Why did the Date Column change and is it going to change back?

[MJSousa]

Hi. It used to be that the date column reflected the date I added an ebook to Calibre, regardless of the existing opf file. This way when a friend lent me a book, my Date reflected when I added the book and not when she had.

I searched this forum to find out what was going on and I came across an old post from 2011 (link: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ook+entered%3F) that relates to this subject.

One of the responses from kovidgoyal was:
"Yes the original behavior was to update the date field from epub metadata and it was removed later."

In response to someone else's post, who said:
"My (often faulty) recollection was that originally the Calibre date field was the date the book was added, unless the the Calibre date was specified in the epub opf. This confused some people, who expected to always see the date the book was added, not some date stored in the opf, so it was changed to ignore that date on import? Then again, perhaps my recollection is wrong? This wouldn't be a change of date, but it might explain why you recall it as not always being the date the book was added?" - (Originally Posted by Starson17 View Post)

So my question is why was the date column changed back to the "original behavior" and is there a way to go around it? (I now have Calibre ver 2.28; 64-bit/Win8) THX

[kovidgoyal]

The date column always shows the date added, unless your are adding recursively and there is an OPF file along side the ebook files, that specifies a value for the calibre date added column. This is so that you can use save to disk as a backup.

This behavior has always been the case and is not going to change.

[MJSousa]

Thank you for the VERY quick reply. I guess I just never noticed this behavior before. Is there a way I can have a column that is only for the date added? Would that be considered a "custom column"? I would hate to get rid of the original opf file since then I would need to (re)download the metadata. Or am I wrong in what an opf file has?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by MJSousa

Thank you for the VERY quick reply. I guess I just never noticed this behavior before. Is there a way I can have a column that is only for the date added? Would that be considered a "custom column"? I would hate to get rid of the original opf file since then I would need to (re)download the metadata. Or am I wrong in what an opf file has?

Adding files with an existing opf file should be a rare operation. I'd recommend doing a manual metadata change on the imported file after importing them.

[MJSousa]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Adding files with an existing opf file should be a rare operation. I'd recommend doing a manual metadata change on the imported file after importing them.

My friends and I have been exchanging and lending books to each other since the mid-80's, long before ebooks came along. So once in a while, I have this problem. It's not so rare. Do you know how I can add a "added-book-date" column? Doing a manual metadata change is not only time consuming, but an extra step. Thank you.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by MJSousa

My friends and I have been exchanging and lending books to each other since the mid-80's, long before ebooks came along. So once in a while, I have this problem. It's not so rare. Do you know how I can add a "added-book-date" column? Doing a manual metadata change is not only time consuming, but an extra step. Thank you.

Time consuming?
Extra Step: Yes

I used to exchange a bag of paperbacks with a coworker about once a month.
I cant imagine much of the process has changed, except the size of the bag is lots smaller (and the practice is usually prohibited by the terms of use)

Downloading metadata will NOT change the {date}, That is a Calibre-System/OPF supplied value.
OTOH Bulk Metadata Edit cut the time consuming extra step to 3 steps for a LOT (bulk) add.
1)Select all those books
2)tap E
3)Set the new value in DATE,
OK/Apply

[chaley]

Originally Posted by MJSousa

My friends and I have been exchanging and lending books to each other since the mid-80's, long before ebooks came along. So once in a while, I have this problem. It's not so rare. Do you know how I can add a "added-book-date" column? Doing a manual metadata change is not only time consuming, but an extra step. Thank you.

Add a custom column (Preferences / Add your own columns / the + icon) with type "Date". Name the column something like lookup name "#added_date" and column heading "Added Date".

Once you have the column you need to copy the date column to your new custom column. This is done with edit metadata (multiple) Select all your books, press E, choose Search/Replace, then fill out the form as shown in this screen capture. I suggest that you back up your library first. Once this is finished then you must manually maintain the new date.

Note: if your friends make a custom column with the same lookup name and you import a book from them that has an accompanying OPF then their date will overwrite yours.

[MJSousa]

Thank you Chaley, much appreciated.

[chaley]

Sorry, just noticed that I didn't include the screen capture for the search/replace. Here it is.

[BetterRed]

@MJSousa - if you edit the custom date (e.g. Added Date) from the book list (IMO, F2 is 'easiest') then it should default to current date/time.

BR

[MJSousa]

Thank you all for the help. Appreciate it very much.