Library File Structure for Books Exported to eBook Device

[otta56]

Hello,

The file structure for books on my Windows PC using Calibre 4.13 has a separate folder for each book containing the book itself and a metadata.opf file. When sending books to an attached eBook reader (Android 6.01 OS) all book files are placed into one folder and all metadata is stored in one file (metadata.calibre) in the device root.

Is this the default configuration for file storage?

Some Android eBook applications appear to be expecting separate metadata.opf files per book and a folder structure mirroring the Calibre folder structure on the PC.

Was there a change to the default exported books file structure enforced by changes to an updated version of Calibre at some point?

Regards,

otta56

[gbm]

Originally Posted by otta56

Hello,

The file structure for books on my Windows PC using Calibre 4.13 has a separate folder for each book containing the book itself and a metadata.opf file. When sending books to an attached eBook reader (Android 6.01 OS) all book files are placed into one folder and all metadata is stored in one file (metadata.calibre) in the device root.

Is this the default configuration for file storage?

Some Android eBook applications appear to be expecting separate metadata.opf files per book and a folder structure mirroring the Calibre folder structure on the PC.

Was there a change to the default exported books file structure enforced by changes to an updated version of Calibre at some point?

Regards,

otta56

Yes that is the default.

See:
https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/gui...send-to-device

You can control the file name and folder structure of files sent to the device by setting up a template in Preferences → Import/export → Sending books to devices. Also see The calibre template language.

Using:

{authors}/{series}/{series_index:0>2} {title}

Will put you ebooks in a folder name for the author then in a subfolder name for the series if any and name the epub file with the series number then book title.

bernie

[theducks]

ALSO note (it is a sticky) That the INTERNAL Library structure is NOT under your control.

[otta56]

Thank you for the advice. I did manage to get the books in separate folders on the device but all of the metadata is still stored in the "metadata.calibre" file at the root of the device rather than in the separate book folders as a "metadata.opf" file.

Is the creation of the "metadata.opf" file controlled by any of the template scripting language? I was not able to find a term or syntax in the "send to device" template.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by otta56

Thank you for the advice. I did manage to get the books in separate folders on the device but all of the metadata is still stored in the "metadata.calibre" file at the root of the device rather than in the separate book folders as a "metadata.opf" file.

Is the creation of the "metadata.opf" file controlled by any of the template scripting language? I was not able to find a term or syntax in the "send to device" template.

Use Save to disk (set to a folder ON THE DEVICE) if you want the 3 files (option in the STD configure) instead.

Save to device, expects the device to manage books (most modern reading apps do). You can use the same template (a copy) in STD

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by otta56

Thank you for the advice. I did manage to get the books in separate folders on the device but all of the metadata is still stored in the "metadata.calibre" file at the root of the device rather than in the separate book folders as a "metadata.opf" file.

Is the creation of the "metadata.opf" file controlled by any of the template scripting language? I was not able to find a term or syntax in the "send to device" template.

When you send an ebook file to a device, the metadata is embedded in the ebook file. There is no need for the metadata.opf. The ereader's firmware is expected to extract the information from the ebook file and use that information.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by otta56

Thank you for the advice. I did manage to get the books in separate folders on the device but all of the metadata is still stored in the "metadata.calibre" file at the root of the device rather than in the separate book folders as a "metadata.opf" file.

Is the creation of the "metadata.opf" file controlled by any of the template scripting language? I was not able to find a term or syntax in the "send to device" template.

As the others have said, the ereader apps or devices should be getting the metadata from the actual books. The "metadata.opf" is put there by calibre for its own use. It is there to make it quicker for calibre when connecting to the device the next time. I know that KOReader can use "metadata.opf" as the source of the metadata, but, it knows how to parse the file. I don't know of any other app or device that uses it.

And for the record, the "metadata.opf" is in JSON format. The attribute names are names used by calibre. Generally, they match the lookup name used in calibre. The custom columns are a more complex as they include the definition for calibre to load them.

[otta56]

Thanks for the information. It was very useful. There is one ereader application I use that correctly reads metadata from epub format but not pdf, azw or mobi. I will look KOReader.


Regards to all that responded.