Conversion Kindle to Kobo Arc with Calibre

Carpman · 02-22-2015, 09:07 PM

I have an original Kobo Arc (still going strong).

I normally buy my books from Kobo, but I have noticed some large price increases in the past month or so, the same books being cheaper from Amazon!

I am trouble finding my Kindle books on my iMac (tut, tut) I have the Kindle app in place. I want to convert the books to EPUB by using Calibre, which I use for library management. As yet I have been unable to work out how to do this conversion. Obviously once converted to EPUB import to my Arc is easy.

I know it's possible to purchase Kindle books, convert using Calibre to EPUB and then transfer to the Arc, but for the life of me I cannot find out the right way to do this.

I use an iMac with OSX 10.9.5 Mavericks and I do note that Apple have change a fair amount of info in the software this past year hence why I'm having trouble finding my Kindle data files.

Any help with this would be appreciated.

nb: Currently my Kobo books are DeDRM'd using Calibre so I would like to do the same if I purchase Kindle books!!!!

eschwartz · 02-22-2015, 10:34 PM

If you installed Kindle for Mac, you should be able to download your books with that. The default location for your K4Mac books is "~/My Kindle Content" I believe (although it may be a subdirectory in the Documents folder).

Alf's tools should automatically import your DRM keys from K4Mac (more details are of course on his blog) and then you simply add books from the "My Kindle Content" folder.

You can also set that folder as your auto-add folder in Preferences ==> Adding books ==> Automatic adding (tab) so new books automatically show up in calibre.

Carpman · 02-23-2015, 02:16 AM

@eschwartz

Thanks for your reply. I do have the Kindle app on my iMac.
In Kindle preferences it shows the location stream for the data files, however (in part I think to Apple software changes) the folders that this points to are no longer on my iMac? Or I just cannot find it/them.

I have tried opening a book by using the Kindle app and this works okay, clearly the data files must be somewhere (hidden, possibly?).

I spent some hours yesterday trying to find the folders that I cannot 'see' to no avail. As it presently stands I cannot find the folder "My Kindle Content".

It's kinda frustrating as I'm sure that prior to updating to OS 10.9.5 Mavericks I tested this very issue in part due to price variations between Amazon and Kobo.

Carpman · 02-23-2015, 04:01 AM

@eschwartz

After a lot of trawling of the internet I have found the solution. In OS 10.9.5 Mavericks the data files are hidden, I'm not sure why Apple do this.

The path is thus:

~/Library/Containers/com.amazon.Kindle/Data/Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content

I understand that the hiding of these files is a recent development by Apple, I not sure if it applies to previous versions of the OS. Certainly the path is correct for Mavericks. I have now of course 'un-hidden' the folders/files so I now have a visible pathway.

I now need to figure out the rest of this.

Regards

eschwartz · 02-23-2015, 11:11 AM

Interesting. I believe application data was always hidden though, like linux ~/.config and Windows %APPDATA%.

What is interesting is that K4Mac isn't storing files in public anymore, I suspect this (storing library in appdata) is an Amazon issue.

HarryT · 02-23-2015, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Interesting. I believe application data was always hidden though, like linux ~/.config and Windows %APPDATA%.

What is interesting is that K4Mac isn't storing files in public anymore, I suspect this (storing library in appdata) is an Amazon issue.

Possibly they're just bringing the different apps into line. Data are stored in the "com.amazon.Kindle" folder in the Kindle Android app, too.

Carpman · 02-23-2015, 12:05 PM

@eschwartz

I know the Kindle files were visible last year, not sure exactly when. I know this because at that time I was testing the ability to purchase Kindle books and then convert them through Calibre with a spot of help from Apprentice Alf.

The data files have only gone INvisible since my upgrade to Mavericks, which explains why I could not find them and much head scratching by me.

Anyway the info is within the forum now for others to view and find the solution if they have the same problem at some future date

Regards

02-22-2015, 09:07 PM	#1
Carpman Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 22 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Milton Keynes , England Device: iPad Pro	Conversion Kindle to Kobo Arc with Calibre I have an original Kobo Arc (still going strong). I normally buy my books from Kobo, but I have noticed some large price increases in the past month or so, the same books being cheaper from Amazon! I am trouble finding my Kindle books on my iMac (tut, tut) I have the Kindle app in place. I want to convert the books to EPUB by using Calibre, which I use for library management. As yet I have been unable to work out how to do this conversion. Obviously once converted to EPUB import to my Arc is easy. I know it's possible to purchase Kindle books, convert using Calibre to EPUB and then transfer to the Arc, but for the life of me I cannot find out the right way to do this. I use an iMac with OSX 10.9.5 Mavericks and I do note that Apple have change a fair amount of info in the software this past year hence why I'm having trouble finding my Kindle data files. Any help with this would be appreciated. nb: Currently my Kobo books are DeDRM'd using Calibre so I would like to do the same if I purchase Kindle books!!!!

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02-22-2015, 10:34 PM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	If you installed Kindle for Mac, you should be able to download your books with that. The default location for your K4Mac books is "~/My Kindle Content" I believe (although it may be a subdirectory in the Documents folder). Alf's tools should automatically import your DRM keys from K4Mac (more details are of course on his blog) and then you simply add books from the "My Kindle Content" folder. You can also set that folder as your auto-add folder in Preferences ==> Adding books ==> Automatic adding (tab) so new books automatically show up in calibre.

02-23-2015, 02:16 AM	#3
Carpman Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 22 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Milton Keynes , England Device: iPad Pro	@eschwartz Thanks for your reply. I do have the Kindle app on my iMac. In Kindle preferences it shows the location stream for the data files, however (in part I think to Apple software changes) the folders that this points to are no longer on my iMac? Or I just cannot find it/them. I have tried opening a book by using the Kindle app and this works okay, clearly the data files must be somewhere (hidden, possibly?). I spent some hours yesterday trying to find the folders that I cannot 'see' to no avail. As it presently stands I cannot find the folder "My Kindle Content". It's kinda frustrating as I'm sure that prior to updating to OS 10.9.5 Mavericks I tested this very issue in part due to price variations between Amazon and Kobo.

02-23-2015, 04:01 AM	#4
Carpman Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 22 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Milton Keynes , England Device: iPad Pro	@eschwartz After a lot of trawling of the internet I have found the solution. In OS 10.9.5 Mavericks the data files are hidden, I'm not sure why Apple do this. The path is thus: ~/Library/Containers/com.amazon.Kindle/Data/Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content I understand that the hiding of these files is a recent development by Apple, I not sure if it applies to previous versions of the OS. Certainly the path is correct for Mavericks. I have now of course 'un-hidden' the folders/files so I now have a visible pathway. I now need to figure out the rest of this. Regards

02-23-2015, 11:11 AM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Interesting. I believe application data was always hidden though, like linux ~/.config and Windows %APPDATA%. What is interesting is that K4Mac isn't storing files in public anymore, I suspect this (storing library in appdata) is an Amazon issue.

02-23-2015, 12:05 PM	#7
Carpman Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 22 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Milton Keynes , England Device: iPad Pro	@eschwartz I know the Kindle files were visible last year, not sure exactly when. I know this because at that time I was testing the ability to purchase Kindle books and then convert them through Calibre with a spot of help from Apprentice Alf. The data files have only gone INvisible since my upgrade to Mavericks, which explains why I could not find them and much head scratching by me. Anyway the info is within the forum now for others to view and find the solution if they have the same problem at some future date Regards