[GUI Plugin] Kindle Collections (old)

[Vandeervecken]

PS latest version of Calibre installed.

[meme]

Originally Posted by jduteau

Ha ha. With that version, I don't get the error. I was quite sure that I had the latest version of the plugin, but maybe I didn't?

In any case, that seems to have fixed the problem.

After running Preview/Create do you see anything in the report output ('Show Detail' button) that indicates a problem with a book?

[Vandeervecken]

Well got it to run, tried to edit one collection. It did that but blanked almost all of my other collections and deleted more than half the books off of my Kindle. Not feeling much love for this plugin right now.

[meme]

Originally Posted by Vandeervecken

Well got it to run, tried to edit one collection. It did that but blanked almost all of my other collections and deleted more than half the books off of my Kindle. Not feeling much love for this plugin right now.

The plugin did not delete any of your books. It simply doesn't have any code to do so.

As for blanking some of your other collections, have you run the Restore previous Kindle collections option in the plugin, and then restarted the Kindle? That will copy your old collections file on top of the new one and get you back to exactly what you had before for collections (and if you've run it a few times, you can manually move files around as the plugin always keeps the original first copy of the file). Did Edit show you all the collections/books that you expected before you modified any? Had you edited collections by some other method and not restarted before? If you actually removed from your Kindle by some means other than deleting them directly from the Kindle (e.g. you did a remove in a directory or asked Calibre to delete them), then those books would no longer be able to appear in collections making it look like some collections were blanked. If you want to try to debug the collections issue then I'll be glad to help if you PM me files, examples.

[Pendragon]

Originally Posted by meme

If there aren't any names showing up in the collections then it sounds like there is a problem with the Kindle mapping the codes in the collections file to the actual books on the Kindle. Check the collections.json file manually to see if any books are listed in the collections. If there are entries, then its a mismatch of books/codes. If there aren't any, then that's odd.

Have you tried using Edit Collections in the plugin and seeing if books appear to be in collections, maybe adding one or two to a collection, then saving and restarting the Kindle (restarting, not just turning off/on)?



That does sound bizarre. Collections are stored on the Kindle in a file called collections.json. The Kindle reads this file only once after a restart. If you edit collections on the Kindle itself, it will update the file. But if you edit collections using the plugin or manually update the file, the file is not read until you restart the Kindle. So unless you've installed the Fonts or Screensavers hack and enabled fast boot (which will cause the file to be reread without restarting the Kindle), then its not clear why the collections would be ok after unplugging if they weren't ok before.

I do have the screensaver hack installed, but just took the default settings ie did not enable fast reboot, all of my collections were installed using the app in manual mode, and everything shows in the collections before the kindle reboots itself after detaching, however as i mentioned not once the unit reboots until I've attached it to a PC, attaching to power does not initiate the reset, unit runs fine until it is rebooted, its almost like the unit revisits the .json file after connecting with the pc, the family also has 2 K3G's and they work perfrectly it's just my KDXG that's flaky, tried restting the unit back to factory but once I reloaded it and applied the hack the same thing happens

[meme]

Originally Posted by Pendragon

I do have the screensaver hack installed, but just took the default settings ie did not enable fast reboot, all of my collections were installed using the app in manual mode, and everything shows in the collections before the kindle reboots itself after detaching, however as i mentioned not once the unit reboots until I've attached it to a PC, attaching to power does not initiate the reset, unit runs fine until it is rebooted, its almost like the unit revisits the .json file after connecting with the pc, the family also has 2 K3G's and they work perfrectly it's just my KDXG that's flaky, tried restting the unit back to factory but once I reloaded it and applied the hack the same thing happens

Unfortunately I don't have a DX so I can test - its entirely possible that the unit behaves differently, but maybe someone with a DX who is using collections can comment.

Note the plugin will do a fast reboot when you disconnect if it knows you have a hack installed - unless you uncheck the setting in the Customization screen.

[Eljayb]

First I need to thank you for this terrific plug-in. It has made owning a Kindle a real delight. I have happily made a couple of donations to the cause in acknowledgement of the great utility you have provided us with.

I am in the lovely position of having 150+ collections. a total of 13 screens or pages.

I find the default setting of the most recent collection I have opened being brought to the beginning quite frustrating as I tend to hop all over the place among my collections and it is a nuisance having to remember the reason an author is not in the alpha position is because I glanced at a book in the collection a couple of weeks ago and now it is sitting in page two instead of where it belongs towards the back of the alphabet.

Is there a fiddle which I can do to change the default setting so that collections are always in alpha order?

Again, many thanks for the support you offer.

Lloyd Brady

[xyzz]

I changed font and margins settings 4-5 times its worked but now dont work.
How i can back kindle's default font and margin settings?

[vogelap]

I am, perhaps, dense, but I am not sure how to proceed in using this script.

I would like my books to be categorized by a custom column (which I have successfully set up in Calibre) called "Imported Kindle Categories". On my Windows 7 machine, I've assigned categories to books by populating that column with the name(s) of existing categories (like "Culinary", "Sci-Fi", etc) on my K3. I then select my books on my PC and send them to my Kindle 3. I eject the device after copying and Restart. The books do not show up in the categories as expected...

I've got some books on the K3 already in categories, and I'd like to add a bunch of new books to those existing categories... Please help! I think I'm making this more difficult than it needs to be.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by vogelap

I am, perhaps, dense, but I am not sure how to proceed in using this script.

I don't use the Kindle so I can't be of much help, one question have you reviewed the first post in this thread?

I'm sure more informed folks will be around shortly to help get you started.

Good Luck.

[vogelap]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

I don't use the Kindle so I can't be of much help, one question have you reviewed the first post in this thread?

I'm sure more informed folks will be around shortly to help get you started.

Good Luck.

Thanks... I did read the first message thoroughly (even printed it out), but it doesn't seem to be working for me. I'm using a K3 with 3.1 and the latest version of Calibre (0.8.17), and the latest version of the plugin.

I'm reluctant to do anything with the plugin until I'm told the specific steps to take, for fear of wrecking my Kindle's collection... I don't want to have to rebuild all that if I can avoid having to do so!

[meme]

Originally Posted by Eljayb

Is there a fiddle which I can do to change the default setting so that collections are always in alpha order?

On your Kindle if you click the Home button and then use the five-way controller to move up until you are on the top line, you can then use the controller to go right and then select 'Sort by Title'. This will keep your collections sorted by title. Unfortunately it also means your books are listed too. But if you prepend your collections with an '_' or similar character then they will always sort to the top and your book titles will follow.

If you keep it sorting by Collections, then by default the Kindle will sort this list by Most Recent. If you want it sorted by title again you would have to re-run the Create Collections option in the plugin - this resets the timestamps of all the collections to force them to appear in title order.

Glad its working well, and thanks for the support

[meme]

Originally Posted by xyzz

I changed font and margins settings 4-5 times its worked but now dont work.
How i can back kindle's default font and margin settings?

Fonts and margins will only work for certain books. Some books annoyingly fix this setting so changing the settings on the Kindle has no effect.

If you want the Kindle's default font/margin settings then you can run the plugin and select the Modify Kindle Settings and uncheck the Allow boxes, save, and Restart your Kindle. Or on the Kindle you can click the Aa button and select the justification and a font and this usually forces the Kindle to use its defaults.

[meme]

Originally Posted by vogelap

I am, perhaps, dense, but I am not sure how to proceed in using this script.

I would like my books to be categorized by a custom column (which I have successfully set up in Calibre) called "Imported Kindle Categories". On my Windows 7 machine, I've assigned categories to books by populating that column with the name(s) of existing categories (like "Culinary", "Sci-Fi", etc) on my K3. I then select my books on my PC and send them to my Kindle 3. I eject the device after copying and Restart. The books do not show up in the categories as expected...

I've got some books on the K3 already in categories, and I'd like to add a bunch of new books to those existing categories... Please help! I think I'm making this more difficult than it needs to be.

Well, as dwanthny says, its best to read the first post. But I'm a little confused on your process.

Are you actually running the plugin's Create Collection option (after customizing and selecting your 'Imported Kindle Categories' custom column)? If you just send the books to the Kindle then the collections won't be created - you have to run the plugin.

Also, are you aware that you can run 'Import Collections' from the Kindle to import the name of your existing collections into your custom column instead of manually re-typing them?

You can always run Restore Collections to return the collection list to its previous state, and a copy of the original collections file is kept on the Kindle if you really need to restore to before running the plugin (or you can copy the system\collections.json file to your PC as an extra backup as well).

Note, the plugin will only be able to manage collections for books that are in calibre (unless you use the Edit Collections option to manually edit them). If you have books only on the Kindle and not in calibre then they should be in their own collections.

[vogelap]

Originally Posted by meme

Well, as dwanthny says, its best to read the first post. But I'm a little confused on your process.

Are you actually running the plugin's Create Collection option (after customizing and selecting your 'Imported Kindle Categories' custom column)? If you just send the books to the Kindle then the collections won't be created - you have to run the plugin.

Also, are you aware that you can run 'Import Collections' from the Kindle to import the name of your existing collections into your custom column instead of manually re-typing them?

You can always run Restore Collections to return the collection list to its previous state, and a copy of the original collections file is kept on the Kindle if you really need to restore to before running the plugin (or you can copy the system\collections.json file to your PC as an extra backup as well).

Note, the plugin will only be able to manage collections for books that are in calibre (unless you use the Edit Collections option to manually edit them). If you have books only on the Kindle and not in calibre then they should be in their own collections.

Thank you for the reply. I apologize for being unclear in my original post.

My anticipated workflow (with a couple questions, below) is this:
* Using Calibre, copy the books from my K3 to my Kindle Library on my main PC at home. I've previously created "Imported Kindle Collections" column.
* Run the Kindle Collection Manager and import my Collections from my K3 to Calibre. I should see the "Imported Kindle Collections" column populate, right?
* In Calibre, assign/edit books to categories as I desire.

Now, my questions:
* What do I do after that? In this scenario, I've got books assigned to categories on Calibre but not on my K3. What steps are required to get the categorized books from Calbire to K3?
* Must I run the Kindle Collection Manager plugin before and after every category modification on Calibre and K3?

Sorry for my confusion... I want to learn to do this correctly so I don't have to manually assign categories any more!

I appreciate the help of this group.