Calibre Keeps Importing Media

[BonkyBob]

BetterRed,
I saw the register and unregister thing but i don't know how or where to use it.
Unfortunately I'm a mechanical engineer not a software one so this is all quite challenging.
Your patience is appreciated!

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by BonkyBob

BetterRed,
I saw the register and unregister thing but i don't know how or where to use it.
Unfortunately I'm a mechanical engineer not a software one so this is all quite challenging.
Your patience is appreciated!

To do the unregister, press the Windows key+R to pop the Run box, enter the following (use copy and paste from here), and then press enter.

calibre-debug --default-programs=unregister

A black box window will pop, a message will be displayed briefly before the black box window disappears… job done.

To set the Environment variable you use the Run box again, this time enter sysdm.cpl, and this should pop when you hit Enter:



Click the Advanced Tab and this should appear:



Click the Environment Variables button and this should pop:



Click the New button and the dialogue to enter new variables and values will pop



Copy an paste this ==>> CALIBRE_NO_DEFAULT_PROGRAMS into the Name field, enter a Value, e.g. 1, true or the colour of your grandma's gum boot. Click OK and you're done.

Now, maybe you can tell me where that nut went when it fell off the handle of the drawer in which I keep my casual pants. By rights it should have fallen into the drawer, but it disappeared into thin air

BR

[BonkyBob]

Thank you for the explanation BetterRed,
I followed your instructions (nice and easy to follow, excellent!).
Rebooted the computer, opened a pdf file and then closed it.
Started Calibre..it imported the pdf i had just opened.
I think I'll just have to live with this until i do a fresh install of win 11.
It's one of those unknowns. Like your nut.
Thanks for your efforts.
Cheers

[BetterRed]

Arrgh - I misunderstood, so calibre imported it when it started, not when you clicked on it

What do you have in Add books->Configuration->Automatic adding? I don't use Autoadd, so I have nothing in those settings.



BR

[BonkyBob]

BetterRed,
That's correct. As soon as i open Calibre it add the books.
The only tick in that Automatic adding is...
Automatically convert added files to the preferred output format.

[BetterRed]

Where are the file's calibre is adding, are they always in same place - e.g. your Desktop or Downloads folder? If so, move them somewhere else - e.g. a "Work" folder on your C: drive, and then start calibre.

Have you installed the JobSpy plugin? It has a per library tweak for AutoAdd:



Another possibility is the Windows Send to menu:



The _calibre item I've boxed is a shortcut to calibre.exe, if I clicked it as shown, the Inside the Carbon Cult PDF would be added to the current library. Send to is the primary mechanism by which I add books.

Like most engineers (ChemEng in my case) I don't like inexplicable phenomena. He might move in mysterious ways but the things He's alleged to have created don't do that… not even nuts that fall off drawer handles.

BR

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by BonkyBob

Thank you for the explanation BetterRed,
I followed your instructions (nice and easy to follow, excellent!).
Rebooted the computer, opened a pdf file and then closed it.
Started Calibre..it imported the pdf i had just opened.
I think I'll just have to live with this until i do a fresh install of win 11.
It's one of those unknowns. Like your nut.
Thanks for your efforts.
Cheers

Instead of fresh install of windows I would recommend just moving your calibre library to calibre portable. And uninstalling the normal install of calibre then delete its settings. As from reading through this thread it seem like the problem happens when you open calibre so you calibre settings seem to be borked

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Dopedangel

Instead of fresh install of windows I would recommend just moving your calibre library to calibre portable. And uninstalling the normal install of calibre then delete its settings. As from reading through this thread it seem like the problem happens when you open calibre so you calibre settings seem to be borked

I agree, reinstalling Windows rarely solves anything these days. And corrupt configuration files have often caused problems (mainly screen geometry).

To test if the configuration data is the culprit, all the OP need do is to rename the calibre configuration folder when calibre is closed then start calibre and let it create a new configuration.

@BonkyBob - to rename the configuration folder

• Click the "Open calibre configuration folder" button in Preferences->Miscellaneous.
• Close calibre.
• The folder will be something like
  

  C:\Users\<xxxxxx>\AppData\Roaming\calibre

• Rename it to something like calibre_save.
• Start calibre

If that resolves the issue, you can eyeball the saved config files to help you put things back together.

BR

[BonkyBob]

Thank for the suggestions BetterRed and Dopedangel, i will try those.
Had not thought of portable version.
The fresh install is due regardless.
I'll report back
Cheers

[BonkyBob]

I just copied - (not opened) a file from my downloads folder to my desktop.
Opened Calibre and it imported it.

[theducks]

Copied means the Downloads was still there... So how do you know which was copied?

I still think you have Preferences :Adding books: Automatic adding (A TAB) set

BTW I just found mine had an entry I would have never used. (and does not exist at this time): HDimages

[BonkyBob]

theducks - there is nothing ticked in that preference, i've unticked everything.
I was trying to move a Macrium Reflect image from one drive to another.
I open Calibre and it tried to import that.

[BonkyBob]

I have tried all of the suggestions above and at this stage the only thing that seems to be working (so far) is using the portable edition of Calibre.
Some testing coming up....

[BonkyBob]

I've tried all of the above and so far no luck.
Even the portable version of Calibre does the same thing.
I'll just have to live with it i think.
Thank you to all who have suggested fixes.

[Quoth]

Something is very broken, and it's not file associations.
Anything non-standard about your OS?