Can't add books!

[indigene]

Kovid - The workaround is proving tedious for the large book additions I have to do. Isn't there a way I can go back to adding from the menu?

I also checked that the file dialogs of other apps - inkscape, gimp, clementine - are working.

[kovidgoyal]

Since the bug is not in calibre, but in the Qt - system integration, there isn't anything I can do to help you. You will need to fix whatever broke in your system. Places to start looking are

1) Use strace -f to try and figure out which system call is hanging
2) Disable/uninstall all qt 5 plugins your system might have
3) Try setting the environment variable CALIBRE_IGNORE_SYSTEM_THEME=1 although I doubt this will make any difference.

[indigene]

I have a different log today for lauching with CALIBRE_NO_NATIVE_FILEDIALOGS

No KDE KIO issue but other errors.

$ CALIBRE_NO_NATIVE_FILEDIALOGS=1 calibre
kf5.kiconthemes: "Theme tree: (Breeze)"
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/gui2/ui.py", line 150, in __init__
ac = self.init_iaction(action)
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/gui2/ui.py", line 164, in init_iaction
ac = action.load_actual_plugin(self)
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/customize/__init__.py", line 582, in load_actual_plugin
ac = getattr(importlib.import_module(mod), cls)(gui,
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/importlib/__init__.py", line 37, in import_module
__import__(name)
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/customize/zipplugin.py", line 179, in load_module
exec compiled in mod.__dict__
File "calibre_plugins.prst1_notes.ui", line 12, in <module>
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/customize/zipplugin.py", line 179, in load_module
exec compiled in mod.__dict__
File "calibre_plugins.prst1_notes.main", line 12, in <module>
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/startup.py", line 36, in load_module
raise ImportError('Importing PyQt4 is not allowed as calibre uses PyQt5')
ImportError: Importing PyQt4 is not allowed as calibre uses PyQt5
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/gui2/ui.py", line 225, in initialize
ac.do_genesis()
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/gui2/actions/__init__.py", line 143, in do_genesis
self.genesis()
File "calibre_plugins.annotations.action", line 365, in genesis
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/idevice/libimobiledevice.py", line 205, in __init__
self.load_library()
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/devices/idevice/libimobiledevice.py", line 443, in load_library
self.lib = cdll.LoadLibrary('libimobiledevice.so.5')
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/ctypes/__init__.py", line 443, in LoadLibrary
return self._dlltype(name)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/ctypes/__init__.py", line 365, in __init__
self._handle = _dlopen(self._name, mode)
OSError: libimobiledevice.so.5: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled.
[03/Jun/2015:15:39:30] ENGINE WARNING: Use of engine.autoreload_on is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use engine.autoreload.on instead.
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/gui2/ui.py", line 400, in initialize
ac.initialization_complete()
File "calibre_plugins.annotations.action", line 729, in initialization_complete
File "calibre_plugins.annotations.action", line 1073, in rebuild_menus
AttributeError: 'AnnotationsAction' object has no attribute 'menu'
Killed

[kovidgoyal]

That's because you have switched to using the distro version of calibre, that's not going to make any difference, as you discovered.

One more thing you can try is disabling third party plugins in calibre, like this:

calibre --ignore-plugins

[indigene]

I removed all third party plugins.

I moved the plugins folder of both qt4 & qt5 to /tmp separately.

I tried both CALIBRE_IGNORE_SYSTEM_THEME & CALIBRE_NO_NATIVE_FILEDIALOGS

The only thing in the debug till I kill the process was...

libpng warning: iCCP: Not recognizing known sRGB profile that has been edited

...which is inconsequential to this problem.

strace-calibre.log is huge and beyond my depth to make any sense of.

[kovidgoyal]

Then I am out of ideas.

[darryl]

Try running Calibre under a different window manager. I'm not sure what Kubuntu has installed by default but even if you need to install something lightweight like, say, icewm, it shouldn't be too taxing on your resources. Make sure you are running the latest version downloaded from the Calibre site and not the distro version. This should at least confirm that the problem is with KDE.

[indigene]

I installed icewm, then calibre 2.29 from the site. Calibre picked up my library location automatically and loaded the full library. I then proceeded to add a book, this time it hung again but with the file dialog box still open.

And here is what I got.

$ CALIBRE_NO_NATIVE_FILEDIALOGS=1 calibre
libpng warning: iCCP: Not recognizing known sRGB profile that has been edited
Failed to create system tray icon, your desktop environment probably does not support the StatusNotifier spec

I also tried with Gnome instead of KDE Plasma and same results.

Btw, I am able to add books from the command line.

[darryl]

I presume you are still running with the option not to use native dialogs. If so, try letting it use them in Icewm or Gnome.

[indigene]

Ok, I ran with native file dialogs on both Gnome & Icewm.

On Gnome the file dialog shut on clicking OK and Calibre hung. On Icewm calibre hung w/o the file dialog shutting.

The debug message is again the same in both:

$ calibre
libpng warning: iCCP: Not recognizing known sRGB profile that has been edited
Failed to create system tray icon, your desktop environment probably does not support the StatusNotifier spec

[darryl]

This is certainly a puzzling problem. I don't think the system tray error is a fatal one. Though I am not 100% sure I doubt this has anything to do with the problem. I am running an up to date Sabayon 64 bit with KDE and 2.2.9 and all works flawlessly. My next suggestion is probably clutching at straws, but perhaps worth a try. Calibre configuration settings are usually in ~/.config/calibre, which of course survive updates, downgrades etc. It may be worth trying to run a fresh download of Calibre without these settings. Either run as a different user or move the calibre directory from .config to a safe temporary location. Then run Calibre which will take you through setup. Don't connect to your existing library. Instead let Calibre create a new empty library in a different location. Then see if you are able to add any books from the GUI. You can of course restore your old settings by deleting the new calibre directory from .config and replacing with your old settings.

Two other questions? Are you aware of any changes to your system shortly before the problem occurred? And is your Calibre library stored locally or on an NAS or in the cloud?

Finally, if you are desparate enough and all else fails try running the Windows version of Calibre under Wine or Crossover. Good luck.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by darryl

This is certainly a puzzling problem. I don't think the system tray error is a fatal one. Though I am not 100% sure I doubt this has anything to do with the problem.

I think the system tray setting will be in .config/calibre/gui.py

# systray icon
# Show system tray icon
systray_icon = False

@indigene - you might want to try toggling it manually before going through a new install

BR

[indigene]

I had already gone ahead with @darryl - clutched at straws!

My calibre dump and db was on an internal ext3 sata drive. Unplugged it.
Uninstalled calibre which is on my bootable SSD.
Moved .config/calibre to another location.
Rebooted and reinstalled calibre, this time with library on bootable SSD.
Started calibre both w & w/o native filedialog.
Added a book through file dialog. Hung again.
Imp: Even if I cancel w/o adding a book & shut file dialog, calibre hangs. So I also try adding a book cover through "browse'. Same - cancel filedialog & calibre hangs. (@Kovid, you wanted to know this).
Added books through command line, works fine.
Tried all the above in Gnome. Same results.
Didn't try icewm but I guess that should be no different since Gnome eliminates KDE Plasma as the culprit.
Only debug message in all the above attempts:

Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled.

Also tried on Win8.1, I have a dual boot. Fresh calibre install - all fine with adding books, filedialogs et al.

Before this issue occurred I was enabling regular Kubuntu software upgrade notifications on 14.10.
I migrated to 15.04 after this issue started. I also migrated from Kernal 3.17 to 4. And I had moved to Calibre 2.29 before the issue started.
No other system changes I can recall.

Looks like something fishy with Ubuntu/file dialogs???

[darryl]

The next question I have is whether it is a problem with Kubuntu 15.04 generally or whether your system has become broken in some respect. I'm going to download Kubuntu 15.04 and when I get the chance I will install it in a virtual machine and see if I can duplicate your problem. If anyone else is running an up to date Kubuntu 15.04 please post whether you are able to add books in Calibre. As the binary install of Calibre includes most if not all of its dependencies including Python the problem seems to be, as Kovid pointed out, "in the QT system integration". Currently Calibre uses QT5.

[darryl]

I installed Kubuntu 15.04 64 bit in a Virtual Machine and updated it. I then installed Calibre 2.30, exported some azw3 files without drm from my main installation of Calibre and imported them to the new empty library on the virtual machine. There was no problem whatsoever with the dialogs, and the import was successful. Admittedly, it is a Vanilla install with no extra plugins. Not even Alf's tools.

It seems almost certain that the problem is not with any part of Calibre, nor with Kubuntu in general. It is likely due to something broken in your system, probably with QT. I do notice that there is a qt-plugins directory under /opt/calibre/lib, but this is presumably completely replaced with every update, so I doubt this could be causing the problem. Are there problems with dialogs generally, or only with Calibre? I gather your Kubuntu system is completely up to date? Also, give it a try with Calibre 2.30. If it was my system at this stage I would probably be looking at a complete reinstallation of QT, and considering a full reinstall if this does not work.

Sorry, but I too am pretty well out of any further ideas.

On another note, I hadn't played with either Debian or any of its derivatives for some time. Kubuntu is still a very nice distro.