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delphin · 02-03-2011, 12:17 AM

Here is the step-by-step . . .

1. Since you already know about the project Gutenberg site you might also want to try sites like -

http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/Top_100

http://librivox.org/newcatalog

2. When selecting your book, make sure to pick a book in MP3 format.

Then, to download a local copy, so you can transfer it to your PRS-650 -

- SINGLE click of the right mouse button on the link (opposite from the button you usually click to select) to bring up the extended options drop-down menu, then from that menu pick the option like 'Save Target As' or 'Save Link As' or even 'Save File As' (this varies depending on your browser).

When you pick the 'Save' option to download; sometimes you are then offered a second window to select WHERE to put the file after it is downloaded, but other times it will just dump it in your 'Downloads' folder or even put it right on your Desktop. (Your browsers 'options' or 'preferences' let you set how this works). Try to make a mental note of the name of the file it is downloading so you can find it later. If it does pop up a window to ask where to put the file, select a folder that you commonly use for downloads, or if you don't have one set up, you can just use either the your downloads folder or the Desktop.

3. Now you should typically have a single really big ZIP type file which contains the MP3s for your book. You can open this up like a folder to see the one or more MP3 files that make up the chapters of your audio book.

These files are what you will need to drag into your readers "audio" folder. To do this -

- first open up the Zipped folder with your books MP3s (a single book may be one or several files)

- Now plug in your PRS-650, and when it is recognized, a window should pop up asking what to do, select the option to 'Open Folder to view Files'

- You should now see your PRS-650's main folder which has subfolders like "Digital Editions" and "database".

- Open up the "database" folder using a standard left double-click

- Inside "database" you should find and double-click the folder named "media"

- Inside "media" double click the folder named "audio" and inside that should be all your audio MP3 files (Originally you should see the samples SleepyTime.mp3 and WaltzForEddie.mp3)

4. If all of the above went ok you should now have both your ZIPPED MP3 folder and your PRS-650 /database/media/audio folder open on your desktop. So now *finally* you can just corral your downloaded book's MP3 files by dragging a box around them with the mouse in the downloaded ZIP folder, and once they are highlighted, drag them across to the now open /database/media/audio folder (which will copy them to your PRS-650)

The MP3 files for most audiobooks require several hundred megabytes of space, which can take a few minutes to transfer even with a fast USB2 port (or 10 minutes or more if your computer only has USB1 ports). Make sure that this process is complete BEFORE you remove the USB cable.

That's pretty much it.

It's a fairly simple procedure, but the idiots at Microsoft put in a few GOTCHA's like the 'Wouldn't it be better to just Play the File without asking' thing that you already ran into.

For example, .MP3 files often don't even LOOK like .MP3 files because windowz STUPIDLY thinks it's really really really clever to HIDE all those silly 'file extensions' unless you go into your folder options and unclick the option to "Hide extensions for known file types".

So instead of -

MyAudioBook.mp3 or MyAudioBook.zip

you will probably just see MyAudioBook

The trouble with this little piece of Microsoft stupidity is that, as someone has already pointed out, there are some formats that work and some that DON'T WORK, so it's kind of nice to know the file extension before you start dragging files around.

For example, because windowz hides the .ZIP and .MP3 extensions, I had one friend who was dragging a ZIP compressed MP3 files onto his player, and then wondering why it wouldn't work.

It sounds much more complicated than it is. Once you do it once or twice, it should only literally take a few seconds to pop open the right folders and begin dragging the files across.

EDIT:
Another minor potential gotcha, if the Sony Library is active, it may just grab control of the Reader so you don't see the 'View Folders' option pop up. Check the lower right side of the screen in the 'system tray' (down next to where the time shows up), and see if there is a tiny tray icon for the Sony Library, and if so, try right and left clicking it to 'close' or 'exit' before doing the above. This won't hurt anything or change any permanent settings, but should allow your PRS-650 reader folder to pop up and open next time the reader is plugged into the USB.

Alternately, you should always be able to open your PRS-650's and drag in files, by selecting it from the main "My Computer" window (which you can find on the 'Start Menu'.

Lastly, if you are comfortable with the Sony Library software, you could also try to use the Sony Library to Drag and Drop your MP3 files onto the Reader (I haven't done it this way myself, as I have always found the above direct PRS-650 folders method simpler.)

02-03-2011, 12:17 AM	#9
delphin Evangelist Posts: 434 Karma: 346901 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: SONY PRS-650	Here is the step-by-step . . . 1. Since you already know about the project Gutenberg site you might also want to try sites like - http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/Top_100 http://librivox.org/newcatalog 2. When selecting your book, make sure to pick a book in MP3 format. Then, to download a local copy, so you can transfer it to your PRS-650 - - SINGLE click of the right mouse button on the link (opposite from the button you usually click to select) to bring up the extended options drop-down menu, then from that menu pick the option like 'Save Target As' or 'Save Link As' or even 'Save File As' (this varies depending on your browser). When you pick the 'Save' option to download; sometimes you are then offered a second window to select WHERE to put the file after it is downloaded, but other times it will just dump it in your 'Downloads' folder or even put it right on your Desktop. (Your browsers 'options' or 'preferences' let you set how this works). Try to make a mental note of the name of the file it is downloading so you can find it later. If it does pop up a window to ask where to put the file, select a folder that you commonly use for downloads, or if you don't have one set up, you can just use either the your downloads folder or the Desktop. 3. Now you should typically have a single really big ZIP type file which contains the MP3s for your book. You can open this up like a folder to see the one or more MP3 files that make up the chapters of your audio book. These files are what you will need to drag into your readers "audio" folder. To do this - - first open up the Zipped folder with your books MP3s (a single book may be one or several files) - Now plug in your PRS-650, and when it is recognized, a window should pop up asking what to do, select the option to 'Open Folder to view Files' - You should now see your PRS-650's main folder which has subfolders like "Digital Editions" and "database". - Open up the "database" folder using a standard left double-click - Inside "database" you should find and double-click the folder named "media" - Inside "media" double click the folder named "audio" and inside that should be all your audio MP3 files (Originally you should see the samples SleepyTime.mp3 and WaltzForEddie.mp3) 4. If all of the above went ok you should now have both your ZIPPED MP3 folder and your PRS-650 /database/media/audio folder open on your desktop. So now finally you can just corral your downloaded book's MP3 files by dragging a box around them with the mouse in the downloaded ZIP folder, and once they are highlighted, drag them across to the now open /database/media/audio folder (which will copy them to your PRS-650) The MP3 files for most audiobooks require several hundred megabytes of space, which can take a few minutes to transfer even with a fast USB2 port (or 10 minutes or more if your computer only has USB1 ports). Make sure that this process is complete BEFORE you remove the USB cable. That's pretty much it. It's a fairly simple procedure, but the idiots at Microsoft put in a few GOTCHA's like the 'Wouldn't it be better to just Play the File without asking' thing that you already ran into. For example, .MP3 files often don't even LOOK like .MP3 files because windowz STUPIDLY thinks it's really really really clever to HIDE all those silly 'file extensions' unless you go into your folder options and unclick the option to "Hide extensions for known file types". So instead of - MyAudioBook.mp3 or MyAudioBook.zip you will probably just see MyAudioBook The trouble with this little piece of Microsoft stupidity is that, as someone has already pointed out, there are some formats that work and some that DON'T WORK, so it's kind of nice to know the file extension before you start dragging files around. For example, because windowz hides the .ZIP and .MP3 extensions, I had one friend who was dragging a ZIP compressed MP3 files onto his player, and then wondering why it wouldn't work. It sounds much more complicated than it is. Once you do it once or twice, it should only literally take a few seconds to pop open the right folders and begin dragging the files across. EDIT: Another minor potential gotcha, if the Sony Library is active, it may just grab control of the Reader so you don't see the 'View Folders' option pop up. Check the lower right side of the screen in the 'system tray' (down next to where the time shows up), and see if there is a tiny tray icon for the Sony Library, and if so, try right and left clicking it to 'close' or 'exit' before doing the above. This won't hurt anything or change any permanent settings, but should allow your PRS-650 reader folder to pop up and open next time the reader is plugged into the USB. Alternately, you should always be able to open your PRS-650's and drag in files, by selecting it from the main "My Computer" window (which you can find on the 'Start Menu'. Lastly, if you are comfortable with the Sony Library software, you could also try to use the Sony Library to Drag and Drop your MP3 files onto the Reader (I haven't done it this way myself, as I have always found the above direct PRS-650 folders method simpler.) Last edited by delphin; 02-03-2011 at 02:42 AM.