Locking edited file

davitof · 03-16-2026, 07:50 AM

Hello,

I accidentally opened the same book twice in the editor. That is, I opened it once and edited and e-book, did something else, missed the fact the editor was already open and opened it once again and did some other edits. Then I saved one of the versions (I don't know which, it doesn't matter any more), and closed the editor window. Then I saw the second editor window and tried to close it, and the editor asked me if I wanted to save, and that's when I realized what was happening. Which of course meant I had to merge my edits.

All this could be avoided if Calibre used some locking mechanism. For example, the editor could create a temporary file upon opening an e-book, refuse to reopen or at least display a warning if it finds this file, and delete the file when the editor window is closed.

Is there any chance that such a mechanism will be implemented in the future ?

kovidgoyal · 03-16-2026, 08:09 AM

No, being able to edit the same book in multiple windows is a feature, not a bug. It allows you, for example, to reference a different part of the book in one window while eidting it in the second.

03-16-2026, 07:50 AM	#1
davitof Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2026 Location: France Device: Android smartphone	Locking edited file Hello, I accidentally opened the same book twice in the editor. That is, I opened it once and edited and e-book, did something else, missed the fact the editor was already open and opened it once again and did some other edits. Then I saved one of the versions (I don't know which, it doesn't matter any more), and closed the editor window. Then I saw the second editor window and tried to close it, and the editor asked me if I wanted to save, and that's when I realized what was happening. Which of course meant I had to merge my edits. All this could be avoided if Calibre used some locking mechanism. For example, the editor could create a temporary file upon opening an e-book, refuse to reopen or at least display a warning if it finds this file, and delete the file when the editor window is closed. Is there any chance that such a mechanism will be implemented in the future ?

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03-16-2026, 08:09 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 46,129 Karma: 29626604 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	No, being able to edit the same book in multiple windows is a feature, not a bug. It allows you, for example, to reference a different part of the book in one window while eidting it in the second.

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