Updating Metadata on a Kobo by Calibre

[bluepeter]

This was said in response to a query in another thread:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Also, to make sure the metadata is updated proper on your Kobo, you'll need to plug your Kobo in a second time so it updated the metadata after being imported.

Could someone expand on this, please? There seems to be a bit more needed than just "plugging the device in a second time" that I'm missing.

When I add books with series information in the metadata to my e-reader, that series information isn't immediately carried across. So, for example, I add book 4 to a series. I can see that books 1 to 3 belong to the relevant series, but not book 4. Simply plugging the device in again has no effect, with or without Calibre running. But when I add book 5 to the series, the metadata for book 4 does then get updated, and it now appears to belong to the series. But book 5 doesn't. And so on. Is there a way of adding book 4 to a series before I add book 5?

Also, if I update the collection to which a book belongs in Calibre, that information doesn't (AFAICT) get updated on the e-reader. But when I initially copy a book from Calibre to the e-reader, it is added to the correct (at the time) collection. Can Calibre move books on the e-reader from one collection to another?

[Sirtel]

Do you have metadata management set to Automatic in the calibre settings (Preferences - Send Books to Devices)? And do you have Update metadata on the device checked in the Kobo driver settings?

[bluepeter]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Do you have metadata management set to Automatic in the calibre settings (Preferences - Send Books to Devices)?

No, I didn't. But I do now. And that seems to have fixed the series identification problem. It's too soon to say whether it's also fixed the allocation to collections, but I'm willing to bet that it has.

Originally Posted by Sirtel

And do you have Update metadata on the device checked in the Kobo driver settings?

Yes, I set that when I set Calibre up to manage collections a few months ago. Pehaps naïvely, I thought that would be all that was needed

Thank you very much for your help.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by bluepeter

Could someone expand on this, please? There seems to be a bit more needed than just "plugging the device in a second time" that I'm missing.

When you first send a book to your device in Calibre, it needs to import and generate a new entry in the database. This is done after you disconnect. Afterwards, the KoboTouch driver is able to update that database entry. If metadata management is set to automatic, the second re-connection on its own will do that, though I like to use the opportunity to pre-set the font with Kobo Utilities.

There's also the NickelSeries patch which lets Kobo import the series information from the file itself without the second connect.

EDIT: On the topic of series, this might also be relevant if you mix store-bought and sideloaded books:

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bluepeter

No, I didn't. But I do now. And that seems to have fixed the series identification problem. It's too soon to say whether it's also fixed the allocation to collections, but I'm willing to bet that it has.



Yes, I set that when I set Calibre up to manage collections a few months ago. Pehaps naïvely, I thought that would be all that was needed

Thank you very much for your help.

You send your eBooks to the Kobo. Then you eject the Kobo. The eBooks import to the database. Then you have to reconnect for the rest of the metadata such as series and collections to be sent to the Kobo. For the extra metadata to be sent, it needs to have the eBooks already in the database.

If you install and configure NickelMenu, you will not have to unplug the USB cable for a sending connection tot he computer. Go to the NickelMenu thread and have a read. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=329525

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

If metadata management is set to automatic, the second re-connection on its own will do that, though I like to use the opportunity to pre-set the font with Kobo Utilities.

Just curious, why would I want to do that instead of letting the book take the settings from the previous book? Is there a difference? Or do you mean setting the font for direct downloads where you haven't edited the css? (I don't have those, as I edit and sideload everything).

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Just curious, why would I want to do that instead of letting the book take the settings from the previous book? Is there a difference? Or do you mean setting the font for direct downloads where you haven't edited the css? (I don't have those, as I edit and sideload everything).

I just prefer to have all the books start with a consistent font and size, as I often adjust it due to various factors other than the CSS - e.g. on a book with long paragraph, I might bump up the font size and line spacing (my eyes tend to flick around while reading so it's easy to lose place).

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I just prefer to have all the books start with a consistent font and size, as I often adjust it due to various factors other than the CSS - e.g. on a book with long paragraph, I might bump up the font size and line spacing (my eyes tend to flick around while reading so it's easy to lose place).

Ah, ok. Thanks for explaining.

It might actually be an useful feature, now that I'm thinking about this. I've thought about creating a test book for trying out various different fonts, but what has stopped me is that the next unread book would lose my preferred settings. This feature would prevent that and I could experiment with my test book as much as I want.

Many thanks for giving me that idea!

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Ah, ok. Thanks for explaining.

It might actually be an useful feature, now that I'm thinking about this. I've thought about creating a test book for trying out various different fonts, but what has stopped me is that the next unread book would lose my preferred settings. This feature would prevent that and I could experiment with my test book as much as I want.

Many thanks for giving me that idea!

Well, I finally got around to trying this and unfortunately found that you can only pre-set a Kobo default font, not a custom one. As I only use custom fonts for reading, I can't use the feature.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Well, I finally got around to trying this and unfortunately found that you can only pre-set a Kobo default font, not a custom one. As I only use custom fonts for reading, I can't use the feature.

It's possible to modify Kobo Utilities to add your custom fonts by editing dialogs.py (see this post), though you'd need to re-apply your edits after any future updates.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

It's possible to modify Kobo Utilities to add your custom fonts by editing dialogs.py (see this post), though you'd need to re-apply your edits after any future updates.

Thanks, I'll try this.

[ownedbycats]

You'll find the font setting name by opening the database and finding a book in content_settings table where it's already applied.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

You'll find the font setting name by opening the database and finding a book in content_settings table where it's already applied.

Yeah, too late. I just took it from the Kobo conf file and fortunately it worked. Many thanks again!