is there a way to remove tags from inside an epub structure ?

cybmole · 10-24-2014, 01:23 PM

I got into san apparent mystery where I was moving a book from calibre library to tablet, and was seeing it tagged as mystery, suspense, thriller, adventure.... even though there were no tags in calibre.

after various moved & deletes and after eliminating Calibre companion as a suspect, I find that it is because in the opf of the book there is this:
<dc:subject>Suspense</dc:subject>
<dc:subject>Thriller</dc:subject>
<dc:subject>Mystery</dc:subject>
<dc:subject>Adventure</dc:subject>

so is there an automatic way to have calibre replace those with what is in its own metadata i.e. in this case, replace with no tags, when the book is moved out to tablet. I moved it 2 ways - with calibre companion, and with calibre cloud via dropbox, both ways I got the unwanted tags showing in the mantano pro app bookshelves on tablet.

that book has been in my library for a while, so I don't recall if those 4 tags showed up & were manually zapped when I used add books, or not.
is there any simple way to check what other books in my library contain tags that are out of sync with calibre tags ?

I did inspect a couple that arrive on tablet with correct tags, and in those cases the mantano app must be picking up the calibre tabs, as there's no tag data inside of their opf. If calibre does stash a copy of its tags inside of epubs, then where does it put them & does it only do that when send to disc is used, & not when book is served via content server ?

eschwartz · 10-24-2014, 02:50 PM

calibre should update all metadata in the book when using send-to-device/save-to-disk or the content server. As far as I am aware, only when transferring via the File Browser will the tags not be deleted.

DaltonST · 10-24-2014, 03:00 PM

Run the excellent plugin Modify Epub, specifying the correct options. It will update the Calibre Metadata from metadata.db into the Epub if you check the correct checkboxes. That plugin is the very first thing I do when I add new epubs to my library.

eschwartz · 10-24-2014, 03:03 PM

You can also use Embed Metadata, which does exactly the same thing and is a builtin tool.

And IIRC Modify EPUB will leave behind an ORIGINAL_EPUB even when just updating metadata.

Modify EPUB is primarily useful for the other stuff it does (and for doing this before calibre did).

BetterRed · 10-24-2014, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

And IIRC Modify EPUB will leave behind an ORIGINAL_EPUB even when just updating metadata.

Only if Tweaks->save_original_format->save_original_format_when_polishing is True, same with the built-in Polish feature - I like consistency

BR

eschwartz · 10-24-2014, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Only if Tweaks->save_original_format->save_original_format_when_polishing is True, same with the built-in Polish feature - I like consistency

BR

And I assume we all have that checked for when we do our other, invasive changes as well, right?

Whereas Embed Metadata (in addition to working on all filetypes supported by Send-to-device, not just EPUB) is designed to only do metadata, and therefore knows leaving a backup copy is unnecessary.

Terisa de morgan · 10-24-2014, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

And I assume we all have that checked for when we do our other, invasive changes as well, right?

Wrong

eschwartz · 10-24-2014, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Wrong

<scold>

</scold>

Always back things up, you can delete it once you know the new version is what you want.

Terisa de morgan · 10-24-2014, 06:09 PM

Too lazy for that. But.... You can always get the file from the original place. Original epub is not my way to go for backup

cybmole · 10-25-2014, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

calibre should update all metadata in the book when using send-to-device/save-to-disk or the content server. As far as I am aware, only when transferring via the File Browser will the tags not be deleted.

for "save to disc" that is true, and for "modify epub" , with the relevant box ticked. I just tested both of those

but the bug/ feature? I seem to have found is this- using content server:

if a book with NO calibre tags is delivered via the calibre content server, then any original tags in dc subject fields in the opf of that book are left intact. Only happens for NO calibre tags, if one or more calibre tags is present then those original tags are removed when the book is sent.

this may need more testing, I'd be grateful if someone else could try to reproduce it, but there is no other explanation for how some original tags are surviving the transfer to tablet process. I am moving books via the content server to calibre companion & them importing into Mantano reader app, which is showing the origian tags in the case explained above.

DiapDealer · 10-25-2014, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Too lazy for that. But.... You can always get the file from the original place. Original epub is not my way to go for backup

Never been fond of the "save original format" feature either (but happier than hell to have the choice). Been disabled since it was introduced.

cybmole · 10-25-2014, 09:48 AM

i have begun a new thread which what I think may be thecontent server replace tags issue that lead me to start this thread.

the question I'd now like to pose here is, can I scan and detect where i have books whose internal <dc:subject> tags are not an accurate reflection of calibre's metadata

I could do a brute force "modify epub" on every book in the library to force all the tags into alignment but is there a more elegant method ?

10-24-2014, 01:23 PM	#1
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	is there a way to remove tags from inside an epub structure ? I got into san apparent mystery where I was moving a book from calibre library to tablet, and was seeing it tagged as mystery, suspense, thriller, adventure.... even though there were no tags in calibre. after various moved & deletes and after eliminating Calibre companion as a suspect, I find that it is because in the opf of the book there is this: <dc:subject>Suspense</dc:subject> <dc:subject>Thriller</dc:subject> <dc:subject>Mystery</dc:subject> <dc:subject>Adventure</dc:subject> so is there an automatic way to have calibre replace those with what is in its own metadata i.e. in this case, replace with no tags, when the book is moved out to tablet. I moved it 2 ways - with calibre companion, and with calibre cloud via dropbox, both ways I got the unwanted tags showing in the mantano pro app bookshelves on tablet. that book has been in my library for a while, so I don't recall if those 4 tags showed up & were manually zapped when I used add books, or not. is there any simple way to check what other books in my library contain tags that are out of sync with calibre tags ? I did inspect a couple that arrive on tablet with correct tags, and in those cases the mantano app must be picking up the calibre tabs, as there's no tag data inside of their opf. If calibre does stash a copy of its tags inside of epubs, then where does it put them & does it only do that when send to disc is used, & not when book is served via content server ?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Structure Detection - Remove Header (or Footer) Regex	DarkKipper	Conversion	69	11-09-2013 12:21 PM
Understanding the structure of an index inside a mobi file	cafaxo	Kindle Formats	0	10-01-2012 08:26 AM
Using folder structure to generate tags?	leehach	Library Management	2	05-19-2011 04:39 PM
Remove hyperlink properties from inside <i> etc	mufc	Recipes	1	03-07-2011 01:09 AM
RFE: Remove remove tags in bulk edit	magphil	Calibre	0	08-11-2009 10:37 AM

10-24-2014, 02:50 PM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	calibre should update all metadata in the book when using send-to-device/save-to-disk or the content server. As far as I am aware, only when transferring via the File Browser will the tags not be deleted.

10-24-2014, 03:00 PM	#3
DaltonST Deviser Posts: 2,265 Karma: 2090983 Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Texas Device: none	Run the excellent plugin Modify Epub, specifying the correct options. It will update the Calibre Metadata from metadata.db into the Epub if you check the correct checkboxes. That plugin is the very first thing I do when I add new epubs to my library.

10-24-2014, 03:03 PM	#4
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	You can also use Embed Metadata, which does exactly the same thing and is a builtin tool. And IIRC Modify EPUB will leave behind an ORIGINAL_EPUB even when just updating metadata. Modify EPUB is primarily useful for the other stuff it does (and for doing this before calibre did).

10-24-2014, 06:09 PM	#9
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,587 Karma: 12595249 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	Too lazy for that. But.... You can always get the file from the original place. Original epub is not my way to go for backup

10-25-2014, 09:48 AM	#12
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	i have begun a new thread which what I think may be thecontent server replace tags issue that lead me to start this thread. the question I'd now like to pose here is, can I scan and detect where i have books whose internal <dc:subject> tags are not an accurate reflection of calibre's metadata I could do a brute force "modify epub" on every book in the library to force all the tags into alignment but is there a more elegant method ?

Advert

Advert