Importing and converting html fles

[citac]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

I see your problem and I should have paid closer attention to your images in sequence previously. You are doing a search and replace to update the author name in the header, then you open the epub and look at the header to prove it is there. The problem is what you show in the ePub has nothing to do with metadata in a ePub. Metadata in a ePub is contained in the content.opf file.

The whole search and replace step your doing is a waste of time. You need to update the author's name in the library view. This field is used when creating the metadata and your cover in your ePub.

I'm doing the search and replace because I don't wnat to have that name in the head ta, it is being picked up by my reader (Pocketbook IQ with CoolReader as my preferred app) and it shows me an incorrect author. Plus I just plain don't want it there, it doesn't belong.

This cover is only generated during a conversion, see epub output during conversion. Save to disk etc... will update the metadata and only update the cover (IE. replace a cover in the book with a new one you add/show to calibre's library view) when a properly set cover already exists in the epub.

It has literally been years since I had calibre generate a cover during conversion to epub so I forgot about this feature.

Thank you, I'll check that. I wouldn't want to completely disable the cover because I want to design a cover that would represent each of the fandoms I read, but I need to figure out the size of the image and how to actually go about applying a different cover for each fandom.

You can delete that file and avoid sending it by deselecting the option to Save metadata in opf file under Preferences - Saving books to disk. While in the area uncheck save cover separately.

Is there a reason you didn't use Send to device or Connect to folder to send books to your reader?

Because I had a major freakout episode when calibre wouldn't save anything to my SD card inserted into the reader - it recognized the internal micro card but kept asking me to format the SD, and then when I tried top open it on my computer, I got a message saying that there was a cyclic redundancy error on the card. I had my postgraduate notes and some documents from work on that card (I have backups elsewhere but didn't remember that) and I freaked out at the possibility of losing them.

If you are adding text then you should not read metadata from file on adding books read from filename instead.

Honestly, I'm tempted to just forget about having calibre read metadata and try to find a good naming scheme for import. Right now I name files in the following format:

Author - Series 01 - Story Title.html

and I want that to be the output on Save as well. I'm also wondering whether I can have calibre populate tags automatically by adding Fandom - before Author in the file name: is there a way to do that?

Again I apologize for not catching this sooner but you are jumping through hoops that aren't accomplishing anything. The metadata is created in the epub via the fields in the calibre library and are stored in the content.opf file in the epub. In Sigil use F8 to open the metadata editor to view the metadata in the epub.

No need to apologize, I realize there might be some jumping through hoops plus my earlier frustration with calibre (I uninstalled and reinstalled the program several times before).

And I just tried F8 in Sigil - it shows me "Hordynski, Grzegorz" as the author.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by citac

I'm doing the search and replace because I don't wnat to have that name in the head ta, it is being picked up by my reader (Pocketbook IQ with CoolReader as my preferred app) and it shows me an incorrect author. Plus I just plain don't want it there, it doesn't belong.

Unless you are sending the html and not the epub then you are jumping through useless hoops. If you are sending the epub to your ereader it is not getting the author name from that header it is getting the author name from the metadata in the epub itself found in the content.opf file. So if you are sending the epub to your reader then just update the metadata (author name) in the calibre library (see attached), delete the epub on your ereader and resend the epub. The content.opf file will be updated during the send and everything is fine.

Originally Posted by citac

Right now I name files in the following format:

Author - Series 01 - Story Title.html

and I want that to be the output on Save as well.

Just set the save template in Preferences - Saving books to disk to something like

{author_sort}-{series:||-}{series_index:05.2f||-}{title}

Originally Posted by citac

I'm also wondering whether I can have calibre populate tags automatically by adding Fandom - before Author in the file name: is there a way to do that?

You can have calibre add a tag or tags to every book added to calibre. Go to Preferences - Adding books and place Fandom in the Tags to apply when adding books window.

Originally Posted by citac

And I just tried F8 in Sigil - it shows me "Hordynski, Grzegorz" as the author.

Of course it shows "Hordynski, Grzegorz" as the author that is my point. Hitting F8 shows you the metadata that is in the epub and "Hordynski, Grzegorz" is the author listed in the metadata.

If you want some other author in the metadata for that epub then change the name in the calibre library view prior to converting the book or prior to resending the epub to your device. If the metadata in calibre's library is wrong the metadata in the epub will be wrong, FIX-IT.

I think you are over thinking this. Unless you are sending the html to your ereader what you want to do is basic calibre usage. Read the Calibre User Manual found here as a web page or here as an ePub. Alternatively you might want to read the sticky posts in here, New to calibre? Start Here or Video Tutorials. Hopefully one of these resources will convey the concept better then I have been able to articulate.

Good Luck.

[theducks]

Walt
If he pressed F8, he could change it there, add more data or remove unwanted date. That is the purpose of that part of Sigil

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by theducks

Walt
If he pressed F8, he could change it there, add more data or remove unwanted date. That is the purpose of that part of Sigil

True, but the next time he sends it from calibre the metadata would be changed back if he doesn't clean up the author data in the calibre library.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

True, but the next time he sends it from calibre the metadata would be changed back if he doesn't clean up the author data in the calibre library.

Truth!

[citac]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

Unless you are sending the html and not the epub then you are jumping through useless hoops. If you are sending the epub to your ereader it is not getting the author name from that header it is getting the author name from the metadata in the epub itself found in the content.opf file. So if you are sending the epub to your reader then just update the metadata (author name) in the calibre library (see attached), delete the epub on your ereader and resend the epub. The content.opf file will be updated during the send and everything is fine.

I'm not sending the html, but epub, and I'm not sending to disk but to a folder on my computer. I don't want to send to my device for fear of experiencing a similar episode before testing it on a blank SD card.

Just set the save template in Preferences - Saving books to disk to something like

{author_sort}-{series:||-}{series_index:05.2f||-}{title}

I forgot to ask, what exactly is the significance of the symbols and numbers in series and series_index? If I'm reading it correctly, it will result with the file being saved as Author - Series # Title, yes? If I wanted a dash between series, its index and title, I would have to insert " - " between closing and opening, curly brackets, yes?

You can have calibre add a tag or tags to every book added to calibre. Go to Preferences - Adding books and place Fandom in the Tags to apply when adding books window.

But can I set it to read a part of the title as a tag for that particular fandom? If I had titles such as, say, The Losers - Author - Series 01 - Title.html, Equilibrium - Author - Series 01 - Title.html?

Of course it shows "Hordynski, Grzegorz" as the author that is my point. Hitting F8 shows you the metadata that is in the epub and "Hordynski, Grzegorz" is the author listed in the metadata.

If you want some other author in the metadata for that epub then change the name in the calibre library view prior to converting the book or prior to resending the epub to your device. If the metadata in calibre's library is wrong the metadata in the epub will be wrong, FIX-IT.

So basically either fix the files prior to import, or fix them via bulk edit metadata once they're imported, yes? I'll fix prior to import but just because it irks me to have that incorrect information there, but I will use titles as sources for metadata. dang programmer, inserting his name where it doesn't belong.

I think you are over thinking this. Unless you are sending the html to your ereader what you want to do is basic calibre usage. Read the Calibre User Manual found here as a web page or here as an ePub. Alternatively you might want to read the sticky posts in here, New to calibre? Start Here or Video Tutorials. Hopefully one of these resources will convey the concept better then I have been able to articulate.

Good Luck.

What I was hoping was to have calibre leave the plain html as plain html without zipping them, use search and replace to change a string I don't want in the html head tag, but it seems that's not possible. I'll re-read the threads though I wouldn't say I'm new to calibre, but I must be wired differently because I keep hitting these bricks nobody else seems to encounter. Using calibre has been one of the most frustrating experiences of my life.

In any case, thank you for the help and patience.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by citac

I'm not sending the html, but epub, and I'm not sending to disk but to a folder on my computer. I don't want to send to my device for fear of experiencing a similar episode before testing it on a blank SD card.

If you are sending to a folder on your computer you might consider using the Connect to folder feature, it is a little friendlier and treats the folder on your desktop as a device. Once connected to the folder you would actually use the Send to device button to transfer books to the folder and the Send to device save template to shape how things are formulated during the send.

Originally Posted by citac

If I'm reading it correctly, it will result with the file being saved as Author - Series # Title, yes? If I wanted a dash between series, its index and title, I would have to insert " - " between closing and opening, curly brackets, yes?

It will result in the file being saved as Author-Series-#-Title.epub if there is a series and Author - Title if there is not a series for said book. The dashes are within the {} so if the item (series, series index) doesn't exist they are not added to the filename.

Originally Posted by citac

But can I set it to read a part of the title as a tag for that particular fandom? If I had titles such as, say, The Losers - Author - Series 01 - Title.html, Equilibrium - Author - Series 01 - Title.html?

I don't think you can since tags isn't one of the fields shown in the Regex test area for adding books.

Originally Posted by citac

So basically either fix the files prior to import, or fix them via bulk edit metadata once they're imported, yes?

Yes.

Originally Posted by citac

I'll fix prior to import but just because it irks me to have that incorrect information there, but I will use titles as sources for metadata. dang programmer, inserting his name where it doesn't belong.

It isn't going to change things for your epub, but if you must do this for your own sanity then by all means fix it prior to import.

Originally Posted by citac

but I must be wired differently because I keep hitting these bricks nobody else seems to encounter. Using calibre has been one of the most frustrating experiences of my life.

In any case, thank you for the help and patience.

You're welcome. We all look at things differently that was the reason I referred you to other links for a possible different perspective on the items being discussed.

If you have further questions please continue to ask, there are many folks here and we all speak calibre with a slightly different accent.

[citac]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

If you are sending to a folder on your computer you might consider using the Connect to folder feature, it is a little friendlier and treats the folder on your desktop as a device. Once connected to the folder you would actually use the Send to device button to transfer books to the folder and the Send to device save template to shape how things are formulated during the send.

Thank you for suggesting that, I didn't think of that. I will definitely try it before attempting to connect my reader again.

It will result in the file being saved as Author-Series-#-Title.epub if there is a series and Author - Title if there is not a series for said book. The dashes are within the {} so if the item (series, series index) doesn't exist they are not added to the filename.

So I would just need to ad spaces around the dashes.

I don't think you can since tags isn't one of the fields shown in the Regex test area for adding books.

Is there anything else, category perhaps, or would I need to add my own category for each fandom?

It isn't going to change things for your epub, but if you must do this for your own sanity then by all means fix it prior to import.

I must. It's my OCD showing through.

You're welcome. We all look at things differently that was the reason I referred you to other links for a possible different perspective on the items being discussed.

If you have further questions please continue to ask, there are many folks here and we all speak calibre with a slightly different accent.

Thank you, I'm sure a million other questions will come up in my usage of the program.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by citac

So I would just need to ad spaces around the dashes.

Yes. The format is:

{field:function(arguments)|prefix|suffix}

The function can be used to format the field (add leading zeros for numerical fields, etc. The prefix and suffix do not display if the field is empty.

Is there anything else, category perhaps, or would I need to add my own category for each fandom?

You will have to populate your custom fields yourself.