[Kobo] Some books 'are virtual and cannot be added...'

[ChrisOfTheOT]

I have Obok and the Extended plugins running. I forgot some old books on the Kobo and found them by accident. They are on the device but will not load into the calibre library. One example:

calibre, version 5.22.1
Not Implemented: The following books are virtual and cannot be added to the calibre library:

E:\.kobo\kepub\05288efe-a18e-441d-9e62-fbdc2309c8c1

What am I doing wrong? Other kepubs, in the same folder, work fine in the calibre library.

Cheers,

Chris

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ChrisOfTheOT

I have Obok and the Extended plugins running. I forgot some old books on the Kobo and found them by accident. They are on the device but will not load into the calibre library. One example:

calibre, version 5.22.1
Not Implemented: The following books are virtual and cannot be added to the calibre library:

E:\.kobo\kepub\05288efe-a18e-441d-9e62-fbdc2309c8c1

What am I doing wrong? Other kepubs, in the same folder, work fine in the calibre library.

The "Add books to library" function does not work for purchase kepubs. That would cover any book that is in the ".kobo\kepub" directory. There are several reasons for this, which includes the possibility of the book having DRM.

You should be able to use Obok to get the book either from the directory that the Kobo desktop application uses, or from the device.

[ChrisOfTheOT]

Afternoon David - after much malarkey, I gave up trying to add the books. Obok didn't see any DRMs in those titles and they still will not 'add to library'.

Instead, I re-downloaded the various titles. I didn't realise this was possible, but it turns out that the Kobo Desktop program is, approximately, useless. I found that if I log into my account online there is an option to download each book, which I have done, and note that the file names are all different. I assume I messed something up somehow (??!) but the newly downloaded titles have all been absorbed into calibre okay.

However, I also downloaded several Open University titles (DRM free) from Amazon into the Kindle desktop (v1.17, or whatever is the best, old, version) as AZW files. But they will not convert or get sent to the Kobo: calibre says there is no suitable file format and that DRM is a problem. Obok does not see these as DRM files. I have dozens of AZW books converted to epub by calibre so have no idea what's going on here. (This DRM thing was also a problem with the old Kobo titles, before I re-downloaded them.)

Thanks again David. And, erm, sorry...

Chris

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ChrisOfTheOT

Afternoon David - after much malarkey, I gave up trying to add the books. Obok didn't see any DRMs in those titles and they still will not 'add to library'.

Instead, I re-downloaded the various titles. I didn't realise this was possible, but it turns out that the Kobo Desktop program is, approximately, useless. I found that if I log into my account online there is an option to download each book, which I have done, and note that the file names are all different. I assume I messed something up somehow (??!) but the newly downloaded titles have all been absorbed into calibre okay.

The Kobo desktop is mainly useful for downloading books. It should download the same as on the device as long as both use the same Kobo account. There are some options, that can affect what is downloaded and shown. I have all these left alone so that everything downloads and is displayed.

The library is the alternative to download the books. From there, you will download epubs rather than the kepub versions downloaded to the device or desktop application. The names that are suggested by the server when downloading the books are ids of some sort. I always change them to something In understand so I can find them later. This is for books without DRM. If the books have DRM, you will need ADE to download the book.

However, I also downloaded several Open University titles (DRM free) from Amazon into the Kindle desktop (v1.17, or whatever is the best, old, version) as AZW files. But they will not convert or get sent to the Kobo: calibre says there is no suitable file format and that DRM is a problem. Obok does not see these as DRM files. I have dozens of AZW books converted to epub by calibre so have no idea what's going on here. (This DRM thing was also a problem with the old Kobo titles, before I re-downloaded them.)

Obok is only used for books with DRM from Kobo. There is a separate tool for books from Amazon. It is part of the same package that has Obok, but, has to be installed separately. But, calibre can handle DRM free AZW files. I don't deal with Amazon books frequently enough to be confident to suggest how to sort it out. But, have you installed the latest version of the tools? If you are using calibre 5.x, make sure you have updated the DRM removal tools.

[JSWolf]

If you want to keep copies of your Kobo purchases, download the ePub versions of your Kobo purchases. You can always use the KoboTouchExtendedDriver to convert the ePub to KePub if that's what you prefer to read. ePub is a better format for long term archiving.

The DeDRM plugin for Calibre found at https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com will allow you to remove the DRM from ePub eBooks.

[ChrisOfTheOT]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The Kobo desktop is mainly useful for downloading books... There are some options... I have all these left alone so that everything downloads and is displayed.

The library... will download epubs rather than the kepub versions... The names are... ids of some sort. I always change them to something In understand so I can find them later. This is for books without DRM. If the books have DRM, you will need ADE to download the book...

Honestly David, you're a wonder. Thank you.

I didn't know there were download options for books in Kobo desktop, so I assume they're all default on my laptop. As for changing the names - oh, how I wish I'd thought of that before! I didn't realise you could. I thought it would mess everything up if I changed the download names. I guess I'm just a bit dull... I do have ADE but almost never use it.

Originally Posted by davidfor

Obok is only used for books with DRM from Kobo. There is a separate tool for books from Amazon. It is part of the same package that has Obok, but, has to be installed separately. But, calibre can handle DRM free AZW files. I don't deal with Amazon books frequently enough to be confident to suggest how to sort it out. But, have you installed the latest version of the tools? If you are using calibre 5.x, make sure you have updated the DRM removal tools.

I didn't know that Obok only did DRM removal for Kobo books. Once again, my ignorance abounds. I'll check the other tools, but I've just never needed them before. I'll also check if everything's up to date, but I imagine it is as I have a message flag that tells me when Plugins or calibre have updates available.

Thanks again for your help with this David. It's much appreciated (yet again).

Cheers,

Chris

[ChrisOfTheOT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you want to keep copies of your Kobo purchases, download the ePub versions of your Kobo purchases. You can always use the KoboTouchExtendedDriver to convert the ePub to KePub if that's what you prefer to read. ePub is a better format for long term archiving.

The DeDRM plugin for Calibre found at https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com will allow you to remove the DRM from ePub eBooks.

Moring JS - thanks for the pointer.

I do have Obok but, as I mentioned to David, I've just never needed it before (if DRM was a problem, it was snuffed out during conversion, as far as I'm aware).

I did get an error message saying something about permissions on 'E' (Kobo Touch) and ran calibre in Administrator mode 'cos a post somewhere suggested it. But it made no difference: the latest AZWs from Kindle will not convert and are said to be DRM protected - which they're not, as far as I know. (They're free Open University booklets.) I got them into the calibre library okay, but no further.

Thanks again gents,

Cheers,

Chris

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ChrisOfTheOT

Moring JS - thanks for the pointer.

I do have Obok but, as I mentioned to David, I've just never needed it before (if DRM was a problem, it was snuffed out during conversion, as far as I'm aware).

I did get an error message saying something about permissions on 'E' (Kobo Touch) and ran calibre in Administrator mode 'cos a post somewhere suggested it. But it made no difference: the latest AZWs from Kindle will not convert and are said to be DRM protected - which they're not, as far as I know. (They're free Open University booklets.) I got them into the calibre library okay, but no further.

Thanks again gents,

Cheers,

Chris

DRM is not removed during conversion, but during import. So you have to delete those books from your library and re-add them.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

DRM is not removed during conversion, but during import. So you have to delete those books from your library and re-add them.

With the latest DeDRM tools, that is no longer true, AFAIK.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

With the latest DeDRM tools, that is no longer true, AFAIK.

Where did you find this information? DRM has always been removed while importing.