More colors for cover generator

[mcandre]

Can we please expand the color range for the cover generator? This represents a minor change which opens up many more beautiful book covers

[kovidgoyal]

Open the edit metadata dialog, right click the generate cover button and create as many new color schemes as you like.

[chinax]

I made a post a while ago with information on creating an endless set of randomized color schemes that can then be used in cover generation. Basically, I found a website that allows one to generate text from a regex template, and created a template whose result could be pasted into the file where calibre saves color schemes.

You can ask the website to generate as many iterations from the template as you want. I think I have a few thousand themes saved in calibre, which I refresh every few months or so. I've attached a screenshot of my themes list just so you see the end result.

I'm also attaching a screenshot of some custom covers I made for journal articles, shrinking the size to display as many as possible. Looks like I got 230 in there, and no two use the exact same colors. Of course, I use some typesetting hacks and I'm running from source with tweaked copies of the default styles, which helps with cover diversity too. But the colors are all generated from regex.

[mcandre]

Right clicking a button is rather unintuitive.

I'm specifically requesting that the default color scheme list be expanded.

[mcandre]

When I try to load a color scheme file, the Load button does not appear to do anything at all.

[theducks]

What version of Calibre?
What OS?
and where is this 'Load' button (how to get to see it)?

[theducks]

Originally Posted by mcandre

Right clicking a button is rather unintuitive.

I'm specifically requesting that the default color scheme list be expanded.

Unintuitive? Calibre and many other apps are riddled with CONTEXT MENUS

One of the first things I learned when mice started being used (yes, I started on the original 8086: clones) , was right-click on things to see what was there.

[BetterRed]

There's a small inverted triangle glyph on the bottom left corner of the Generate Cover button. When the new Generate cover tool was introduced it took me a couple of frustrating days to discover that unlike a similar glyph on a toolbar button, it is not a separate clickable element.

Originally Posted by theducks

Unintuitive? Calibre and many other apps are riddled with CONTEXT MENUS

Because they can't be opened from the keyboard with Shift+F10, a menu on a button is not a context menu - IMO.

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by theducks

What version of Calibre?
What OS?
and where is this 'Load' button (how to get to see it)?

five'll get you ten the OP's referring to the Generate Cover feature. I'll merge this with the other threat.

@mcandre - you can only Load a scheme you previously Saved.

And please don't start multiple threads on the same topic.

BR

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by mcandre

Right clicking a button is rather unintuitive.

Perhaps a few decades back, you might have been right. Now almost every program I use uses right-click context menus despite quibbles from those who claim that a context menu must also allow the Shift-F10 shortcut. I won't even get into those programs that have separate menus for right-click and Shift-F10 other than to say some programmers are odd critters.

It might be argued that using Shift-F10 to open a command prompt during a Windows OOBE should be matched by using right-click to do the same.

[Quoth]

I've been using Right Click for Context menus for over 25 years. Never bothered with Shift F10, which might need two hands.

I've even given 2 and 3 button USB mice to poor Apple OS9 and early oS10 (OSX) users to replace the stupid one button round mouse so they could use Context Menus with one hand.

[chinax]

Originally Posted by mcandre

When I try to load a color scheme file, the Load button does not appear to do anything at all.

You don't load color scheme files, if you save a theme it saves the selected color scheme, style, fonts and font sizes, and title/subtitle/footer format. You have to save a set of those settings to be able load them later, but that is not how you add new color schemes.

To add a new color scheme, you should see "+ New Color Scheme" on the bottom left of the list of color scemes. I'm surprised you didn't see it before seeing 'load', but I guess I remember when all of these buttons were new. When this feature was first introduced, I just looked up cool color palletes and transferred them over.

You can do more with calibre if you're willing to peek around behind the scenes.

[PapaKilo]

Well, this post started as a colors and styles thing on the Generate Cover function in the Metadata Editor and somehow go changed to User interface stuff.

I would like to know where the Save and Load functions on the Cover Generation settings page stores and loads the information.

If possible I would like to know how to create styles so I can add my own. Yes I also use the Cover Generations plug-in, but I would like some more options to be available if possible.

I have been looking for a good part of two days and the information is difficut to ascertain.

Thank,
Papa

[PeterT]

In the calibre preferences directory I see a directory cover-generation-themes that contains a JSON file named whatever I save the custom theme as.

You can get to the preferences directory from Preferences | Miscellaneous | Open calibre configuration folder

[PapaKilo]

Thanks for the info.

So, any clue as to how to create an actual style?

Papa