Kindle for PC and Collections question

allisondbl · 10-14-2011, 10:36 PM

Hello all. Trying to use Kindle for PC to solve the "No program that seems to really create and let you drop and drag collections" problem.

I have created collections ON MY ACTUAL PC (which runs Windows XP SP3) what I'd like to do is tell program "Kindles for PC" to IMPORT these collections to itself, i.e. the Kindle for PC App/program/whatever it is, so that I can then IMPORT these collections to Kindle itself. (Assuming Import is the right word.)

While you can (1) import collections FROM the Kindle to "Kindle for PC" and (2) if you open "Kindle for PC" and click Tools; Options; Content you SHOULD be able to tell the program/app where on your PC it should look to get folders/content, it doesn't, instead the app's library just holds on to content it pulled off my desktop.

In sum: Can/How does one get "Kindle for PC" to import collections already made ON my PC??!!

Thanks for all help.

Blossom · 10-15-2011, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allisondbl

Hello all. Trying to use Kindle for PC to solve the "No program that seems to really create and let you drop and drag collections" problem.

I have created collections ON MY ACTUAL PC (which runs Windows XP SP3) what I'd like to do is tell program "Kindles for PC" to IMPORT these collections to itself, i.e. the Kindle for PC App/program/whatever it is, so that I can then IMPORT these collections to Kindle itself. (Assuming Import is the right word.)

While you can (1) import collections FROM the Kindle to "Kindle for PC" and (2) if you open "Kindle for PC" and click Tools; Options; Content you SHOULD be able to tell the program/app where on your PC it should look to get folders/content, it doesn't, instead the app's library just holds on to content it pulled off my desktop.

In sum: Can/How does one get "Kindle for PC" to import collections already made ON my PC??!!

Thanks for all help.

It can't do that. You have to make the collections inside the program and then you can import them to your Kindle.

allisondbl · 10-15-2011, 12:52 AM

sigh. So it's useless for anyone who's NOT doing this for first time. Sigh. Why oh why is a simple drag and drop collections program for Kindle SO DAMN DIFFICULT!!!! Argh!

Back to drawing board.

Thank you for response. Really.

Blossom · 10-15-2011, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allisondbl

sigh. So it's useless for anyone who's NOT doing this for first time. Sigh. Why oh why is a simple drag and drop collections program for Kindle SO DAMN DIFFICULT!!!! Argh!

Back to drawing board.

Thank you for response. Really.

All you do is drop your books into K4PC's folder then start the program and make the collections you want.
Then open the Kindle Content folder and drag the books into your Kindle Via USB.

On your Kindle go to your Archive Items and in there's an option to import collections from Kindle For PC to your Kindle. Collections are not folders they are more like tags. It works well but the files must match exactly to work.

There is also a Calibre Plugin called Kindle Collections you can use.

allisondbl · 10-19-2011, 12:50 AM

"All you do is drop your books into K4PC's folder then start the program and make the collections you want."

Blossom thank you, but the problem isn't using the program ab initio, i.e. if you have just gotten your brand new kindle and have some stuff to add, the problem is that I already HAVE all my THOUSANDS of books sorted neatly into perfect folders ON MY PC - one level of folders, each book in one folder. All I want to do is drop and drag THE FOLDERS with their books into Kindle.

What I DO NOT want to do is to have to CREATE fifty folders and then add the books, apparently one by one.

Calibre makes it WAY too complicated to do this. Yes I have tried it requires click after click for a couple thousand books. Even dropping and dragging all my books is just a waste of valuable time.

There WERE a couple of programs that did this beautifully, unfortunately updates and time have "broken" these and their wonderful creators have moved on to other projects - their lives, their choices!

Blossom · 10-19-2011, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allisondbl

"All you do is drop your books into K4PC's folder then start the program and make the collections you want."

Blossom thank you, but the problem isn't using the program ab initio, i.e. if you have just gotten your brand new kindle and have some stuff to add, the problem is that I already HAVE all my THOUSANDS of books sorted neatly into perfect folders ON MY PC - one level of folders, each book in one folder. All I want to do is drop and drag THE FOLDERS with their books into Kindle.

What I DO NOT want to do is to have to CREATE fifty folders and then add the books, apparently one by one.

Calibre makes it WAY too complicated to do this. Yes I have tried it requires click after click for a couple thousand books. Even dropping and dragging all my books is just a waste of valuable time.

There WERE a couple of programs that did this beautifully, unfortunately updates and time have "broken" these and their wonderful creators have moved on to other projects - their lives, their choices!

Wow I wouldn't put that many books on a Kindle.

I keep my library on Dropbox then just download the books I need to read as I go along using the browser. I once had 300 books on my Kindle and I couldn't find anything and search took a long time. The Kindle acted slow so I now have a limit of 30 books.

wallcraft · 10-19-2011, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allisondbl

the problem is that I already HAVE all my THOUSANDS of books sorted neatly into perfect folders ON MY PC - one level of folders, each book in one folder. All I want to do is drop and drag THE FOLDERS with their books into Kindle.

You can drop your nest of folders into the documents folder on the Kindle while it is connected as a USB drive to your PC and the ebooks will show up (indexing them will take a while). This won't get you collections on your Kindle, but the Calibre's Kindle Collections GUI Plugin can manage Kindle collections, even if the ebooks are not in your Calibre library.

A single folder with 1,000 sub-folders isn't the optimal file structure for a Kindle. A better approach would be 26 folders, A to Z, each with your current folders starting with that letter. This gets you on average 40 folders per A-Z folder. I actually use genre (rather than A-Z) as my first level of folders, which is probably less effective because some genres have lots of ebooks.

wvcherrybomb · 10-20-2011, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allisondbl

- one level of folders, each book in one folder.

I'm afraid you are going to have to just bite the bullet on this one and spend the time moving books.

If it were me, I would put them all on Calibre and use the Kindle Collections plug-in to organize them into real collections for the Kindle.

I have about 600 books on my K3 and, unlike Blossom, I have never had any problems with lag. (Blossom, perhaps a "stuck" book that hasn't indexed?) I don't have issues finding things because I have lots of specific collections with most books being represented in multiple folders. If Kindle would allow sub-folders I could get really carried away.

Blossom · 10-20-2011, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

I'm afraid you are going to have to just bite the bullet on this one and spend the time moving books.

If it were me, I would put them all on Calibre and use the Kindle Collections plug-in to organize them into real collections for the Kindle.

I have about 600 books on my K3 and, unlike Blossom, I have never had any problems with lag. (Blossom, perhaps a "stuck" book that hasn't indexed?) I don't have issues finding things because I have lots of specific collections with most books being represented in multiple folders. If Kindle would allow sub-folders I could get really carried away.

I haven't tried it since I found out you can use subfolders so it's possible I just had too many in the Documents folder. How the heck do you find anything with that many books? I set a limit of 30 or I wouldn't finish what I am reading. Since then I have finished books I've started and not started another one.

wvcherrybomb · 10-20-2011, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

How the heck do you find anything with that many books?

I have four pages of folders with specific genres and favorite authors. I also have a folder for "currently reading." I like to browse through different genres that I'm in the mood for until I find something I feel like reading. I then add it to the currently reading folder. I usually have a dozen or so books in that folder at a time. When I'm done with each book, I remove it from the CR folder, but leave it in it's various genre folders.

susan_cassidy · 10-20-2011, 12:06 PM

Collections are not the same as folders.

Blossom · 10-20-2011, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

I have four pages of folders with specific genres and favorite authors. I also have a folder for "currently reading." I like to browse through different genres that I'm in the mood for until I find something I feel like reading. I then add it to the currently reading folder. I usually have a dozen or so books in that folder at a time. When I'm done with each book, I remove it from the CR folder, but leave it in it's various genre folders.

Ah I delete a book when done with it unless it's a reference book.

emalvick · 10-20-2011, 02:36 PM

Hmm... I like the Dropbox idea although I haven't really got an idea of how Dropbox works itself (might be useful beyond books).

I tend to have more books rather than less and use Calibre to set up my collections. I have found that things slow down when I get up over 100 books. I'm not sure it is a specific book because I've also had indexing problems and can usually find those quickly.

I do find having a lot of books frustrating from a browsing point of view. I have about one to two pages of collections including a currently reading one, but I like to sort them by title as it keeps it orderly for me. This of course gets a bit crazy when there are many books on the device. It's not horrible as I usually limit myself to the first couple of pages of collections (special characters keep those at the front), but it still could be better.

Something like Dropbox may be good for cutting myself down to very few books, but I'll have to see how flexible that service is.

Blossom · 10-20-2011, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emalvick

Hmm... I like the Dropbox idea although I haven't really got an idea of how Dropbox works itself (might be useful beyond books).

I tend to have more books rather than less and use Calibre to set up my collections. I have found that things slow down when I get up over 100 books. I'm not sure it is a specific book because I've also had indexing problems and can usually find those quickly.

I do find having a lot of books frustrating from a browsing point of view. I have about one to two pages of collections including a currently reading one, but I like to sort them by title as it keeps it orderly for me. This of course gets a bit crazy when there are many books on the device. It's not horrible as I usually limit myself to the first couple of pages of collections (special characters keep those at the front), but it still could be better.

Something like Dropbox may be good for cutting myself down to very few books, but I'll have to see how flexible that service is.

Dropbox is great! You get 2.5GB for signing up using someone's referral link. For each Referral you get 250MB more space. It's a Free service but they do have paid plans if you want more space that way.

You just download the program to your PC which creates a Folder in your Documents folder. You can then move your Calibre Library there or just the ebooks you want access to.

Anything that is put in your Dropbox folder is uploaded to your online Dropbox automatically. It then can be access in a few different ways.

I keep my ebooks on my Dropbox. I have a Android phone that has the Dropbox App installed so it's great for transferring files to my PC. I also use it to download epubs books to read on my phone. I also use it to download mobi books then use my email app to email the books to my Kindle.

On the Kindle I just log into the website and find the book and download it. There is a real time search which is really helpful in finding it fast. So I don't need to be near my PC to send myself a book or get from my Dropbox. I can do it on the Kindle or through my phone.

allisondbl · 10-22-2011, 06:17 PM

Huh. I use dropbox but given the limit to opening windows I didn't think one could use dropbox ON THE KINDLE and download FROM dropbox TO the kindle. NOT, mind, having dropbox on my pc and downloading to pc and then to dropbox. So to download ON kindle you just login to your dropbox from browser on kindle and you can download right to kindle? If so: awesome!

10-14-2011, 10:36 PM	#1
allisondbl Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 11964 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle Paperwhites 2013 and 2015, Nook Glowlight, iPhone, etc.	Kindle for PC and Collections question Hello all. Trying to use Kindle for PC to solve the "No program that seems to really create and let you drop and drag collections" problem. I have created collections ON MY ACTUAL PC (which runs Windows XP SP3) what I'd like to do is tell program "Kindles for PC" to IMPORT these collections to itself, i.e. the Kindle for PC App/program/whatever it is, so that I can then IMPORT these collections to Kindle itself. (Assuming Import is the right word.) While you can (1) import collections FROM the Kindle to "Kindle for PC" and (2) if you open "Kindle for PC" and click Tools; Options; Content you SHOULD be able to tell the program/app where on your PC it should look to get folders/content, it doesn't, instead the app's library just holds on to content it pulled off my desktop. In sum: Can/How does one get "Kindle for PC" to import collections already made ON my PC??!! Thanks for all help. Last edited by allisondbl; 10-14-2011 at 11:12 PM.

10-15-2011, 12:52 AM	#3
allisondbl Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 11964 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle Paperwhites 2013 and 2015, Nook Glowlight, iPhone, etc.	Thank you. sigh. So it's useless for anyone who's NOT doing this for first time. Sigh. Why oh why is a simple drag and drop collections program for Kindle SO DAMN DIFFICULT!!!! Argh! Back to drawing board. Thank you for response. Really.

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10-19-2011, 12:50 AM	#5
allisondbl Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 11964 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle Paperwhites 2013 and 2015, Nook Glowlight, iPhone, etc.	"All you do is drop your books into K4PC's folder then start the program and make the collections you want." Blossom thank you, but the problem isn't using the program ab initio, i.e. if you have just gotten your brand new kindle and have some stuff to add, the problem is that I already HAVE all my THOUSANDS of books sorted neatly into perfect folders ON MY PC - one level of folders, each book in one folder. All I want to do is drop and drag THE FOLDERS with their books into Kindle. What I DO NOT want to do is to have to CREATE fifty folders and then add the books, apparently one by one. Calibre makes it WAY too complicated to do this. Yes I have tried it requires click after click for a couple thousand books. Even dropping and dragging all my books is just a waste of valuable time. There WERE a couple of programs that did this beautifully, unfortunately updates and time have "broken" these and their wonderful creators have moved on to other projects - their lives, their choices!

10-20-2011, 12:06 PM	#11
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	Collections are not the same as folders.

10-20-2011, 02:36 PM	#13
emalvick Groupie Posts: 166 Karma: 5358 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Davis, CA Device: Kindle 3	Hmm... I like the Dropbox idea although I haven't really got an idea of how Dropbox works itself (might be useful beyond books). I tend to have more books rather than less and use Calibre to set up my collections. I have found that things slow down when I get up over 100 books. I'm not sure it is a specific book because I've also had indexing problems and can usually find those quickly. I do find having a lot of books frustrating from a browsing point of view. I have about one to two pages of collections including a currently reading one, but I like to sort them by title as it keeps it orderly for me. This of course gets a bit crazy when there are many books on the device. It's not horrible as I usually limit myself to the first couple of pages of collections (special characters keep those at the front), but it still could be better. Something like Dropbox may be good for cutting myself down to very few books, but I'll have to see how flexible that service is.

10-22-2011, 06:17 PM	#15
allisondbl Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 11964 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle Paperwhites 2013 and 2015, Nook Glowlight, iPhone, etc.	Huh. I use dropbox but given the limit to opening windows I didn't think one could use dropbox ON THE KINDLE and download FROM dropbox TO the kindle. NOT, mind, having dropbox on my pc and downloading to pc and then to dropbox. So to download ON kindle you just login to your dropbox from browser on kindle and you can download right to kindle? If so: awesome!