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Old 11-12-2015, 08:06 PM   #1
Abrasrose
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Device to Calibre Sync Questions

I have three questions:

1) I want to put recently purchased books into Calibre from my Kindle, but I don't know which books aren't already in Calibre. Is there a way to compare the books on my device with Calibre? I can see the comparison between Calibre and my device, but I need to go the other way. Once I get the books identified, how do I get them into Calibre?

2) I have quite a few books on my Kindle that don't show up when I view the books in the main memory of the device in Calibre. I know they are on my Kindle and not in the cloud. How do I fix this and get them into Calibre?

3) I edited the metadata of most of my books to include a star rating in the book title. I'd like to move that to my Kindle. How do I just send new metadata to my Kindle? If I can't do that, can I resend the book data to my Kindle and will it replace the copy that's already there?

Thank you to anyone who can help!
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Old 11-12-2015, 08:53 PM   #2
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1) calibre has an "In Library" column in Device view, which works similarly to the "On Device" column from the Library view.
search:
Code:
inlibrary:true
Do note that in both views, calibre needs the metadata to be the same in order to make a match.

2) Are those books KFX? If so, you might need to upgrade to a newer version of calibre.
EDIT: Because calibre doesn't support KFX (it hasn't been reverse-engineered so we don't know how to convert it). But at least calibre tells you it's there and how to get a "real" copy.

3) No, you cannot send just the metadata. However, as long as the send-to-device filename template is the same (by default it is based on the title and author) the new copy will overwrite the old copy.
If the filename template is different, then you will need to delete and resend the book, otherwise you end up with two copies.

Last edited by eschwartz; 11-14-2015 at 11:10 PM.
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Old 11-13-2015, 02:13 PM   #3
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Thank you for the help to the first two questions!

It sounds like the answer to my third question is to change the filename template from the default to the ISBN. I went to this page: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/temp...l#helpful-tips but I'm a CPA, not a programmer and I'm fairly lost. It sounds like I can change the default filename template to something I don't need to touch, but I can't figure out where the instructions to do that are.

Thank you again!
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Old 11-13-2015, 02:30 PM   #4
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As long as you don't keep changing the title and author, you shouldn't need to use the ISBN.
I suggest against using filenames that require you to look up the ISBN in order to figure out which is which.
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Old 11-14-2015, 12:34 PM   #5
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I have to change the title or author because that's the only thing that Kindle shows. If I could figure out how to add a third line for a rating that would show up with the title in Kindle, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I don't mind doing something complicated, but as far as I can tell from the page I posted above it doesn't tell you where to go within Calibre to make the changes to the filename template. I've edited DRM free books, written my own simple books, and split anthologies using a plugin so I do have a little experience beyond simply storing books in Calibre.

Anyway, I gather this is too complicated a question for an answer within a forum so thank you for responding at all. It was a relief to get the KFX problem fixed.

Thank you!
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Old 11-14-2015, 10:59 PM   #6
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No, this isn't too complicated a question.

I just assumed wrongly that you were already using a metadata plugboard.


It is best to not store "junk" in the calibre metadata, but to separate them into different fields, e.g. the title field, author field, rating field, series field, etc.

You can use a plugboard (Preferences ==> Import/Export ==> Metadata plugboards)
Example -- I use the template:
Code:
{title}{#subseries:| (|, }{#subseries_index:|Book |)}{series:| (|, }{series_index:|Book |)}
for the title.

When I send a book to my Kindle, the title is modified in the exported copy only, to include the series and custom column #subseries.
But the title inside calibre is still just the title, which is more orderly.

The template language is pretty easy, but that guide relates to the template language itself, not the various places you can use it.
For example, if you want to add the rating to the beginning of the title, like so:
4 stars - Wizard's Bane

You'd use the template:
Code:
{rating} Stars - {title}
Plain text is included as-is, anything in {brackets} is replaced by that named metadata field.

If you really want to just use the ISBN as the filename, you can change the filename in Preferences ==> Import/Export ==> Sending books to devices as mentioned in the GUI section of the manual: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/gui.html#send-to-device
The template:
Code:
{identifiers:select(isbn)}
will select the isbn from the list of identifiers.

Note: If you have ever configured your device (see screenshot) you will need to use the Filename Template option there, since it still contains the default, and it overrides the above setting.



But I really do think it is a better idea to use plugboards, they are quite powerful and can really help you keep the metadata better organized.

Please feel free to ask any questions you need, especially if they have to do with setting up plugboards.
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Last edited by eschwartz; 11-14-2015 at 11:08 PM.
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Old 11-21-2015, 12:31 PM   #7
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Thank you for the detailed (and dumbed down!) reply. I will try it.
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Old 11-21-2015, 09:28 PM   #8
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Happy to help.
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Old 11-25-2015, 08:00 PM   #9
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I think I followed your instructions, but the rating isn't appearing on my Kindle Paperwhite. The format I'm looking for is Title - 4 stars. Attached is a screenshot of the plugboard page and a copy of the Configure Amazon Kindle dropdown menu. I think the problem is on the Configure Amazon Kindle dropdown menu, but I'm not coming up with anything when I try the Calibre User Manual that explains what each field is for. Can you please tell me what I'm missing?
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Old 11-25-2015, 08:06 PM   #10
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The "KINDLE" plugboard is for the "KINDLE" device driver, which only affects the Original Kindle.
For later Kindles, you will want the ""KINDLE2" device driver, and thus the "KINDLE2" plugboard device.

I know, it's slightly confusing.


P.S. Next time, you can just attach the screenshots directly, no need to put it in a PDF that requires me to go and open my PDF reader.
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Old 11-25-2015, 08:35 PM   #11
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It worked! Thank you so much and enjoy your holiday tomorrow!
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Old 11-25-2015, 08:48 PM   #12
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You're welcome, happy to help.

Isn't it nice to be able to keep everything neatly organized in calibre.
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