Just got a Kobo Sage. Have 2-3 questions.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by pypeke

I have never side loaded anything (that I know of) so I don't understand anything but Nook and Kindle ereaders. I have used the Kobo Sage for a couple of weeks.

When I use Calibre to put books on my Kobo that were bought 10-20 years ago, is that what side loading means? Did I sideload those books?

When I get a book from Kobo Plus or buy a book from Kobo, that is NOT side loading? What is it called?

Now that I have used the Kobo for a couple of weeks, is there anything else I need to do? Do I need to backup the Kobo? Is it good enough to have all books on Calibre?

My Calibre skills are very basic, and I don't understand some of the terminology people use on posts. I have yet to figure out what CSS is or whether I need it...

Thanks

Yes, loading books from Calibre is sideloading. Downloading a Kobo ebook directly from the store to your ereader is not.

There is nothing you need to do, other than back up your calibre library, if you want. For this, the simplest method is copying and pasting the entire library folder to an external hard drive (not a flash drive, USB stick or memory card, as those can be unreliable. A proper portable external drive).

[pypeke]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

There is nothing you need to do, other than back up your calibre library, if you want. For this, the simplest method is copying and pasting the entire library folder to an external hard drive (not a flash drive, USB stick or memory card, as those can be unreliable. A proper portable external drive).

ok. I think I have a small external hard drive to backup Calibre.

Do I go into Calibre to do the backup or do I just use File Explorer on my laptop and copy the file that says Calibre over to the external drive?



Some posts have said to backup Kobo with Kobo Utilities....not sure that is needed if I have Calibre backed up.

Thank you.

[Sirtel]

You do it in the File Explorer. And you copy the library FOLDER, not any single file, or the calibre executable file.

Make sure it's the library folder - it must have author folders inside it.

[PeterT]

You should also backup the preferences folder.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by PeterT

You should also backup the preferences folder.

That depends. If you have a lot of customizations and plugins, then certainly. However, if you use Calibre with more or less default settings (and yes, there are people who do), then it's not all that necessary.

[pypeke]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You do it in the File Explorer. And you copy the library FOLDER, not any single file, or the calibre executable file.

Make sure it's the library folder - it must have author folders inside it.

Originally Posted by PeterT

You should also backup the preferences folder.

Great. Thank you.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Sideload is copy by ANY method, anything not bought direct from the shop associated with the ereader.

It's not to do with how old it is, PD vs copyright, USB, vs SD card VS WiFi.

Backup Calibre.

I side load all of the eBooks I buy from Kobo. It's not about where you get the eBooks or how you buy them. It's about how you add them to your Reader. Using calibre is side loading.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That depends. If you have a lot of customizations and plugins, then certainly. However, if you use Calibre with more or less default settings (and yes, there are people who do), then it's not all that necessary.

Even if you make one change from the default, it's necessary to backup the preferences. Nobody used 100% default with no plugins (that I know of).