how to find books that have not used Alf's tools

catsknit · 09-29-2019, 07:30 PM

I know how to use Alf's tools and normally things go fine on import. But I was trying to convert some AZWs to kepub today and a lot of them say DRM is still present. Obviously I will have to re-import those but is there a quick way to get a listing of which books fall into this? it came up one by one so I'd have to write them down individually if I run that again.

Sirtel · 09-29-2019, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catsknit

I know how to use Alf's tools and normally things go fine on import. But I was trying to convert some AZWs to kepub today and a lot of them say DRM is still present. Obviously I will have to re-import those but is there a quick way to get a listing of which books fall into this? it came up one by one so I'd have to write them down individually if I run that again.

Search for format:azw. If the format in Calibre is azw, then the book usually has DRM. De-DRMed Amazon books are mobi or azw3.

Now if you want to find epubs with DRM, you have to use the Quality Check plugin.

Tarana · 09-29-2019, 08:48 PM

Just open View on the book (if you have 1,200 books, do it while listening to an audiobook). If the View doesn't open, it still has DRM. I made the mistake of not checking a lot of my freebees from 2012 and 2013 that I was deleting from my bloated Amazon account. I had 200-300 of them that still had DRM. Fortunately, a few that I still wanted to keep (maybe 6), Amazon customer service restored to my account and I redownloaded. That was a lesson to check every single one.

catsknit · 09-30-2019, 09:54 PM

Sirtel, I know how to search for AZW files; the problem is that some successfully had the DRM stripped on import and some did not; I can't tell the difference until I try to convert to another format.

Tarana, thanks but trying to do a conversion on each book accomplishes the same thing. I was hoping there was some way to search for books that still had DRM and thus have a list to print off and have handy in order to do the re-importations.

kovidgoyal · 09-30-2019, 10:00 PM

Convert all files to some format youdonthave in your library like say LIT orRTF. Then search for books without that format, that will tell you the books that have DRM, then you can create a CSV catalog of them.

Sirtel · 10-01-2019, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catsknit

Sirtel, I know how to search for AZW files; the problem is that some successfully had the DRM stripped on import and some did not; I can't tell the difference until I try to convert to another format.

.

No. If the book is azw (not azw3), then the tools didn't work. Some books just didn't have DRM to begin with and so can be converted even without Alf's tools.

Amazon books which had DRM before importing and the tools stripped it, are never azw. They are mobi or azw3.

theducks · 10-01-2019, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

No. If the book is azw (not azw3), then the tools didn't work. Some books just didn't have DRM to begin with and so can be converted even without Alf's tools.

Amazon books which had DRM before importing and the tools stripped it, are never azw. They are mobi or azw3.

I have 5 AZW books in my Library. They open fine with the calibre viewer.
The rule is more like a Guideline

Sirtel · 10-01-2019, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I have 5 AZW books in my Library. They open fine with the calibre viewer.
The rule is more like a Guideline

That means they were DRM-free since the beginning.

I have more than a thousand Amazon books in my library and not a single azw. Whenever I notice an azw, I won't bother opening/converting it, I just re-import it. It's never an azw after re-importing.

pdurrant · 10-01-2019, 10:33 AM

Sirtel has it right. If the book's been through Alf's tools, it's not AZW. It might be HTMLZ or MOBI or AZW3. If it's AZW, it was imported without Alf's tools touching it.

That doesn't mean that all AZW books in your calibre library have DRM. If the book was sold without DRM, the AZW (if not KFX format) will not have DRM.

theducks · 10-01-2019, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Sirtel has it right. If the book's been through Alf's tools, it's not AZW. It might be HTMLZ or MOBI or AZW3. If it's AZW, it was imported without Alf's tools touching it.

That doesn't mean that all AZW books in your calibre library have DRM. If the book was sold without DRM, the AZW (if not KFX format) will not have DRM.

IIRC these were sold Without.
This also makes it easy for Indie authors to serve those NOT locked to a Kindle

JSWolf · 10-01-2019, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Sirtel has it right. If the book's been through Alf's tools, it's not AZW. It might be HTMLZ or MOBI or AZW3. If it's AZW, it was imported without Alf's tools touching it.

That doesn't mean that all AZW books in your calibre library have DRM. If the book was sold without DRM, the AZW (if not KFX format) will not have DRM.

What about .azw3 (KF8) eBooks that may still have DRM? There was a bug in the past with the DeDRM plugin where if you tried to load too many Kindle eBooks at one time, the DRM removal would fail on some of them.

Sirtel · 10-01-2019, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What about .azw3 (KF8) eBooks that may still have DRM? There was a bug in the past with the DeDRM plugin where if you tried to load too many Kindle eBooks at one time, the DRM removal would fail on some of them.

They will show up as AZW, when the tools fail.

For this reason I always import my Kindle books one by one. So I can see immediately whether the tools worked or not.

JSWolf · 10-01-2019, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

They will show up as AZW, when the tools fail.

For this reason I always import my Kindle books one by one. So I can see immediately whether the tools worked or not.

Why would they all show as .azw if they were downloaded from Amazon as .azw3? And one other thing I left out, they can also show as .mobi. Remember when you use the direct download from Amazon, you get .mobi or .azw3.

Sirtel · 10-01-2019, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why would they all show as .azw if they were downloaded from Amazon as .azw3? And one other thing I left out, they can also show as .mobi. Remember when you use the direct download from Amazon, you get .mobi or .azw3.

Ah yes, it's different when you use the download & transfer option. I generally use Kindle for PC and then the DRMed books will show up as AZW, no matter what their format actually is.

JSWolf · 10-01-2019, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Ah yes, it's different when you use the download & transfer option. I generally use Kindle for PC and then the DRMed books will show up as AZW, no matter what their format actually is.

So if you do have .azw3 or .mobi eBooks, you also have to check those out by either trying to convert or trying to view.

09-29-2019, 07:30 PM	#1
catsknit Addict Posts: 224 Karma: 34036 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Glo HD, Samsung tablet, Kobo Libra, InkPad 3 Pro	how to find books that have not used Alf's tools I know how to use Alf's tools and normally things go fine on import. But I was trying to convert some AZWs to kepub today and a lot of them say DRM is still present. Obviously I will have to re-import those but is there a quick way to get a listing of which books fall into this? it came up one by one so I'd have to write them down individually if I run that again.

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09-29-2019, 08:48 PM	#3
Tarana Wizard Posts: 4,038 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	Just open View on the book (if you have 1,200 books, do it while listening to an audiobook). If the View doesn't open, it still has DRM. I made the mistake of not checking a lot of my freebees from 2012 and 2013 that I was deleting from my bloated Amazon account. I had 200-300 of them that still had DRM. Fortunately, a few that I still wanted to keep (maybe 6), Amazon customer service restored to my account and I redownloaded. That was a lesson to check every single one.

09-30-2019, 09:54 PM	#4
catsknit Addict Posts: 224 Karma: 34036 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Glo HD, Samsung tablet, Kobo Libra, InkPad 3 Pro	Sirtel, I know how to search for AZW files; the problem is that some successfully had the DRM stripped on import and some did not; I can't tell the difference until I try to convert to another format. Tarana, thanks but trying to do a conversion on each book accomplishes the same thing. I was hoping there was some way to search for books that still had DRM and thus have a list to print off and have handy in order to do the re-importations.

09-30-2019, 10:00 PM	#5
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,355 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Convert all files to some format youdonthave in your library like say LIT orRTF. Then search for books without that format, that will tell you the books that have DRM, then you can create a CSV catalog of them.

10-01-2019, 10:33 AM	#9
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,948 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Sirtel has it right. If the book's been through Alf's tools, it's not AZW. It might be HTMLZ or MOBI or AZW3. If it's AZW, it was imported without Alf's tools touching it. That doesn't mean that all AZW books in your calibre library have DRM. If the book was sold without DRM, the AZW (if not KFX format) will not have DRM.