Still waiting on a usefull Cover browser option

paratwa · 08-21-2011, 06:11 PM

The ONLY thing I do not like about Calibre is it's cover browser option. It just does NOT work. I have tried other programs ( all my books, Alfa ebook manager) to get this option, but they all have major flaws. Mostly they do not use the .opf files that I spent many many hours getting right for my 7000 books using Calibre.

I would really like the option to search my books like I used to in a brick and mortar store, by their covers. Along with the Authors name, the cover is what would mostly attract my attention to the book. I really miss this!

Please! Someone fix this!

Otherwise Calibre is the only program worth using for ebooks. It does everything else! And it does it perfectly!

Thank you.

theducks · 08-21-2011, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paratwa

The ONLY thing I do not like about Calibre is it's cover browser option. It just does NOT work. I have tried other programs ( all my books, Alfa ebook manager) to get this option, but they all have major flaws. Mostly they do not use the .opf files that I spent many many hours getting right for my 7000 books using Calibre.

I would really like the option to search my books like I used to in a brick and mortar store, by their covers. Along with the Authors name, the cover is what would mostly attract my attention to the book. I really miss this!

Please! Someone fix this!

Otherwise Calibre is the only program worth using for ebooks. It does everything else! And it does it perfectly!

Thank you.

Huh! It works fine.

The covers shown are what is in the Library view.
The order show is the current Library Sort
The Title is shown in Big Letters
Double-clicking the cover brings up the book in Calibre's Viewer. The details (in the main Library view) maintain sync with the cover browser.

HarryT · 08-22-2011, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Huh! It works fine.

The covers shown are what is in the Library view.
The order show is the current Library Sort
The Title is shown in Big Letters
Double-clicking the cover brings up the book in Calibre's Viewer. The details (in the main Library view) maintain sync with the cover browser.

I think that what the OP is asking for is a library view which shows images of all your book covers, so that you can browse through them visually.

Graham · 08-22-2011, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paratwa

I would really like the option to search my books like I used to in a brick and mortar store, by their covers.

I've never quite understood this argument. In bricks and mortar stores I search 95% of the books by their spines, not their covers. When I see one of interest I pull it out and look at the cover. This is surely exactly equivalent to browsing through Calibre's list view and pausing against an item of interest (which brings up its cover in the cover viewer).

In stores we do get some piles of books out on tables, and others with their covers on display for promotion, but most are in shelves. I suppose the equivalent in Calibre might be for it to spread a random selection of covers out in the viewer when no title is selected. That might be quite fun!

Anyway, I've got no issue with a thumbnail view being included, it would add another string to Calibre's already substantial bow.

Graham

theducks · 08-22-2011, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graham

I've never quite understood this argument. In bricks and mortar stores I search 95% of the books by their spines, not their covers. When I see one of interest I pull it out and look at the cover. This is surely exactly equivalent to browsing through Calibre's list view and pausing against an item of interest (which brings up its cover in the cover viewer).

In stores we do get some piles of books out on tables, and others with their covers on display for promotion, but most are in shelves. I suppose the equivalent in Calibre might be for it to spread a random selection of covers out in the viewer when no title is selected. That might be quite fun!

Anyway, I've got no issue with a thumbnail view being included, it would add another string to Calibre's already substantial bow.

Graham

OTOH as a former pusher of Dead Tree products, Face Out sells way better

Graham · 08-22-2011, 07:19 AM

One thing that may be easier to implement than a full thumbnail listing would be if Calibre could recognise where in the cover browser you click, and move the highlight to that title.

At the moment clicking anywhere in the cover browser will only move the highlight one book to the left or right, even though the visible parts of the covers will often let you see the book you want further along the line.

You can do a click and drag to scroll a little way through, but I've not found this accurate enough to be useful in practice. Maybe it's because I have my cover browser set to show 20 titles to either side of the central one.

Graham

paratwa · 08-22-2011, 06:03 PM

The main problem I have with Calibre's cover browser, is that it is so SLOW! I have 7000 books, and it can take over 1 minute to go from one cover to the next.

And yes, in a brick and mortar store I would see the title on the spine, and if it interested me I would see what the cover was like, then I would read the description. But in my home (actual books) library I am always looking for a book to re read and I can never remember the author, but I can remember what the cover looked like. So being able to see the covers using the cover browser would really be nice.

Even thumbnails would be a nice option.

kovidgoyal · 08-22-2011, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paratwa

The main problem I have with Calibre's cover browser, is that it is so SLOW! I have 7000 books, and it can take over 1 minute to go from one cover to the next.

Click anywhere in the cover browser. Now hold down the right arrow. Or to go even faster hold down the Ctrl key and the right arrow. That allowsme to browse through 400 books in about a minute, faster than my brain can take in the information.

If you dont like using the keyboard, use the mouse wheel to acheive the same effect.

speakingtohe · 08-22-2011, 08:06 PM

Quote:

The main problem I have with Calibre's cover browser, is that it is so SLOW! I have 7000 books, and it can take over 1 minute to go from one cover to the next.

I have a lot more books and am unfortunately using an old single core laptop right now. The cover browser seems to go from one cover to the next immediately even on a very slow external drive.

You may have some sort of hard drive problem.

Helen

DoctorOhh · 08-22-2011, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Quote:

Originally Posted by paratwa

The main problem I have with Calibre's cover browser, is that it is so SLOW! I have 7000 books, and it can take over 1 minute to go from one cover to the next.

I have a lot more books and am unfortunately using an old single core laptop right now. The cover browser seems to go from one cover to the next immediately even on a very slow external drive.

I too have more than 7000 book in my library and I agree with Helen, you must have something wrong with your system. Using the mouse wheel I can scroll through 300 covers per minute. If you use the integrated cover browser (see attached) then skipping straight to an author via the list view or genre via the search bar is fast and scrolling the covers once you're in the area is very quick.

I hope you work out your problem.

Starson17 · 08-23-2011, 11:50 AM

This could be a problem with the antivirus kicking in on each book. Excluding the library from AV scans might help.

paratwa · 08-23-2011, 06:44 PM

Man, I feel stupid. I figured out why it was running so slow for me. I had the cover browser set to show 99 books at a time. Once I turned it down to show 30, it now fly's!

But, I would still prefer a tiled window instead of what is used now.

Thanks for all your tips!

DoctorOhh · 08-23-2011, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paratwa

Man, I feel stupid. I figured out why it was running so slow for me. I had the cover browser set to show 99 books at a time. Once I turned it down to show 30, it now fly's!

I'm glad it's working better. Don't you hate self inflicted errors.

I think setting it to 30 may still be overkill.

The number in preferences is the number of covers it will show on either side of the center book. On my 22 inch display with a width of 1680 my cover browser if extended the entire width can only show 20 or 21 covers (for 20 covers see attached) either side of the center book depending on if you like a black trim on the ends.

I have mine set to 20, if your display is wider 30 might be perfect. I'm not sure setting the number higher than what can be displayed gains you anything. Then again, up to a point, it might be caching them for increased performance.

Thanks for sharing the cause of your delay.

08-21-2011, 06:11 PM	#1
paratwa Sci Fi fan Posts: 11 Karma: 100 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Kindle 3	Still waiting on a usefull Cover browser option The ONLY thing I do not like about Calibre is it's cover browser option. It just does NOT work. I have tried other programs ( all my books, Alfa ebook manager) to get this option, but they all have major flaws. Mostly they do not use the .opf files that I spent many many hours getting right for my 7000 books using Calibre. I would really like the option to search my books like I used to in a brick and mortar store, by their covers. Along with the Authors name, the cover is what would mostly attract my attention to the book. I really miss this! Please! Someone fix this! Otherwise Calibre is the only program worth using for ebooks. It does everything else! And it does it perfectly! Thank you.

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08-22-2011, 07:19 AM	#6
Graham Wizard Posts: 2,742 Karma: 32912427 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: North Yorkshire, UK Device: Kobo H20, Pixel 2, Samsung Chromebook Plus	One thing that may be easier to implement than a full thumbnail listing would be if Calibre could recognise where in the cover browser you click, and move the highlight to that title. At the moment clicking anywhere in the cover browser will only move the highlight one book to the left or right, even though the visible parts of the covers will often let you see the book you want further along the line. You can do a click and drag to scroll a little way through, but I've not found this accurate enough to be useful in practice. Maybe it's because I have my cover browser set to show 20 titles to either side of the central one. Graham

08-22-2011, 06:03 PM	#7
paratwa Sci Fi fan Posts: 11 Karma: 100 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Kindle 3	The main problem I have with Calibre's cover browser, is that it is so SLOW! I have 7000 books, and it can take over 1 minute to go from one cover to the next. And yes, in a brick and mortar store I would see the title on the spine, and if it interested me I would see what the cover was like, then I would read the description. But in my home (actual books) library I am always looking for a book to re read and I can never remember the author, but I can remember what the cover looked like. So being able to see the covers using the cover browser would really be nice. Even thumbnails would be a nice option.

08-23-2011, 11:50 AM	#11
Starson17 Wizard Posts: 4,004 Karma: 177841 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: WinMo: IPAQ; Android: HTC HD2, Archos 7o; Java:Gravity T	This could be a problem with the antivirus kicking in on each book. Excluding the library from AV scans might help.

08-23-2011, 06:44 PM	#12
paratwa Sci Fi fan Posts: 11 Karma: 100 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Kindle 3	Man, I feel stupid. I figured out why it was running so slow for me. I had the cover browser set to show 99 books at a time. Once I turned it down to show 30, it now fly's! But, I would still prefer a tiled window instead of what is used now. Thanks for all your tips!