don't overwrite kindle highlights

blaenk · 06-30-2015, 04:14 PM

Sorry of this is the wrong forum.

I have a kindle paperwhite. So what happened to me one time was that I had a book for which an updated version was released. It was otherwise identical in terms of metadata. I had many highlights and notes for it but after I re-sent the book so that it would overwrite the azw3 file on the kindle, it also overwrote the azw3r file in the .sdr folder, which stores the highlights (AFAIK), so when I opened the book I didn't see any of my highlights.

My question is if there's a way to configure Calibre to _only_ send the azw3 and not overwrite or remove anything else? I understand that the highlights may have become incorrect due to changed content in the book, and I at least have them in the My Clippings.txt file. However, in the future, I would prefer it if I could somehow configure it to _only_ send over the azw3 file without removing/overwriting anything in the .sdr folder. I suppose I can do this manually, but I'm wondering if this is possible to configure in Calibre.

EDIT: It seems to me like the code shows that it doesn't ovewrite the sdr folder if it already exists. Does anyone have any idea what could have happened? Or is it that when you re-send a book, it deletes the folder for the book if it already exists? This would also delete the contained .sdr folder.

Yeah looking at other code seems to confirm that Calibre doesn't overwrite this. So I tested it again, and sure enough Calibre indeed does not overwrite these files, so it must've been something I did myself. Disregard this thread

eschwartz · 07-01-2015, 10:19 AM

As you saw, calibre does not overwrite the.sdr folder.

However, if you delete a book with calibre, then re-add it, calibre will remove the .sdr folder with the book.
When deleting a book through the Kindle interface, if the book came from Amazon it will say "remove from device", and the .sdr folder will be deleted, since the contents are backed up on Amazon's servers. If you remove a sideloaded, non-Amazon book, it will say "Delete this book", ask for confirmation, and leave the .sdr folder behind.

If the book was modified, it is a moot point as the annotations will point to the wrong locations. If the book came from Amazon you can sync and the annotations will be migrated to the updated book by Amazon themselves.

blaenk · 07-03-2015, 01:11 AM

Hmm that's weird. None of my books came from Amazon, but they all say "remove matching books from device," and I see no "delete"-like option. It would be nice to be able to delete _just_ the ebook file from within Calibre, without having to traverse the file system.

EDIT: I guess it depends on how Calibre determines whether a book came from Amazon, since the books I have do have Amazon IDs.

eschwartz · 07-03-2015, 01:27 AM

As I said (emphasis added):

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

However, if you delete a book with calibre, then re-add it, calibre will remove the .sdr folder with the book.
When deleting a book through the Kindle interface, if the book came from Amazon it will say "remove from device", and the .sdr folder will be deleted, since the contents are backed up on Amazon's servers. If you remove a sideloaded, non-Amazon book, it will say "Delete this book", ask for confirmation, and leave the .sdr folder behind.

blaenk · 07-03-2015, 03:03 AM

Ah thanks, I missed that.

06-30-2015, 04:14 PM	#1
blaenk Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 118948 Join Date: Jul 2014 Device: Kindle PaperWhite 3	don't overwrite kindle highlights Sorry of this is the wrong forum. I have a kindle paperwhite. So what happened to me one time was that I had a book for which an updated version was released. It was otherwise identical in terms of metadata. I had many highlights and notes for it but after I re-sent the book so that it would overwrite the azw3 file on the kindle, it also overwrote the azw3r file in the .sdr folder, which stores the highlights (AFAIK), so when I opened the book I didn't see any of my highlights. My question is if there's a way to configure Calibre to _only_ send the azw3 and not overwrite or remove anything else? I understand that the highlights may have become incorrect due to changed content in the book, and I at least have them in the My Clippings.txt file. However, in the future, I would prefer it if I could somehow configure it to _only_ send over the azw3 file without removing/overwriting anything in the .sdr folder. I suppose I can do this manually, but I'm wondering if this is possible to configure in Calibre. EDIT: It seems to me like the code shows that it doesn't ovewrite the sdr folder if it already exists. Does anyone have any idea what could have happened? Or is it that when you re-send a book, it deletes the folder for the book if it already exists? This would also delete the contained .sdr folder. Yeah looking at other code seems to confirm that Calibre doesn't overwrite this. So I tested it again, and sure enough Calibre indeed does not overwrite these files, so it must've been something I did myself. Disregard this thread Last edited by blaenk; 06-30-2015 at 04:29 PM.

07-03-2015, 01:11 AM	#3
blaenk Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 118948 Join Date: Jul 2014 Device: Kindle PaperWhite 3	Hmm that's weird. None of my books came from Amazon, but they all say "remove matching books from device," and I see no "delete"-like option. It would be nice to be able to delete _just_ the ebook file from within Calibre, without having to traverse the file system. EDIT: I guess it depends on how Calibre determines whether a book came from Amazon, since the books I have do have Amazon IDs. Last edited by blaenk; 07-03-2015 at 01:17 AM.

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07-01-2015, 10:19 AM	#2
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)	As you saw, calibre does not overwrite the.sdr folder. However, if you delete a book with calibre, then re-add it, calibre will remove the .sdr folder with the book. When deleting a book through the Kindle interface, if the book came from Amazon it will say "remove from device", and the .sdr folder will be deleted, since the contents are backed up on Amazon's servers. If you remove a sideloaded, non-Amazon book, it will say "Delete this book", ask for confirmation, and leave the .sdr folder behind. If the book was modified, it is a moot point as the annotations will point to the wrong locations. If the book came from Amazon you can sync and the annotations will be migrated to the updated book by Amazon themselves.

07-03-2015, 03:03 AM	#5
blaenk Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 118948 Join Date: Jul 2014 Device: Kindle PaperWhite 3	Ah thanks, I missed that.

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