random opf's changing - problem or not?

comox · 06-14-2012, 11:59 AM

I have a large library that I backup daily with a program that shows me which files have changed before the backup starts. As a consequence I have a good sense of when something unusual happens.

This morning I imported a few books and tagged them. I then backed up my library expecting to see the new files for the books I just imported plus the usual library database and configuration files that change each time Calibre is executed.

In addition to these expected changes there were several dozen opf files that changed. The books associated with these opfs seem random. I saw no problems in the metadata of a few of these books that I inspected. I can think of no action I did that could have caused these opf changes.

I am not sure if the latest version of Calibre 0.8.55 is doing some benign background housekeeping. Or if indeed this is a problem I should be worried about.

I have not seen opf's randomly change like this in the past so I am a little worried.

Please advise.

kovidgoyal · 06-14-2012, 12:10 PM

OPF's change when the metadata of the associated book changes. This could happen if for example the case of a tag or author name changed, then the opfs of all books with that tag or author will change. If you are worried, do a diff against your backup.

comox · 06-14-2012, 12:16 PM

Thank you. I understand that if I change metadata then the opf will change. The point is that I don't think I did anything to change the metadata of these books. And it seems odd that 20 random books with no commonalities out of 10,000 would change.

I have done a diff against the backup to determine which files changed. But I am unclear on how to tell what changed within the opf.

Can you please provide a hint on how I can compare the content of opfs?

kovidgoyal · 06-14-2012, 12:31 PM

Authors and tags are common to all books. If you change the case of an author name in book 1 then all books that share that author will change.

diff /path/to/opf1 /path/to/opf2

comox · 06-14-2012, 12:47 PM

Thanks. Figured it out.

When I downloaded metadata for my new books, the spelling of the publisher came down as "Dell". This changed the opf for all existing books that had publisher "DELL".

All is good.

06-14-2012, 11:59 AM	#1
comox Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: none	random opf's changing - problem or not? I have a large library that I backup daily with a program that shows me which files have changed before the backup starts. As a consequence I have a good sense of when something unusual happens. This morning I imported a few books and tagged them. I then backed up my library expecting to see the new files for the books I just imported plus the usual library database and configuration files that change each time Calibre is executed. In addition to these expected changes there were several dozen opf files that changed. The books associated with these opfs seem random. I saw no problems in the metadata of a few of these books that I inspected. I can think of no action I did that could have caused these opf changes. I am not sure if the latest version of Calibre 0.8.55 is doing some benign background housekeeping. Or if indeed this is a problem I should be worried about. I have not seen opf's randomly change like this in the past so I am a little worried. Please advise.

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06-14-2012, 12:10 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,850 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	OPF's change when the metadata of the associated book changes. This could happen if for example the case of a tag or author name changed, then the opfs of all books with that tag or author will change. If you are worried, do a diff against your backup.

06-14-2012, 12:16 PM	#3
comox Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: none	Thank you. I understand that if I change metadata then the opf will change. The point is that I don't think I did anything to change the metadata of these books. And it seems odd that 20 random books with no commonalities out of 10,000 would change. I have done a diff against the backup to determine which files changed. But I am unclear on how to tell what changed within the opf. Can you please provide a hint on how I can compare the content of opfs?

06-14-2012, 12:31 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,850 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Authors and tags are common to all books. If you change the case of an author name in book 1 then all books that share that author will change. diff /path/to/opf1 /path/to/opf2

06-14-2012, 12:47 PM	#5
comox Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: none	Thanks. Figured it out. When I downloaded metadata for my new books, the spelling of the publisher came down as "Dell". This changed the opf for all existing books that had publisher "DELL". All is good.

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