Custom Column Help!!

lcarlton1102 · 06-30-2021, 08:48 PM

Not sure this is the right place to ask for help. I'm not great with technology, I love this program and have been able to figure out a few things, but I get stuck sometimes and I don't know the lingo or have the brains to dig myself out

So please bear with me.

I have created a custom column I called "Read by" since my calibre has both my books and my daughters. I wanted to be able to "see" books that I have read versus hers or ones we both read. When creating the column I used the type as "text column for Keeping series like information". I did this because I didn't really know what I was doing and it seemed to do exactly what I needed. The plus side is that once I add text (i.e. my name) it also added a numeric number. Which I thought was great, now I can sort by my name, daughter's name or the word both and it will also show me how many books for each.

The problem: I have since noticed I somehow "marked" books with my name that I did not yet read. I just deselect my name and left it blank, BUT the numbering is now off. I don't know how to fix this, Example it starts when I sort with my name Lisa I get all the books marked with my name but it starts at [9] (I obviously deselected 1-8).Is there a way to fix this or do I have to delete the column and start over manually? (having palpitations thinking about having to do that )

Thank you for your help and I apologize if I stuck this in the wrong area!

dunhill · 07-01-2021, 07:15 PM

You know that with Calibre you can manage more than one library. Have you thought about having a library for yourself and another for your daughter?
For example, I have my library, that of my wife, and that of my two children.

As for the numbering that he comments, we should see how he put together the custom column.

davidfor · 07-01-2021, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcarlton1102

The problem: I have since noticed I somehow "marked" books with my name that I did not yet read. I just deselect my name and left it blank, BUT the numbering is now off. I don't know how to fix this, Example it starts when I sort with my name Lisa I get all the books marked with my name but it starts at [9] (I obviously deselected 1-8).Is there a way to fix this or do I have to delete the column and start over manually? (having palpitations thinking about having to do that )

There is a tweak for handling the series number. The default is to take the next number after the highest current number. You can change this to taking the first free, which is the lowest number not used. That will fill in the missing numbers over time.

If that doesn't work, there is the Manage Series plugin. It can renumber all the books in a series. Or reorder them. I can see wanting to keep the order to show the order the books were read in.

But, overall, I'm not sure if I like using a series column for this. What if you both read the same book? How do you show that? I would have used a tag-like column and put your names in that. Then you can add both names if you both read a book. Or just use the existing tags column. If you use a tag-like column, you can also have a fixed set of values so that you don't make a typo when setting it.

Though, if I was doing this, I would probably use the Reading List plugin. With that, I can create lists of books. You can have a read list for each of you, plus any other lists you want. The lists can also update columns when you add or remove them from a list. The lists also have an order for the books. It is the order the books are added to the list, but can be changed.

lcarlton1102 · 07-03-2021, 01:18 PM

Hello! Thank you for helping me!

Even though I have been using Calibre program for a number of years, I'm still a newbie when it comes to all the bells and whistles. Which is why I monkey myself into trouble sometimes!

You can change this to taking the first free, which is the lowest number not used. That will fill in the missing numbers over time."

This seems to be the easiest for now, but no Idea how to do this. I need some hand holding, Please.

I agree with you that I should have done it in one of the ways you mentioned, but right now "fixing" the holes is probably my easiest approach.

I just don't want to lose the information of whose is whose since my daughter has ready over 1100 and I'm around the 500's. Manually changing the numbers is a nightmare! So I'm scared to "monkey" around again and cause myself more of a nightmare.

I will also be playing with those add on's you mentioned in the future, I wish I knew sooner. (Story of my life. LOL)

Oh and to answer you're question on when we both read a book, I just use the word both, I've also used this column to change the colors accordingly which is why I don't wanna delete and start over. So for my books the row changes green, hers is purple, both is light blue.

lcarlton1102 · 07-03-2021, 05:09 PM

I apologize I missed the other answer to creating another library. I have done a few other libraries. The problem is that i had to downgrade my calibre to an older version to 5.8.1. Somewhere even before that I kept getting error messages from switching libraries. I have no idea why. I had a library with just my audible collection and then my ebook collection. Bouncing back and forth become hard to track since I also had an ebook and an audible version of a book.

I thank you for answering my post and your helpfullness !!

06-30-2021, 08:48 PM	#1
lcarlton1102 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: samsung galaxy	Custom Column Help!! Not sure this is the right place to ask for help. I'm not great with technology, I love this program and have been able to figure out a few things, but I get stuck sometimes and I don't know the lingo or have the brains to dig myself out So please bear with me. I have created a custom column I called "Read by" since my calibre has both my books and my daughters. I wanted to be able to "see" books that I have read versus hers or ones we both read. When creating the column I used the type as "text column for Keeping series like information". I did this because I didn't really know what I was doing and it seemed to do exactly what I needed. The plus side is that once I add text (i.e. my name) it also added a numeric number. Which I thought was great, now I can sort by my name, daughter's name or the word both and it will also show me how many books for each. The problem: I have since noticed I somehow "marked" books with my name that I did not yet read. I just deselect my name and left it blank, BUT the numbering is now off. I don't know how to fix this, Example it starts when I sort with my name Lisa I get all the books marked with my name but it starts at [9] (I obviously deselected 1-8).Is there a way to fix this or do I have to delete the column and start over manually? (having palpitations thinking about having to do that ) Thank you for your help and I apologize if I stuck this in the wrong area!

07-01-2021, 07:15 PM	#2
dunhill Guru Posts: 893 Karma: 810834 Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Device: moon+ reader, kindle paperwhite	You know that with Calibre you can manage more than one library. Have you thought about having a library for yourself and another for your daughter? For example, I have my library, that of my wife, and that of my two children. As for the numbering that he comments, we should see how he put together the custom column. Last edited by dunhill; 07-01-2021 at 07:18 PM.

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07-03-2021, 01:18 PM	#4
lcarlton1102 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: samsung galaxy	Hello! Thank you for helping me! Even though I have been using Calibre program for a number of years, I'm still a newbie when it comes to all the bells and whistles. Which is why I monkey myself into trouble sometimes! You can change this to taking the first free, which is the lowest number not used. That will fill in the missing numbers over time." This seems to be the easiest for now, but no Idea how to do this. I need some hand holding, Please. I agree with you that I should have done it in one of the ways you mentioned, but right now "fixing" the holes is probably my easiest approach. I just don't want to lose the information of whose is whose since my daughter has ready over 1100 and I'm around the 500's. Manually changing the numbers is a nightmare! So I'm scared to "monkey" around again and cause myself more of a nightmare. I will also be playing with those add on's you mentioned in the future, I wish I knew sooner. (Story of my life. LOL) Oh and to answer you're question on when we both read a book, I just use the word both, I've also used this column to change the colors accordingly which is why I don't wanna delete and start over. So for my books the row changes green, hers is purple, both is light blue.

07-03-2021, 05:09 PM	#5
lcarlton1102 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: samsung galaxy	I apologize I missed the other answer to creating another library. I have done a few other libraries. The problem is that i had to downgrade my calibre to an older version to 5.8.1. Somewhere even before that I kept getting error messages from switching libraries. I have no idea why. I had a library with just my audible collection and then my ebook collection. Bouncing back and forth become hard to track since I also had an ebook and an audible version of a book. I thank you for answering my post and your helpfullness !!

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