Non-series book sorts with series books

Medieval Guy · 11-13-2018, 07:58 PM

I have a small number of books in my Calibre library that sort oddly. I sort by Published, then Series, then Author, so that it will display by author in publication order with series books at the end. But with these books, they sort as if they are in a series that has no name...i.e., between the non-series books and the series books. I've tried to find any trace of an old series in the meta-data, but nothing seems to work...no matter what I do, the books are "stuck" among the series books.

I hope I'm explaining myself clearly. This is very annoying to my OCD brain, which desperately wants the books to be ordered properly!

theducks · 11-13-2018, 09:01 PM

I suspect there is a subtle difference in the Author_sort
Run the Quality Check plugin: Check metadata: check Author sort

But before that, open the Tag Browser: Authors and check if there are 2+ entries for your Author.

Medieval Guy · 11-13-2018, 09:48 PM

Only one entry in Tag Browser; Quality Check didn't find a problem with the books in question.

By the way, when I sort it by Published, then Author, it sorts correctly (i.e., puts it in the proper place according to the publication date). It's only when the Series is added to the sort order that it messes up (putting it with the other series books, as if it's part of a series with a blank name), which is why I think the problem is there.

theducks · 11-13-2018, 10:39 PM

Your last sort is Author, so a No series by THAT author will be at the head of THAT author.

Sort by Pub, the Author Then Series (Each sort biases the next sort)

BTW A Published sort does not make sense with Series also being considered Series Index will prevail

BetterRed · 11-14-2018, 01:28 AM

@Medieval Guy - you might want to try using the View Manager plugin, amongst other things it provides visible sort order specs ==>> Index of plugins

BR

Medieval Guy · 11-14-2018, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Your last sort is Author, so a No series by THAT author will be at the head of THAT author.

Sort by Pub, the Author Then Series (Each sort biases the next sort)

BTW A Published sort does not make sense with Series also being considered Series Index will prevail

???Pub, then Author, then Series will sort them by series title! I want it sorted by Author, in date order, with the series books at the end of each author.

It's not as if the book is part of no series (which is what it IS!); it's as if it is in a series, but the series title is blank. But Calibre still thinks it's in a series.

itimpi · 11-14-2018, 06:35 AM

Perhaps providing a screenshot of what you are seeing might help with others seeing what you are getting and have suggestions for getting the desired results?

I assume that you have checked the Author Sort value on all the books? If this is not identical on them all then you are going to get strange results as in your example that is the primary sort key.

theducks · 11-14-2018, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medieval Guy

???Pub, then Author, then Series will sort them by series title! I want it sorted by Author, in date order, with the series books at the end of each author.

It's not as if the book is part of no series (which is what it IS!); it's as if it is in a series, but the series title is blank. But Calibre still thinks it's in a series.

Either I can't picture what you are seeing or it can't be done

Pubd 1 Author A <no series>
Pubd 2 Author A <no series>
Pubd 1 Author A Series A[1]
Pubd 2 Author A Series A[2]
Pubd 1 Author A Series A[3] << this is proper as the last sort is Series and overrides pubd
Pubd 2 Author B <no series>
Pubd 2 Author B Series A[1]
Pubd 4 Author B Series B[1] <<<this is a reprint (date), but it sorts in series order
Pubd 3 Author B Series B[2]

<no series> might have 'floated' to the top, because you had sorted by pubd earlier (assumes the pub dates were not identical)

Medieval Guy · 11-14-2018, 07:06 AM

First, hit Published
Second, hit Series
Third, hit Author

The books will then be sorted by author, with the books in publication order and the series books at the end of each author. What's happening in a very few cases is a book without a series will not be in publication date order, but rather will be between the other no-series books and the series books, as if it has a series title that is blank but recognized (or 00000). If I leave Series out of the sort (i.e., hit Published, hit Author), then it sorts appropriately in publication order. It is only when Series is added to the mix that it sorts incorrectly.

Am I explaining it more clearly now? Sorry for the confusion!

Medieval Guy · 11-15-2018, 07:14 PM

This might help:

Moderator Notice
Pleas follow forum guidelines on inline images. Use an attachment

You can see that Life During Wartime is out of order...it should be up off the top of the screen.

There are a few books like that. And I can't figure out what in them is triggering this behavior. I know it's not in the name, because I changed the author name on all the Lucius Shepard books using the bulk change feature, so they're all identical. Plus, the problem only shows up when I sort by series as well as author and date.

Terisa de morgan · 11-16-2018, 12:42 AM

Try to clean the series field in that book, even if you have already done it.

Medieval Guy · 11-16-2018, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Try to clean the series field in that book, even if you have already done it.

Tried that; no luck.

kovidgoyal · 11-17-2018, 12:30 AM

Make sure all the books have the same value in the language field, since the language influences how series are sorted.

Medieval Guy · 11-17-2018, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Make sure all the books have the same value in the language field, since the language influences how series are sorted.

Really? Huh!

But no, everything has English for language...

kovidgoyal · 11-17-2018, 12:38 PM

then attach the metadata.db file from your library and I will take a look.

11-13-2018, 07:58 PM	#1
Medieval Guy Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none	Non-series book sorts with series books I have a small number of books in my Calibre library that sort oddly. I sort by Published, then Series, then Author, so that it will display by author in publication order with series books at the end. But with these books, they sort as if they are in a series that has no name...i.e., between the non-series books and the series books. I've tried to find any trace of an old series in the meta-data, but nothing seems to work...no matter what I do, the books are "stuck" among the series books. I hope I'm explaining myself clearly. This is very annoying to my OCD brain, which desperately wants the books to be ordered properly!

11-13-2018, 09:48 PM	#3
Medieval Guy Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none	Only one entry in Tag Browser; Quality Check didn't find a problem with the books in question. By the way, when I sort it by Published, then Author, it sorts correctly (i.e., puts it in the proper place according to the publication date). It's only when the Series is added to the sort order that it messes up (putting it with the other series books, as if it's part of a series with a blank name), which is why I think the problem is there. Last edited by Medieval Guy; 11-13-2018 at 10:35 PM.

11-14-2018, 07:06 AM	#9
Medieval Guy Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none	First, hit Published Second, hit Series Third, hit Author The books will then be sorted by author, with the books in publication order and the series books at the end of each author. What's happening in a very few cases is a book without a series will not be in publication date order, but rather will be between the other no-series books and the series books, as if it has a series title that is blank but recognized (or 00000). If I leave Series out of the sort (i.e., hit Published, hit Author), then it sorts appropriately in publication order. It is only when Series is added to the mix that it sorts incorrectly. Am I explaining it more clearly now? Sorry for the confusion! Last edited by Medieval Guy; 11-14-2018 at 10:51 PM.

11-15-2018, 07:14 PM	#10
Medieval Guy Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none	This might help: Moderator Notice Pleas follow forum guidelines on inline images. Use an attachment You can see that Life During Wartime is out of order...it should be up off the top of the screen. There are a few books like that. And I can't figure out what in them is triggering this behavior. I know it's not in the name, because I changed the author name on all the Lucius Shepard books using the bulk change feature, so they're all identical. Plus, the problem only shows up when I sort by series as well as author and date. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by theducks; 11-15-2018 at 07:34 PM.

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11-13-2018, 09:01 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,807 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I suspect there is a subtle difference in the Author_sort Run the Quality Check plugin: Check metadata: check Author sort But before that, open the Tag Browser: Authors and check if there are 2+ entries for your Author.

11-13-2018, 10:39 PM	#4
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,807 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Your last sort is Author, so a No series by THAT author will be at the head of THAT author. Sort by Pub, the Author Then Series (Each sort biases the next sort) BTW A Published sort does not make sense with Series also being considered Series Index will prevail

11-14-2018, 01:28 AM	#5
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 20,572 Karma: 26954694 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@Medieval Guy - you might want to try using the View Manager plugin, amongst other things it provides visible sort order specs ==>> Index of plugins BR

11-14-2018, 06:35 AM	#7
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,552 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	Perhaps providing a screenshot of what you are seeing might help with others seeing what you are getting and have suggestions for getting the desired results? I assume that you have checked the Author Sort value on all the books? If this is not identical on them all then you are going to get strange results as in your example that is the primary sort key.

11-16-2018, 12:42 AM	#11
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,233 Karma: 11768331 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	Try to clean the series field in that book, even if you have already done it.

11-17-2018, 12:30 AM	#13
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,860 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Make sure all the books have the same value in the language field, since the language influences how series are sorted.

11-17-2018, 12:38 PM	#15
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,860 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	then attach the metadata.db file from your library and I will take a look.

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