Beta testers for calibre 9 needed

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

@Comfy.n: The PDF errors are PDF files that the PODOFO library cannot parse. The page count plugin falls back to another PDF library calibre's code does not. The EPUB error is a strange one and I would like access to that epub file to try to replicate the issue.

yeah it's strange and I found that if i re-add the same book (by dragging it directly from its current folder in calibre library into calibre), page counts updates instantly.

then I tried copying metadata from the errored book and pasting it into the newly added one... Page count is still ok.

BTW, is there a way to trigger recount just for selected book?

the 'approximate formats' is from a custom column I have been using for ages now, before calibre implemented something that it provided before, IIRC:

Column header: f
Lookup name: f
Type: composite
Description: Formats
Is Composite: Yes
Template: {:'re(approximate_formats(), ',', ', ')'}
Web Search Template: 
Display Settings: {'composite_sort': 'text', 'make_category': False, 'contains_html': False, 'use_decorations': False, 'description': 'Formats', 'composite_show_in_comments': False, 'composite_store_template_value_in_opf': False}

I will post this book and some others I may find useful in my debug logs via private bug report, but I might be able to do this later only.

[JSWolf]

If I install the beta, is it going to make any changes to the database such that I cannot run 8.16.2?

[Wiggo]

I hope I'm not being a killjoy when I say that I find the bookshelf view rather half-baked.

Instead of well-placed book titles and authors, the former are cut off and the latter don't appear at all, but a cropped cover is semi-visible.

I don't really understand the benefit of this view, but if it makes some people happy...

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Wiggo

I hope I'm not being a killjoy when I say that I find the bookshelf view rather half-baked.

Instead of well-placed book titles and authors, the former are cut off and the latter don't appear at all, but a cropped cover is semi-visible.

I don't really understand the benefit of this view, but if it makes some people happy...

I see this new view looking like eInk ghosting.

[Comfy.n]

I recall vaguely a chinese (or was it japanese) calibre user who had a good reason for the shelf view. Then I searched afterwards but couldn't find it.

[fogice]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If I install the beta, is it going to make any changes to the database such that I cannot run 8.16.2?

Kovid said in the top post:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Because of the addition of the Pages column if you install the beta it will update the database schema to add the new column. The updated database will still work with older calibre versions, but the pages column will get out of sync since older calibre will not update it. You can ask calibre to update the pages column by going to Preferences->Look & feel->Bookshelf and clicking "Recalculate page counts".

[Wiggo]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

I recall vaguely a chinese (or was it japanese) calibre user who had a good reason for the shelf view. Then I searched afterwards but couldn't find it.

I asked ChatGPT for a good reason, but none of the ones listed really apply here, as they more or less refer to the different formats and sizes and the designed spines.

[Comfy.n]

https://qt-project.atlassian.net/browse/QTBUG-135817

I thought this beta version would reflect the fix from Qt upstream. I'm trying to apply my Arial Narrow styling to book details but it doesn't show. Yet the Generate Cover plugin can now display properly the Arial Rounded MT Bold; this wasnt working on 8.x IIRC.

[JSWolf]

Can we have an option to not have the pages column since most of us already have one via the Count Pages plugin?

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

BTW, is there a way to trigger recount just for selected book?

Right click the book details panel and you get a menu entry to trigger a recount for that book.

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by Comfy.n

https://qt-project.atlassian.net/browse/QTBUG-135817

I thought this beta version would reflect the fix from Qt upstream. I'm trying to apply my Arial Narrow styling to book details but it doesn't show. Yet the Generate Cover plugin can now display properly the Arial Rounded MT Bold; this wasnt working on 8.x IIRC.

That fix was reverted in Qt IIRC.

[kovidgoyal]

If you dont like the bookshelf view feel free to not use it. It doesnt cost you anything. Personally, I only ever use the book list view myself. The other views exist for other people that have different preferences. Let's not shit on their use cases.

[JSWolf]

I'm trying to get the page count to use the same column that count pages uses. I can't seem to do this. The column I use is called #pages. I've even tried Words and that fails to populate with the page count.

Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong? What I am trying to do is get calibre to populate #pages instead of {Pages}. That way I hope I can either do away with {Pages} or leave it unpopulated.

[un_pogaz]

Originally Posted by Wiggo

Instead of well-placed book titles and authors, the former are cut off and the latter don't appear at all, but a cropped cover is semi-visible.

Title are resized to fit to the spine, and elided if too long. Allow resize to more little size seems unlikely because it start to be hard to read, and it preferable to read a half-tile than nothing.

Their differente option for the thumbnail cover.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If we have a template to use the existing page count column that count pages uses, does that mean no extra column?

Can someone please post a template to use the same column that count pages uses for the page numbers? Thanks.

In the settings, the button "Use a custom pages column" autofill the template with the custom column of your choices.

Except the special template value {page}, {random}, {size}, the template require to output a float value 0.0 to 1.0 (min to max size)

[JSWolf]

I have the template correct and the bookshelf shows the width from the count used by Count Pages.