Would you benefit from file manager on your Kobo reader?

[theonna]

As subject says- would you benefit from adding a file manager to your Kobo reader?

[moffattm]

I'd be so disappointed with Kobo if they replaced the current system with a file browser. In my opinion a file browser is the lazy way of presenting things.

[theonna]

I don't suggest replacing current ui, I would really like to add functionality of a file browser.

[TechniSol]

Well then, respectfully, I'd suggest you consider lobbying that they add it in the way I've suggested that would be in line with their database philosophy. A pseudo file browser based on the user being able to specify the criteria for the sort that orders the titles one wishes to browse by. I think otherwise you will never see it, as there would likely be too much involved and too little gained.

The main limitation of a file browser is that you are constrained to only browsing in the hierarchy established by the file structure. If you order your files as Genre:Author:Title then want to look for a specific title you can't remember in a Genre you do remember and don't remember the author you are in for a world of hurt and in for a lot of directory hopping, whereas a browser configurable to show Genre:Title would allow you to drill down to the list of all the titles for that Genre without opening and closing endless Author directories. A huge time savings. That's why I'm in favor of such an approach, that and that they already have the database.

[theonna]

TechniSol I'd take any file manager functionality, real or mock.
Especially if work with database would improve in speed.
As far as lobbying for it, that is why I posted a poll, if I am just one of the few crazies, then no bother. If a lot of people find that they'd like to have file browser functionality on their Kobos, then I hope that Kobo employees did not forgo this forum completely.

[taming]

I may be in the minority, but I have relatively few books on my reader at any one time. I have calibre server setup so that my "true" ip address http://7x.x5.xx8.79:1xx8/ can be accessed even when I am away from my home network. I can use the browser and find books in so many different ways if I want to add books to my device on the go.

I also don't have thousands upon thousands of books, in any case. I am amazed at how many I have purchased in three years, but it really isn't all that hard to keep things sorted just using calibre. It helps that I used calibre from pretty much day one and I have always added books one at a time as I buy them.

For the books I do have loaded on my device, search really works for me if I don't remember the complete title of a book or the author, or if I have placed it on a shelf whose name I can't remember at the time (don't laugh, it happens).

[TechniSol]

I like your solution, Taming. Unfortunately, I don't have a fixed IP address and my home network travels with my cell phone, a hotspot. I only have about 200+ ebooks now, but I'm hoping for a way to handle a bunch more when I do have more. At the same time, my library is in Calibre too. The shelves alone, not to mention the conversion and filters make it well worthwhile. I'm more interested in what will happen when I start filling up an SDHC card.

That's my interest in it. Beyond the fact that I'm interested in intelligent design and seeing some real benefit from that database. Plus, I think it a better solution than a bog standard file browser.

[taming]

Originally Posted by TechniSol

I like your solution, Taming. Unfortunately, I don't have a fixed IP address and my home network travels with my cell phone, a hotspot. <big cut>

I don't have a fixed IP address either, TechniSol. I found though that my home ISP (shaw cable) almost never changes it up. I think it has changed twice in three years. If my IP address changed constantly, it definitely wouldn't work well.

[llcj]

theonna, could you explain the difference between collections and shelves.

Thanks.

[theonna]

Originally Posted by llcj

theonna, could you explain the difference between collections and shelves.

Thanks.

As someone said before collections are functionally similar to shelves, with the difference that information for shelves is stored in the main database, and collection information is in small xml file, which makes it easier to manage on your computer via scripts, as many Kindle owners do.
Please correct me if I am wrong.

[ShellShock]

Not looking good for the file browser--currently over 50% don't "need" it. But need and want are not the same, so that option is poorly worded; there are a lot of things I don't need but I do want....however I neither need nor want a file browser on my Kobo.

[DNSB]

I'm in the do not want or need camp. OTOH, if Kobo implements a file browser like interface using the database as an information source, it would not affect me. OTOH, it would be fun since books purchased from Kobo appear in a single directory with a string of hex characters for a file name with no extension. Still if you are going to fake a file browser, substituting pseudo filenames from information in the database would be doable.

Just another item that I would add to the Facebook stuff on my will never use list.

Regards,
David

[llcj]

Originally Posted by theonna

As someone said before collections are functionally similar to shelves, with the difference that information for shelves is stored in the main database, and collection information is in small xml file, which makes it easier to manage on your computer via scripts, as many Kindle owners do.
Please correct me if I am wrong.

I'm not very tech savy so this explanation helps. Again, thanks

[Abtacha]

To me using folders (or rather directories) is a very inefficient way to organize books so I wouldn't use a filebrowser. But I also wouldn't mind one being there as long as its inclusion doesn't break shelves (and more importantly the ability to let Calibre create them).

[parkher]

While Cool Reader with its internal file manager is (still?) not available, a good thing would be to have "auto collections" something like the ones rupor implemented on T2: so that each folder with books automatically were shown as a separate collection or a shelf. You can have other shelves as well, those auto-shelves do not replace the regular ones.
That would eliminate the need to have a separate file manager.

As to the inefficiency of folders as the way of organizing books - maybe so, but with huge numbers of books it is a fast ant simple way. It does not require importing books into Calibre. Besides, it is not clear how many books Calibre can really handle before choking.
And in a case of multi-author series etc, I add "see there" instead of an actual book several times. It is really no big deal to get to the book. If you have a file manager, that is .