Customised Sorting not reflected on Books on iPhone

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Level 1

6 points

Customised Sorting not reflected on Books on iPhone

I have a collection of eBooks and PDF files that I manage using the software "Calibre", where I have added metadata, including "sort title" and "sort author" fields.

My problem is that when I add these files to my iPhone library, the Books app appears to ignore the "sort title" and "sort author" fields and uses the standard "title" and "author" fields for sorting instead. As a result, books are sorted under the wrong letter in the library, making it extremely inconvenient to navigate and find specific authors' works.

For instance, when I add a pdf with author="J. R. R. Tolkien" and sortauthor="Tolkien, J. R. R." in the metadata, it gets sorted under the letter "J", while other eBooks and audiobooks from the same author which I added long ago with iTunes for Windows are sorted correctly under "T".

Since the Windows iTunes app no longer allows editing of books, I am unsure of the correct metadata fields that I should use to ensure proper sorting of my eBooks and PDFs in the Books app on my iPhone.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 13

Posted on Aug 4, 2023 1:54 AM

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Answer 1

flipptis Author

Level 1

6 points

Aug 4, 2023 2:26 AM in response to flipptis

Update: I checked the metadata in an M4B audiobook that is sorted correctly in Books, and it uses the fields ALBUMSORT and ARTISTSORT.

I added these metadata to a PDF, and in case it is case-sensitive I added the same value (Tolkien, J. R. R.) to the following fields: ARTISTSORT, AUTHORSORT, artistsort, authorsort, ArtistSort, AuthorSort.

The Books app still sorts the PDF under the letter "J".

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Answer 2

Mar 1, 2024 10:06 PM in response to flipptis

There are some seriously annoying problems with the iTunes MediaLibrary database files on these devices lately. My Apple Books app isn't even using the wrong sort field, or title field, it's just ordering them randomly when set to sort by title or author.

My audiobooks parts are in the correct sequence, but random cover art is assigned to the title icon from the parts, instead of using the cover art front the FIRST part. It just chooses whatever it wants, which tends to be the second or third part for whatever reason.

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Answer 3

Mar 1, 2024 10:39 PM in response to descendant_7

There are some seriously annoying problems with the iTunes MediaLibrary SQL database files on these devices lately. My Apple Books app isn't even using the wrong sort field, or title field, it's just ordering them randomly when set to sort by title or author.

My audiobooks parts are in the correct sequence, but random cover art is assigned to the title icon from the parts, instead of using the cover art front the FIRST part. It just chooses whatever it wants, which tends to be the second or third part for whatever reason.

No matter how many times I delete the files, resync them, remove them from iTunes altogether, and re-add them, the iPad WILL NOT sort the titles properly, or the artwork. The fields are all correct, it is the iTunes DATABASE that does not UPDATE PROPERLY.

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Answer 4

flipptis Author

Level 1

6 points

Aug 4, 2023 2:44 AM in response to flipptis

As for ePUBs I might edit the `iTunesMetadata.plist` and/or the `content.opf` files in a text editor, but I’m not sure which fields should I add to get them sorted correctly.

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Customised Sorting not reflected on Books on iPhone

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