Can I choose between different default cover designs?

[RobertDDL]

When I convert files (e.g. from HTML to EPUB), I gladly accept Calibre's offer to generate default covers. Calibre seems to choose randomly from a set of different cover designs (some of which I like better than others) -- is there any way I can choose one of them, and stay with it for all my EPUBs?

[kovidgoyal]

Yes you can control them by long clicking the generate cover button in the edit metadata dialog and choosing customize. In the customize dialog make sure "save these settings as defaults for future use" is checked.

[RobertDDL]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Yes you can control them by long clicking the generate cover button in the edit metadata dialog and choosing customize. In the customize dialog make sure "save these settings as defaults for future use" is checked.

Thank you! Sorry to be a be a nuisance, but one more question: can I get ebook-convert from the command line to honor these settings? (I can see that they are saved in cover_generation.json, and they work with calibre-portable.exe, but ebook-convert.exe seems unimpressed?)

[kovidgoyal]

IIRC, ebook-convert uses the same cover generation function as the rest of calibre, so it should work.

[RobertDDL]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

IIRC, ebook-convert uses the same cover generation function as the rest of calibre, so it should work.

But it didn't, else I wouldn't keep bothering you.

I'm using Calibre Portable 2.26.0.0 on a Win 7 64 bit system.

I call a cmd file

ebook-convert %1.htm %1.epub --epub-inline-toc --level1-toc //h:h1 --level2-toc //h:h2 --page-breaks-before //h:h1 --language en

30 times, for 30 different files, and their generated covers are random, ignoring the "disabled_styles" and "disabled_color_themes" settings in cover_generation.json.

I've also noticed that, different from calibre-portable, ebook-convert does not update cover_generation.json, "last_used_style" does not reflect the style last used by calibre-portable.

Source and target files, as well as ebook-convert.exe, are located in Calibre Portable\Calibre, cover_generation.json is in Calibre Portable\Calibre Settings.

Is there an option I've neglected to use, or could it be an issue of the portable version, and would it work with the non-portable one?

[Divingduck]

You maybe forgot to setup the check boxes within calibre.
You need first start calibre mobile, go to the edit Metadata dialog and open the setup dialog for generating covers and make your personal settings.
After you leave this dialog with Ok, theses entries will save in the configuration file and can use this settings via cmd.
That way it works for my recipes w/o covers very well.

[RobertDDL]

Originally Posted by Divingduck

You maybe forgot to setup the check boxes within calibre.

No, I didn't.

cover_generation.json looks like this:

{
"cover_width": 1200,
"last_used_colors": "Silver",
"color_themes": {},
"title_font_family": null,
"title_template": "<b>{title}",
"subtitle_template": "{series:'test($, strcat(\"<i>\", $, \"</i> - \", raw_field(\"formatted_series_index\")), \"\")'}",
"footer_template": "program:\n# Show at most two authors, on separate lines.\nauthors = field('authors');\nnum = count(authors, ' &amp; ');\nauthors = sublist(authors, 0, 2, ' &amp; ');\nauthors = list_re(authors, ' &amp; ', '(.+)', '<b>\\1');\nauthors = re(authors, ' &amp; ', '<br>');\nre(authors, '&amp;&amp;', '&amp;')\n",
"cover_height": 1600,
"title_font_size": 120,
"disabled_styles": [
"Banner",
"Blocks",
"The Cross"
],
"subtitle_font_size": 80,
"subtitle_font_family": null,
"footer_font_size": 80,
"footer_font_family": null,
"disabled_color_themes": [
"Grass",
"Earth",
"Water"
],
"last_used_style": "Half and Half"
}

This leaves "Half and Half" and "Silver" un-disabled and thus selected, and calibre-portable remembers and heeds these settings, but whatever I try, ebook-convert.exe ignores them!?

[Divingduck]

Your file looks a bit disordered, but I think this doesn't matter. But you can rename/delete the file. It will be create new if you edit the setup again.

There are maybe two other things to look about:
I use the command --prefer-metadata-cover.
If your file have already a cover, that one will not replaced by the cover generator. If so, you need first delete that cover.

These are all ideas I have. Perhaps Kovid have an other one.

[RobertDDL]

Originally Posted by Divingduck

Your file looks a bit disordered

I haven't touched it -- it's calibre's default, with my cover settings. Pasting it here has removed the indents, though.

Originally Posted by Divingduck

I use the command --prefer-metadata-cover.
If your file have already a cover, that one will not replaced by the cover generator.

I've tried --prefer-metadata-cover now, but the result is still the same. And no, my source files do not include cover (or any other) images.

It's not a really serious problem, though -- it may be quicker to create my own cover images and include them with --cover %1.jpg than trying to find a solution to the "why don't the cover settings work?" question

Thank's for all the help!

[kovidgoyal]

You cannot use ebook-convert with calibre portable. Use a regular calibre install, or set the CALIBRE_CONFIG_DIRECTORY environment variable yourself.

[RobertDDL]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

You cannot use ebook-convert with calibre portable. Use a regular calibre install, or set the CALIBRE_CONFIG_DIRECTORY environment variable yourself.

Thank you, this clarifies the issue!

Except for the cover generation problem I am happy with the portable ebook-convert, though, and I'm using my own cover images now, so, all is well -- thanks again!