Decrypting Kobo purchases

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by A Lurker

Question: the above instructions suggest I should have had a choice between downloading an epub or kepub file. I did not. The website had a single download option. When I clicked it, I wasn't provide a choice. It simply gave me the ascm file. Did I skip a step?

No. Downloading from the website will always give you an epub file. Only files downloaded directly to your Kobo device or the desktop app are kepubs.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

No. Downloading from the website will always give you an epub file. Only files downloaded directly to your Kobo device or the desktop app are kepubs.

Either an acsm file, which is "redeemed" as an epub with Adobe DRM*, or an epub without DRM.

It can be epub2 (reflowable), epub3 (reflowable) or epub3 (fixed layout). It certainly indicates which kind at the checkout.

It's only "kepub" if you download direct to app or ereader.

[* The Adobe DRM can be removed as part of the redemption if a suitable plugin is used]

[Lys]

Originally Posted by A Lurker

Also, before I stumbled across this thread, I'd unsuccessfully tried a different method using the Koko desktop app. Specifically, I downloaded the file using the app (though I couldn't tell you where) and clicked on the "Obok" icon in Calibre. It gave me an error message that read: "Could not find Kobo Library. Windows/MAC: Do you have Kobo desktop installed?" Ultimately this doesn't matter since I got the book through an alternative method, but I'm nevertheless curious. Any idea what might have went wrong?

Check you have the latest version of the deDRM plugin and not a previous one.
If you have the latest (10.0.9), you can check

You can check which is the folder Obok is trying to access by checking on the plugin configuration on Calibre.
Kobo Desktop App files are listed in the C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition\kepub folder

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by A Lurker

Question: the above instructions suggest I should have had a choice between downloading an epub or kepub file.

No. You almost always receive a regular EPUB file this way. You must create the KEPUB version yourself either with Calibre or with kepubify.

[DNSB]

The kepub downloads are not from a download link. They are from syncing to the Kobo site either using an eInk Kobo or the Kobo Desktop application. The iOS and Android apps also sync but getting books from either of them to your computer is more than a bit complex.

As for Obok and the Kobo Desktop application, did you open the Obok configuration dialog and browse to the location where the KDA is installed? On a Windows computer, this will typically be C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition. Since I installed the app in a non-standard location, I had to browse to the location so I am not sure if this is needed if the default install is used.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Lys

Check you have the latest version of the deDRM plugin and not a previous one.
If you have the latest (10.0.9), you can check

You can check which is the folder Obok is trying to access by checking on the plugin configuration on Calibre.
Kobo Desktop App files are listed in the C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition\kepub folder

You say to get the latest DeDRM and then you go and mention a version that's not the latest. The alpha version is the latest. This is the link to the latest version.

https://github.com/noDRM/DeDRM_tools_autorelease/tags

[Lys]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You say to get the latest DeDRM and then you go and mention a version that's not the latest. The alpha version is the latest. This is the link to the latest version.

https://github.com/noDRM/DeDRM_tools_autorelease/tags

I stand corrected.
As for Obok, any version > 10.0.0 works, to be honest. The oldest ones give some issues depending on the calibre versions you are running.

[JSWolf]

One advantage to downloading ePub from Kobo is that you don't need to install Kobo Desktop.

You can use the DeACSM plugin for ePub eBooks to download the ePub from the .acsm file and when setup properly, DeDRM will remove the DRM after the ePub is downloaded.

Another advantage is because calibre can make KePub on the fly, you have the choice of ePub or KePub for which you prefer to read. There is an option in the KoboTouch driver such that you can create a Y/N column for if you want KePub or not. I do this. I have a bit of code that allows me to decide what format I want.

IN the KoboTouch driver, in the second tab from the left, there is Template to decide conversion:. The code I use is

program: $#kepub == 'yes'

#kepub is the column name I've chose for my Y/N column.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One advantage to downloading ePub from Kobo is that you don't need to install Kobo Desktop.

You can use the DeACSM plugin for ePub eBooks to download the ePub from the .acsm file and when setup properly, DeDRM will remove the DRM after the ePub is downloaded.

Another advantage is because calibre can make KePub on the fly, you have the choice of ePub or KePub for which you prefer to read. There is an option in the KoboTouch driver such that you can create a Y/N column for if you want KePub or not. I do this. I have a bit of code that allows me to decide what format I want.

IN the KoboTouch driver, in the second tab from the left, there is Template to decide conversion:. The code I use is

program: $#kepub == 'yes'

#kepub is the column name I've chose for my Y/N column.

For me it's the device, not the book - I read kepubs on the Sage and epubs on the Libra 2, often the same book (for a few books with lots of illustrations I also keep the kepub version on the Libra. But for 99% of my books I have no need of this).

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One advantage to downloading ePub from Kobo is that you don't need to install Kobo Desktop.

If you will be using kepub with an eInk device, you would have a Kobo ereader. You can sync the kepubs to that ereader and then use OBOK to copy them into calibre. No need for the Kobo desktop application to be installed.

[A Lurker]

Originally Posted by Quoth

It can be epub2 (reflowable), epub3 (reflowable) or epub3 (fixed layout). It certainly indicates which kind at the checkout.

I didn't see this at checkout. Not that it matters. I'll take whatever epub I can get.

[A Lurker]

Originally Posted by DNSB

As for Obok and the Kobo Desktop application, did you open the Obok configuration dialog and browse to the location where the KDA is installed? On a Windows computer, this will typically be C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Kobo\Kobo Desktop Edition.

That folder doesn't exist in my file system. However, I searched "Kobo" in File Explorer and found where the epubs are stored:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Packages\KoboInc.KoboBooks_vk8qsnw 174y90\LocalState\DownloadedBooks

I customized the Obok plugin to point it to that folder, but I still got the same error message saying it couldn't find my Kobo library.

I installed the Alpha releases of the DeDRM and Obok plugins, restarted Calibre and tried again. Same negative result. Even though I'm telling the plugin exactly where to look, it still doesn't believe I have Kobo desktop installed.

As an experiment, I imported epubs from that folder into Calibre using the "Add books" button, rather than the "Obok" button. It added them and successfully read their metadata, but when I tried to view the books their text was scrambled (presumably their DRM wasn't removed).

Again, this is all academic. I was able to successfully download the files from Kobo's website and remove their DRM. Nevertheless, it's aggravating my OCD that this alternative method isn't working when it should.

[DNSB]

As far as I am aware, the Packages folder holds installers not installed programs. I would suggest redownloading the Kobo Desktop App for Windows from Kobo's site and re-installing it. You might also want to try uninstalling the KDA if it shows up as an installed application since it sounds as if something went severely wrong with your install.

On my system, OBOK does not point at the folder where the downloads are stored but at the Kobo Desktop Edition folder and the plugin looks for the kepub directory inside that folder.

[A Lurker]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I would suggest redownloading the Kobo Desktop App for Windows from Kobo's site and re-installing it. You might also want to try uninstalling the KDA if it shows up as an installed application since it sounds as if something went severely wrong with your install.

On my system, OBOK does not point at the folder where the downloads are stored but at the Kobo Desktop Edition folder and the plugin looks for the kepub directory inside that folder.

Thanks. This worked. I'm all set now.

I just read that Kobo has ended support for its desktop app. Does that render my efforts doubly academic? Are we expecting the ability to download books through KDA to go away soon?

[Aleron Ives]

It's definitely possible, but Kobo hasn't announced any kind of cutoff date AFAIK. The fact that KDA isn't being updated, doesn't work with current Kobo models, and has been officially replaced by the Kobo web reader doesn't bode well for its longevity, though.