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Loss of series on Kobo after transfer from Calibre

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jlchaps -  

Hello,

I have a Kobo Aura One e-reader and I use Calibre on Windows 64-bit PC to organize and edit the metadata of my epub books. Thus, I organize the books by author, by series (and order in the series) and by title.

After transferring to my Kobo e-reader, when I go to my books, by author, for some books I do retrieve the series name and the order in the series, but for others, I only retrieve the book title.

Why?

Thank you for your help and advice.


8 answers

  1.  madmyke Moderator

    Hello
    It's hard to say from a distance and without seeing anything. I imagine that either you are not using Calibre's standardization in the series normalization, or the metadata is not correctly registered in Calibre, or the transfer is not happening correctly. Otherwise, I don't see any reason why it would work for some and not for others.
    But right now it's just guesswork.
    Have you installed the Calibre plugin for Kobos? (check first for compatibility with your reader model), as it really simplifies a lot of things.

    In any case, I haven't encountered any issues like that, but I use the plugin; I've even customized it to retrieve the reading % during sync on the PC.

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    1. jlchaps Author

      I manage the metadata in Calibre the same way for all my books and then transfer them to my e-reader. The transfer is done without error.

      On my Kobo, I can display my books by author and by series. For example:

      Pierre Bordage: the books in the author option are displayed with an intermediate line giving the name of the series and the order.

      In the series option, Bordage's series are displayed correctly (Gigante).

      David Gemmell: in the author option, the series line does not appear.

      In the series option, the series are displayed correctly (Drenaï). So the name of the series is indeed present in the metadata but does not appear in the list by author!

      Additional note. The books by Pierre Bordage were imported into the Kobo several months ago, while those by Gemmell are quite recent. The version of Calibre has changed several times since, as has the software on the Kobo. Is this the reason?

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      1. madmyke Moderator

        We have common authors (in addition to the e-reader even if it's not the same model). But no, I doubt that the frequent upgrades of Calibre are to blame for it. (Plus, I know the author of Calibre).

        Here we see the e-reader but not the Calibre side, so it's still a guessing game.
        These are imported books, but from where?
        As soon as they go through Calibre, they are processed by it, and so if the original nomenclature changes, the result changes too.
        External sources do not respect the same criteria because there is no "standard" in this matter. Everyone can therefore customize as they wish.

        It's often a real "mess" in this area.
        The impact will thus occur during import and logically, after transfer.
        Calibre is the best tool I know for managing just about everything, but you have to learn the basics, especially in terms of metadata that are not standardized.

        The first thing to check is the use of Calibre, I mean, what Calibre displays for the same "series" in its interface.
        Don't confuse the number of books and the number in the series, etc.

        Sort by author for example, then look in the Calibre interface at the different columns, Author, title, and especially the "series" column.
        Here you need to compare the "imported" metadata because it's often quite disparate.

        The correct nomenclature is: Series Title (not the book) followed by the order number or Volume followed by the order number, or V followed by the order number; anyway, you do it as you want BUT, the order number MUST be in [] and the series name must be exactly the same.
        Example of valid nomenclature:
        Series Name Volume [1]
        Series Name Volume [2]
        Series Name Volume [3]
        etc.
        Only the title and THIS criterion [x] in the Series column tells Calibre that we are talking about a numbered and linked series.

        If it's okay, it will manage and export correctly.
        I still recommend using the Kobo plugin since it is specifically written for exports/imports to be done in Kobo format, but already respecting the nomenclature should do the trick.

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    2. jlchaps Author

      Thank you, I will look into all that, but in the meantime, how can I find the Kobo plugin and how is it installed?

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      2. jlchaps Author
        @madmyke

        Thank you for the plugins, but on the 2nd site, there are plenty of plugins related to Kobo. Which one should I use with my Kobo Aura One configuration and epub files?

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    3. jlchaps Author

      Here is how the 2 example series are recorded:

      Gigante

      And Drenaï

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      2. madmyke Moderator

        That's right, the format is respected; it's surprising that it doesn't work.
        But upon re-reading, we can see in the e-reader ranking on Series (11 books), whereas in Author the screenshot does show that it's not present as an Author.
        I'm asking a silly question (since everything is "normal" at the Calibre level), in the Author view, doesn't the ranking simply not show it lower down? Like under the letter G and not D? And would the export be under Gemmel and not David?

        A simple but "logical" hypothesis since the books are indeed there in the e-reader; I'm first thinking of a "display" issue or something just as simple.

        The plugin is this one: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215339

        Be careful before installing it; read everything and the recommendations well.
        First, make a backup of the Calibre DB somewhere (USB stick or another disk, etc.) and then proceed with the installation. In any case, it's something you should do regularly, with or without plugins; the risk in case of issues is having to start everything over. In case of corruption, it won't erase the books, but you could lose the metadata, especially if you customize them.

        Let's be realistic; especially with Kobo, the risk of causing issues due to this plugin is very (very) low, as it has existed for years and is used by thousands of people. It's up to you to decide.

        Personally, I would first consider the hypothesis that it's not a bug but just a display order problem at export. If that's not the case, go ahead and use the plugin.
        and try syncing again.

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        1. jlchaps Author

          Or else I deleted the books from the e-reader, then I updated the metadata of the series of 11 books by David Gemmell, then I installed the Kobo utility plugin and finally I reconnected the e-reader and performed the transfer, and now everything seems fine.

          Is it because I cleaned up and reset the metadata or because I installed the plugin?

          I saw in the settings of the e-reader in Calibre that the series names were normally taken into account by the e-reader only after processing on it. Is there a refresh time?

          In the end, I don't know, but in any case, everything is fine now.

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          1. madmyke Moderator

            I think it's the plugin, but we should have tested step by step to find out.
            No specific deadline for the series.
            Glad I could help.

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        2. jlchaps Author

          Just a question... does the plugin change anything on the Calibre side or on the Kobo side?

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          1. madmyke Moderator

            In fact, both.
            It operates at the level of Calibre and the e-reader. Like a "translator" that's better suited than Calibre alone.
            It also adds some features, like field customizations, % of reading, annotations...
            Made by a volunteer like all the plugins and therefore free, it's already great.
            Calibre also remains free and has been evolving for all these years, while considering its success, it could have thought of something else.

            Besides, it's not forbidden to "give" to the author (and his team), it always makes them happy.

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        3. jlchaps Author

          I have already donated to free software authors that I often use. I will also consider making a donation for Calibre.

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          1. madmyke Moderator

            I'll do it too :-) No obligation of course.

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