Using calibre's editor independently

[loximuthal]

That almost did it for me. I had to tweak it slightly to work on my system, so now it looks like:

if ( "$1" != "" ) then
        while ( "$1" != "" )
                ebook-edit "$1"
                shift
        end
else
        ebook-edit
endif

This allows me to drop one or more books on the icon or launch it empty. I am a happy camper now

I tried the --detach option but it claims

ebook-edit: error: no such option: --detach

which if fine by me. I almost never edit multiple books simultaneously, and if I do want to I can still drop books one at a time on the script I've got now.

Again, many thanks, both for pointing me in the right direction, and then showing me the path again when I wandered off.

[kovidgoyal]

--detach is linux only. On OS X you can use

ebook-edit "$1" > /dev/null 2>&1 &

(which does almost the same thing as --detach).

[eschwartz]

Oh, it seems --detach is linux only. Glad to hear it works for you.

EDIT: Or what Kovid said. Why did I forget about "&", when I use it every day when starting stuff from the command line?

Ok, so you won't be able to close the parent terminal, not a big deal, its the same otherwise.

[loximuthal]

OK, I finally got it to do it all (as it were): open empty, open one file dropped on it, open multiple files simultaneously when dropped on it and launch as the default program when I open an epub.

I added the "&" to get the multiple books, but took out the redirect output to /dev/null since it kept giving me funny errors. When I run it as an app the output does not show up anyway. Maybe Automator sends it to /dev/null?

Thank you both very much for the assistance.

If anybody else wants to do this on a Mac, here is what my Automator process looks like.

[VydorScope]

Thanks Loximuthal! The only thing I had to was put the full path to the ebook-edit.

/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-edit

Why does it work for you with that that?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Thanks Loximuthal! The only thing I had to was put the full path to the ebook-edit.

/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-edit

Why does it work for you with that that?

From the manual: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/cli/cli-index.html

On OS X you have to go to Preferences->Advanced->Miscellaneous and click install command line tools to make the command line tools available. On other platforms, just start a terminal and type the command.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

From the manual: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/cli/cli-index.html

Ah cool - for some reason I thought I did that already, but doing it just now fixed it. Thanks!

[loximuthal]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

From the manual: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/cli/cli-index.html

Thanks for getting that. I would have had to think hard to remember that. It's been quite some time since I installed the command-line tools

[McJal'm]

Did a search for just this subject and came upon this thread.

I am a Mac user (currently using OS X Lion - until next Fall when I buy a new Mac mini !!). Am uncomfortable using Terminal or Automator, although I have used them once or twice before.

Ideally, it would be great if someone would create a plugin/script/whatever to make Calibre's ebook editor act like an independent app - so that less brave Mac users (like me) can simply download and install it.

[eschwartz]

I'm not a Mac person, or I'd upload the app for you. But see loximuthal's post, and the screenshot he put up.

The code will be:

if ( "$1" != "" ) then
    while ( "$1" != "" )
        ebook-edit "$1" &
        shift
    end
else
    ebook-edit
endif

[McJal'm]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I'm not a Mac person, or I'd upload the app for you. But see loximuthal's post, and the screenshot he put up.

The code will be:

if ( "$1" != "" ) then
    while ( "$1" != "" )
        ebook-edit "$1" &
        shift
    end
else
    ebook-edit
endif

I started Terminal and entered '/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-edit' (without the quotes). That started Calibre's editor and so I was able to edit two ePUBs without first having to add them to Calibre's library. Then I quit the Calibre editor, then Terminal.

Am unclear, however, where/when I should add/run the above script, which - if I understand the discussion correctly - would keep the Calibre editor in the dock and have it behave more like an independent drag-and-drop app.

My questions reflect how little I know about the inner workings of my Mac or applications generally:

* Do I enter that script code: in Terminal? Automator? Somewhere in Calibre's preferences?

* Is that script code ALL that I type? OR…,

* Should I type '/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-edit' (in Terminal?) before I type out that script code?

[eschwartz]

http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/cli/cli-index.html

On OS X you have to go to Preferences->Advanced->Miscellaneous and click install command line tools to make the command line tools available. On other platforms, just start a terminal and type the command.

Afterward, just type that code into automator as per loximuthal's screenshot.

According to my Google-fu, you should create an automator application workflow, and add the "Run Shell Script" action. That will provide a box to insert that code, which should look like loximuthal's screenshot. You MUST USE "Pass input: as arguments" or else the files dragged onto the app will not get passed to the script, which was the whoe point.

[eschwartz]

"/Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/ebook-edit" is the long version of ebook-edit, if you didn't install the command-line tools.

[McJal'm]

Yes, had already installed the command-line tools.

Re loximuthal's script and Automator, I clearly am missing one or more steps. Not being a tech, I need complete start to finish instructions. Getting a script alone to copy/paste doesn't help, given I don't know what I should be selecting after I've started up Automator.

I chose Application, then Run Shell Script, hoping I'd chosen correctly. Then once I saw the empty field open up, I pasted loximuthal's code into it. Looking at the image provided by loxi, I noted beside 'Shell:' the selection '/bin/csh', and beside 'Pass Input:' the selection 'as arguments'. So I selected those also.

But what am I supposed to do after that? And did I take the correct steps so far?

Since nothing else was obvious to me, I saved the file as an Application and named it Calibre Editor. But when I clicked the app in my Applications folder to start it, I got an error message.

Clearly, I've done something wrong... OR I've misunderstood what this script is supposed to do and/or how it's to be activated... OR OS X Lion requires something different… OR...

'tis embarrassing to be so inept (though for my age cohort, I'm far ahead of the pack).

[eschwartz]

Hopefully, loximuthal will be back soon and provide guidance or the app. I'm afraid I've reached my depth with this link here: http://parezcoydigo.wordpress.com/20...ith-automator/

Also, I don't know why loximuthal used csh as bash is just So Much Better (and csh is reportedly weird). It is possible if you switch to bash which I know should work fine, it will work better.

Did you try the drag and drop?