[GUI Plugin] FanFicFare

[Ian.M]

Ditto to the fanfictionnet "Detected a Cloudflare version 2 challenge ..." error here at approx 01:30 UTC. I'm still using the test version 3.28.8 which was working fine about eight hours earlier.

I *hope* and *pray* it isn't due to cloudflare reacting to fanfictionnet getting hammered by everyone trying to update their favorite fics after the resumption of fanfictionnet support in the latest fanficfare version. Tread lightly guys and lets hope they turn down the paranoia level!

[JDesat]

I was able to download FFN stories about 2 hours ago, then I updated to the latest test version from the previous test version (just before the newest actual update) and now FFN downloads won't work. "cloudscraper reports: "Detected a Cloudflare version 2 challenge, This feature is not available...."" I'm unsure if this is an issue with the new test version or if it's FFN being a pain again.

Edit: Is there a way to rollback the FanFicFare plugin so I can determine if that is the issue?

[JimmXinu]

It's ffnet running at a higher blocking level again.

Whether that is coincidental with the FFF release re-enabling ffnet support or not is unknown.

ADDED: There were fewer than 30 downloads of the new plugin version when it started happening. I don't know of anywhere to see statics for the CLI downloads.

[JDesat]

Originally Posted by JimmXinu

It's ffnet running at a higher blocking level again.

Whether that is coincidental with the FFF release re-enabling ffnet support or not is unknown.

Well damn... hopefully they'll cool off again.

[ownedbycats]

As of this current post, the last few tweets by FictionPress were about them fixing an issue with their forums. There was also one about them upgrading to IPv6, but I was able to successfully update a fic after it was made.

[ownedbycats]

@JimmXinu - Was any more progress made on the Web2Epub import you were working on? I'm hoping it won't be needed, though.

[ownedbycats]

Until it is resolved, here's the method I use to update my existing fics. It's a bit tedious compared to just downloading the ePub and replacing it, but it preserves the FFF structure and FFF is able to recognize it for further updates.

1. Download FanFictionDownloader.

2. Open it. Set the download folder if you'd like. Paste in your ffnet url and click "check."

3. Once the info pops up, set it to download only the last chapter, and use HTML output.

4. Download the chapter.

5. Open Calibre and find your fanfic. Open it in ebook-editor.

6. Use File > Import files into book to import your HTML file.

7. Rename it to be consistent with the rest of the files. (This seems to be key to FFF detecting it properly in the future.)

8. Manually update your title page and ToC (Tools > Table of Contents > Edit ToC). Delete the title page info at the top of the imported file and fix any other formatting you'd like.

9. Save the file. Edit your Calibre metadata manually.

[bgwillis1281]

Sorry. Catching up on FanFicFare plug in issues. I keep trying every few days but nothing. Not since FFnet had their upgrade or whatever they want to call it. I tried the FanFictionDownloader but I must be doing something wrong. Can't get it to work. Hope this gets resolved soon. Thanks for everyone's input.

[dakota1979]

FanFicFare is no longer working with FanFiction.net. When you put story URL in they won't load stories and you get a error message. It says the story can't be downloaded and when you view log is says FFnet won't allow and

cloudscraper reports: "Detected a Cloudflare version 2 challenge, This feature is not available...."

This is Calibre version 3.29. Running on Windows 7.

[riothamus]

Originally Posted by dakota1979

FanFicFare is no longer working with FanFiction.net. When you put story URL in they won't load stories and you get a error message. It says the story can't be downloaded and when you view log is says FFnet won't allow and

cloudscraper reports: "Detected a Cloudflare version 2 challenge, This feature is not available...."

This is Calibre version 3.29. Running on Windows 7.

This has been discussed intensively for many days previously in the thread. It's an ongoing, on again/off again problem which we hope stabilizes soon but may be SOL.

[tricklem]

Still using fff 3.27.4 and tried it with ff.net this morning. It worked. Was able to update 5 stories. Seems that the cloudflare error we were getting again has been rectified....AGAIN. I wish ff.net would just stablize.

[kim67255]

Calibre just had an update and I've downloaded/updated several groups of fanfiction stories. Let's see if this keeps up. I did restart my computer after the update. I did update several stories then did groups of 3 or 4 stories that have updated during this whole mess. They did update/work also.

[sandmanwake]

Can this site be added for downloads?:

https://1stkissnovel.love/

[DaySleeper]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Until it is resolved, here's the method I use to update my existing fics. It's a bit tedious compared to just downloading the ePub and replacing it, but it preserves the FFF structure and FFF is able to recognize it for further updates.

Thanks. Here's what I've been doing, which doesn't require me to edit the epubs and also preserves fff structure for future updates. Offering it as another option.

First, if you don't already have the EpubMerge Calibre plugin, install it. I suggest the following configuration options:
Check "copy table of contents entries," "flatten table of contents", "include books' comments", and "Keep Unmerge Metadata." The default Merged Book Word is "Anthology," if I remember correctly; I changed it to "(Merged)." This isn't a big deal, since the name will be changed back to the original title when done.

Steps 1 & 2: Same.
Steps 3 & 4: same, but save as epub; make sure you only download the chapter(s) you need to update. FFD tends to want to auto-populate the chapter numbers to download everything.
Step 5: Open Calibre and import the newly-downloaded .epub with the new chapter(s). Calibre will complain about a duplicate title - tell it to import anyway. You will now have two books with the same title.
Step 6: Re-title the updated epub to help distinguish it from the original. I simply append the number of the new chapter to the original name, e.g. "Story" becomes "Story 10" if I downloaded chapter 10.
7. Select original and new in Calibre, right-click, and run EpubMerge.
8. Make sure the original is displayed on the top of the list, followed by the new chapter - that way they are in proper order, then merge.
9. Manually update any metadata you choose.
10. View the result and make sure you're happy with it. You should now have 3 of the same title, named (for example) "Story," "Story 10," and "Story (Merged)"
11. Delete "Story," and "Story 10," then rename "Story (Merged)" to "Story."

[riothamus]

Confirming that some combination of updating calibre and/or waiting a while allowed FFF to update from ff.net. Only had one story to update but it worked.