and getting the cover, blank page, and cover again. Not sure where to add the new cover from davidfor's list or how to fix it by adding an HTML file, or even how to do that. Everything I've done comes up wrong.

Those are steps to follow. The image to add should be the cover image from wherever you have it. But, it can be any image. Afterwards, you can do a Polish books or whatever to put the proper cover image in the book.

The HTML file can again be anything. But, if you just use the add file and use any name, and press OK, it is enough.

[retiredbiker]

Another way that might be less confusing; it's what I usually do:

In the editor, export the current image, the title page. (Right click the file-->Export)

Close the editor, go to edit metadata, add the real cover you want, and then Polish.

Back in the editor, do Files-->Import files into book, and pull the exported image file back in.

Find the place you want it, usually at the top of the first text file, and put the cursor there, just below the <body> line. Then at the top of the code page, on the formatting toolbar, use the Insert Image tool. (I usually use it with "full page" and "preserve aspect ratio" checked for a title page.)

That puts your title page back in. Then if you want to, you can use the file-split tool in the preview pane to make it into its own file, but that's optional.

[MMV]

Originally Posted by retiredbiker

Another way that might be less confusing; it's what I usually do:

In the editor, export the current image, the title page. (Right click the file-->Export)

Close the editor, go to edit metadata, add the real cover you want, and then Polish.

Back in the editor, do Files-->Import files into book, and pull the exported image file back in.

Find the place you want it, usually at the top of the first text file, and put the cursor there, just below the <body> line. Then at the top of the code page, on the formatting toolbar, use the Insert Image tool. (I usually use it with "full page" and "preserve aspect ratio" checked for a title page.)

That puts your title page back in. Then if you want to, you can use the file-split tool in the preview pane to make it into its own file, but that's optional.

Same results. Cover page, blank page (no title page), smaller cover page, blank page, table of contents.

[MMV]

Originally Posted by retiredbiker

Another way that might be less confusing; it's what I usually do:

In the editor, export the current image, the title page. (Right click the file-->Export)

Close the editor, go to edit metadata, add the real cover you want, and then Polish.

Back in the editor, do Files-->Import files into book, and pull the exported image file back in.

Find the place you want it, usually at the top of the first text file, and put the cursor there, just below the <body> line. Then at the top of the code page, on the formatting toolbar, use the Insert Image tool. (I usually use it with "full page" and "preserve aspect ratio" checked for a title page.)

That puts your title page back in. Then if you want to, you can use the file-split tool in the preview pane to make it into its own file, but that's optional.

Same results. Cover, blank page (no title page), smaller cover page, blank page, table of contents.