Download metadata: Ignore identifiers from selected sources

[ownedbycats]

Aside from disabling the sources entirely, is there an option to ignore specified identifiers when downloading metadata? Calibre often combines results so I have to manually remove unwanted ones from the ids field afterward.

[alyshadeshae]

I know this is an old post (posted on my birthday last year, actually!), but I think I have the same question.

I'm trying to figure out how to simply not download certain identifiers. Or even just any identifiers other than Goodreads as that is the only one I ever keep.

[Ghostcat]

Can't you just click on the Paste Identifier button (on the Edit Metadata screen) and remove the prefixes you are not interested in. Or have I mis-understood the question.

[ownedbycats]

Yes, but it's a hassle to do it constantly.

[Dsharma]

As far as I know, Calibre does not have an in-built feature to ignore specific identifiers when downloading metadata.
A possible workaround might be to use a plugin or write a custom script that post-processes the metadata and removes unwanted identifiers. Although this still means an extra step, it could be automated to run after each download, thereby reducing the hassle.
Remember that any modifications to the software or use of third-party plugins should be done with caution, and make sure to back up your library before making major changes.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Dsharma

As far as I know, Calibre does not have an in-built feature to ignore specific identifiers when downloading metadata.
A possible workaround might be to use a plugin or write a custom script that post-processes the metadata and removes unwanted identifiers. Although this still means an extra step, it could be automated to run after each download, thereby reducing the hassle.
Remember that any modifications to the software or use of third-party plugins should be done with caution, and make sure to back up your library before making major changes.

I use Action Chains single-field edit with this template. It removes amazon/barnesnoble/kobo/baen identifiers, but keeps the one associated with #purchasesource if available.

program:

	def do_one(ids, check_value, select_identifier):
		si = select(ids, select_identifier);
		if 
			!$#purchasesource==check_value && si
		then
			return list_difference (ids, strcat(select_identifier, ':', si), ',')
		fi;
		return ids
	fed;

	ids = do_one($identifiers, "Amazon",'amazon');
	ids = do_one(ids, "Barnes & Noble", 'barnesnoble');
	ids = do_one(ids, "Kobo", 'kobo');
	ids = do_one(ids, "Baen", 'baen')

This post was made before I set it up, It's more ideal than outright excluding for my usecase.