Is a custom column for DRM status possible?

pg111 · 11-09-2018, 08:30 PM

Hi everybody,

I was just wondering whether it was possible to display DRM-status in the list of e-books.

Many thanks in advance for any clue.

davidfor · 11-09-2018, 10:59 PM

The Quality Check plugin can check for DRM in ePubs. You could use that to find them and then decide how to handle them.

Sirtel · 11-09-2018, 11:19 PM

If they're Kindle books, possibly the easiest way is to bulk convert them to another format. The ones with DRM won't convert. You can then tag those or mark them any other way you want. And you can bulk delete that other format, if you don't want to retain it.

Why would anyone want to keep DRMed books in their Calibre library, is a mystery to me. But hey, to each his own.

pg111 · 11-10-2018, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

[...]

Why would anyone want to keep DRMed books in their Calibre library, is a mystery to me. But hey, to each his own.

I'm realizing I should have been more specific about my requirement.

I definitely don't want to keep DRMed books in my calibre library. My goal is to spot and de-DRM each of them.

Actually I have a 1000+ eBooks which most were added to my own library BEFORE I discovered calibre. So one of my main tasks is identifiying DRMed books in that legacy bulk and de-DRM them.

So what is the best method for spotting those books easily and convenientely?

Many thanks in advance.

theducks · 11-10-2018, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pg111

I'm realizing I should have been more specific about my requirement.

I definitely don't want to keep DRMed books in my calibre library. My goal is to spot and de-DRM them.

Actually I have a 1000+ eBooks which most were added to my own library BEFORE I discovered calibre. So one of my main tasks is identifiying DRMed books in that legacy bulk and de-DRM them.

So what is the best method for spotting those books easily and convenientely.

Many thanks in advance.

Maybe not the 'best'... But the Quality check Plugin

. (there is a DRM test in there)

Then just TAG the results: Select All; Bulk metadata edit: add Tag: <tag name>

BetterRed · 11-10-2018, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pg111

So what is the best method for spotting those books easily and convenientely.

Many thanks in advance.

As davidfor posted above, the Quality Check optional plugin can identify them, select all the books, run QC->Check EPUB structure->Check DRM, then Mark or Tag the books it finds, or add them to a Reading List.

The Quality Check and Reading List tools are optional plugins ==>> Index of plugins

BR

Sirtel · 11-10-2018, 09:05 PM

Thank you for the explanation, not that you owed me any.

As for finding the books with DRM, it depends on which format they are. If they're all epubs, running the Quality Check plugin and checking for DRM is the quickest and easiest way. If they're Amazon books or several different formats, I'd mass convert them into a format you know for certain you don't have. Not all thousand books at once, but say in batches of 50. The books with DRM won't convert. Then do a search for books lacking the format you converted into. For example, not format:LIT if you converted to LIT. You should then see all the books that failed to convert. Tag or mark them in some way so you can find them later, then do the next batch.

After you're finished, you can bulk delete the format you used for converting. Just select all the books, right-click the remove icon and choose "Remove files of a specific format from selected books".

Sirtel · 11-10-2018, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

As davidfor posted above, the Quality Check optional plugin can identify them, select all the books, run QC->Check EPUB structure->Check DRM, then Mark or Tag the books it finds, or add them to a Reading List.

The Quality Check and Reading List tools are optional plugins ==>> Index of plugins

BR

This method only works with epubs. Not with DRMed books from Amazon, I just tried.

pg111 · 11-10-2018, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

This method only works with epubs. Not with DRMed books from Amazon, I just tried.

Thanks for the advice and help.

Unfortunately I ashamedly

have to confess that most of my DRMed books are from Amazing!

But thanks also to all of you that pointed me to Quality Check plug-in which may be useful for other purposes anyway.

pg111 · 11-10-2018, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Thank you for the explanation, not that you owed me any.

[...] If they're Amazon books or several different formats, I'd mass convert them into a format you know for certain you don't have. Not all thousand books at once, but say in batches of 50. The books with DRM won't convert. Then do a search for books lacking the format you converted into. For example, not format:LIT if you converted to LIT. You should then see all the books that failed to convert. Tag or mark them in some way so you can find them later, then do the next batch.

After you're finished, you can bulk delete the format you used for converting. Just select all the books, right-click the remove icon and choose "Remove files of a specific format from selected books".

How can I convert any DRMed book without first de-DRMing it?

Sirtel · 11-10-2018, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pg111

How can I convert any DRMed book without first de-DRMing it?

You can't, that's the point. The conversion will fail for the books with DRM. That's just a quicker way to isolate them than to try to open them in Calibre one by one.

pg111 · 11-10-2018, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You can't, that's the point. The conversion will fail for the books with DRM. That's just a quicker way to isolate them than to try to open them in Calibre one by one.

I see now. Thanks for the tip. I will make sure to use it.

pghaworth · 11-13-2018, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pg111

Hi everybody,

I was just wondering whether it was possible to display DRM-status in the list of e-books.

Many thanks in advance for any clue.

I created one on my Calibre. very easy. same as others. check mark yes or no for drm.

pg111 · 11-14-2018, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pghaworth

I created one on my Calibre. very easy. same as others. check mark yes or no for drm.

Thanks but it does not meet with my question which was how can calibre automatically identify DRMed books in my library. It looks like it cannot.

Terisa de morgan · 11-14-2018, 03:56 AM

Calibre doesn't automatically identify DRM books. They are in your library and you'll see if calibre can open them, but it's a manual task.

11-09-2018, 08:30 PM	#1
pg111 Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2016 Device: Kindle	Is a custom column for DRM status possible? Hi everybody, I was just wondering whether it was possible to display DRM-status in the list of e-books. Many thanks in advance for any clue.

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11-09-2018, 10:59 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 Quality Check plugin can check for DRM in ePubs. You could use that to find them and then decide how to handle them.

11-09-2018, 11:19 PM	#3
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,983 Karma: 243829945 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	If they're Kindle books, possibly the easiest way is to bulk convert them to another format. The ones with DRM won't convert. You can then tag those or mark them any other way you want. And you can bulk delete that other format, if you don't want to retain it. Why would anyone want to keep DRMed books in their Calibre library, is a mystery to me. But hey, to each his own.

11-10-2018, 09:05 PM	#7
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,983 Karma: 243829945 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Thank you for the explanation, not that you owed me any. As for finding the books with DRM, it depends on which format they are. If they're all epubs, running the Quality Check plugin and checking for DRM is the quickest and easiest way. If they're Amazon books or several different formats, I'd mass convert them into a format you know for certain you don't have. Not all thousand books at once, but say in batches of 50. The books with DRM won't convert. Then do a search for books lacking the format you converted into. For example, not format:LIT if you converted to LIT. You should then see all the books that failed to convert. Tag or mark them in some way so you can find them later, then do the next batch. After you're finished, you can bulk delete the format you used for converting. Just select all the books, right-click the remove icon and choose "Remove files of a specific format from selected books".

11-14-2018, 03:56 AM	#15
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,686 Karma: 12595249 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	Calibre doesn't automatically identify DRM books. They are in your library and you'll see if calibre can open them, but it's a manual task.