[Android] Linking cc to Dropbox

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by chaley

Others are something else, perhaps folders that aren't in a CC library, for example the first image attached to post 16.

What he shows in post 24 is not a calibre library. The CC images he shows would not create those folders. Just look at the Laurell K. Hamilton folder in CC compared to the folder name shown.

I may be wrong but it looks like there is a hodgepodge of folders with a metadata.db file thrown in.

[Psmith0182]

well it's calibre companion, and I paid for the app that iis by multipie ltd....pretty sure it's the real thing.

should the metadata.opf be in each folder for each book or...?

[Psmith0182]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...eandroid&hl=en


this is the app I have.

also, I am actually a she*

[Psmith0182]

perhaps in attempting to get CC to recognize my actual library, as I had previously suggested the possibility of, I placed a metadata file in the wrong place....cuz the way that it had automatically set up when installing calibre to my laptop, the metadata file was in the barnes and nobles folder rather than in the books folder, and then I spotted it in the stephen king one...but nowhere else in dropbox. I tried to fix that by moving the metadata file to the books folder, and cc finally acknowledged the presence of the other folders/files.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Psmith0182

well it's calibre companion, and I paid for the app that iis by multipie ltd....pretty sure it's the real thing.

should the metadata.opf be in each folder for each book or...?

A calibre library looks like this.

Library Folder

metadata.db
metadata_db_prefs_backup.json
Folder with Author name

folder with title of book (nnnn)

title of book - author of book.[mobi or epub or ...]
cover.jpg
metadata.opf

folder with title of book (nnnn)

...

folder with title of book (nnnn)

...

Folder with Author name

...

Folder with Author name

...

There should be no folders in the folder structure that don't match this pattern

[Psmith0182]

so where should the metadata files be, including the .opf ones?

[Terisa de morgan]

At the same place that they are at the calibre library. This folder should be a mirror copy of the library.

[Psmith0182]

oh ok sorry haha checking now

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Psmith0182

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...eandroid&hl=en


this is the app I have.

also, I am actually a she*

I for one do not doubt that you have purchased Calibre Companion

Originally Posted by Psmith0182

perhaps in attempting to get CC to recognize my actual library, as I had previously suggested the possibility of, I placed a metadata file in the wrong place....cuz the way that it had automatically set up when installing calibre to my laptop, the metadata file was in the barnes and nobles folder rather than in the books folder, and then I spotted it in the stephen king one...but nowhere else in dropbox. I tried to fix that by moving the metadata file to the books folder, and cc finally acknowledged the presence of the other folders/files.

And here, I think, is the root of the problem.

The calibre library folder in dropbox must be an *exact copy* of a calibre library on your pc (machine running calibre). It must not contain any other files or folders.

CC uses the existence of "metadata.db" to decide that a folder is a copy of a calibre library. If you copy a metadata.db file to some folder then CC will be very confused. The same thing is true of calibre. If calibre finds a metadata.db file then it thinks it has a library. Nothing good will happen if the metadata.db "fell out of the sky" into that folder.

To start again: if you want to use CC's cloud connection with Dropbox then you must put a complete copy of a calibre library into Dropbox. It must be its own folder. No other files or folders are to be added to it. No folders are to be deleted from it.

[Psmith0182]

do I just create a folder specifically for calibre, does calibre somehow automatically do that? I copied and pasted the folders containing the books, but the books folder itself is original.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Psmith0182

do I just create a folder specifically for calibre, does calibre somehow automatically do that? I copied and pasted the folders containing the books, but the books folder itself is original.

Find the folder on your PC containing your calibre library. Copy that folder to dropbox as a new folder. For example, if your calibre library folder is named "my library" then copy that folder to some folder in dropbox that does not contain a folder named "my library".

The resulting folder in dropbox must be an exact, identical, copy of the calibre folder. No extra files or folders. No missing files or folders.

[Psmith0182]

do I have to install calibre directly into dropbox, or is that not possible?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Psmith0182

do I have to install calibre directly into dropbox,

No, you do not need to install calibre into dropbox. And you probably don't want to.

You can tell calibre to use a calibre library stored inside dropbox (I do), but there are gotchas. There are many threads in the calibre forum discussing this option. I strongly suggest that you don't do something like this until you understand what those gotchas are and how to avoid them.

or is that not possible?

it is possible if you use calibre portable instead of calibre. That said, don't go there right now. Don't make any extra changes until you are sure that you understand what is happening and how things work.

[Terisa de morgan]

You don't have to do it. You can install your library where you like and, then, copy all the directory inside the dropbox folder. Later, when I'm at the computer, I'll upload some snapshots of my library.

[Psmith0182]

guys, I'm so sorry for putting you all through this...I think I've got the right calibre library, located in my docs, copying now into dropbox...I made the mistake of not realizing most of the metadata files were in my external drive. thank you SOOO much for your time, patience, and assistance.