Calibre does not show the covers of PDF files

joten · Yesterday, 01:20 PM

Hello.
I have been using Calibre for several years without any problems, but now I have changed my PC and after installing it on the new PC, I see that every time I import a book in PDF format, the cover does not appear in the book details window. I have been looking at the options, but I can't see what needs to be changed for them to appear automatically, as they used to.
Please, can you help me?
Thank you

BetterRed · Yesterday, 06:04 PM

Works for me.

Check Preferences->Look and feel->Book details - is Show cover checked (it's the first setting)?

PDFs don't have designated covers as such. Calibre extracts the first page and uses it to create a cover.jpg in the book folder, this is what gets displayed in Book details… is it there?

If it's not try adding a PDF after restarting calibre with no plugins… there's an option in Preferences drop down. If that works you should be able to figure out which plugin is creating the problem

joten · Today, 07:43 AM

Thanks BetterRed for the response but it didn't work:
- Regarding the 'Show cover' option, it was already checked. This option makes a cover appear in the book details window, but the cover that appears is the default Calibre cover, not the one that corresponds to the PDF book.
- Regarding the plugins, I have disabled all of them but it didn't solve the problem either. I have to say that I haven't installed any additional plugins other than the ones that come by default with Calibre.
Let's see if anyone else can come up with another solution.
Thanks.

chaley · Today, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joten

- Regarding the 'Show cover' option, it was already checked. This option makes a cover appear in the book details window, but the cover that appears is the default Calibre cover, not the one that corresponds to the PDF book.

This means that you haven't set the cover in calibre. Calibre is using the cover it assumed when you loaded the book, which can be the first page of the PDF or sometimes no cover, in which case a generic cover is used. To fix it, in calibre, select one misbehaving PDF and use the Edit Metadata command. The cover you see there is the cover that calibre will use. If it isn't the one you want, change it.

joten · Today, 12:13 PM

Yes, Chaley, I know that the cover can be changed in the Modify Metadata option, but that's not what I want.
For all the years I've been using Calibre, when I added a book with a PDF extension, Calibre would automatically choose the first page of that file as the cover. And that's not happening now, because now for all the PDFs I add, the cover it generates is based on the file's metadata, which has nothing to do with the first page of that book.
Moreover, I've done a couple of tests:
- On one hand, I added a couple of PDF books that are giving me problems with the covers, on another PC with Calibre, and just like it used to happen to me for years, there the covers correspond to the first page of the book.
- On the other hand, I re-added one of the PDF books that already appear in my Calibre library imported from my old PC, and the first page does not appear as the cover either, when it did appear before.
In any case, thank you very much for the response.

theducks · Today, 12:31 PM

What OS? Because it works (as of 10 Jul, the last PDF I added) on W10.

FWIW I keep all the Users Manuals for appliances in Calibre (They are almost always PDF). The first page shows as the cover in the Details by default.

chaley · Today, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joten

Moreover, I've done a couple of tests:
- On one hand, I added a couple of PDF books that are giving me problems with the covers, on another PC with Calibre, and just like it used to happen to me for years, there the covers correspond to the first page of the book.
- On the other hand, I re-added one of the PDF books that already appear in my Calibre library imported from my old PC, and the first page does not appear as the cover either, when it did appear before.
In any case, thank you very much for the response.

That says the two installations have different preferences settings. Probably the "Read metadata from file contents rather than file name" is checked on the one that works and is not checked on the one that doesn't work.

joten · Today, 12:57 PM

Thanks theducks and Chaley.
1. As I said, I have tested it on 2 PCs: my new one (where the first page of the PDF does not appear as the cover but rather the one Calibre generates based on the metadata) and another PC, where Calibre was already installed and the first page does appear as the cover in the PDF files.
Both PCs have Calibre version 7.16 installed and both are running Windows 11.
2. I have checked the 3 existing tabs in the Preferences - Add Books option (Read Metadata - Adding Actions - Automatic Adding) and both PCs are the same. Specifically, the option 'Read metadata from file contents rather than file name' that you mentioned is checked.

chaley · Today, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joten

Thanks theducks and Chaley.
1. As I said, I have tested it on 2 PCs: my new one (where the first page of the PDF does not appear as the cover but rather the one Calibre generates based on the metadata) and another PC, where Calibre was already installed and the first page does appear as the cover in the PDF files.
Both PCs have Calibre version 7.16 installed and both are running Windows 11.
2. I have checked the 3 existing tabs in the Preferences - Add Books option (Read Metadata - Adding Actions - Automatic Adding) and both PCs are the same. Specifically, the option 'Read metadata from file contents rather than file name' that you mentioned is checked.

On my system, Win 11 with the calibre preview edition (7.16.100), if I check that box an added PDF will show the first page as a cover. If I uncheck that box then an added PDF will not show the first page as a cover.

The setting has no effect on PDFs already added. They must be either a) deleted then re-added, or b) have the cover changed manually.

I have no explanation for why it works for me and the other two posters but doesn't work for you.

joten · Today, 01:18 PM

Thank you, Chaley.
Yes, it is indeed strange, especially since, as I mentioned, the option doesn't work on my new PC, but it does on another PC where I tested it.
I always have the option to extract the first page of each PDF, save it as a JPG, and import it as a cover, but doing that with each new file will complicate the work a bit.

joten · Today, 01:29 PM

I just found the solution!
I thought of running Calibre with administrator privileges and it worked.
In any case, thank you very much for your responses and your time.
Regards.

Yesterday, 01:20 PM	#1
joten Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2024 Device: Kindle	Calibre does not show the covers of PDF files Hello. I have been using Calibre for several years without any problems, but now I have changed my PC and after installing it on the new PC, I see that every time I import a book in PDF format, the cover does not appear in the book details window. I have been looking at the options, but I can't see what needs to be changed for them to appear automatically, as they used to. Please, can you help me? Thank you

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Yesterday, 06:04 PM	#2
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 20,802 Karma: 27405122 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	Works for me. Check Preferences->Look and feel->Book details - is Show cover checked (it's the first setting)? PDFs don't have designated covers as such. Calibre extracts the first page and uses it to create a cover.jpg in the book folder, this is what gets displayed in Book details… is it there? If it's not try adding a PDF after restarting calibre with no plugins… there's an option in Preferences drop down. If that works you should be able to figure out which plugin is creating the problem

Today, 07:43 AM	#3
joten Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2024 Device: Kindle	Thanks BetterRed for the response but it didn't work: - Regarding the 'Show cover' option, it was already checked. This option makes a cover appear in the book details window, but the cover that appears is the default Calibre cover, not the one that corresponds to the PDF book. - Regarding the plugins, I have disabled all of them but it didn't solve the problem either. I have to say that I haven't installed any additional plugins other than the ones that come by default with Calibre. Let's see if anyone else can come up with another solution. Thanks.

Today, 12:13 PM	#5
joten Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2024 Device: Kindle	Yes, Chaley, I know that the cover can be changed in the Modify Metadata option, but that's not what I want. For all the years I've been using Calibre, when I added a book with a PDF extension, Calibre would automatically choose the first page of that file as the cover. And that's not happening now, because now for all the PDFs I add, the cover it generates is based on the file's metadata, which has nothing to do with the first page of that book. Moreover, I've done a couple of tests: - On one hand, I added a couple of PDF books that are giving me problems with the covers, on another PC with Calibre, and just like it used to happen to me for years, there the covers correspond to the first page of the book. - On the other hand, I re-added one of the PDF books that already appear in my Calibre library imported from my old PC, and the first page does not appear as the cover either, when it did appear before. In any case, thank you very much for the response.

Today, 12:31 PM	#6
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,220 Karma: 57978778 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	What OS? Because it works (as of 10 Jul, the last PDF I added) on W10. FWIW I keep all the Users Manuals for appliances in Calibre (They are almost always PDF). The first page shows as the cover in the Details by default.

Today, 12:57 PM	#8
joten Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2024 Device: Kindle	Thanks theducks and Chaley. 1. As I said, I have tested it on 2 PCs: my new one (where the first page of the PDF does not appear as the cover but rather the one Calibre generates based on the metadata) and another PC, where Calibre was already installed and the first page does appear as the cover in the PDF files. Both PCs have Calibre version 7.16 installed and both are running Windows 11. 2. I have checked the 3 existing tabs in the Preferences - Add Books option (Read Metadata - Adding Actions - Automatic Adding) and both PCs are the same. Specifically, the option 'Read metadata from file contents rather than file name' that you mentioned is checked.

Today, 01:18 PM	#10
joten Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2024 Device: Kindle	Thank you, Chaley. Yes, it is indeed strange, especially since, as I mentioned, the option doesn't work on my new PC, but it does on another PC where I tested it. I always have the option to extract the first page of each PDF, save it as a JPG, and import it as a cover, but doing that with each new file will complicate the work a bit.

Today, 01:29 PM	#11
joten Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2024 Device: Kindle	I just found the solution! I thought of running Calibre with administrator privileges and it worked. In any case, thank you very much for your responses and your time. Regards.

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