File Name problem with save to disk

[LadyKate]

When I fill an sd card for my tablet I like the names of my files in a specific format. (usually series and number - title - authors)

Using save to disk this works UNTIL I have an anthology with multiple authors. When the authors line exceeds the system limit (too many characters for the os) the name of the file is truncated before the authors.

I like being able to have all 32 or whatever authors in a large anthology listed in the calibre program but of course don't want it on the file that is going to go to my device to read.

Is there a way to have the series and title in full with whatever will fit of the authors? or better yet, a way to specify that authors are not to exceed "x" number of characters? It is quite frustrating to find a file in my "save to " directory with the name "b.epub" or "y.epub".

Lord, what I really need I guess is a "save to disk author" and a "calibre author for management purposes" lol.

Any ideas on the best way to do this are appreciated.

[aleyx]

The template language has some advanced formatting features; maybe there's one that will work in your case. Perhaps {author_sort:.10} will work? If not, you may have to use some of the more advanced template functions.

[eschwartz]

My personal preference is to use this save template:

{author_sort:sublist(0,1,&)}/{title}/{title} - {authors:sublist(0,1,&)}

It is exactly the same as the default, except I use the sublist function to only use the first author.

[fidvo]

One suggestion not yet mentioned is to set up a custom field for a shorter author list.

I set up a custom "Author Lookup" field in my database. This allows me to not only keep the author list short because I can put anything I want in it, but it also lets me group together books in series by multiple authors.

Take the Wheel of Time series, for instance. If I were to save to disk based upon author, most of the books in the series would be listed under Robert Jordan while the last few would be listed under Brandon Sanderson, which would split the series and make the books hard to find.

So I put "Jordan, Robert" in the Author Lookup field, even the ones by Brandon Sanderson, and my save-to-disk template uses this.

[LadyKate]

Thank you all, I will try the save and think about using a separate column for the anthologies.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by fidvo

One suggestion not yet mentioned is to set up a custom field for a shorter author list.

I set up a custom "Author Lookup" field in my database. This allows me to not only keep the author list short because I can put anything I want in it, but it also lets me group together books in series by multiple authors.

Take the Wheel of Time series, for instance. If I were to save to disk based upon author, most of the books in the series would be listed under Robert Jordan while the last few would be listed under Brandon Sanderson, which would split the series and make the books hard to find.

So I put "Jordan, Robert" in the Author Lookup field, even the ones by Brandon Sanderson, and my save-to-disk template uses this.

It depends which author is listed first. THe first author will be saved in my template, and I think officially Wheel of Time last few books is by "Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson". So it would be saved as "Jordan, Robert" or without my template as "Jordan, Robert & Sanderson, Brandon".

Instead of using a custom column, just manually change who the main author is (i.e. whichever one is listed first.)

[LadyKate]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

It depends which author is listed first. THe first author will be saved in my template, and I think officially Wheel of Time last few books is by "Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson". So it would be saved as "Jordan, Robert" or without my template as "Jordan, Robert & Sanderson, Brandon".

Instead of using a custom column, just manually change who the main author is (i.e. whichever one is listed first.)

The custom column is a better choice for anthologies etc though. This allows for keeping a list of all authors of an anthology (when possible) which I find preferable. I just like seeing all the books and anthologies that an author has. Makes looking for that "elusive" short story that is part of a series much easier.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by LadyKate

The custom column is a better choice for anthologies etc though. This allows for keeping a list of all authors of an anthology (when possible) which I find preferable. I just like seeing all the books and anthologies that an author has. Makes looking for that "elusive" short story that is part of a series much easier.

Why is it better to have the same list in two columns??

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by LadyKate

The custom column is a better choice for anthologies etc though. This allows for keeping a list of all authors of an anthology (when possible) which I find preferable. I just like seeing all the books and anthologies that an author has. Makes looking for that "elusive" short story that is part of a series much easier.

I just use the epub split plugin to get individual ss its easier to sort according to series etc

[LadyKate]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Why is it better to have the same list in two columns??

The author sort and author are really two columns of the same information dependent upon each other for update. This leaves the editor info not listed anywhere IF you have all the authors listed.

If I wish to find anthologies by a specific editor I would then need a separate editor column.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by LadyKate

The author sort and author are really two columns of the same information dependent upon each other for update. This leaves the editor info not listed anywhere IF you have all the authors listed.

If I wish to find anthologies by a specific editor I would then need a separate editor column.

You can list the editor as the first author in the list. Unless you want to know specifically that they were only the editor?