Auto-build "Tags" from custom column

[Feather_Qwill]

(... Or if you have another solution to my problem, feel free to suggest it.)

I recently installed Marvin SxS on my phone so I could download my ebooks to it, but unfortunately it doesn't grab any of the custom columns' metadata, so my ebooks are sortable only by author and title, which is pretty much useless with a large library.

I have several custom columns that contain the tags I would like to use to sort my books on my phone, and I know how to do a one-time copy of metadata from one column to another. Unfortunately, it's not ideal for my purposes, as I occasionally change/update some of the data. (For instance, my Genre column used to contain a tag for Fantasy, but later I subdivided it into others, like Urban Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, etc.)

Is there a way to set a default column like Tags to automatically fill/update from a custom column? Please help.

[theducks]

Look at Metadata edit Bulk mode search and replace (available when 2 or more books are selected) in REGEX mode
Capture data from fields
Append to destination: tags

USE CARE (backup HIGHLY recommended. Work on a copy...), there is no UNDO

[Feather_Qwill]

Originally Posted by theducks

Look at Metadata edit Bulk mode search and replace (available when 2 or more books are selected) in REGEX mode
Capture data from fields
Append to destination: tags

USE CARE (backup HIGHLY recommended. Work on a copy...), there is no UNDO

Thank you for the suggestion, but as I said, I already know how to do a one-time transfer using this method... what I'm looking for is something that will auto-update the tags field when I change the contents of the custom columns.

Or else some method of getting Marvin to grab the contents of the custom columns, I guess.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Feather_Qwill

(... Or if you have another solution to my problem, feel free to suggest it.)

I recently installed Marvin SxS on my phone so I could download my ebooks to it, but unfortunately it doesn't grab any of the custom columns' metadata, so my ebooks are sortable only by author and title, which is pretty much useless with a large library.

I have several custom columns that contain the tags I would like to use to sort my books on my phone, and I know how to do a one-time copy of metadata from one column to another. Unfortunately, it's not ideal for my purposes, as I occasionally change/update some of the data. (For instance, my Genre column used to contain a tag for Fantasy, but later I subdivided it into others, like Urban Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, etc.)

Is there a way to set a default column like Tags to automatically fill/update from a custom column? Please help.

Rather than multiple custom columns, could you use a hierarchical tagging scheme e.g. Fantasy.Urban, Fantasy.Historical, Fantasy.Rural.

See ==>> Managing subgroups of books, for example “genre”

No idea if that would work with Marvin.

BR

[Feather_Qwill]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Rather than multiple custom columns, could you use a hierarchical tagging scheme e.g. Fantasy.Urban, Fantasy.Historical, Fantasy.Rural.

See ==>> Managing subgroups of books, for example “genre”

No idea if that would work with Marvin.

BR

Thanks, I actually do have a very similar tagging system for genre and so on to what you suggested. There's only one column for genre, the other custom columns are for other values I want to be able to sort by. But if I didn't know about hierarchical tags, I would have found it useful, so thanks for suggesting it. Unfortunately, it doesn't help resolve my problem.

[BetterRed]

If you used Calibre Companion (CC) to 'organise' the ebooks on your phone you'd be able to sort etc on calibre custom columns. CC itself is not a e-reader app, but it will interoperate with many e-reader apps, not sure about Marvin - have a look in the CC forum.

BR

[Feather_Qwill]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

If you used Calibre Companion (CC) to 'organise' the ebooks on your phone you'd be able to sort etc on calibre custom columns. CC itself is not a e-reader app, but it will interoperate with many e-reader apps, not sure about Marvin - have a look in the CC forum.

BR

Thanks, I'll look into that. In case it doesn't work well with Marvin SxS, do you know of an ereader app that it does work with that you would recommend?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Feather_Qwill

Thanks, I'll look into that. In case it doesn't work well with Marvin SxS, do you know of an ereader app that it does work with that you would recommend?

No I don't know of anything personally, anything from Apple I ever touched (apart from Lisa and iPod) went pear shaped - iTunes, Quicktime...

Best place to ask is in the MR Calibre Companion forum.

BR

[Feather_Qwill]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

No I don't know of anything personally, anything from Apple I ever touched (apart from Lisa and iPod) went pear shaped - iTunes, Quicktime...

Best place to ask is in the MR Calibre Companion forum.

BR

Okay, thanks for your help.