Copy and paste

[Alpha o]

Just tried reloading both - no joy.

What I can see in Windows explorer is that both books in question have the formats, kepub and epub. They only show the cover. The file size is big enough to have the book.

They simply will NOT show up in Calibre, either in the device or the card with those formats. All Calibre tells me is "I'm Reading" They won't unlock using Obok either. Says they can't be decrypted.





It looks like Calibre is seeing less and less on the device, and more on the card.

I do have the latest version of Calibre and the plugins.

Now what do I do?

The Epubs are OK. They just won't open from the cover of the book, which is why Calibre doesn't recognize them except as probably jpg. Once you can get to a dedication or TOC, you can scroll down the whole book.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

I did download from the library. The books came in as "I'm Reading" digital only.

I have a list of the books on the Glo in Calibre. If you click on a book, on the main screen it shows the cover of the book, then the formats. Some of the older books that Kobo is now claiming are digital only, did download as EPUB and I can open them with the Calibre reader.

Therefor, I'm asking that if I check a book that says it's Epub and it opens, that it is on the reader as a digitized book and not vaporware that came from Kobo. A lot of the books that Kobo has in the library are claiming to be kepub, but I already have them as Epub.

This only started happening this month. The prior downloads worked as they should have.
I normally don't buy many books from Kobo, Amazon has a far larger choice.

Some of the books that came in as "I'm reading", I had downloaded from Smashwords, not Kobo, so Kobo should mind its own business.

Maybe that's why things aren't showing up right. Kobo pi**ed me off with those "recommendations" that I deleted the whole file. The reader wouldn't let me delete the books!

I'm one of the people who don't really shop until I know exactly what I want beforehand. I read, pester fora, question anyone who knows. Then I'll buy. Trying to get me to buy something else doesn't work. I buy books that I'm interested in - like the Mars Rovers. If that confuses Kobo, too damn bad.

Being a Tony Hillerman fan - for the area of the SW, I bought one of his daughter's books. I could not get that into Calibre with any extension but "I'm Reading"

Finally trialled a converter (which I don't want) and it did put them in Calibre as epub.

I'll see if reinstalling Kobo desktop from scratch shows them, and if syncing the reader picks those "recommendations" up. If Kobo is including purchased books in with the recommended books, that isn't fair. You paid for one, and are not interested in the others.

I feel like I answered all this in my last post, but either my explanation was bad, or you are meaning something different to what I think you mean. So:

Where are you seeing "I'm reading"? Where in calibre? What list? Or is it somewhere else?

You mention the "main screen". To me that sounds like the main library list when you open calibre. That list is the books in your calibre library, not your device. When you connect the device, the list will change to show what books in the library are also on the device. But, the list of formats in the details pane is the list of formats in the calibre library, not on the device.

If you downloaded a book from Smashware and put it on the device, it is on the device and Kobo is not doing anything with it. You can copy it back to the library from the device, but there should be no reason to do this as you already have a copy. If your "I'm reading" is what I think it is, then it simply means you have opened the book to read on the device. It simply means that when you see the book in the library on the device, it will have a percent read next to it rather than "Unread" or "Finished". Of course, if that isn't the case, you need to explain what you are actually seeing. In detail and maybe with screenshots.

That doesn't cover everything you have said, but it's a start. One of us is missing something, sorting that out is the first thing to do.

[Alpha o]

Whatever screen appears when Calibre opens is what I call the main screen. If that's the main library, then that's what I'll call it.

I downloaded a book from Smashwords, and Calibre had it as a freebie. Kobo changed the category to "I'm reading" on its own cognizance. I didn't get the book from Kobo but Kobo "thinks" I did.

The books that I am looking at are NOT on the Kobo and can't be since the Kobo isn't joined with a USB cable. I did copy and paste a list from the Kobo and the card reading through a cable and My Computer into one file in Windows. They are listed on the reader, but are coming into Calibre from files on Windows.

I've tried to re-download the books from the other day, but there is NO place in Kobe Desktop reader that says send to device. It's greyed out.

I used a temp. file converter and put the books in the library file on Windows, using Windows.

I plugged the Glo via cable into the computer and while Calibre sees the titles, they won't open. Nothing is said under the picture of the dust jacket but "I'm Reading" on the mail library page. Obok says they are locked and it cannot open them. Detach the Kobo by "safely remove hardware", and check out the files in Windows again. Both books are there and file formats say both kepub, epub. Calibre sees neither, and will do nothing with them.

If I can get to the TOC, I can read both books in FB Reader. So the contents of the books are there.

Something funny is going on with the book cover. I open the books in a Windows copy of FB Reader - just the cover picture shows up, and you cannot scroll, tab or anything else to any page. If you can see a link for TOC, and if you click on that, the contents do appear and the page will now scroll, tab and move forward as normal. I think Calibre is getting hung up on the JPG image of the book, or the JPG now has no link or command to open the book. I can't do anything with them in Calibre since Calibre doesn't see them.

If I can find a small program to save these files as the straight EPUB, I'd do a save as. Can't find anything to work well.

One book was a freebie from Kobo (not the one I already had from Smashwords) and the other was purchased.

I just can't get Calibre to recognize these books.

I can read both memories in Calibre. They don't match what I have listed in Windows. Stuff is missing.

[Alpha o]

Added:

Come to think of it, while most of the books I purchased from Kobo say they are EPUBs, now some of those have the same damn "I'm Reading" on the main page. Most so far are opening on the Kobo.

It is starting to look like Kobo did a fast update or something to the desktop reader, since I bought a couple of books in November and December and didn't have any of this nonsense with Calibre.

I saw in this thread that quite a few people didn't like the last version that Kobo updated to on the readers (3.1.9----). I think some said they ignored it. Kobo told me via the Glo that if I didn't update, no books, even if I had bought them. Kobo also screamed about an older version of Desktop on Windows.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

Whatever screen appears when Calibre opens is what I call the main screen. If that's the main library, then that's what I'll call it.

I downloaded a book from Smashwords, and Calibre had it as a freebie. Kobo changed the category to "I'm reading" on its own cognizance. I didn't get the book from Kobo but Kobo "thinks" I did.

The books that I am looking at are NOT on the Kobo and can't be since the Kobo isn't joined with a USB cable. I did copy and paste a list from the Kobo and the card reading through a cable and My Computer into one file in Windows. They are listed on the reader, but are coming into Calibre from files on Windows.

Sorry, the "I'm reading" is something you are seeing in calibre WITHOUT the Kobo device connected? If so, why on earth do you think that Kobo had anything to do with this?

I've tried to re-download the books from the other day,

Redownload from where?

but there is NO place in Kobe Desktop reader that says send to device. It's greyed out.

That is correct. Unless the device is connected. If the device is connected, the Kobo desktop application will show that. It will also indicate in the library list what books are on the device. And there is a very simple way to send the book to the device.

But, the Kobo desktop application ONLY deals with books from Kobo. It will automatically update itself from the Kobo server. And it will automatically sync new books to the Kobo device when it is connected. But, you can then remove those books from the device, or readd ones you had removed before.

I used a temp. file converter and put the books in the library file on Windows, using Windows.

Converted what files and put into what "library file"?

I plugged the Glo via cable into the computer and while Calibre sees the titles, they won't open.

When the device is connected, calibre attempts to find all the books on the device and match them with books in the library. When it does this, the main library list in calibre is updated with an extra column that has a green tick for each book on the device. No tick, then,

Nothing is said under the picture of the dust jacket but "I'm Reading" on the mail library page.

And that sounds like you are looking at the device list in calibre. That is displayed by clicking the device icon when the device is connected. But, I'm pretty sure that "I'm Reading" is not all that is under the cover image. It should also have the author and the file path for the book on the device. Then it probably says "Collections: Im_Reading". And as I keep saying, the fact that that book is in the "Im_Reading" collection means the book has been opened on the device. i.e. Someone while using the device has started reading the book. Or they accidentally tapped it and opened it. The only other way this can happen is if the book was synced to the device from the Kobo server in a state that the device decided meant the book was being read. But, that means the book was bought from Kobo and not from anywhere else.

Obok says they are locked and it cannot open them.

Obok will show a list of books on the device, or in the local Kobo Desktop application library. It makes NO reference to what is currently in the calibre library. It will show an green open lock for books with no DRM or red closed lock for books with DRM. If you try to add the DRM protected books, they should be added to calibre. If there is an error about removing DRM, that means you need to upgrade your version of Obok. You will need to go back to the place you got Obok to get the latest version.

Detach the Kobo by "safely remove hardware", and check out the files in Windows again. Both books are there and file formats say both kepub, epub. Calibre sees neither, and will do nothing with them.

Which means you are NOT looking at what is on the device. You are looking at the books in the calibre library. Or you are looking at books in some unrelated directory in Windows. Calibre only manages books you have added to calibre via calibre. If the books are in other directories, then calibre knows nothing about them. If you manually add books to the calibre library directories, again, calibre knows nothing about them. In both of these cases, calibre doesn't see the books and hence does nothing with them.

If I can get to the TOC, I can read both books in FB Reader. So the contents of the books are there.

So you can read the books in FB Reader. That simple means the books are formats that FB Reader understands and that you know how to open a book with FB Reader.

Something funny is going on with the book cover. I open the books in a Windows copy of FB Reader - just the cover picture shows up, and you cannot scroll, tab or anything else to any page. If you can see a link for TOC, and if you click on that, the contents do appear and the page will now scroll, tab and move forward as normal. I think Calibre is getting hung up on the JPG image of the book, or the JPG now has no link or command to open the book. I can't do anything with them in Calibre since Calibre doesn't see them.

Sorry, I don't use FB Reader so I have no idea how it works. But what you describe simply suggests you haven't added the actual book to the calibre library. Calibre is completely happy to have the definition of the book without an actual file. That's way for you to store info about the book for things like "to buy" list or show that you have the paper book. In this case, calibre can't open anything because there is nothing to open.

If I can find a small program to save these files as the straight EPUB, I'd do a save as. Can't find anything to work well.

One book was a freebie from Kobo (not the one I already had from Smashwords) and the other was purchased.

I just can't get Calibre to recognize these books.

I can read both memories in Calibre. They don't match what I have listed in Windows. Stuff is missing.

Are the books listed in the calibre device list when when the device is connected? Do they have a tick at the start of the line? If they don't have a tick, do you have a book in the calibre library (a book you can see in calibre when no device is connected) that should match the book on the device? Is the metadata for the two EXACTLY the same: Same title, same authors, same spelling and punctuation?

Where in Windows are you looking that they don't match? A directory you created or a directory on the device?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

Added:

Come to think of it, while most of the books I purchased from Kobo say they are EPUBs, now some of those have the same damn "I'm Reading" on the main page. Most so far are opening on the Kobo.

I still have absolutely no idea where you are seeing this ""I'm Reading". Can you treat me as an idiot and spell it out in detail? Or take a screenshot that shows it.

It is starting to look like Kobo did a fast update or something to the desktop reader, since I bought a couple of books in November and December and didn't have any of this nonsense with Calibre.

Kobo have not updated either the desktop application or the firmware on their devices since sometime in January. No one else is reporting anything at all like you are reporting.

I saw in this thread that quite a few people didn't like the last version that Kobo updated to on the readers (3.1.9----). I think some said they ignored it.

The complaints were that Kobo didn't really make any changes that helped them. But, they did change two fonts and there was a problem with these fonts that affected some people. Using any other font solved this.

Kobo told me via the Glo that if I didn't update, no books, even if I had bought them. Kobo also screamed about an older version of Desktop on Windows.

Yes, Kobo only allow syncs to their server for books if you are using the current firmware. That is their choice and is a common policy for companies so that they don't have to support a lot of different versions. I think Kobo is to Draconian with this as they force the update immediately. They should be allowing the upgrade to be delayed at least a few days in case upgrading at that time was inconvenient. But, this can be easily avoided by not syncing to Kobo and sideload all your books.

[Alpha o]

Here's 2 samples. The Newfoundland was a freebie, Curiosity Rover I bought last year.

Curiosity was listed in device as an epub - now it has no extension and says "I'm reading" on the device.

I converted Newfoundland otherwise, and have it on the computer as an epub, but if I look at the computer file with Calibre, it doesn't show.

Spider Woman's Daughter (bought) and Newfoundland (free) both have a problem being read in another reader. I used FBReader just to check if the books were on the device or in files where I could use them and not as Kobo vaporware that I had to be logged into account to read! I could not redownload as Kobo desktop wouldn't allow. Button greyed out.

If I buy a book, I expect to convert that book to a format I can use. I have a couple of Android tablets hence FBReader, and an Android phone.

It's really upsetting to find Curiosity Rover and some other books purchased last year shoved into this "I'm Reading" which Calibre will do nothing with.

Try to use Obok - error about dysfunction in code. There is no file format, either.

I retested all the books that Kobo had marked as "I'm reading" with the other app just to make sure I had the book in a readable form by any reader. Now I'm downloading to somewhere where Kobo can't get to them. I bought them legally and I don't share.

I made the attachments as small as I could. I don't do media sites that have URLS.

[Alpha o]

Here's a better copy of the book cover:https://www.mobileread.com/forums/att...9&d=1462365181

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

I made the attachments as small as I could.

Why - attached jpegs can be up to 1.5MB, there no limit on jpeg dimensions if they are posted as attachments, as you have done .

BR

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

Here's 2 samples. The Newfoundland was a freebie, Curiosity Rover I bought last year.

Curiosity was listed in device as an epub - now it has no extension and says "I'm reading" on the device.

I converted Newfoundland otherwise, and have it on the computer as an epub, but if I look at the computer file with Calibre, it doesn't show.

Spider Woman's Daughter (bought) and Newfoundland (free) both have a problem being read in another reader. I used FBReader just to check if the books were on the device or in files where I could use them and not as Kobo vaporware that I had to be logged into account to read! I could not redownload as Kobo desktop wouldn't allow. Button greyed out.

If I buy a book, I expect to convert that book to a format I can use. I have a couple of Android tablets hence FBReader, and an Android phone.

It's really upsetting to find Curiosity Rover and some other books purchased last year shoved into this "I'm Reading" which Calibre will do nothing with.

Try to use Obok - error about dysfunction in code. There is no file format, either.

I retested all the books that Kobo had marked as "I'm reading" with the other app just to make sure I had the book in a readable form by any reader. Now I'm downloading to somewhere where Kobo can't get to them. I bought them legally and I don't share.

I made the attachments as small as I could. I don't do media sites that have URLS.

Ok, looking at those tiny images, here's what I can see:

- The list you are looking at is the "Device list". That means that you have done something after you started calibre and connected the device. The thing you did was to click the device icon in the toolbar. This fact is important as this list is EXACTLY what is on the device at the time it was connected. It also shows which books on the device match to books that are in the calibre library. Neither of the books you have highlighted are in the calibre library. What is displayed here has no impact on what you have in your calibre library or elsewhere on your PC.

- Under the cover image, it does not say "I'm reading", it says "Im_reading". The difference is important. I told you what this meant several posts ago without saying exactly what I expected to see. You kept repeating this, so I assumed that it was exactly what you were seeing and started doubting what I thought was going on. The screenshots tell me that what I explained in my first post was correct. This simply means the book has been opened on the device. If you find the book in the library lists on the device it will show a percent read against the book. If this is not the case, then I need a photo or screenshot taken from the device to show me.

- I can't tell from the image for sure, but I think the books you have highlighted are the copies downloaded from Kobo. If you had the book details pane showing the path, I could tell for sure. If it is the downloaded kepub version, then the file for the book is in the directory ".kobo/kepub" on the device. The file name will be a 36 character string that looks like random numbers and letters separated by dashes and there will be no extension. You would need to look at the database on the device to see which it is. Or display the path in the book details pane.

- If these books are the downloaded kepub, if you right click on them and select "Add books to library" you will get a message about not being able to add the books to the library because they are virtual. This isn't completely correct. This is a common message used whenever the books on the device cannot be added. In this case, the books are there, they are just in a format that calibre can't handle fully. And if they have DRM, calibre cannot handle them at all.

- If you have copies of these books that you are attempting to read on another device or application, then you must have gotten the files from somewhere. I assume that is the "My Library" page of the Kobo store when you are logged in. There is only one reason you won't be able to download from there: The books are not available as epubs. If that was the case, the book details page will not show ereaders as a method of reading them. If I have found the correct books from your titles, none of them fit into this category. There were some problems a year or so ago were some books were not available to downloaded, but, that was a bug on the site and has been fixed for a while. But, there might be a problem with specific books, so if you can't download a book, complain to Kobo and get them to fix it.

- The Kobo desktop application downloads the kepub versions. It will automatically do this when you start the application. It will then copy them to the device when it is connected, unless you tell the application not to send the books to the device. But, I usually find that by the time I find the book, it has been sent to the device, and I use the application to remove the book. Also, the Kobo desktop application ONLY deals with kepubs downloaded from the Kobo server. It does not touch any other book you have on the PC. It also does not touch any book you have sideloaded onto the device. In fact, it has NO record of sideloaded books.

- I don't know what download button you are talking about in the Desktop application. I can't find one. As I said above, the books are downloaded automatically when the application is started. The library shows them. If the device is connected, there will be an icon on the cover to show it is on the device. Clicking that will remove the book. Putting the cursor over a book without the icon, will show another and when click that, it will add the book to the device. Again, this only works on kepubs downloaded from the Kobo server and does not touch sideloaded books or other books elsewhere on your computer.

- If Obok showed an error, you need to report it to the developers. But, I have tested it tonight with several books that had DRM with no problems. There was an issue earlier in the year that Obok stopped working because Kobo changed something. That was fixed very quickly. So, you should check you have the latest version of the DRM tools and hence Obok.

The over all for this is that you are worried about nothing. The device is doing exactly what is is supposed to. It is downloading books that you have bought and tracking their status. If you have sideloaded books to the device, the only thing that is happening is the device is tracking the fact the books are on the device and the reading status.

[Alpha o]

Regardless of what - there is no copy of the last two books on the Kobo that I can transfer anywhere else. I also have an Acer tablet that has a reader and I switch cards.

If I run Obok, the most recent books I bought turned up with a lock, and Obok can do nothing. Says something is dysfunctional or the like.

Except for this last purchase they were already unlocked and I have them elsewhere and they are readable so Kobo should not have downloaded duplicates.

I have problems opening the books in both Calibre and FB reader. The Android tablet uses FB reader and at times I do want to use it.

Kobo did not download the last to any kepub file, either on the main or card memory. All I got was the digital.

[Alpha o]

The button on the Kobo desktop says "send to device" That's a download.

I had just purchased the books so Kobo should have sent them to the device somewhere where Calibre could see them even if I had to convert. I have the charge to the CC and from the CC company, so Kobo got paid.

Despite what you say, the book did not exist on the Kobo or in Calibre in either Kepub or Epub. There was no format, just a blank space where it should have said (k)epub) It was as if I was reading from the Desktop reader. Close the book, it was gone. Not on the device anywhere. Vaporware.

[davidfor]

Ok, I give up. You are obviously not reading my posts. I have told you how to get the books you need. I have told you how to find the files on the device. I have told you what to do with errors in Obok. You are ignoring everything I have said. You are also making an assumption about how the eco-system for the the devices work that is incorrect and unjustified. Plus, any reports you make are so inaccurate, that it was nearly impossible to work out what you meant.

All that means I am wasting to much of my time trying to help, so, I'll stop.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

The button on the Kobo desktop says "send to device" That's a download.
.

Quibble

It is an UPLOAD

Downloads are TO the device issuing the command
Uploads To the Target

I download books from Amazon
I upload files to Mobileread

[Alpha o]

The Kobo desktop had the icon for the on the device books. The last ones weren't on the device anywhere and the other files were changed by the desktop.

The point is now moot. I've bought an android e-ink with NO Google, (I hope, I can root androids if I have to.)

I'll simply delete the Kobo account, and use Open Office's versions of Excel to catalog.
I'll keep Calibre for removing Amazon DRM. I don't really need all the functions of Calibre anyway. All I need is Title, author, and category.