[GUI Plugin] FanFicFare

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Do the site-specific ones run before or after defaults? I have a replace_metadata in defaults that changes it:

replace_metadata happens before generate_cover_settings and the first generate_cover_settings setting that matches is used. add_to_* goes most general to most specific. See wiki.

Originally Posted by Ascello

Shouldn't that be "publisher" not "site"? That's what I use to change the publisher look in the title page.

## The metadata entry 'site' predates Calibre integration, and was
## later labeled Publisher and used to fill Calibre's Publisher field.
## Because users keep expecting it to be 'publisher' instead,
## 'publisher' is now a copy of 'site' and the Calibre plugin now uses
## 'publisher' instead.  Default titlepage_entries are also changed.
include_in_publisher:site
publisher_label:Publisher

Originally Posted by Ascello

...

There are currently ~30 broken sites in FFF. Given the number of times I've had to resurrect code for 'dead' sites that came back, I don't declare them gone for good as long as the DNS record is still active and until a considerable time has passed.

ncisfiction.com doesn't put the Rating/Rated value on the 'Print' page that base_efiction uses. Since it's such a small site with last update in 2019, I may not take the time to give it custom code for that.

descriptions can be edited using replace_metadata.

[ownedbycats]

Honestly, the ffnet cover image is stumping me. Since I don't have FFF set to overwrite covers anyways I can just do it manually I think.

[JimmXinu]

New Test Version Posted


2021-04-15
- Remove site: fictionpad.com, completely different site, looks like generic parked?
- Remove site: www.thundercatsfans.org, no longer efiction, now static pages and PDFs
- Remove site: www.thepetulantpoetess.com, no longer efiction, URLs like OTW but different
- Remove site: www.potterfics.com, "Potterfics.com has closed its doors forever"
- Remove site: fanfic.castletv.net, DNS there, no server, last successful 2018-10-21
- Remove site: deandamage.com, site there, efiction broken, last successful 2018-12-04
- Remove site: www.deepinmysoul.net, moved to deepinmysoul.nl and changed software--not eFiction anymore, <100 stories, all old

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Honestly, the ffnet cover image is stumping me. Since I don't have FFF set to overwrite covers anyways I can just do it manually I think.

I don't have your setup of course, but I was able to choose different GC options from INI once all the other settings were correct:
FFF config Calibre Cover settings:
- Generate Cover - Always
- GC Plugin
- Allow generate_cover_settings to override

generate_cover_settings:
 ${cover_image} => (specific|first|default) => Current Image
 ${site}=>fanfiction.net=> ffnet logo

So I don't think there's anything wrong with FFF.

[ownedbycats]

In case it was unclear, here were my old settings, which produced a cover depending on the existing one:

[defaults]

replace_metadata: 
## Prettyizes fanfiction publishers.
 site=>www.fanfiction.net=>FanFiction.net
 site=>archiveofourown.org=>Archive of Our Own

generate_cover_settings:
## Per-publisher
 ${site}=>^FanFiction.net$=>FFNet
 ${site}=>^Archive of Our Own$=> AO3

My new one, which doesn't embed existing covers:

[defaults]

replace_metadata: 
## Prettyizes fanfiction publishers.
 site=>www.fanfiction.net=>FanFiction.net
 site=>archiveofourown.org=>Archive of Our Own

generate_cover_settings:
 ${site}=>^Archive of Our Own$=> AO3

[www.fanfiction.net]
## Embed cover in generated cover
generate_cover_settings:
 ${cover_image} => (specific|first|default) => FFNetWithImage
 ${site}=>^FanFiction.net$=> FFNet

I ran "Update Always" with "Update epub cover" checked.

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

In case it was unclear, here were my old settings, which produced a cover depending on the existing one:

Setting "Generate Calibre Cover:" to "Yes, unless FanFicFare found a cover image" prevents cover generation entirely when cover_image has any value. Need to use "Yes, Always" to generate a cover instead.

(Set 'Default' back to blank under Generate Cover Settings to not generate covers for all books.)

That gets it working for new downloads.

However, on updates, the value of cover_image is now 'old', which doesn't match your 'with image' setting. Adding 'old' to that pattern makes it work.

But! If you also check "Inject/update the cover inside EPUB", then the generated cover will be the old cover next time and now you have nested cover images.

Ways around that: 1) Use "Generate Covers Only for New Books" or 2) Don't "Inject/update the cover inside EPUB", leaving the original cover inside the epub--Calibre will automatically update the cover when saving/sending to a device (but not inject where there isn't one already?)

Anyway, I think I've said before covers are a bit of a mess.

[JimmXinu]

Another point regarding covers -- If you don't have the "Update EPUB Cover" option checked on during update, FFF internally sets never_make_cover:true and will not fetch cover images. It will, however, use an existing epub cover.

And by default, "Update EPUB Cover" is off for new installs. So that may be the source of ownedbycats's GC issue?

[JimmXinu]

Question for Plugin Users

A number of FFF's settings and defaults come from the early days ~10 years ago when users didn't trust FFF to set Calibre metadata and wanted options not to.

There are several options available on every download/update:

1. Output Format
2. Update Mode
3. Update Calibre Metadata
4. Update EPUB Cover
5. Background Metadata (updates only)

Most are self explanatory. 'Update Calibre Metadata' if unchecked, prevents FFF from updating any Calibre metadata--except for the explicit 'Update Calibre Metadata' modes which do anyway.

Which are these settings are actually useful today on every download/update?

Personally, the only one I ever change is Update Mode.

For example, does anyone run with 'Update Calibre Metadata' unchecked? Or change output format on individual downloads?

[ownedbycats]

I run "Update ePub Cover" to re-generate the cover when a fanfic gets finished, but I can do that manually. Also background metadata occasionally needs to be toggled for fics behind a login.

Regarding the cover thing: When changing "Yes, unless FFF found a cover image," my current rules will generate for every AO3 fic even if an image is found. Is there a way to make generate_cover_settings to only generate a cover if there is no image?

[JimmXinu]

This seems to work, but remember if you inject the generated cover back into the epub, it will 'old' instead.

generate_cover_settings:
 ${cover_image} => (specific|first|default) => Current Image
 ${cover_image}=>^$=> ffnet logo

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I run "Update ePub Cover" to re-generate the cover when a fanfic gets finished, but I can do that manually. Also background metadata occasionally needs to be toggled for fics behind a login.

Also, there was a few niche scenarios from a few months ago where I wanted to re-download some fics without updating metadata. Admittedly since whatever I was doing wasn't important enough that I can actually remember, it probably isn't that important.

[Minotaur]

Hi all,
Can this plugin be used to update reading progress on royalroad.com? I looked through settings and couldn't find anything relating to storing login/password for royalroad so I am guessing not?

[aleyx]

Originally Posted by Minotaur

Hi all,
Can this plugin be used to update reading progress on royalroad.com? I looked through settings and couldn't find anything relating to storing login/password for royalroad so I am guessing not?

Do you mean FFF updating a Calibre column with your RR reading progress, or FFF updating your reading progress from Calibre to RR?

There doesn't seem to be any easy way to do either. For the former, you'd have to find the current progress, which can apparently be only found on your bookmarks page, or on the series' index. Both are paginated, so you'd have to load every page on your bookmarks or every page on the series' index. That makes parsing the values a right pain (and takes ages).

For the latter, if I examine one of my own "Do you want to move your Reading Progress to this chapter" messages, you'd need to get a __RequestVerificationToken which may be randomly generated for each page load or each chapter.

So, yeah, lots of work here. I don't know it's worth it.

[chrnno]

Originally Posted by JimmXinu

Question for Plugin Users

A number of FFF's settings and defaults come from the early days ~10 years ago when users didn't trust FFF to set Calibre metadata and wanted options not to.

There are several options available on every download/update:

1. Output Format
2. Update Mode
3. Update Calibre Metadata
4. Update EPUB Cover
5. Background Metadata (updates only)

Most are self explanatory. 'Update Calibre Metadata' if unchecked, prevents FFF from updating any Calibre metadata--except for the explicit 'Update Calibre Metadata' modes which do anyway.

Which are these settings are actually useful today on every download/update?

Personally, the only one I ever change is Update Mode.

For example, does anyone run with 'Update Calibre Metadata' unchecked? Or change output format on individual downloads?

I don't think I touched any but Update Mode since years ago when I first started using the plugin and was looking around to see how things worked.

I guess the closest I got would be there have been a few times cover of stories have been changed and wondered how to keep both old and new, so I would presumably have to go through the various cover settings for that but I never bothered.

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by Minotaur

Hi all,
Can this plugin be used to update reading progress on royalroad.com? I looked through settings and couldn't find anything relating to storing login/password for royalroad so I am guessing not?

Correct. FFF hasn't (so far) needed user/pass login for royalroad.com. Automating login is frequently a pain, so we don't unless there is a pressing need.

Recording your reading progress doesn't seem like a great reason to me--if you're downloading it to read, presumably, you're not reading it on the site?