Calibre: I do not get it

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by wandalynn

First of all, thank you kcladyz for starting this very timely thread. I won't say I understood half of what's in it but enough to solve a problem I ran into today. Adobe Editions crashed over and over while I was trying to transfer a library book to an older ereader. So I tried authorizing a newer one, a Kobo Aura edition 2 and found I had reached my device limit. I won't tell you how much time I wasted today on Adobe forums. But now I have the library book on the Kobo along with a number of books I purchased on googleplay. I'm very happy even if this is all I learn to do on Cailibre.

One thing you might want to do is to take a backup copy of the activation.xml file from inside the .adobe-digital-editions directory in the root of your Kobo ereader. You can restore the file after a factory restore or even copy it to another Kobo ereader to activate it without having to plead with Adobe for more activations.

[wandalynn]

I hope this isn't too unrelated to this thread, not trying to hijack, but, is there any way other than using ADE to get the epub file when what you've downloaded is in ascm format? I'm asking because if I were to get a new computer I don't know that I could authorize it. Seems I've used up my 6 device limit and haven't had any success in getting authorizations reset.

[wandalynn]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One thing you might want to do is to take a backup copy of the activation.xml file from inside the .adobe-digital-editions directory in the root of your Kobo ereader. You can restore the file after a factory restore or even copy it to another Kobo ereader to activate it without having to plead with Adobe for more activations.

David, I posted before I saw your reply. Will try this.

[MarjaE]

I often use online libraries such as the Internet Archive.

In Calibre, I can note where I downloaded from [IA: collection-name for different Internet Archive collections, or Google Books, or Academia, or Princeton-Stanford Working Papers in Clasics], and what I have done with the file. Maybe I have have ocrd it, or exerpted a single useful chapter, or processed it through k2pdfopt. If I don't need the book, I can remove the pdf, while keeping the log entry with rating, notes, etc.

I can also log my personal hard-copy collection.

I found that I can't convert Google Translate files into readable epubs though.

[HLS]

Well I figured out how to add apprentence elf to calbre but my kindle has a format that I can not remove the DRM and when I connect my Nook Glowlight onto my PC it says its empty. WTF. So i give up and will figure it all out later. This is taking too much time. I appreciate all the help I recieved till now

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by DNSB

On the Kobo, you can create a folder structure. As long as the folder names don't start with a '.', the software doesn't care. So copy/paste your folder structure, just don't expect the ereader to show the structure unless you are using KOReader.

Maybe I should look into koreader.

[piperclassique]

Kcladyz, just download your books from Amazon, onto Kindle for pc. You can do this through the app. An old version works best for this, there is a long thread somewhere about this. Go into the settings and uncheck the box that asks to update automatically. Then import them into Calibre from the folder on your computer created by Kindle for pc, which will be by default in your documents folder. It's called something like "my Kindle books'.
They should be all clean and ready to convert to epub if you have added apprentice Alf's useful add on to calibre. You need to get the instructions for doing this from Apprentice Alf's blog.
Clear as mud?
PM me if you need more help.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

Well I figured out how to add apprentence elf to calbre but my kindle has a format that I can not remove the DRM and when I connect my Nook Glowlight onto my PC it says its empty. WTF. So i give up and will figure it all out later. This is taking too much time. I appreciate all the help I recieved till now

Most of us like "The Lord of the Rings," but Apprentice Alf is your best bet for clearing up the cobwebs created by that nasty DRM-loving Gollum, since we're not allowed to give details on DRM removal here at Mobileread.

Don't give up!

[HLS]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Most of us like "The Lord of the Rings," but Apprentice Alf is your best bet for clearing up the cobwebs created by that nasty DRM-loving Gollum, since we're not allowed to give details on DRM removal here at Mobileread.

Don't give up!

Given my high level of OCD I'll probably be playing with figuring it out till the end of time LOL

[Alpha o]

I'm glad to see others in confusion over Calibre. No one has ever said, nor can I find an extension that will search your hard drive for books and list them and duplicates in one place. I'm a believer in backup, backup, and have too many.

I don't buy from Kobo or Amazon although I will snitch one of the other half's books and convert it. I also will NOT use Google. BAM, BAEN, Smashwords and a few others that deal with EPUB work.

I can write to card, convert, Calibre handles the inkBOOK with no problem. It writes to the card with no problem and backtalk, and it does not have Google Play which I don't want. I prefer things alphabetically the way fiction is listed in a brick library, so all the shelves, comments are useless since I don't care to sit and type comments etc. I also don't back up to Calibre's eservice or whatever, either. Stuff stays on my computer or device.

Is there a way to find all your books in one spot in Calibre so you can edit out duplicates and auto add new books? I've found apps that will look for all books, but I can't get the results into Calibre.

[HLS]

What I really want to do is add my Nook books to kindle. When I plug my device into my PC and look in the nook drive it tells me its empty. LOL odd

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

What I really want to do is add my Nook books to kindle. When I plug my device into my PC and look in the nook drive it tells me its empty. LOL odd

Download using Nook for PC.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

Is there a way to find all your books in one spot in Calibre so you can edit out duplicates and auto add new books? I've found apps that will look for all books, but I can't get the results into Calibre.

You could use the Find Duplicates plugin. But it works only via Calibre GUI, not the file explorer.

You can auto-add books to Calibre. Preferences -> Adding books -> Automatic adding

[HLS]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Download using Nook for PC.

I did that earlier. With great pain I found the folder on my pc. Looks like calibre is not removing the drm for I can not convert the epub to a different format. grrrrr. Back to the drawing board LOL

[radius]

Originally Posted by John F

Just curious, but how long does it take Calibre to load? How many books is your library?

It took ~5 seconds for Calibre to load for me.

I can appreciate that a folder structure works quicker for some, but for me I'm doing a lot more than just copying a file over. Normally: load, dedrm, edit, edit meta data, convert, copy

Don't know about barryem, but for me *any* time spent loading Calibre would be longer than just using the file system. To find a book on Mac, I hit Command-Space to pop up Spotlight search, then start typing the first few letters of the author or title I am interested in.

The same would apply to Windows or Linux (though on Ubuntu the desktop search integrated into Unity doesn't work nearly as well for me as Spotlight does).