Pre-Sales Questions - Page 2

pcinfoman · 08-12-2007, 10:50 AM

Thank you for all your help. Because of your clear, concise answers I have take the plunge and bought my Sony Reader. I had to grow used to the lack of a light, but I have to say that so far, I am very pleased. It is very easy to use (very little learning curve required) and extremely easy to add/remove books from it.

I wish there was an easy way to change the titles/authors of books on the Reader tho. Some of my pdfs read just fine, but they show up as "untitled" or no title at all and do not show author information. Other than this, I am beginning to like this alot.

JSWolf · 08-13-2007, 06:06 PM

The problem with the title/author info for the PDF is the fault of the PDF and how it was generated. If these PDF are just text, you could use PDF2lrf or PDF2html (then edit and convert to LRF) to convert from PDF and have a better reading experience.

pcinfoman · 08-13-2007, 06:20 PM

I understand that now. What I was referring to was some sort of file manager abilities on the reader itself. That is not possible right now. Also the connect software has zero ability to rename a book, change an author or any sort of maintenance tools it seems. It seems that the connect software (short of transferring books to the Reader) is useless. I was told by the salesman at the Sony Store that the connect software was like iTunes for the iPod. However, this is not even close to correct. With iTunes, I can rename mp3 listings, change info, etc. I wish I could do that with the Connect software.

JSWolf · 08-14-2007, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcinfoman

I understand that now. What I was referring to was some sort of file manager abilities on the reader itself. That is not possible right now. Also the connect software has zero ability to rename a book, change an author or any sort of maintenance tools it seems. It seems that the connect software (short of transferring books to the Reader) is useless. I was told by the salesman at the Sony Store that the connect software was like iTunes for the iPod. However, this is not even close to correct. With iTunes, I can rename mp3 listings, change info, etc. I wish I could do that with the Connect software.

Connect is not meant to change the meta data of books. It is meant to do what it does and it does it well. You have to blame whomever created the books with the poor meta data in the first place. That said, there are tools to allow you to fix the info of a book in LRF (BBeB without DRM). One of the tools is included in the libprs500 package. The program in question is lrf-meta. As for PDF, I have no idea how to fix those. Never tired, noever cared, think PDF is crap for ebooks.

pcinfoman · 08-14-2007, 09:45 AM

Well I cannot get the libprs500 program to work on my computer. I download the Windows version and when I run it, nothing happens. I think I will goto their site and talk to them about it.

JSWolf · 08-14-2007, 09:52 AM

When you run the installer, does it install?

HarryT · 08-14-2007, 10:03 AM

Er, it is a command line application, not a "GUI" one. If you just "double click" it in Windows Explorer then indeed not a lot will happen. You need to start a command prompt and then type "libprs500 mybook.htm" (where "mybook.htm" is the HTML file you wish to convert, plus whatever other command-line parameters you want). Typing "libprs500" with no parameters will display the list of options in the command window.

pcinfoman · 08-14-2007, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you run the installer, does it install?

Yes it does

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Er, it is a command line application, not a "GUI" one. If you just "double click" it in Windows Explorer then indeed not a lot will happen. You need to start a command prompt and then type "libprs500 mybook.htm" (where "mybook.htm" is the HTML file you wish to convert, plus whatever other command-line parameters you want). Typing "libprs500" with no parameters will display the list of options in the command window.

Then why is there a Windows executable downloadable file? Why on that page does it show screenshots of the GUI? See for yourself.

https://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net/wiki/Screenshots

HarryT · 08-14-2007, 10:12 AM

I'm not terribly familiar with the tool, but my understanding is that the GUI only applies to a part of the application. Are you sure that what you are attempting to run is the GUI "shell" and not the underlying command-line tool?

pcinfoman · 08-14-2007, 10:14 AM

I download the program from the site. There is nothing on the site that leads me to believe that it is not a full program, or requires any other program installed.

JSWolf · 08-14-2007, 10:53 AM

The GUI you are seeing is the part of the package used to move content to/from your Reader. The tools to actually convert content are command lind programs.

html2lrf.exe
lit2lrf.exe
lrf-meta.exe
pdf2lrf.exe
rtf2lrf.exe
txt2lrf.exe
web2lrf.exe
pdftohtml.exe

All of the listed programs require a command prompt to run. An example is ...

c:\web>html2lrf webpage.html

That's saying your content is in a directory called web on your C drive. And if you type just the name of the program it will display the command line options. But because it's too much for the screen, I suggest doing something like
html2lrf > html2lrf.txt
and that way you'll have a text file called html2lrf that has all the commands/help.

You can do that for all the different programs. Most of the commands are the same so once you learn them, they'll work cross program.

HarryT · 08-14-2007, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcinfoman

I download the program from the site. There is nothing on the site that leads me to believe that it is not a full program, or requires any other program installed.

No, I think you've misunderstood my post. What I meant is are you sure that the program that you're trying to run is a GUI application and not a command-line one? As Jon says, all the actual conversion tools in the package are command-line tools, not GUI applications.

kovidgoyal · 08-14-2007, 11:48 AM

After the installation completes. Start->Run->type cmd.exe

In the command prompt type:

Code:

cd c:\path\to\my\directory
html2lrf myfile.html

pcinfoman · 08-14-2007, 12:30 PM

Well, if everything is a command line program, then what purpose does the Windows install serve? It seems ridiculous to offer a Windows program and give screen shots if it is crap.

NatCh · 08-14-2007, 12:53 PM

I think it's mainly that kovidgoyal is still in the process of building the GUI, pcinfoman, but is sharing the pieces with the community as he goes.

It's kind of a beta testing sort of arrangement.

08-14-2007, 11:48 AM	#28
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,366 Karma: 27230406 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	After the installation completes. Start->Run->type cmd.exe In the command prompt type: Code: cd c:\path\to\my\directory html2lrf myfile.html

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08-12-2007, 10:50 AM	#16
pcinfoman Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Sony eReader PRS-500	Thank you for all your help. Because of your clear, concise answers I have take the plunge and bought my Sony Reader. I had to grow used to the lack of a light, but I have to say that so far, I am very pleased. It is very easy to use (very little learning curve required) and extremely easy to add/remove books from it. I wish there was an easy way to change the titles/authors of books on the Reader tho. Some of my pdfs read just fine, but they show up as "untitled" or no title at all and do not show author information. Other than this, I am beginning to like this alot.

08-13-2007, 06:06 PM	#17
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,786 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The problem with the title/author info for the PDF is the fault of the PDF and how it was generated. If these PDF are just text, you could use PDF2lrf or PDF2html (then edit and convert to LRF) to convert from PDF and have a better reading experience.

08-13-2007, 06:20 PM	#18
pcinfoman Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Sony eReader PRS-500	I understand that now. What I was referring to was some sort of file manager abilities on the reader itself. That is not possible right now. Also the connect software has zero ability to rename a book, change an author or any sort of maintenance tools it seems. It seems that the connect software (short of transferring books to the Reader) is useless. I was told by the salesman at the Sony Store that the connect software was like iTunes for the iPod. However, this is not even close to correct. With iTunes, I can rename mp3 listings, change info, etc. I wish I could do that with the Connect software.

08-14-2007, 09:45 AM	#20
pcinfoman Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Sony eReader PRS-500	Well I cannot get the libprs500 program to work on my computer. I download the Windows version and when I run it, nothing happens. I think I will goto their site and talk to them about it.

08-14-2007, 09:52 AM	#21
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,786 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	When you run the installer, does it install?

08-14-2007, 10:03 AM	#22
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,547 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Er, it is a command line application, not a "GUI" one. If you just "double click" it in Windows Explorer then indeed not a lot will happen. You need to start a command prompt and then type "libprs500 mybook.htm" (where "mybook.htm" is the HTML file you wish to convert, plus whatever other command-line parameters you want). Typing "libprs500" with no parameters will display the list of options in the command window.

08-14-2007, 10:12 AM	#24
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,547 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I'm not terribly familiar with the tool, but my understanding is that the GUI only applies to a part of the application. Are you sure that what you are attempting to run is the GUI "shell" and not the underlying command-line tool?

08-14-2007, 10:14 AM	#25
pcinfoman Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Sony eReader PRS-500	I download the program from the site. There is nothing on the site that leads me to believe that it is not a full program, or requires any other program installed.

08-14-2007, 10:53 AM	#26
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,786 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The GUI you are seeing is the part of the package used to move content to/from your Reader. The tools to actually convert content are command lind programs. html2lrf.exe lit2lrf.exe lrf-meta.exe pdf2lrf.exe rtf2lrf.exe txt2lrf.exe web2lrf.exe pdftohtml.exe All of the listed programs require a command prompt to run. An example is ... c:\web>html2lrf webpage.html That's saying your content is in a directory called web on your C drive. And if you type just the name of the program it will display the command line options. But because it's too much for the screen, I suggest doing something like html2lrf > html2lrf.txt and that way you'll have a text file called html2lrf that has all the commands/help. You can do that for all the different programs. Most of the commands are the same so once you learn them, they'll work cross program.

08-14-2007, 12:30 PM	#29
pcinfoman Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Sony eReader PRS-500	Well, if everything is a command line program, then what purpose does the Windows install serve? It seems ridiculous to offer a Windows program and give screen shots if it is crap.

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08-14-2007, 12:53 PM	#30
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	I think it's mainly that kovidgoyal is still in the process of building the GUI, pcinfoman, but is sharing the pieces with the community as he goes. It's kind of a beta testing sort of arrangement.