Custom Column Filter - Unexpected behaviour

[Comfy.n]

Hi all,

I'm getting unexpected behaviour from this search using the Goodreads Plugin:

When using #r (my lookup name for the custom column containing the grrating identifier), #r:false returns 0 titles; whereas using identifiers:grrating:false the search returns the correct number of titles in the library that still don't have the grrating.

OTOH, both identifiers:grrating:true and #r:true queries return the titles that already have the grrating, as expected.

(i've tried renaming the custom column from #r to #gr, restarting Calibre, but that didn't help: searching for #gr:false returns an empty list)

[Comfy.n]

as a workaround I'm using

not #r:true

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

Hi all,

I'm getting unexpected behaviour from this search using the Goodreads Plugin:

When using #r (my lookup name for the custom column containing the grrating identifier), #r:false returns 0 titles; when using identifiers:grrating:false the search returns the correct number of titles in the library that still don't have the grrating.

OTOH, both identifiers:grrating:true and #r:true queries return the titles that already have the grrating, as expected.

(i've tried renaming the custom column from #r to #gr, restarting Calibre, but that didn't help: searching for #gr:false returns a empty list)

What is the column type of #r? If it is a composite column (built from ...) then what is the template?

My guess is that the problem is related to confusion about what ':true' and ':false' mean in calibre searches. ':true' finds books with any value in the column and ':false' finds finds books with no value. For composites, empty is considered to be no value. For bool and bool-like columns, :false finds books with no value in the column, not columns containing 'No'.

[kiwidude]

Originally Posted by chaley

What is the column type of #r? If it is a composite column (built from ...) then what is the template?.

Assuming comfy.n followed the readme instructions, it would indeed by a 'Column built from other columns' and the template will be:

{identifiers:select(grrating)}

[chaley]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

Assuming comfy.n followed the readme instructions, it would indeed by a 'Column built from other columns' and the template will be:

{identifiers:select(grrating)}

In which case I am confused. The column will be empty if there is no identifier 'grrating'. #r:false will find those columns.

Also, the search "not #r:true" is exactly equivalent to the search "#r:false". If that isn't true then something is broken and I would really like to see the underlying data.

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

{identifiers:select(grrating)}

I'm using that

edit: attached screenshots to illustrate

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

I'm using that

Then as I said above, I am confused. What you describe should not be possible. And I can't make it fail.

Are you willing to share your metadata.db with me so I can debug this? If so, zip it up and send it to "calibre-bugs at charleshaley dot org" (obvious substitutions). Note that I will see which books you have in your library (could be a problem for you), but not the books themselves.

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by chaley

Then as I said above, I am confused. What you describe should not be possible. And I can't make it fail.

Are you willing to share your metadata.db with me so I can debug this? If so, zip it up and send it to "calibre-bugs at charleshaley dot org" (obvious substitutions). Note that I will see which books you have in your library (could be a problem for you), but not the books themselves.

I'd rather not, at the moment. In a post above I attached two screenshots, just to illustrate. Later I'll do some testing on a portable install.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

I'd rather not, at the moment. In a post above I attached two screenshots, just to illustrate. Later I'll do some testing on a portable install.

Would you post an image of the #r column definition screen?

[chaley]

Never mind. I think I found it. It is an interaction between composites containing 'numbers' and blank columns. Indeed, in this case not #r:true does not equal #r:false.

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by chaley

Never mind. I think I found it. It is an interaction between composites containing 'numbers' and blank columns. Indeed, in this case not #r:true does not equal #r:false.

Nice, anyway I'm attaching the metadata.db from a portable install (Calibre 6.5, Windows 10), in which the same behaviour was reproduced

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by chaley

Would you post an image of the #r column definition screen?

here you are:

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

Nice, anyway I'm attaching the metadata.db from a portable install (Calibre 6.5, Windows 10), in which the same behaviour was reproduced

Thanks. The problem arises because you used a "behaves like tags" column type. The search code does fail in this case because it doesn't check tags-like columns for empty.

You can fix it by changing the column type to "column built from other columns". This is what it should be, because it cannot contain multiple values.

In any event I will fix calibre.

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by chaley

Thanks. The problem arises because you used a "behaves like tags" column type. The search code does fail in this case because it doesn't check tags-like columns for empty.

You can fix it by changing the column type to "column built from other columns". This is what it should be, because it cannot contain multiple values.

In any event I will fix calibre.

Actually I'm not using "behaves like tags", as the attached screenshot shows:

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

Actually I'm not using "behaves like tags", as the attached screenshot shows:

Sorry. The metadata.db you sent me does use 'behaves like tags', so I assumed the live library did too.