Making authors standard

[aardbewoner]

Looking for the best way to make authors standard,as now a name can be written many ways like Isaac Asimov Isaac,Asimov Isaac-Asimov Isaac.Asimov and I Asimov.
What is the best way to bulk change all to Isaac Asimov.
And that for all authors and for the whole library.

[Comfy.n]

Hi,

Take a look at plugin Find Duplicates function Find Metadata Variations

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=131017

[Sirtel]

The Quality Check plugin has options to bulk change author names and initials, but it won't help with any kind of messy metadata. From your example some manual work will be required.

[aardbewoner]

@Comfy.n great advice
@Sirtel yes it never go as we want,do It saved a lot of typing.
calibre is a great program,using it for years now.Only downside is to find its many options and plugins,admit its a luxury problem.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by aardbewoner

Looking for the best way to make authors standard,as now a name can be written many ways like Isaac Asimov Isaac,Asimov Isaac-Asimov Isaac.Asimov and I Asimov.
What is the best way to bulk change all to Isaac Asimov.
And that for all authors and for the whole library.

Quality check helps find (and FIX) some formatting variations.
BUT beware of doing Authors Automatically (1 click type fixes). There are cases where an Author uses a Middle name because there is another Author that used the same middle initial (or none). BE SURE, look at the books (list) and ask: 'do these look like they belong to the same Author?'
Right click the bad name version: Rename xyz. (If a VL is active, you get a choice of All or just the VL)

I standardized on COVER name (and Left to Right / Top to bottom order) for Calibre entries
I also added a custom column (#psudo4) for the real name, The usage for this column evolved over time)
{Authors} is what is on the cover. Exceptions: 1) I add (ed), (illus), (creator not created by) to the name where that appears with the name. 2)there is a list of 3 or more, I use the psudo4 column for all writers and only the Ed, in {Authors}. If the editor ALSO has a story, their name is included in this place also.
The one that uses both columns is when 'A' writing as 'P' (usually a reissue after the copyright reverted) {Authors} gets 'A' {#psudo4} gets 'P'. Note you may have some as original, some this way. I do not FIX. I use Preferences Searching: Grouped Searches and Similar books to include the needed columns. (The Similar group appears in the tag Browser, that is my main goto.

IMHO start in the Tag Browser: Authors section and use your eyeball and a mouse click or 2, FIRST and look at the book list and only fix those that clearly belong together.

Robert Heinlein is a common fix by adding his middle initial (A, ) The cover designer / Publisher may have been responsible for variants. Those are the only ones I 'fix'.
(I don't remember seeing any cover with his full middle name, that may appear on a copyright page. Also Authors marry, but continue to publish under the original name)
The Author may also use variants by Genre. I tend to treat them as a pen name.

Summary:
Quality check Plugin to identify and standardize initials format (configurable)
Tag Browser: Authors to fix spelling (missing data)

[BetterRed]

And if Find Duplicates and/or Quality Check don't fix correctly e.g.:

Madeleine St John → John, Madeleine St, should be St John, Madeleine,
Gabriel García Márquez → Márquez, Gabriel García should be García Márquez, Gabriel

Manage categories→Authors is the best place to fix manually.

BR

[maddz]

Also be wary of titled authors. There are 3 different people who wrote as Lord Halifax: father Charles Lindley Wood (1839–1934), 2nd Vicount Halifax, (author of Lord Halifax's Ghost Book) and son Edward Frederick Lindley Wood (1881-1959), 3rd Vicount Halifax, (later 1st Earl of Halifax), (author of Fullness of Days), and an earlier Marquess of Halifax, George Savile (1633–1695), 1st Marquess Halifax.

If you're not sure, check Wikipedia for biographies.