How to make plugboard update existing titles?

stasiana · 06-20-2026, 11:58 AM

I have the follow plugboard defined. I want to chop off the part of titles after a colon character:

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The title field has the template

Code:

{title:re(\s*:.*$,)}

It's the right format as far as I can tell, but it doesn't work after I disconnect/reconnect a device and let it sync. I also have automatic metadata management enabled so it should update existing entries.

What am I missing?

theducks · 06-20-2026, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stasiana

I have the follow plugboard defined. I want to chop off the part of titles after a colon character:

Attachment 223963

The title field has the template

Code:

{title:re(\s*:.*$,)}

It's the right format as far as I can tell, but it doesn't work after I disconnect/reconnect a device and let it sync. I also have automatic metadata management enabled so it should update existing entries.

What am I missing?

I don't think you can do an UPDATE like that after changing the title that was sent.
Did you try and use the Kobo Utilities 'Update metadata ... '?

stasiana · 06-23-2026, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I don't think you can do an UPDATE like that after changing the title that was sent.

I thought I could because a few months ago I had a plugboard that updated the series information. Every time I sync'ed, it would update the series information to new info. I figure the title is the same, no?

theducks · 06-23-2026, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stasiana

I thought I could because a few months ago I had a plugboard that updated the series information. Every time I sync'ed, it would update the series information to new info. I figure the title is the same, no?

You asked about TITLES. Authors is the other, making a compound key. (Title-Author)

Series is not a key value on a Kobo.

stasiana · Yesterday, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

You asked about TITLES. Authors is the other, making a compound key. (Title-Author) Series is not a key value on a Kobo.

Sorry, I don't follow. Yes, I am asking about titles. And yes, I did update the series field on my kobo ereader before. No, I'm don't want to change the "authors" field. In the destination field column you can choose "title", "series", "series_index", and other fields.

I would like to update the "title" field as described in my post + screenshot. Possible? I figure that if the plugboard UI lets me choose "title" as the destination field, it means that it can be changed via plugboards. It even says in the describe in the UI that the title can be chnaged. It's the last paragraph in the text at the top.

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And I've tested the regular expression I tried and it works in Python, removing the part of the title after a colon. I don't see why it wouldn't work in Calibre.

DNSB · Today, 12:30 AM

If you have Kobo Utilities installed, you can try to use it to force update the metadata. OTOH, I've found that changing the title in the calibre library breaks the connection between the library copy and the reader copy forcing me to match the book on the device to to the book in calibre. Device => Show books => right click a book that does not have the in library checkmark => Match book to library.

06-20-2026, 11:58 AM	#1
stasiana Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2023 Device: Kobo Elipsa 2E	How to make plugboard update existing titles? I have the follow plugboard defined. I want to chop off the part of titles after a colon character: The title field has the template Code: {title:re(\s:.$,)} It's the right format as far as I can tell, but it doesn't work after I disconnect/reconnect a device and let it sync. I also have automatic metadata management enabled so it should update existing entries. What am I missing? Last edited by stasiana; 06-20-2026 at 12:02 PM.

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Today, 12:30 AM	#6
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 52,624 Karma: 180945222 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	If you have Kobo Utilities installed, you can try to use it to force update the metadata. OTOH, I've found that changing the title in the calibre library breaks the connection between the library copy and the reader copy forcing me to match the book on the device to to the book in calibre. Device => Show books => right click a book that does not have the in library checkmark => Match book to library.