Kobo Aura HD: No shelves through Calibre

[Prepper]

I set up my new Aura last night, updated to the latest firmware, etc. Calibre is the latest version and I installed the Kobo extended plug-in. Followed the instructions in the main Calibre shelves thread but when I send all the books to my device I don't get shelves. The series information displays correctly in the library list, but everything is in the "main" directory.

What am I doing wrong? I know that is a broad question with little specific info on my part. What do you need from me to help me diagnose the issue?

Thanks.

[PeterT]

Lets check the basics.

Preferences | Sending books to devices | Metadata Management: Automatic
Preferences | Advanced | Plugins | Device Interface Options | KoboTouchExtended | Customize Plugin:
- entries in the dialog box for column(s) to use (for instance I use #myshelves, #readstatus, series)
- create bookshelves ticked
- (optional) Delete Empy Bookshelves ticked

Also, remember entries will be in both the main "Library" view as well as the specified shelve(s). In my case, I see books in Reading or Finished, as well as their particular Series shelf, in some cases in additional shelves as well, and alos in the main Library view.

[Prepper]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the quick response. My settings match the settings you have.

But even if I put the books on shelves they are still going to appear off the shelves in the library as well? What are the point of shelves then? I was hoping to organize things a little better and have the library less cluttered (I have almost 200 books now and would have had 32 shelves) then I don't know if it's worth the hassle of trying to fix it.

[PeterT]

The only benefit to the shelves is that it can make finding books far, far easier.

Yes it is a bit annoying to see books both in the Library display and the shelves display, but I find it's a limitation I can easily work around.

And actuially, I find it to be zero hassle at all to get books onto shelves. My main shelves are the series associated with a book (the series entry on the shelf definition).

I've recently added an extra shelf for books I am reading and those I have finished that are populated automatically based on the reading percentage on the Kobo.

Originally Posted by PeterT

This custom column seems to work for adding a book to either a Reading or Finished shelf based on the pct read.

Lookup name:    readstatus
Column Heading: Reading Status
Column Type:    Column built from other columns
Template:       {#koboreadpct:'cmp($, 100, cmp($, 0, '', '', 'Reading'), 'Finished', '')'}

with of course the corresponding change to add #readstatus to the list of fields used for shelving in either the Kobo or ExtendedKobo drivers. (I tend to update them both even though the Extended driver is normally disabled on my system).

In effect this is saying if the Pct Read is 100, the book is Finished, else if it's greater than 0, then the status is Reading.

I have one final column called myshelves where I can add in any custom shelves I want books to appear on. Frankly, I'm not using that a great deal now; just for books that are things like Manuals, or Cook Books.

With all of this in place whenever I send new material to the Kobo it ends up correctly shelved. Every so often, with the Kobo plugged in I select all the books on the device and tell the Kobo Utilitity Plugin to refresh the bookmark info. This retrieves the current reading % from the Kobo and in turn updates the Finished and Reading shelves. I can then force those updates to the device by either ejecting / reattaching it, or using the Kobo Utility Plugin to refresh the list of books on the device.

[Prepper]

Peter, forgive my ignorance, but is there a tile or link to get to this "shelves" display? Or are the shelves displayed in the Library list along with the individual books?

If it's the latter, then I might not have had a problem creating the shelves I just didn't scroll down the library list far enough to see them (even though I thought the only thing on the list would be shelves).

[PeterT]

Ah... Try clicking the word Library at the bottom of the home screen, and then the word Shelves.

Or when displaying the list of books, tap the word Books at the top and you should then get the choice of Books / News & Magazines / Previews / Shelves.

Sorry the UI's can vary slightly between devices and firmware levels. That is what works for me currently.

[Prepper]

Wow do I feel like a TOTAL idiot! The shelves were there the whole time, I just didn't know how to access them. Peter, I thank you for patiently answering my posts (sorry I was at work at the time and unable to check the actual device til I got home) I just got the device last night and didn't know the way to bring up the shelves, I was just hitting the stupid Library tile which didn't show the shelves, just the books (and which also caused my sort issue from another post).

All is good now! Thanks again!

[PeterT]

No need to feel like that. It was an honest oversight on your part, and I'm just glad we were able to get to the bottom of it