Calibre on Onedrive and PC

[Arg12]

Hi,

I currently have my library on Onedrive. I have put the status for the Onedrive files to "free up space" - in other words I don't want to keep the files on my PC but to access them on demand when using Calibre. Is this possible? I think it probably isn't, and that I need to use a file status of "always keep on this device" so that the files are accessible by Calibre. Am I correct here?

[Sirtel]

Yes. You need to keep the files locally available, Calibre cannot use them otherwise. And pause syncing while Calibre is open, if you don't want your library corrupted.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Arg12

Hi,

I currently have my library on Onedrive. I have put the status for the Onedrive files to "free up space" - in other words I don't want to keep the files on my PC but to access them on demand when using Calibre. Is this possible? I think it probably isn't, and that I need to use a file status of "always keep on this device" so that the files are accessible by Calibre. Am I correct here?

It's not possible as the Onedrive app is a two-way sync. There is no one-way sync. That said, it's a very bad idea to keep your only copy of your library on any cloud server. There's a very good chance of data loss and/or corruption.

To keep your library on Onedrive, you will need to have a local copy of your library and every so often, sync it with the Onedrive directory. Use FreeFileSync for that. So that means you will need to have two copies of your library on your computer.

So please, forget cloud storage exists if you don't have the disk space for two complete copies of your library.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's not possible as the Onedrive app is a two-way sync. There is no one-way sync. That said, it's a very bad idea to keep your only copy of your library on any cloud server. There's a very good chance of data loss and/or corruption.

To keep your library on Onedrive, you will need to have a local copy of your library and every so often, sync it with the Onedrive directory. Use FreeFileSync for that. So that means you will need to have two copies of your library on your computer.

So please, forget cloud storage exists if you don't have the disk space for two complete copies of your library.

I keep my only local copy in the Dropbox folder and have never had two copies on one computer. If you're careful, there's no need for that. But you must be careful.

Edit: I do have back-up copies on external drives, of course.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I keep my only local copy in the Dropbox folder and have never had two copies on one computer. If you're careful, there's no need for that. But you must be careful.

Edit: I do have back-up copies on external drives, of course.

All it takes is ONE mistake to totally screw your library. That's why you should NEVER have your only local copy of your library in your cloud storage DIRECTORY. If something goes wrong, it will be synced to both copies and you'll be well and truly SCREWED!

Do not do this and do not tell anyone on MR you do this because other might think it's OK to do this when it's clearly not OK.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

All it takes is ONE mistake to totally screw your library. That's why you should NEVER have your only local copy of your library in your cloud storage DIRECTORY. If something goes wrong, it will be synced to both copies and you'll be well and truly SCREWED!

Do not do this and do not tell anyone on MR you do this because other might think it's OK to do this when it's clearly not OK.

No, it doesn't take one mistake to totally screw your library. At least not with Dropbox, no idea about OneDrive and Google Drive. If you catch a mistake soon after making it, you can repair it easily. That's why it's important to run the Library Maintenance often. And if you don't check your library for a long time, it may indeed be unrecoverable when you eventually do. But just one mistake does nothing so terrible. Dropbox is more robust than that.

I've kept my library in Dropbox for 10 years. And yes, I've had mistakes. But nothing I couldn't repair easily. As I said, you must be careful to catch those mistakes quickly.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

No, it doesn't take one mistake to totally screw your library. At least not with Dropbox, no idea about OneDrive and Google Drive. If you catch a mistake soon after making it, you can repair it easily. That's why it's important to run the Library Maintenance often. And if you don't check your library for a long time, it may indeed be unrecoverable when you eventually do. But just one mistake does nothing so terrible. Dropbox is more robust than that.

I've kept my library in Dropbox for 10 years. And yes, I've had mistakes. But nothing I couldn't repair easily. As I said, you must be careful to catch those mistakes quickly.

You may know what you are doing, but a lot of people don't. It's not a good idea to push using cloud storage for your library. It's just wrong.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You may know what you are doing, but a lot of people don't. It's not a good idea to push using cloud storage for your library. It's just wrong.

I don't push it. I just answer the questions that people using the cloud storage have and always warn them what to do and what not to do.

The reason many of us use the cloud despite the danger of corruption is the need to work with your library on more than one computer. So far there's no other good solution for this. The content server is not the solution, because to use that you have to have a computer running all the time. I don't leave my electronics running when I'm not at home, that's even more dangerous than using the cloud. So Dropbox is the only viable way for me to work on my library like I need to.

[JSWolf]

There is a better solution. Network the computers. It's what I do. Calibre sees my library as though it was local. I only run one copy of Calibre at a time. So I have no problem. I don't have to worry about something going wrong because of the cloud storage.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There is a better solution. Network the computers. It's what I do. Calibre sees my library as though it was local. I only run one copy of Calibre at a time. So I have no problem. I don't have to worry about something going wrong because of the cloud storage.

That wouldn't work for me because I shut down my network when I leave home. Sometimes I spend most of the day at my niece's, keeping company to her 9-year-old son (the niece works until 7 o'clock pm). I often want to work with my library there. But the laptop I take with me to my niece's is not the same I mostly use at home (it's smaller and lighter, so good for carrying with you, but not so good for constant work). My home network is not available. But Dropbox is.

I also run only one copy of Calibre at a time, just not on one and the same computer.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That wouldn't work for me because I shut down my network when I leave home. Sometimes I spend most of the day at my niece's, keeping company to her 9-year-old son (the niece works until 7 o'clock pm). I often want to work with my library there. But the laptop I take with me to my niece's is not the same I mostly use at home (it's smaller and lighter, so good for carrying with you, but not so good for constant work). My home network is not available. But Dropbox is.

I also run only one copy of Calibre at a time, just not on one and the same computer.

If I go someplace, I copy one of my libraries onto my laptop or Surface and bring it with me. I'm not needing to have my library on a cloud server. Besides, if I have room on my computer to store my library, I just sync and I'm good to go. It's more reliable.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If I go someplace, I copy one of my libraries onto my laptop or Surface and bring it with me. I'm not needing to have my library on a cloud server. Besides, if I have room on my computer to store my library, I just sync and I'm good to go. It's more reliable.

And then I'd have to sync the changes back to my main computer, and so repeatedly. I don't think it's more reliable than to use Dropbox for the very same purpose. Either way you have to constantly sync back and forth. Using a home network for syncing isn't more reliable than using Dropbox.

In your case, you probably need to sync changes back to your main PC much less often than I do.

I've tried carrying my library on a flash drive, but that was a nightmare, as flash drives are very slow and error-prone. And I'm not going to lug a portable drive along with my laptop when I go to my niece's, because I have no car and use public transport. So the less weight and fewer things to carry around, the better.

[Arg12]

Ok, thanks for all the replies. I think I'll go back to putting the library on an external drive.

[jpijper]

Backup and back up the backup ...