MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - A newbie question re downloading ebooks to Kobo

Mrs_Often · 09-18-2012, 07:18 AM

You can't put epubs that you got from elsewhere into Kobo desktop. Kobo desktop is only for kepubs (books bought from Kobo).

ADE handles all types of ebooks and is mainly meant for use with books that have a 'lock' on it (DRM). ADE can authorise your computer and your devices (ereaders) to be able to read the DRM books you have.

For ebooks you get for free (that are unlocked, don't have DRM, like the ones you can download from this forum) you don't need to use ADE. You can if you want to, you can load them in and use ADE as a sort of personal library from which you put books on your ereader. But you can also just set up a folder on your computer, like "My Documents" and "My Music" (for instance, "My Books"), and put all the ebooks you download into there. From there, you can then drag and drop them onto your Kobo Touch like you would use a USB stick.

The ebooks you download from this forum go to the same place on your computer as any other file you download from internet goes (like a "downloads" folder).

Calibre indeed has lots of functions, but it is also useful for keeping track of the ebooks you have (personal library, works nicer than ADE) when your "My Books" folder gets full and messy. Calibre will work just like iTunes for instance. It gives you a list of all the books you have, and gives you search facilities and it can send books you select to your Kobo Touch for you. It's a lot easier than just keeping track of your books by yourself in a folder, but only if you have many books. (So, if you only have a few or so many that you can still have an oversight, you don't have to bother with Calibre.)

As for borrowing from a library, you will need ADE. Library books are locked with DRM and the unlocking is temporary, dependent on how long you borrow the library for. When you find a book in your library's database and borrow it, your computer will download an acsm file. You should open this acsm file in ADE, and then ADE will download the book for you. From there, you can put the book onto your Kobo Touch.

Good luck!

09-18-2012, 07:18 AM	#3
Mrs_Often Wizard Posts: 1,775 Karma: 2694823 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: The Netherlands Device: Kobo Touch, Glo, Clara HD	You can't put epubs that you got from elsewhere into Kobo desktop. Kobo desktop is only for kepubs (books bought from Kobo). ADE handles all types of ebooks and is mainly meant for use with books that have a 'lock' on it (DRM). ADE can authorise your computer and your devices (ereaders) to be able to read the DRM books you have. For ebooks you get for free (that are unlocked, don't have DRM, like the ones you can download from this forum) you don't need to use ADE. You can if you want to, you can load them in and use ADE as a sort of personal library from which you put books on your ereader. But you can also just set up a folder on your computer, like "My Documents" and "My Music" (for instance, "My Books"), and put all the ebooks you download into there. From there, you can then drag and drop them onto your Kobo Touch like you would use a USB stick. The ebooks you download from this forum go to the same place on your computer as any other file you download from internet goes (like a "downloads" folder). Calibre indeed has lots of functions, but it is also useful for keeping track of the ebooks you have (personal library, works nicer than ADE) when your "My Books" folder gets full and messy. Calibre will work just like iTunes for instance. It gives you a list of all the books you have, and gives you search facilities and it can send books you select to your Kobo Touch for you. It's a lot easier than just keeping track of your books by yourself in a folder, but only if you have many books. (So, if you only have a few or so many that you can still have an oversight, you don't have to bother with Calibre.) As for borrowing from a library, you will need ADE. Library books are locked with DRM and the unlocking is temporary, dependent on how long you borrow the library for. When you find a book in your library's database and borrow it, your computer will download an acsm file. You should open this acsm file in ADE, and then ADE will download the book for you. From there, you can put the book onto your Kobo Touch. Good luck!