[GUI Plugin] Kobo Utilities

[davidfor]

I have just updated the plugin to version 2.15.0. This is take advantage of an upcoming change in calibre to related to creating custom columns.

The change list is:

• New: Use CreateNewCustomColumn to create custom columns in the configuration dialog.
• Change: Update importing of some Qt classes as part of preparation for calibre v6/Qt6.

The main change is in the plugins configuration. This will add a "Create new column" entry to the bottom of the lists of custom columns. Selecting this will open a dialog to create the column with suggestions for the lookup name and column headings. These can be changed. When the OK button is pressed the column is added to calibre. When the configuration dialog is closed, you will be prompted to restart calibre to complete the creation of the columns. Until calibre is restarted, no further changes to the plugins configuration can be made or to the overall calibre preferences.

This change will not take affect until the next release of calibre. This relies on some excellent work by @chaley with how custom columns are created. But, the plugin is still compatible with older versions of calibre.

The other change is some preparation for calibre 6 which will be using Qt6. This will have no effect on anything except the effort needed later.

As usual, calibre will announce the update in the next hour or so. And if there are any problems or questions, please post them here.

[thiago.eec]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I have just updated the plugin to version 2.15.0. This is take advantage of an upcoming change in calibre to related to creating custom columns.

The change list is:

• New: Use CreateNewCustomColumn to create custom columns in the configuration dialog.
• Change: Update importing of some Qt classes as part of preparation for calibre v6/Qt6.

The main change is in the plugins configuration. This will add a "Create new column" entry to the bottom of the lists of custom columns. Selecting this will open a dialog to create the column with suggestions for the lookup name and column headings. These can be changed. When the OK button is pressed the column is added to calibre. When the configuration dialog is closed, you will be prompted to restart calibre to complete the creation of the columns. Until calibre is restarted, no further changes to the plugins configuration can be made or to the overall calibre preferences.

This change will not take affect until the next release of calibre. This relies on some excellent work by @chaley with how custom columns are created. But, the plugin is still compatible with older versions of calibre.

The other change is some preparation for calibre 6 which will be using Qt6. This will have no effect on anything except the effort needed later.

As usual, calibre will announce the update in the next hour or so. And if there are any problems or questions, please post them here.

Hi, @davidfor.

First, I don't have a Kobo. I installed your plugin just to see the new CreateNewCustomColumn feature, and learn how to implement it on my plugin (Skoob Sync).

Thank you guys very much, both @chaley and you, for your efforts. This is really great. Got it working here thanks to your code for this plugin.

Now, while testing it, I noticed that your Last Read and Rating columns labels seems to be mixed. Maybe I got it wrong, but you should give it a check.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by thiago.eec

Hi, @davidfor.

First, I don't have a Kobo. I installed your plugin just to see the new CreateNewCustomColumn feature, and learn how to implement it on my plugin (Skoob Sync).

Thank you guys very much, both @chaley and you, for your efforts. This is really great. Got it working here thanks to your code for this plugin.

Glad it helped. And I'm also glad I did some cleanup of the code

Now, while testing it, I noticed that your Last Read and Rating columns labels seems to be mixed. Maybe I got it wrong, but you should give it a check.

I kept doing that as different parts of the code had the columns in different orders. Thanks for noticing.

[davidfor]

I have just released version 2.15.1 of the plugin. This is a quick fix for the problem noticed by @thiago.eec with the custom columns.

The changes are:

• Fix: In some places the text for the rating and last read code was swapped.
• Change: Handle cancelling the custom column creation better.
• Change: Calibre v6/Qt6 migration - code cleanup

The other change was that I wasn't handling what happened when creating the custom column was cancelled.

As usual, calibre will announce the update in the next hour or so. And if there are any problems or questions, please post them here.

[ownedbycats]

What exactly does the "page #### is never used" error (corrupt database) actually mean? Compressing the database fixed it.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

What exactly does the "page #### is never used" error (corrupt database) actually mean? Compressing the database fixed it.

It means an internal page mapping is out of sync. Basically, one place has pointer say that a page in the file is used, but, none of the tables or indexes are actually using the page. Here, "page" is basically the unit of allocation of disk space in the file. It should be safe to ignore.

The compress, or VACUUM, rebuilds the file. So, it cleans up any unused space.

[Infernoweb]

Hi !

I'm facing a strange behavior between Calibre 5.35 (x64) / Kobo Utilities 2.15.1 and my Kobo Aura HD reader :

On the reader, i've set some books already readed as "unread" to read them again and begun the "re redeading".

But when I connect my Kobo to Calibre, Kobo Utilities says there are no read positions to update. The related books in Calibre show always the read position at 100 even if there are set as unread or got a new read position on the device.

Not sure if it could be important but i'm using Calibre with Windows 11.

Thanks for your help !

Regards,
Eric

[edit] Version of of my Kobo Aura HD firmware : 4.31.19086 [/edit]

[Infernoweb]

Hi !

I'm facing a strange behavior between Calibre 5.35 (x646) / Kobo utilities 2.15.1 and my Kobo Aura HD Reader (firmware 4.31.19086) :

On the device, i've set some already readed books as "unread" to re-read them again.

But when I connect the device to Calibre, Kobo utilities says there is no new read position to update. In Calibre library, these books are still shown with a reading position 100, even if they have a new reading position or set as unread.

Thanks for your help !

Regards,
Eric

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by Infernoweb

Hi !

I'm facing a strange behavior between Calibre 5.35 (x646) / Kobo utilities 2.15.1 and my Kobo Aura HD Reader (firmware 4.31.19086) :

On the device, i've set some already readed books as "unread" to re-read them again.

But when I connect the device to Calibre, Kobo utilities says there is no new read position to update. In Calibre library, these books are still shown with a reading position 100, even if they have a new reading position or set as unread.

Thanks for your help !

Regards,
Eric

I have a vague memory of having the same issue some time ago. I think it was immediately after a firmware update on my Forma. Click on the Kobo Utilities dropdown, go to Customize Plugin > Devices and see if it recognizes your Aura when it's plugged in. If not, I believe you'll have to hit the Add Connected Device button, add it and check your settings for it on the other tabs.

Of course, I could be wrong

[compurandom]

Originally Posted by Infernoweb

Hi !
On the device, i've set some already readed books as "unread" to re-read them again.

But when I connect the device to Calibre, Kobo utilities says there is no new read position to update. In Calibre library, these books are still shown with a reading position 100, even if they have a new reading position or set as unread.,
Eric

In the Kobo Utilities Options pane, there are checkboxes at the bottom to filter updates:

• Only if more recent
• Not if finished in library

You can either uncheck the second option or clear the book progress in calibre if you want to have it track progress on a reread.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by compurandom

In the Kobo Utilities Options pane, there are checkboxes at the bottom to filter updates:

• Only if more recent
• Not if finished in library

You can either uncheck the second option or clear the book progress in calibre if you want to have it track progress on a reread.

I keep both of those option checked. When I start rereading a book, I change the percent read to something lower than 100. The reading status will update the next time it is fetched.

[Infernoweb]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I keep both of those option checked. When I start rereading a book, I change the percent read to something lower than 100. The reading status will update the next time it is fetched.

Ok, my bad !
Didn't noticed those options was checked and forgot I could set manually the reading position in Calibre. Both solutions.



Regards,
Eric

[Lusephur]

Just a brief note of thanks. I've had this plugin installed for years and used it to update metadata and series info of books on my Kobo ereader. Little did I realise that I had it set up incorrectly. Once corrected, it now backs up a copy of my device library database and reading position when I connect my device, it's such a brilliant plugin that should be highighted more.
Thank you so much.

[ownedbycats]

Aside from it probably being unnecessary, is there any reason not to compress the Kobo database once a day or thereabouts? I've gotten into the habit of doing it.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Aside from it probably being unnecessary, is there any reason not to compress the Kobo database once a day or thereabouts? I've gotten into the habit of doing it.

Strictly, it won't harm anything but, it is probably a waste of time.

A compress is only likely to be useful if there are a lot of changes. And it is more likely to be useful after a lot of deletes. SQLite will claim space but doesn't release it. But, it will reuse it. So, if you add ten books, the database file will grow. If you remove ten books, the file won't shrink and space in it will be marked as free. If you then add a book, it will should use the space that was free for the new book details. The compress will be useful to release the free space and hence get a smaller database file. But, it should also reorganise the tables and indexes. That might help with performance.

The other side of it is that every time you do something, there is risk. If you do the compress frequently, it is more likely you will hit whatever bug there is or the time you accidentally knock the cable out at exactly the wrong time.