Alfa ebook manager

[Deskisamess]

It's a 3D model of the book itself, not the interior pages.

Silly option, costly program, meh.

[Prospero2021]

I am always amazed that for some it is a downright insult to majesty if you use a tool other than calibre for ebook management. I also find it not expedient if one cites the admittedly not very useful 3D view as evidence in order to discredit alfa ebook manager. Nobody denies that Calibre has many advantages: multi platform, open source, free, many plugins. But there are also a lot of things that I don't like that much, which is why I looked for an alternative like Alfa.
The first advantage of Alfa is the much nicer and more intuitive user interface. The point is that Calibre is developed for multi platform. So the developer has to build the software different systems and of course this imposes limitations on the variety of tools they can use. I find the user interface of Caliber ugly and overloaded. When I'm looking for a particular function, I often don't know whether it doesn't exist, I just can't find it, or whether I need to install a plugin for it. Alfa may have fewer features, but I find pure ebook management to be much more intuitive to use. It works flawlessly, rapidly imports book data, searches for a title, shows the complete database with pictures and other relevant data. Biographical data and pictures of authors and publishers can also be saved in the database.
The second issue with Calibre is Calibre's practice of transforming my library structure in windows folders. When it creates an electronic library, the book files are moved to calibre's folder. Especially it's weird in case with audio books, that have considerable size. The desire to preserve the existing file structure is repeatedly ridiculed by Calibre fans and defended with sometimes absurd arguments. It must be completely unimportant for a modern database software where the individual data files are stored on the hard drive. It works with almost all music management programs, which usually have to deal with a far larger number of files. It is always argued that you do everything with your ebooks from Caliber anyway. But that's exactly what I don't want. I would like to be able to access my ebooks from other programs, e.g. with my file manager Total Commander, comic book reader software or music player/manager for audio books. I also prefer to use external editors for editing the ebooks because I like them a lot better than Calibre: for epubs Sigil, for pdf PDF-XChange. Unlike it Alfa lets you keep your Windows folders structure in the way you like. The built-in File Manager allows to more and rename files while automatically updating paths in the e-Library.
As a third issue I noticed that Calibre contaminates the source code in EPUBs with his own tags when you edit or convert files and at least in the past Calibre used to insert own fields in ebook file metadata, that sometimes violates common standards (e.g. Calibre as contributor, calibre domain as namespace in conent.opf). Maybe this is now much better or can be configured within the nested menu, but not by default.

Just my two cents.


BTW: Yes, I have not posted here in the past. I'm more s silent reader. No, I have nothing to do with the software company behind Alfa. I'm from Germany, Alfa is programmed by a guy from Ukraine. But I'm a long time user of Alfa and I am always surprised that alternatives to Calibre in the relevant forums are almost not mentioned. They exist. Although alternatives exist, Calibre is still a great program.

[Sirtel]

Well, I have used Alfa. I even paid for it, once. And I found it lacking, compared to Calibre. It seemed to me "a poor man's Calibre", not a fully original program in its own right. Which is pretty funny, given that Calibre is free and Alfa is not. I don't recall Alfa having even one important feature that Calibre hasn't (apart from retaining the original file structure, which seems to be the only major reason to prefer it to Calibre).

As to "contamination of the code" and "violating of common standards", I couldn't care less. I manage my books for my personal use and I modify their code and their metadata rather heavily according to my personal preferences. So preserving them in their original virginal state is not at all important to me.

I might add I have never had any problem with finding a book in my calibre library with Windows Explorer. Which I seldom do, but occasionally it happens. And of course you can set any file type in your library to be opened with an external program instead of the calibre viewer, so I don't see what the issue is, really.

Ugly and overloaded interface? You know you can customize it in almost any way you want, right? You can remove anything you don't use from your toolbars and context menu. You can use the list view, the cover view or the cover browser. You can display the tag browser or not, display the book details pane or not... and so on. This endless customizability is what makes Calibre so popular and widely used. If you want something simple, stark and inflexible, then Calibre is probably not for you. Calibre is also far from being the most overloaded application out there. Try Adobe Photoshop or GIMP... Calibre can't hold a candle to them. And yet they're also popular and widely used programs. So simplicity is obviously not seen as an advantage by many, many people.

Anyway, that's my two cents, having also used both Alfa and Calibre. My post is not meant to somehow convince you Calibre is the best thing ever invented. It's just that preferring Alfa to Calibre genuinely bewilders me.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Prospero2021

The second issue with Calibre is Calibre's practice of transforming my library structure in windows folders. When it creates an electronic library, the book files are moved to calibre's folder. Especially it's weird in case with audio books, that have considerable size. The desire to preserve the existing file structure is repeatedly ridiculed by Calibre fans and defended with sometimes absurd arguments. It must be completely unimportant for a modern database software where the individual data files are stored on the hard drive

That statement alone makes me wonder if you have ever actually used calibre. Calibre does NOT move your book files to calibre's library folder(s). It copies them which leaves the original files where ever you happened to leave them. As for your comment about where files are stored, perhaps you have never had to rebuild a calibre library? The library book directory names with the (xxxxx) numeric addon and the files internal to that directory allow recovering from most errors. Going by messages in the calibre forum, that capability has been a life saver for those who do not believe in having a backup procedure in place.

As for your comments about calibre modifying your virginal files? Unless you are copying files from calibre's library to your original ebook locations, those files would not be touched. Inside calibre's library, unless you are polishing or editing the epubs, any changes in metadata & cover images would not be copied into your epubs in the calibre library. Since my ereaders use the metadata, cover images, etc. from the epubs I send to them, I'm in favour of the metadata/covers being added to the files. I also prefer Sigil as my epub editor though I also use calibre's editor since it does some things more easily than Sigil.

Originally Posted by Prospero2021

BTW: Yes, I have not posted here in the past. I'm more s silent reader. No, I have nothing to do with the software company behind Alfa. I'm from Germany, Alfa is programmed by a guy from Ukraine. But I'm a long time user of Alfa and I am always surprised that alternatives to Calibre in the relevant forums are almost not mentioned. They exist. Although alternatives exist, Calibre is still a great program.

I did use Alfa and paid for it years back (version 3?? around the time that Windows 8 was new), I can't remember what the version was but I remember that it's lacked in the ebook conversion area which is quite important to me and if I remember correctly, the ebook viewer was an extra cost option. The feature list seems to have improved since then but so has calibre and I don't feel up to spending $82.40 Cdn to get the Alfa Pro version when calibre supplies me with the web server, ebook viewer, etc. for free. Eye candy is not what I look for in the programs I use on a daily basis.

One other feature that calibre offers but Alfa seems to lack is the ability to remove DRM. Can you tell us about Alfa's ability to handle DRM encumbered files?

I will agree with @Sirtel that preferring Alfa over calibre is a bit bewildering.

[DiapDealer]

To be fair... calibre itself has absolutely nothing to do with removing DRM. That ability is provided entirely by a 3rd-party plugin. If Alfa doesn't support 3rd-party plugins (or plugins at all) then that is the feature it lacks compared to calibre.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

To be fair... calibre itself has absolutely nothing to do with removing DRM. That ability is provided entirely by a 3rd-party plugin. If Alfa doesn't support 3rd-party plugins (or plugins at all) then that is the feature it lacks compared to calibre.

I feel rather grateful to Kovid for calibre's plugin framework. I remember when the first DeDRM plugin arrived in early 2015 and I could move away from using command line tools. The sheer laziness of adding a book and having the DRM automagically disappear. What can I say? Repetitive work is what computers are for.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I feel rather grateful to Kovid for calibre's plugin framework. I remember when the first DeDRM plugin arrived in early 2015 and I could move away from using command line tools. The sheer laziness of adding a book and having the DRM automagically disappear. What can I say? Repetitive work is what computers are for.

Early 2015? I used the Calibre plugin in late 2011.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I feel rather grateful to Kovid for calibre's plugin framework. I remember when the first DeDRM plugin arrived in early 2015 and I could move away from using command line tools. The sheer laziness of adding a book and having the DRM automagically disappear. What can I say? Repetitive work is what computers are for.

I completely agree RE the plugin framework. It's just that I always cringe a bit whenever someone says; "Calibre removes DRM." I know it's a technicality thing, but the distinction is important in this case, I think. Saying Calibre removes DRM implies that Calibre is, itself, DRM-removal software (and everything that would imply, if true) in my mind.

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Early 2015? I used the Calibre plugin in late 2011.

2009 is the earliest incarnation of the pluginized mobidedrm script I can recall.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Early 2015? I used the Calibre plugin in late 2011.

I was going by my old notes which suggested I avoided the DRM removal plugins until the V6 release which had the unified plugin. Which puts it in early 2013, not 2015. Prior to that, I used the command lines tools with some batch files to automate things.

My handwriting is a bit atrocious and reading my old notes can be a quest to understand what the heck did I write?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

My handwriting is a bit atrocious and reading my old notes can be a quest to understand what the heck did I write?

I feel ya about the handwriting.

I first installed Calibre and the Alf plugin when I bought my first Kindle book in autumn 2011. I remember it well because I did quite a lot of research into the topic of ebooks before I switched over from paper. As I know zilch about programming or coding, I certainly didn't use the command line tools.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I was going by my old notes which suggested I avoided the DRM removal plugins until the V6 release which had the unified plugin. Which puts it in early 2013, not 2015. Prior to that, I used the command lines tools with some batch files to automate things.

My handwriting is a bit atrocious and reading my old notes can be a quest to understand what the heck did I write?

Nobody borrowed my college notes twice. They would hand them back to me saying they would find some that were legible. Or they would ask me what I had written and I could not tell them.
Apache

[Apache]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I completely agree RE the plugin framework. It's just that I always cringe a bit whenever someone says; "Calibre removes DRM." I know it's a technicality thing, but the distinction is important in this case, I think. Saying Calibre removes DRM implies that Calibre is, itself, DRM-removal software (and everything that would imply, if true) in my mind.

It is important. I run into the same problem in my line of work.
Apache

[DanRanandolph]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Why just the other day I was thinking to myself, "If only there were a way for me to play with realistic 3-D models of my favorite books".

I was thinking exactly the same thing -- AND, you get to pay for it! Woot.

[dunhill]

And only for windows.
It is a fraud to charge for something that they put together from an open source

[Dr. Drib]

Hey! Wow! Apparently, more calibre users are switching to Alfa! I did not know that! Here's the information below:

"As we see more and more users switching from Calibre to Alfa, we decided to create a new "Import from Calibre" tool. Until now Alfa allowed to scan Calibre library but now it imports book data right from the Calibre database. The full book metadata is imported."

They're an extremely thoughtful group of people!