New to Calibre: Questions

CP4 · 08-14-2010, 01:14 PM

I have both the Kindle and the Nook. I just found out about Calibre and have been playing with it. Forgive me if these questions have already been asked and answered:

1. Is there anyway to determine if a book is DRM protected before purchasing it? Do not want to purchase it and then find out it cannot be converted.

2. Is there anyway to specify in Calibre library as to which device is holding the book? I would like to keep all of my books from both the Nook and the Kindle on the same library page but I would like to know where to find the book when I want to read it.

3. If I purchase a book from B&N, it is loaded to my Nook. I found out how to add the book from my Nook to Calibre. If I purchased a book from a different source (that does not download directly to the Nook or Kindle), then do I need to download the book to my computer and then add to Calibre? If the book is on Calibre, can I delete it from the document portion of my computer? In other words, if the book is in calibre, does that mean the entire book is there for reading if I wanted to read it on the computer and it does not need to be saved anywhere else?

4. I downloaded a book in PDF and placed it both on the Nook and the Kindle. The font is too small for me to read. The Kindle permits me to increase size by 150%, 200%, etc. but then the page does not fit on the screen and is awkward to read. The Nook permits me to increase font size, but then the formatting is messed up and hard to read. Any suggestions?

Would appreciate any assistance.

Thanks!

toddos · 08-14-2010, 05:56 PM

Answers:

1. This depends on where you're buying from. For example, on the Kindle store, look at the "number of devices" restriction. If it says "unlimited", the book is not DRMed. DRM removal is pretty simple, but you'll have to go elsewhere to figure it out (hint: Google for "unswindle")

2. Not as such. Calibre will enumerate the books on your device if you plug it in, but otherwise Calibre has no way of knowing which book is where. You could add custom columns in Calibre and set them manually to indicate where the book is, but that's an entirely manual process.

3. Yes, Calibre stores files in its own "database" (which is just a filesystem structure, but don't go poking around in there -- let Calibre manage it). When you add a book to Calibre, it makes a copy. You can delete your original copy if you like.

4. Don't buy/download PDF "ebooks"? PDF is not a good ebook format. If the PDF is not DRMed (or you can remove the DRM), you can try converting it to a more suitable source (epub for Nook, prc/mobi for Kindle) but be warned that PDF conversion generally sucks. If you can get the book in any other format (epub, prc, lit, even plain text), you'll be much better off than trying to use/convert a PDF.

08-14-2010, 01:14 PM	#1
CP4 Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: none	New to Calibre: Questions I have both the Kindle and the Nook. I just found out about Calibre and have been playing with it. Forgive me if these questions have already been asked and answered: 1. Is there anyway to determine if a book is DRM protected before purchasing it? Do not want to purchase it and then find out it cannot be converted. 2. Is there anyway to specify in Calibre library as to which device is holding the book? I would like to keep all of my books from both the Nook and the Kindle on the same library page but I would like to know where to find the book when I want to read it. 3. If I purchase a book from B&N, it is loaded to my Nook. I found out how to add the book from my Nook to Calibre. If I purchased a book from a different source (that does not download directly to the Nook or Kindle), then do I need to download the book to my computer and then add to Calibre? If the book is on Calibre, can I delete it from the document portion of my computer? In other words, if the book is in calibre, does that mean the entire book is there for reading if I wanted to read it on the computer and it does not need to be saved anywhere else? 4. I downloaded a book in PDF and placed it both on the Nook and the Kindle. The font is too small for me to read. The Kindle permits me to increase size by 150%, 200%, etc. but then the page does not fit on the screen and is awkward to read. The Nook permits me to increase font size, but then the formatting is messed up and hard to read. Any suggestions? Would appreciate any assistance. Thanks!

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08-14-2010, 05:56 PM	#2
toddos Guru Posts: 695 Karma: 822675 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo Aura, Nokia Lumia 920 (Freda)	Answers: 1. This depends on where you're buying from. For example, on the Kindle store, look at the "number of devices" restriction. If it says "unlimited", the book is not DRMed. DRM removal is pretty simple, but you'll have to go elsewhere to figure it out (hint: Google for "unswindle") 2. Not as such. Calibre will enumerate the books on your device if you plug it in, but otherwise Calibre has no way of knowing which book is where. You could add custom columns in Calibre and set them manually to indicate where the book is, but that's an entirely manual process. 3. Yes, Calibre stores files in its own "database" (which is just a filesystem structure, but don't go poking around in there -- let Calibre manage it). When you add a book to Calibre, it makes a copy. You can delete your original copy if you like. 4. Don't buy/download PDF "ebooks"? PDF is not a good ebook format. If the PDF is not DRMed (or you can remove the DRM), you can try converting it to a more suitable source (epub for Nook, prc/mobi for Kindle) but be warned that PDF conversion generally sucks. If you can get the book in any other format (epub, prc, lit, even plain text), you'll be much better off than trying to use/convert a PDF.

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