Cant see pages number in book details panel on my kobo anymore

[Cyril Gabard]

Up until now, everything was fine. When I transferred a book from Calibre (9.8) to my Clara Kobo HD (up to date), I could see the page count in the book details (without having installed the Kobotouchextended plugin). Now, for the last three transfers, the page count (visible in Calibre) no longer appears on the Clara. In Calibre, in the device settings, in the "book statistics" field, I've kept the syntax of the template that was working: {pages}. Has something changed ?

[theducks]

Were you using this before Kovid added a default Pages column?
Then, you would have been using a custom column.

Custom columns names start with a #
so {#pages} is the correct one if using the Count Pages Plugin
Kobos do their own page count (status lines) so if you was {pages} embedded, you would need to use the Metadata plugboard? Maybe you have it set to tight (did the Clara use a different Model ID Plugboards CAN be set to be model specific in some cases)

[JSWolf]

In the new KoboTouch driver, this is what I am using to get the page number from the Count Pages plugin.



This is the code I am using in the pages field.

program:floor($$#pages)

It works. You just have to connect once more after your eBooks is imported into the Kobo database. And you have to have Metadata Management set to Automatic management turned on.

[Cyril Gabard]

Thanks for your help.

Originally Posted by theducks

Were you using this before Kovid added a default Pages column?

No, I was not.

Update :

I think i nailed it by physically unplug and plug back the ereader to get the book details updated (as i have to do for the series metadatas)

[Cyril Gabard]

Thanks both for your answers @JSWolf and @theducks.
I dont want to be disrespectful but I cannot see the point to use plugins since Calibre is able to do it by itself. What is the profit ? Could you explain please ?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Cyril Gabard

Thanks both for your answers @JSWolf and @theducks.
I dont want to be disrespectful but I cannot see the point to use plugins since Calibre is able to do it by itself. What is the profit ? Could you explain please ?

The Count Pages plugin allows you to use different methods of calculating the page number. I use the Adobe Digital Editions method as it allows me to get a better sense of how long the eBook is and it matches with RMSDK on a Kobo. I also get a word count which I add to Kobo's metadata.

The count used by calibre is not accurate. It's just there to get a rough number for the width of the cover.

You do need to use plugins. You need the KoboTouch plugin that comes with calibre so you manage your eBooks on your Kobo.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The Count Pages plugin allows you to use different methods of calculating the page number. I use the Adobe Digital Editions method as it allows me to get a better sense of how long the eBook is and it matches with RMSDK on a Kobo. I also get a word count which I add to Kobo's metadata.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but even Adobe's Synthetic Page Number algorithm is fallible. Take a look at the page count for the attached ePub for instance.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but even Adobe's Synthetic Page Number algorithm is fallible. Take a look at the page count for the attached ePub for instance.

I know it's not perfect. But the edge cases are few and far between.

It is the best page number algorithm for eBooks (IMHO).

[Cyril Gabard]

Thanks again for your help.

Someone can explain the syntax of the code used in the pages field ? Why program:floor($$#pages) ?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Cyril Gabard

Thanks again for your help.

Someone can explain the syntax of the code used in the pages field ? Why program:floor($$#pages) ?

I don't use floor for the number of pages since they are an integer number. I do use floor and ceiling with different divisors to generate my approximate reading times. See attached image.

The series number template depends on a field called #omnibus which is yes for an omnibus (multi-book) edition and no for a single book.

program:
	if 	field('#omnibus')=='yes'	
		&& $series_index !=#0 
	then
		series_start = floor($series_index);
		fraction = fractional_part($series_index);
		if 
			fraction ==# 0 
		then
			result = series_start
		else
			series_end = floor(fraction*100);
		if 
			series_end >=# 0 
		then
				result = series_start & '-' & series_end
		fi
	fi
		elif 
			$series_index ==#0 
		then 
			result = ''
		else
			result = $series_index
		fi;
	result

The word count and page count field being integers need no manipulation:

program:($$#pages)

program:($$#words)

The reading times use floor for the lower reading time and ceiling for the upper reading time. The divisors are approximate words per hour and depending on your reading speed will require adjustment.

program:floor($$#words /48000)

program:ceiling($$#words / 44600)

So for a book that has 96,100 page, the reading times would show 2 at the low end and 3 at the upper end (96,100/48000 = 2.00, 96,100/44600 = 2.15 so floor and ceiling would be 2 and 3).

[JSWolf]

Yes, you are correct. For words and pages, I don't need floor.