Copy Ebooks from PC to IPad using Marvin/Calibre

[jimmybog1]

Just been given an old Ipad 2 which Im hoping to use for reading Ebooks

I already have the ebook files on a Windows 10 PC and are loaded in the library in Calibre

I found a WIki on how to use Calibre to transfer the epub files to marvin on an Ipad. The wiki showed how to use a IOS reader application plugin to do this. But now I believe these plugins are defunct

So what is the best new way to transfer the epub files? I have seen mentioned connecting to calibre server and then i see mentioned calibre content server. BUt I dont really understand the difference and what I need to do?

If someone could explain the best way or point me to a good easy to undestand guide, I would be very grateful

Thanks

[JSWolf]

The solution to transferring eBooks to Marvin is to get a Dropbox account and put your eBooks there and let Marvin download them from Dropbox. I do that and it works very well.

[jimmybog1]

Thanks JSWolf

Just created a dropbox account and connected Marvin to it. WIll try uploading an epub file tonight, but this does look like a straight forward option compared to others

Thanks again

[pwalker8]

The other way is to tell Calibre to share as a content server and download them via the OPDS option in Marvin.

[Turtle91]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

The other way is to tell Calibre to share as a content server and download them via the OPDS option in Marvin.

This is what I do. However it does take some computer know-how if you want anything more complex than downloading via your internal wifi. If you want to access from anywhere around the world via the internets, as I do, then there are several more steps. There are plenty of people to help with this over in the Calibre forum.

If you want very simple - a few books at a time - transfer, then Dropbox is the way to go. If it is more than a few, you might run into issues with dropbox themselves...at one time they didn't like serving as public access to copyrighted material.... the more books you have, the more chances they might notice and shut down the account.

[jimmybog1]

Thanks all

I managed to download all my books via Dropbox

Next time Ill try and do it via calibre content server

Within the "Get Books From" option in Marvin 3, there is a specific option for "OPDS auto or calibre server". Ill try this option tonight just to prove that it works for me. There is a separate option for OPDS. Not sure why and why it would be different to "OPDS Auto/calibre server". ??

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by jimmybog1

Thanks all

I managed to download all my books via Dropbox

Next time Ill try and do it via calibre content server

Within the "Get Books From" option in Marvin 3, there is a specific option for "OPDS auto or calibre server". Ill try this option tonight just to prove that it works for me. There is a separate option for OPDS. Not sure why and why it would be different to "OPDS Auto/calibre server". ??

I think that the OPDS Auto will look for a calibre server while OPDS supports a number of different OPDS servers out there on the internet.

[JSWolf]

By doing it through Dropbox, you don't need to download them all to your iPad until you are ready to read them. So you can put all the eBooks you might want to read on Dropbox and download when you are ready to read. So you can have the current book, the next book after than and the next book again. Then you'll still have plenty of books on Dropbox waiting for you.

I prefer this to the Calibre server method as this works very well outside of home. All you need is a hotspot with your phone or a WiFi connection. Simple really and much easier.

[jimmybog1]

I tried using the calibre server method last night and it worked well and was very straight forward.

Now at least I have two easy methods of downloading onto the tablet

Thanks again for all your help everyone

[Valkrider]

Drag and drop (sideloading) in iTunes is how I do it, very easy.

[Mtnguy321]

Google Drive also works well

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

The other way is to tell Calibre to share as a content server and download them via the OPDS option in Marvin.

Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for.

[peaceridge]

Just remember that if you have your books on a cloud server, you have to connect to the internet to download them to your ipad. Those of us with limited data plans don't have that luxury!

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

Just remember that if you have your books on a cloud server, you have to connect to the internet to download them to your ipad. Those of us with limited data plans don't have that luxury!

Depends on the limit and what type of books you download. Most of my books are 1MB or less so even if I download 500 of those on cellular, that's still well below the 20GB monthly limit on our family plan.

My actual ebook downloads over cellular are much less than 500MB per month. It's probably actually lower than 100MB.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

Just remember that if you have your books on a cloud server, you have to connect to the internet to download them to your ipad. Those of us with limited data plans don't have that luxury!

How many books do you typically read in a month? Ebooks tend to be fairly small files, generally under 1MB. Even if you read two books a week, that’s less than 8MB a month, which won’t put too much of a dent in even the most restrictive of data plans.