[GUI Plugin] FanFictionDownLoader

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by Sculptor

Now to the problem, I can't seem to update stories from fanfiction.net. Even though I can see when I go to the site that a new chapter is released, when I try to update, I get a dialogue telling me 'None of the 1 URLS/Stories given can be/need to be downloaded'. I can add new stories just fine though (although, it takes a long time to download, not sure if the problem is on my end).

And when you look at the 'view log', what does it say the reason is?

If it doesn't think there are new chapters, you might benefit from adding this to your personal.ini tab in FFDL config:

# find the existing ffnet section, or add one
[www.fanfiction.net]
check_next_chapter:true

ffnet used to have problems with sending out notice emails before the chapter would show up when viewing the story, but you could generally get it explicitly. This check to look for a chapter past what it claims to currently have hasn't been needed lately for me.

Downloading from ffnet is just slow now to avoid getting throttled.

[Sculptor]

Originally Posted by JimmXinu

And when you look at the 'view log', what does it say the reason is?

If it doesn't think there are new chapters, you might benefit from adding this to your personal.ini tab in FFDL config:

# find the existing ffnet section, or add one
[www.fanfiction.net]
check_next_chapter:true

Added that but it still says no updates. The log says 'Not Overwriting, web site is not newer.'.

[Sculptor]

Originally Posted by JimmXinu

And when you look at the 'view log', what does it say the reason is?

If it doesn't think there are new chapters, you might benefit from adding this to your personal.ini tab in FFDL config:

# find the existing ffnet section, or add one
[www.fanfiction.net]
check_next_chapter:true

Added that but it still says no updates. The log says 'Not Overwriting, web site is not newer.'.

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by Sculptor

Added that but it still says no updates. The log says 'Not Overwriting, web site is not newer.'.

Short answer:

If you use epubs and 'Update Epub' instead of 'overwrite if newer', it will compare the number of chapters and should work while also being more efficient.

Long answer:

When you use 'overwrite if newer' FFDL is comparing the timestamp on the ebook file on disk vs the date given by the web site.

ffnet now includes timestamps, not just dates for published/updated. Because those timestamps are in the correct time zone for me, I didn't give it any more thought. But it's possible that they're not in the correct time zone for you.

If you 'overwrite always' or download a new story, are the published/updated dates FFDL records correct for you?

If you wait a day before trying 'overwrite if newer' on an updated story does it work?

[Sculptor]

Originally Posted by JimmXinu

Short answer:

If you use epubs and 'Update Epub' instead of 'overwrite if newer', it will compare the number of chapters and should work while also being more efficient.

Long answer:

When you use 'overwrite if newer' FFDL is comparing the timestamp on the ebook file on disk vs the date given by the web site.

ffnet now includes timestamps, not just dates for published/updated. Because those timestamps are in the correct time zone for me, I didn't give it any more thought. But it's possible that they're not in the correct time zone for you.

If you 'overwrite always' or download a new story, are the published/updated dates FFDL records correct for you?

If you wait a day before trying 'overwrite if newer' on an updated story does it work?

Ahh setting it to update if new chapter solved it. I tried downloading a new story and the dates are correct. I will let you know about the 'overwrite if newer' works tomorrow.

Thanks for your help.

Edit: I want to ask one more thing, is it possible to set the plugin to display pairings for stories from hpfanficarchive?

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by Sculptor

Edit: I want to ask one more thing, is it possible to set the plugin to display pairings for stories from hpfanficarchive?

Attached is a test vesion with pairings for hpfanficarchive. Unless there's a problem reported, it will be in the next version.

[Sculptor]

Originally Posted by JimmXinu

Attached is a test vesion with pairings for hpfanficarchive. Unless there's a problem reported, it will be in the next version.

Tested it with all pairings I could find. It works great. Noticed that if the Parings is given as None, it doesn't show the relationships at all, but that was probably deliberately done.

I want to ask one more thing, sorry if I'm bothering you too much. Is it possible to disable this dialogue when downloading and/or updating?

I think it would be more user friendly if it automatically added the successfully downloaded/updated stories to the library and if there was a bad link, it would display the error log at the end (same thing for batch downloads). So if we have multiple stories added separately, it would download and add them all automatically if the links are good.

Thanks for your time.

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by Sculptor

...
I want to ask one more thing, sorry if I'm bothering you too much. Is it possible to disable this dialogue when downloading and/or updating?
...

Unfortunately, no.

That's what calibre requires to insure that the DB doesn't become corrupted from multiple plugins trying to update it at once. It's essentially the DB locking mechanism.

[Sculptor]

Originally Posted by JimmXinu

Unfortunately, no.

That's what calibre requires to insure that the DB doesn't become corrupted from multiple plugins trying to update it at once. It's essentially the DB locking mechanism.

Ahh that makes sense.

I just tried updating a story with 'overwrite if newer'. It still says none of the stories need to be updated. It works if I update with 'update epub if new chapters'. I guess I will be using that.

Thanks for all your help and quick responses.

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by Sculptor

I just tried updating a story with 'overwrite if newer'. It still says none of the stories need to be updated. It works if I update with 'update epub if new chapters'. I guess I will be using that.

If you still want to figure it out, I'd suggest you check the timestamp of the files on disk--use the 'o' hotkey in calibre after choosing a book and it will take you right there. I suspect your clock is off, or the files are being touched in some way and the timestamp updated.

[Sculptor]

Originally Posted by JimmXinu

If you still want to figure it out, I'd suggest you check the timestamp of the files on disk--use the 'o' hotkey in calibre after choosing a book and it will take you right there. I suspect your clock is off, or the files are being touched in some way and the timestamp updated.

Hmm alright I will take a look next time there is an update to a fanfiction.net story. The clock is fine and why would only fanfiction.net files be affected? Overwrite if newer works with hpfanficarchive and probably the other sites too. Only ffnet has the problem.

[cryzed]

Hey Jimm,
I actually have a suggestion for a possible feature: Do you think it would be possible to somehow transfer the update log to the Kindle device when updating stories with your plugin? I know it might seem kind of silly if you are only reading 1-2 stories, but if you end up updating a bunch of them it's easy to forget which you updated. Ideally I could just check on my kindle and open "Updated Fanfiction" or something and orient myself with that.

[JimmXinu]

Originally Posted by cryzed

Hey Jimm,
I actually have a suggestion for a possible feature: Do you think it would be possible to somehow transfer the update log to the Kindle device when updating stories with your plugin? I know it might seem kind of silly if you are only reading 1-2 stories, but if you end up updating a bunch of them it's easy to forget which you updated. Ideally I could just check on my kindle and open "Updated Fanfiction" or something and orient myself with that.

That's one solution, but it seems cumbersome to me. Look in 'updated' book, remember titles, search or scroll for them, get distracted, forget what the title was, etc.

I generally have anywhere between 10 and 30 items on my 'To Read' list. My solution is to use the Reading List plugin and FFDL's features for updating and managing a 'To Read' list with a custom column and a metadata plugboard. Then all the new or updated books have 000 at the front of the title and appear at the top of the list.

This details it:
http://code.google.com/p/fanficdownl...ithReadingList

That, plus some hot keys(see image), means that I go back to my calibre when I've finished reading a few updates, select them, and hit 'r' for 'read'. Then next time I sync, those books are updated without 000 at the front.

Other options include putting an updated custom date column in the title with a plugboard, or creating a catalog with such a column.

[JimmXinu]

Version 1.8.16 - 29 Mar 2014

• Add Pairing for hpfanficarchive.com
  
• Remove some outdated checks against calibre versions that aren't supported now.

[BeckH]

Hi there,
I tried to search (but couldn't find) this topic on the thread, so apologies if this has already been dealt with...

I have been having a recurring problem over 3 different Kindles and umpteen versions of Calibre and the FFDL plugin. I will be reading a downloaded FF on my Kindle when 3 things will happen:
1-It will freeze on a page (can't go any further, but can go back)
2-When I force it to go forward, a blot of several overlapping words appears in the top left corner
3-I get tossed out of the story, with Kindle telling me that I don't have permission to be in it.

I can read the story just fine in Calibre on my computer, and I haven't noticed any pattern of it only being stories from one source, or a certain percentage into the story. It doesn't happen with all stories, just some.
Has anyone else had this problem, and/or knows how to fix it?

Thanks.