[GUI Plugin] Author Book Count Hierarchy

[DaltonST]

[GUI Plugin] Author Book Count Hierarchy

This plugin updates a new custom column for the total number of books written by each author and each co-author in a partionable pattern for every book in a library.

This plugin is designed specifically for those users who desire details about books with multiple authors.

Main Features of the Author Book Count Hierarchy Plugin:

This plugin updates the custom column “abc_hierarchy” for the total number of books for every author and co-author for each book your library. It always updates all books in the open library.

That custom column may optionally be combined with the field Author in another optional custom column “abc_abc_hierarchy” and the results displayed in the left browser pane under "ABC_ABCH or anything else you wish to choose. It is yours. Only custom column abc_hierarchy is required. All others are optional.


Installation Notes:

Spoiler:

1. Calibre > Preferences > Custom Columns > Add a new custom column called "abc_hierarchy" with a title of "ABC Hierarchy" and with the default "text, with column shown in the tag browser". Uncheck the new column to hide it. Save your work and restart Calibre. Refer to the attached configuration image file.

2. Calibre > Preferences > Plugins > Load Plugin from File and load the attached zip file. Save your work and restart Calibre.

3. Calibre > Preferences > Toolbar > Main Menu Toolbar and then add the icon for ABC Hierarchy. Save your work. Close the window.

4. If you do not want to see the data in the Book Details view, go to Calibre > Preferences > Look and Feel > Book Details and customize the view to your taste.

5. The Calibre tag-browser defaults to sorting by Text instead of by Numbers within Text. To change this: Calibre > Preferences > Tweaks > Recognize Numbers Within Text When Sorting > and set numeric_collation = True. See the instructions.

6. Calibre > Preferences > Custom Columns > Add Optionally add another new (optional) custom column called "abc_abc_hierarchy" with a title of "ABC_ABCH" and with the type "column built from other columns, behaves like tags". The template could either be: {author}.{#abc_hierarchy} or perhaps {#author_book_count}.{author}.{#abc_hierarchy}. Of course, you may customize this template to please yourself. This column is not to be shown. Uncheck it to hide it.

7. Go to Calibre > Preferences > Look and Feel > Tag Browser and configure it based upon the image shown in the instructions. You may change the Tag Browser configuration to suit your personal taste. Experiment until you find a combination that pleases you. If your optional template from above is {#author_book_count}.{author}.{#abc_hierarchy}, then author probably should be allowed to be partioned.

Special Notes:

1. Requires Calibre version 6.0.0 or later.

2. The ABC Hierarchy plugin does not interact with the ABC plugin that uses the "author_book_count" custom column. You may have both installed in Calibre if you wish, or only one of them. They each answer different questions. ABC is not designed specifically for multiple authors of a single book, but rather is generic. ABC Hierarchy is specifically designed for multiple authors of a single book, as well as single authors. Different plugins for different people with different needs and different tastes.

3. It is advisable to compact your Calibre metadata.db database periodically. The menu path is Calibre > Library > Library Maintenance > Check Library. It will perform a SQLite Vacuum operation to condense/compact/defrag the database.

Version History:

Spoiler:

Version 1.2.5 - 15 April 2023 Links now in normalized custom column tables.

Version 1.2.4 - 07 January 2023 Qt.core.
Version 1.2.3 - 18 December 2020 Miscellany.
Version 1.2.2 - 19 December 2019 Technical changes after Python 3.8 testing with Calibre 4.99.2
Version 1.2.1 - 16 December 2019 Technical Tweaks after compiling with Python 3.8
Version 1.2.0 - 23 July 2019 Miscellany
Version 1.1.9 - 26 May 2019 Python 3 compatibility; minimum Calibre version now 3.41.3.
Version 1.1.8 - 16 May 2017 Remove unnecessary blank space from final ABCH value; Technical changes to improve performance.
Version 1.1.7 - 5 May 2017 Allow themes with user-defined icons.
Version 1.1.6 - 9 June 2016 Revised Documentation; Added automatic detection and reporting in the job log of corrupt authors using the LN,FN format.
Version 1.1.5 - 16 May 2016 Changes for use by the Favourites Plug-in.
Version 1.1.4 - 29 August 2015 Use a comma in the abc_hierarchy value even if authors.name uses a bar.
Version 1.1.3 - 22 June 2015 Changes to make ABCH consistent with ABC.
Version 1.1.2 - 22 June 2015 Improved user experience when executing repetitively in multiple Calibre libraries continuously.
Version 1.1.1 - 21 June 2015 Miscellaneous performance tweaks.
Version 1.1.0 - 7 June 2015 Many Technical Changes to Improve Performance and Ease of Use.
Version 1.0.4 - 5 September 2014 Change due to Calibre 2.2.0 refactor
Version 1.0.3 - 10 August 2014 Revised Instructions; Improved ABCH format.
Version 1.0.2 - 6 August 2014 Changed format for ABCH text to enhance readability
Version 1.0.1 - 5 August 2014 Updated Instructions With New Possibilities
Version 1.0.0 - 4 August 2014 New Plugin

[eschwartz]

How does this differ from the count already offered in the tag browser for {author}?

[DaltonST]

It is totally different in purpose and nature. This plugin was developed specifically for users who found the existing functionality of Calibre lacking. They use my ABC plugin frequently, but still want "more" when it comes to multiple authors for books. Everyone is different and wants and/or needs different things. If you need it, you will know. If not, you will know that too.

[eschwartz]

I am sure this does something calibre doesn't already have. I am just curious what, since I don't seem to understand.

[DaltonST]

See a new attached image showing how to use ABC with ABCH simultaneously for 3 different views of your Authors. The instructions were also updated yielding release 1.0.1 dated 5 August 2014.

[DaltonST]

New Version 1.0.2 Released: ABCH Format has been changed to increase its readability.

It is now (example): ->7_Evangeline Anderson ->1_Reese Dante ->1_Barb Rice

This means: These are the 3 co-authors for this book, sorted from highest to lowest number of total books each has written (i.e., ABC). Evangeline Anderson has written 7, Reese Dante 1, and Barb Rice 1. There are no other co-authors.

If there were 25 co-authors, then the ABCH would reflect all 25 of them sorted by ABC from left to right. That is what ABCH is all about.

[asllearner]

Good job. Quick observations, but with grain of salt cause I am just beginning to understand what is going on:

legibility? Duplicate info?:

ABC_ABCH: Eric Donald Hirsch & Joseph F. Kett & James S. Trefil.->1_Joseph F. Kett ->1_James S. Trefil ->1_Eric Donald Hirsch

would be clearer to me as:

ABC_ABCH: Joseph F. Kett (1), James S. Trefil (1), Eric Donald Hirsch (1)

This would also make the Tag browser look nicer as now the grouped entries hold only the name, and then don't repeat it for the actual entries, but the names that stand alone have the full duplicated info, which is distracting. See attached "Bath Spa University"

My tag browser seems to look a bit different than yours, but not sure why. If I figure it out I will let you know. I think it is because I am not, and prefer not to, partition, so it may be ok.

pdf instructions: "portioned". should read "partitioned". It might help to clarify that this is a check box in the "tab browser" tab of the "look and feel" preferences pane.

[JSWolf]

delete post

[DaltonST]

asllearner,

Based on your preference for a value of "Joseph F. Kett (1), James S. Trefil (1), Eric Donald Hirsch (1)", you do not need the ABC_ABCH (abc_abc_hierarchy) Custom Column at all. I suggest that you delete it, keeping only the ABC Hierarchy (abc_hierarchy) visible in the Tag Browser.

If you delete the ABC_ABCH Custom Column, and if you have a large library, Calibre will load much faster too because the ABC_ABCH Custom Column is made by joining other Custom Columns (e.g. ABC, Author and ABCH) and must be done dynamically every time you start Calibre or switch libraries.

You may also not need the ABC (author_book_count) Custom Column. Just the ABC Hierarchy (abc_hierarchy) Custom Column. ABCH does not use the ABC data, but makes its own. The count is obviously the same, though.

I am going to release a new version of Author Book Count Hierarchy, since I like your suggested format of "Joseph F. Kett (1), James S. Trefil (1), Eric Donald Hirsch (1)". The current format came from the a post on the ABC thread when the need for ABCH first arose, so it was just a placeholder until a better one came along. One just has.


Thanks for your suggestions.

[DaltonST]

A new version of ABCH, Version 1.0.3 - 10 August 2014, has been released. It has highly revised Instructions plus an improved ABCH format for greater readability.

This plugin requires custom column abc_hierarchy.

The plugin instructions explain how to use another optional custom column, abc_abc_hierarchy, if you so desire. The latter is totally optional.

This plugin does not require or use the custom column author_book_count, which belongs to plugin Author Book Count.

You may safely use both ABC and ABCH together or singly. They are independent of each other, and provide very different functionality.

[DaltonST]

Version 1.1.1 of ABC Hierarchy has been released. Upgrade to this version is highly recommended.



DaltonST

[laji]

Sorry, it can not handle commas in author field. I mean, inside of ONE author. It changes commas to |, and reorders the parts of a name by comma.

The book...
Austen, Jane & Barrett, Julia - Charlotte
...'s authors in ABCH became...
Barrett| Julia(2) Austen| Jane(11)
...in ABC-ABCH became...
Austen, Jane & Barrett, Julia. Barrett| Julia(2) Austen| Jane(11)
(Clickable 3 parts are divided by color and underline.)

Please, do not advice to use reordered (Jane Austen) variant - I NEVER and NOWHERE use them, not depending of the used language. This behavior conflicts with human logics, and is used only in primitiv pidgin languages, like english. Languages with logical structure, like hungarian, use human logical order, and do not need author_sort, date_sort, adresse_sort, breechessize_sort solutions. And the second: I can not leave the comma, because surnames and family names are often not detectable, and there are variants with 2 or more family names; for example, often in spanish.

[DaltonST]

Originally Posted by laji

Sorry, it can not handle commas in author field. I mean, inside of ONE author. It changes commas to |, and reorders the parts of a name by comma.

The book...
Austen, Jane & Barrett, Julia - Charlotte
...'s authors in ABCH became...
Barrett| Julia(2) Austen| Jane(11)
...in ABC-ABCH became...
Austen, Jane & Barrett, Julia. Barrett| Julia(2) Austen| Jane(11)
(Clickable 3 parts are divided by color and underline.)

Please, do not advice to use reordered (Jane Austen) variant - I NEVER and NOWHERE use them, not depending of the used language. This behavior is conflicts with human logics, and is used only in primitiv pidgin languages, like english. Languages with logical structure, like hungarian, use human logical order, and do not need author_sort, date_sort, adresse_sort, breechessize_sort solutions. And the second: I can not leave the comma, because surnames and family names are often not detectable, and there are variants with 2 or more family names; for example, often in spanish.

@laji:

I am seeing multiple causes and effects in your example.

1. Standard Calibre changes the name of an author to include the '|' when it converts the author name from FN LN to LN, FN. See a real example below showing metadata.db table authors, fields id,name and sort. Note that even a new author id was created.

..................................... id ........name .......... sort
Original FN LN.............: "20" "Alys Arden" "Arden, Alys"
After Change to LN,FN.: "28" "Arden| Alys" "Arden, Alys"

2. ABCH has always used exactly what the "official" Calibre author name was.

3. Nothing in ABCH makes anything "clickable" or "non-clickable".

4. Standard Calibre makes its authors "clickable" in various locations in the GUI. Emphasis on "its" authors. "Its" authors may not be what the "real" authors are. What you see on your system appears to be caused by a corrupt author field in your example book. Calibre parsed it the way it always parses the authors of a newly added book, but apparently the original addition had a malformed author field. Being Calibre, there are many ways to determine what is really going on with your example book, but the way I would do it would be to look in the metadata.db file at tables authors, books_authors_link and books to piece together the full story.

5. The ABCH custom column is supposed to be created as "text, column shown in the tag browser". If instead it were created as "comma separated text, like tags, shown in the tag browser", a comma would explode a LN, FN author into 2 pieces within the tag browser. This is undesirable, which is why it should be created as "text, column shown in the tag browser".

6. ABCH should show a comma instead of the bar, even if standard Calibre created the bar in the "official" name of the author. So, I will soon post a new version of ABCH that changes all bars (if there are any) to commas for the values in the ABCH custom column table.


DaltonST

[laji]

DaltonST, thank you for quick reply.

Now I use a workaround {#abc_hierarchy:'re($, "\|", ",")'}. Unfortunately, it works only in book's details, not in column view or tag browser; so I wait for the new version - thank you in advice.

[chiara.sc]

Hi! This plugin is great for Calibre library.
I have a Kobo Aura HD. I would like to have a view of an author list with possible listing in alphabetical order or in number of books. Like the "my collections" type pf views. Do you know any plugin that can do this? may be a mix of this one jointly with the Kobo Utilities?

Thank you !