Several changes:

1) Remove the ability to open book-details link windows using a query. It was never documented and ui.py didn't support it.

2) Simplify management of book details windows. There can now only be three windows, all non-modal on top of calibre, all with calibre as the parent. Each window has a "purpose". The first is the normal book details slave window, the second is a locked book details window, and the third is a book-details link window.

3) Add more menu actions to Show Book Details: open a locked window and close all book details windows. Use this menu where the menuless qaction was previously used.

src/calibre/gui2/actions/show_book_details.py

@@ -8,69 +8,88 @@ __docformat__ = 'restructuredtext en'
 from qt.core import Qt, sip
 
 from calibre.gui2.actions import InterfaceAction
-from calibre.gui2.dialogs.book_info import BookInfo
+from calibre.gui2.dialogs.book_info import BookInfo, DialogNumbers
 from calibre.gui2 import error_dialog
 
 
 class ShowBookDetailsAction(InterfaceAction):
 
     name = 'Show Book Details'
-    action_spec = (_('Show Book details'), 'dialog_information.png',
+    action_spec = (_('Book details'), 'dialog_information.png',
                    _('Show the detailed metadata for the current book in a separate window'), _('I'))
+    action_shortcut_name = _('Show Book details in a separate window')
     dont_add_to = frozenset(('context-menu-device',))
     action_type = 'current'
+    action_add_menu = True
+    action_menu_clone_qaction = _('Show Book details in a separate window')
 
     def genesis(self):
+        self.dialogs = [None, None, None]
+        m = self.qaction.menu()
+        self.show_info_locked = l = self.create_menu_action(m,
+            'show_locked_details', _('Show Book details in a separate locked window'),
+            icon='drm-locked.png', shortcut=None)
+        l.triggered.connect(self.open_locked_window)
+        l = self.create_menu_action(m,
+            'close_all_details', _('Close all book details windows'), icon='close.png', shortcut=None)
+        l.triggered.connect(self.close_all_windows)
         self.qaction.triggered.connect(self.show_book_info)
-        self.dialogs = [None, ]
 
     def show_book_info(self, *args, **kwargs):
         library_path = kwargs.get('library_path', None)
         book_id = kwargs.get('book_id', None)
         library_id = kwargs.get('library_id', None)
-        query = kwargs.get('query', None)
+        locked = kwargs.get('locked', False)
         index = self.gui.library_view.currentIndex()
         if self.gui.current_view() is not self.gui.library_view and not library_path:
             error_dialog(self.gui, _('No detailed info available'),
                 _('No detailed information is available for books '
                   'on the device.')).exec()
             return
-        if library_path or index.isValid():
+        if library_path:
-            # Window #0 is slaved to changes in the book list. As such
+            dn = DialogNumbers.DetailsLink
-            # it must not be used for details from other libraries.
+        else:
-            for dn,v in enumerate(self.dialogs):
+            if not index.isValid():
-                if dn == 0 and library_path:
-                    continue
-                if v is None:
-                    break
-            else:
-                self.dialogs.append(None)
-                dn += 1
-
-            try:
-                d = BookInfo(self.gui, self.gui.library_view, index,
-                        self.gui.book_details.handle_click, dialog_number=dn,
-                        library_id=library_id, library_path=library_path, book_id=book_id, query=query)
-            except ValueError as e:
-                error_dialog(self.gui, _('Book not found'), str(e)).exec()
                 return
+            dn = DialogNumbers.Locked if locked else DialogNumbers.Slaved
+        if self.dialogs[dn] is not None:
+            if dn == DialogNumbers.Slaved:
+                # This is the slaved window. It will update automatically
+                return
+            else:
+                # Replace the other windows. There is a signals race condition
+                # between closing the existing window and opening the new one,
+                # so do all the work here
+                d = self.dialogs[dn]
+                d.closed.disconnect(self.closed)
+                d.done(0)
+                self.dialogs[dn] = None
+        try:
+            d = BookInfo(self.gui, self.gui.library_view, index,
+                    self.gui.book_details.handle_click, dialog_number=dn,
+                    library_id=library_id, library_path=library_path, book_id=book_id)
+        except ValueError as e:
+            error_dialog(self.gui, _('Book not found'), str(e)).exec()
+            return
 
-            d.open_cover_with.connect(self.gui.bd_open_cover_with, type=Qt.ConnectionType.QueuedConnection)
+        d.open_cover_with.connect(self.gui.bd_open_cover_with, type=Qt.ConnectionType.QueuedConnection)
-            self.dialogs[dn] = d
+        self.dialogs[dn] = d
-            d.closed.connect(self.closed, type=Qt.ConnectionType.QueuedConnection)
+        d.closed.connect(self.closed, type=Qt.ConnectionType.QueuedConnection)
-            d.show()
+        d.show()
+
+    def open_locked_window(self):
+        self.show_book_info(locked=True)
 
     def shutting_down(self):
-        for d in self.dialogs:
+        self.close_all_windows()
-            if d:
+
-                d.done(0)
+    def close_all_windows(self):
+        for dialog in [d for d in self.dialogs if d is not None]:
+            dialog.done(0)
 
     def library_about_to_change(self, *args):
-        for i,d in enumerate(self.dialogs):
+        for dialog in [d for d in self.dialogs[1:] if d is not None]:
-            if i == 0:
+            dialog.done(0)
-                continue
-            if d:
-                d.done(0)
 
     def closed(self, d):
         try:

src/calibre/gui2/book_details.py

@@ -541,8 +541,7 @@ def details_context_menu_event(view, ev, book_info, add_popup_action=False, edit
     menu.addSeparator()
     from calibre.gui2.ui import get_gui
     if add_popup_action:
-        ema = get_gui().iactions['Show Book Details'].menuless_qaction
+        menu.addMenu(get_gui().iactions['Show Book Details'].qaction.menu())
-        menu.addAction(_('Open the Book details window') + '\t' + ema.shortcut().toString(QKeySequence.SequenceFormat.NativeText), book_info.show_book_info)
     else:
         ema = get_gui().iactions['Edit Metadata'].menuless_qaction
         menu.addAction(_('Open the Edit metadata window') + '\t' + ema.shortcut().toString(QKeySequence.SequenceFormat.NativeText), edit_metadata)

src/calibre/gui2/dialogs/book_info.py

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # License: GPLv3 Copyright: 2008, Kovid Goyal <kovid at kovidgoyal.net>
 
 
+from enum import IntEnum
 import textwrap
 
 from qt.core import (
@@ -130,14 +131,20 @@ class Details(HTMLDisplay):
             details_context_menu_event(self, ev, self.book_info, edit_metadata=self.edit_metadata)
 
 
+class DialogNumbers(IntEnum):
+    Slaved = 0
+    Locked = 1
+    DetailsLink = 2
+
+
 class BookInfo(QDialog):
 
     closed = pyqtSignal(object)
     open_cover_with = pyqtSignal(object, object)
 
     def __init__(self, parent, view, row, link_delegate, dialog_number=None,
-                 library_id=None, library_path=None, book_id=None, query=None):
+                 library_id=None, library_path=None, book_id=None):
-        QDialog.__init__(self, None, flags=Qt.WindowType.Window)
+        QDialog.__init__(self, parent)
         self.dialog_number = dialog_number
         self.library_id = library_id
         self.marked = None
@@ -179,7 +186,7 @@ class BookInfo(QDialog):
         hl.setContentsMargins(0, 0, 0, 0)
         l2.addLayout(hl, l2.rowCount(), 0, 1, -1)
         hl.addWidget(self.fit_cover), hl.addStretch()
-        if self.dialog_number == 0:
+        if self.dialog_number == DialogNumbers.Slaved:
             self.previous_button = QPushButton(QIcon.ic('previous.png'), _('&Previous'), self)
             self.previous_button.clicked.connect(self.previous)
             l2.addWidget(self.previous_button, l2.rowCount(), 0)
@@ -201,11 +208,6 @@ class BookInfo(QDialog):
         if library_path is not None:
             self.view = None
             db = get_gui().library_broker.get_library(library_path)
-            if book_id is None:
-                ids = db.new_api.search(query)
-                if len(ids) == 0:
-                    raise ValueError(_('Query "{}" found no books').format(query))
-                book_id = sorted(ids)[0]
             if not db.new_api.has_id(book_id):
                 raise ValueError(_("Book {} doesn't exist").format(book_id))
             mi = db.new_api.get_metadata(book_id, get_cover=False)
@@ -219,7 +221,7 @@ class BookInfo(QDialog):
             self.refresh(row, mi)
         else:
             self.view = view
-            if dialog_number == 0:
+            if dialog_number == DialogNumbers.Slaved:
                 self.slave_connected = True
                 self.view.model().new_bookdisplay_data.connect(self.slave)
             self.refresh(row)
@@ -246,9 +248,9 @@ class BookInfo(QDialog):
             pass
 
     def geometry_string(self, txt):
-        if self.dialog_number is None or self.dialog_number == 0:
+        if self.dialog_number is None or self.dialog_number == DialogNumbers.Slaved:
             return txt
-        return txt + '_' + str(self.dialog_number)
+        return txt + '_' + str(int(self.dialog_number))
 
     def sizeHint(self):
         try:
@@ -379,7 +381,7 @@ class BookInfo(QDialog):
             # Indicates books was deleted from library, or row numbers have
             # changed
             return
-        if self.dialog_number == 0:
+        if self.dialog_number == DialogNumbers.Slaved:
             self.previous_button.setEnabled(False if row == 0 else True)
             self.next_button.setEnabled(False if row == self.view.model().rowCount(QModelIndex())-1 else True)
             self.setWindowTitle(mi.title + ' ' + _('(the current book)'))