[GUI Plugin] Generate Cover

[BetterRed]

@lazorbeam - the author of this PI is no longer active, so the chances of getting any enhancements are pretty slim.

However you can do some of what you want using your file manager.

In main GUI program (library manager) go to Preferences->Miscellaneous and click the Open configuration directory button, the generate cover PI images are in the ...\resources\images\generate_cover sub-directory.

Close calibre before you add, rename, or delete any images in that folder.

When you restart calibre and run Generate Cover the changes you made will be there.

BR

[lazorbeam]

@BetterRed

Thanks for this info. I never thought to look in the config directory for those files. I did successfully find them and followed your instructions. When I restarted Calibre and checked the files within Generate Cover, the images I had re-named or deleted did disappear but I don't see the updated files.

I then dragged those files in and got a message that this file already exists and do I want to overwrite it. Couldn't find the file though strangely.

Deleting this way is already a big help, but if you have thoughts on why renaming/adding didn't work, I welcome them. Thanks!

[BetterRed]

@lazorbeam - sorry, I only tested deleting a file, when I saw that worked I assumed adding and renaming would work - because I assumed the PI built the list from the directory when it runs - alas it doesn't. It keeps a list of them in its .json file in the plugins directory a'la:-

  "Files": [
    "Draghi's Dungeons.jpg", 
    "Bank Of England.jpg", 
    "Brunhilde_the_Valkyrie.jpg", 
    "Ekaterina Motyakina .jpg", 
    "Kris Swindle.jpg", 
    "Linen Cover 10.jpg", 
    "{Current Cover}", 
    "{Default Image}"
  ]

Note the double quotes and trailing comma's, they are essential.

BR

[lazorbeam]

@BetterRed
Ah, I see. Thank you for investigating. That's all right - I'm very excited about the bulk delete options. Thanks for your expertise.

[compurandom]

What would make this plugin amazingly better would be if it could be accessed from the edit book metadata panel... which I assume would be a change in calibre more than the plugin...

[oteksamptis]

Hi
Is it feasible to add functions choice of different colors for the title and author'a or other items

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by compurandom

What would make this plugin amazingly better would be if it could be accessed from the edit book metadata panel... which I assume would be a change in calibre more than the plugin...

@compurandom - yes, it would almost certainly require a change in the calibre core, and I very much doubt Kovid would consider doing that as it would mean he'd have to accept responsibility for the PI. What he might consider are some modest enhancements to the built-in cover generator.

Originally Posted by oteksamptis

Hi
Is it feasible to add functions choice of different colors for the title and author'a or other items

@oteksamptis - as I wrote a few posts back

Originally Posted by BetterRed

the author of this PI is no longer active, so the chances of getting any enhancements are pretty slim.

Unless of course you are prepared to make the changes yourself, the code is in the zip. Many people have their own private versions of PI's that they've modified to suit their needs. You don't have to publish your changes in a new official version, especially if you're not prepared to take on support for the plugin.

BR

[compurandom]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@compurandom - yes, it would almost certainly require a change in the calibre core, and I very much doubt Kovid would consider doing that as it would mean he'd have to accept responsibility for the PI. What he might consider are some modest enhancements to the built-in cover generator.

I was thinking more along the lines of add to or replace the "generate cover" button in the edit window with the "generate cover" option from the plugin.

Although I use both of them for different things, so maybe replace isn't best.

[oteksamptis]

Plugin dead?

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by oteksamptis

Plugin dead?

Seems to work fine to me. FYI there is also a cover generation ability within the edit metadata window.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by oteksamptis

Plugin dead?

Version 1.5.21 still above ground here

Windows 10 64bit v 1607, calibre 64 bit v 2.83

BR

[oteksamptis]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Version 1.5.21 still above ground here

Windows 10 64bit v 1607, calibre 64 bit v 2.83

BR

Yes, but it probably is not being developed. Too bad.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by oteksamptis

Yes, but it probably is not being developed. Too bad.

You are correct it is not being developed, but it has been maintained. As changes in calibre required plugins to adapt, other developers have stepped up to ensure that this plugin didn't die.

[Tej]

Hi,

My computer ran out of power while Calibre was on. It caused an error that no longer allows me to even open Generate Cover.

Every time I try, I get this error: "ZeroDivisionError:float division by zero" error.

Long story short. I tried deleting and re-installing the plug-in. I tried deleting and re-installing Calibre. I tried a few of the basic de-bug commands. (I'm not entirely sure how accurately I put those in). Even tried to wipe out all traces of the software with a few simple tricks. Stopped short of digging through the registry bc I dont have enough knowledge not to screw something up...

Any guesses on how to fix this problem? I heavily rely on this plugin. It would be a sad day if I no longer had access to it.

Here is the full code for the error:

calibre, version 2.85.1
ERROR: Unhandled exception: <b>ZeroDivisionError</b>:float division by zero

calibre 2.85.1 embedded-python: True is64bit: False
Windows-8-6.2.9200 Windows ('32bit', 'WindowsPE')
32bit process running on 64bit windows
('Windows', '8', '6.2.9200')
Python 2.7.9
Windows: ('8', '6.2.9200', '', 'Multiprocessor Free')
Successfully initialized third party plugins: EpubSplit (2, 2, 0) && Modify ePub (1, 3, 13) && food network Recipe Reader (1, 0, 2) && EpubMerge (2, 1, 0) && Kindle Collections (1, 7, 15) && Manage Series (1, 2, 8) && FanFicFare (2, 10, 0) && Generate Cover (1, 5, 21) && Prettify Cover (0, 9, 8) && Resize Cover (1, 0, 2) && Count Pages (1, 6, 9)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre_plugins.generate_cover.action", line 65, in _generate_cover
File "calibre_plugins.generate_cover.dialogs", line 1377, in __init__
File "calibre_plugins.generate_cover.dialogs", line 1669, in display_preview
File "calibre_plugins.generate_cover.draw", line 330, in generate_cover_for_book
File "calibre_plugins.generate_cover.draw", line 227, in create_cover_page
File "calibre_plugins.generate_cover.draw", line 128, in scaleup_image
ZeroDivisionError: float division by zero

Thanks.

[davidfor]

The line that it is failing in is resizing the image. As it is failing when opening the plugin, and there was a crash involved, the configuration has probably been corrupted. You should try deleting it. This is in the calibre configuration directory. Open this from the miscellaneous page of the calibre preferences. In the plugins directory, delete the file "Generate Cover.json".