Combining similar titles when importing

[starrigger]

Sometimes, especially when comparing different versions of the same book, I want the same title to have apparently duplicate entries in my Calibre library. Then I'll change the tags somehow to make them distinctive. This only works if I go into Preferences and uncheck the box for automatically combining similar titles.

If that box is unchecked, then Calibre asks me if I want to import duplicates. So far, so good. The problem is that I can't at that point say:

Yes, combine into one entry; or,
Yes, but import as separate entries; or,
No, don't import duplicates

That's a tweak I would really appreciate having.

In a related vein...

For a while, there was a nice feature, if you had duplicate entries in the library, where you could right-click on a couple of same titles and select an option to merge the entries. The feature seems to have gone away. Has it been removed? Or have I just misplaced it?

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by starrigger

For a while, there was a nice feature, if you had duplicate entries in the library, where you could right-click on a couple of same titles and select an option to merge the entries. The feature seems to have gone away. Has it been removed? Or have I just misplaced it?

You misplaced it, see attached.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

You misplaced it, see attached.

Doh! Under Edit metadata. Of course!

Wouldn't that more logically go under the main right-click menu? It seems like more of a "file operation" than a metadata operation, at least to me.

Thanks for pointing me to it.

[Perkin]

Wouldn't it be better in the 'Similar books' sub menu?

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by Perkin

Wouldn't it be better in the 'Similar books' sub menu?

Even though it is true that files do get moved or deleted it seems to me that the action primarily merges the metadata between the two book entries in the metadata.db (database) file to make one book. Thus the reason it hides is placed in the edit metadata menu.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by starrigger

Doh! Under Edit metadata. Of course!

Wouldn't that more logically go under the main right-click menu? It seems like more of a "file operation" than a metadata operation, at least to me.

Thanks for pointing me to it.

That Merge is an "after the fact" menu type operation.

The operations in the "Add" menu (Nit: the button bar is the "Main Menu") are "before the fact" (added to DB) type items.
Seems logical in this context

[starrigger]

You guys are thinking like programmers, not users.

From a user's perspective (a nonprogrammer-user), you highlight a couple of book titles, you right-click, and on that primary context menu, you look for a way to merge two files into one entry. "Similar books" is more intuitive than "edit metadata," but an entry directly in the primary context menu makes the most sense to me. It's on a similar level to save, send, convert, etc.

I wasn't talking about the top menu (button) bar at all.

In any case, this is a secondary nitpick. My initial point was, why when adding similar titles (e.g.., identical titles in different formats) can't we have a dialogue box that gives us a choice of whether to merge into one entry or keep in separate entries?

[theducks]

You mean this setting?

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by theducks

You mean this setting?

That's the setting that prompted my query. Take another look at my initial post and let me know if I was unclear about the issue.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by starrigger

My initial point was, why when adding similar titles (e.g.., identical titles in different formats) can't we have a dialogue box that gives us a choice of whether to merge into one entry or keep in separate entries?

Since I wrote it to solve a specific problem I was having, I'll answer.

If you're adding a few books, either drag them into the edit metadata screen for an existing book, or just drag them into the main GUI, tell Calibre to add any duplicate titles it finds and Merge together the duplicate titles you want merged (or don't merge if that's your preference). That's why I wrote Merge.

The option you're asking about (referred to by me as the "autosort/automerge" option due to the long name that's next to that option box <grin>) was designed for when you're adding lots of books, not just a few. In that case, you don't want to have to Merge manually, so you turn the option on.

Similarly, if you're adding lots of books, you don't want to have to answer "a dialogue box that gives us a choice of whether to merge into one entry or keep in separate entries" dozens of times. Turning on the option is the global answer to that question, and turning it off and Merging (or not) is not much more work for just a few books.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by starrigger

You guys are thinking like programmers, not users.

From a user's perspective (a nonprogrammer-user), you highlight a couple of book titles, you right-click, and on that primary context menu, you look for a way to merge two files into one entry.

I was looking in the context menu as well, but at least there is a keystroke for it: M.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I was looking in the context menu as well, but at least there is a keystroke for it: M.

(I originally put it on the context menu, but Kovid buried it put it where it is now.) I quickly added "M" and "ALT-M" and now use those exclusively.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by Starson17

Since I wrote it to solve a specific problem I was having, I'll answer.

If you're adding a few books, either drag them into the edit metadata screen for an existing book, or just drag them into the main GUI, tell Calibre to add any duplicate titles it finds and Merge together the duplicate titles you want merged (or don't merge if that's your preference). That's why I wrote Merge.

The option you're asking about (referred to by me as the "autosort/automerge" option due to the long name that's next to that option box <grin>) was designed for when you're adding lots of books, not just a few. In that case, you don't want to have to Merge manually, so you turn the option on.

Similarly, if you're adding lots of books, you don't want to have to answer "a dialogue box that gives us a choice of whether to merge into one entry or keep in separate entries" dozens of times. Turning on the option is the global answer to that question, and turning it off and Merging (or not) is not much more work for just a few books.

Aha. But since you already have a dialogue popping up (if the automerge is turned off), would it be hard to add one more choice: Import both, but don't merge? Right now, it's a tad confusing, because it either merges or does something that you can't quite predict based on the dialogue box choices.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by Starson17

(I originally put it on the context menu, but Kovid buried it put it where it is now.) I quickly added "M" and "ALT-M" and now use those exclusively.

Whoa! That's dangerous. I just selected a couple of books and pressed M to see what kind of dialogue would come up. <Bing> One of the books vanished. Given how easy it is to hit a key by accident (even if you know to expect that behavior), I'd sure like to see a confirmation dialogue on that. Or a way to disable the keystroke option. Or undo.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by starrigger

Aha. But since you already have a dialogue popping up (if the automerge is turned off), would it be hard to add one more choice: Import both, but don't merge?

I'm confused
If automerge is off, you get a notice only when duplicate titles have been found. The notice comes up regardless of whether the authors match or not. If you allow duplicate titles, you get duplicates, again, regardless of whether the authors match or not. I'm not sure what you mean by "Import both, but don't merge" when automerge is off?

Right now, it's a tad confusing, because it either merges or does something that you can't quite predict based on the dialogue box choices.

It never merges anything if the autosort/automerge option is off. You get records with titles that match other titles (regardless of author) or not, depending on whether you say yes or no to the warning dialog.