What do you use Calibre For?

[miguel1626]

I use Calibre to convert books between different formats (usually HTML => Mobi/ePub) and sending the resulting files to my Kindle and/or iTunes. Oh, and I also to strip the DRM from my purchased Kindle books.

I've no use for the library management part of it, since I just dump all my books into a huge folder (just sorting stuff by author and name is enough for me).

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by toddos

Edit: Maybe I'm just weird, but this exact reason is why I prefer ebook readers like Stanza (RIP) and Freda over Kindle and iBooks, because the former let me set my own colors based on RGB values and tweak pretty much every layout option imaginable and the latter let me pick anything I like as long as it's black-on-white, brown-on-sepia, or gray-on-black.

That was one of the reasons I was a fan of FBReader when I was reading on a netbook. You could tweak everything as minutely as you liked, but it was accomplished using detailed settings menus in tabs. These days, though, I read almost strictly in white-on-black "night mode."

[nookkatz]

Originally Posted by morriss003

I back up my ebooks, but I never thought about putting them in Dropbox. That is a great idea.

I think that's one of the best things about Calibre. Since I linked my Calibre library to Dropbox, I no longer have to sync my Nooks to my computer via the USB cable to get my non-B&N books onto the Nooks. Ditto for my iPad and iPod Touch. Whatever I want to read is available on whichever device I want to use, and the books are organized and easy to find.

[VaporPunk]

Converting + stripping DRM. Thats pretty much it.

[Rumpelteazer]

As others, I use Calibre for managing my ebook collection.

* Stripping DRM
* Changing and adding metadata (tags, series, description, etc)
* Keeping track of which books I've read
* Adding page count with plug-in
* Keeping lists (ongoing series, TBR stand alone and series waiting list) with plug-in
* Loading books on my Kindle (either by emailing or USB)
* Adding page numbering by converting from mobi to mobi
* Converting to different formats

I don't keep my collection in my Dropbox because I only use Calibre on my notebook when I'm away from home for longer periods of time. Luckily it's very easy to switch between my PC and notebook I just delete the not up to date collection and copy the most recent one to where I need it.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by toddos

Personally I don't like reading on a PC because the resolution (as in pixels per inch) is too low. But I use calibre's built-in reader all the time for validation when messing around with books (changing margins and such inside of books after ripping off DRM and verifying the changes I made look right, for example).

Yeah, the reason I mostly got the ereader is because my eyes get too tired from reading on a computer screen, even my netbook's really good one. (And I got this netbook because I prefer this screen to most desktop screens, especially older ones, ick).

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by applesauce

where do my books go does it make copies of them and place them where.

When you add a book to Calibre, it makes a copy in the library directory (you set the location of the library directory when you first install Calibre). It's not a good idea to mess with the files in the library directory - think of it as a database.

Originally Posted by applesauce

when it converts books where do the physical converted copies go and which version is then in my shown in my calibre.

The converted copy is stored in the library directory along with the original. Both are accessible in the user interface.

Originally Posted by applesauce

how do I clean out the books from my ebook folder without moving the ones calibre has created when I have no idea which ones they are.

I'm not sure what you mean. If by "my ebook folder" you mean the folder where you had books that you added to Calibre, you can delete them all. Calibre makes it's own copy.

Originally Posted by applesauce

can I just put all my books into calibre then select convert all to mobi and be able to find all the mobi files including the ones it didnt need to convert or do I have to pick my way though.

Add your books to Calibre.
In the tag browser on the left, open Formats and click on MOBI twice. It should have a red minus sign.
At this point, the books displayed in the list are all the books that do not have a MOBI format.
Use CTRL-A to select them all, then click the Convert Books button to convert them.

Originally Posted by applesauce

how do I select a mass of books IN ORDER for a series to add and have them actually go to calibre in order so I dont have to renumber ever damn one as they all get jumbled.

I'm fairly sure there are ways to configure the import so that it gets things like series from the file name, but I'm not sure how to do it. This appears to be the relevant section of the manual

Originally Posted by applesauce

how do I add books to an android tablet not on the list
how do I add books to an ereader not on the list

Click Connect/Share, then Connect to Folder. According to the manual:

Connect to folder: Allows you to connect to any folder on your computer as though it were a device and use all the facilities calibre has for devices with that folder. Useful if your device cannot be supported by calibre but is available as a USB disk.

Also see How can I help get my device supported in calibre? in the FAQ.

[paulsalter]

all my books get added into calibre (kobo/kindle just for backup), for pbooks/library I use the add via ISBN to place a dummy record into the database with the book info

i then edit the metadata to my liking and use the goodreads sync to add new books to my to-read bookshelf on goodreads

non kobo/kindle books i use the calibre server to add them straight into aldiko

i then deal with my books in goodreads, mark as reading/finished, then use the goodreads sync in calibre to move the date read info calibre

if I am without data access on my laptop i can see in calibre what has been read and easily search for things, if I have data i normally search for things on goodreads

[kovidgoyal]

@toddos: FYI: newer releases of calibre have a full screen mode for the ebook viewer that hides all chrome (except the scrollbar). F11 to see it in action.

[toddos]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

@toddos: FYI: newer releases of calibre have a full screen mode for the ebook viewer that hides all chrome (except the scrollbar). F11 to see it in action.

I think I knew that from reading release notes, but I don't ever use the viewer that way so I forgot all about it (currently running 0.8.49 and upgrade every 2-3 weeks or sooner if I need a feature or bug fix from the new release)

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

@toddos: FYI: newer releases of calibre have a full screen mode for the ebook viewer that hides all chrome (except the scrollbar). F11 to see it in action.

So it is! Thank you Kovid! That makes my book reading experience far more pleasant when using my netbook!

[BonnieSands]

I used Calibre for the first time to import/convert .MOBI files to epub for my Mom's Kobo Vox. I noted that the cover pages of the imported books in her Library have little grey triangles in the bottom right of the cover page. Is there a way I can remove this?

[HarryT]

Please don't "hijack" someone else's thread to ask an unrelated question. If you have a Calibre question, please start a new thread for it in the Calibre forum.

Thanks.

[covingtoncat73]

*I use it to convert
*I use it to put "covers" on my Gutenberg book.
*Keep my eBooks organized

Great software. Thanks, Kovid!

[simplyparticular]

I have a bit of a love/hate for Calibre, too. I happily used it non-stop back in the 0.7 days, and then somewhere in the 0.8.20s (I think), it started freezing EVERY time I import a new book, and occasionally it freezes my computer for a minute or two. I have a MBP 2.53 running the latest Lion updates, and other program like Photoshop don't freeze, so I don't think it's my compter.

After updates and a few support threads didn't help, I deleted all my 3,000+ freebies, thinking maybe the database had gotten too large, but that hasn't fixed it. I exported my purchased books, wiped the database, and imported in small groups successfully, and then freezing started again as soon as I was done. The assumption is that I have a corrupt book or database, but I don't have time to troubleshoot it more thoroughly, so I've minimized my usage to only when I purchase an eBook.

Here are the functions that I still use Calibre for:
a. import purchased eBooks after download and external DRM removal
b. tag and export children's books (drag export to iTunes) and delete
c. add covers, series, genre, marketing desciption
d. custom fields for Source, Cost, Read
e. convert the rare Amazon purchase to ePub
f. load ePubs to Sony T1

Things I no longer use Calibre for:
- tracking read books (switched to GoodReads)
- tracking stars/ratings/reviews (switched to GoodReads)
- sideloading library books (T1 connects wirelessly)
- DRM removal plugins (I now have a workflow for doing it externally).
- hosting eBooks for WiFi download via the Server feature (I just download DRM purchases directly to my T1, and keep the DRM free copy in Calibre as backup)
- iTunes loading - this runs REALLY slow for me - it's faster to export and drag and drop than to use the Connect to iTunes feature.

I've contemplated switching to Adobe Digital Editions, but I do like the ability to add covers and series info in Calibre.

For freebies, I still grab the ones that might interest me, but I let B&N/Kobo/Amazon host them and (attempt to) read them on my iPad or iPhone app. My tolerance for crap has faded to almost nothing, so 90% of them get deleted entirely after about 30 pages.