[GUI Plugin] Open With

[capink]

Version 1.7.2

• Update: update to calibre6 icon themes. Code borrowed from @JimmXinu.

[Comfy.n]

Hi, thanks for the update.

I wanted to have Sumatra open any title by a single shortcut key on Calibre, but it seems the Open With plugin needs distinct shortcut keys for each format. I'm using Sumatra as default viewer just for CBZ and CBR formats.

Is there some hack I can apply to Calibre shortcut keys, or to the plugin itself, in order to have this secondary viewer open EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 by the same key? Some way to override program behaviour of not accepting assignment of the same shortcut key to different actions?

[capink]

Use the Action Chains plugin. It has and open with action based on this plugin, but it supports template language which can do what you want.

Make a chain withe single action (Open with action), and configure the action by choosing the path to desired program. After that choose the template option and enter the following template:

program:
	priority = 'CBZ,CBR,EPUB,MOBI,AZW3';
	paths = formats_paths();
	for fmt in priority:
		path = select(paths, fmt);
		if path 
		then
			path;
			break
		fi
	rof

You can assign this chain to whatever keyboard shortcut you wish. It should open format based on your priority variable.

Notes:

• Change the order of the formats in the variable highlighted in blue to the order as you wish.
• The formats should be in UPPER LETTERS.
• If you don't want the chain to be available for books without these formats, you can set a condition on the chain as follows:
  

  template = copy the same template above
  datatype = text
  comparison = "!="
  condition value = Leave this empty

  Also, check the "disable menu chain if condition is false" check box.

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by capink

Use the Action Chains plugin. It has and open with action based on this plugin, but it supports template language which can do what you want[...]

Thank you so much!

I'm not familiar with the Chains PI, but i think that will work

[capink]

Well, Now that I think about it, I remember dadvifor (may his soul rest in peace) actually added template capability to this plugin. You should choose template option in the formats dropdown menu, and then enter the template from the post above into the args column in the open with plugin.

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by capink

Use the Action Chains plugin. It has and open with action based on this plugin, but it supports template language which can do what you want.

Make a chain withe single action (Open with action), and configure the action by choosing the path to desired program. After that choose the template option and enter the following template:

program:
	priority = 'CBZ,CBR,EPUB,MOBI,AZW3';
	paths = formats_paths();
	for fmt in priority:
		path = select(paths, fmt);
		if path 
		then
			path;
			break
		fi
	rof

You can assign this chain to whatever keyboard shortcut you wish. It should open format based on your priority variable.

Notes:

• Change the order of the formats in the variable highlighted in blue to the order as you wish.
• The formats should be in UPPER LETTERS.
• If you don't want the chain to be available for books without these formats, you can set a condition on the chain as follows:
  

  template = copy the same template above
  datatype = text
  comparison = "!="
  condition value = Leave this empty

  Also, check the "disable menu chain if condition is false" check box.

Amazing! That worked!

I have just assigned 'M' as that Chain shortcut key (removed it from 'Merge')...

Then, searched for title:"art of" and (#filter:"=EPUB" or #filter:"=MOBI" or #filter:"=AZW3") , to have the formats I wanted show up for testing...

Then selected one book of each format, pressed 'M'...
and Sumatra opened them instantly !



I think I had installed your Actions Chain Plugin before, but I uninstalled it because I couldn't see any of those dropdown menus... So i thought it had been made strictly for coders (which somehow it is, as I wouldn't be able to generate that program you wrote..)

Now I realise that what was preventing me from figuring out how the PI works was that QT6 interface re-drawing thing, that happened after Calibre 6. Every dialog must be resized by the user, stretched... so one can see all the PI options and enjoy the plugin capabilities.

[Comfy.n]

Originally Posted by capink

Well, Now that I think about it, I remember davidfor (may his soul rest in peace) actually added template capability to this plugin. You should choose template option in the formats dropdown menu, and then enter the template from the post above into the args column in the open with plugin.

I wish I could thank him, as well.

I'm posting some screenshots, in case someone wants to implement that Chain and see how it goes.

[kiwidude]

Release Notes:
https://github.com/kiwidude68/calibr...en_with-v1.8.0

[kiwidude]

Release Notes:
https://github.com/kiwidude68/calibr...en_with-v1.8.1

This adds a %FILENAME% token that can be used for applications that need more granular control over where the filename of the selected book/cover is inserted in the command line. It has always defaulted to being the last argument without using this token.

See the Help file for more info.

[fantafrik]

I would like to know if is it possible to open two selected files as parameter with the "Open with" plugin. I want to open two pdf files with "diff-pdf-win" [https://vslavik.github.io/diff-pdf/] from calibre, i know how to pass parameters, but I do not know how to indicate it has two input files. Is it possible?

[kiwidude]

Originally Posted by fantafrik

I would like to know if is it possible to open two selected files as parameter with the "Open with" plugin. I want to open two pdf files with "diff-pdf-win" [https://vslavik.github.io/diff-pdf/] from calibre, i know how to pass parameters, but I do not know how to indicate it has two input files. Is it possible?

Not currently. It would require code changes to support an open with menu item entry that would pass all selected book rows to a single application rather than doing an individual launch of an app for each row.

[fantafrik]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

Not currently. It would require code changes to support an open with menu item entry that would pass all selected book rows to a single application rather than doing an individual launch of an app for each row.

Thank you very much for the clarification. It could be a nice feature, I think a lot of people have many versions of the same book, the upper refered app could help to clean our libraries.

[kiwidude]

Release Notes
https://github.com/kiwidude68/calibr...en_with-v1.8.2

[kiwidude]

Release Notes
https://github.com/kiwidude68/calibr...en_with-v1.8.3

Fix for calibre 7.

[kiwidude]

Release Notes
https://github.com/kiwidude68/calibr...en_with-v1.8.4

This one is for the couple of users who have reported out of memory errors when trying to use this plugin to open with Adobe Acrobat. I have no clue of the real cause other than subprocess.Popen() with an arg array triggers it but constructing a single command line works. So back to the old way of launching apps.

Which might break something else for some edge case but it is what it is at this point... use the built in book details pane functionality that calibre has nowadays instead...