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Thumbnails in windows explorer

Submitted by JoeClark » Sat 11-Nov-2017, 01:09

Subject Area: Methodologies General

18 member ratings

I have a collection of ePub books that are stored on a Linux formatted NAS and accessed through various Windows PCs. I also have an Android tablet on which I do most of my reading.
I recently added CBXShell / ShellExtension / FileMeta to my PC and now see thumbnails rather than ePub icons for all my books which I love. The problem is that most (75%) ePubs don’t have the cover as the first page of the book, and thus the title page is displayed as the thumbnail and not the cover. This is frustrating because on the Android tablet the books correctly display the cover as the thumbnail.
So it appears that the .epub does not miss the cover metadata, but rather just needs to have the cover page added as a front page.
I have tried Calibre (edit metadata) and two of Calibre’s plugins (Modify ePub and Generate Cover) and neither does this correctly. It does add the cover in Calibre’s library, but that is NOT what I am interested in, I want it displayed in Windows explorer.
Is there a simple way that I can accomplish this? It just appear that this should not be that hard.


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25 Reviews 

Member Reviews

RE: Thumbnails in windows explorer

Android PPSSPP GOLD

By anonymous » Wed 03-Jan-2024, 01:30, My rating: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✩

It seems like you've encountered an interesting challenge with displaying ePub thumbnails in Windows Explorer, particularly when the cover page is not the first page of the book. Your exploration of using CBXShell, ShellExtension, and FileMeta to enable thumbnails is commendable.

Regarding your question about adding cover pages to ePubs for proper thumbnail display, it's unfortunate that Calibre and its plugins haven't provided the solution you're looking for in Windows Explorer. While Calibre is a powerful tool for managing eBook metadata, it seems there might be a gap in addressing thumbnail display specifically within Windows Explorer.

One potential workaround could involve manually editing the ePub files to rearrange the order of pages, ensuring that the cover page becomes the first page. However, this might be a tedious process, and it's crucial to be cautious when directly modifying eBook files.

Additionally, consider checking if there are alternative third-party tools or plugins specifically designed for enhancing ePub thumbnail display in Windows Explorer.

On a different note, the mention of "PPSSPP Gold" is a bit unclear in the context of your ePub thumbnail issue. If you could provide more details or clarification, I'd be happy to assist further.

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