Edit Title Field in Edit Metadata window

[goldilocks]

I purchase many anthologies (eBook bundles, box sets). I like to separate them into individual eBooks so I can list the individual series for each one. It also makes it easier to identify eBooks I already purchased.

I use the ePub Split plugin and it works great. This question does not relate to the plugin.

So, I split off an eBook and the Edit Metadata window opens. In the Author field I can right click and select Edit Authors and then I can easily identify and remove all the authors that belong to the other books.

I would like to be able to right click on the Title field and Edit Title in the same way, so I can remove the titles that do not apply to the split eBook.

Am I missing some function that will allow me to do this already? Maybe I need to fix a preference?

If this capability does not exist, Kovid, could you please add it?

[eschwartz]

Huh???

Authors is a multi-value field. You can have more than one author.

You cannot have more than one title.

[goldilocks]

I have many books with more than one title with "&" between them just like authors. Sometimes they import with "\" between them.

The Titles do not show in the Tag Browser individually as the authors do. That is another reason I split the eBook.

Here is a sample of one of my titles: "Harlequin Intrigue December 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: Kidnapping in Kendall County & Christmas Justice & Eagle's Last Stand." This is 3 different books.

It gets kind of hard to fix or change this long title in the small box provided for the title in the Edit Metadata window (or even in the column list).

[theducks]

That is still 1 Title to Calibre (and it will probably run int Filesystem path length Limits)

I made a field SubTitle and strip the Calibre title down: No Series name in the title, No subtitle and I toss 'A Novel', things get lots more reasonable (lengthwise)

New Title "Harlequin Intrigue December 2014 - 2 of 2" 
Subtitle "Kidnapping in Kendall County & Christmas Justice & Eagle's Last Stand." 
No series:
Tags "Boxed Set"

You can use Home and End to get to the ends. Ctrl-arrow keys to jump words
All that is standard keyboard stuff

[eschwartz]

Well, you'd have to apply heuristics to figure out what the real title is.
What do you propose splitting it on?


Now compare that to the multi-value authors field.
Authors are separated by the "&" symbol.
Pretty easy for calibre to figure out.

Titles can be real titles (there is only one) or some vague horror dreamed up by the publisher, which uses any of

& : - ( )

to separate the title(s), series, publisher, date, and random carp like "A novel".
In any order whatsoever.
Alternatively, any of those characters can be an actual part of the real title.

And without human oversight, you have no idea of which is which.



Title metadata is an absolutely godawful mess. Always has been.



There are a couple calibre plugins which try to fix titles based on common patterns, I believe.


You can also edit the title inline (in the column list), any cell will expand as wide as it needs to (or until it has no more space) in order to show the entire field for editing.

[theducks]

I have a Saved searches that I can apply, but mostly, it is Cut and paste for the reasons you outline. This is NOT a just let it rip, automatic task

Find in Title 'A Novel' (zap)
Break on the : << This could be a series or subtitle
Book \d+ > {series Index} series name must be set, then (zap)

[goldilocks]

Originally Posted by theducks

That is still 1 Title to Calibre (and it will probably run int Filesystem path length Limits)

I made a field SubTitle and strip the Calibre title down: No Series name in the title, No subtitle and I toss 'A Novel', things get lots more reasonable (lengthwise)

New Title "Harlequin Intrigue December 2014 - 2 of 2" 
Subtitle "Kidnapping in Kendall County & Christmas Justice & Eagle's Last Stand." 
No series:
Tags "Boxed Set"

You can use Home and End to get to the ends. Ctrl-arrow keys to jump words
All that is standard keyboard stuff

I am splitting the Boxed set. I don't seem to have any file name system path issues (when I peeked the file names were cut off-no big deal for me as I do everything in Calibre).

I have been using standard keyboard stuff as you stated. But this can get tedious for some large eBooks. Copy/paste/fix/copy/paste back works too. But I like to streamline as much of the work as I can!

[goldilocks]

I copied the title field into the authors field (as a test) and this is what happens when I select “Edit authors”. I would just like this option (or something similar) for titles. I realize the “Enter an author to add” box will not function and would not expect it to – it could just be a text box to edit a title. My main use would be to “Remove selected.”

But, if it's not feasible, I'll just keep doing what I am doing already.