Can I use Calibre to search the contents of the books in my libray?

BunnyGal · 05-26-2013, 04:55 PM

Not sure how to phrase this question right, but i'll try.

While in Calibre, is there a way to search for a few words to find a book? Not the title, but the book contents itself.

Example: I have a large number of cookbooks in my calibre library. I want to find which of the cookbooks has a stir-fry recipe. Is there a place within calibre that I can type in "stir-fry" and get a list of all the books with stir-fry in it?

I've only been able to find a way to search for a book title, not its contents.
Thanks!

itimpi · 05-26-2013, 04:59 PM

No - Calibre does not provide any support for searching the contents of books.

DuskyRose · 05-26-2013, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunnyGal

I've only been able to find a way to search for a book title, not its contents.
Thanks!

If they're in ePub format, you can right click on your book list, go to "Quality Check" and then "Search epub".

You can try around with the check boxes they offer to focus the search.

frank14612 · 05-31-2013, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

If they're in ePub format, you can right click on your book list, go to "Quality Check" and then "Search epub".

You can try around with the check boxes they offer to focus the search.

Thanks for this workaround. Just what I was looking for.

BetterRed · 05-31-2013, 08:05 PM

If you're using OS/X you could use Spotlight to search the Calibre Library folder.

If you're using Windows you could use DocFetcher to search the ePUBs in your Library folder, if your books are also in say PDF, then you could use Windows Search to search your library folder

If you're using Linux you could use Recoll, and there's a plugin that integrates Recoll into Calibre

Spotlight, Docfetcher, Windows Search and Recoll are normally installed so that they build search indexes in the background. Hence the searches are normally a lot faster than Quality Check.

I use Windows Search on a library of 24,000 books and I get a sub 3 second response, my colleagues report similar response times from Spotlight on a similar size library. From Windows Search and Spotlight its easy to create a file list that can be used by the Import List plugin.

BR

BunnyGal · 06-01-2013, 06:03 PM

Thank you! I was so focused on how to search from the main Calibre program, I totally forgot that I can search from other programs. I have my hard drive indexed and use the search feature often. I'll check out Docfetcher as well.

I'm running Windows 7 Professional.

PeterT · 06-01-2013, 06:40 PM

Bunny; remember though that explicit support is required from the searching application to handle ePub format material. While yes, it IS a zip file, most (or at least the Microsoft search engine) does not know how to handle ePubs.

05-26-2013, 04:55 PM	#1
BunnyGal Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HDX	Can I use Calibre to search the contents of the books in my libray? Not sure how to phrase this question right, but i'll try. While in Calibre, is there a way to search for a few words to find a book? Not the title, but the book contents itself. Example: I have a large number of cookbooks in my calibre library. I want to find which of the cookbooks has a stir-fry recipe. Is there a place within calibre that I can type in "stir-fry" and get a list of all the books with stir-fry in it? I've only been able to find a way to search for a book title, not its contents. Thanks!

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05-26-2013, 04:59 PM	#2
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	No - Calibre does not provide any support for searching the contents of books.

05-31-2013, 08:05 PM	#5
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,593 Karma: 29709834 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	If you're using OS/X you could use Spotlight to search the Calibre Library folder. If you're using Windows you could use DocFetcher to search the ePUBs in your Library folder, if your books are also in say PDF, then you could use Windows Search to search your library folder If you're using Linux you could use Recoll, and there's a plugin that integrates Recoll into Calibre Spotlight, Docfetcher, Windows Search and Recoll are normally installed so that they build search indexes in the background. Hence the searches are normally a lot faster than Quality Check. I use Windows Search on a library of 24,000 books and I get a sub 3 second response, my colleagues report similar response times from Spotlight on a similar size library. From Windows Search and Spotlight its easy to create a file list that can be used by the Import List plugin. BR

06-01-2013, 06:03 PM	#6
BunnyGal Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HDX	Thank you! I was so focused on how to search from the main Calibre program, I totally forgot that I can search from other programs. I have my hard drive indexed and use the search feature often. I'll check out Docfetcher as well. I'm running Windows 7 Professional.

06-01-2013, 06:40 PM	#7
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,255 Karma: 78869092 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Bunny; remember though that explicit support is required from the searching application to handle ePub format material. While yes, it IS a zip file, most (or at least the Microsoft search engine) does not know how to handle ePubs.

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