Saving Cover images???

[birdman28]

Hi, is there a way to save all my cover images in one directory?
The only way I have for now is to copy every single cover from the books I add or convert to a directory and I must rename them one by one because all cover images are named cover.jpg
Thanks in advance.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by birdman28

Hi, is there a way to save all my cover images in one directory?
The only way I have for now is to copy every single cover from the books I add or convert to a directory and I must rename them one by one because all cover images are named cover.jpg
Thanks in advance.

Use Save to Disk - Save to a single folder. Set your preferred name scheme in Preferences Adding Books and make sure the option to save the cover is checked. The covers will be renamed the way you want and be saved into the folder along with the formats (delete them if you don't want them). You'll save some time if you only save a single format.

[birdman28]

Hi, I checked in preferences, adding books and didn't see a place to put a checkmark for the covers but I tried what you said about saving to a single directory and it worked. At least it changes the cover name to the name of the book so it will be good for me this way.
Thank you very much for you time and help
Have a nice day.

[transmitthis]

And if, like me you prefer the cover names the other way round, just bulk metadata, and click the sway author/title. before saving. Then swap back

Its a nice way to have a folder of all the covers of the books you have read to make web sites and gallery's etc.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by birdman28

Hi, I checked in preferences, adding books and didn't see a place to put a checkmark for the covers

Ooops - I meant preferences Import/Export "Saving," not "Adding."

[birdman28]

Thank you both, I'll give it a try now.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by transmitthis

And if, like me you prefer the cover names the other way round, just bulk metadata, and click the sway author/title. before saving. Then swap back

This forces Calibre to convert all the metadata and rename all the folders and files and do lots of other unnecessary work. It may work for a few books, but I wouldn't want to do it for all the books, like he is going to do. It's simpler to just change the regex in Preferences Import/Export Saving so the real author and real title are saved in the format and order you want them saved in.

[transmitthis]

I see, it will, but should I be concerned about how much "work Calibre is doing really?

Yours is obviously the most elegant and correct way to do that - but its a usability thing, I know how to edit metadata, and I know where that swap author title box is.

If I had to go into preferences then import/export and mess around with saving regex expressions... I mean, I just wouldn't

Most people don't learn everything about every program they use, so are most likely to use the most easy accessible simple option to do what they want.
I know its wrong and I know its dirty....

[chaley]

Originally Posted by transmitthis

I see, it will, but should I be concerned about how much "work Calibre is doing really?

Unfortunately, in this case, yes, you should be concerned. Changing the author or the title can take a second per book, and seldom takes less than 1/4 second. 1000 books -- 250 to 1000 seconds, or some 4 to 16 minutes. In your scenario that could be in excess of 1/2 hour to flop the names then flop them back.

In addition, because of operating system caching, there are inflection points in the times where things suddenly get slower. Where those points are depends on the about of free memory on the machine. What this means is that there is no guarantee that 2000 books takes twice as long as 1000 books. It could be three times as long.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by Starson17

Use Save to Disk - Save to a single folder. Set your preferred name scheme in Preferences Adding Books and make sure the option to save the cover is checked. The covers will be renamed the way you want and be saved into the folder along with the formats (delete them if you don't want them). You'll save some time if you only save a single format.

thanks for that great idea , works like a champ.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by transmitthis

Most people don't learn everything about every program they use, so are most likely to use the most easy accessible simple option to do what they want.
I know its wrong and I know its dirty....

There's no single "right" way, I was just wanted to make sure the OP knew the tradeoff. As Charles pointed out, the swap process could take a very long time for an entire library. Swapping could cause real problems if there was a power failure while doing the initial author name->title swap or when trying to undo it afterwards.

I understand the concern if you aren't comfortable with the templates used by Calibre, but if anyone finds themselves in that position, I hope they'll ask. There are many people here who know that stuff inside and out and are very willing to help out.

[da_jane]

I have a catalog with no actual ebook files but a database of upcoming releases. How do I save the covers with the calibre ID? I went into preferences and changed the save to disk options to {id} but each time I try to save, it says no preferred book format. Is there no way to save the cover image with the calibre id name?

[theducks]

Originally Posted by da_jane

I have a catalog with no actual ebook files but a database of upcoming releases. How do I save the covers with the calibre ID? I went into preferences and changed the save to disk options to {id} but each time I try to save, it says no preferred book format. Is there no way to save the cover image with the calibre id name?

You found the 'Gottcha' with backing up using the 'Save to...' or Send to Device. You can't use those for empty books.
You can backup the entire Library Folder using the OS backup tools or Copy command.
You could place a (you will use the same file many times) dummy book into the Metadata formats window (this way does not care what the file name is), then use the Modify EPUB plugin to update the jacket (inserts the associated cover)

[MartyTX]

Originally Posted by Starson17

Use Save to Disk - Save to a single folder. Set your preferred name scheme in Preferences>Saving Books to Disk and make sure the option to save the cover is checked. The covers will be renamed the way you want and be saved into the folder along with the formats (delete them if you don't want them). You'll save some time if you only save a single format.

Starson17,

I realize your original post is a golden oldie, but it just answered a question I had. Good advice is timeless.

Thanks for your help ...