Can I find my Kobo ebooks on my PC?

ShinyZubat · 12-09-2012, 08:26 PM

This is sort of a weird one, so I'm not sure if anyone can help here, but...

I bought a book via Kobo's Japanese store (Rakuten). And I admit, I may have been hasty in doing it. My impression was that most ereaders also let you read ebooks via your pc. (Which I did for Kindle, and it was super convenient) Since I don't have an ereader yet. I've been thinking I'd get one soon, but in the mean time I thought it was alright to buy ebooks anyway, since as I said before I can usually read them via my pc.

But, it seems that I can't do that in this situation...I am suspecting that maybe it's just a restriction from the Japanese Kobo store. But I really really don't want to believe that. (Because that sucks super hard, and I can't figure why they would even bother putting in a restriction like that.) The book shows up when I log into Kobo Desktop, but if I click on it, it won't open. : ( There also appears to be no download link on the website itself. The only reason it even appears on Kobo Desktop is because it syncs my library whenever it opens.

I thought maybe if it was downloaded somewhere on my pc, then I could find it and figure out a work around. As of yet though, I have been unable to locate it on my computer. Do you think maybe it's there, but it's just well hidden? Any suggestions? Or am I just out 700 yen? : /

Thanks for any input.

davidfor · 12-09-2012, 08:55 PM

The Kobo desktop app does download the book to the PC. The destination "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition\kepub". But, the books in it are in a format that is intended to be read by the different Kobo apps or devices. The format is a actually a modified version of ePub. If they do not have any DRM they can be read by calibre by adding the extension "epub".

I am surprised that the book can't be read. Maybe the download was corrupt. In this case, delete the book using the application and then go back to the Kobo shop. Find the book in your library in the "Purchased" or "Trash" lists. Select it and press the "Bookmark" button at the top. This will bookmark the first page. Then do a sync in the desktop app and it should download the book again.

While writing the above, I discovered a couple of books that when I tried to open them gave a "Content locked" message with the explanation that it might be locked or corrupted. Doing the above fixed this.

ShinyZubat · 12-09-2012, 10:13 PM

Oh, thanks a bunch! I found the file I wanted! I also added the extension like you said and loaded it into Calibre, but it came out garbled. Which is weird, because it got the title right (which is in Japanese characters) but the content itself was messed up. So maybe it is corrupt, or maybe I just need to do some more fiddling with it. Either way, I am SO HAPPY to have found it at all.

Again, thanks a lot!

davidfor · 12-09-2012, 10:53 PM

It might mean the book has DRM in it. The kepubs have a different protection that the calibre view doesn't recognise and only the Kobo apps or readers can decode. The title can be seen as it is in a file that is stored without encryption.

ShinyZubat · 12-10-2012, 12:47 AM

It seems like that may be so...I've been playing various DRM plugins all afternoon with little success though. I think my biggest problem is that I don't get the option to download it via the "Adobe DRM Epub" thing. Everywhere I look, I see guides instructing people to download the file that way, but I don't even get the option to download it at all! Bah, last time I use the Japanese store...

PeterT · 12-10-2012, 12:53 AM

The Japanese material MIGHT be different in that I *THINK* they are actually ePub 3's and NOT ePub 2's.

davidfor · 12-10-2012, 01:13 AM

Peter has rung a bell and I do remember seeing something about Japanese books from Kobo being epub3. But, have you asked Kobo where the ADE version is? It might be a problem in the shop.

As to the DRM, Kobo does use a different method than ADE books. Apart from that, I haven't heard anything about the DRM.

Did you try the method above to get the Kobo app to download it again? If that works and the app can read it, that at least proves it isn't corrupt.

Lynx-lynx · 12-10-2012, 02:15 AM

Another workaround may be to use the Sony Reader for PC. This is where I download all my epubs - irrespective of where I get them from.

https://ebookstore.sony.com/download/

After they download into that I then import into Calibre where I clean them.

I don't use ADE or Kobo Desktop at all - I don't need to because all the Epubs go straight into Sony Reader as my default.

ShinyZubat · 12-10-2012, 02:56 AM

I did try the bookmarking thing and it still won't let me open it. I'm also still waiting on possible customer service and attempting to navigate the help section in the Japanese store, but my Japanese is rather feeble, so it's going rather slowly.

Out of curiosity, what difference does it being epub3 make?

tshering · 12-10-2012, 04:05 AM

I do not know anything about protected kepubs, since I do not have one. But from Davidfor's

Quote:

The title can be seen as it is in a file that is stored without encryption

I jump to the conclusion that the OPF file is not encrypted. There you can verify whether it is an epub 3 (package version="3.0"). However, calibre can handle epub 3, so that should not make a difference.
Most decisive advantage of epub 3 over epub 2 for Japanese texts seems to be vertical writing. It shows also furigana, I cannot recall whether epub 2 did this already.

davidfor · 12-10-2012, 04:05 AM

So, after redownloading it, the Kobo desktop app wouldn't open the book? If so, that is definitely a problem you need to talk to Kobo about.

An ePub3 has a different format to an ePub2. In a lot of ways it is backwardly compatible, but there are some differences that some viewers designed for ePub2 wouldn't handle.

ShinyZubat · 12-10-2012, 04:06 AM

Yeah, no matter how many times I do it, it still won't open that book.

As it so happens, I just bought another book for 10yen to see if it would let me download it and LO AND BEHOLD...it totally works just fine. Whatever the problem is, I guess it's just a fault associated with that first book that I bought. Super bummer. I suppose I'll just keep trying to contact customer service about it. (Or about getting a refund...) I guess it's nice to know that it was probably an isolated incident, but still...(I wanted that book!)

Thanks for all the help!

12-09-2012, 08:26 PM	#1
ShinyZubat Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 4212 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: none	Can I find my Kobo ebooks on my PC? This is sort of a weird one, so I'm not sure if anyone can help here, but... I bought a book via Kobo's Japanese store (Rakuten). And I admit, I may have been hasty in doing it. My impression was that most ereaders also let you read ebooks via your pc. (Which I did for Kindle, and it was super convenient) Since I don't have an ereader yet. I've been thinking I'd get one soon, but in the mean time I thought it was alright to buy ebooks anyway, since as I said before I can usually read them via my pc. But, it seems that I can't do that in this situation...I am suspecting that maybe it's just a restriction from the Japanese Kobo store. But I really really don't want to believe that. (Because that sucks super hard, and I can't figure why they would even bother putting in a restriction like that.) The book shows up when I log into Kobo Desktop, but if I click on it, it won't open. : ( There also appears to be no download link on the website itself. The only reason it even appears on Kobo Desktop is because it syncs my library whenever it opens. I thought maybe if it was downloaded somewhere on my pc, then I could find it and figure out a work around. As of yet though, I have been unable to locate it on my computer. Do you think maybe it's there, but it's just well hidden? Any suggestions? Or am I just out 700 yen? : / Thanks for any input.

12-09-2012, 08:55 PM	#2
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	The Kobo desktop app does download the book to the PC. The destination "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition\kepub". But, the books in it are in a format that is intended to be read by the different Kobo apps or devices. The format is a actually a modified version of ePub. If they do not have any DRM they can be read by calibre by adding the extension "epub". I am surprised that the book can't be read. Maybe the download was corrupt. In this case, delete the book using the application and then go back to the Kobo shop. Find the book in your library in the "Purchased" or "Trash" lists. Select it and press the "Bookmark" button at the top. This will bookmark the first page. Then do a sync in the desktop app and it should download the book again. While writing the above, I discovered a couple of books that when I tried to open them gave a "Content locked" message with the explanation that it might be locked or corrupted. Doing the above fixed this. Last edited by davidfor; 12-09-2012 at 08:56 PM. Reason: Hit save before I finished.

12-10-2012, 04:06 AM	#12
ShinyZubat Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 4212 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: none	Yeah, no matter how many times I do it, it still won't open that book. As it so happens, I just bought another book for 10yen to see if it would let me download it and LO AND BEHOLD...it totally works just fine. Whatever the problem is, I guess it's just a fault associated with that first book that I bought. Super bummer. I suppose I'll just keep trying to contact customer service about it. (Or about getting a refund...) I guess it's nice to know that it was probably an isolated incident, but still...(I wanted that book!) Thanks for all the help! Last edited by ShinyZubat; 12-10-2012 at 04:09 AM.

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12-09-2012, 10:13 PM	#3
ShinyZubat Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 4212 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: none	Oh, thanks a bunch! I found the file I wanted! I also added the extension like you said and loaded it into Calibre, but it came out garbled. Which is weird, because it got the title right (which is in Japanese characters) but the content itself was messed up. So maybe it is corrupt, or maybe I just need to do some more fiddling with it. Either way, I am SO HAPPY to have found it at all. Again, thanks a lot!

12-09-2012, 10:53 PM	#4
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	It might mean the book has DRM in it. The kepubs have a different protection that the calibre view doesn't recognise and only the Kobo apps or readers can decode. The title can be seen as it is in a file that is stored without encryption.

12-10-2012, 12:47 AM	#5
ShinyZubat Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 4212 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: none	It seems like that may be so...I've been playing various DRM plugins all afternoon with little success though. I think my biggest problem is that I don't get the option to download it via the "Adobe DRM Epub" thing. Everywhere I look, I see guides instructing people to download the file that way, but I don't even get the option to download it at all! Bah, last time I use the Japanese store...

12-10-2012, 12:53 AM	#6
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,306 Karma: 78876004 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	The Japanese material MIGHT be different in that I THINK they are actually ePub 3's and NOT ePub 2's.

12-10-2012, 01:13 AM	#7
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	Peter has rung a bell and I do remember seeing something about Japanese books from Kobo being epub3. But, have you asked Kobo where the ADE version is? It might be a problem in the shop. As to the DRM, Kobo does use a different method than ADE books. Apart from that, I haven't heard anything about the DRM. Did you try the method above to get the Kobo app to download it again? If that works and the app can read it, that at least proves it isn't corrupt.

12-10-2012, 02:15 AM	#8
Lynx-lynx Treachery of images ... Posts: 4,113 Karma: 92523791 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Australia Device: Sony 650, Kobo Glo, H2O, Aura One, Forma, Libra 2, Libra Colour	Another workaround may be to use the Sony Reader for PC. This is where I download all my epubs - irrespective of where I get them from. https://ebookstore.sony.com/download/ After they download into that I then import into Calibre where I clean them. I don't use ADE or Kobo Desktop at all - I don't need to because all the Epubs go straight into Sony Reader as my default.

12-10-2012, 02:56 AM	#9
ShinyZubat Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 4212 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: none	I did try the bookmarking thing and it still won't let me open it. I'm also still waiting on possible customer service and attempting to navigate the help section in the Japanese store, but my Japanese is rather feeble, so it's going rather slowly. Out of curiosity, what difference does it being epub3 make?

12-10-2012, 04:05 AM	#11
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	So, after redownloading it, the Kobo desktop app wouldn't open the book? If so, that is definitely a problem you need to talk to Kobo about. An ePub3 has a different format to an ePub2. In a lot of ways it is backwardly compatible, but there are some differences that some viewers designed for ePub2 wouldn't handle.