Aura Renaming Files In Kobo Aura with Calibre

[Incanus]

Hello:

I use the 2013 original Kobo Aura running firmware 4.8.11073.

I'm using Calibre 3.28.0 to manage my ebook collection.

My ebooks sync OK wirth Calibre, and once the Aura is connected and online with Calibre, I'm attempting to rename de titles.

After renaming, the metadata syncs fine to the reader and I also eject the reader OK... but the files don't appear with their new names on the reader.

Other than deleting the books on the device, changing the names and adding them back to the device; is there any other solution to this problem?

Awaiting your kind reply,

[INCANUS]

[Barbara1955]

Change the file name On the Kobo....

Go to >Collections... pick the one you want to Re-Name ...place the tip of your finger on it till you see a pop up> Manage, Rename, Delete. Tap on ReName...

[Incanus]

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Go to >Collections [...] Tap on ReName...

Thankyou for your prompt reply, but I'm having trouble with renaming the ebooks themselves; the Collections work fine.

Any suggestions?

Kind regards,

[INCANUS]

[Barbara1955]

Why would you change the Title of the ebooks?

You can change them when you Convert them epub to Mobi etc.

[Incanus]

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Why would you change the Title of the ebooks?

You can change them when you Convert them epub to Mobi etc.

Granted. But, back when I started my collection, I didn’t have Calibre and my series' ebooks titles where as follow:

<series name> <# in series> - <title>

Now that I have the series metadata properly populated across all of my ebooks, I want to bulk edit the titles to remove the "<series name> <# in series> - " part and keep merely the <title> bit.

So... suggestions?

[INCANUS]

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Incanus

Granted. But, back when I started my collection, I didn’t have Calibre and my series' ebooks titles where as follow:

<series name> <# in series> - <title>

Now that I have the series metadata properly populated across all of my ebooks, I want to bulk edit the titles to remove the "<series name> <# in series> - " part and keep merely the <title> bit.

So... suggestions?

[INCANUS]

You might want to Polish the books or use the Modify Epub plugin to update the metadata in the epub file before sending it. If you don't have Polish on the main toolbar (icon is a whisk broom), you can add it from calibre's preferences. Modify Epub is a handy plugin which you will have to add to calibre if you are not already using it.

[Incanus]

Originally Posted by DNSB

You might want to Polish the books or use the Modify Epub plugin to update the metadata in the epub file before sending it.

Again, thanks for your prompt reply.

I'm already using bulk edit and a regular expression for the title editing. Is the above option better, vis a vis the particular problem on the Aura after the metadata sync?

Also: what about mobi, pdf and so forth?

Awaiting your kind reply,

[INCANUS]

[Barbara1955]

You cant do this in Bulk Only 1 ebook at a time. I use a space the ... another space then the # example

Barking With the Stars ... Book 9
Barking With the Stars ... 9
#9 ... Barking with the Stars

When I add this title to the Authors file The number in front has the file looks like this:
#1 ... title
#2 ... title
#3 ... title


When I use title first then number its kinda scrambled But I can still at a glace know what to read next in the series

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Incanus

Again, thanks for your prompt reply.

I'm already using bulk edit and a regular expression for the title editing. Is the above option better, vis a vis the particular problem on the Aura after the metadata sync?

Also: what about mobi, pdf and so forth?

Awaiting your kind reply,

[INCANUS]

My procedure is basically 3 steps.

1. Edit the metadata, covers, etc.

2. Use Modify Epub to update the metadata and covers internal to the epub.

3. Send the books to my Kobo. Safely eject and let the books process.

If your renamed files are still showing as on device in calibre, you will need to remove them (calibre, remove books, remove matching books from device). Basically, if you send the new version and calibre shows 2 books on device, time to nuke the old copies.

4. Connect and update metadata to send the series data.

Mobi support on the Kobo ereaders is pretty primitive as the format supported is from before Amazon purchasing Mobipocket. PDF works but you really need a bigger display, more CPU, more RAM, etc. Other formats have very limited metadata or no metadata standard.

[Incanus]

Originally Posted by DNSB

My procedure is basically 3 steps.

Thanks! I'll try this approach with a couple epub and, if succesful, will apply it to the rest of my epub collection.

As for the other formats... well, my own procedure (delete from device, rename and reload to device) will have to do.

Gratefully yours,

[INCANUS]

[davidfor]

@Incanus: If what you want to do is fix the metadata displayed on the device, this comes from an internal database. The database is populated when sideloaded books are imported. But, you can use my Kobo Utilities plugin to update the metadata on the device. This doesn't change the books on the device, just what is shown in the library.

For new books, as long as you have the correct metadata in the calibre library and use the send-to-device to get the book there, the metadata should be correct when the book is imported. Calibre will update the book with the latest metadata whenever an "export" function is done. Changes in the calibre library happen in a database, not the file. There are ways to update the book in the library and DNSB mentions some of them.

If you want to update the existing books on the device, the default action of KoboTouch driver is to replace the books in a way that doesn't trigger a reimport. This means the metadata does not get updated. This is the reason for the function I mention above. There is an option to turn this off and rely on the behaviour of the device, which is to remove the book from the internal library and import it as new. But, that loses the reading status.

If you do update the metadata in calibre and resend the books, you can end up with two copies of the book on the device. If the save template in the driver use any of the changed metadata, then the file name will be different. The device will see this as a different file and import this as a separate book.

[Incanus]

David:

As allways, right on the money.

I'll try this approach (using Kobo Utilities plugin to update the metadata on the device... wich looks like less of a hassle) with a couple of ebooks and go from there with the rest.

Much obliged,

[INCANUS]

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Incanus

David:

As allways, right on the money.

I'll try this approach (using Kobo Utilities plugin to update the metadata on the device... which looks like less of a hassle) with a couple of ebooks and go from there with the rest.

Much obliged,

[INCANUS]

What davidfor suggested will work to change the displayed information. My method was needed to change the physical filenames and remove any duplicate files as well as changing the displayed name. I need this due to limitations in the utility batch file I use to check for ebooks that I have updated in calibre on my computer and exported to a cloud backup but had not used calibre to update on my Kobo. It doesn't like files with different names and my attempts at giving it some fuzzy logic had interesting results (for certain values of interesting ).

[Incanus]

Hello:

I've succesfully renamed the title of the ebooks in my Kobo Aura as follows:

1. Installing and configuring the Kobo Utilities Plugin (simplicity itself)
2. Using the standard Calibre Bulk Edit Metadata option to remove (with regular expresssions) the "<series name> <series index #> - " from the title
3. Using Kobo Utilities to udpate title and/or series directly to the Kobo Aura database

It worked like a charm, without a glitch... and quite fast.

Since I've quite a collection to go through, it will take a while to rename them all, but the method works and I'm certain it will take less time than my previous attempt: deleting ebooks from my Aura, renaming the title in Clibre and then uploading them back to my Aura.

Thanks a lot for everyone who gave reply to my questions and had patience while I plodded on.

Very gratefully yours,

[INCANUS]