Glo Glo and Calibre Syncing

[falkunmalti]

Hi

I am new here having just discovered this list. I have a 2 yr old kobo glo running 3.3 firmware. I have started using Calibre and have the latest version installed. I know how to copy books back and forth but is there a way of syncing information like the page I currently reading and whether I have finished reading. Before using Calibre, I would use the sync function on the Glo to sync with Kobo desktop and that retained my settings.

Sorry if this is a "simple" question but I am stumped.

Thanks. in advance.

[PeterT]

To get the reading location synced you need to make use of the "Kobo Utilities" plugin for calibre and it's ability to store the reading location. This will save the Current Reading Location and Percent Read in the calibre database.

[falkunmalti]

Originally Posted by PeterT

To get the reading location synced you need to make use of the "Kobo Utilities" plugin for calibre and it's ability to store the reading location. This will save the Current Reading Location and Percent Read in the calibre database.

Could you kindly tell me where I can find this in the plugins? I did a search for Kobo utilities and came up empty.


Thanks.

[PeterT]

[GUI Plugin] Kobo Utilities

[falkunmalti]

Originally Posted by falkunmalti

Could you kindly tell me where I can find this in the plugins? I did a search for Kobo utilities and came up empty.


Thanks.

OK I found how to install the Kobo Utilities and have installed them. Now when I copy a book from the kobo to Calibre which I have been reading, will it carry the information with it? When I copied a book over which I had been reading, it did not carry the info over. Maybe I am missing a step?

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by falkunmalti

OK I found how to install the Kobo Utilities and have installed them. Now when I copy a book from the kobo to Calibre which I have been reading, will it carry the information with it? When I copied a book over which I had been reading, it did not carry the info over. Maybe I am missing a step?

You have to create customized shelves to put the data in. I believe there's a detailed instruction on how to do it on the page where you downloaded the plug-in from. But if you just found the plug-in using Calibre, try to add another plug-in, then choose "intalled" on the drop down option, right-click on Kobo Utilities and click on view plug-in homepage.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by falkunmalti

OK I found how to install the Kobo Utilities and have installed them. Now when I copy a book from the kobo to Calibre which I have been reading, will it carry the information with it? When I copied a book over which I had been reading, it did not carry the info over. Maybe I am missing a step?

Firstly, it doesn't work that way. And you are missing a few steps. The steps are described in the help. Open the configuration dialog for the plugin and press the "Help" link that is in the top right corner. Have a read through that. There is also a lot of discussion on this in the plugins thread. Come back after reading the help if you are still having problems.

[falkunmalti]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Firstly, it doesn't work that way. And you are missing a few steps. The steps are described in the help. Open the configuration dialog for the plugin and press the "Help" link that is in the top right corner. Have a read through that. There is also a lot of discussion on this in the plugins thread. Come back after reading the help if you are still having problems.

HI

I read through the help as suggested. I set up a custom column called reading status and chose that from the dropdown column "Current reading Location column. Then I selected Update metadata in device library for Library Button Default. Is that correct? Now when I connect my kobo I get a box asking for reading position changes but I cannot type anything into any boxes. Obviously I'm getting there but still a way to go!!

What I am trying to accomplish is to have Calibre sync my reading status when I connect my kobo. Thanks and sorry for being a newbie. I will learn fast!

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by falkunmalti

HI

I read through the help as suggested. I set up a custom column called reading status and chose that from the dropdown column "Current reading Location column. Then I selected Update metadata in device library for Library Button Default. Is that correct? Now when I connect my kobo I get a box asking for reading position changes but I cannot type anything into any boxes. Obviously I'm getting there but still a way to go!!

What I am trying to accomplish is to have Calibre sync my reading status when I connect my kobo. Thanks and sorry for being a newbie. I will learn fast!

It looks like you are getting there. Calibre will have a pop-up asking for the reading positions to be stored if you have to corresponding columns created. When you click "OK", Calibre will automatically fill those columns with the matching read percentages in your Kobo library.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by falkunmalti

HI

I read through the help as suggested. I set up a custom column called reading status and chose that from the dropdown column "Current reading Location column. Then I selected Update metadata in device library for Library Button Default. Is that correct? Now when I connect my kobo I get a box asking for reading position changes but I cannot type anything into any boxes. Obviously I'm getting there but still a way to go!!

What I am trying to accomplish is to have Calibre sync my reading status when I connect my kobo. Thanks and sorry for being a newbie. I will learn fast!

If you are getting the prompt I think you are getting, then what hleo12 said is correct. This displays the changes in reading status of the books on the device that match books in the library. The idea is to give you a chance to see what has changed and maybe reject some or all of them.

The dialog will show the books title and author. the percent read and last read date that the calibre library has and the percent read and last read date from the device. Mostly I just press the "OK" button, but occasionally I don't want an update for a book because I accidently opened it. In those cases, I find the book in the library and send the status back to the device.

If you are seeing something else, can you take a screen shot and post it? That should tell me what is happening.

[PeterT]

One comment... You are aware that the reading location data is specific to Kobo; while YES, calibre can store (and restore it), this data is not applicable to any other application on your computer. You can't use the data stored in calibre to sync with any other eReader or program you might use to read; not even the calibre built in eBook viewer will be aware of your reading location.

Here's a post describing how I automate the creation of collections called "Reading", and "Finished_yyyy" to keep track of what I am reading, and what I have finished this year.

[falkunmalti]

Originally Posted by davidfor

If you are getting the prompt I think you are getting, then what hleo12 said is correct. This displays the changes in reading status of the books on the device that match books in the library. The idea is to give you a chance to see what has changed and maybe reject some or all of them.

The dialog will show the books title and author. the percent read and last read date that the calibre library has and the percent read and last read date from the device. Mostly I just press the "OK" button, but occasionally I don't want an update for a book because I accidently opened it. In those cases, I find the book in the library and send the status back to the device.

If you are seeing something else, can you take a screen shot and post it? That should tell me what is happening.

So it is working but what is contained in reading status is obviously wrong. I am uploading a screenshot.

[PeterT]

That is working perfectly. As we've said in other posts, this data is Kobo specific. The only reason for storing it frankly is to allow easy recovery id you do a reset.

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by falkunmalti

So it is working but what is contained in reading status is obviously wrong. I am uploading a screenshot.

How many columns did you make, by the way?

Mine looks likes this:

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by falkunmalti

So it is working but what is contained in reading status is obviously wrong. I am uploading a screenshot.

The value you have stored in "Reading Status" column is the reading position as retrieved from the database on the device. And as PeterT said, it is mainly useful if you want to restore that position to the Kobo device. But, it can be sent to another Kobo device if it has the book.

Personally, I find the "Percent Read" and "Last Read Column" most useful. The former tells me how far through the book I am. When I reach 100%, I know the book is finished. The "Last Read Column" is the date when I was last reading the book. I like seeing that plus it is used buy the plugin when retrieving the positions to not retrieve an older position.