Problem with CC syncing metadata (fanfic library)

samoanbiscuit · 08-27-2014, 09:32 AM

Hi, before I describe my problem I just want to thank you guys for an amazing app that has transformed the way I read stuff on my Android devices!

To describe how I'm using my setup: I use a Calibre plugin called FFDownloader to download fanfiction and save it as epubs in one of my calibre libraries. A lot of these fanfictions are works in progress, and so every few days I use a feature of the FFDownloader plugin to check all my in-progress fics I have saved and re-downloads the ones that have been updated. So, the epub is modified and new stuff is added to it, I think. I have CC using Book IDs for filenames, and the Book IDs don't change after updating the fanfic epubs. I have CC sorting by date, and so previously when I send my freshly updated fanfics over to my device, CC would show me the latest updated fanfics at the top of the list. It was a good setup, and very convenient for me.

But lately, I'm not sure which update it was, but things have now changed. When I connect CC to my Calibre fanfic library, it will sync the metadata of the newly updated fanfics and show me that these fics have new dates to them immediately, before I've actually sent them to my device yet, so the metadata CC is showing me is incorrect for the version of the file on my device. It's not a showstopper, but it's annoying because I have to play it safe and just send over everything I've ever updated today, both new downloads and updated fanfics, as I have no way of knowing from looking at the information on CC which of the existing fanfics have actually been updated, and which haven't (that is, once I've connected my device to Calibre). I use both a tablet and a phone for this, using Moon+ Reader Pro's cloud syncing to keep my reading positions between devices, so sometimes I'll send over the files to one device, but forget to send them to the other, yet the information CC gives me on both devices is that the fanfic is updated. It's quite frustrating sometimes.

chaley · 08-27-2014, 10:45 AM

It is hard to know exactly what happened.

First, CC has always downloaded metadata if the metadata in calibre is newer than the metadata on the device. By "newer" I mean calibre's last_modified date is newer than the last time metadata was downloaded. If the fanfic downloader touches metadata, for example updating a custom column, then the last_modified date will change and CC will download that metadata. The modified date for books plays no role at all this decision, and never has.

You say that you sort in CC by date. Which date is that?

It sounds like you want to know if the book (not the metadata) on your device is older than the book in calibre. There is no way in CC to check this. Others have asked for it, and it is on the wishlist. The problem is that it is likely to be slow, because checking the dates on files requires going to the actual files on the disk. I am still looking at how this might be done.

One way that some people use to get around this problem is calibre's reading list plugin. That plugin can automatically send books to the device on connection, ensuring that the metadata and the books match for those books. I think that the fanfic plugin has some kind of connection with reading list for exactly this reason. Reading list can handle updates to more than one device, but I don't know if the fanfic connection (if there really is one) can update more than one reading list.

I know that there are other fanfic people out there who use CC. I will change the thread title in hopes of attracting their attention so that you can converse with others of like mind. And I might learn something.

08-27-2014, 09:32 AM	#1
samoanbiscuit Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: Nexus 7	Problem with CC syncing metadata (fanfic library) Hi, before I describe my problem I just want to thank you guys for an amazing app that has transformed the way I read stuff on my Android devices! To describe how I'm using my setup: I use a Calibre plugin called FFDownloader to download fanfiction and save it as epubs in one of my calibre libraries. A lot of these fanfictions are works in progress, and so every few days I use a feature of the FFDownloader plugin to check all my in-progress fics I have saved and re-downloads the ones that have been updated. So, the epub is modified and new stuff is added to it, I think. I have CC using Book IDs for filenames, and the Book IDs don't change after updating the fanfic epubs. I have CC sorting by date, and so previously when I send my freshly updated fanfics over to my device, CC would show me the latest updated fanfics at the top of the list. It was a good setup, and very convenient for me. But lately, I'm not sure which update it was, but things have now changed. When I connect CC to my Calibre fanfic library, it will sync the metadata of the newly updated fanfics and show me that these fics have new dates to them immediately, before I've actually sent them to my device yet, so the metadata CC is showing me is incorrect for the version of the file on my device. It's not a showstopper, but it's annoying because I have to play it safe and just send over everything I've ever updated today, both new downloads and updated fanfics, as I have no way of knowing from looking at the information on CC which of the existing fanfics have actually been updated, and which haven't (that is, once I've connected my device to Calibre). I use both a tablet and a phone for this, using Moon+ Reader Pro's cloud syncing to keep my reading positions between devices, so sometimes I'll send over the files to one device, but forget to send them to the other, yet the information CC gives me on both devices is that the fanfic is updated. It's quite frustrating sometimes.

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08-27-2014, 10:45 AM	#2
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,445 Karma: 8012886 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	It is hard to know exactly what happened. First, CC has always downloaded metadata if the metadata in calibre is newer than the metadata on the device. By "newer" I mean calibre's last_modified date is newer than the last time metadata was downloaded. If the fanfic downloader touches metadata, for example updating a custom column, then the last_modified date will change and CC will download that metadata. The modified date for books plays no role at all this decision, and never has. You say that you sort in CC by date. Which date is that? It sounds like you want to know if the book (not the metadata) on your device is older than the book in calibre. There is no way in CC to check this. Others have asked for it, and it is on the wishlist. The problem is that it is likely to be slow, because checking the dates on files requires going to the actual files on the disk. I am still looking at how this might be done. One way that some people use to get around this problem is calibre's reading list plugin. That plugin can automatically send books to the device on connection, ensuring that the metadata and the books match for those books. I think that the fanfic plugin has some kind of connection with reading list for exactly this reason. Reading list can handle updates to more than one device, but I don't know if the fanfic connection (if there really is one) can update more than one reading list. I know that there are other fanfic people out there who use CC. I will change the thread title in hopes of attracting their attention so that you can converse with others of like mind. And I might learn something.

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