[GUI Plugin] CalibReader Sync

[CalibReader_]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can you make this so we can sync the reading position to a Kobo using Kobo Utilities plugin in calibre?

Kobo reading-position sync is exactly what I'm building right now. The first version works through Calibre-Web's Kobo sync. Since the plugin already runs inside calibre, the reading location Kobo Utilities stores in your calibre columns looks like a natural second route, so I'll look at that too.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can we use custom fonts? Can we adjust the line height and L/R margins? In your sample photos, it looks like you have room for at least one more line at the bottom of the screen. Do you have wasted space at the top/bottom of the screen? Can the weight of fonts be adjusted properly (not just normal and then bold)?

Yes, all margins are user adjustable. You can have true zero margins if you like (try it).



True-zero margins are available on all views with two exceptions:

• single page/dual page views have a thin footer strip reserved for clock / page numbers / percent progress
• dual pages view also has a minimum gutter to separate the two pages

Line height and paragraph spacing are also adjustable - set to whatever you like. Your book live-adjusts when you make formatting changes, without losing your top line reading position.

Margins remembered per view are coming in the next update: set one set of margins for, say, dual pages in landscape and another for scrolling in portrait, and CalibReader will switch to the right one when you rotate.

Custom fonts and font weights are also coming in the next update, likely later this week.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Is it easy to add books not from a calibre server? Say from OneDrive?

Yes. ⋯ > Sync source > OneDrive, sign in, and pick the folder with your calibre library (or even just a folder full of loose EPUBs/PDFs). iCloud Drive, Dropbox and your own NAS work the same way. You can also open single EPUB or PDF files from the Files app, Safari, Mail or AirDrop.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

With this 3 book free reading limit, how do you know when we are reading and when we are checking out how a book looks?

It's a timer. A book only counts once it's been on screen for 30 seconds in total, so quickly flipping through to see how it looks doesn't use one up. Books in the built-in sample library never count.

Which columns do you have Kobo Utilities storing the reading location in, and could you paste what that column shows for one kepub and one epub?

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by CalibReader_

Kobo reading-position sync is exactly what I'm building right now. The first version works through Calibre-Web's Kobo sync. Since the plugin already runs inside calibre, the reading location Kobo Utilities stores in your calibre columns looks like a natural second route, so I'll look at that too....

Which columns do you have Kobo Utilities storing the reading location in, and could you paste what that column shows for one kepub and one epub?

Here are some screenshots of my wife's KoboUtilities "Customize Plugin" profile (mine's the same with the profile and device name, and the column name leading initials, different). All our books are stored as epubs and Calibre reformats them on the fly to kepubs when it sends them to the Kobos. So, there's nothing to show in Calibre for kepubs.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by CalibReader_

It's a timer. A book only counts once it's been on screen for 30 seconds in total, so quickly flipping through to see how it looks doesn't use one up. Books in the built-in sample library never count.

30 seconds is not long enough. It can take longer then 30 seconds to check what's on screen. So I can see checking a book to see how it looks and ending up with it using a reading slot.

Also, if I'm checking the app to see what features there are and what's missing, I'm going to go past the 30 second limit. So having a limit like this is not going to work. Why not give us a time limit. Like say 30 days.

[CalibReader_]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

30 seconds is too short

I think of it like a newsstand: you can flip through any magazine to see whether it's for you, and 30 seconds is plenty for that. Past that point you're reading it. And the three books you pick are yours for as long as you like, with no clock on them at all.

I chose that over a 30-day trial on purpose. Reading comes in waves: some months I get through six books, some months none, and a trial that runs out in a quiet month never really lets you try the app. This way there's no clock, and the people who read the most, and get the most out of it, are the ones who pay.

If you want to put the app through its paces first, the sample library has no limit: every font, margin and layout option, as long as you like.

Is there anything you'd want to check that the sample books don't cover?

[CalibReader_]

Originally Posted by enuddleyarbl

All our books are stored as EPUBs, and calibre converts them to kepubs on the fly when sending them to the Kobos

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed. So each of you has your own Kobo Utilities profile and your own set of columns in the same library (DAL and CES), and the reading location is the chapter file plus the Kobo span, like text/titlepage.xhtml#kobo.1.1. That span is the same kind of position Calibre-Web's Kobo sync uses, so a Kobo Utilities route could land on the same sentence too.

And the per-person setup makes sense now: one library, one set of columns per reader. That's the shape I'd follow if CalibReader ever gets separate readers.

Do you and your wife each read on your own devices, or would you share an iPad between you?

[enuddleyarbl]

In a pinch, I could see us sharing a device. But, considering the amount of reading we do, I'd say it's highly unlikely that we'd do that.

[CalibReader_]

Originally Posted by enuddleyarbl

In a pinch, I could see us sharing a device. But, considering the amount of reading we do, I'd say it's highly unlikely that we'd do that.

That's the easy case, then. If you each read on your own devices, CalibReader can keep your places apart without any setup in the app, and the plugin can write each of you into your own columns, much like your Kobo Utilities profiles. I'm sketching it out now and will post here when it's ready to try.

[Rezoken]

Hey CalibReader Dev, any updates on the ability to support Read and Progress sync through Calibre Content Server connection?

I have gotten it working using the folder path method (SMB to my NAS for example), but I would much rather have the content server doing it, that way I can apply my custom filtering for my family members.

Happy to be a alpha/beta user for the plugin if need be.

Another question regarding the sync, I have used the latest on your GitHub (1.2.5) and the latest through Calibre Plugins Download (1.3.1) and I can't get either version to update the Progression or Read stats to sync to the json file through the Calibre Desktop App itself. It must all be done through the iOS app. Ideally I would like to go through in the Calibre App and flag items as read / progression in the app based on my previous reading apps current status for example.

[CalibReader_]

Content Server: not yet. Read and progress sync works through two small files the app keeps in your library folder. That's why your SMB setup syncs, while a Content Server connection would need the app to write back through the server instead. It's on my list, and per-user filtering for family is a great reason to do it. I'll take you up on the beta offer when it's ready.

On the plugin: progress (current reading position) only goes from the app to calibre today. Bringing it the other way, so you can carry over your place from another reading app, is presently being built.

Today, Read status (read/unread) is meant to go both ways. Which read column did you pick in the plugin's Settings?