Synching between devices

[kanyiva]

Hey there, I'm new to Marvin and would appreciate some assistance. I have Marvin ver. 2.6.5 (paid) on my ipad and iphone. My iphone does not have any books in its library but my ipad has 37 books. How do I sync the library between the two devices? I'm sure this issue has been asked and answered but I couldn't find any definitive response and no tutorial on the website. Any help much appreciated!

[kguil]

@kanyiva. Hello. By design, Marvin doesn't automatically upload (sync) entire books to third-party cloud services. If you want to access your books anywhere you are, your best bet is to store them in Dropbox or use an OPDS service such as calibre.

[kanyiva]

Kris, thanks for your prompt response. Hmm...so, let's say I use dropbox for my library then I leave off reading a book on the ipad (location sync on with both devices) and upload the same book later in the day to the iphone, would it open up on the last page read via location sync? I'm just wondering what exactly syncs between devices if not the actual books? Thanks again for answering my initial question! The rest are just curiosities.

[kguil]

Yes. The location will be synced if you turn the feature on. So far, only location is synced but I'm planning for many more items to be synced including highlights and notes.

Here's the link describing how location sync works: http://blog.marvinapp.com/post/61407972806

[HendelTBD]

The current page sync function is great. And I don't think I'd want to have my iPad and iPhone sending books back and forth to each other via Dropbox.

But what I *do* want very much is what I used to have with iTunes - if I add a book to my library (now Calibre) and then push it to my phone, I want it to show up on my iPad the next time I sync it. Have the two instances of Marvin be aware of what the other is doing, but only actually add/remove books when they connect to Calibre (either cabled or using "Get Books").

The other aspect of that I'm really hoping to see is more metadata sync - if I add a book to my Reading List or Category on the iPhone, I want to see it that way on the iPad too. And again, sending that data back to Calibre - or maybe that piece works now and I'm just not using it right. If I finish reading a book in Marvin, I want it added to the "Read" collection in Calibre. Book added to Reading List collection in Calibre? When I download it to Marvin, keep it on the Reading List. Is there an FAQ for metadata sync?

[kguil]

Hello HendelTBD. Marvin doesn't have it's own cloud platform so it would have to rely on a third party service (like Dropbox) for this to work. Since the origin of books in Marvin cannot be determined, I decided against Marvin uploading EPUB files to third party cloud services automatically.

Indeed, in the "revamped" syncing method I'm working on a lot of metadata (as well as highlights, notes and bookmarks) will be synced too. Unfortunately, I don't have a timeline for it yet.

[HendelTBD]

Shouldn't Marvin know where the books came from in the two scenarios I mentioned ("Get Books" OTA from a local Calibre library, or physically connected to the same library through the Marvin XD Calibre plugin? Dropbox gets used for exchanging metadata between devices (as it is now for current page), but not transferring the books themselves.

[kguil]

What I meant by origin is "origin" origin - since the books are DRM free.