PocketBook 302 support and file formats

tarakanbg · 07-09-2010, 10:09 AM

Greetings!
First of all thanks for the great software, keep up the good work!

I have a PocketBook 302 reader and use calibre to organize and sync my books to the device. The reader gets recognized as Pocketbook 360 not as Pocketbook 302, which isn't a big deal, especially considering the 302 is quite new model.
But what matters is that the supported files are not properly described in calibre: neither for the 302, nor for the 360 model. For example both devices support zipped FB2, but calibre does not allow such archived files on the device and suggests conversion. And whilst those files can be converted to say EPUB without issues, there's really no need to go through this extra step. The devices support zipped FP2 and generally zipped ebooks without any issues.
So if you could pretty please update the supported formats for PocketBook 302 and Pocketbook 360 in a future release

Here are the actual supported formats (they're almost the same for both readers):

PocketBook 302: Fb2, FB2.zip, TXT, PDF (DRM), RTF, HTML, PRC, CHM, DJVU, DOC, EPUB (DRM), TCR, ZIP

PocketBook 360: FB2, FB2.zip, TXT, PDF (DRM), RTF, HTML, КНР, CHM, DjVu, DOC, EPUB (DRM), TCR, ZIP

Thanks in advance!

kovidgoyal · 07-09-2010, 11:09 AM

I am reluctant to add support for the ZIP format. The problem is a .zip file can contain anything inside it. For example it could contain a .lit file. For new users of calibre it would be confusing if zip files containing a format the device didn't support was sent to the device.

tarakanbg · 07-09-2010, 11:55 AM

Thank you for the fast answer!

I do see the point you're making, I was presuming there's a check of the contents of the zip file before making the decision of whether to send it or not to the device, but apparently that's not the case. Is there a workaround for individual users to tweak their local installations and allow transfer of zip files? Not necessarily via the GUI, but perhaps some more advanced method, e.g. editing a config or source file? Or some fast way of extracting those zipped fb2's and adding them as an additional regular FB2 file within the book record? Or sending not the zipped fb2 files but the unpacked files, dynamically unzipping them before sending?

And once again, thank you for your work on this excellent piece of software and for you answers!

kovidgoyal · 07-09-2010, 12:38 PM

you can use the calibredb command and a little scripting to convert all your fb2.zip files to fb2 files.

tarakanbg · 07-09-2010, 02:42 PM

Cheers, I'll play with that

07-09-2010, 10:09 AM	#1
tarakanbg Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sofia, Bulgaria Device: PocketBook 302	PocketBook 302 support and file formats Greetings! First of all thanks for the great software, keep up the good work! I have a PocketBook 302 reader and use calibre to organize and sync my books to the device. The reader gets recognized as Pocketbook 360 not as Pocketbook 302, which isn't a big deal, especially considering the 302 is quite new model. But what matters is that the supported files are not properly described in calibre: neither for the 302, nor for the 360 model. For example both devices support zipped FB2, but calibre does not allow such archived files on the device and suggests conversion. And whilst those files can be converted to say EPUB without issues, there's really no need to go through this extra step. The devices support zipped FP2 and generally zipped ebooks without any issues. So if you could pretty please update the supported formats for PocketBook 302 and Pocketbook 360 in a future release Here are the actual supported formats (they're almost the same for both readers): PocketBook 302: Fb2, FB2.zip, TXT, PDF (DRM), RTF, HTML, PRC, CHM, DJVU, DOC, EPUB (DRM), TCR, ZIP PocketBook 360: FB2, FB2.zip, TXT, PDF (DRM), RTF, HTML, КНР, CHM, DjVu, DOC, EPUB (DRM), TCR, ZIP Thanks in advance! Last edited by tarakanbg; 07-09-2010 at 10:13 AM.

07-09-2010, 11:55 AM	#3
tarakanbg Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sofia, Bulgaria Device: PocketBook 302	Thank you for the fast answer! I do see the point you're making, I was presuming there's a check of the contents of the zip file before making the decision of whether to send it or not to the device, but apparently that's not the case. Is there a workaround for individual users to tweak their local installations and allow transfer of zip files? Not necessarily via the GUI, but perhaps some more advanced method, e.g. editing a config or source file? Or some fast way of extracting those zipped fb2's and adding them as an additional regular FB2 file within the book record? Or sending not the zipped fb2 files but the unpacked files, dynamically unzipping them before sending? And once again, thank you for your work on this excellent piece of software and for you answers! Last edited by tarakanbg; 07-09-2010 at 11:58 AM.

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07-09-2010, 11:09 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,296 Karma: 27111240 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	I am reluctant to add support for the ZIP format. The problem is a .zip file can contain anything inside it. For example it could contain a .lit file. For new users of calibre it would be confusing if zip files containing a format the device didn't support was sent to the device.

07-09-2010, 12:38 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,296 Karma: 27111240 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	you can use the calibredb command and a little scripting to convert all your fb2.zip files to fb2 files.

07-09-2010, 02:42 PM	#5
tarakanbg Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sofia, Bulgaria Device: PocketBook 302	Cheers, I'll play with that

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