Reading vs. downloading?

[Jahlon]

When access my content server through my web browser and select a book, and click "read" (not "download") I noticed it says it is downloading the book for offline reading, and then on the home page each book is now listed under "downloaded books". Two questions:

1. Is there a way to disable downloading for offline reading, so that the book only gets downloaded when I click "download"?

2. Where is the location where the books get downloaded? (On Windows, Android, and Kindle Fire). I'd at least like to know where these are getting stored...

Thanks!

[kovidgoyal]

1. no

2. in your browsers indexeddb storage

[Jahlon]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

1. no

2. in your browsers indexeddb storage

So how do I access books offline after downloading? When I read a book on my phone so it is downloaded for offline reading, but then turn off the internet, I can't navigate to my Calibre server url.

[kovidgoyal]

Leave the window open in the background. And you will be able to read the entire book, even without internet connection. Sadly because the idiot browser manufacturers dont allow caching of webpages without https any more, the server itself cannot be accessed offline.

[nqk]

Originally Posted by Jahlon

So how do I access books offline after downloading? When I read a book on my phone so it is downloaded for offline reading, but then turn off the internet, I can't navigate to my Calibre server url.

If you are on Android, you can try Fully Kiosk Browser, which supports caching. I'm relying on it now.

Sent from my GM1910 using Tapatalk

[jecilop]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

1. no

2. in your browsers indexeddb storage

@KovidGoyal,

Do these books (read online but not specifically Downloaded) stay in storage unless acted upon by the user? I know there is a trash option, but I think that's only for specifically "Downloaded" books.
I have some large books due to the inclusion of graphics, so I need to know the effect on devices with little storage.

[kovidgoyal]

indexxeddb storage is managed automatically by your browser it will evict least recently used data when running out of space.

[Dsharma]

Indeed, the browser's IndexedDB storage works as a temporary cache that is managed automatically. This means that while you can't specifically choose which books to keep or remove, the browser will usually maintain the data of recently accessed books while discarding older data when storage space becomes limited.

If you're worried about storage space, one way to manage this might be to manually clear your browser cache periodically. However, remember that this would also remove all cached books, and you'd have to redownload them for offline reading.

Also, as @nqk suggested, using an alternative browser like Fully Kiosk that supports caching could be a beneficial workaround for reading offline.