Suddenly Calibre doesn't mark some books on a Kobo Glo device

[bernard.ryefield]

Originally Posted by davidfor

At this point, that's about the only thing to do. But, maybe we'll see a pattern and be able to something about that.

No change with the 3.23 version of Calibre.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by bernard.ryefield

No change with the 3.23 version of Calibre.

And it would be very worrying if there was a change as there were no changes in the code related to this.

Looking at the latest non-matching book, this is exactly the same problem as before. The metadata in the book on the device and in the database on the device only has one author. When matching to the library this fails because the book should have two authors. And the solution is to send the book to the device using the metadata plugin I posted before.

[bernard.ryefield]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Looking at the latest non-matching book, this is exactly the same problem as before. The metadata in the book on the device and in the database on the device only has one author. When matching to the library this fails because the book should have two authors. And the solution is to send the book to the device using the metadata plugin I posted before.

I have no idea why you see only one author as the OPF file has two and Calibre shows the SD card version (kepub) with the two authors.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by bernard.ryefield

I have no idea why you see only one author as the OPF file has two and Calibre shows the SD card version (kepub) with the two authors.

Referring back to a message posted by davidfor earlier in this thread:

Originally Posted by davidfor

For epubs, the Kobo firmware only reads the first "dc:creator" in the OPF. But, calibre writes each author as a separate dc:creator tag. Hence, multi-author epubs show up on the device with only the first author showing. This can also lead to the book on the device matching back to the calibre library when the device is plugged in. I have always assumed that kepubs work the same way, so I have never checked.

You may also want to check this thread: Displaying multiple authors (on Kobo Glo).

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by DNSB

You may also want to check this thread: Displaying multiple authors (on Kobo Glo.

That link opens the Devices sub-forum, which is almost certainly not what you meant.

Members should click any links they post to ensure they take the reader to the intended destination.

BR

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by bernard.ryefield

I have no idea why you see only one author as the OPF file has two and Calibre shows the SD card version (kepub) with the two authors.

When I open the kepub version and looked at the metadata, yes, there are two authors. But, they are in two separate "dc:creator" tags. And as I stated above, the Kobo firmware only reads the first of these. And this is identical to the other book you sent details of.

If what you were doing is giving me an example of a book on the device that does match to books in the calibre with multiple authors, then I missed that. Unfortunately, it doesn't help much. The debug logs didn't show any details for the book and I don't know how the initial match was done. Was it the first connection after sending the book, or was it the manual method mentioned above.

If this was another example of a non-match, then it doesn't help as the reason is the multiple authors. This is a reason I know and understand. And I spent a reasonable amount of time over the weekend looking at the code that does the matching and experimenting with it, and I don't have a good solution. The matching is on title and all authors. I don't see a good way to change this to allow a looser match based on a title plus one author.

The best answer I have multiple authors problem is to use the metadata plugboard I mentioned above and resend the books. The next best is to do the manual matching.

I am sure there are other reasons for the books not matching. For me, the mismatches all come to the author handling, or title mismatches due to different sources of books. I assume that a difference in character sets or encoding used could cause a problem. But, that's not one I have seen for sure, and as I'm a single-language English speaker, it isn't something I'm good at testing (meaning I don't have suitable examples or confidence in producing producing real test cases). Until I see examples of other mismatches, I don't know what the cause is, or if there is a way to fix them.

[bernard.ryefield]

Originally Posted by davidfor

If what you were doing is giving me an example of a book on the device that does match to books in the calibre with multiple authors, then I missed that.

Yes, this is the case, not matching in Calibre AND with the two authors correctly displayed on the device

Originally Posted by davidfor

I am sure there are other reasons for the books not matching. For me, the mismatches all come to the author handling, or title mismatches due to different sources of books. I assume that a difference in character sets or encoding used could cause a problem. But, that's not one I have seen for sure, and as I'm a single-language English speaker, it isn't something I'm good at testing (meaning I don't have suitable examples or confidence in producing producing real test cases). Until I see examples of other mismatches, I don't know what the cause is, or if there is a way to fix them.

There are other books with different problems: one author and a series, one author and one book, one author and different series etc...
I you wish to investigate I will give you as much details I can, otherwise let's call it a day and go for the solution you give below.

Originally Posted by davidfor

The best answer I have multiple authors problem is to use the metadata plugboard I mentioned above and resend the books. The next best is to do the manual matching.

Can you check the process I intend to follow?

1) I delete all non-matching books from the device SD card

2) I go to KoboUtilities> Driver > KoboTouchExtended

3) I go to the template editor

4) I replace the current template with your plugboard in the same field, that is:

program: raw_list('authors', ', ')

I'm waiting for your green light. Thank you again.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

That link opens the Devices sub-forum, which is almost certainly not what you meant.

Members should click any links they post to ensure they take the reader to the intended destination.

BR

Thanks. I've corrected the link.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by bernard.ryefield

Yes, this is the case, not matching in Calibre AND with the two authors correctly displayed on the device

In that case the debug log didn't show anything useful. You need to change the text in the debugging field in the driver configuration to show debug info for this book. Then connect while running calibre in debug mode and post the log.

There are other books with different problems: one author and a series, one author and one book, one author and different series etc...
I you wish to investigate I will give you as much details I can, otherwise let's call it a day and go for the solution you give below.

I am happy to look as if I can fix anything, it reduces other issues. It just takes a bit of time.

Can you check the process I intend to follow?

1) I delete all non-matching books from the device SD card

2) I go to KoboUtilities> Driver > KoboTouchExtended

3) I go to the template editor

4) I replace the current template with your plugboard in the same field, that is:

program: raw_list('authors', ', ')

I'm waiting for your green light. Thank you again.

NO! Sorry, I've said this at least once before in this thread, but that is NOT what you want. That is the save template and is only used to set the file name of the books when sent to the device. The file names are not used for matching the books when a Kobo device is connected.

"Metadata plugboads" is a completely separate area in the calibre preferences. Their purpose is to modify the metadata inside the books. The metadata is read by the Kobo device and displayed when you are looking at the book list or the book details. It is also used when the device is connected to calibre is trying to match the books. An explanation of them is at https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/tem...and-plugboards.

You can use the plugboard I showed by:

1. Opening the calibre preferences.
2. Select the "Metadata plugboard".
3. On the "Add new plugboard" line, select "epub" in the first drop-down and "KOBOTOUCHEXTENDED" in the second. (The latter is because you appear to be using the KoboTouchExtendedDriver."
4. In the first field under "Source template", past the text for the plugboad.
5. In the drop-down on the same line as the text field, select "authors".
6. Press the "Save plugboard" button under the fields. Details of the plugboard will be shown in the "Existing plugboards" field on the left.
7. Click the "Apply" button to save the changes and close Metadata plugboards.
8. Click the Close button to close the preferences dialog.

Now, when you send an epub to the device, the author metadata will be changed to look like "FN1 LN1, FN2 LN2". This is how the Kobo devices like them and will show this in the book lists. And in the "Authors" list will show "FN1 LN1" and "FN2 LN2" as separate entries which when opened will both include the book.

And, importantly for this discussion, when the device is connected, the book is much more likely to be correctly matched to book in the calibre lirbary.

[bernard.ryefield]

Originally Posted by davidfor

In that case the debug log didn't show anything useful. You need to change the text in the debugging field in the driver configuration to show debug info for this book. Then connect while running calibre in debug mode and post the log.

I thought I did it, must be wrong then.

Originally Posted by davidfor

I am happy to look as if I can fix anything, it reduces other issues. It just takes a bit of time.

So I don't touch anything yet?

Originally Posted by davidfor

NO! Sorry, I've said this at least once before in this thread, but that is NOT what you want. That is the save template and is only used to set the file name of the books when sent to the device. The file names are not used for matching the books when a Kobo device is connected.

"Metadata plugboads" is a completely separate area in the calibre preferences. Their purpose is to modify the metadata inside the books. The metadata is read by the Kobo device and displayed when you are looking at the book list or the book details. It is also used when the device is connected to calibre is trying to match the books. An explanation of them is at https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/tem...and-plugboards.

You can use the plugboard I showed by:

1. Opening the calibre preferences.
2. Select the "Metadata plugboard".
3. On the "Add new plugboard" line, select "epub" in the first drop-down and "KOBOTOUCHEXTENDED" in the second. (The latter is because you appear to be using the KoboTouchExtendedDriver."
4. In the first field under "Source template", past the text for the plugboad.
5. In the drop-down on the same line as the text field, select "authors".
6. Press the "Save plugboard" button under the fields. Details of the plugboard will be shown in the "Existing plugboards" field on the left.
7. Click the "Apply" button to save the changes and close Metadata plugboards.
8. Click the Close button to close the preferences dialog.

Now, when you send an epub to the device, the author metadata will be changed to look like "FN1 LN1, FN2 LN2". This is how the Kobo devices like them and will show this in the book lists. And in the "Authors" list will show "FN1 LN1" and "FN2 LN2" as separate entries which when opened will both include the book.

And, importantly for this discussion, when the device is connected, the book is much more likely to be correctly matched to book in the calibre lirbary.

It's perplexing, as the only options available when I open Calibre preferences are roughly translated from French "modify Calibre behavior", "Start the welcome assistant", "Get extensions", and "restart in debug mode". When I go to "modify Calibre behavior" I don't know where to go next, I don't find directions in the documentation: "Interface", "Conversion", "Import/Export", "Share" or "Advanced"?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by bernard.ryefield

It's perplexing, as the only options available when I open Calibre preferences are roughly translated from French "modify Calibre behavior", "Start the welcome assistant", "Get extensions", and "restart in debug mode". When I go to "modify Calibre behavior" I don't know where to go next, I don't find directions in the documentation: "Interface", "Conversion", "Import/Export", "Share" or "Advanced"?

Under Préférences, look for Importer/Exporter, select "Tableaux de connexion des métadonnées". This gets you to the metadata plugboard creation. "Ajouter un nouveau tableau de connexions" is where you want to start.

At this point, you've pretty much reached the limits of what I remember from high school French.

Edit: attached image of what I think the plugboard should look like (KoboTouch driver since I don't have the KoboTouchExtended driver installed).

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by bernard.ryefield

So I don't touch anything yet?

At this point, I am not planning to change anything about the book matching. The only examples of books that don't match that I have are ones that I cannot do anything about. If you or someone else comes up with other examples, I will look at them and see what I can do.

It's perplexing, as the only options available when I open Calibre preferences are roughly translated from French "modify Calibre behavior", "Start the welcome assistant", "Get extensions", and "restart in debug mode". When I go to "modify Calibre behavior" I don't know where to go next, I don't find directions in the documentation: "Interface", "Conversion", "Import/Export", "Share" or "Advanced"?

DNSB gave you the translation for the button in the preferences, but it is the one on the end of the third line of buttons.

[bernard.ryefield]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Under Préférences, look for Importer/Exporter, select "Tableaux de connexion des métadonnées". This gets you to the metadata plugboard creation. "Ajouter un nouveau tableau de connexions" is where you want to start.

At this point, you've pretty much reached the limits of what I remember from high school French.

Edit: attached image of what I think the plugboard should look like (KoboTouch driver since I don't have the KoboTouchExtended driver installed).

Thank you for the directions, very good French too!

[bernard.ryefield]

Originally Posted by davidfor

At this point, I am not planning to change anything about the book matching. The only examples of books that don't match that I have are ones that I cannot do anything about. If you or someone else comes up with other examples, I will look at them and see what I can do.



DNSB gave you the translation for the button in the preferences, but it is the one on the end of the third line of buttons.

I take that as an OK to launch the operations. Thank you again!

[bernard.ryefield]

I had no problem sending the books except for one which was readable/transferable and that I had to repair.

But now comes the really big problem: "CorruptError: database disk image is malformed" at the connection (database backup). The books have the green checks though. When I run the KoboUtilities verify command I get the same error message.