Brand new - Have a few questions. :)

[kelemvor]

Howdy,

I have a lot of Amazon eBooks that I've accumulated over the last few months/years. They all work fine but it pisses me off that the Amazon app has no way of organizing their books into categories. I want an easy way to view kid's books separate from cookbooks, etc.

Some Google searching pointed me to Calibre as a way to unDRM the books. Calibre also sorts genres/categories so this great.

Then I needed a way to get the books onto my phone and tablet which led me to the Companion App.

So, here's a few questions.

1) Once I get the files into Calibre and set to the proper genre/category I want, I then need to get them to my phone. Is the genre info tagged to each file so when I open them up in a reader they will show? I normally use Aldiko and have no idea if that supports it or not.

2) Once the files are on the phone, do I have to manually import them into Aldiko (or some other program)?

3) Can I connect multiple devices up to the same Calibre program on my PC? (my phone, wife's phone, tablet, etc).

4) Once the files are in Calibre, can I move them to another PC with Calibre on them? (e.g. work PC to home PC) just by copying the files manually?

5) Anything else I should know before I try to make this work?

Sorry if that was jumbled but I'm trying to think of questions before I actually get to them.

[Piper_]

Hi, kelemvor, and welcome.

I've gotten way behind on all things calibre the last year, and I've never used Aldiko, so someone may need to correct me, but...

Originally Posted by kelemvor

1) Once I get the files into Calibre and set to the proper genre/category I want, I then need to get them to my phone. Is the genre info tagged to each file so when I open them up in a reader they will show? I normally use Aldiko and have no idea if that supports it or not.

If the genre /category is a tag, yes. I'm pretty sure Aldiko is actually one of the better apps out there for this.
(Moon+, coolreader, and Mantano reader also display and can sort by tags.)

If you are using hierarchies of tags/categories, someone else will need to answer.

Originally Posted by kelemvor

2) Once the files are on the phone, do I have to manually import them into Aldiko (or some other program)?

In most of the apps I've used (listed above), you need to tell them to import or scan whatever directory(s) you put your books in. Most just import the metadata and the books stay wherever you put them. I think Montano actually makes a copy of the ebook.

Originally Posted by kelemvor

3) Can I connect multiple devices up to the same Calibre program on my PC? (my phone, wife's phone, tablet, etc).

Yes. If it doesn't switch smoothly, search or ask here... There might be a trick to it.

Originally Posted by kelemvor

4) Once the files are in Calibre, can I move them to another PC with Calibre on them? (e.g. work PC to home PC) just by copying the files manually?

If you want to copy an entire library to another machine, and I expect you do, just copy the entire library directory over to machine 2, then use calibre's create/use existing library function and point it to that copy.

If you mean copying them from machine 1's calibre folder into machine 2's *existing* calibre folder, then No.

A critical rule in using calibre is Never touch/add/delete the files in a calibre directory... Bad things happen.

The only way to add books to an existing calibre library is to import them using the Add Books function, so they will be registered into calibre's database.

The safest way to get individual books from one calibre install to another is to right-click on the book title from within the calibre library, and select "save to disk".. Then copy that folder/file to the other machine, and import it with the add books function.

Originally Posted by kelemvor

5) Anything else I should know before I try to make this work?

1. I think it will be a lot easier than you think.

2. I would set up calibre Companion and use that to interface with calibre and manage your tab/phone's book list from the start. It will sort by tag, etc.
You can always use Alkido's list as well, I think... :what:You might want to make sure it isn't picky about where the book files are.

Good luck and have fun!

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by kelemvor

Then I needed a way to get the books onto my phone and tablet which led me to the Companion App.

Calibre Companion (CC) is a great Android app for connecting to a calibre library.

Originally Posted by kelemvor

2) Once the files are on the phone, do I have to manually import them into Aldiko (or some other program)?

If you use CC you don't need to import them to any reader. I launch my books straight from CC's interface, opening them in the reader software of my choice. In my case I open them in Moon+ Reader Pro.

Originally Posted by kelemvor

3) Can I connect multiple devices up to the same Calibre program on my PC? (my phone, wife's phone, tablet, etc).

Yes, but using a direct connection you can only connect one device to calibre at a time.

Originally Posted by kelemvor

4) Once the files are in Calibre, can I move them to another PC with Calibre on them? (e.g. work PC to home PC) just by copying the files manually?

Yes. Just copy the whole library directory as one unit and you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by Piper_

2. I would set up calibre Companion and use that to interface with calibre and manage your tab/phone's book list from the start. It will sort by tag, etc.

Originally Posted by Piper_

You can always use Alkido's list as well, I think... :what:You might want to make sure it isn't picky about where the book files are.

That is one of the many good things about CC you can always choose where to place the files.