[GUI Plugin] Kobo Utilities

[compurandom]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I will probably add backing up the BookReader.sqlite file, but, I am not planning to add any checks for it.

It might be a good idea to see if the journal file exists for it.
If it does, then it probably wasn't closed properly and may be corrupt.

I've seen that happen at least one of the times it got corrupted. (There were actually two extra files with the same base name, looked like a typical sqlite3 pattern to me.)

[Uncle Robin]

I'm not 100% sure this question belongs here, but it seems likely overall:

I do all my reading in KOreader, but have always assumed that the Kobo Utilities function of updating read status on connecting the device only works in Nickel. So I was in the habit of exiting KOReader going back into Nickel, and updating book statuses there before connecting to Calibre. I didn't mind the small extra hassle. Then one day last week, I accidentally forgot, connected to USB while still in KOReader and found that Kobo Utilities DID see all my reading status changes from books that I had never even opened in Nickel, and updated them all in Calibre. Oh frabjous day!

Then, yesterday, I finally cleared my Sage of all Kobo Store entries. Having downloaded and de-drmd all my Kobo purchases, I moved them all into my archive via the Kobo website, then updated my Sage to remove all the entries there. This triggered the expected update to 4.31, which I promptly undid, reinstalling 4.30 and re-enabling KOReader

When I next started up KOReader, I discovered that Kobo Utilities no longer recognizes it. "no reading statuses were found that need updating". I also sent some books to the device while connected via KOReader, and although the green "on device" tick appeared after the send was finished, when I next logged into Calibre from Nickel, the books did not show as "on device", although a check of file explorer showed them as present. When I then sent them again, they did not turn up as duplicates in Calibre, and a check of file explorer confirms only one copy of each is on the device.

Sorry for the long-winded intro, but that's the situation as it stands. My question is: Was the brief interlude of full Kobo Utilities functionality via KOReader an aberration, or is it supposed to work? If the latter, any suggestions on why it no longer does?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Then, yesterday, I finally cleared my Sage of all Kobo Store entries. Having downloaded and de-drmd all my Kobo purchases, I moved them all into my archive via the Kobo website, then updated my Sage to remove all the entries there. This triggered the expected update to 4.31, which I promptly undid, reinstalling 4.30 and re-enabling KOReader

When I next started up KOReader, I discovered that Kobo Utilities no longer recognizes it. "no reading statuses were found that need updating". I also sent some books to the device while connected via KOReader, and although the green "on device" tick appeared after the send was finished, when I next logged into Calibre from Nickel, the books did not show as "on device", although a check of file explorer showed them as present. When I then sent them again, they did not turn up as duplicates in Calibre, and a check of file explorer confirms only one copy of each is on the device.

Sorry for the long-winded intro, but that's the situation as it stands. My question is: Was the brief interlude of full Kobo Utilities functionality via KOReader an aberration, or is it supposed to work? If the latter, any suggestions on why it no longer does?

Unless you use Nickel to import the books you sent into the KoboReader.sqlite database, calibre using the KoboTouch/Extended driver will not see them as being on the device. When you initially send the books, calibre will give that green check mark but if you close and re-open calibre, they will be gone.

If you are only going to use KOReader, using the KoboUtilities and KoboTouch/Extended driver is about as useful as roller skates in a rice paddy.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by DNSB

If you are only going to use KOReader, using the KoboUtilities and KoboTouch/Extended driver is about as useful as roller skates in a rice paddy.

Thanks for effectively repeating what I explicitly stated at the outset of my initial post:

have always assumed that the Kobo Utilities function of updating read status on connecting the device only works in Nickel

To make it easier for you to grasp, I shall repeat the primary question I asked:

Was the brief interlude of full Kobo Utilities functionality via KOReader an aberration, or is it supposed to work?

[NiLuJe]

That smells like PEBCAK (and/or a bug somewhere that caused a reading state to be flagged as changed), as the plugin only cares about the reading state in the *nickel* DB, and KOReader doesn't touch that, ever (never ever ever!).

I should know, I wrote a script to do the KOReader -> Nickel reading status update just so that I could keep using that feature of the Calibre plugin .

(Said script requires my Python distro; after which you can just 'right click > run python script' it in KOReader. I fav'ed it for ease of access on my devices).

[NiLuJe]

The lack on "on device" checkmark is more troubling though, but might be explained because of reasons (possibly related to a stale on-device calibre metadata cache), depending on exactly what you did.

(See the rest of that thread for context, although most of my answers were geared towards what happens if you *add* new books behind nickel's back; not the state of already-imported-by-nickel books).

[Uncle Robin]

Thanks NiLuJe - it does sound like a weird one-off glitch somehow then. When it 'failed' after having unexpectedly worked, I did delete metadata.calibre to see if that 'fixed' it, but it did not. I can't really miss what I never really had

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

That smells like PEBCAK (and/or a bug somewhere that caused a reading state to be flagged as changed), as the plugin only cares about the reading state in the *nickel* DB, and KOReader doesn't touch that, ever (never ever ever!).

Definitely a PEBCAK issue. There is no way there would be any bugs in my code. How dare you suggest such a thing!

@Uncle Robin: As the others have said, the Kobo Utilities plugin reads the database that is maintained by nickel. If the reading status has not changed in that, then the plugin won't find any changes. I can only assume that you had done some updates that you forgot about.

If you aren't using nickel, there is a KOReader Sync plugin that, I think, fetches the reading status from wherever KOReader stores it. I haven't really looked at it, so I don't know what it's dependencies are.

I should know, I wrote a script to do the KOReader -> Nickel reading status update just so that I could keep using that feature of the Calibre plugin .

(Said script requires my Python distro; after which you can just 'right click > run python script' it in KOReader. I fav'ed it for ease of access on my devices).

I hadn't seen that before. Good to know about it. Have you considered running it from the connected PC? It would stilll need a Python install, but, some people might be more comfortable with that.

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

The lack on "on device" checkmark is more troubling though, but might be explained because of reasons (possibly related to a stale on-device calibre metadata cache), depending on exactly what you did.

(See the rest of that thread for context, although most of my answers were geared towards what happens if you *add* new books behind nickel's back; not the state of already-imported-by-nickel books).

A missing "metadata.calibre" is mainly an issue when matching books. And that is largely with books that have multiple authors. Calibre uses the title and author and that might not be handled correctly for multiple authors. And for books not sideloaded through calibre, there can be title issues. You can manually match these books and that is stored in metadata.calibre. It also helps with performance as the matching has already been done.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I hadn't seen that before. Good to know about it. Have you considered running it from the connected PC? It would stilll need a Python install, but, some people might be more comfortable with that.

I wonder if the Python built into calibre would suffice? Might be worth trying the script via calibre-debug?

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I wonder if the Python built into calibre would suffice? Might be worth trying the script via calibre-debug?

Not without some modification. It uses FBInk for display and hardcodes the paths. Those would be easy to handle, but, it also uses a library called "slpp" for reading the LUA files and calibre does not include that.

[NiLuJe]

Yeah, to be fair, the whole thing being in Python was pretty much an excuse to play with that very module that loads Lua data types into Python data types ;p.

(That said, IIRC, it's pure-python and possibly single-file, so it could easily be embedded in a plugin).

Every time it's been mentioned, there's been talk of either writing it entirely in Lua and bundling it in KOReader, or making it work from the computer's side of things .

I, err, haven't really had time to look into either of those options ;o).

Thanks for the reminder about the KOReader Sync plugin, I had entirely forgotten about it, I'll check how things have progressed there since last I checked .

[gguigui]

Hello!

I just got a Libra 2. Very pleased with it, I managed to migrate everything from my Clara HD. Everything works fine in Calibre, however in Kobo Utilities settings the Libra 2 doesn't appear in the devices tab, there's only the Clara HD, and I can't seem to find how to add it. Does someone have an idea?

Thanks!

[theducks]

Is the tick box Configure options for each device, ticked?
Did you click Add connected device (only when connected )

FWIW I also specify separate folders for backups

[gguigui]

Originally Posted by theducks

Is the tick box Configure options for each device, ticked?
Did you click Add connected device (only when connected )

FWIW I also specify separate folders for backups

The box is ticked, but the "add connected device" is greyed out, even though it's connected and recognized, since I can add books and see which ones are on the device.

[theducks]

Dumb question: What OS? What version of the PI?

(My Libra2 shows along with my Aura2, but something may have gotten broken between now and then )