Prevent editing composite columns in the book list

[BetterRed]

Is there a setting/tweak to prevent the Template Editor popping if F2 is pressed on a composite column cell?

BR

[chaley]

No. There is only the option you asked for to allow editing only with F2.

One of DaltonST's plugins has an option to mark a column read only. I don't know what that would do with a composite.

[BetterRed]

I felt sure there was something, must have dreamt it - I don't have many virtual columns and I never wanted to show them in the book list before.

DaltonST's Protect column tool is real columns only, but I can unset the editable flag in the database, that'll do me.

BR

[ownedbycats]

Rather amusingly, it took me a while to realize I could F2 composites and edit them without going through the 'add column' dialog and restarting Calibre every time.

[capink]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Rather amusingly, it took me a while to realize I could F2 composites and edit them without going through the 'add column' dialog and restarting Calibre every time.

Ditto. Slightly off topic, is there a way to edit composites that are not shown in library view without having to restart every time?

[BetterRed]

Ad-hoc - Press H->Show columns-><your column>

oops, 'H' is my shortcut, thought it was default; so, right click a column header.

BR

[ownedbycats]

There's also a Job Spy option somewhere to show all columns. And if you want, you can save that to a view manager view

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

I felt sure there was something, must have dreamt it - I don't have many virtual columns and I never wanted to show them in the book list before.

I suspect it was this: Preferences->Look & Feel->Edit Metadata->Tab key doesn't edit column templates in the book list.

BR

[isarl]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

I suspect it was this: Preferences->Look & Feel->Edit Metadata->Tab key doesn't edit column templates in the book list.

BR

Thank you so much. I knew I had seen this option before but couldn't find it for the life of me, and Google led me to this thread. Leaving a comment in case anybody else has the same frustration I had.

Although the configuration option says it's about the Tab key, enabling it does pretty much what I want it to: if I click on a composite column in the book list, the Template editor window no longer pops up. The field might seem to enter an edit mode, with placeholder text saying that editing composite columns is disallowed, but this can be dismissed with the ESC key. More importantly, I don't have to dismiss the template editor.

TL;DR: the above-mentioned configuration option affects the behaviour of mouse clicks too, not just the tab key it claims to. (And that's a good thing!)

[chaley]

Originally Posted by isarl

Thank you so much. I knew I had seen this option before but couldn't find it for the life of me, and Google led me to this thread. Leaving a comment in case anybody else has the same frustration I had.

Although the configuration option says it's about the Tab key, enabling it does pretty much what I want it to: if I click on a composite column in the book list, the Template editor window no longer pops up. The field might seem to enter an edit mode, with placeholder text saying that editing composite columns is disallowed, but this can be dismissed with the ESC key. More importantly, I don't have to dismiss the template editor.

TL;DR: the above-mentioned configuration option affects the behaviour of mouse clicks too, not just the tab key it claims to. (And that's a good thing!)

What you are seeing is the interaction of this preference and the tweak "Control behavior of the book list (ID: doubleclick_on_library_view)".

It is true that the preference disables editing a composite column via any method other than F2. I will change the documentation and tooltip to say that. However, the tweak can disable editing a column via a single click. Depending on what you want to do, setting one or both of them might be appropriate.

For example, I never want to start editing a field, any field, when I click in it. To accomplish this I set the tweak "double_click_on_library_view" to "edit_cell". This disables single clicks from editing a cell. If you also want to prevent editing a composite when tabbing in from editing the cell just before it then set the option as well.

If you *do* want to edit a cell with a single click then set the tweak appropriately. You can then use the option to prevent editing composites (and only composites) with a single click.

[isarl]

Originally Posted by chaley

What you are seeing is the interaction of this preference and the tweak "Control behavior of the book list (ID: doubleclick_on_library_view)".

It is true that the preference disables editing a composite column via any method other than F2. I will change the documentation and tooltip to say that. However, the tweak can disable editing a column via a single click. Depending on what you want to do, setting one or both of them might be appropriate.

For example, I never want to start editing a field, any field, when I click in it. To accomplish this I set the tweak "double_click_on_library_view" to "edit_cell". This disables single clicks from editing a cell. If you also want to prevent editing a composite when tabbing in from editing the cell just before it then set the option as well.

If you *do* want to edit a cell with a single click then set the tweak appropriately. You can then use the option to prevent editing composites (and only composites) with a single click.

Thanks a lot for this added explanation. It's certainly food for thought. I'm used to being able to open books by double-clicking them, and do occasionally edit fields by single-clicking them. But there is both a hotkey and a main toolbar button for viewing a book, so I might have to experiment with changing the double-click action to edit_cell. Thanks again!