unsure on where to post this but anyways...
i noticed that the story status option was added to fanfiction downloader, so i added a new column in calibre called storyprogress, but when i add the stories the status doesn't show (only shows in the actual downloaded file). is there something specific i should put to get it to automatically show up in calibre's column?
How to add story progress column in calibre?
How to add story progress column in calibre?
Writer of Fullmetal Alchemist, Digimon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Tru Calling Fanfiction. Reader of Ninja Turtles and zombie fanfics.
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Chrystalline
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Re: How to add story progress column in calibre?
I know you posted this forever ago, but I just saw it this weekend, and took a stab at trying to figure it out. I kind of owe you thanks, since it's because I was trying to figure out your problem that I discovered this solution to my own trouble with calibre.
When I add a file from FFDL to calibre, all I can get calibre to recognize is the author (which it lists both as Author and as Series) and the title (in which it includes the author as well, giving me Author: Title in the Title field of each fanfic I enter). Have you gotten different results? I'm curious to know if you found a better workaround than I have. I prefer HTML, and calibre likes to convert those to HTMLZ and mess things up for me, but I have found a way that works for me.
There's a plugin for calibre that used to have the same name as our lovely FFDL here, but it is now named FanFicFare (https://github.com/JimmXinu/FanFicFare/wiki/FAQs - it and all the other plugins I added this weekend can be installed directly in calibre > Preferences > Advanced > Plugins > Get new plugins). I installed that and EpubMerge (and EpubSplit and a few other things, but I think only EpubMerge is used for FanFicFare) and I think it deactivated the zip conversion on the HTMLs for me, which I appreciate a lot (suddenly calibre was no longer "that huge program I only need to make FFDL function" and was now "kind of a neat ebook sorting/filing program" - though I also had to edit the settings to tell it not to use the viewer for HTML files, because Firefox opens lots faster and scrolls much smoother).
Here's where it's interesting: when you use Custom Columns, you can go into FanFicFare's settings and set what data it filters into which column. It also does downloading, and it has a lot of sites, but I hate the formatting - FFDL gives me one smooth file, but FFF gives me huge hyperlink titles and hyperlink chapter lists. Some may prefer it, but I find it jolting, like opening a nice old book to find a half-page fluorescent orange sale sticker at the start of chapter one.
So, I found a way to use both. (It would be neat if the two projects could collaborate to work better together, but I don't want them to merge - I like having choices; if one opts not to support a site/author I want, maybe the other will allow it.) I use FFDL to download the files, because I prefer it, but once I put them in calibre, I edit the metadata IDs field to read
Obviously, https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2748700/1/ (sorry, couldn't resist - needed an example and figured I might as well use mine) is replaced by whatever the story's actual hyperlink is (which FFDL conveniently lists at the beginning of the file), but it's important to have URL: at the beginning. That tells FanFicFare where to get the metadata. Then, in the FFF drop-down menu, I select Update Existing FanFiction Books and click Show Download Options. Change the Update Mode to Update Calibre Metadata from Web Site. If you've set your Custom Columns correctly, it's like magic, filling in all kinds of useful metadata and leaving your precious FFDL file intact. You can even create a Custom Column for whatever leftover metadata doesn't fit your current sorting scheme so that if/when you decide to add a column for that element, you can Update Calibre Metadata from Saved Metadata Column instead of hitting the fic server for however many MB of info.
Of course it's annoying to have to manually paste the URL into the metadata, but I haven't (yet) had success in getting FFF to find/recognize the URL in the file (maybe because I'm using HTML and it expects epub?), and it's much better to edit one field of metadata per file than to have to manually edit everything.
When I add a file from FFDL to calibre, all I can get calibre to recognize is the author (which it lists both as Author and as Series) and the title (in which it includes the author as well, giving me Author: Title in the Title field of each fanfic I enter). Have you gotten different results? I'm curious to know if you found a better workaround than I have. I prefer HTML, and calibre likes to convert those to HTMLZ and mess things up for me, but I have found a way that works for me.
There's a plugin for calibre that used to have the same name as our lovely FFDL here, but it is now named FanFicFare (https://github.com/JimmXinu/FanFicFare/wiki/FAQs - it and all the other plugins I added this weekend can be installed directly in calibre > Preferences > Advanced > Plugins > Get new plugins). I installed that and EpubMerge (and EpubSplit and a few other things, but I think only EpubMerge is used for FanFicFare) and I think it deactivated the zip conversion on the HTMLs for me, which I appreciate a lot (suddenly calibre was no longer "that huge program I only need to make FFDL function" and was now "kind of a neat ebook sorting/filing program" - though I also had to edit the settings to tell it not to use the viewer for HTML files, because Firefox opens lots faster and scrolls much smoother).
Here's where it's interesting: when you use Custom Columns, you can go into FanFicFare's settings and set what data it filters into which column. It also does downloading, and it has a lot of sites, but I hate the formatting - FFDL gives me one smooth file, but FFF gives me huge hyperlink titles and hyperlink chapter lists. Some may prefer it, but I find it jolting, like opening a nice old book to find a half-page fluorescent orange sale sticker at the start of chapter one.
So, I found a way to use both. (It would be neat if the two projects could collaborate to work better together, but I don't want them to merge - I like having choices; if one opts not to support a site/author I want, maybe the other will allow it.) I use FFDL to download the files, because I prefer it, but once I put them in calibre, I edit the metadata IDs field to read
Code: Select all
URL:https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2748700/1/Of course it's annoying to have to manually paste the URL into the metadata, but I haven't (yet) had success in getting FFF to find/recognize the URL in the file (maybe because I'm using HTML and it expects epub?), and it's much better to edit one field of metadata per file than to have to manually edit everything.