Sideloading and Whispersync

[tomsem]

I am curious: why do you use calibre to create syncable documents, when Personal Documents service will do it for you and also store your notes/highlights (at least it works with Kindles and Kindle4iOS)?

[neonbible]

For me personally, because you can't sync furthest page read to desktop versions of Kindle yet. And I use a K3, iPhone and desktop to read my books.

[dmspen]

I also used to use Mobi2Mobi to edit the metadata so books would sync across devices. Some time ago, the Calibre geniuses figured out how to add the appropriate metadata so syncing would work.

If you use Calibre, please donate to this program as it is superb. (no, I have nothing to do with them, I just think they should get something for the great work they've done)

[neonbible]

Originally Posted by dmspen

I also used to use Mobi2Mobi to edit the metadata so books would sync across devices. Some time ago, the Calibre geniuses figured out how to add the appropriate metadata so syncing would work.

If you use Calibre, please donate to this program as it is superb. (no, I have nothing to do with them, I just think they should get something for the great work they've done)

Does it happen by default or do I need to enable it during conversion?

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by neonbible

Does it happen by default or do I need to enable it during conversion?

You may need to edit the metadata for the book to ensure it gets an Amazon number assigned to it if the source is non-Amazon. My standard workflow is:

• Buy book (or Borrow from Library)
• Download to local hard disk.
• Add to Calibre (This strips DRM if it has it, thanks to Tools.)
• Edit Metadata to update cover, ASIN, Series, etc.
• Convert to MOBI. Even if it already IS a MOBI. This sets the metadata.
• Upload to Kindle and/or Fire.

[silashack]

OK, been playing with this for a few days now, got my head round most of it, read and re-read posts on here and elsewhere...

But...

In using Calibre, do I NEED to edit the metadata myself? and if so just what part, using Calibre I see no where to edit anything that resembles the EBOK (?) setting, or does the actual conversion to mobi MAKE the edit for you?

And as such does that imply that the item now becomes a 'book' rather than a personal document

I am probably at the stage that having done it so many times, I have probably confused the hell out of myself LoL

Cheers

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by silashack

OK, been playing with this for a few days now, got my head round most of it, read and re-read posts on here and elsewhere...

But...

In using Calibre, do I NEED to edit the metadata myself? and if so just what part, using Calibre I see no where to edit anything that resembles the EBOK (?) setting, or does the actual conversion to mobi MAKE the edit for you?

And as such does that imply that the item now becomes a 'book' rather than a personal document

I am probably at the stage that having done it so many times, I have probably confused the hell out of myself LoL

Cheers

If you go to Preferences\Output Options, then click on Mobi on the left side, you will then be able to remove the [PDOC] tag and put in the [EBOK] tag.

I always click on 'edit metadata' and then download metadata, so I don't know if conversion alone will add the necessary tags that allow it to sync.

Carol

[silashack]

Thanks for that, sorted that out, but it still has not covered the latter stages of my query (as such)

After doing the described function, I then emailed the file to my kindle account and it STILL appears as a personal document, not a book... is that the case?

The book is a genuine amazon title, it is not some fuzzy converted pdf or the likes.

This is beginning to bug me a little... as you may have guessed

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by silashack

Thanks for that, sorted that out, but it still has not covered the latter stages of my query (as such)

After doing the described function, I then emailed the file to my kindle account and it STILL appears as a personal document, not a book... is that the case?

The book is a genuine amazon title, it is not some fuzzy converted pdf or the likes.

This is beginning to bug me a little... as you may have guessed

When you email the book to your Kindle account it is tagged as a Doc that's why it's showing up in the Documents. You need to sideload the book for it to show up in books. I also have preferences set up to remove the [PDOC] tag and add the [EBOK] tag.

Carol

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by silashack

Thanks for that, sorted that out, but it still has not covered the latter stages of my query (as such)

After doing the described function, I then emailed the file to my kindle account and it STILL appears as a personal document, not a book... is that the case?

The book is a genuine amazon title, it is not some fuzzy converted pdf or the likes.

This is beginning to bug me a little... as you may have guessed

If the book is already in Calibre, then changing that setting won't do anything until you convert it to a MOBI. If the book already IS a MOBI, convert it anyway to change that setting. (Any books you brought in to Calibre while it was set to "[PDOC]" will still show as personal documents, not eBooks. Thus no WhisperSync, and they're in the wrong folder on a Fire.

Any new books you buy and import into Calibre will get the new setting assuming your import requires a conversion. If they are DRM-Free MOBI or PRC books, that would not normally be converted, you'll still have to do a mobi-to-mobi conversion to set that.

[silashack]

OK, read, read and re-read both the above posts and despite following the info..

I have a book.mobi single file, I load that into calibre, i get metadata, i then convert the file to .mobi (ensuring that [ebok] is correct) i then load the file onto the kindle (3k) i read a few pages, i then sync on the k3, i then open my kindle app on the ipad, refresh the archives and when the file appears, i retrieve that to the ipad.

BUT the file still only shows up as a pdoc, and that is the bit that is frustrating me, I have checked the settings, i have made sure the default in the conversion is [EBOK] and have done this a few times now.

The ? is, following these steps, should the entry appear on the "manage your kindle" as a book or a personal document?

Thanks in advance for the patience

I know that emailing and stuff works and i can catch up where i got to on either unit, it is just the fact i like to have things as they should be, aka pedantic old git

Cheers

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by silashack

OK, read, read and re-read both the above posts and despite following the info..

I have a book.mobi single file, I load that into calibre, i get metadata, i then convert the file to .mobi (ensuring that [ebok] is correct) i then load the file onto the kindle (3k) i read a few pages, i then sync on the k3, i then open my kindle app on the ipad, refresh the archives and when the file appears, i retrieve that to the ipad.

BUT the file still only shows up as a pdoc, and that is the bit that is frustrating me, I have checked the settings, i have made sure the default in the conversion is [EBOK] and have done this a few times now.

The ? is, following these steps, should the entry appear on the "manage your kindle" as a book or a personal document?

Thanks in advance for the patience

I know that emailing and stuff works and i can catch up where i got to on either unit, it is just the fact i like to have things as they should be, aka pedantic old git

Cheers

I would delete the file from your personal docs in Amazon. Not in the ebook section (if you bought the book from Amazon) but the personal doc section since you said you had originally emailed the book to your personal docs @ amazon. Delete the book from your iPad also. Then maybe delete the book from Calibre and reimport it. Then try everything.

Carol

[sylviebi]

you might want to start over with a different book and make sure that you sideload it not email it. I have found that if once you have emailed it to the device and opened it and then remove it and do the sideload that it wont work anyway. So start over with a new book.
1. Even if your file is already mobi use calibre to convert it to mobi and select the send to device to send it to your kindle not email. This is sideloading.
2. to get it to your iapple device you will need to sideload it there too. Do not use the itunes adding documents feature this wipes the synch. I use iexplorer (it's free) and copy the mobi file created by calibre to the folder called apps, com.amazon.lassen, library, ebooks.
3. to get it to the kindle pc app, I copy the mobi file created by calibre to the kindle pc folder in my case its c:\My Documents\My eBooks\My Kindle Content
4. I open the book on kindle first, then close it and then reopen it. I then move a couple of pages ahead, then I close it and go to the menu and select check for new items and synch.
5. I open the book on my pc by going to the folder c:\My Documents\My eBooks\My Kindle Content and double click on the mobi file. I click on library and synch/check for new items and the open the book by selecting it in the library. then I click on synch to furthest page and voila it says your last page read was.... do you want to go...
6. I then go to the iapple device and open the kindle app and open the book, then close it, then open it again then select the synch and then voila is says your last page was... do you want to go....

I don't always do this all at once. Well I do copy it to all 3 devices as I frequently read on all 3 devices. I just don't check do the whole open and synch thing until I am actualy ready to read on said devices.

I should mention that in calibre I do not do anything special to convert it to mobi for the synching to work. it's whatever the default settings are. I always run the latest calibre and latest kindle contents addin.

This is for my kindle 3 keyboard original, kindle app for ipoud touch latest gen (the white one with the cameras and micraphone) I think it's 5th? or is that 4th? and on my xp kindle pc software. Synching works perfectly.
goodluck...

[leefa]

This is not working for me. Here are the steps I took.

• go to Preferences\Output Options, then click on Mobi on the left side, replaced the [PDOC] tag in the kindle section with [EBOK].
• Download Metadata to update cover, ASIN, Series, etc.
• Re-convert to MOBI
• Sideload to Kindle via usb
• Sideload to Android via dropbox

on kindle

• open book and page forward 3 pages
• home
• sync & check for items

on Android in kindle app

• open book
• sync to last page

on Android, it says at "you are currently at the furthest read location"

found the ASIN on Amazon. now its working for pc and kindle, but still not snycing with Android

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by sylviebi

you might want to start over with a different book and make sure that you sideload it not email it. I have found that if once you have emailed it to the device and opened it and then remove it and do the sideload that it wont work anyway. So start over with a new book.
1. Even if your file is already mobi use calibre to convert it to mobi and select the send to device to send it to your kindle not email. This is sideloading.
2. to get it to your iapple device you will need to sideload it there too. Do not use the itunes adding documents feature this wipes the synch. I use iexplorer (it's free) and copy the mobi file created by calibre to the folder called apps, com.amazon.lassen, library, ebooks.
3. to get it to the kindle pc app, I copy the mobi file created by calibre to the kindle pc folder in my case its c:\My Documents\My eBooks\My Kindle Content
4. I open the book on kindle first, then close it and then reopen it. I then move a couple of pages ahead, then I close it and go to the menu and select check for new items and synch.
5. I open the book on my pc by going to the folder c:\My Documents\My eBooks\My Kindle Content and double click on the mobi file. I click on library and synch/check for new items and the open the book by selecting it in the library. then I click on synch to furthest page and voila it says your last page read was.... do you want to go...
6. I then go to the iapple device and open the kindle app and open the book, then close it, then open it again then select the synch and then voila is says your last page was... do you want to go....

I don't always do this all at once. Well I do copy it to all 3 devices as I frequently read on all 3 devices. I just don't check do the whole open and synch thing until I am actualy ready to read on said devices.

I should mention that in calibre I do not do anything special to convert it to mobi for the synching to work. it's whatever the default settings are. I always run the latest calibre and latest kindle contents addin.

This is for my kindle 3 keyboard original, kindle app for ipoud touch latest gen (the white one with the cameras and micraphone) I think it's 5th? or is that 4th? and on my xp kindle pc software. Synching works perfectly.
goodluck...

After you've emailed a book to your kindle you have to go into your Amazon account and remove it from your 'Personal Documents'. NOT your ebooks page but your 'Personal Documents' page. That is why it keeps showing up as a Doc.

Carol