Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarana
The import/export option is the right way to do a backup.
|
Not quite, Export/import was implemented to answer this question:
FAQ: How do I move my calibre data from one computer to another?. On the other hand there is the following
FAQ: How do I backup calibre?
Export backs up entire libraries, which can take a considerable length of time, even to a locally connected USB 3.0 HDD. This discourages frequent backups; so, when you have to restore from backup you have the problem of remembering what you did since the Export. Other downsides are a) you can't recover an individual book or format file, b) it uses a calibre specific format, so if for some reason you can't run calibre you can't access the library.
I recommend using a
file synchronization tool (Wikipedia) to maintain a one-way mirror of your libraries and configuration data. These tools only copy what's changed since the last time you did a backup. After the first use subsequent backups are quick, which encourages frequent use (e.g daily). Because the backup is mirror of the library you can access it with your file manager to restore an item by re-adding it to via calibre. And because it's a mirror of the library you can even have calibre connect to it in the event of a catastrophic hardware failure.
Some of the tools other calibre users have mentioned in the past are FreeFileSynch, SyncToy, rsynch, Resilio, and GoodSynch.
BR