Reading position

[Wrongway]

I sometimes use the reader built into Calibre or use one of my other dedicated readers, Kobo, Kindle etc. Is there a way to transfer Calibre to reader my current reading position for a book and then transfer back the other way, reader to Calibre. I think epub format books keep the reading position and bookmarks within the file itself. I doubt I can bring the Kindle into the equation with being a different format. But I would like to know if it can be done with epub and how to do it.

[DoctorOhh]

I do not believe this feature currently exists in calibre for any format or between different reading apps.

[aleyx]

That, and adding this feature would mean finding out (and maintaining) how every reader devices and apps keep that information. The amount of work involved would be purely insane.

This will be possible the day manufacturers and standards drafters have a consensus on the way to do it, and implement it. I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Wrongway]

Oh well, back to the current method I am using. Make a note of a phrase on the page I am up to. When I swap to another device, load the file and do a search for the phrase.

[davidfor]

Theoretically, it would be possible with at least the Kobo eReaders. My Kobo Utilities plugin can store and restore the position from the device to custom columns in the calibre library. Translating that to the bookmark the calibre viewer uses, or the other way, should be possible. It just isn't something I've had any real desire to do.

[Wrongway]

I'll have a look at the plugin. I am still on the lower end of the learning curve with the Kobo. Getting there slowly.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by aleyx

That, and adding this feature would mean finding out (and maintaining) how every reader devices and apps keep that information. The amount of work involved would be purely insane.

This will be possible the day manufacturers and standards drafters have a consensus on the way to do it, and implement it. I wouldn't hold my breath.

It would also need a cloud service to do the synchronising - I think. I know you can synch browser bookmarks across different platforms, but do they work between different browsers eg Firefox on Windows and Chrome on Android?

BR

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

It would also need a cloud service to do the synchronising - I think. I know you can synch browser bookmarks across different platforms, but do they work between different browsers eg Firefox on Windows and Chrome on Android?

BR

Well, you can certainly import them from another browser. But bookmarks are standardized, I believe.

You could do without a server, if you have one device, e.g. calibre, that does a manual sync.

Has anyone ever figured out how Kindle annotations are formatted?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Well, you can certainly import them from another browser. But bookmarks are standardized, I believe.

You could do without a server, if you have one device, e.g. calibre, that does a manual sync.

Has anyone ever figured out how Kindle annotations are formatted?

I think each browser has its own synch feature - in Chrome it was in Personal Stuff, but I don't see that any more In Firefox its in Options. In IE it was via Live but that's morphed into Bing or something else, or it's also gone down the gurgler

I think you need something like XMarks to synch bookmarks across browsers. Surprise, surprise - Xmarks is from the same crew that does Lastpass, one of the better know password synch services. You have to install an extension/app wherever you want it. Yet another thing to go wrong.

If the mainstream browsers can't 'get their act together' without a third-party to mediate, then what chance e-readers.

BR

[eschwartz]

IIRC Chrome's first option under settings is to sign into google accounts, which then controls all syncing.

I kept finding XMarks slowed things down, so I never really ended up using it. Are they as cross-browser as LastPass is?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

IIRC Chrome's first option under settings is to sign into google accounts, which then controls all syncing.

Yeah, I suspected it might be there - when I'm using chrome I don't logon on to google - I like to keep it vanilla pristine.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I kept finding XMarks slowed things down, so I never really ended up using it. Are they as cross-browser as LastPass is?

That's what it says on the tin, but Xmarks is just one of several similar services - I saw one called Cross Browser - wasn't me that made it so

My bookmarks are fairly static, and I don't have nearly as many some people have, so I'm not bothered with synching them. I 'fixed' a machine recently that had 'zillions' of bookmarks, I asked owner if she really need them all, answer - 'probably not, but I don't have time to look at them all to decide which ones I don't want'

BR