Some suggestions for Calibre to help new users

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I suspect some of the older version represent people who are using older computers. The Windows XP users who are stuck on 3.48 for instance.

Yeah, and the last Win7 version.

[BetterRed]

Not sure when it started, but some MS apps indicate the presence of a tool tip with a tiny blue circled 'i', some tool tips have a "Tell me more" link which takes you to a web page. This is their 3rd go at least, first came WinHelp, then Compiled HTML — linking C or C++ code to CHM files was a PITA 30-40 years ago, majorly so in mission critical applications. Can't imagine that's changed with the plethora of programming languages in use today.

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by Martinoptic

Might they also take time to read the manual?

There needs to be a more current guide and it needs to be wayyyy dumbed down. I have read how poeple go to the Calibre guide and nope right out when they see some of the technical wording (their words).

Honesly? I have been taking time here and there attempting to put somethign together. The problem is that there is SO MUCH to do and what you want to use Calibre for is the heart of the problem in attempting to guide people in setting it up. I mean - if you have a Goodreads library and are intendig to keep track of your reading information along with your books - this is a whole nother animal that the person who is using FanFic Fare to download their fan fics and side loading them to their devices, then again this is different from the person who just barely was able to install deDRM and get their kindle books in and are like - that's all I wanted.

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I also don't download metadata as I find I have to manually check for errors. So since I have to do that, I may as well manually make any corrections/additions.

Ok, so when I am talking about metadata downloading I am not talking about the whole "download metadata and covers" I am talking about one book downloading at a time and making sure it's right before going on to the next book and pushing "download metadata".

That people don't realize that there are options when it comes to this - it's a huge problem. If someone starting out with Calibre and are not very computer saavy they click on the "download metadata" button not really knowing what that means or what will happen, and unless they have their book formatted correctly already or has an accurate ISBN - if they end up without getting their book found they are most likely going to think it's a waste of time to bother. Then they go about the arduous task of hand doing EVERYTHING.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Rellwood

Ok, so when I am talking about metadata downloading I am not talking about the whole "download metadata and covers" I am talking about one book downloading at a time and making sure it's right before going on to the next book and pushing "download metadata".

Yes, that's what I do by hand. I don't push "dowload metadata". I fill all the fields in manually. I'm never satisfied with downloaded metadata, no matter how customized, so the manual way is much faster for me. One click takes me to Amazon/Goodreads/any other site I want, I copy/paste exactly what I want, fill in my custom fields and done. Otherwise I'd have to go through downloaded metadata, change and delete what I don't want etc. etc. That's slower.

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

@Rellwood what you could do is write a FAQ/manual for new users with all of the info. calibre itself does not need any changes for new users. It could use a new user guide with all of this information.

The fact that it took me two hours to just write this response, because my ADHD is out of control and won't let me just get some words out in a concise way and therefore rely on CHAPT GPT to rework things - well writing a guide has been something I have been trying to do, but I keep getting in the weeds.

SO far I am good with answering questions as they come up, or posting individual lessons that are helpful to things no one thinks about, but are happy to learn once they figure out the mechanics of it. Like going about figuring which books in your library are no longer under the same ASIN in Amazon - because Amazon stopped keeping the ASIN product pages around and now books no longer sold or having different ASIN won't get a cover should the Kindle be either new or reset. I had to explain how to check to see if Amazon has the book - then I explained how to update the covers in the Kindles so they would stick.

[Rellwood]

I don't mind having the downloaded metadata - it's easier than hunting manually for the info. My biggest problem is the fricking tags - so many tags---

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Rellwood

I don't mind having the downloaded metadata - it's easier than hunting manually for the info. My biggest problem is the fricking tags - so many tags---

I've disabled any automatic tags. Only mu custom tags go in the tag field.

[un_pogaz]

Originally Posted by Rellwood

Honesly? I have been taking time here and there attempting to put somethign together. The problem is that there is SO MUCH to do and what you want to use Calibre for is the heart of the problem in attempting to guide people in setting it up. I mean - if you have a Goodreads library and are intendig to keep track of your reading information along with your books - this is a whole nother animal that the person who is using FanFic Fare to download their fan fics and side loading them to their devices, then again this is different from the person who just barely was able to install deDRM and get their kindle books in and are like - that's all I wanted.

Calibre is too powerfull and versatile for its own good, and the mere mortals can't handle it!



There already a simplified manual: the "Calibre: Quick Start Guide", which is automatically added to your library when you first start the program.

The problem here is that few people read manuals, even simplified version, myself included. There are many reasons for this, and unfortunately, it is an unsolvable problem because, well, the mear fact that few people read manuals, even simplified version.
(and that the same reason that people don't read tooltips (if you even know that their exists))

A manual is verbose by nature. You don't know what you're really looking for, or even if it's hidden under another name, until you stumble across it on a page, whether the feature exists or whether you missed it, even with a table of contents. And even if you know it's there, in that specific section, reading and understanding it is an intellectual effort... and human beings are profoundly lazy creatures, so unless you have a good reason to do so, you rarely read the manual.

It is also much more effective for people to learn how to use something by experimenting on their own, or if they get stuck, asking for help from people who know more about it to guide them step-by-step, by dynamically adapting the language to their actual understanding to maximize the learning.
When a manual, by is static nature, if you don't understand what you're reading, you're screwed. If you don't get it, you don't get it.
At this end, the manual is more a support to help the helpful user to guide the new user, rather that a direct solution.

So, most of things need to be do inside of the GUI as much as possible to facilitate the experience of new users by optimizing the interface, guiding the user so that their experience is as smooth and comfortable as possible. But UIX is a field in own for a good reason, and is one of the areas where FOSS/Open-source software often faill.
On this note, Calibre is relatively good because it had plenty of time to refine it thanks to lots of feedback from users. Improvable probaly, but unless a UIX expert conducts a comprehensive review, we proabaly don't able move very more, and mostly by little step.

[un_pogaz]

Originally Posted by DNSB

At work we once rolled out an new piece of software with an online manual. The first time you opened the program, you were presented with the manual and required to read all 16 pages with a checkbox at the bottom of the last page to confirm that you had read the manual. The average user read the manual in under 10 seconds and then whinged at the help desk about items covered in the manual. The canned responses were basically, "This is covered on the <insert page number> of the manual. Please take more than the <insert recorded length of time> to re-read the manual."

Ahah LOL. Exactly what I mean by peoples don't like reading manuals.
Peoples want the things start to work as soon as possible, understand and fix it later.

To extend my thought, their is one thing that the user will always read: is the Instalation Manual, aka the minimal steps required for the things to work.
In this short time, you can subliminaly infuse some additional knowledge to the user but be caution to not be too much or verbose beyond the minimum required. That why in most part it will resume to a "You can change this later here".

At this end, the "Welcome wizzard" is quite great to that, even if it would probably be possible to add one or two pieces of information in the last page (but no more page).

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by DNSB

At work we once rolled out an new piece of software with an online manual. The first time you opened the program, you were presented with the manual and required to read all 16 pages with a checkbox at the bottom of the last page to confirm that you had read the manual. The average user read the manual in under 10 seconds and then whinged at the help desk about items covered in the manual. The canned responses were basically, "This is covered on the <insert page number> of the manual. Please take more than the <insert recorded length of time> to re-read the manual."

Going there, being that user.... minus calling help desk

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I've disabled any automatic tags. Only mu custom tags go in the tag field.

I have ADHD and I cannot manage the tags because I end up changing my mind about which ones I like. I like heirarchal tags, but they are ONLY good in the libary for looking at the tag browser. I go from one idea to the next and end up with redundancies. I have over 5000 books and even that needs fixing because I have books I know I will NEVER read, but they are still there for "reasons". Plus using the duplicate finder on the tags has lead to the tags getting changed wrong for some of them. Tag mapping rules may have changed some too.

I have half a mind to delete them all and start over - but again - too many to do that with.

Again the ADHD is the problem, can't find a way to set them and keep them.

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by un_pogaz

Calibre is too powerfull and versatile for its own good, and the mere mortals can't handle it!



There already a simplified manual: the "Calibre: Quick Start Guide", which is automatically added to your library when you first start the program.

The problem here is that few people read manuals, even simplified version, myself included. There are many reasons for this, and unfortunately, it is an unsolvable problem because, well, the mear fact that few people read manuals, even simplified version.
(and that the same reason that people don't read tooltips (if you even know that their exists))

A manual is verbose by nature. You don't know what you're really looking for, or even if it's hidden under another name, until you stumble across it on a page, whether the feature exists or whether you missed it, even with a table of contents. And even if you know it's there, in that specific section, reading and understanding it is an intellectual effort... and human beings are profoundly lazy creatures, so unless you have a good reason to do so, you rarely read the manual.

It is also much more effective for people to learn how to use something by experimenting on their own, or if they get stuck, asking for help from people who know more about it to guide them step-by-step, by dynamically adapting the language to their actual understanding to maximize the learning.
When a manual, by is static nature, if you don't understand what you're reading, you're screwed. If you don't get it, you don't get it.
At this end, the manual is more a support to help the helpful user to guide the new user, rather that a direct solution.

So, most of things need to be do inside of the GUI as much as possible to facilitate the experience of new users by optimizing the interface, guiding the user so that their experience is as smooth and comfortable as possible. But UIX is a field in own for a good reason, and is one of the areas where FOSS/Open-source software often faill.
On this note, Calibre is relatively good because it had plenty of time to refine it thanks to lots of feedback from users. Improvable probaly, but unless a UIX expert conducts a comprehensive review, we proabaly don't able move very more, and mostly by little step.

This is actually how I have been seeing how to help. A case by case scenario depending on the question at hand.

I learned how to use Calibre over a 12 year period since starting in 2013 when Caibre was newish and didn't have as many of the newer options. Calibre has grown so big. SO BIG. Like going from Super Mario Brothers to The Harry Potter game - too many choices.

Not that Im complaining - but the average new user is going to be a bit overwhelmed - especially if they have no idea where to go and where to look and what they CAN do.

I read posts like "This is the greatest Calibre hack - I made a "read" column!"

and realize that the learning curve now is beyond many people. If people are still keeping their libaries without any other columns - and in the exact order they came initially - it's just - blows my mind.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Rellwood

I have over 5000 books and even that needs fixing because I have books I know I will NEVER read, but they are still there for "reasons".

Heh. I will never read the majority of my books, but I'm not going to delete them. I do use various ways to keep track of what I certainly want to read and what is not that important (tags and custom columns).

(I have a ton of mental and emotional issues, but ADHD isn't one of them).

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Rellwood

If people are still keeping their libaries without any other columns - and in the exact order they came initially - it's just - blows my mind.

There are also those who aren't really interested in managing their books and tinkering with their library. Mostly they use calibre for backup - they throw their deDRMed copies in there, but that's all they do. They don't bother with custom columns, fixing metadata or anything else, really.