newbie - library question

mrobinson1201 · 06-13-2011, 09:09 AM

Hi all, I have a few questions that has probably been answered, but I couldn't find it so sorry if this is an old annoying topic

I just installed Calibre. I had it search through my files for ebooks. it did so and I have a lot of cleaning up to do. That's okay, but here are my questions:

1. once I import the books to the Calibre library, can I delete the old files that it imported from?

2. Once I edit metadata with correct information, does the Calibre Library file system fix its tree structure with new info (idk if this even matters though) It shouldn't bother me, but I looked at the files in the Calibre Library and because the metadata was so bad before the import, it looks like a bunch of junk. so just curious.

I do want to get rid of duplicate files though. so if the old original files can go - great.

thanks so much.

Marie

kiwidude · 06-13-2011, 09:31 AM

@Marie - Wlecome to MobileRead.

Make sure you have a backup of your Calibre library before you delete your source files, but yes it is fine to delete your originals once you have them in Calibre.

As for the Calibre tree, I assume you mean by "mess" you mean you have things like folders named as book titles amongst your authors, multiple variants of an author name etc. To answer your question, yes as you cleanup your library and rename titles/authors in Calibre the folder structure in Calibre will change as it goes. However you shouldn't care what the Calibre directories look like, as is often mentioned on these forums/sticky you shouldn't be poking around in there anyways. Always use the Calibre UI instead.

itimpi · 06-13-2011, 09:31 AM

1. You could - but it is always a good idea to have backups of your books. You can either keep the originals or backup your Calibre library to achieve this.

2. If you change author and/or title then Calibre will rename files within its library structure to reflect your change. However this should not really concern you if you stick to using Calibre as the way to access your stored books.

EDIT: Looks like Kiwidude beat me to it

At least our answers are consistent

mrobinson1201 · 06-13-2011, 09:38 AM

thanks so much for your answers. I will be backing up from Calibre and I vow to stop looking at the Calibre file system and just looking at the library!

MArei

06-13-2011, 09:09 AM	#1
mrobinson1201 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: nook	newbie - library question Hi all, I have a few questions that has probably been answered, but I couldn't find it so sorry if this is an old annoying topic I just installed Calibre. I had it search through my files for ebooks. it did so and I have a lot of cleaning up to do. That's okay, but here are my questions: 1. once I import the books to the Calibre library, can I delete the old files that it imported from? 2. Once I edit metadata with correct information, does the Calibre Library file system fix its tree structure with new info (idk if this even matters though) It shouldn't bother me, but I looked at the files in the Calibre Library and because the metadata was so bad before the import, it looks like a bunch of junk. so just curious. I do want to get rid of duplicate files though. so if the old original files can go - great. thanks so much. Marie

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06-13-2011, 09:31 AM	#2
kiwidude Calibre Plugins Developer Posts: 4,726 Karma: 2197770 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Oasis	@Marie - Wlecome to MobileRead. Make sure you have a backup of your Calibre library before you delete your source files, but yes it is fine to delete your originals once you have them in Calibre. As for the Calibre tree, I assume you mean by "mess" you mean you have things like folders named as book titles amongst your authors, multiple variants of an author name etc. To answer your question, yes as you cleanup your library and rename titles/authors in Calibre the folder structure in Calibre will change as it goes. However you shouldn't care what the Calibre directories look like, as is often mentioned on these forums/sticky you shouldn't be poking around in there anyways. Always use the Calibre UI instead.

06-13-2011, 09:31 AM	#3
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	1. You could - but it is always a good idea to have backups of your books. You can either keep the originals or backup your Calibre library to achieve this. 2. If you change author and/or title then Calibre will rename files within its library structure to reflect your change. However this should not really concern you if you stick to using Calibre as the way to access your stored books. EDIT: Looks like Kiwidude beat me to it At least our answers are consistent

06-13-2011, 09:38 AM	#4
mrobinson1201 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: nook	thanks so much for your answers. I will be backing up from Calibre and I vow to stop looking at the Calibre file system and just looking at the library! MArei

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