Tips for managing a large collection?

[Sydney's Mom]

I use Dropbox (thank you, pilotbob!) but that is for collecting, not really organizing. I use tags now, but I can see that wouldn't work for everyone. I bet Kovid would welcome requests for additional tools - he has been most attentive to our needs (and whines).

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Have you tried DropBox?

BOb

(IF you don't have a dropbox yet and want to try it, can you use my referal link so I can get a bit more space for free: https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTMwMDU2MDk)

BOb

I used your link and have downloaded dropbox, but have yet to install and try it. Does it keep your Calibre library synced between two computers, without causing problems in the database?

EDIT: I've installed Dropbox on one of my computers and was looking at the Getting Started info. It seems that with the present version you have to move all of the folders you want synced into the Dropbox folder. I don't know that I want to reorganize my whole folder structure to accommodate that. Someone on the dropbox site suggested using Microsoft SyncToy as an alternative that doesn't require moving everything into an umbrella folder. Anyone here tried SyncToy, and if so, what did you think?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by starrigger

I used your link and have downloaded dropbox, but have yet to install and try it. Does it keep your Calibre library synced between two computers, without causing problems in the database?

Yes and no. I don't run Calibre on the other PC. But, I have heard other here say that they do. as long as you don't have Calibre running on both PCs at the same time.

Originally Posted by starrigger

EDIT: I've installed Dropbox on one of my computers and was looking at the Getting Started info. It seems that with the present version you have to move all of the folders you want synced into the Dropbox folder. I don't know that I want to reorganize my whole folder structure to accommodate that.

Do you not have 1 single top level folder that all your calibre library is in? IF so, you just need to move that one file. You just go into the calibre config and specify a new location for the library.

BOb

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Do you not have 1 single top level folder that all your calibre library is in? IF so, you just need to move that one file. You just go into the calibre config and specify a new location for the library.

BOb

Hm, yeah, I guess I could move the Calibre library folder. I just immediately thought about all the other document folders, etc., that I wouldn't mind syncing. But I wouldn't want to rearrange all of those.

Maybe I'll give it a shot with just the Calibre library and see how it works. They're supposedly working on an update that will permit marking existing folders for syncing.

I wonder how it will handle the initial sync, since the two libraries are probably not identical. I'd better make backups beforehand.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by starrigger

I wonder how it will handle the initial sync, since the two libraries are probably not identical. I'd better make backups beforehand.

Yea, I wouldn't try that... I would get them in sync manually then start using dropbox.

BOb

[ficbot]

If there was a field for 'source' the same way there was for publisher and author, then it would be a big help since I wouldn't need half a dozen tags cluttering up my tag list for this...

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Yea, I wouldn't try that... I would get them in sync manually then start using dropbox.

BOb

I wasn't quite clever enough to do that. I didn't realize how quickly Dropbox would start syncing things. But as I had just copied one Calibre library into the Dropbox folder, I ended up with that version magically appearing on the other machine before I knew what was happening. I hand-checked that version against the original on the second machine. It's not precisely identical to what I had before, but good enough. (And I'm keeping both originals as backup.) Fortunately I only have about 500 books in the Calibre library.

Looks like Dropbox will be good. But I do wonder what will happen if I accidentally have Calibre open on both machines at the same time. I'm going to try not to test that.

[lene1949]

Originally Posted by Katelyn

I purchased All My Books to keep track of my ebooks.

I keep all my books on an external 500GB hard drive and use All My Books to manage them. What I really like about it is I can click a link and AMB will search a number of sites for details and plug the information in for me. I can also open the books directly from AMB in case I want to look at it without copying it to my reader. I no longer forget what I've already purchased which is a big plus for me.

I use Book Collector from Collectorz.com... I need to enter all my ebooks manually...

Does 'All My Books' have any automatic features for ebooks?

[lene1949]

Originally Posted by lene1949

I use Book Collector from Collectorz.com... I need to enter all my ebooks manually...

Does 'All My Books' have any automatic features for ebooks?

Found out for myself by downloading the program... It has got less features than Book Collector, it's probably at bit easier to use straight off, but I think it's more expensive... Anyway, I don't need another program which does exactly the same as the one I've got.