Adobe Digital Editions Vs Reader for PC Vs Calibre

nowthenmobile · 02-02-2012, 09:45 PM

I bought a PRS-350 for my children and they have never been able to get the Reader Library software to work properly. So, I have finally decided to investigate; I ended up calling Sony to ask them what they suggested, owing to the fact that there are no new updates available. They told me that I ought to try either Adobe Digital Editions or their new software - Reader for PC. I have also read people suggesting Calibre. Which software do you recommend that I use? Should I only use one piece of software or can you use multiple applications to do different things, or does that foul up the syncing? I buy some books but I want to be able to borrow epubs from lending libraries. Also, it would be important to be able to view highlighting on the PC that has been made on the PRS-350. It would be nice if there were a way to view a compiled list of all the notes made in a book in one place. Finally, what would be really fantastic is if it were possible to copy and paste text. When my daughter is writing an English Literature essay, it is a right pain that she can't copy and paste quotations, even though it is completely understandable why they want to prevent people from copying the text of the entire book.
Thank you for your help.

ScalyFreak · 02-02-2012, 09:47 PM

Which OS are you on? Reader Library is kind of temperamental in 64-bit Windows 7.

nowthenmobile · 02-02-2012, 09:48 PM

Vista 32-bit

ScalyFreak · 02-02-2012, 09:59 PM

Have you tried simply running it in Compatibility Mode for XP and "as administrator"? Sometimes that's all it takes.

nowthenmobile · 02-02-2012, 10:11 PM

That's worth a try. I thought it was meant to be compatible with vista. However, if there is better software out there, then I wouldn't need to worry about that.
I'm off to bed - catch you later. Thanks

Bookworm_Girl · 02-03-2012, 01:21 AM

Hello, nowthenmobile! I remember you from last year when you were searching for an ereader. I am glad you finally found one that your family is satisfied with. I would probably recommend the old Sony software called Reader Library for use with a 350. Sony has two versions of their software. One is called Reader Library (version 3.3 is the latest) and the other is called Reader for PC. The new one (Reader for PC) is really buggy and that's why I don't recommend it. You can still download the old version (Reader Library) from the Sony website, and it works just fine with the 350. It will allow you to download library books as well as view highlights and notes for your daughter. Here is a link to the software on the US page, but it should work ok for the UK too. ADE will let you borrow library books, but it will not track your notes. Calibre is awesome for library management, but it can't help you with library books or notes either. Hope that helps!

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/mod...3#/downloadTab

nowthenmobile · 02-03-2012, 06:06 AM

Hi there Bookworm_Girl
Glad to hear from you. Yes, the PRS-350 was a great choice. It works brilliantly. The fact that you have had Reader Library working makes me think that perhaps I just need to start again and reinstall it. Having not taken much of an interest before now, I don't really know if it has worked better in the past.
So, what you are saying is that the notes (anotations) can only be viewed on Sony's desktop software.
I'm going to try afresh and see what happens.
Thanks

Bookworm_Girl · 02-03-2012, 02:58 PM

I really like my 350 too. It's a great device! I have a Mac and no experience with Windows Vista so that may be why it works ok for me. I have in the past had the software get corrupted and had to reinstall it to fix it so maybe that will make a difference for you. The Reader Library software allows you to see your notes in both a list view and in book/pages view and also export them to an RTF file. You can only export 100 characters at a time if your book has DRM so you have to highlight in small blocks. Or, sometimes I type in extra text to the exported RTF file. If the book does not have DRM, then you can highlight in blocks of 2000 characters which is several paragraphs and works ok for me.

The new Reader for PC has a smaller limit of 200 characters for non-DRM books which I think is ridiculous. It also doesn't allow you to easily click through your notes list. You have to look at one note and then go back to a menu to select the next note and so on. It is slower and less efficient than the old software. But, if you can't get the Reader Library to work then maybe the new software is worth a try.

There is another method to extract notes from the XML files on the 350 with a text editor. I'll do a search for the post with the instructions to see if I can find it for you.

I like calibre best for library management, but it can't help you extract notes. I've recently switched to calibre from the Sony software. I have hundreds of books that I need to keep organized in collections. When I want to extract notes then I export that particular book into the Sony software. So that's another option too.

Hope you and your family stay warm this weekend in the extreme winter weather you are having in the UK!

carpetmojo · 02-03-2012, 06:06 PM

Calibre wins hands down .............

nowthenmobile · 02-03-2012, 06:25 PM

Thank you Bookworm_Girl, you're too good to me.
I had a bit more of a look at Calibre. It looks good. Could I use that AND Sony software - keep them both synchronised? Would that work? I tried exporting to an RTF file - very useful.
Is your tongue in your cheek when you say "extreme weather". We don't really get very extreme on this little island. My daughter, who cycles to college, has just corrected me and said it feels extreme to her. We managed to dip down to -1degreesC today, so nothing terribly impressive, I'm afraid. Still, I don't really like to set challenges for my car battery,

nowthenmobile · 02-03-2012, 06:31 PM

carpetmojo
Do you only use Calibre and just not bother with anotations then? How do you use it?
Thanks

Bookworm_Girl · 02-03-2012, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

There is another method to extract notes from the XML files on the 350 with a text editor. I'll do a search for the post with the instructions to see if I can find it for you.

Connect your 350 by USB and in Windows Explorer you should see a file called cacheEXT.xml. Make a copy and paste it somewhere on your hard-drive. I usually paste files like these to my desktop. That way you won't accidentally make any changes to the real file on your 350. You can open this file with a text editor and it tracks your annotations. You will see for each book there is a tag called <markup> and </markup> where your annotations are stored in between these tags. I think it truncates them though. I can't recall.

Bookworm_Girl · 02-03-2012, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nowthenmobile

Thank you Bookworm_Girl, you're too good to me.
I had a bit more of a look at Calibre. It looks good. Could I use that AND Sony software - keep them both synchronised? Would that work? I tried exporting to an RTF file - very useful.
Is your tongue in your cheek when you say "extreme weather". We don't really get very extreme on this little island. My daughter, who cycles to college, has just corrected me and said it feels extreme to her. We managed to dip down to -1degreesC today, so nothing terribly impressive, I'm afraid. Still, I don't really like to set challenges for my car battery,

Here is a link to a thread which debates the merits of the new Sony software versus calibre. I only recently converted my library to calibre and in Post #96 I describe in quite some length about how I made the transition. calibre can be a bit intimidating to learn because it has so many features, but you don't have to take advantage of all of them. It can be what you want it to be.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=160853

Really you want to choose one program for synchronization. I picked calibre and set it to "automatic management of metadata" (a very technical way of saying synchronized). When I want to export my notes, then I open the Sony software. I don't have the Sony software setup to sync with my ereaders. I view just that book in the Sony software to export notes to an RTF.

But, I keep hundreds of books on my ereaders and I am really picky about organization in collections and having pretty cover images for the thumbnails. If you only keep a handful of books, then it might be easier to stick with the old Sony software. It can't hurt to try them both and see what you like best.

I was being 50% serious and 50% tongue-in-cheek about the weather. I work with Brits in southern England and all week I have been hearing about the very cold weather and possible snow this weekend. Earlier this week the Daily Mail had a headline that said it was colder than an Arctic sub-station (that's a bit doubtful!). It reminded me when I was in England this summer during a heat-wave and the headlines were all how it was hotter than Istanbul and other exotic locations. The Daily Mail had some entertaining photos today of frozen fountains & waterfalls and also chickens dressed in woolly jumpers to keep warm (they were quite cute but that made me laugh!).

nowthenmobile · 02-04-2012, 07:43 PM

OK, I like your plan for using Calibre and Sony software to export notes to RTF - the only problem with that is not being able to add notes on the desktop software. If it will work having both of them sync then one could add notes in the Sony Reader Library.

We have now had a couple of inches of snow - That will bring the south of England to its knees.

KenJackson · 02-05-2012, 08:57 AM

I've only bought a few books with DRM, for which I use the Sony software.

For everything else, I mount the Reader like a thumb drive and copy the EPUB files to it. When it starts up, it searches for new books and adds them to the list.

Calibre is good, but if I'm not converting something, it just seems like an unneeded extra step.

02-02-2012, 09:45 PM	#1
nowthenmobile Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 50 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Device: none	Adobe Digital Editions Vs Reader for PC Vs Calibre I bought a PRS-350 for my children and they have never been able to get the Reader Library software to work properly. So, I have finally decided to investigate; I ended up calling Sony to ask them what they suggested, owing to the fact that there are no new updates available. They told me that I ought to try either Adobe Digital Editions or their new software - Reader for PC. I have also read people suggesting Calibre. Which software do you recommend that I use? Should I only use one piece of software or can you use multiple applications to do different things, or does that foul up the syncing? I buy some books but I want to be able to borrow epubs from lending libraries. Also, it would be important to be able to view highlighting on the PC that has been made on the PRS-350. It would be nice if there were a way to view a compiled list of all the notes made in a book in one place. Finally, what would be really fantastic is if it were possible to copy and paste text. When my daughter is writing an English Literature essay, it is a right pain that she can't copy and paste quotations, even though it is completely understandable why they want to prevent people from copying the text of the entire book. Thank you for your help.

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02-02-2012, 09:47 PM	#2
ScalyFreak Sith Wannabe Posts: 2,034 Karma: 8017430 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: I'm not sure... it's kind of dark. Device: Galaxy Note 4, Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Fire HD, Aluratek Libre	Which OS are you on? Reader Library is kind of temperamental in 64-bit Windows 7.

02-02-2012, 09:48 PM	#3
nowthenmobile Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 50 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Device: none	Vista 32-bit

02-02-2012, 09:59 PM	#4
ScalyFreak Sith Wannabe Posts: 2,034 Karma: 8017430 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: I'm not sure... it's kind of dark. Device: Galaxy Note 4, Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Fire HD, Aluratek Libre	Have you tried simply running it in Compatibility Mode for XP and "as administrator"? Sometimes that's all it takes.

02-02-2012, 10:11 PM	#5
nowthenmobile Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 50 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Device: none	That's worth a try. I thought it was meant to be compatible with vista. However, if there is better software out there, then I wouldn't need to worry about that. I'm off to bed - catch you later. Thanks

02-03-2012, 01:21 AM	#6
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Hello, nowthenmobile! I remember you from last year when you were searching for an ereader. I am glad you finally found one that your family is satisfied with. I would probably recommend the old Sony software called Reader Library for use with a 350. Sony has two versions of their software. One is called Reader Library (version 3.3 is the latest) and the other is called Reader for PC. The new one (Reader for PC) is really buggy and that's why I don't recommend it. You can still download the old version (Reader Library) from the Sony website, and it works just fine with the 350. It will allow you to download library books as well as view highlights and notes for your daughter. Here is a link to the software on the US page, but it should work ok for the UK too. ADE will let you borrow library books, but it will not track your notes. Calibre is awesome for library management, but it can't help you with library books or notes either. Hope that helps! http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/mod...3#/downloadTab

02-03-2012, 06:06 AM	#7
nowthenmobile Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 50 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Device: none	Hi there Bookworm_Girl Glad to hear from you. Yes, the PRS-350 was a great choice. It works brilliantly. The fact that you have had Reader Library working makes me think that perhaps I just need to start again and reinstall it. Having not taken much of an interest before now, I don't really know if it has worked better in the past. So, what you are saying is that the notes (anotations) can only be viewed on Sony's desktop software. I'm going to try afresh and see what happens. Thanks

02-03-2012, 02:58 PM	#8
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	I really like my 350 too. It's a great device! I have a Mac and no experience with Windows Vista so that may be why it works ok for me. I have in the past had the software get corrupted and had to reinstall it to fix it so maybe that will make a difference for you. The Reader Library software allows you to see your notes in both a list view and in book/pages view and also export them to an RTF file. You can only export 100 characters at a time if your book has DRM so you have to highlight in small blocks. Or, sometimes I type in extra text to the exported RTF file. If the book does not have DRM, then you can highlight in blocks of 2000 characters which is several paragraphs and works ok for me. The new Reader for PC has a smaller limit of 200 characters for non-DRM books which I think is ridiculous. It also doesn't allow you to easily click through your notes list. You have to look at one note and then go back to a menu to select the next note and so on. It is slower and less efficient than the old software. But, if you can't get the Reader Library to work then maybe the new software is worth a try. There is another method to extract notes from the XML files on the 350 with a text editor. I'll do a search for the post with the instructions to see if I can find it for you. I like calibre best for library management, but it can't help you extract notes. I've recently switched to calibre from the Sony software. I have hundreds of books that I need to keep organized in collections. When I want to extract notes then I export that particular book into the Sony software. So that's another option too. Hope you and your family stay warm this weekend in the extreme winter weather you are having in the UK!

02-03-2012, 06:06 PM	#9
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Calibre wins hands down .............

02-03-2012, 06:25 PM	#10
nowthenmobile Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 50 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Device: none	Thank you Bookworm_Girl, you're too good to me. I had a bit more of a look at Calibre. It looks good. Could I use that AND Sony software - keep them both synchronised? Would that work? I tried exporting to an RTF file - very useful. Is your tongue in your cheek when you say "extreme weather". We don't really get very extreme on this little island. My daughter, who cycles to college, has just corrected me and said it feels extreme to her. We managed to dip down to -1degreesC today, so nothing terribly impressive, I'm afraid. Still, I don't really like to set challenges for my car battery,

02-03-2012, 06:31 PM	#11
nowthenmobile Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 50 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Device: none	carpetmojo Do you only use Calibre and just not bother with anotations then? How do you use it? Thanks

02-04-2012, 07:43 PM	#14
nowthenmobile Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 50 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Device: none	OK, I like your plan for using Calibre and Sony software to export notes to RTF - the only problem with that is not being able to add notes on the desktop software. If it will work having both of them sync then one could add notes in the Sony Reader Library. We have now had a couple of inches of snow - That will bring the south of England to its knees.

02-05-2012, 08:57 AM	#15
KenJackson Addict Posts: 256 Karma: 112042 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Sony PRS-650	I've only bought a few books with DRM, for which I use the Sony software. For everything else, I mount the Reader like a thumb drive and copy the EPUB files to it. When it starts up, it searches for new books and adds them to the list. Calibre is good, but if I'm not converting something, it just seems like an unneeded extra step.