Steven Jackson
@orsolabs Hi. I've updated to the latest version of AudioBo, but I'm still having trouble overwriting the "Description" field in some files. I just can't seem to delete the blurb already present in the files...
Apr 11 at 8:25pmIvory for Mac
Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 11

@StevenJackson Hm… would you mind sending me the book so I can take a look on my end?

If you click Help > Get support, you’ll see my email.

Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 11
@StevenJackson No worries, I was able to replicate this.
Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 11

@StevenJackson OK, I found the bug, and it actually affects all fields. If a field has any information, it’s impossible to delete it, only replace it 😱

I already fixed it and will push the update in a few hours. It can take a few days for Apple to review it. So, unfortunately, we have to wait. Sorry for that.

Show threadSteven JacksonApr 12
@orsolabs Maybe that’s it, but I’m not trying to delete info, I’m trying to replace it with something else. I’m going for consistency and filling the description field with the book title. For files that already have something in the description field, the changes do not stick. I’m doing something similar with other fields and they work fine — there seems to be a problem that particularly affects the description field…
Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 12

@StevenJackson Thanks for clearing that up, the fix I pushed should cover this case as well.

The problem was that the Description field for some of your books was being saved in a different internal field (“atom”) (`ldes/synopsis`) than the one that was getting overwritten (`desc`).

The update now writes to both at the same time, so replacing the description should work correctly.

Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 14
@StevenJackson hi Steven! AudioBo 1.2.6 is live in the App Store. You can update and try the Description field. Please let me know if it’s working now.
Show threadSteven JacksonApr 14
@orsolabs Still not working, I'm afraid. It's only with some books and only the Description field. I have three so far - I cmd-A to select all the text, delete it, replace it with the book title, "Save and close" the metadata window, then cmd-U to update the file. Changes don't stick and the original Description remains...
Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 14

@StevenJackson Hm... I did a bunch of different tests, and it works on my side.

Would you mind sharing the exact book with me? I’ll take a look and see why updating is acting up.

Show threadSteven JacksonApr 14
@orsolabs Happy to share one of the books affected, but how do you want me to send it? I imagine it’s too big for email…
Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 14

@StevenJackson iCloud Drive? Dropbox? Google Drive? Anything will work.

https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/mm708256356b/icloud

Share files and folders in iCloud Drive on iCloud.com

In iCloud Drive on iCloud.com, share files and folders with other people, view all your shared items, or stop sharing.

Apple Support
Show threadSteven JacksonApr 14

@orsolabs Okay. I’ll send you a link tomorrow (I’m not at my computer right now).

I have another question, though. What’s the best way to deal with books where the chapter timestamps “drift”? I have a few books for which I have used the “Fetch metadata” option. It’s more or less fine, but the chapters aren’t quite right further into the book. It’s only a matter of a few seconds, but chapter breaks aren’t quite in the right place…

Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 14

@StevenJackson That kind of “drift” usually means your local file isn’t the exact same edition/encode as the one the chapters were fetched for.

If it’s just a few books, the quickest workaround is manual:
1. export chapters to a .txt (⌘⇧E)
2. adjust the timestamps
3. drag the .txt back onto the book to re-import

More details here: https://orsolabs.dev/blog/how-to-use-youtube-timestamps-chapters

AudioBo: Add Chapters to Audiobooks From a Timestamp File | OrsoLabs

Got a long audiobook with no chapters? Drop a text file with timestamps next to it — AudioBo does the rest.

Show threadVlad GorohovskyApr 14

@StevenJackson But if you’ve got a lot of books, doing that by hand is a pain. That’s why I’m also working on a feature that lets you nudge chapter boundaries visually on the waveform, so you won’t have to edit timestamps in a text file.

That’s the next big thing I’m building — but realistically it won’t be ready for at least ~2 months.

Show threadSteven JacksonApr 14
@orsolabs That sounds amazing!
Show threadSteven JacksonApr 15
@orsolabs Hi. I've emailed you a link to a Google Drive file with three audiobooks with the stuck description field...