[Android] Wish List

[mgaillard]

Originally Posted by kaufman

This is what I do as well

I'm not sure I understand what the value of this is. How is this different than what you are doing now, but just limiting how far back you look in the list?

Well, I think it should load faster than the whole list ( I have thousands of books on a SD card) and free the no grouping for an other sort. Actualy it is a very common type of grouping in library apps, so it could be added to CC just to get the whole thing.

But I agree with you as I say I'm not sure it is worth the work.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by mgaillard

Hi, everybody,

I was wandering if anybody would be interest by a "recents" group.
I usualy work this around by setting the sort of "no grouping" on date added to CC. Anyway I long for a customizable "recents" book group with the ability (in the settings) of retaining books either from last week, last month, last three monthes... or last added.

I think this could quite easily been implemented, as CC keeps memory of date added. But it is not necessarely worth the work for it if I am the only one interested.

Maxime

Discussion moved to its own thread.

[Boxlady]

First great app.
1. It would be nice if it could chose a random book from what I have on the device.
2. Be able to add a field like read check mark when looking at books though the connect to server function.

Both of these would be a nice add action Imo

Thanks
Julie

[NSILMike]

Chaley-
Have you ever considered making it possible for Calibre Companion to detect books downloaded to a device running CC via USB? (I still have my occasional problem where CC cannot detect Calibre wirelessly, and sometimes I just connect my Nexus Android tablet to my laptop via USB and transfer news books via Calibre that way, as I orginally did on my Kindle a long time ago.) I load to the same folder location either way, but apparently CC doesn't scan for new books when started (or manually?)

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Boxlady

First great app.
1. It would be nice if it could chose a random book from what I have on the device.

With no intention of being snarky, I have never understood the benefit of something like this. Help me, please. What is the point?

2. Be able to add a field like read check mark when looking at books though the connect to server function.

Currently there is a check mark saying that the book is on the device. To be sure I understand, are you asking for a second check mark for books already on the device showing CC's 'Read' value? Or are you asking for something else?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by NSILMike

Chaley-
Have you ever considered making it possible for Calibre Companion to detect books downloaded to a device running CC via USB? (I still have my occasional problem where CC cannot detect Calibre wirelessly, and sometimes I just connect my Nexus Android tablet to my laptop via USB and transfer news books via Calibre that way, as I orginally did on my Kindle a long time ago.) I load to the same folder location either way, but apparently CC doesn't scan for new books when started (or manually?)

CC does not automatically add books added by methods outside of CC. The main reason is that the metadata in the book is totally untrustworthy, perhaps not coming from calibre at all and perhaps simply not there (think mobi and txt). Additionally there is no guarantee that the books end up in the correct directories defined in CC's settings.

CC can (and by default will) scan for new books when you connect as a wireless device because it can ask calibre for correct metadata including covers. If calibre doesn't match then the book shows in CC in a very strange way, without cover thumbs, correct author and title info, and showing other strange things. If CC tried to auto-add books as a matter of course then these problems would become "normal", something that would lead to no end of problems for us. I would very much rather not be required to deal with the ensuing support fallout. For example I recently had to fix a crash that killed CC at startup caused by ratings that did not conform to calibre rules.

This FAQ answer provides some ways to get books onto CC if for some reason you can't use the wireless device connection.

[NSILMike]

Originally Posted by chaley

CC does not automatically add books added by methods outside of CC. The main reason is that the metadata in the book is totally untrustworthy, perhaps not coming from calibre at all and perhaps simply not there (think mobi and txt). Additionally there is no guarantee that the books end up in the correct directories defined in CC's settings.

CC can (and by default will) scan for new books when you connect as a wireless device because it can ask calibre for correct metadata including covers. If calibre doesn't match then the book shows in CC in a very strange way, without cover thumbs, correct author and title info, and showing other strange things. If CC tried to auto-add books as a matter of course then these problems would become "normal", something that would lead to no end of problems for us. I would very much rather not be required to deal with the ensuing support fallout. For example I recently had to fix a crash that killed CC at startup caused by ratings that did not conform to calibre rules.

This FAQ answer provides some ways to get books onto CC if for some reason you can't use the wireless device connection.

I have noticed this and I understand your reticence for this... thanks!

[eschwartz]

chaley, you could solve the nonconformity by only adding books placed there by calibre -- with a metadata.calibre file accompanying it, from which you derive the properly-formatted metadata.

It would be sort of like a delayed-action wireless connection, only wired.
Maybe a special setting in the Android device driver?

[iatheia]

It would be nice if CC would remember the last opened window it had before the program has closed (or at least have an option to do so) - such as keeping track of the filtering option (right now it remembers that it was filtering something, but not what it was, usually returning an empty list), or a book details page, since, if I'm in a process of reading a book I will most likely just want to pick up from the spot I left it. The option to just sort the books by the last access date is nice, but it doesn't quite organize everything as neatly as I like.

I don't really know if it is part of CC's coding or has mostly to do with a particular reading software, but if I were to open a book with CC and go to a certain page, if I were to go back and then start the ereader software outside of CC, it would not realize that the book has been opened and read. Not a problem if I always open it through CC first, but this is why remembering last opened window would be nice to have.

Also, if the book is on the last page in an ereader, it would be nice if, after backing up to CC, a dialog showed up asking to mark it as complete, if it is something that CC would be able to keep track of.

Anyway, thanks for the great program!

[chaley]

Originally Posted by iatheia

It would be nice if CC would remember the last opened window it had before the program has closed (or at least have an option to do so) - such as keeping track of the filtering option (right now it remembers that it was filtering something, but not what it was, usually returning an empty list), or a book details page, since, if I'm in a process of reading a book I will most likely just want to pick up from the spot I left it. The option to just sort the books by the last access date is nice, but it doesn't quite organize everything as neatly as I like.

I don't really know if it is part of CC's coding or has mostly to do with a particular reading software, but if I were to open a book with CC and go to a certain page, if I were to go back and then start the ereader software outside of CC, it would not realize that the book has been opened and read. Not a problem if I always open it through CC first, but this is why remembering last opened window would be nice to have.

Also, if the book is on the last page in an ereader, it would be nice if, after backing up to CC, a dialog showed up asking to mark it as complete, if it is something that CC would be able to keep track of.

Anyway, thanks for the great program!

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Conversation moved to its own thread.

[OldLincoln]

1. I would prefer NOT to see the left pane "No Grouping" panel (shows in landscape mode on my 10" tablet).

2. If I could have #1, I'd like to see the book cover matrix full width in landscape mode. Currently with large thumbnails, I only see 4 covers per line, 2 lines per page.

3. Wish for thumbnail size between medium and large for my old eyes.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by OldLincoln

1. I would prefer NOT to see the left pane "No Grouping" panel (shows in landscape mode on my 10" tablet).

Settings / Grouping Drawer / uncheck Leave Grouping Drawer Open.

2. If I could have #1, I'd like to see the book cover matrix full width in landscape mode. Currently with large thumbnails, I only see 4 covers per line, 2 lines per page.

The grid will consume all available space. I don't know how many columns that will show, probably 1 or 2 more. It won't change the number of rows.

3. Wish for thumbnail size between medium and large for my old eyes.

This won't happen because of how the settings are internally stored. Adding a setting in the middle would require adjusting settings on all devices on every future upgrade.

[kaufman]

A relatively small request.

Right now if the grouping drawer is open, and no grouping is set, tapping on the back key brings up the "tap twice to exit" message. Could you change this so the it instead closes the grouping drawer? At the point tapping it again could bring up that message. And tapping the third time would exit as you do now. This would have 2 advantages:

1) It would make it more closely match the "material design" functionality of other apps. Generally apps that have a slide out tray close it with the back button.

2) (This is more personal) I recently got a new phone and the back button is on the left, and I find I keep hitting it with my thumb to close the tray instead of dragging to close it. Two years of dragging and I still automatically go to the back button. So much for muscle memory.

I'm not sure that this needs to be an option to keep the current functionality because of reason 1, and because all you are doing is forcing people to hit back one extra time to get the current functionality.

I'm not suggestions getting rid of the drag to close, just adding this alternative method. I'm also not suggestion that back close the tray when a grouping is set. The only change would be if no grouping is set, the back button would close the grouping menu instead of bringing up the exit message.

Thoughts about this from anyone else? Would this bother anyone?

[mgaillard]

I noticed that hitting the back button while a grouping is set brings to no grouping, even if the grouping drawer is closed, whitch is very disturbing in that case (seeing the list of books change, as i was just thinking exiting the program).
So, I shall be OK whith kaufman, but with further change: the back key should not be used to set no grouping, but only closing the drawer (and once - or if - the drawer is closed, used to exit the program by clicking it twice).

[OldLincoln]

I understand you can change options and even swipe the drawers closed in portrait (narrow screen) mode, but my request has to do with wide screen view. No options or tricks I have found will close them. However, if the number of books does not increase to cover the widescreen view it doesn't matter. My request was simply a wish for maybe someday. I love CC and it allowed me to completely move away from the clunky, buggy, Kindle for Android.