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Adoby · 09-12-2013, 06:07 AM

There are several different options for how to add books. Which one is correct depends on how you saved the books.

For instance, if you saved the books in different folders for different authors, and only one format, then it should work fine to use:

Add books from directories, including sub-directories (Multiple books per directory, assumes every ebook file is a different book)

Or if you saved the books in separate folders for each author and then separate subfolders for each book, and mixed formats, then this method would be better:

Add books from directories, including sub-directories (One book per directory, assumes every ebook file is the same book in a different format)

If you saved several formats and several books in the same folders, then you will have to use the first of these options and handle the duplicates in different formats.

If you didn't save epubs and didn't also save OPF-files with metadata along with the books, then you most likely lost some metadata information. For instance series information can only(?) be stored in the epub format and OPF-files.

Also this assumes that you have changed the preferences for Add book so that metadata is added from inside the book, and not from the filename.

The best and easiest way to archive parts of a calibre library is to emulate how the books are stored in the calibre library. One folder per author and in those one folder per title. And cover and OPF-files saved along with the different formats. Then it should be easy to restore all the books and most metadata if you have to add the books back to calibre.

Or you could just backup and restore the whole library using whatever methods you usually use when taking backups to preserve your books.

You should experiment with a few books to become comfortable with this. Otherwise you may loose data and make things more difficult than they have to be.

You can read more about the different methods to add books here:

http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/gui.html#add-books

09-12-2013, 06:07 AM	#3
Adoby Handy Elephant Posts: 1,737 Karma: 26785684 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Southern Sweden, far out in the quiet woods Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra	There are several different options for how to add books. Which one is correct depends on how you saved the books. For instance, if you saved the books in different folders for different authors, and only one format, then it should work fine to use: Add books from directories, including sub-directories (Multiple books per directory, assumes every ebook file is a different book) Or if you saved the books in separate folders for each author and then separate subfolders for each book, and mixed formats, then this method would be better: Add books from directories, including sub-directories (One book per directory, assumes every ebook file is the same book in a different format) If you saved several formats and several books in the same folders, then you will have to use the first of these options and handle the duplicates in different formats. If you didn't save epubs and didn't also save OPF-files with metadata along with the books, then you most likely lost some metadata information. For instance series information can only(?) be stored in the epub format and OPF-files. Also this assumes that you have changed the preferences for Add book so that metadata is added from inside the book, and not from the filename. The best and easiest way to archive parts of a calibre library is to emulate how the books are stored in the calibre library. One folder per author and in those one folder per title. And cover and OPF-files saved along with the different formats. Then it should be easy to restore all the books and most metadata if you have to add the books back to calibre. Or you could just backup and restore the whole library using whatever methods you usually use when taking backups to preserve your books. You should experiment with a few books to become comfortable with this. Otherwise you may loose data and make things more difficult than they have to be. You can read more about the different methods to add books here: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/gui.html#add-books Last edited by Adoby; 09-12-2013 at 06:11 AM.