[support] MagRack - Magazine Viewer


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Application: MagRack

Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/magmpzero/magrack/

GitHub: https://github.com/magmpzero/docker-templates

 

ScreenShot:

 

Overview:

I wanted to create a lightweight and simple application to ease the pain of reading magazines that I have downloaded.  For that reason, MagRack was born. I normally browse my network share and then download the pdf I want to read. This is a total PITA. I decided to start work on a magazine application that will make it easier for me to read the ones I want.

 

What it does:  Scans a directory of your magazines and creates a wall of preview images.  You can then click on the cover image and the magazine will open in the default PDF viewer for your device.  The magazines are sorted based on newest first.

 

What it doesn't do: It doesn't download anything.  This is simply a tool to make reading your magazines less of a pain.  I assume you already have automation set up for downloading magazines via RSS.

 

How it works: When the WebUI is hit, it scans all of your magazines and creates a preview image if one doesn't exist.  It then sorts based on modified and creates a display wall.  For this reason, the first time you load the page, it can take a few minutes depending on the number of magazines you have.

 

How to use it:

mount your magazine directory at /mags.  MagRack expects to have a subfolder for each magazine.

When you hit the http://address:4567/mags it defaults to only show the latest 10 magazines.  If you want to show 100, for example, you would use http://address:4567/mags/100

 

Anyway, I put this little program together overnight and I really enjoy using it so far.  Thought I would containerize it and offer it up for others to use. 

 

 

 

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This is a very simple but great idea. well done.

 

just downloaded and installed, only comment is the port address is completed on the container side not on the host on the template.

 

Only tested it with one pdf so far but works well. If you ever felt the need to build on it, automated downloading would be the next thing.

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This is a very simple but great idea. well done.

 

just downloaded and installed, only comment is the port address is completed on the container side not on the host on the template.

 

Only tested it with one pdf so far but works well. If you ever felt the need to build on it, automated downloading would be the next thing.

 

Thanks for alerting me about the port.  I just fixed it and pushed a new version up.

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Nice. Will have to try this out. Any chance to have the use subfolders for each magazine and the first page just shows the latest magazine and if you click that, you will see all the issues you have for that magazine?

 

Are you suggesting you have a figured out a way to automate placing magazine issue into a title folder?  If so, I would love to know how you do this.  The real problem with magazines there isn't a naming standard that I have been able to figure out.

 

But yeah, I could certainly add that as a feature.

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Just an update on the automation.  I think I have figured out a way to do it but it's going to be a lot of work.  It will probably take me 2-3 months to have a system that is ready to be used for others.  I will keep updating with progress as I am working on it if people care.

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This is actually VERY cool! Thank you for creating this.

Please let me know if you need any help testing or with suggestions.

 

Thanks for the kind words.  This is kind of a UnRaid exclusive app right now as I haven't made it available anywhere else.  It's pretty basic but has surely made my life easier for reading magazines.  I suppose it will work with any PDF including tech books.

 

If you have any ideas for improvements, please let me know.  I am thinking about automation but not sure if the market is large enough to justify the time it would require to implement.

 

The one thing I would love to figure out is how to reduce duplicates on my automated RSS downloads.  I generally get two versions of some issues by mistake, one TuePDF and one not.  Not sure how to filter those out.

 

 

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  • 5 months later...

Just started looking into magazine downloads viz NZB, this is a nice little docker :)

 

Nice. Will have to try this out. Any chance to have the use subfolders for each magazine and the first page just shows the latest magazine and if you click that, you will see all the issues you have for that magazine?

 

Are you suggesting you have a figured out a way to automate placing magazine issue into a title folder?  If so, I would love to know how you do this.  The real problem with magazines there isn't a naming standard that I have been able to figure out.

 

But yeah, I could certainly add that as a feature.

 

The way I currently do it is to have a separate RSS feed for every magazine and have each one moved to the relevant title folder. Would be nice if your software could show the top level.

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  • 6 months later...

I have been using Linuxserver.io docker of LazyLibrarian to automate download and postprocessing of magazines.  Once I got the folder options set up right it works great. If you need more info on how I set this up, let me know.  I wouldn't waste any time duplicating the automation already in LazyLibrarian.  The viewing part was what I was having trouble with.  I couldn't get Calibre configured to work really well with magazines.  I love Calibre for books but not magazines.  So far in my testing, Magrack has been awesome for magazines.  It makes viewing them so easy.

 

 My main suggestion is change it so it shows each cover accurately.  Right now if I have 3 issues of a magazine, they all get the same cover, and its not necessarily the newest one.  Also a way to sort them would be nice. (Name, Issue Date, Date Added)  If not that, then do what mgworek said and only show the newest cover for a magazine and then once you select it, it shows each issue for that specific magazine.  

 

Thanks for the work you are putting into it!

 

Edit:  Just noticed this is almost a year old but hoping development is still happening

Edited by boyer411
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  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎15‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 7:41 PM, boyer411 said:

 My main suggestion is change it so it shows each cover accurately.  Right now if I have 3 issues of a magazine, they all get the same cover, and its not necessarily the newest one.  Also a way to sort them would be nice. (Name, Issue Date, Date Added)  If not that, then do what mgworek said and only show the newest cover for a magazine and then once you select it, it shows each issue for that specific magazine.  

I think this is because you have a sub-folder with a magazine title and then sub-sub-folders with each issue. If you have a sub-folder per magazine issue then it will display the cover for each one correctly.

 

i.e. /magazines/customPC/issue1 - displays 1 cover for all versions

/magazines/customPC-issue1 - displays correct cover

 

EDIT: i'm not sure if this is the authors intent for the folders organisation, just how I have noticed it will work in order to display the correct images.

Edited by Ashe
correction
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Hmmm.  Inside my magazine folder I have a folder for each actual magazine title.  No sub folders for each issue.  I see a cover for each magazine title but not a new cover for each monthly issue. 

 

my folder structure is:

/magazines/Wired/aprilissue.pdf

/magazines/Wired/mayissue.pdf

 

see attached...

mags2.png

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On 3/15/2017 at 8:41 AM, boyer411 said:

I have been using Linuxserver.io docker of LazyLibrarian to automate download and postprocessing of magazines.  Once I got the folder options set up right it works great. If you need more info on how I set this up, let me know.  I wouldn't waste any time duplicating the automation already in LazyLibrarian.  The viewing part was what I was having trouble with.  I couldn't get Calibre configured to work really well with magazines.  I love Calibre for books but not magazines.  So far in my testing, Magrack has been awesome for magazines.  It makes viewing them so easy.

 

 My main suggestion is change it so it shows each cover accurately.  Right now if I have 3 issues of a magazine, they all get the same cover, and its not necessarily the newest one.  Also a way to sort them would be nice. (Name, Issue Date, Date Added)  If not that, then do what mgworek said and only show the newest cover for a magazine and then once you select it, it shows each issue for that specific magazine.  

 

Thanks for the work you are putting into it!

 

Edit:  Just noticed this is almost a year old but hoping development is still happening

Might I inquire as to how you use Calibre, e.g. via the desktop application or the docker'd server setup? Been using the former, been thinking of trying the latter to get the library off my main PC.

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I use Aptalca's RDP-Calibre Docker.  It works pretty well and I was able to transition my desktop calibre library over to the docker install without too much difficulty.  Because you are accessing through a RDP connection, its not quite as responsive as the desktop app.  For the most part, I only access it to update metadata or convert to other ebook formats.  Otherwise, i use the built in calibre web server to add books directly to my kindle.

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So I figured out what I needed to do to get each issue to display properly.  Each issue needs its own folder under the Magazine top folder.  That's the only way to get the program to autocreate a thumbnail for each issue.  So for me it looks like.

 

/magazines/Wired_2017-04/2017-04 - Wired.pdf

/magazines/Wired_2017-03/2017-04 - Wired.pdf

 

The biggest downside is that it will end up being a huge number of folders with no real folder structure.  but the thumbnails all show up properly so i'm happy.  I was also able to change Lazy Librarian to auto create my folders this way.

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So I figured out what I needed to do to get each issue to display properly.  Each issue needs its own folder under the Magazine top folder.  That's the only way to get the program to autocreate a thumbnail for each issue.  So for me it looks like.
 

/magazines/Wired_2017-04/2017-04 - Wired.pdf

/magazines/Wired_2017-03/2017-04 - Wired.pdf

 

The biggest downside is that it will end up being a huge number of folders with no real folder structure.  but the thumbnails all show up properly so i'm happy.  I was also able to change Lazy Librarian to auto create my folders this way.



Yes that's it. Works great then but a bit annoying for folder organisation !
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  • 2 months later...
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  • 3 months later...

Hi all:

 

Sorry for not paying attention to this thread.  I really had no idea people were actually using magrack.  Looking over the comments I will get an update out in the next week or two to address the folder structuring and then take a stab at adding stack support where magazines are grouped by name.  The image display bug is because of how I create the preview image.  I name it preview.jpg when it should be the name of the mag.

 

That being said, my weakness is UI design and development for the frontend code.  If anyone could help out with this aspect, please let me know and I can explain how the app works and point you to the git repo.

 

 

Edited by magmpzero
update asking for UI help
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