Calibre Metadata on Librera Pro Android 14

[Incanus]

Hello:

In order to properly use the Calibre metadata (title, author, series, genre) with Librera Pro on Android 14.

What's the best way to sync or add books from Calibre to an Android device running Librera Pro?

I've connected the Android device with USB and successfuly sent e-books from Calibre to the Device internal memory.

I've noticed that, even though I've selected the option to use calibre metadata.opf file, Librera can't seem to get genre, series, and so forth from MOBI and PDF files: it only displays author and title; full metadata is available only for EPUB files.

What should I do?

Awaiting your kind reply,

[kovidgoyal]

There is no reason to use MOBI, use EPUB. And for PDF no clue you would need to find a PDF reader capable of reading calibre metadata from PPDF files.

[Incanus]

Again, much obliged for your reply.

I've noticed that the metadata.opf file isn't sent to the internal memory of the device: at least not when I'm sending e-books from Calibre to the device connected via USB.

To experiment with Librera, I manually copied an e-book folder from the Calibre main library to the e-books folder on the device internal memory; Librera can then read full metadata from either file: EPUB, MOBI and PDF.

Is there a way to use Calibre to send e-books along their metadata.opf files to the device?

Thanks in advance,

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Incanus

Again, much obliged for your reply.

I've noticed that the metadata.opf file isn't sent to the internal memory of the device: at least not when I'm sending e-books from Calibre to the device connected via USB.

To experiment with Librera, I manually copied an e-book folder from the Calibre main library to the e-books folder on the device internal memory; Librera can then read full metadata from either file: EPUB, MOBI and PDF.

Is there a way to use Calibre to send e-books along their metadata.opf files to the device?

Thanks in advance,

Metadata.opf is not what's used to get metadata to a program. The program should read the metadata from the metadata inside the eBook. If it's not doing that, then the program is broken.

If Librera Pro is broken, then your best solution is to find a different program that works. I can recommend BookFusion. I know it works on iOS. There is an Android version.

[Incanus]

Thanks for your reply!

BookFusion won't read MOBI, and I have quite a few e-books on that format, so conversion isn't really an option: at least not for an initial load of the library; incrementally it wouldn't be much of an issue.

What say you about the Calibre Sync app, also on Android and iOS?

Kind regards,

[kovidgoyal]

No metadata.opf is a distributed backup for calibre libraries its not even guaranteed to exist. The libera being an android device uses a generic MTP driver and that doesnt support sending sidecar files with books.

[Incanus]

Thankyou for answering!

How does the Calibre Sync app, also on Android and iOS, fares with Calibre on that regard?

Thanks in advance,

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Incanus

How does the Calibre Sync app, also on Android and iOS, fares with Calibre on that regard?

You must ask them for details, but depending on the context they probably get the metadata:

• Manual import: from the OPF in the book
• Content server and wireless device connections: from calibre.
• Import from cloud library: could be one of a few different ways. Calibre Companion got it from calibre's metadata.db.

No app I have seen uses metadata.opf. As @Kovid said, there is no reason to believe that it exists or that it contains correct metadata.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Incanus

Thanks for your reply!

BookFusion won't read MOBI, and I have quite a few e-books on that format, so conversion isn't really an option: at least not for an initial load of the library; incrementally it wouldn't be much of an issue.

What say you about the Calibre Sync app, also on Android and iOS?

Kind regards,

Just do a batch convert of your Mobi to ePub and then you can use BookFusion. It's very simple to convert.

[Incanus]

Originally Posted by chaley

You must ask them for details, but depending on the context they probably get the metadata:

• Manual import: from the OPF in the book
  
• Content server and wireless device connections: from calibre.
  
• Import from cloud library: could be one of a few different ways. Calibre Companion got it from calibre's metadata.db.
  

I'm hesitant between the first too, mainly for time constraints: the first sync takes a lot time (up to 4 hours) for my library, specially so if it's done via either wireless connection.

Originally Posted by chaley

No app I have seen uses metadata.opf. As @Kovid said, there is no reason to believe that it exists or that it contains correct metadata.

Perish the thought of arguing with the author of Calibre! To him my praises and my unending gratitude for creating an tirelessly improving such an excellent, nay, superb tool for e-book library management.

That being said, in my practical experience:

• Doing a search on my library files there seems to be at least as many opf files as e-books
  
• Every time I update an e-book metadata , the corresponding opf file changes size and date/time
  
• It remains to be seen if the "Save to file" option is in fact too heavy compared to a simple e-book sync
  

I'll keep making experiments, I think, until I reach a better solution than my current Calibre Companion implementation.

CC is somewhat quirky but (dated interface and maintenance issues aside) it still works on every device I've ever used, be it smartphone, tablet and/or Android e-ink reader, with various backup/restore instances (with CC own e-books and database backup files) between any and all of said devices.

Much obliged for your attention,

[JSWolf]

@Incanus if you don't want to use BookFusion, then you can find another program that works such as the Pocketbook app.

Libera Pro is obviously broken and should be replaced.

[Incanus]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Libera Pro is obviously broken and should be replaced.

I think that the thing with Librera Pro is that the app is attempting to support many e-books library scenarios: some of them compatible with most of Calibre's functions, but not all of them.

Thus, it appears that the app won't behave as a fully realized Calibre mobile client like, say, Calibre Companion.

Which is not to say it's broken: it's merely incomplete, at least for Calibre's mobile library purposes.

Kind regards,

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Incanus

I think that the thing with Librera Pro is that the app is attempting to support many e-books library scenarios: some of them compatible with most of Calibre's functions, but not all of them.

Thus, it appears that the app won't behave as a fully realized Calibre mobile client like, say, Calibre Companion.

Which is not to say it's broken: it's merely incomplete, at least for Calibre's mobile library purposes.

Kind regards,

The problem I've found is that if a reading program is trying to do too much, it usually gets a lot wrong. FBReader is a good example.

[Incanus]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem I've found is that if a reading program is trying to do too much, it usually gets a lot wrong. FBReader is a good example.

Too true

Ditto for CoolReader & KOReader, also going down that road of "too much on one app"?

Mind you, I use KOReader on my e-ink Android tablet: just for reading.

For the rest of my library needs I have Calibre Companion: good enough, I daresay.

[Wiggo]

Originally Posted by Incanus

Thankyou for answering!

How does the Calibre Sync app, also on Android and iOS, fares with Calibre on that regard?

Thanks in advance,

CS can read every column beside columns made from other columns or based on templates, etc. So only columns with direct input.