Manage Authors Link Column

[tarisea]

In Metadata there is a link to Manage Authors that has Author, Author Sort and Link. How do I create a custom column to show whatever I put in the Link column. I don't want to put a url in there just a reference word.

Can I create the custom column showing the Link column?

Thanks

[BookJunkieLI]

I can't get into calibre at the moment to check for sure but I'm fairly certain the answer is yes.

You would create a custom column using the 'Column built from other columns' type and then either the 'contains' or the 'test' function.

It would look something along the lines of:

{column:test(Link,No Link)}

or

{column:contains(value,Link,No Link)}

Change the bold text for the appropriate column/values. I suspect the 'test' function is what you want as it's a true/false value while 'contains' expects to match a certain pattern. You can read more about them here:
http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/temp...l#if-then-else

http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/temp...-function-mode

[tarisea]

I think you misunderstand. I want it to show whatever is in the column. much the same way that author_sort is. I have set up a new column with "column built from other columns and {Link} but it doesn't work. I also tried {author_link} neither one works. What field will it recognize?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by tarisea

I think you misunderstand. I want it to show whatever is in the column. much the same way that author_sort is. I have set up a new column with "column built from other columns and {Link} but it doesn't work. I also tried {author_link} neither one works. What field will it recognize?

@tarisea - Maybe that field is not exposed - see calibredb list command

BR

[theducks]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@tarisea - Maybe that field is not exposed - see calibredb list command

BR

IIRC that field is only available through Manage.

[tarisea]

ok if I can't use that can anyone make another suggestion. Basically I just want to assign each author one of 3 of four categories. and I have a lot of authors so I only want to do it once. if i had been able to use link I could have just put the category there, that way every time I added a John Sandford novel it would have automatically populated the custom column I would have created with FICTION.

Any ideas?

[BetterRed]

@tarisea - Maybe you could make use of the User Category feature, you could create a category (fiction) and populate it with fiction writers, and another (script writers) with playwrights, screen writers etc.

You get to it via Alter Tag Browser->Manage Authors tags etc->Manage User categories. See Tag Browser for doco.

Added : And I just stumbled on this related plug-in ==>> [GUI Plugin]User Category

BR

[tarisea]

this would work if i can create a custom column that displays what user category it is in. can it be done?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by tarisea

this would work if i can create a custom column that displays what user category it is in. can it be done?

@tarisea - Not sure, but my guess is no.

A 'standard' category item (author, publisher etc) can be in more than one user category. Example Kerstin Ekman could be in the Crime and Favourites User Categories.

Maybe one of the template genii can some up with some trick.

You can create VLs based on User Categories - @<user_cat_name>:true.

You could request an enhancement that the author_link field be exposed as a column you can use in a column template - like author_sort.

BR

[chaley]

I added a new formatter function "author_links()". It probably will be in next week's release.

The documentation for the function is:

author_links(val_separator, pair_separator) -- returns a string containing a list of authors and that author's link values in the form author1 val_separator author1link pair_separator author2 val_separator author2link etc. An author is separated from its link value by the val_separator string with no added spaces. author:linkvalue pairs are separated by the pair_separator string argument with no added spaces. It is up to you to choose separator strings that do not occur in author names or links. An author is included even if the author link is empty.

You would use this new function in a composite column (col built from other cols). In your case where the links are really lists of keywords separated by (I assume) commas, the following template would strip the author names then merge all the keywords into a single list, removing duplicates. I don't know if that is what you want.

program: 
	list_union(
		'', 
		re(
			list_re(author_links(':', ' & '),
				' & ', 
				'^.*:(.)', 
				'\1'), 
			'&', 
			','),
		',')

EDIT: the new function is in source now and will be in the next calibre release.

EDIT2: If you are up to making a python custom template function, the map from author to the associated link is "mi.author_link_map".

[tarisea]

chaley thank you for your response. when I used your program I got the error:

EXCEPTION: Formatter: unknown function author_links near author_links

What I want is so simple. I have over 500 authors. I want to be able to divide them into 4 or 5 categories and have a column that shows what category they are in without having to manually add every book.

eg. every time I add a John Grisham boom the column should automatically say "ReadList". Jodi Picoult "MyAuthors". Ann Rice "MyAuthors". The first time I add a new author I will assign it but after that it should be automatic.

So whether it is putting the Category in the Manage Authors Links column:

Author: John Grisham
Author Sort: Grisham, John
Link: ReadList

Author: Jodi Picoult
Author Sort: Picoult, Jodi
Link: MyAuthors

And then a column made from other columns that shows the Link column

or

The User Category plugin that I can add the Authors to and then have a column that will show the User Category that the author belongs to.

or something else entirely.

Please there has to be a way. Help

Thanks

[chaley]

Originally Posted by tarisea

chaley thank you for your response. when I used your program I got the error:

EXCEPTION: Formatter: unknown function author_links near author_links

The function was added to calibre today. Unless you run from source it won't be available to you until next week.

What I want is so simple. I have over 500 authors. I want to be able to divide them into 4 or 5 categories and have a column that shows what category they are in without having to manually add every book.

eg. every time I add a John Grisham boom the column should automatically say "ReadList". Jodi Picoult "MyAuthors". Ann Rice "MyAuthors". The first time I add a new author I will assign it but after that it should be automatic.

So whether it is putting the Category in the Manage Authors Links column:

Author: John Grisham
Author Sort: Grisham, John
Link: ReadList

Author: Jodi Picoult
Author Sort: Picoult, Jodi
Link: MyAuthors

And then a column made from other columns that shows the Link column

or

The User Category plugin that I can add the Authors to and then have a column that will show the User Category that the author belongs to.

or something else entirely.

Please there has to be a way. Help

Thanks

I have built a solution for you. As I said, it will be in next week's calibre release.

If you want to do something *right now* then you can build a custom template function (Preferences / Advanced / Template Functions). The function would have access to the underlying data (the author -> author link map) from which you can extract the info and format it however you want.

Do note that you have never specified what should happen if there is more than one author. I assumed that you would want to merge the information.

[Inferno]

Not quite the same but similar, I wish there was a way for authors to link to their alias without having to put "author name a & author aka name". eg "Stephen King & Richard Bachman"

While I have done that for many authors (it helps when looking for books by that author) it becomes horridly complicated when some authors have four and even more aka's.

[BetterRed]

@Inferno - I add a '*' onto the end of the pseudonym name. Thus The Cuckoo's Calling has Robert Galbraith * as its author, in the Author Link for Robert Galbraith * I have the URL to my 'AuthorInfo/J. K. Rowling' folder.

The '*' tells me its a pseudonym, the author link tells me the 'real' name.

Maybe if Author ends in '*' I can extract the 'name' from chaley's new author_links() function into a new '#pseudonym' custom column - e.g. 'J. K. Rowling' from 'file:///E:/Calibre%20Libraries/TestInfo/AuthorInfo/J.%20K.%20Rowling/'.

BR

[Sabardeyn]

Hmm... I created a custom column #pseudonym in which I list any pen names the author released the story under.