A different question re rebuilding a library

[mickblu]

Hi, I have my Calibre library divided into several Libraries (e.g. General Fiction, Juvenile, SciFi, etc.). This library is stored on my Qnap NAS and occupies some 46+GB! Recently my General Fiction folder's metadata.db became corrupted, probably because I was running critically low on RAM with a lot of apps (incl. Calibre) open. I am running OS X Yosemite (latest). This has been fixed with the addition of an additional 16GB of RAM over and above the Apple standard 8GB (new total 24GB).

All the folders with the books and their metadata are there, Calibre | General Fiction | one folder per book (nested under author). I was wondering if there was a way to 're-add' my entire library without creating obscene numbers of duplicates? I see that Calibre warns about duplicates and doesn't appear to add them. Is this true?

If it is, am I safe in simply telling Calibre to re-add the contents of my General Fiction library and it will just add the missing books and their metadata from the relevant folders?

As there are about 7,000 books it would be a monumental task to recrete the metadata for them all!

Thanks for a very informative forum. I have benefited from your collective wisdom on several occasions.

[theducks]

#1 NAS are not supported (in the FAQ). Things can go south at any time.

I really suggest that A NEW Main Library (or a copy of the target) be placed on a Local disc and Merge the rest into this one. Avoid the NASty in NAS

merging:

Use the Find Duplicates Plugin to get an idea of how many.

Preferences:Adding Books: controls how duplicates are handled when added. Make needed adjustments

select some books in SOURCE library: Right-click:Copy to Library: <name> (optional) Small batches suggested.

[eschwartz]

Also, Library toolbar dropdown ==> Library Maintenance ==> Restore Database can re-add loose book folders to the database, might help with the corruption.

As theducks said, the corruption may very well have resulted from using a NAS which is officially un-advised. I suggest using something like rsync (Macs do have that, right?) to mirror your main library onto the NAS, and run the library locally.

[mickblu]

Sorry, please ignore this - see reply to theducks message instead

[mickblu]

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I don't seem to have the "Restore Database" function in my Library menu. I have every other entry shown in the online manual, just not #6, 'Library Maintenance.' Any ideas?

[mickblu]

Many thanks for the prompt reply with suggestions on how to handle things! I will go and search the FAQ for the NAS avoidance reason and take your advice (I have a 3TB primary drive so I can afford the space).

The only question I had asked that you didn't address (and I guess a test will tell) is whether Calibre will retrieve the metadata from the existing folders when copying them to the new drive.

BTW, is there a better way to structure my library? I currently have Calibre and then off that a number of library folders (General Fiction, Juvenile, etc.)

Would virtual libraries be better than libraries given how many books I have?

I'd appreciate your input.

[eschwartz]

Virtual libraries are quite nifty, yes. Just use a tag for each and have the virtual libraries match the tags.
You can even make the virtual libraries appear as different tabs in the main library.

If Library Maintenance isn't showing up, I will hazard a guess that you have a connected device. That will hide the option.
If that isn't the problem then but you can always resort to the CLI:

calibredb restore_database --really-do-it

[mickblu]

Hmmm... no devices attached and now it is there under Calibre | Library Maintenance. I guess that had to have been the reason (guess it makes sense you can't maintain your librry with a device connected but i sure wish Kovid would have chosen to simply gray the entry out rather than make it disappear!)



Since you're so helpful, where would I find calibredb? (not that I need it now, but I would like to know for future reference.

A Spotlight search and a peek into the apps folder don't show it, and unless you're in the proper directory, terminal mode won't run it either!

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by mickblu

where would I find calibredb? (not that I need it now, but I would like to know for future reference.

A Spotlight search and a peek into the apps folder don't show it, and unless you're in the proper directory, terminal mode won't run it either!

See ==>> Command Line Interface — calibre User Manual

Note that paragraph about OSX at top of page.

Lots of useful stuff there

BR

[mickblu]

Great - thanks a bunch! Looking 'inside' the calibre app there is a heck of a lot of good stuff!

[mickblu]

I checked, eschwartz, and yes, Macs do have rsync.

[PeterT]

You might want to resize that image... See the image posting guidelines. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/faq...ing_guidelines

9. Avatars, Images and Signatures

General posting guidelines also apply to avatars, images and signatures.

Animated avatars are discouraged but permitted. Excessively flashy or annoying animated avatars may be deleted.

Images included in posts must be no more than 600x600 pixels. Individual forum sections, including the Self-Promotions forum, may require smaller images. Please read the Promotion Posting Guidelines for specific information. You may use a picture as a link to a larger picture elsewhere.

[eschwartz]

I setup an automatic installer for linux, which I attempted to port over to OSX as well, but I can't really test it. The full set of scripts is at https://github.com/eli-schwartz/calibre-installer/ if you want to check it out.

One thing it does is symlinks the CLI tools into /usr/bin (because whyever not, if you are running a root script to update calibre, rather than copying a .dmg via the GUI?)
calibre used to do that in Preferences ==> Miscellaneous, but apparently the method used stopped working.

[mickblu]

Originally Posted by PeterT

You might want to resize that image... See the image posting guidelines. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/faq...ing_guidelines

Thanks and apologies. Tinypic's closest is 640x480 so I chose that. I realize it's a hair more than 600 but as the 480 is way less than 600 the entire imge size should be within limits...

[theducks]

Originally Posted by mickblu

Thanks and apologies. Tinypic's closest is 640x480 so I chose that. I realize it's a hair more than 600 but as the 480 is way less than 600 the entire imge size should be within limits...

Do it as an Attachment.
Use the Advanved editor to see more options

That way you get a thumbnail to show, but those who choose can still see the biggie. IIRC only filesize prevails for atachments (each file type has size limits)