Getting my calibre library ready for kobo forma questions

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by DNSB

For me, Polish is just one of calibre's built-in plugins.

It is in the Plugins list in the Preferences.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by stumped

final comment on this.

assuming that any smart Kobo owner is using a protective cover with auto sleep/wake ...

then they never get to see the sleep state screen in normal use.

when exactly are they ever going to get to see those wonderful hi res cover images?

not when browsing the list of books, not when reading the book....

Originally Posted by JSWolf

... Also, sometimes I do put down my H2O for long enough for it to go to sleep. do see the cover then.

I see my current book cover several times a day, despite having a sleep cover. All it takes is to put the book down thinking "I'll just be a minute..." I get sidetracked and lo & behold the Kobo has gone to sleep in my absence.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by stumped

ok - but ua nless you have huge monitor or run calibre full screen...
if I am in calibre main window, on a 27 inch monitor, the pane which shows the cover has an approx 3 inch by 2 inch cover image
thats enough for me to tell the difference beterrn 600 x- 900 and say 300 x 450, but beyond that its diminishing returns, I'd have ot enlarge to benefit from bigger pictures

also, I don't dwell on covers,I glance at covers in reader apps or when selecting next read, but that's basically to confirm that the cover appears consistent with the author and title in other row

i admit that my 600 x 900 is somewhat arbitrary and higher values may be better. I had discovered by trail and error that those values worked for all my devices, and have not looked at changing.

before that I had had instances of missing covers when I sideloaded some book with large covers to Kindle or to Kindle apps.

there is a case for standardizing all cover sizes - so that they look all the same on reader app " shelf". and in the kobos own look list cover view, I think a mix of sizes displays unevenly on the device ?

do you happen to know a larger target standard cover size that will display ok on kindle ( lets say PW or newer) as well as on kobo's clara or better

I do know a larger target that will display well on a PW or newer Kindle. 1600 lines with the other dimension aspect ration correct. 600x900 is aspect ratio incorrect and can look noticeably off. I have tried my 1600 line cover on a Kobo Aura H2O, PW3, and iPad and it looks good on a three devices.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by hobnail

It was recommended for fixing nits. For example, if I fix the metadata in Calibre, make the Author sort have a green outline instead of red, it's not automatically migrated to the epub's metadata. They'll have one thing for dc:creator and then the meta property file-as for that will be something different. Polish books pushes the changes into the epub's metadata.

What I do is if the metadata needs fixing, I do it directly in the OPF using the Calibre editor. I have not polished in a very long time. If the metadata is correct, there's no need to polish. In most cases, the metadata is correct. Other then the metadata, what would you be polishing? You did make it sound like it was a good idea to always polish.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by hobnail

It is in the Plugins list in the Preferences.

I know Calibre comes with built-in plugins, but I consider those more like part of Calibre and not really a plugin.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I do is if the metadata needs fixing, I do it directly in the OPF using the Calibre editor.
...
Other then the metadata, what would you be polishing? You did make it sound like it was a good idea to always polish.

I used to edit the metadata directly by dragging the book from calibre to the desktop, delete it from calibre, fix its metadata in sigil, then drag it back into calibre. Your method only changes the metadata inside the epub; calibre still displays the incorrect/unchanged metadata, which for me is always the author (sometimes all caps or some other nonsense).

The actions that I have checked in Polish books are smarten punctuation, update metadata in the book files, update the cover in the book files, remove a previously inserted book jacket, remove unused css rules from the book, losslessly compress images, and upgrade book internals. Each one has an About link next to it that explains what it does. For me, none of those degrade the book. The only downside is having to use the Remove books button remove the ORIGINAL_EPUB file.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by hobnail

I used to edit the metadata directly by dragging the book from calibre to the desktop, delete it from calibre, fix its metadata in sigil, then drag it back into calibre. Your method only changes the metadata inside the epub; calibre still displays the incorrect/unchanged metadata, which for me is always the author (sometimes all caps or some other nonsense).

The actions that I have checked in Polish books are smarten punctuation, update metadata in the book files, update the cover in the book files, remove a previously inserted book jacket, remove unused css rules from the book, losslessly compress images, and upgrade book internals. Each one has an About link next to it that explains what it does. For me, none of those degrade the book. The only downside is having to use the Remove books button remove the ORIGINAL_EPUB file.

There is no real reason to use Polish books or any of the other methods to update the metadata of the books in the library. Calibre will update the metadata whenever you send the books outside of calibre. That means when you send the book to the device, the metadata is updated. And will use the metadata plugboard as part of the update. Same with save to disk. And editing the book using the calibre editor will also update the metadata. All of these can be turned off. But, if you weren't doing the other actions, there would be no real point in using Polish. If you just want to update the metadata, use the Embed metadata tool.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I do is if the metadata needs fixing, I do it directly in the OPF using the Calibre editor. I have not polished in a very long time. If the metadata is correct, there's no need to polish. In most cases, the metadata is correct. Other then the metadata, what would you be polishing? You did make it sound like it was a good idea to always polish.

I have no idea what you think you are achieving with that process. As the calibre can update the metadata in the book when you open it in the editor, that might explain why it is always correct. If you have turned that off, then it means you are maintaining the metadata twice, one in the library and then in the editor. Or do you update the book and then open the metadata editor and set the metadata from the book? And of course, calibre will update the metadata when you send the book to the device. And of course the driver will later update the metadata on the device when you reconnect. So, what's the point?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by hobnail

I used to edit the metadata directly by dragging the book from calibre to the desktop, delete it from calibre, fix its metadata in sigil, then drag it back into calibre. Your method only changes the metadata inside the epub; calibre still displays the incorrect/unchanged metadata, which for me is always the author (sometimes all caps or some other nonsense).

The actions that I have checked in Polish books are smarten punctuation, update metadata in the book files, update the cover in the book files, remove a previously inserted book jacket, remove unused css rules from the book, losslessly compress images, and upgrade book internals. Each one has an About link next to it that explains what it does. For me, none of those degrade the book. The only downside is having to use the Remove books button remove the ORIGINAL_EPUB file.

Most eBooks do not need the punctuation smartened. The metadata can be updated in the columns by going to the edit metadata dialog (E from the keyboard) and in the upper right, select the ePub format, and click the square with the pencil. Then click OK. DONE! Plus, while you are editing the metadata, you can remove all extra CSS, add in a proper or hi-res cover and losslessly compress all graphics. Plus, if you want, you can fix up the CSS.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I have no idea what you think you are achieving with that process. As the calibre can update the metadata in the book when you open it in the editor, that might explain why it is always correct. If you have turned that off, then it means you are maintaining the metadata twice, one in the library and then in the editor. Or do you update the book and then open the metadata editor and set the metadata from the book? And of course, calibre will update the metadata when you send the book to the device. And of course the driver will later update the metadata on the device when you reconnect. So, what's the point?

Yes, I am updating the metadata and then open the metadata editor to populate the columns. But as long as I am in the book, I do other things that cannot be done from Polish.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by davidfor

There is no real reason to use Polish books or any of the other methods to update the metadata of the books in the library. Calibre will update the metadata whenever you send the books outside of calibre. That means when you send the book to the device, the metadata is updated. And will use the metadata plugboard as part of the update. Same with save to disk. And editing the book using the calibre editor will also update the metadata. All of these can be turned off. But, if you weren't doing the other actions, there would be no real point in using Polish. If you just want to update the metadata, use the Embed metadata tool.

Ok, thanks. Another useful tool hidden in the toolbars preferences.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by hobnail

Ok, thanks. Another useful tool hidden in the toolbars preferences.

Part of that depends on when you installed calibre. I don't know what the current default toolbar is, but, both the Polish books and Embed metadata have been added since I first installed calibre. When you update calibre, it should not make any changes to your current configuration. Unfortunately, unless you read the release notes carefully, it is easy to miss added functions like this.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Part of that depends on when you installed calibre. I don't know what the current default toolbar is, but, both the Polish books and Embed metadata have been added since I first installed calibre. When you update calibre, it should not make any changes to your current configuration. Unfortunately, unless you read the release notes carefully, it is easy to miss added functions like this.

I may have removed them but I don't remember doing so. I built my computer from scratch in April 2019 and I don't restore any of my user data, I don't use \Users for my files and make a \home directory like linux uses and let Windows use \Users for the settings and whatnot, which I ignore.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by hobnail

I may have removed them but I don't remember doing so. I built my computer from scratch in April 2019 and I don't restore any of my user data, I don't use \Users for my files and make a \home directory like linux uses and let Windows use \Users for the settings and whatnot, which I ignore.

Polish has been aroung a long time. Embed. a bit less.
Kovid does not (pre)load up the toolbars with every feature on New Installs (no previous)
He also does not tamper with existing toolbars (An Icon that is already present, may get its menu updated)
Release Note reading is required (I sure have missed things, and I have read them )