Put book in series without numbering

paprion · 06-12-2012, 06:33 PM

Hi everyone,
I searched the forum but could not locate any solution.

My problem is that I want to add a book in a series but without numbering. For example, I have the 5 Earthsea novels by Ursula Le Guin which can and should be numbered from 1 to 5. But I also have one Earthsea collection that contains sort stories each of which is historically placed between different novels. So, it cannot be placed in a specific position (4.5 for example). I would like to have it in the series but without numbering

Is it possible?
Thanks in advance

kiwidude · 06-12-2012, 07:09 PM

No it isn't possible. People tend to either give it a very low number like 0, or a very high number like 99 to keep it together with the rest of the series. Or split the omnibus and put the short stories at the 3.5, 4.5 sort of positions.

paprion · 06-12-2012, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwidude

No it isn't possible. People tend to either give it a very low number like 0, or a very high number like 99 to keep it together with the rest of the series. Or split the omnibus and put the short stories at the 3.5, 4.5 sort of positions.

I see. thanks for your prompt answer.

It is a pity that this field is not more flexible. In another case I have a book that contains all 10 novels of a series. I cannot give the series number the value"1-10". I guess one could create a custom field, but the existing one is so convenient. If only there was a choice to use it as string instead of floating point...

kiwidude · 06-12-2012, 07:25 PM

If you search the forums for "omnibus" you will see numerous threads discussing this and workarounds. As for why calibre is the way it is - trying to create a more complex "series" field would then make every single other place where series gets used (which is a lot) orders of magnitude more complex. Think about it - saving to disk, display in multiple places on screen, sorting, rendering in metadata jackets, metadata download plugins - the list goes on. Its a compromise that keeps calibre a lot simpler than it otherwise would have to be.

AndrewH · 06-12-2012, 07:34 PM

I'll either number it 0, or the first place appropriate in the series (e.g. 4.5) and then add empty books (use the drop-down arrow next to Add Book) for the remaining stories/novels in the omnibus. I then give them the appropriate titles and number them properly in the series. Then I tag them "In Omnibus" and "Placeholder", and put "Contained in ___" in the description.

06-12-2012, 06:33 PM	#1
paprion Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: kindle touch	Put book in series without numbering Hi everyone, I searched the forum but could not locate any solution. My problem is that I want to add a book in a series but without numbering. For example, I have the 5 Earthsea novels by Ursula Le Guin which can and should be numbered from 1 to 5. But I also have one Earthsea collection that contains sort stories each of which is historically placed between different novels. So, it cannot be placed in a specific position (4.5 for example). I would like to have it in the series but without numbering Is it possible? Thanks in advance

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06-12-2012, 07:09 PM	#2
kiwidude Calibre Plugins Developer Posts: 4,637 Karma: 2162064 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Oasis	No it isn't possible. People tend to either give it a very low number like 0, or a very high number like 99 to keep it together with the rest of the series. Or split the omnibus and put the short stories at the 3.5, 4.5 sort of positions.

06-12-2012, 07:25 PM	#4
kiwidude Calibre Plugins Developer Posts: 4,637 Karma: 2162064 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Oasis	If you search the forums for "omnibus" you will see numerous threads discussing this and workarounds. As for why calibre is the way it is - trying to create a more complex "series" field would then make every single other place where series gets used (which is a lot) orders of magnitude more complex. Think about it - saving to disk, display in multiple places on screen, sorting, rendering in metadata jackets, metadata download plugins - the list goes on. Its a compromise that keeps calibre a lot simpler than it otherwise would have to be.

06-12-2012, 07:34 PM	#5
AndrewH Fanatic Posts: 553 Karma: 1234566 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver, WA Device: Sony PRS-T1, & Kobo Mini	I'll either number it 0, or the first place appropriate in the series (e.g. 4.5) and then add empty books (use the drop-down arrow next to Add Book) for the remaining stories/novels in the omnibus. I then give them the appropriate titles and number them properly in the series. Then I tag them "In Omnibus" and "Placeholder", and put "Contained in ___" in the description.

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