Just did a supremely stupid thing

[ALF59]

I was adding some books and while that was going on, I was also organizing on my hard drive and renaming some folders. Yes, I renamed my Calibre Library folder. When I added the most recent books to Calibre, the program created a second, correctly named Calibre Library folder. Of course, only those books showed up in the actual Calibre database and I realized what I'd done. I re-renamed my original folder back to Calibre Library, got pop-ups asking if the folders should merge. I answered yes, but it doesn't seem to have taken. My original folder still has all my files, but they don't show up when I open Calibre. Is there a way to correct this without readding everything? Can't believe I did this! Assistance is gratefully received.

[PeterT]

The problem is that calibre bases what it is in the library on the contents of the "metadata.db" file. It sounds like the one in your "Calibre Library" is the new one from the newly created library, not the one from the library that was the original one.

Check to see what other copies of this file you can find on your PC; one of those might be the original one. However, it will not contain the "new" books only the old ones from pre stupidity.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by ALF59

I re-renamed my original folder back to Calibre Library, got pop-ups asking if the folders should merge. I answered yes, but it doesn't seem to have taken. My original folder still has all my files, but they don't show up when I open Calibre. Is there a way to correct this without readding everything?

I'm assuming you did the library folder rename and merge via the file system, that's why you can see that all the book folders (old and new) are in the library folder. But during the merge the file system took the latest calibre database (metadata.db) file - hence the database only contains the new books.

I think you should be able to reconstruct the database via - Library Maintenance->Restore database. This will create a new database based on the content of the .opf (open format packaging) files contained in each book folder - the opf files contain the metadata, including custom column values etc

Warning, this can take many hours if its big library

BR

[ALF59]

Thank you for the responses, Peter T and BetterRed. I will try the Library Maintenance option and see what happens. My library contained about 1900 books; plenty to me, but small by a lot of folks' standards, I know. We'll see if the database considers that a significant amount or not. I truly can't believe I did this. I most certainly knew better!

Update: 1900 book is a very INsignificant amount! The restore function worked perfectly and quickly. Thanks again!

[theducks]

Originally Posted by ALF59

I was adding some books and while that was going on, I was also organizing on my hard drive and renaming some folders. Yes, I renamed my Calibre Library folder. When I added the most recent books to Calibre, the program created a second, correctly named Calibre Library folder. Of course, only those books showed up in the actual Calibre database and I realized what I'd done. I re-renamed my original folder back to Calibre Library, got pop-ups asking if the folders should merge. I answered yes, but it doesn't seem to have taken. My original folder still has all my files, but they don't show up when I open Calibre. Is there a way to correct this without readding everything? Can't believe I did this! Assistance is gratefully received.

STOP! READ! recovery may be simple

if you have 2 (or more) metadata.db (with associated book folders) found on your system, Merging Libraries is SIMPLE if you let Calibre do it. You simply use the 'Add to Library' (NOT Add Books) option.

[BetterRed]

@theducks - Another stupid mistake is to not read what the OP posted 40 minutes before you chimed in

BR