Selectively exclude custom columns from single MDE

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I see a new row in the preferences table of metadata.db named edit_metadata_custom_columns_to_display. Just curious: Is it backwards-compatible? I'd hate for my settings to get wiped out because I accidentally clicked the shortcut that runs from stable instead of from source.

I am not sure what you mean by "backwards compatible". Older versions of calibre will ignore the preference but shouldn't delete it. If you set the tweak then "newer" versions of calibre will ignore it, showing it in the "Plugin Tweaks" section. Older versions will see the tweak. Are you thinking of something else?

BTW: the above is true anytime a new preference is added. If you bounce back and forth then it is possible that strange things will happen. For example, in a new version a tweak might get moved to a preference, like what happened with the "Sort numbers in text" tweak. If you bounce back then the tweak is gone. Very occasionally a preference is renamed, which could do the same thing. Plugins might need updating. For example, IIRC Job Spy supports "per library" tweaks. What happens if the tweak disappears?

To avoid these problems I never run stable unless I am testing something specific, and when I do that I save the library and config folder so I can put things back the way they were.

[ownedbycats]

Yeah, I was mostly worried about it being deleted.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by chaley

authtest? "Ampersand separated text, shown in the tag browser", which is "Comma separated text, like tags, shown in the tag browser" with the "Contains names" box checked.

FWIW





Probably a space conservation measure

BR

[chaley]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Probably a space conservation measure
BR

Sorry, but I don't understand.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by chaley

Sorry, but I don't understand.

Never Mind the Content, Look at the Height

Not important - time to mask up and venture outside, lest I die of starve rather than the lurgi.

BR

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by chaley

Not a bad idea but it would be a lot of work, more than I want to take on now.

How about just reopening the edit metadata dialog but ignoring the options? It would be a one-off allowing access to all the fields.

Or maybe an option in the configuration to turn it off. That isn't friendly, but, it at least gives a way to get the full metadata editor without losing the configuration.

But, it looks good and I like the new "Look & Feel" page layout.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Attachment 192075

Never Mind the Content, Look at the Height

Not important - time to mask up and venture outside, lest I die of starve rather than the lurgi.

BR

Oh. That is caused by being adjacent to a series field in two column mode. The series widget takes the space of two rows. Whatever is adjacent to it will also take the same space. That isn't worth the trouble to fix. However, I can make the vertical size of the widget equal to the others, in which case it will sit in the vertical center of a larger cell.

[ownedbycats]

Another thought: Would it make sense to move the metadata_edit_elide_labels group to the new look&feel section, or would that be something better kept as a tweak?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by davidfor

How about just reopening the edit metadata dialog but ignoring the options? It would be a one-off allowing access to all the fields.

This is harder than I want to deal with because

• It has to deal with 3 single edit layouts and the multiple edit layout without wasting space.
• Constructing the edit metadata layouts is done fairly deeply. It isn't straight forward to pass the information.
• What happens if values have been changed?

Or maybe an option in the configuration to turn it off. That isn't friendly, but, it at least gives a way to get the full metadata editor without losing the configuration.

This I can do. You are right, it isn't the easiest to use, but it does get someone there if they need it. It does have the advantage of having clear semantics.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Another thought: Would it make sense to move the metadata_edit_elide_labels group to the new look&feel section, or would that be something better kept as a tweak?

One could ask the same question about the two column mode tweak.

There are arguments either way. Unfortunately moving tweaks to preferences takes effort that I don't feel like expending.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by chaley

However, I can make the vertical size of the widget equal to the others, in which case it will sit in the vertical center of a larger cell.

Done and in source.

Originally Posted by chaley

This I can do. You are right, it isn't the easiest to use, but it does get someone there if they need it. It does have the advantage of having clear semantics.

Done and in source.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by chaley

This I can do. You are right, it isn't the easiest to use, but it does get someone there if they need it. It does have the advantage of having clear semantics.

Pulled source. It works as expected.

Small question: In one-tab mode, is there a way to fix the "Kobo Collections" clipping at the bottom here? Resizing the window just makes the comments area bigger, and I can't resize the sections individually.



seems to be a bit of misalignment too on the lower columns -- are dropdown fields a slightly different height or something?

[BetterRed]

@chaley - if the column list in L&F->MDE could include column type it would be better than perfect

Another wish list item.

In book lists I hide long text columns with an 'is set' icon, and to avoid horizontal scrolling I shrink the column widths accordingly, and I often give such columns a 2 character Header name. It would be good if columns had a another 'label' (e.g. Column title) which if present would be used in Book Details, Metadata Edit etc.

In this screen shot the Red labels in the Book details panel are Column titles for my #blurb and @checklist columns.



As always - only if its easy-ish

BR

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Small question: In one-tab mode, is there a way to fix the "Kobo Collections" clipping at the bottom here? Resizing the window just makes the comments area bigger, and I can't resize the sections individually.

No.

I will look at adding an option to make the comments box no expand. That would make the upper area (basic and custom metadata) expand with the window. This won't change "clipping" the bottom element.

seems to be a bit of misalignment too on the lower columns -- are dropdown fields a slightly different height or something?

Yes, they are slightly different size. There is no attempt to align the boxes between the basic and custom metadata group boxes, which as far as I am concerned is near impossible.

[ownedbycats]

thanks -- My thought was to make the metadata and comments widget have a resizable splitter akin to the one in the book details window (see screenshot if I'm not clear). But I suspect that would be more effort.