Exported book names prefixed with forward slash

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Tech Guy

As I said, I have a completely stock installation of the latest Calibre, with no plugins and no modifications. I have an empty page for Metadata Plugboards. I am using Linux Mint 18 Cinnamon.

I am using Mint Linux 17.3 KDE.
I did not update yet, and everything on this computer works very well, so I am reluctant to install a new system(*) at this moment. Especially with the recent inclusion of systemd ;-).

My Calibre is up to date, but I have plugins installed, some of them even modified by me, and I carry over my configuration directory, so there might be options I have set years ago (and forgot about them).


I was suggesting that you create a metadata plugboard and create a new title field using {title} template not as a permanent workaround, but as an experiment to see where the problem is.

When that fails, try to insert a string instead of {title} and see what happens.

I want to help my fellow Mint Linux user.
Tomorrow I will experiment on a vanilla Mint Linux 18 XFCE that I have installed on another computer inside a virtualbox for similar occasions. I have installed Calibre today in that virtual machine and did not make any configuration yet.


(*) the new system will be eventually installed on a new root partition that I have ready, so I can dual-boot into the old and perfectly working system in case I run into problems. I always reserve two primary partitions for installing the root, so I can install the new system onto a partition now used by a current system. I keep /home/ partition separately and mount if from both systems.

[Tech Guy]

Originally Posted by kacir

Go to Options, Metadata Plugboard
Add a new plugboard:
Format: any format
Device: content_server
Source template: {series:ifempty(/)|| - }{series_index:0>3s|| - }{title} - {authors}
Destination field: title

If your plugboard is empty and Calibre still behaves the way you describe, try to create a new one plugboard as described above, set
Source template: {title}
and observe results.

OK, I decided to play around with your plugboard suggestion, and I don't understand what happened, or at least how it happened.

I went into the plugboards setup, and when I went to enter the new plugboard, it put up a confirmation asking if I'm sure I want to replace the existing matching template. I wasn't sure I did, so I tried editing an existing one, any format and any device (only options), and it showed me one with this template:
{series}/{title} {series_index}

It didn't list any existing plugboards, though. I then pressed the button to "Restore defaults", and could no longer repeat what I had done - ie, I could no longer enter "Any Format" to edit an existing plugboard.

I restarted the content server, and it now works the way I want, without the series prefix (whether empty or populated). But if I start to add a new plugboard like you suggested, I don't get that same error message (I only get one saying it only works with epub, mobi, and azw).

I don't know what happened. I double-checked and I have no user plugins or additions or modifications, so it's really a mystery. I may check it out on my laptop with the same OS, and see if it has this. Perhaps I'll even do a full delete and reinstall.

So, you fixed it, I think, even though we don't know quite what was going on. For that, I thank you.

[Tech Guy]

Originally Posted by kacir

I am using Mint Linux 17.3 KDE.
I did not update yet, and everything on this computer works very well, so I am reluctant to install a new system(*) at this moment. Especially with the recent inclusion of systemd ;-).

My Calibre is up to date, but I have plugins installed, some of them even modified by me, and I carry over my configuration directory, so there might be options I have set years ago (and forgot about them).


I was suggesting that you create a metadata plugboard and create a new title field using {title} template not as a permanent workaround, but as an experiment to see where the problem is.

When that fails, try to insert a string instead of {title} and see what happens.

I want to help my fellow Mint Linux user.
Tomorrow I will experiment on a vanilla Mint Linux 18 XFCE that I have installed on another computer inside a virtualbox for similar occasions. I have installed Calibre today in that virtual machine and did not make any configuration yet.


(*) the new system will be eventually installed on a new root partition that I have ready, so I can dual-boot into the old and perfectly working system in case I run into problems. I always reserve two primary partitions for installing the root, so I can install the new system onto a partition now used by a current system. I keep /home/ partition separately and mount if from both systems.

Just missed this while writing my post. I appreciate the extra effort you have made on my behalf. I really don't know anything about modifying Calibre, as I have not had any need to do anything so far, except for a Windows Vista VM version I have, where I installed a plugin.

I also have a dual boot, with the previous Mint version as an alternate; comes in handy if I need to modify existing partitions that are normally mounted. I quit using a separate home partition. Instead, I have a partition containing media and documents, and I mount directories from that into my home directory for Documents, Pictures, etc. That way, my personal stuff is separated, buy preferences stay with the OS version they go with, and I can selectively copy what I need when I do a new install. This works out better for me.

I'm enjoying using Mint Cinnamon. Never liked Ubuntu's Unity desktop, so I used Gnome Classic with Cairo Dock. Cinnamon allows me a nicer desktop but still similar to what I like, and Cairo Dock can be used with it to augment the experience.

[Tech Guy]

I believe I have found the cause for this problem. When I first installed Calibre on this computer, I accidentally installed the DeDRM plugin, but then remembered that I only needed it on the Windows version, not the Linux version, so I uninstalled it. However, it must have left some this remnant of itself.

I checked my alternate Mint install, and it worked normally. Then, I fired up my Windows VM that has the DeDRM plugin, and sure enough, it had this problem.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Tech Guy

I checked my alternate Mint install, and it worked normally. Then, I fired up my Windows VM that has the DeDRM plugin, and sure enough, it had this problem.

I have tested in a virtualbox at work with a vanilla Mint Linux 18 XFCE and vanilla Calibre and there is no problem.
I did not test DeDRM plugin.

I hope you are going to report a bug to the plugin author.

[Tech Guy]

Originally Posted by kacir

I have tested in a virtualbox at work with a vanilla Mint Linux 18 XFCE and vanilla Calibre and there is no problem.
I did not test DeDRM plugin.

I hope you are going to report a bug to the plugin author.

Thanks a lot for checking. This was a weird problem, especially since I did not remember the install/uninstall of that plugin. How did you seem to know that it was the series name that was causing the problem? I didn't catch that at first, but you seemed to guess it right away. Good catch!

I did leave a comment on the plugin's website, as instructed by him for problems. Hopefully, something will come of it. It seems like a bad idea to have done this, and hopefully he will change the template to eliminate the series name completely, if possible.

EDIT: Well, leaving a comment appears to have been a mistake. I get replies saying "Oh, no, it can't be the plugin, I never had any problems", or "If you uninstalled the plugin, then that must not be it". So, I unsubscribed from following the issue, and will not worry about it.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Tech Guy

How did you seem to know that it was the series name that was causing the problem?

Well, *you* told me ;-)

Originally Posted by Tech Guy

What I finally found was that the files that are part of a series do not have the mangled filename, and they are prefixed by the series name followed by an underscore. The name used by the server is not the same as the filename in the library, nor is it the same as the metadata filename. This made it hard to figure out.

So, the filename as presented by the content server is: "series_Title - Author Name_nnnn.xxx", with nnnn being the number assigned by Calibre. Apparently, if there is no series, it is generating "_Title - Author Name_nnn.xxx", without detecting that the series name is blank.

Then I started to go backwards and got thinking:
What could I do in Calibre to cause it to behave this way?

It looks like the plugboard was set up not through UI, so it did not have a name to display to you. Normally when you set up a template and the tag, such as {series} is empty, Calibre discards the extra path delimiters/slashes. At least when I use the template language in the "save to disk" configuration.

I suggested that you try to set up a plugboard, so that we could see whether it has any impact on the existing problem.

[Tech Guy]

Originally Posted by kacir

Well, *you* told me ;-)
Then I started to go backwards and got thinking:
What could I do in Calibre to cause it to behave this way?

It looks like the plugboard was set up not through UI, so it did not have a name to display to you. Normally when you set up a template and the tag, such as {series} is empty, Calibre discards the extra path delimiters/slashes. At least when I use the template language in the "save to disk" configuration.

I suggested that you try to set up a plugboard, so that we could see whether it has any impact on the existing problem.

Oh, silly me, I got confused about the order of your suggestions, and was too lazy to go back a page and reread it. Somehow, I thought your first suggestion was the one that checked series for empty, but it was something else that I didn't really understand due to lack of experience with how it all works.

I've never needed to change the behavior in Calibre for anything - never had a reason to, it works fine for me. I consider it to be one of the best programs I've used, because it never seems to fail me, it works the same on Linux, OSX, and Windows, and it's free with no ads, although I've contributed a number of times and will continue to do so. I recommend it to everyone who reads ebooks.

[lkmiller]

If you would like feedback from the current plugin developer, then posting an issue at GitHub is the best way to reach Apprentice Harper. The website is mainly for help with using the plugin.

[Tech Guy]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

If you would like feedback from the current plugin developer, then posting an issue at GitHub is the best way to reach Apprentice Harper. The website is mainly for help with using the plugin.

Well, all I saw on the website was this: "You must ask any questions about installing or using the DeDRM calibre plugin in a comment to most recent post on this blog."

Since the feedback I got all said it could not be caused by the plugin, I don't want to waste my time registering for another site to report a bug that will just get rejected.

[gbm]

Originally Posted by Tech Guy

Well, all I saw on the website was this: "You must ask any questions about installing or using the DeDRM calibre plugin in a comment to most recent post on this blog."

Since the feedback I got all said it could not be caused by the plugin, I don't want to waste my time registering for another site to report a bug that will just get rejected.

I have been using calibre with Linux Mint using that plugin for years and never had a problem using several ereaders.

You have a configuration problem with your setup.

Under preferences, sending books to devices.

This is the template I use to send to my nook:

{authors}/{series}/{series_index:0>2} {title}

bernie

[Tech Guy]

Originally Posted by gbm

I have been using calibre with Linux Mint using that plugin for years and never had a problem using several ereaders.

You have a configuration problem with your setup.

Under preferences, sending books to devices.

This is the template I use to send to my nook:

{authors}/{series}/{series_index:0>2} {title}

bernie

So what happens when series is blank? That's exactly the problem I had.

And why did I only have the problem with the system that had this plugin installed, but not any system without it? All of them were the same configuration, no other plugins at all.

Did you even read the rest of this discussion? Your post is not adding anything new.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by Tech Guy

So what happens when series is blank? That's exactly the problem I had.

If the series is blank, as it's not taken into account in the template, you would have something like this:

{authors}// {title}

About the other things, I've got no opinion as I don't use the content server and the DeDRM plugin hasn't added anything to my plugboard (I'm aware because I've added something myself).

[Divingduck]

So what happens when series is blank? That's exactly the problem I had.

Then you need a better template like

{authors}{series:|/|/}{series_index:0>2s}{title:| - |}