Complete Library on Android

enonod · 07-27-2014, 06:23 AM

It may be a juvenile or obvious observation (no comment required) but...

If the whole Calibre library (in Author folders as is) is copied on PC (somewhat faster than wireless) to SD card then mounted on Android and the appropriate library root path set in CC then on connection the metadata is updated correctly for all books and the whole library is available for trips away.

My library of only 600 books fits very comfortably.

Might it be nice if the Calibre database could be copied and read instead of syncing the data by wireless.
One short step for CC ??

chaley · 07-27-2014, 06:41 AM

This technique works well only for epub books.

What you are doing is depending on CC's "scan for new books" feature to find the books that came out of the sky (so to say). It does that. However, CC must then negotiate with calibre to associate the books it found with the books in calibre's library. For epubs, CC opens the book file, extracts the metadata from the embedded OPF, then passes that up to calibre for analysis and matching. For any other format, CC passes the entire book up to calibre for analysis. Because of this, it is actually faster to send non-epub books over a wireless connection than to copy them to the sd card and have CC send them back. Also, there are cases where the metadata in the book cannot be matched with the metadata in calibre, meaning the books must be hand-matched. This is particularly true when metadata plugboards are used to change the metadata in the book.

CC reading calibre's database isn't going to happen soon, if at all. There is an app, leger calibre, that claims to do this. I haven't ever tried to run it.

I have looked at whether I could make CC compatible with information sent over a cabled connection by calibre. In theory the file "metadata.calibre" contains all the information CC needs. The problem is that calibre and CC probably don't agree on exactly where the books are stored and how they are named, especially if one uses different folders for different book extensions in CC. There have been too many other more useful (more demanded) things for me to do than to fight with this one. It remains on the "wish list."

BTW: there are lots of people who keep their entire calibre library on CC. I know of two who have more than 10,000 books, and many more with in excess of 4,000 books.

enonod · 07-27-2014, 06:56 AM

Thank you for the very interesting insight chaley. My PDFs all appear correctly and it did not seem to take too long to sync, (considering as you say, that they were sent back) but perhaps that is because I do not have 10,000 books.

Although I downloaded CC a long time ago, I did not get around to using it. I am very impressed and realise what I have been missing.

I'll let you get on with whatever you are now working on, and thank you for your kind assistance.

HarryT · 07-27-2014, 02:39 PM

A "real world" example: my Calibre library contains at the moment 5178 books, about 4300 of which are stored on two different Android tablets - a Nexus 7 and an Onyx T68 (that is, the same 4300 books are stored on each tablet), each managed by CC. When I connect either of the tablets to Calibre, CC takes less than 30s to do its initial sync.

enonod · 08-01-2014, 03:30 AM

Thank you HarryT, it is heartening to know that CC will obviously fulfil my needs for the foreseeable future. I agree that the speed of sync is remarkably 'refreshing'.
Keep up the good work chaley.

07-27-2014, 06:23 AM	#1
enonod Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: PC	Complete Library on Android It may be a juvenile or obvious observation (no comment required) but... If the whole Calibre library (in Author folders as is) is copied on PC (somewhat faster than wireless) to SD card then mounted on Android and the appropriate library root path set in CC then on connection the metadata is updated correctly for all books and the whole library is available for trips away. My library of only 600 books fits very comfortably. Might it be nice if the Calibre database could be copied and read instead of syncing the data by wireless. One short step for CC ??

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Import complete library and preferences after format?	esskayel	Library Management	6	10-02-2012 05:54 AM
View Calibre Library Only On Android	Everr	Android Devices	1	08-27-2012 04:40 AM
Library eBooks on Android	tomsem	Android Devices	6	08-31-2011 03:13 PM
Horror James, M. R.: The Complete Complete Ghost Stories. v1. 27 Jun 2011	Mousewaffle	Kindle Books	5	07-03-2011 09:04 AM
Get-the-complete-android-guide-ebook-for-only-99	Eddy R	enTourage Archive	1	11-30-2010 04:58 PM

07-27-2014, 06:41 AM	#2
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,440 Karma: 8012886 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	This technique works well only for epub books. What you are doing is depending on CC's "scan for new books" feature to find the books that came out of the sky (so to say). It does that. However, CC must then negotiate with calibre to associate the books it found with the books in calibre's library. For epubs, CC opens the book file, extracts the metadata from the embedded OPF, then passes that up to calibre for analysis and matching. For any other format, CC passes the entire book up to calibre for analysis. Because of this, it is actually faster to send non-epub books over a wireless connection than to copy them to the sd card and have CC send them back. Also, there are cases where the metadata in the book cannot be matched with the metadata in calibre, meaning the books must be hand-matched. This is particularly true when metadata plugboards are used to change the metadata in the book. CC reading calibre's database isn't going to happen soon, if at all. There is an app, leger calibre, that claims to do this. I haven't ever tried to run it. I have looked at whether I could make CC compatible with information sent over a cabled connection by calibre. In theory the file "metadata.calibre" contains all the information CC needs. The problem is that calibre and CC probably don't agree on exactly where the books are stored and how they are named, especially if one uses different folders for different book extensions in CC. There have been too many other more useful (more demanded) things for me to do than to fight with this one. It remains on the "wish list." BTW: there are lots of people who keep their entire calibre library on CC. I know of two who have more than 10,000 books, and many more with in excess of 4,000 books.

07-27-2014, 06:56 AM	#3
enonod Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: PC	Thank you for the very interesting insight chaley. My PDFs all appear correctly and it did not seem to take too long to sync, (considering as you say, that they were sent back) but perhaps that is because I do not have 10,000 books. Although I downloaded CC a long time ago, I did not get around to using it. I am very impressed and realise what I have been missing. I'll let you get on with whatever you are now working on, and thank you for your kind assistance.

07-27-2014, 02:39 PM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A "real world" example: my Calibre library contains at the moment 5178 books, about 4300 of which are stored on two different Android tablets - a Nexus 7 and an Onyx T68 (that is, the same 4300 books are stored on each tablet), each managed by CC. When I connect either of the tablets to Calibre, CC takes less than 30s to do its initial sync.

08-01-2014, 03:30 AM	#5
enonod Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: PC	Thank you HarryT, it is heartening to know that CC will obviously fulfil my needs for the foreseeable future. I agree that the speed of sync is remarkably 'refreshing'. Keep up the good work chaley.

Advert

Advert