Save to disk with metadata changes

[Colonel Cathcart]

I setup Calibre to not make changes to the epubs it manages. I don't like how it adds all the custom column info to the epubs. But, occasionally, I'd like to save a copy of an ebook with all the metadata changes I made (publication date, Comment, etc.).

Is it possible to easily do that?

[theducks]

Polish, Modify EPUB and Embed Metadata all force embed into the Library copy of selected books.
Look at the options for each.
AFAIK you can't prevent standard fields like Published from being embedded.

[Colonel Cathcart]

I just added a book to the Calibre Library, and then changed the publication date and Comment fields, and also fixed the spine direction in the opf file using the editor.

After doing that, I compated the contents of the original and modified epubs, and the only difference was the spine change.

I see an option to Merge book records. Will this do what I want?

[theducks]

Where are you working (what screen)?
If you are in the main Library view or MDE, those changes can be added to the book simply by using the methods I mentoined.

Merge in the Library view merges (Adds or replaces) the first selected RECORD with the second selected RECORD and includes any formats).

Merge in the editor concatenates the selected files

[Colonel Cathcart]

Originally Posted by theducks

Where are you working (what screen)?
If you are in the main Library view or MDE, those changes can be added to the book simply by using the methods I mentoined.

I edited the metadata from the Edit Metadata screen. I changed the spine from the Edit Book option.

Originally Posted by theducks

Merge in the Library view merges (Adds or replaces) the first selected RECORD with the second selected RECORD and includes any formats).

Merge in the editor concatenates the selected files

What's a RECORD? You mean the database record of a book? it merges it into the book? that's pretty much what I want to do WHEN saving a copy.

[theducks]

You are doing 2 different things.
The Spine is the Order of files in the book. But Why that way?
Simply drag the file in the book browser to its new place (order).

Record is the line in library view (it is more complicated than that as Calibre is really a full relational DB, but the lifting is done in the GUI/CLI)

Make the change, then embed (to force into the Library copy). Send to and Save to do this on the fly for the Exported copies only

[Colonel Cathcart]

Originally Posted by theducks

You are doing 2 different things.
The Spine is the Order of files in the book. But Why that way?
Simply drag the file in the book browser to its new place (order).

I needed to add

page-progression-direction="rtl"

to the spine since the book is in Hebrew.

embed how? Where's the option to do that?
Edit: You mean the option Update metadata embedded in the book when opening that I disabled in Edit book?
Edit2: I just tried it now, and it's not a good idea for several reasons:
1. It immediatly saves the book to the library with all the metadata changes, without asking.
2. It adds a lot of calibre:user_metadata to the opf containing all the info and settings(!) for my custom columns such as Kobo last read, reading location, status, collection, etc. It's terrible, leaking information like this.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Colonel Cathcart

embed how? Where's the option to do that?

It's a toolbar/menu item so you need to add it to one of them, or give it shortcut.

BR

[Colonel Cathcart]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

It's a toolbar/menu item so you need to add it to one of them, or give it shortcut.

BR

OK, it appears it does the same as the Update metadata embedded in the book when opening that I disabled in Edit book, and I don't like it because, as I wrote above: It adds a lot of calibre:user_metadata to the opf containing all the info and settings(!) for my custom columns such as Kobo last read, reading location, status, collection, etc. It's terrible, leaking information like this.

I guess there's no simple way to do what I'd like to do.

[BetterRed]

The Modify ePUB plugin has an option to strip the non Dublin Core metadata elements ==>> Index of plugins

BR

[Colonel Cathcart]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

The Modify ePUB plugin has an option to strip the non Dublin Core metadata elements ==>> Index of plugins

BR

I'll try that, thank you!

[Quoth]

Also there is a setting in the viewer to not store reading position in the actual ebook. By default the viewer does write reading position into the ebook file.

[Colonel Cathcart]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Also there is a setting in the viewer to not store reading position in the actual ebook. By default the viewer does write reading position into the ebook file.

I have turned off a few settings in Calibre, the reader and editor so that it won't modify the files, including the one you mentioned.