Supplemental Files Directory

dissolved · 10-05-2015, 05:30 PM

Hi,

I'm a software developer, and many of the books I purchase come with supplemental files (primarily source code). Other books such as NOLO legal books come with lots of printable PDF forms not included in the book text itself.

I'd love to be able to import a directory (possibly consisting of subdirectories) to be associated with a book. Does this feature exist? I haven't found it.

The best work around I've found which works but is mildly annoying, is to ZIP the directory and associate the ZIP file to the book.

Thanks,
Ryan

fidvo · 10-06-2015, 12:29 AM

One possibility I've experimented with is to create a link to an external folder, then import the link (.lnk file) into Calibre. Opening the .lnk "book" will open it to the folder where the external files are.

I've confirmed that it works, but there are some limitations. Two that come to mind.

1. It only works in Windows, although there might be a way to do something similar on Mac and Linux. If you use this method, you'll be tied to one operating system.

2. Be very careful about where you put the external folders. Since they're not stored in the Calibre database, if you ever decide to change their locations, you're going to have to go through each link in your library individually and update it by hand. In other words, changing your mind later will cost you.

BetterRed · 10-06-2015, 04:57 AM

@dissolved - see ==>> Best Practices: What to do with auxiliary or companion files?

BR

kovidgoyal · 10-06-2015, 05:23 AM

IIRC windows explorer is able to open zip files natively. So you can simply use the open with function in calibre to create an action that opens zip files with windows explorer. Then when you run that action, it will be just like you are opening a folder.

BetterRed · 10-06-2015, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fidvo

Since they're not stored in the Calibre database, if you ever decide to change their locations, you're going to have to go through each link in your library individually and update it by hand. In other words, changing your mind later will cost you.

@fidvo - in most instances you shouldn't need to do that, assuming you've not disabled the Windows Distributed Link Tracking service. One of the things it does is to fix broken .LNK files.

BR

10-05-2015, 05:30 PM	#1
dissolved Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2015 Device: none	Supplemental Files Directory Hi, I'm a software developer, and many of the books I purchase come with supplemental files (primarily source code). Other books such as NOLO legal books come with lots of printable PDF forms not included in the book text itself. I'd love to be able to import a directory (possibly consisting of subdirectories) to be associated with a book. Does this feature exist? I haven't found it. The best work around I've found which works but is mildly annoying, is to ZIP the directory and associate the ZIP file to the book. Thanks, Ryan

10-06-2015, 04:57 AM	#3
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,660 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@dissolved - see ==>> Best Practices: What to do with auxiliary or companion files? BR Last edited by BetterRed; 10-06-2015 at 05:39 AM.

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10-06-2015, 12:29 AM	#2
fidvo Addict Posts: 309 Karma: 1645952 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: none	One possibility I've experimented with is to create a link to an external folder, then import the link (.lnk file) into Calibre. Opening the .lnk "book" will open it to the folder where the external files are. I've confirmed that it works, but there are some limitations. Two that come to mind. 1. It only works in Windows, although there might be a way to do something similar on Mac and Linux. If you use this method, you'll be tied to one operating system. 2. Be very careful about where you put the external folders. Since they're not stored in the Calibre database, if you ever decide to change their locations, you're going to have to go through each link in your library individually and update it by hand. In other words, changing your mind later will cost you.

10-06-2015, 05:23 AM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,251 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	IIRC windows explorer is able to open zip files natively. So you can simply use the open with function in calibre to create an action that opens zip files with windows explorer. Then when you run that action, it will be just like you are opening a folder.

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