[GUI Plugin] Action Chains

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by capink

There was a problem with the module that interfered with calibre's normal metadata download. I posted a new version. Please restart calibre and copy the new code instead.

Thank you, done it.

[ownedbycats]

Question: One of my action chains opens the Reading List "edit list" dialog. Normally, it's resizable by dragging the edge of the window. When called by the action chain, it isn't. Any idea what's going on?

It's probably not worth fixing, just curious.

[capink]

No idea why something like this would happen. The Calibre Actions just calls the menu's qaction and it has no control over anything else.

[ownedbycats]

Perhaps some Qt weirdness because of the progress bar? That's my best guess.

[ownedbycats]

Question: Is it possible to set the default of a runtime variable to the value of a specified column of the selected book?

program:

	currentchap = globals(Current_Chapter=1);
 	strcat('OEBPS/file', format_number(add(currentchap, 1), '04d'), '.xhtml#kobo.1.1')

For example, can I set Current_Chapter to default to the value of #chaptercount rather than 1?

[capink]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Question: Is it possible to set the default of a runtime variable to the value of a specified column of the selected book?

program:

	currentchap = globals(Current_Chapter=1);
 	strcat('OEBPS/file', format_number(add(currentchap, 1), '04d'), '.xhtml#kobo.1.1')

For example, can I set Current_Chapter to default to the value of #chaptercount rather than 1?

For runtime variables, the default value is irrelevant whenever you run the chain. It will always be assigned to the value you specified at the pop up variable dialog. Even if you press OK without specifying a value, the value will be an interpreted as an empty string.

The only time the default value has any effect; is at config time to act as place holder for numerical values, to prevent template errors, as explained in the notes section of this post.

Edit: Also the runtime variable cannot be per book, but per chain.

[tamaracks]

Is it possible to have icons on the menu listing of the chain variations?

[capink]

Originally Posted by tamaracks

Is it possible to have icons on the menu listing of the chain variations?

Yes, as documented here, you can do it by specifying the icon name as the fourth argument.

program:
    add_chain_variant('second variant','argument2',  'submenu1', 'icon.png')

If you don't want a submenu, put an empty string:

program:
    add_chain_variant('second variant','argument2',  '', 'icon.png')

[Hukuro]

Can this plugin help me find all the books which are the first occurrences in any series (not necessarily volume 1)? I use Calibre 5.44.

Someone tried to help in another thread, suggested a custom column, but its code makes use of the book_values() function which doesn't work in my version.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Hukuro

Can this plugin help me find all the books which are the first occurrences in any series (not necessarily volume 1)? I use Calibre 5.44.

Someone tried to help in another thread, suggested a custom column, but its code makes use of the book_values() function which doesn't work in my version.

This chain works for me. It sets a custom Yes/No column to Yes for the first book (lowest series_index) in each series, and undefined for all other books. You must change the selection modifier actions to use your column. You probably want to give the chain a keyboard shortcut.

Once you run the chain you can use search to find the books of interest. Or maybe a virtual library that shows only "first books".

I don't know if this is the best way to do it. I thought about using book variables instead of selections but that seemed somewhat more complicated. There are other ways to build the list of ids that might be faster.

EDIT: I tested it with calibre portable 5.44. It worked.

[chaley]

Here is a version of a "First book in series" chain that uses a template scope instead of selections. It is a bit faster and doesn't flash the selections on the screen. I didn't test it on 5.44.

[capink]

Originally Posted by chaley

This chain works for me. It sets a custom Yes/No column to Yes for the first book (lowest series_index) in each series, and undefined for all other books. You must change the selection modifier actions to use your column. You probably want to give the chain a keyboard shortcut.

Once you run the chain you can use search to find the books of interest. Or maybe a virtual library that shows only "first books".

I don't know if this is the best way to do it. I thought about using book variables instead of selections but that seemed somewhat more complicated. There are other ways to build the list of ids that might be faster.

EDIT: I tested it with calibre portable 5.44. It worked.

It performs reasonably well on my system. Below is a modified version that has a couple of differences:

• It does not require a custom column, instead it displays the results immediately. From there the user can choose to select all books and bulk edit them if he wishes.
• This is a technical and a non significant change. It uses category_items('series') to list all the series. Note that the resulting list is separated by ':::', so the for loop is modified accordingly.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by capink

It performs reasonably well on my system. Below is a modified version that has a couple of differences:
[*]It does not require a custom column, instead it displays the results immediately. From there the user can choose to select all books and bulk edit them if he wishes.

Hmmm, I think I would want it to do the work directly. However, your version lets the user decide what the "work" is, which can be a good thing. It also works without modifying the chain, which is excellent for non-technical people.

[*]This is a technical and a non significant change. It uses category_items('series') to list all the series. Note that the resulting list is separated by ':::', so the for loop is modified accordingly.

category_items() is a much better, clearer way to do it. Thanks!

Attached is a copy of my chain that uses template scopes instead of selections, using category_items() in the scope template.

Now @Hukuro gets to pick which one to use. @Hukuro: it should be @capink's version or the one on this post, suitably modified. The differences:

• @capinks will work without modifying the chain. You must decide what to do with the list of marked books. It very easily could be that marking the books is sufficient for your needs.
• Mine won't work out of the box. You must change the Single Field Edits to use your custom Yes/No column. You might need to create that column. It sets the column so you don't have any post processing.

[capink]

Well, the chain variations feature can make a single chain perform either version. But it is in the experimental mode, which needs a tweak to enable. I will make it available to all users in the next version.

[Hukuro]

Thank you both, capink and chaley. I tried both codes and they work as intended. I wouldn't be able to write something like this by myself. Thanks again for the help