Calibre - Designate Previously Read

shane22 · 11-26-2011, 01:53 AM

What would be the best way to designate in Calibre that a book has already been read? I thought adding a column would be the way to go but couldn't figure out how to do it. I'm not overly computer literate and using a Mac so this may be easy for many but over my head.

iq6000 · 11-26-2011, 03:23 AM

I use a manual system of tagging in Calibre.
I use 2 tags:
read and unread.
When I read a book I change the tag.

I also added column colouring rules so that Calibre displays the column text in a different colour depending on these tags. That way I can see at a glance which books have been read and which have not, and also which books I have not yet tagged.

There may very well be a better way to do this - I just did what seemed logical and was easy for me to implement.

Angela

Divingduck · 11-26-2011, 05:43 AM

@chane22, To add a own column choose Preferences -> Interfaces -> add your own columns. Then click on the green + to create a new custom column. Put "read" in field Lookup name and "Read" in field Column heading. Column type ist "Yes/No" and close work with "ok". You will see then the new column "Read" in the list. Take care that the entry is check. After restarting Calibre you will find the new column on the right end in your column list. Move it to the position you like it to see. You can make an entry in the booklist or you can use Edit metadata. Choose the tab custom metadata.
Hope, this will help you.
DD

buukreader · 11-26-2011, 10:56 AM

I created a column called "My Rating." The "Rating" column is an imported average reader rating. When I finish a book I assign my own rating in the "My Rating" column. This lets me know quickly not only that I have read that book, but what I thought of it.

shane22 · 11-26-2011, 05:47 PM

These are all great ideas and I learned from each one of them so thanks, guys. I appreciate it. And I also appreciate my lack of computer skill not being slammed.

Stampercam · 11-27-2011, 12:35 AM

I have a yes/no column for books I have read. I also the reading list plugin to maintain this column, so I can change a book from no to yes with a keyboard shortcut.

dwig · 11-27-2011, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buukreader

I created a column called "My Rating." The "Rating" column is an imported average reader rating. When I finish a book I assign my own rating in the "My Rating" column. This lets me know quickly not only that I have read that book, but what I thought of it.

I do the same except I use the default "Rating" column. I've disabled the metadata down for this column (you do it from the little gear icon on the Edit Metadata window). I have no interest in other reader's ratings once I've decided to acquire a book.

I use a rating of zero (no stars) for unread and rate those I've read from 1 to 5. I then set up some saved searches to find "unread" (rating:false) and "read" (rating:true).

shane22 · 12-02-2011, 03:40 AM

It is interesting how creatively people can go about finding a solution to a problem. There are some great ideas in this thread. In the end I learned from DivingDuck how to make the yes/no columns and I now have a "read" column and an "unread" column.
English being the ridiculous language that it is could mean that "read" is for a book to be read or for one previously read. Anyway, in my case it means "already read" as opposed to the "unread" in the other column. Thanks to everyone for the help and the workable solution.

Aleyst · 12-02-2011, 08:22 AM

I named my yes/no column "Is Read" to clear that up. Inelegent but it works.
I could have used a column with preset values of read, unread, and won't read(for things I've gotten for others or because they were freebies/some classics that I want to have but probably won't read-reRead.)
Thinking about doing that in my next clean install.

11-26-2011, 01:53 AM	#1
shane22 Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bali, Indonesia Device: iPhone	Calibre - Designate Previously Read What would be the best way to designate in Calibre that a book has already been read? I thought adding a column would be the way to go but couldn't figure out how to do it. I'm not overly computer literate and using a Mac so this may be easy for many but over my head.

11-26-2011, 03:23 AM	#2
iq6000 Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 5000 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Deception Bay, QLD, Australia Device: ECO Reader, iPhone	I use a manual system of tagging in Calibre. I use 2 tags: read and unread. When I read a book I change the tag. I also added column colouring rules so that Calibre displays the column text in a different colour depending on these tags. That way I can see at a glance which books have been read and which have not, and also which books I have not yet tagged. There may very well be a better way to do this - I just did what seemed logical and was easy for me to implement. Angela Last edited by iq6000; 11-26-2011 at 03:26 AM.

11-26-2011, 05:43 AM	#3
Divingduck Wizard Posts: 1,161 Karma: 1404241 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Germany Device: Sony PRS-650	@chane22, To add a own column choose Preferences -> Interfaces -> add your own columns. Then click on the green + to create a new custom column. Put "read" in field Lookup name and "Read" in field Column heading. Column type ist "Yes/No" and close work with "ok". You will see then the new column "Read" in the list. Take care that the entry is check. After restarting Calibre you will find the new column on the right end in your column list. Move it to the position you like it to see. You can make an entry in the booklist or you can use Edit metadata. Choose the tab custom metadata. Hope, this will help you. DD Attached Thumbnails Attached Images

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11-26-2011, 10:56 AM	#4
buukreader Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Kindle	I created a column called "My Rating." The "Rating" column is an imported average reader rating. When I finish a book I assign my own rating in the "My Rating" column. This lets me know quickly not only that I have read that book, but what I thought of it.

11-26-2011, 05:47 PM	#5
shane22 Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bali, Indonesia Device: iPhone	These are all great ideas and I learned from each one of them so thanks, guys. I appreciate it. And I also appreciate my lack of computer skill not being slammed.

11-27-2011, 12:35 AM	#6
Stampercam Connoisseur Posts: 86 Karma: 19674 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: ipad, MiGear	I have a yes/no column for books I have read. I also the reading list plugin to maintain this column, so I can change a book from no to yes with a keyboard shortcut.

12-02-2011, 03:40 AM	#8
shane22 Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bali, Indonesia Device: iPhone	It is interesting how creatively people can go about finding a solution to a problem. There are some great ideas in this thread. In the end I learned from DivingDuck how to make the yes/no columns and I now have a "read" column and an "unread" column. English being the ridiculous language that it is could mean that "read" is for a book to be read or for one previously read. Anyway, in my case it means "already read" as opposed to the "unread" in the other column. Thanks to everyone for the help and the workable solution.

12-02-2011, 08:22 AM	#9
Aleyst Zealot Posts: 109 Karma: 2800 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Australia Device: PW (7th Gen), PW (10th Gen)	I named my yes/no column "Is Read" to clear that up. Inelegent but it works. I could have used a column with preset values of read, unread, and won't read(for things I've gotten for others or because they were freebies/some classics that I want to have but probably won't read-reRead.) Thinking about doing that in my next clean install.

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