MapleRead - eBook Reader and Server for iOS

[ShellShock]

Sometimes when I go back to reading a book in MapleRead, it forgets my previous location and opens the book at the cover page. Typically the following happens:

I have finished reading so I close the case on my IPad Mini (IOS 10.1.1).
Some hours later I pick up the IPad again, open the cover, press Home.
MapleRead opens at the shelf view, then opens the last book I was reading, but opens it at the cover page.

When I have finished reading, I have tried switching out of MapleRead before closing the case and putting the IPad to sleep. But I can still get the problem of reverting to the cover page when I go back later. This does not happen every time, and I am trying to find a common pattern. It might also be limited to the current book I am reading (https://play.google.com/store/books/...d=8xiDAgAAQBAJ). I am a fairly new MapleRead user and I have only read two books using it so far.

Is anyone else seeing this problem?

[tbergman]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

Sometimes when I go back to reading a book in MapleRead, it forgets my previous location and opens the book at the cover page. Typically the following happens:

I have finished reading so I close the case on my IPad Mini (IOS 10.1.1).
Some hours later I pick up the IPad again, open the cover, press Home.
MapleRead opens at the shelf view, then opens the last book I was reading, but opens it at the cover page.

When I have finished reading, I have tried switching out of MapleRead before closing the case and putting the IPad to sleep. But I can still get the problem of reverting to the cover page when I go back later. This does not happen every time, and I am trying to find a common pattern. It might also be limited to the current book I am reading (https://play.google.com/store/books/...d=8xiDAgAAQBAJ). I am a fairly new MapleRead user and I have only read two books using it so far.

Is anyone else seeing this problem?

I've seen this a couple of times, recently only. I'm pretty sure only since the most recent update of Mapleread.

I have also not identified any pattern. Very annoying when it happens. In case it helps, I'll mention that I am not using any of the synchronization features so that can't be responsible in my case. I use the iPad version.

[cedhax]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

Sometimes when I go back to reading a book in MapleRead, it forgets my previous location and opens the book at the cover page.
...
Is anyone else seeing this problem?

I have used BookMaster/MapleRead for over a year on almost a daily basis, but I don't recall running into this problem.

On a typical night, after I have finished my bedtime reading (with reading dimmer set to "Night On" of course) on my iPad, I just close the case cover, covering the last page I read as if the iPad were a hard-cover book. When I open the case cover the next morning, the exact book page reappears.

On a typical day, I switch between several apps including MapleRead and Safari, and have not encountered any loss of last reading position problem.

I have encountered similar issues with other readers (such as Marvin), but cannot really recall any such issue with MapleRead. I guess this must be a very rare bug, at least for me.

[ShellShock]

I am now reading my second book with MapleRead, and the same bug is happening again. I also do not use the sync function.

Another bug I have notice is that sometimes MapleRead does not rotate its display when I rotate my iPad.

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by ShellShock

I am now reading my second book with MapleRead, and the same bug is happening again. I also do not use the sync function.

Another bug I have notice is that sometimes MapleRead does not rotate its display when I rotate my iPad.

Sorry, we can't reproduce the "loss of reading position" bug with the books we use for internal tests. If you can reproduce the bug with the bundled book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (AAIW), that should help. (BTW, that's one more reason why it's nice to bundle AAIW that can serve as an easy common reference between users and developers.) If you email us the book, we may be able to reproduce your problem, and thus lead to a fix if applicable.

At this point, we are not sure about the actual cause of the problem. Perhaps it has something to do with iOS 10. Perhaps not. Anyway a new version (v1.6.1) of MapleRead, built with the latest iOS SDK, will be available this week. Let's see if this will help.

As for the rotation issue, are you referring to the library view or the book view? In general, every time a view is rotated, it takes some time to generate the new rotated view. If you rotate it too fast before it finishes, it may lose the second rotation. Typically rotate it again (and again) is sufficient to correct the problem, especially just after locking/unlocking the screen.

Again, if you think the rotation problem is about the book view and seems to be book specific, please send us the book for easier debug. Thanks.

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by sbaylor

@thomasmorus -
Since MapleRead 1.6 was released 10 days ago, we're working on the next update version, which will add an option to allow you to treat the "Date" field of a book in calibre as "Date Added" in MapleRead as requested. Moreover, this option will only work for Calibre's OPDS Content Server.

For those who'd like to keep the current meaning of "Date Added" as the time when the book was first added to MapleRead (instead of calibre), there will be absolutely no impact as long as you don't turn on this new option.

Let me know if you have any related concern regarding this upcoming feature.

In the upcoming version (1.6.1) of MapleRead, this problem will be solved by the introduction of Prefer Calibre Date in System Settings. When set, use Calibre's Date as Date Added in Library Sort for each book where applicable.

Since you couldn't have had "Calibre's Date" data downloaded into MapleRead previously, and re-downloading hundreds or even thousands of books from Calibre to MapleRead with v1.6.1 might be a pain, the new version will also introduce the following new feature
- batch download options to overwrite metadata without re-downloading books from any generic OPDS server, including Calibre's Content Server
This is obviously useful by itself even when you don't need Prefer Calibre Date, and is technically not restricted to Calibre's server.

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by ssolitar

I also switched from ibooks. I really think this a great reader, but I have one question. Is there anyway to manually sort the books within the sets you have created, like the way you can do it in ibooks, by manually moving the book covers to place books in the order you want them? I like the author, series sort that you can do in mapleread, but for books that are not in series, I would like to be able to make an author set, and then sort the books by date published. Thank you!

Originally Posted by cedhax

I don't think you can sort books manually. Have you considered using the following trick? It does not require creating a new book set. It just leverages sort by Author+Series, and Book Info Edit.

For each book by a given author that does not belong to a series, assign a pseudo series named, say, "_", and a pseudo volume named, say, "published 2016", "P2016", "2016", or even "2016a", "2016b". (Note that in MapleRead, Volume can take any string value, which is sorted alphabetically.) You can easily experiment with Book Info | Metadata | Edit.

I'd like to thank cedhax for suggesting the use of "pseudo series name" to help solve the problem of user-specified sorting order.

In light of ssolitar's original request as quoted above, and similar requests via other channels from some former iBooks users, we're going to introduce another new feature in v1.6.1:
- Custom Order sorting for user-defined book sets
which include all book sets, except "All Books" and "Ungrouped"

Note that with this feature, you can accomplish any desired ordering of books for every book set you create in the MR Library.

[sbaylor]

MapleRead 1.6.1 is now available on the App Store.

Please see What's New in MapleRead 1.6.1 for more details (with screenshots).

[cedhax]

Originally Posted by sbaylor

I'd like to thank cedhax for suggesting the use of "pseudo series name" to help solve the problem of user-specified sorting order.

In light of ssolitar's original request as quoted above, and similar requests via other channels from some former iBooks users, we're going to introduce another new feature in v1.6.1:
- Custom Order sorting for user-defined book sets
which include all book sets, except "All Books" and "Ungrouped"

Note that with this feature, you can accomplish any desired ordering of books for every book set you create in the MR Library.

Downloaded the new version today.

Custom Order as implemented is indeed useful, more useful than the correspondence in iBooks!

[ShellShock]

Originally Posted by sbaylor

Sorry, we can't reproduce the "loss of reading position" bug with the books we use for internal tests. If you can reproduce the bug with the bundled book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (AAIW), that should help.

I have now reproduced the problem with the bundled AAIW, but I have only managed to do this once. This is what I did (IPad Mini 2, latest IOS):

• Read the book AAIW in book view, somewhere mid-chapter.
• Switch out of MapleRead.
• Let the device go to sleep.
• Leave it for several hours (not sure how long).
• Rotate the device to the other orientation.
• Wake up the device and open MapleRead.
• Sometimes MapleRead will open the book at the cover page, not the last location. When this happens the library view is displayed first with the wait icon, then the book view opens on the cover page. The view is correctly orientated, but on the wrong page.
• Repeat until the problem occurs.

As for the rotation issue, are you referring to the library view or the book view? In general, every time a view is rotated, it takes some time to generate the new rotated view. If you rotate it too fast before it finishes, it may lose the second rotation. Typically rotate it again (and again) is sufficient to correct the problem, especially just after locking/unlocking the screen.

The locking occurs in the book view. Once it happens the view is locked and will no longer rotate (but it will page). Other apps are unaffected. This problem occurs less frequently than the losing location bug, and I have not reproduced it yet in AAIW. Possibly the problems are related.

Thanks for investigating this.

[slantybard]

Originally Posted by sbaylor

In the upcoming version (1.6.1) of MapleRead, this problem will be solved by the introduction of Prefer Calibre Date in System Settings. When set, use Calibre's Date as Date Added in Library Sort for each book where applicable.

Since you couldn't have had "Calibre's Date" data downloaded into MapleRead previously, and re-downloading hundreds or even thousands of books from Calibre to MapleRead with v1.6.1 might be a pain, the new version will also introduce the following new feature
- batch download options to overwrite metadata without re-downloading books from any generic OPDS server, including Calibre's Content Server
This is obviously useful by itself even when you don't need Prefer Calibre Date, and is technically not restricted to Calibre's server.

Hi sbaylor, I'm having some difficulties with trying to get MR to show my books via date calibre added. I have tried to use the new preference options in MR 1.6.1 but either it's not working, or I'm confused about the steps needed.

First, from your own MR update log screenshot regarding the preferences (see attached), the wording of options is ambiguous and may benefit from further explanation in the FAQ. Specifically, there are two overwrite metadata options, one for "if library has same title and author" and another for "if downloaded book is duplicate". I am not quite sure what the difference between these options are and they seem to be the same thing to me.

I tried to select overwrite metadata for either option and for both in various experiments. Each time MR said my books are updated, but I can not find any option to sort my books by calibre date added. The only new option I can see is date metadate altered.

Any help in how I'm doing this wrong would be appreciated, thanks.

[sbaylor]

Originally Posted by slantybard

Hi sbaylor, I'm having some difficulties with trying to get MR to show my books via date calibre added. I have tried to use the new preference options in MR 1.6.1 but either it's not working, or I'm confused about the steps needed.

Have you turned on Prefer Calibre Date in System Settings?

First, from your own MR update log screenshot regarding the preferences (see attached), the wording of options is ambiguous and may benefit from further explanation in the FAQ. Specifically, there are two overwrite metadata options, one for "if library has same title and author" and another for "if downloaded book is duplicate". I am not quite sure what the difference between these options are and they seem to be the same thing to me.

In the batch download Prefer menu, the first If and the second If apply in different cases. Remember that the default case is to download the selected books. Moreover, you don't want to re-download the same books already in the local library. But for non-MapleRead servers, you can't be absolutely sure they are the same books unless you've re-downloaded them. Thus, we offer a heuristic for you to tell the app whether the books should be treated as if they are or were the same, based on their titles and authors. This is what the first If is for. If you choose to download the book anyway, or the book does not share the same title and author(s) with an existing book in the library, then it will be downloaded. If it is really not a duplicate, then there is no issue. But what if the just downloaded book is a duplicate? Just throw it away or use its metadata to replace the existing one? This is what the second If is for.

Suppose you've selected books that are already in Library, and you want to see Calibre's Date used as Date Added. For the first If, select "Overwrite Metadata". For the second If, select "Overwrite Metadata" too. Note that for some user who has edited metadata locally with MapleRead, she may prefer some other combinations.

I tried to select overwrite metadata for either option and for both in various experiments. Each time MR said my books are updated, but I can not find any option to sort my books by calibre date added. The only new option I can see is date metadate altered.

Any help in how I'm doing this wrong would be appreciated, thanks.

When Prefer Calibre Date in System Settings is turned on, the app uses Calibre's Date as Date Added in Library Sort for each book where applicable, as indicated by the footer of that switch. In other words, the sorting by Date Added option is interpreted differently according to the Prefer Calibre Date switch. If the OPDS server is NOT Calibre, then the switch has no effect.

Please let us know if this works for you. Thanks.

[slantybard]

Originally Posted by sbaylor

Have you turned on Prefer Calibre Date in System Settings?


In the batch download Prefer menu, the first If and the second If apply in different cases. Remember that the default case is to download the selected books. Moreover, you don't want to re-download the same books already in the local library. But for non-MapleRead servers, you can't be absolutely sure they are the same books unless you've re-downloaded them. Thus, we offer a heuristic for you to tell the app whether the books should be treated as if they are or were the same, based on their titles and authors. This is what the first If is for. If you choose to download the book anyway, or the book does not share the same title and author(s) with an existing book in the library, then it will be downloaded. If it is really not a duplicate, then there is no issue. But what if the just downloaded book is a duplicate? Just throw it away or use its metadata to replace the existing one? This is what the second If is for.

Suppose you've selected books that are already in Library, and you want to see Calibre's Date used as Date Added. For the first If, select "Overwrite Metadata". For the second If, select "Overwrite Metadata" too. Note that for some user who has edited metadata locally with MapleRead, she may prefer some other combinations.



When Prefer Calibre Date in System Settings is turned on, the app uses Calibre's Date as Date Added in Library Sort for each book where applicable, as indicated by the footer of that switch. In other words, the sorting by Date Added option is interpreted differently according to the Prefer Calibre Date switch. If the OPDS server is NOT Calibre, then the switch has no effect.

Please let us know if this works for you. Thanks.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. That makes sense now. I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't find the prefer calibre date option in system settings. I tried looking in the gear icon lower left corner in the library view, the prefer menu in the opds download area, the contextual menu after selecting a book, and in the brightness menu choices when a book is opened. I'm sorry, I think I'm looking too hard for where this option is located. I suspect that when I find it, I will have a moment.

[slantybard]

Following up from my previous post earlier this week and have an open question to all MR users - does anyone know where in the MR app I can find the option to turn on "prefer calibre date" for sorting by date added? Thanks for any help.

[cedhax]

Originally Posted by slantybard

Following up from my previous post earlier this week and have an open question to all MR users - does anyone know where in the MR app I can find the option to turn on "prefer calibre date" for sorting by date added? Thanks for any help.

"Prefer Calibre Date" is a switch sitting right below "Auto-Open Last Book Read" under MapleRead in the Settings app, assuming that you have already updated to v1.6.1.