Importing annotations from Kindle when moving to Calibre

[Resultant]

What are the current recommended options for incorporating annotations made on Kindle when moving to Calibre?

I found information related to this but couldn't tell what was up-to-date. I tried adding the .mbpV2 files through the "Add format to this book" in the "Edit metadata individually" menu but that seemed to have no effect.

[theducks]

I can't answer you main question, but.
I really don't use annotations (clippings.txt) I tried to note book errors to fix them, but nobodies editor has a Kindle-style GoTo location (Dev Hint: a editor Plugin would be welcome for use with the mainstream reader app notes)

Calibre can STORE ancillary files (as you did). That is IT. Nothing else is done.

In your case, You would need to restore the 'file family' to a compatible device (assuming a K allows that via USB) to see them in context

[jhowell]

There is an Annotations plugin which can import annotations from the "My Clippings" file from an e-ink Kindle device into either the Comments or a custom column of a book entry in calibre.

There is nothing that handles .mbpV2 annotation files produced by the Kindle for PC/Mac apps.

There is nothing that can import or export Kindle annotations that is compatible with the way that calibre's e-book reader handles them.


Added: You can add any file type, including .mbpV2, to a calibre book entry using the method you described above, but calibre isn't going to do anything with the file except store it.

[Resultant]

Thank you both for the replies and the clarity. They were immensely helpful.


theducks,

• That saved me a lot of time further attempting to troubleshoot something that wasn't broken.

jhowell,

• I doublechecked to see if I had missed something, but I couldn't find a "My Clippings" file in the app files for either the PC or Android versions of the Kindle app. Just to confirm my understanding, the Annotations plugin solution will only work with the "My Clippings.txt" file that is produced by physical e-ink Kindle devices, right? Or, said another way, this solution won't work for the (non-physical device) Kindle apps that don't produce that file, correct?
• I'm also curious, since .mbpV2 files are human-readable as plaintext what is the reason they aren't portable to another annotation format? (I assume there is a reason and I don't mean to trivialize the problem.) Is it because the "startPosition" and "endPosition" fields aren't mappable to the source text without additional information?

As I'm looking into the details of ebook and annotation formats I'm finding (not surprisingly) that it's a complex topic.

Do you have any recommendations for getting up to speed on the basics and/or learning the current state of the field?

Thank you again!

[davidfor]

To the best of my knowledge, the "My Clippings.txt" file is only used on Kindles. I haven't heard of it mentioned for any of the apps

As to why .mbpV2 are not importable, it is simple: No one has written the code to do it. For anything like this, someone has to write code. And that basically means that someone who wants the function will need to write it. Which means that they either need to have the skills required, or be willing to learn them. Or are able to convince someone to do it. So far, no one has.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Resultant

Just to confirm my understanding, the Annotations plugin solution will only work with the "My Clippings.txt" file that is produced by physical e-ink Kindle devices, right? Or, said another way, this solution won't work for the (non-physical device) Kindle apps that don't produce that file, correct?

That is correct.

Originally Posted by Resultant

I'm also curious, since .mbpV2 files are human-readable as plaintext what is the reason they aren't portable to another annotation format? (I assume there is a reason and I don't mean to trivialize the problem.) Is it because the "startPosition" and "endPosition" fields aren't mappable to the source text without additional information?

As davidfor wrote, the main reason that mbpV2 isn't supported is that no one has taken the time and effort to do so.

Each Kindle app and device has its own way of storing annotation information. The mbpV2 annotation format is only used by Kindle for PC/Mac and most people on this forum who read Kindle books use an actual Kindle device instead. Many calibre users have sideloaded books and personal documents and those do not sync with Kindle for PC/Mac. The mbpV2 file will have the annotations made on other Kindle readers only for Amazon purchased books.

The "My Clippings" file on Kindle devices contains the actual snippets of text that are being annotatated. Other formats, such as mbpV2, only contain position information. To make use of that you also need the associated book files. Kindles support multiple formats, each with a different method of mapping content to positions. There is also the issue of DRM to deal with. It would be complicated to make it work well.

Even if you can import mpbV2 in a usable way there is the question of what you can do with the results. Annotations are not well supported in calibre. There is no provision for importing or showing Kindle annotations in the calibre ebook reader or exporting them back to Kindles or to other platforms.

[Resultant]

Thank you both again. I greatly appreciate your help and insights.