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Adoby · 11-18-2013, 12:42 AM

Since calibre is a single user program it is not possible to share the same data between two installs. So there is no perfect solution.

Instead you will have to make sure that the two installs doesn't run simultaneously and that you sync all changes after you quit calibre on one computer, and start it on another. Doable, but it will most likely fail sooner or later.

However, this is only if there are changes made to the database and library. If you can have one install being "read-only" then things will become much easier. The you just have to sync to that computer, and not from. And you can suddenly run both installs simultaneously.

The easiest way is perhaps to have a central backup copy. A. Preferably on a NAS that is always on.
Whenever install B exit calibre it runs a sync to update A with the latest changes.
Whenever install C start calibre I runs a sync to update C from A.

When you start calibre you run a script. So the commands to sync could be put in that script. I use rsync for my syncing needs. There are many other sync utilities to find if you google.

There are other alternatives as well.
You could get a third shared computer just to run calibre. And run the calibre server from that computer to give access to all the books. Or run the computer remotely using some remote desktop software. VNC for instance.

Yet another method could be to decide that your wife handles one calibre library, with one type of books. And you handle another. So you each have a read-only library and a read-write library. And setup sync using ABC and abc as above for that. A little clunky...

Perhaps best of all would be to get a portable hard drive, and install portable calibre on that. Then there is a guarantee that only one person can use the libreary at the same time, and both have full access. Of course this is only best if you only use calibre to maintain the library and upload books to some reading devices, and don't use calibre to actually read the books.

Also it should be avoided to use the same calibre library using different operating systems. Differences between how operating systems handle filenames may cause data loss. And it is NOT safe to access the calibre library using a shared folder. That may also cause data loss.

11-18-2013, 12:42 AM	#2
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	Since calibre is a single user program it is not possible to share the same data between two installs. So there is no perfect solution. Instead you will have to make sure that the two installs doesn't run simultaneously and that you sync all changes after you quit calibre on one computer, and start it on another. Doable, but it will most likely fail sooner or later. However, this is only if there are changes made to the database and library. If you can have one install being "read-only" then things will become much easier. The you just have to sync to that computer, and not from. And you can suddenly run both installs simultaneously. The easiest way is perhaps to have a central backup copy. A. Preferably on a NAS that is always on. Whenever install B exit calibre it runs a sync to update A with the latest changes. Whenever install C start calibre I runs a sync to update C from A. When you start calibre you run a script. So the commands to sync could be put in that script. I use rsync for my syncing needs. There are many other sync utilities to find if you google. There are other alternatives as well. You could get a third shared computer just to run calibre. And run the calibre server from that computer to give access to all the books. Or run the computer remotely using some remote desktop software. VNC for instance. Yet another method could be to decide that your wife handles one calibre library, with one type of books. And you handle another. So you each have a read-only library and a read-write library. And setup sync using ABC and abc as above for that. A little clunky... Perhaps best of all would be to get a portable hard drive, and install portable calibre on that. Then there is a guarantee that only one person can use the libreary at the same time, and both have full access. Of course this is only best if you only use calibre to maintain the library and upload books to some reading devices, and don't use calibre to actually read the books. Also it should be avoided to use the same calibre library using different operating systems. Differences between how operating systems handle filenames may cause data loss. And it is NOT safe to access the calibre library using a shared folder. That may also cause data loss.