Alphabetical bar?

Bigo2 · 08-31-2014, 03:32 AM

With Calibre database getting bigger it is becoming increasingly difficult quickly reaching the required Author or Title etc.

I believe it would be quite helpful to have a permanent horizontal strip of buttons alphabetically organized, just under the main tool bar, something like:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

According to the configuration, clicking the required letter would instantly scroll the database to the relevant group of Authors, Titles, Series etc.

Perhaps there already is some configuration enabling something similar or maybe there is some plugin - please let me know if it exist.

If not, I think it would be nice new addition...

BookJunkieLI · 08-31-2014, 12:26 PM

Uhm, wouldn't that be what the Tag Browser does? Without forcing people who don't want a permanent bar to have one?

If you want to view all of, say, Authors who begin with A then you just have to click on the A rather than a specific author, and voila, you see just the A authors.

theducks · 08-31-2014, 01:05 PM

Preferences: Look and Feel: Tag Browser (tab): ...Partition by first letter (+ other options)

BetterRed · 08-31-2014, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookJunkieLI

Uhm, wouldn't that be what the Tag Browser does? Without forcing people who don't want a permanent bar to have one?

If you want to view all of, say, Authors who begin with A then you just have to click on the A rather than a specific author, and voila, you see just the A authors.

@BookJunkieLI - On a small screen the tag browser takes up quite a lot of real estate.

Also, if you don't have any authors whose names begin with a letter (easily the case if you're in a VL) then the letter wont be there. Hence it lacks the the spatial consistency of an A B C D E... Z bar as suggested by the OP. I find that lack of spatial symmetry in the Tag browser a minor irritant, I'd rather see all the letters with the empty ones greyed out perhaps.

Maybe an A B C D E... Z bar could be provided by a optional plugin, then those who wouldn't want it, wouldn't install it, maybe it could have an icon in the status bar and a kb/short to toggle it off and on.

BR

BookJunkieLI · 08-31-2014, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@BookJunkieLI - On a small screen the tag browser takes up quite a lot of real estate.

True, but it is size adjustable to minimize its footprint and you can always turn it off or on. Frankly, I usually forget its even there and just whine to myself about not being able to see everything.

At the same time, the OP's suggestion of a horizontal alphabetical bar for Title, Author, Series, etcetera could take up just as much space only horizontally instead of vertically. Personally, I'd prefer to lose the real estate from the side rather than the top. Just my opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Also, if you don't have any authors whose names begin with a letter (easily the case if you're in a VL) then the letter wont be there. Hence it lacks the the spatial consistency of an A B C D E... Z bar as suggested by the OP. I find that lack of spatial symmetry in the Tag browser a minor irritant, I'd rather see all the letters with the empty ones greyed out perhaps.

Something like that doesn't bother me but we all have our irritants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Maybe an A B C D E... Z bar could be provided by a optional plugin, then those who wouldn't want it, wouldn't install it, maybe it could have an icon in the status bar and a kb/short to toggle it off and on.

The beauty of Calibre - optional plugins.

dwig · 08-31-2014, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookJunkieLI

Uhm, wouldn't that be what the Tag Browser does? ...

No, it is not. At least it isn't for Titles. The Tag Browser works adequately for any of the other columns that I use, but for some reason the Title column isn't included in the Tag Browser.

I've often thought that an alphabet bar of some sort that would slave to the currently selected primary sort column would be rather useful.

BetterRed · 08-31-2014, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookJunkieLI

At the same time, the OP's suggestion of a horizontal alphabetical bar for Title, Author, Series, etcetera could take up just as much space only horizontally instead of vertically. Personally, I'd prefer to lose the real estate from the side rather than the top.

The beauty of Calibre - optional plugins.

I was envisaging a button alongside the 'A' to switch between Title, Author, Series, Publisher etc, and the bar would be entirely dismiss-able.

I value both dimensions, hence Prefs->L&F->Icon size Off. Took me a while to find that one.

IMO the suggestion is definitely candidate for an Optional PI, which as you say is a very good feature of calibre.

BR

BookJunkieLI · 08-31-2014, 09:31 PM

Huh, I hadn't really noticed that Titles wasn't in the Tag Browser. Then again I rarely look for a specific title within Calibre so scrolling isn't a bother for me. I'm more likely to go looking for a specific author/series/tag, in which case the Tag Browser suits my needs.

BetterRed · 08-31-2014, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwig

No, it is not. At least it isn't for Titles. The Tag Browser works adequately for any of the other columns that I use, but for some reason the Title column isn't included in the Tag Browser.

I've often thought that an alphabet bar of some sort that would slave to the currently selected primary sort column would be rather useful.

That reminds me of something that I often look for in the Search button - "Begins with", I know I can do it with a regex but that hurts the brain.

BR

kovidgoyal · 08-31-2014, 11:19 PM

Use the virtual library feature for this. Create virtual libraries witht he searches

title:~^A
title:~^B
title:~^C

and so on, then enable the virtual library tab bar and there you go.

Bigo2 · 09-01-2014, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Use the virtual library feature for this. Create virtual libraries witht he searches

title:~^A
title:~^B
title:~^C

and so on, then enable the virtual library tab bar and there you go.

Hi Kovid - thanks - it's almost as I wanted it... except for those "Close Tab" Xs which sometimes I accidentally click (and have to get the letter back) and also they make the bar longer. Could those Xs be removed or disabled?

Thanks

Bigo2 · 09-02-2014, 05:32 AM

Kovid, trying using the virtual library as you suggested, l have to say, it doesn't satisfy me.
As I already stated I would like to be able to scroll the database to the relevant group according to the selected letter of alphabet, determined according to the currently selected column. It would be like telling the scroll bar where to jump.

Configuring the Virtual library the way you suggest works, however it is limited, showing only the group according to the selected letter, cutting everything else...

BookJunkieLI - the bar I am proposing would be selectable in Preferences, so nobody would be forced to have it.

Well it was just a good idea, but it looks like it is not going to be appreciated...

BetterRed · 09-02-2014, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigo2

Well it was just a good idea, but it looks like it is not going to be appreciated...

@Bigo2, I appreciate your idea.

I just don't have the wherewithal to do anything about it. 10-15 years ago I might have gotten into PI development, but I've lost the urge/ability to learn new computing coding syntaxes, semantics and paradigms, now I'd rather brush an Akkadian tablet than grapple with a Python

BR

Bigo2 · 09-02-2014, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@Bigo2, I appreciate your idea.

I just don't have the wherewithal to do anything about it. 10-15 years ago I might have gotten into PI development, but I've lost the urge/ability to learn new computing coding syntaxes, semantics and paradigms, now I'd rather brush an Akkadian tablet than grapple with a Python

BR

Thanks BetterRed - you are adding your support to my idea. That's very good, perhaps some people would change their mind about it.

goldilocks · 09-02-2014, 07:36 AM

I wanted to view titles for all the books that start with "the" and due to frustration of moving up and down in Calibre I added a column. I named it "Title Order." In the column I have "A" "A.A" "A.B"..."B" "C"..."T" "The.A" "The.B"... Now whenever I add new books I add the letter(s) applicable to the title immediately (wish I could figure out to get Calibre to do it!).

The column is shown in my Tag Browser and I can select the letter of the alphabet for those titles I want to view (and no others).

Column type: Comma separated text, like tags, shown in the tag browser
In the Tag Browser added to Categories with hierarchical items.

It is a bit of work when first starting, but you can highlight all the "S" titles (or other letter) and edit metadata just for this new column.

08-31-2014, 03:32 AM	#1
Bigo2 Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 48786 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia - Adelaide Device: Kindle3	Alphabetical bar? With Calibre database getting bigger it is becoming increasingly difficult quickly reaching the required Author or Title etc. I believe it would be quite helpful to have a permanent horizontal strip of buttons alphabetically organized, just under the main tool bar, something like: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z According to the configuration, clicking the required letter would instantly scroll the database to the relevant group of Authors, Titles, Series etc. Perhaps there already is some configuration enabling something similar or maybe there is some plugin - please let me know if it exist. If not, I think it would be nice new addition...

09-02-2014, 05:32 AM	#12
Bigo2 Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 48786 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia - Adelaide Device: Kindle3	Kovid, trying using the virtual library as you suggested, l have to say, it doesn't satisfy me. As I already stated I would like to be able to scroll the database to the relevant group according to the selected letter of alphabet, determined according to the currently selected column. It would be like telling the scroll bar where to jump. Configuring the Virtual library the way you suggest works, however it is limited, showing only the group according to the selected letter, cutting everything else... BookJunkieLI - the bar I am proposing would be selectable in Preferences, so nobody would be forced to have it. Well it was just a good idea, but it looks like it is not going to be appreciated... Last edited by Bigo2; 09-03-2014 at 03:01 AM.

09-02-2014, 07:36 AM	#15
goldilocks Addict Posts: 344 Karma: 1222222 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Florida Device: Sony PRS-505	I wanted to view titles for all the books that start with "the" and due to frustration of moving up and down in Calibre I added a column. I named it "Title Order." In the column I have "A" "A.A" "A.B"..."B" "C"..."T" "The.A" "The.B"... Now whenever I add new books I add the letter(s) applicable to the title immediately (wish I could figure out to get Calibre to do it!). The column is shown in my Tag Browser and I can select the letter of the alphabet for those titles I want to view (and no others). Column type: Comma separated text, like tags, shown in the tag browser In the Tag Browser added to Categories with hierarchical items. It is a bit of work when first starting, but you can highlight all the "S" titles (or other letter) and edit metadata just for this new column. Last edited by goldilocks; 09-02-2014 at 07:39 AM. Reason: Typo

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08-31-2014, 12:26 PM	#2
BookJunkieLI Evangelist Posts: 435 Karma: 572984 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Long Island Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle 4, Nook Gl4, Nook STR, REB 1100, Ebookwise 1500,	Uhm, wouldn't that be what the Tag Browser does? Without forcing people who don't want a permanent bar to have one? If you want to view all of, say, Authors who begin with A then you just have to click on the A rather than a specific author, and voila, you see just the A authors.

08-31-2014, 01:05 PM	#3
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,809 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Preferences: Look and Feel: Tag Browser (tab): ...Partition by first letter (+ other options)

08-31-2014, 09:31 PM	#8
BookJunkieLI Evangelist Posts: 435 Karma: 572984 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Long Island Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle 4, Nook Gl4, Nook STR, REB 1100, Ebookwise 1500,	Huh, I hadn't really noticed that Titles wasn't in the Tag Browser. Then again I rarely look for a specific title within Calibre so scrolling isn't a bother for me. I'm more likely to go looking for a specific author/series/tag, in which case the Tag Browser suits my needs.

08-31-2014, 11:19 PM	#10
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,860 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Use the virtual library feature for this. Create virtual libraries witht he searches title:~^A title:~^B title:~^C and so on, then enable the virtual library tab bar and there you go.

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