Transfer annotations

Moik · 03-03-2014, 05:20 PM

Hi!

I bought a Kindle in the US and some books with my Amazon.com account. Now I deregistered the Kindle from my Amazon.com account and registered it with my Amazon.de account.

I downloaded the books from my Amazon.com account and tried to transfer them via USB. It worked but I found out that the annotations are missing. In my Amazon.com cloud they're still there. Can I somehow transfer them as well?

Thanks!

nynaevelan · 03-03-2014, 06:57 PM

I don't believe you can transfer them between accounts, they will remain with your .com account.

eschwartz · 03-03-2014, 08:29 PM

Annotations are stored in a sidecar folder on the Kindle Drive, located at {book-name}_{ASIN}.sdr (versus the same name but ending with .azw(3) for the book itself). All you are transferring is the .azw(3), which is why you don't have any annotations.

The only way to get them is from the account that owns the book, by downloading it through your Kindle, via WiFi. Once there, they are just files on your Kindle.

As nynaevelan said, you cannot transfer them between accounts.

sirmaru · 03-04-2014, 01:58 PM

All annotations and highlights are stored here:

https://kindle.amazon.com/your_highlights

You can copy them from that location and paste them anywhere you want.

To paste them to the same book in a different account, just copy from that site, go to the same location using Kindle 4 PC and paste them in.

Moik · 03-04-2014, 02:33 PM

Thanks for your replies!

Quote:

Annotations are stored in a sidecar folder on the Kindle Drive, located at {book-name}_{ASIN}.sdr (versus the same name but ending with .azw(3) for the book itself).

What would happen if I copy the .sdr file to a Kindle device that is associated with a different account?

Quote:

You can copy them from that location and paste them anywhere you want.

To paste them to the same book in a different account, just copy from that site, go to the same location using Kindle 4 PC and paste them in.

How do I do this with all the highlights of one book? Or do you mean that I have to re-do every highlight manually?

eschwartz · 03-04-2014, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moik

Thanks for your replies!

What would happen if I copy the .sdr file to a Kindle device that is associated with a different account?

As long as the .azw3/.mobi file has the same filename as the .sdr folder, except of course for ".sdr" vs. ".azw3"/".mobi", your highlights will work. That is also essentially what happens when you download with one account and deregister without deleting the books, then sign in with another account.

Quote:

How do I do this with all the highlights of one book? Or do you mean that I have to re-do every highlight manually?

You don't, it's a horrible way of downloading all your highlights, which is why I didn't mention it. You have to keep scrolling through the list to load more highlights, then copy the text, save it to a text file, together with the notes (if applicable) and you end up with a list that you can manually read but can't do anything with. You certainly cannot import it into a book.

In other words, you have to do it manually, on so many levels it is not even funny. If you are the type of person who only reads 8 books a year, I think it was?? then that might not be a big deal for you. I don't think you're that person, even though some here might be.

Moik · 03-04-2014, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moik View Post
Thanks for your replies!

What would happen if I copy the .sdr file to a Kindle device that is associated with a different account?
As long as the .azw3/.mobi file has the same filename as the .sdr folder, except of course for ".sdr" vs. ".azw3"/".mobi", your highlights will work. That is also essentially what happens when you download with one account and deregister without deleting the books, then sign in with another account.

So I resetted my Kindle again to download the highlights. However, I cannot find the *.sdr file (see attachment). Am I doing it wrong?

eschwartz · 03-04-2014, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moik

So I resetted my Kindle again to download the highlights. However, I cannot find the *.sdr file (see attachment). Am I doing it wrong?

Whoops, didn't realize you have the Kindle 3!

The later models organize all the data in a subfolder called *.sdr, but the Kindle 3 (and perhaps the original Kindle and the Kindle2, but how should I know, I've never seen one/heard of anyone who has one) keeps the .apnx (real page numbers), .phl (public highlights), .mbp/.azw3r/.azw3f (notes, bookmarks, location, and highlights) in the main documents folder. All the files with the same name but different file extensions go together, and make sure they continue to have the same name.

(.han and .ea, I forget/not sure what they do, I think .han is the author info, and .ea is the EndActions. The main thing is the three I mentioned.)

And if you download the books before deregistering you will keep them on your Kindle and don't have to deal with moving anything, the gory details are primarily interesting if, like me, you plan on making a master backup of your Kindle which can be loaded onto any device, if I get a new one. (and for moving between different devices, you need to strip the DRM.)

Moik · 03-04-2014, 04:01 PM

OK, it worked for my Kindle

However, I also switched my iPad and my phone to my German account. Is there a way I can sync the books which are still on the Kindle now across all these devices?

eschwartz · 03-04-2014, 05:01 PM

iDevices can only sync what is on the account, you cannot send the sidecar files since you cannot access the file storage.

You can send books to be opened by the app but the app is the one to handle it.

Moik · 03-04-2014, 05:09 PM

When I try to send the azw file to amazon, I get an error that it cannot be handled. Is that due to the encryption/DRM?

eschwartz · 03-04-2014, 05:10 PM

(continued...

)

And the books cannot have DRM, and will show up as Personal Documents of some ilk...

Really, the best option on an iDevice I believe would be to invest in Marvin eReader. Unless the book is downloaded through the store integration, in which case it may have extra features one would like.

Moik · 03-04-2014, 05:29 PM

Ok, I think I will have to accept that my old books won't be synced across my devices. Well, except for the one I mentioned, I already read them anyways

Thanks a lot for your help!

03-03-2014, 05:20 PM	#1
Moik Member Retired Posts: 47 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Transfer annotations Hi! I bought a Kindle in the US and some books with my Amazon.com account. Now I deregistered the Kindle from my Amazon.com account and registered it with my Amazon.de account. I downloaded the books from my Amazon.com account and tried to transfer them via USB. It worked but I found out that the annotations are missing. In my Amazon.com cloud they're still there. Can I somehow transfer them as well? Thanks!

03-04-2014, 01:58 PM	#4
sirmaru Wizard Posts: 2,426 Karma: 6561538 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Kindle PW 2013, HDX 2013, Galaxy S5 2014	All annotations and highlights are stored here: https://kindle.amazon.com/your_highlights You can copy them from that location and paste them anywhere you want. To paste them to the same book in a different account, just copy from that site, go to the same location using Kindle 4 PC and paste them in. Last edited by sirmaru; 03-04-2014 at 02:01 PM.

03-04-2014, 05:01 PM	#10
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	iDevices can only sync what is on the account, you cannot send the sidecar files since you cannot access the file storage. You can send books to be opened by the app but the app is the one to handle it. Last edited by eschwartz; 03-04-2014 at 05:10 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Getting Aura. But how to transfer Annotations from kindle?	Candiana	Kobo Reader	2	08-06-2013 10:00 AM
Transfer annotations from a Touch to a Glo	filthyPierre	Kobo Reader	2	12-20-2012 08:08 PM
Pdf annotations and Kindle annotations	BranMakMorn	Calibre	0	06-25-2011 02:42 PM
903 Annotations	Zarathustra	PocketBook	1	05-18-2011 05:16 PM
annotations	paulpod	Amazon Kindle	3	01-04-2011 02:23 PM

03-03-2014, 06:57 PM	#2
nynaevelan eBook Junkie Posts: 1,526 Karma: 1464018 Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle Fire 2020, Kindle PW2	I don't believe you can transfer them between accounts, they will remain with your .com account.

03-03-2014, 08:29 PM	#3
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Annotations are stored in a sidecar folder on the Kindle Drive, located at {book-name}_{ASIN}.sdr (versus the same name but ending with .azw(3) for the book itself). All you are transferring is the .azw(3), which is why you don't have any annotations. The only way to get them is from the account that owns the book, by downloading it through your Kindle, via WiFi. Once there, they are just files on your Kindle. As nynaevelan said, you cannot transfer them between accounts.

03-04-2014, 04:01 PM	#9
Moik Member Retired Posts: 47 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle 3	OK, it worked for my Kindle However, I also switched my iPad and my phone to my German account. Is there a way I can sync the books which are still on the Kindle now across all these devices?

03-04-2014, 05:09 PM	#11
Moik Member Retired Posts: 47 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle 3	When I try to send the azw file to amazon, I get an error that it cannot be handled. Is that due to the encryption/DRM?

03-04-2014, 05:10 PM	#12
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	(continued... ) And the books cannot have DRM, and will show up as Personal Documents of some ilk... Really, the best option on an iDevice I believe would be to invest in Marvin eReader. Unless the book is downloaded through the store integration, in which case it may have extra features one would like.

03-04-2014, 05:29 PM	#13
Moik Member Retired Posts: 47 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Ok, I think I will have to accept that my old books won't be synced across my devices. Well, except for the one I mentioned, I already read them anyways Thanks a lot for your help!

Advert

Advert