Calibre Really Needs a Sync Function

Marcy · 12-17-2009, 11:19 AM

I've been adding a couple hundred books via Calibre over the past few days.

During this process I discovered that if you accidentally click on a column to order the books by anything other than date, when you click sort by date they don't sort the same each time!

No problem you all say, right? Normally I would say so too, but when you've added 300 books and are proofing the metadata and uploading them to your reader about 30 at a time, this throws a huge kink in the works. Once the order is changed you can't tell which ones you've already uploaded! I previously was tagging the last uploaded books with the imaginative "last uploaded" tag, to keep track. But once the order is changed in some random way I can't figure out, that tag is now meaningless.

So now I'm totally lost and don't know which books are on my reader, which aren't and which I've accidentally uploaded twice in the confusion. A sync feature would have been a great help. Short of deleting all 800+ books off the reader and re-uploading them, I don't know any other way to fix this.

-Marcy

rhk · 12-17-2009, 11:23 AM

I know what you mean. My fancy way of dealing with that is tags like:
- to do (meta fixed, ready to upload)
- done (already have had it on my kindle)
- don't do (don't want to put it on my kindle)

Sometimes, I also add the "1-save" so it sorts at the top when the "to do" isn't enough.

etc.

kovidgoyal · 12-17-2009, 11:50 AM

A sync feature is on the TODO list, be patient, only so many hours in the day

rhk · 12-17-2009, 12:43 PM

Kovid, no complaints from my end, I'm thrilled to have Calibre. It's great!

Marcy · 12-17-2009, 10:59 PM

Don't get me wrong. I *heart* Calibre. It saved me from returning my PRS-700 since the Sony software is a buggy useless piece of crap that couldn't get my ebooks properly onto the reader. I sent money for it because it is worth way more than free.

The lack of sync is a big issue when adding a lot of ebooks. It is my only serious complaint. I don't want to mess around with 'uploaded' and 'not uploaded' or whatever tags, because I'll invariably forget to remove some and have them show up as Collections on the reader.

If Calibre always sorted things in the same order when Sort by Date was chosen I could do without the sync function. It's the combination of the two issues together that have me stymied.

-Marcy

lattiboy · 12-17-2009, 11:25 PM

Agreed on this feature. I love Calibre (it's probably the most impressive freeware I've used since the original Winamp), but some kind of sync feature would kick some serious butt.

thanks for all the hard work kovidgoyal!

itimpi · 12-18-2009, 01:23 AM

A sync function is not that simple as it has to take account of issues such as:

Tracking books that should NOT be synced to the device. I have far too many books in my library to be able to sync them all but I would not mind a very simple way to sync new books I have added to the library (unless I explicitly mark them as NOT to be synced).
What if I re-convert a book - should that now be synced?
If I delete a book from the device (which I do when I have read them) will calibre remember it has previously been synced and not put it back.

Issues such as these are not insurmountable but they all add to the complexity of a good sync solution.

rhk · 12-18-2009, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itimpi

A sync function is not that simple as it has to take account of issues such as:

Tracking books that should NOT be synced to the device. I have far too many books in my library to be able to sync them all but I would not mind a very simple way to sync new books I have added to the library (unless I explicitly mark them as NOT to be synced).
What if I re-convert a book - should that now be synced?
If I delete a book from the device (which I do when I have read them) will calibre remember it has previously been synced and not put it back.

Issues such as these are not insurmountable but they all add to the complexity of a good sync solution.

I agree with you - my tag system isn't perfect but works for me to solve the problems you mention above. I just wish there was a way to sort by the tags on the Kindle. Oh well

kennyc · 12-18-2009, 06:23 AM

I disagree, because I do not want everything in my library on my reader - it just gets in the way. I only want my to-be-read books on my reader. Now if the sync functionality works based on that sort of classification then it might be useful, but not in general.

besides you can use Beyond Compare (or other diff programs) if you are trying to sync directories up. I use it to keep my main ebook and calibre directories backed up.

rcuadro · 12-18-2009, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

I disagree, because I do not want everything in my library on my reader - it just gets in the way. I only want my to-be-read books on my reader. Now if the sync functionality works based on that sort of classification then it might be useful, but not in general.

besides you can use Beyond Compare (or other diff programs) if you are trying to sync directories up. I use it to keep my main ebook and calibre directories backed up.

Maybe making up sync list like you can on iTunes

kovidgoyal · 12-18-2009, 11:39 AM

If/when I do implement sync, it will be optional and very customizable. But as itimpi pointed out there are various issues with sync for people that don't maintain exact copies of their libraries on their devices. Plus there have to be major changes in the current driver infrastructure to support sync, so it will take a while

theducks · 12-18-2009, 12:23 PM

My 2 cents.
I would just like an integrated display ("On Device" column, that shows me , which title (a Format icon would be great) of the titles currently found. (An Inner Join) of the Internal storage or Memory card listing display.
No actual media would move to or from the device.
Optionally, an Outer Join Highlighted (on the storage device list, for media found ONLY on the device and not in the Library (Standard exclusions apply :P ).

Marcy · 12-22-2009, 11:31 AM

As an alternative suggestion, is there a way to have two windows open for Calibre? If I could have one open with the list of what's in my Calibre library and another with what's on my ebook it would be almost as useful. It's the flipping between the two that is totally painful. The Calibre search is quite slow -- when I type a word it is a few seconds before the results pop up.

-Marcy

kovidgoyal · 12-22-2009, 11:35 AM

No, you can't have multiple windows open.

Kirtai · 12-22-2009, 09:15 PM

I'd be happy with an indicator on the main book list of what books are on the attached reader and vice versa. Maybe a format icon like theducks suggests.

12-17-2009, 11:19 AM	#1
Marcy Guru Posts: 893 Karma: 950683 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kobo Libra2	Calibre Really Needs a Sync Function I've been adding a couple hundred books via Calibre over the past few days. During this process I discovered that if you accidentally click on a column to order the books by anything other than date, when you click sort by date they don't sort the same each time! No problem you all say, right? Normally I would say so too, but when you've added 300 books and are proofing the metadata and uploading them to your reader about 30 at a time, this throws a huge kink in the works. Once the order is changed you can't tell which ones you've already uploaded! I previously was tagging the last uploaded books with the imaginative "last uploaded" tag, to keep track. But once the order is changed in some random way I can't figure out, that tag is now meaningless. So now I'm totally lost and don't know which books are on my reader, which aren't and which I've accidentally uploaded twice in the confusion. A sync feature would have been a great help. Short of deleting all 800+ books off the reader and re-uploading them, I don't know any other way to fix this. -Marcy

12-18-2009, 01:23 AM	#7
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,552 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	A sync function is not that simple as it has to take account of issues such as: Tracking books that should NOT be synced to the device. I have far too many books in my library to be able to sync them all but I would not mind a very simple way to sync new books I have added to the library (unless I explicitly mark them as NOT to be synced). What if I re-convert a book - should that now be synced? If I delete a book from the device (which I do when I have read them) will calibre remember it has previously been synced and not put it back. Issues such as these are not insurmountable but they all add to the complexity of a good sync solution.

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12-17-2009, 11:23 AM	#2
rhk Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Zürich, Switzerland Device: Kindle	I know what you mean. My fancy way of dealing with that is tags like: - to do (meta fixed, ready to upload) - done (already have had it on my kindle) - don't do (don't want to put it on my kindle) Sometimes, I also add the "1-save" so it sorts at the top when the "to do" isn't enough. etc.

12-17-2009, 11:50 AM	#3
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,858 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	A sync feature is on the TODO list, be patient, only so many hours in the day

12-17-2009, 12:43 PM	#4
rhk Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Zürich, Switzerland Device: Kindle	Kovid, no complaints from my end, I'm thrilled to have Calibre. It's great!

12-17-2009, 10:59 PM	#5
Marcy Guru Posts: 893 Karma: 950683 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kobo Libra2	Don't get me wrong. I heart Calibre. It saved me from returning my PRS-700 since the Sony software is a buggy useless piece of crap that couldn't get my ebooks properly onto the reader. I sent money for it because it is worth way more than free. The lack of sync is a big issue when adding a lot of ebooks. It is my only serious complaint. I don't want to mess around with 'uploaded' and 'not uploaded' or whatever tags, because I'll invariably forget to remove some and have them show up as Collections on the reader. If Calibre always sorted things in the same order when Sort by Date was chosen I could do without the sync function. It's the combination of the two issues together that have me stymied. -Marcy

12-17-2009, 11:25 PM	#6
lattiboy Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Foxit eSlick	Agreed on this feature. I love Calibre (it's probably the most impressive freeware I've used since the original Winamp), but some kind of sync feature would kick some serious butt. thanks for all the hard work kovidgoyal!

12-18-2009, 06:23 AM	#9
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	I disagree, because I do not want everything in my library on my reader - it just gets in the way. I only want my to-be-read books on my reader. Now if the sync functionality works based on that sort of classification then it might be useful, but not in general. besides you can use Beyond Compare (or other diff programs) if you are trying to sync directories up. I use it to keep my main ebook and calibre directories backed up.

12-18-2009, 11:39 AM	#11
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,858 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	If/when I do implement sync, it will be optional and very customizable. But as itimpi pointed out there are various issues with sync for people that don't maintain exact copies of their libraries on their devices. Plus there have to be major changes in the current driver infrastructure to support sync, so it will take a while

12-18-2009, 12:23 PM	#12
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,800 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	My 2 cents. I would just like an integrated display ("On Device" column, that shows me , which title (a Format icon would be great) of the titles currently found. (An Inner Join) of the Internal storage or Memory card listing display. No actual media would move to or from the device. Optionally, an Outer Join Highlighted (on the storage device list, for media found ONLY on the device and not in the Library (Standard exclusions apply :P ).

12-22-2009, 11:31 AM	#13
Marcy Guru Posts: 893 Karma: 950683 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kobo Libra2	As an alternative suggestion, is there a way to have two windows open for Calibre? If I could have one open with the list of what's in my Calibre library and another with what's on my ebook it would be almost as useful. It's the flipping between the two that is totally painful. The Calibre search is quite slow -- when I type a word it is a few seconds before the results pop up. -Marcy

12-22-2009, 11:35 AM	#14
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,858 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	No, you can't have multiple windows open.

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12-22-2009, 09:15 PM	#15
Kirtai Addict Posts: 304 Karma: 2454436 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: PRS-505, PRS-650, iPad, Samsung Galaxy SII (JB), Google Nexus 7 (2013)	I'd be happy with an indicator on the main book list of what books are on the attached reader and vice versa. Maybe a format icon like theducks suggests.