MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Suggestion/question on syncing to multiple devices

santiagodraco · 08-23-2016, 04:41 PM

I've been using Calibre for some years now, mainly for book management and syncing to a single tablet (using Calibre Companion). Recently I added a second device and using CC's ability to sync reading positions using Dropbox I can jump between devices seamlessly.

The difficulty I have is actually managing the books on both devices so that they match. Of course this can be done manually and if you aren't syncing too many books it's not overly onerous but I was wondering if there's a better way and if not I wanted to suggest a couple of possible feature enhancements.

My process to sync across two devices:
1. Connect Device A (as wireless device) and make any desired changes (add/remove/sync books) to/via Calibre Companion
2. Sort by "On Device" column with device books on top
3. Select books on device
4. Disconnect Device A
5. Connect Device B (using connect and sync option in Calibre Companion)
6. "Send to device" the still selected books in the list. The books will "resort" and some books may not be on Device B but the highlights are maintained so they all sync.

So essentially if you select books on one device and switch to the second without modifying the book list the highlighted books stay highlighted and you can scroll to one of them in order to send all to the other device.

My request is:

1. Is it possible to create a "reading list" or "playlist" that can be updated and used to sync to any device? I've tried the virtual library but that won't work as the goal here is to have a list of any arbitrary book I have already synced to one device to sync to another. If not this would be a great feature. Essentially be able to right click a selected set of books and "send to playlist/reading list" capability.
2. Alternatively be able to select books and send them to a pre-created virtual library. Essentially the same as 1 above.
3. Have a new tag/flag that is a "sync" tag. I bet this can already be done... I'll have to check on custom tags. I'm personally not a fan of using a tag for this as it would be somewhat combersome to remove.
4. Have a dynamic list that is created/modified for each device that is synced. The list could be used to sync to other devices if desired.

Thanks!

08-23-2016, 04:41 PM	#1
santiagodraco Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: iPad	Suggestion/question on syncing to multiple devices I've been using Calibre for some years now, mainly for book management and syncing to a single tablet (using Calibre Companion). Recently I added a second device and using CC's ability to sync reading positions using Dropbox I can jump between devices seamlessly. The difficulty I have is actually managing the books on both devices so that they match. Of course this can be done manually and if you aren't syncing too many books it's not overly onerous but I was wondering if there's a better way and if not I wanted to suggest a couple of possible feature enhancements. My process to sync across two devices: 1. Connect Device A (as wireless device) and make any desired changes (add/remove/sync books) to/via Calibre Companion 2. Sort by "On Device" column with device books on top 3. Select books on device 4. Disconnect Device A 5. Connect Device B (using connect and sync option in Calibre Companion) 6. "Send to device" the still selected books in the list. The books will "resort" and some books may not be on Device B but the highlights are maintained so they all sync. So essentially if you select books on one device and switch to the second without modifying the book list the highlighted books stay highlighted and you can scroll to one of them in order to send all to the other device. My request is: 1. Is it possible to create a "reading list" or "playlist" that can be updated and used to sync to any device? I've tried the virtual library but that won't work as the goal here is to have a list of any arbitrary book I have already synced to one device to sync to another. If not this would be a great feature. Essentially be able to right click a selected set of books and "send to playlist/reading list" capability. 2. Alternatively be able to select books and send them to a pre-created virtual library. Essentially the same as 1 above. 3. Have a new tag/flag that is a "sync" tag. I bet this can already be done... I'll have to check on custom tags. I'm personally not a fan of using a tag for this as it would be somewhat combersome to remove. 4. Have a dynamic list that is created/modified for each device that is synced. The list could be used to sync to other devices if desired. Thanks! Last edited by santiagodraco; 08-23-2016 at 04:43 PM.