Why do the developers hate usb connections?

[tadas]

I'm in the middle of trying to get CC working on a new device after my old one croaked. I have 4500+ books and about 150 categories in my Calibre library. My old inkBOOK's touchscreen fails in some areas of the screen (including the place where you can run "Settings"), so I can't run a backup.

When I set that one up a year ago, it required a week, with large amounts of manual intervention, to copy my (then) 3800 books -- per the docs, I had to copy them in dribs and drabs of 100 or so books, selecting them one at a time, using the Content Server.

No way was I putting myself through that again. I had an Android tablet on hand that had a 64GB Micro SD card. I copied my entire Calibre library to the SD, (started the copy, went out, done when I got back home), then used the "cloud" feature to import my books into Calibre Connection (started the import, went to bed, job done the next morning). The theory was that I'd then run a backup and copy everything to my new inkBOOK reader.

I now have 4500+ books on my Android device and successfully moved to my new inkBOOK. However, none of my categories (in a column in my library called "Kindle Collections") made it over. A reader with 4500 books and no categories is effectively useless.

When I try to connect via "Wireless Network Connection", apparently the only way to update metadata, CC doesn't find my Calibre library. It can't find my content server either, unless I explicitly enter the (fixed) IP address and port.

The instructions scattered over FAQs and forum entries says I have to start the wireless connection in Calibre using "wireless connection menu shown above." (quote from the FAQ). My Calibre, version 3.12 *DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING RESEMBLING THIS MENU*. I can start, stop, and configure the content server via "Preferences/Change Calibre Behavior/Sharing/Sharing over the Net", but there's *absolutely nothing* relating to "wireless connections".

How do I get this working so I can get my categories from the Calibre library on my destop? Alternatively, how do I get the categories over via "cloud connection", and I'm willing to do a do-over on the Android tablet (fortunately, I never deleted the library from the SD card)?

When I had a Kindle or Kobo, I could, with the appropriate plugin, sync my library to the device, including my categories, over blazing fast USB. Why, oh why do the developers hate USB and make me go through all of these hoops?

Is there different software that will allow me to sync my metadata from Calibre via reliable USB connections?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by tadas

When I set that one up a year ago, it required a week, with large amounts of manual intervention, to copy my (then) 3800 books -- per the docs, I had to copy them in dribs and drabs of 100 or so books, selecting them one at a time, using the Content Server.

Why didn't you use "Download all"?

I now have 4500+ books on my Android device and successfully moved to my new inkBOOK. However, none of my categories (in a column in my library called "Kindle Collections") made it over. A reader with 4500 books and no categories is effectively useless.

See FAQ How can I see my custom "columns made from other columns" in the Cloud Connection's top-level list? and How do I add my custom columns to the Grouping drawer?

The instructions scattered over FAQs and forum entries says I have to start the wireless connection in Calibre using "wireless connection menu shown above." (quote from the FAQ). My Calibre, version 3.12 *DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING RESEMBLING THIS MENU*. I can start, stop, and configure the content server via "Preferences/Change Calibre Behavior/Sharing/Sharing over the Net", but there's *absolutely nothing* relating to "wireless connections".

calibre 3.12 most certainly does have "something relating to wireless connections", as this image shows.


If you don't see that line in the Connect/Share menu then you either are running some bizarro distro version of calibre, you have removed the Connect/Share button, or you have disabled the wireless device plugin (calibre Preferences / Plugins / Device interface plugins / SmartDevice).

[tadas]

Thank you for the one piece of information that enabled me to solve the problem -- that there's an icon that I can add that has the control I need to start wireless mode (although it belongs in the Preferences/Network Connections menu as well).. I don't recall ever having seen this icon in many years of Calibre usage. I may have deleted the icon back when I was starting out, running Version 1.x with a Kindle connected via USB years and years ago and didn't need the extraneous icon from taking up room that an important icon like "Kindle Collections" needed.

I suggest that a sentence along the lines of "If you don't see this icon on your taskbar, add it via the "Preferences/Interface/Toolbars" menu - it is provided with the default Calibre install"

To answer your other questions, "Kindle Collections" is not a "Column made from other Columns", so I failed to see the relevance, and "how do I add my custom columns" required a run of the missing "wireless connection". I didn't use "Download all" because the docs/FAQs/Forum postings explicitly warned against doing so if I had more than a few hundred books.

I'm still curious why the developers don't support USB connections to communicate with Calibre, which would allow me to not have to open ports on my Calibre library machine. Presumably a "Calibre Companion" plugin, similar to a Kindle or Kobo plugin could be written to accomplish this.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by tadas

Thank you for the one piece of information that enabled me to solve the problem -- that there's an icon that I can add that has the control I need to start wireless mode (although it belongs in the Preferences/Network Connections menu as well).. I don't recall ever having seen this icon in many years of Calibre usage. I may have deleted the icon back when I was starting out, running Version 1.x with a Kindle connected via USB years and years ago and didn't need the extraneous icon from taking up room that an important icon like "Kindle Collections" needed.

I suggest that a sentence along the lines of "If you don't see this icon on your taskbar, add it via the "Preferences/Interface/Toolbars" menu - it is provided with the default Calibre install"

To answer your other questions, "Kindle Collections" is not a "Column made from other Columns", so I failed to see the relevance, and "how do I add my custom columns" required a run of the missing "wireless connection". I didn't use "Download all" because the docs/FAQs/Forum postings explicitly warned against doing so if I had more than a few hundred books.

I'm still curious why the developers don't support USB connections to communicate with Calibre, which would allow me to not have to open ports on my Calibre library machine. Presumably a "Calibre Companion" plugin, similar to a Kindle or Kobo plugin could be written to accomplish this.

Connect Share is a (Icon) default. someone must have removed it (or your original install was from the 1.x era) Charles came up with WDC to support Wireless device mode (push). Before that, it was just the content server (pull)

USB is the traditional CALIBRE connection method. (You are posting in a CC forum, not Calibre)
Device Designers have mucked that up with MTP mode only, which is flaky on many OS.
I still use USB for my K4 (and I use Kindle Collections: {series} )

[tadas]

My original install *was* from the 1.x era. The only reason I got into Calibre Companion was that it's the *only* software I know of that lets me use my Calibre categories on an Android reader - wifi was a drawback, not a feature, and if there was *anything* that let me use USB to copy my 4500+ books and Calibre-maintained categories to Android, I'd be using that instead of CC.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by tadas

My original install *was* from the 1.x era. The only reason I got into Calibre Companion was that it's the *only* software I know of that lets me use my Calibre categories on an Android reader - wifi was a drawback, not a feature, and if there was *anything* that let me use USB to copy my 4500+ books and Calibre-maintained categories to Android, I'd be using that instead of CC.

Android is an OS.
CC moves books to the OS, So does Calibre.
CC is just a local Librarian . What that tells me, is you are using the group/filter features to achieve your goal.

FWIW Your reading app responds to metadata or File names. You might get close to your goal using the Plugboard feature of Calibre to insert your custom data into a standard metadata field during USB transfers

[tadas]

I'm quite aware that Android is an OS - I was using it as shorthand for "library management program running under Android that behaves like the Kindle app on the old dedicated Kindle readers", which is a lot more to type.

While the inkBOOK is running pure Android, it's a digital paper device that will be used solely to read books.

What I was trying to get at was that Amazon wrote a reader app that runs on whatever the underlying Kindle OS is (talking first thru third generation, not the Fire) which Calibre, with appropriate plugins, can upload books and grouping data via USB connections.

I'd be interested in a similar application for the Android OS, or some kind of extension, either to CC, or a plugin to Calibre that understands and can manipulate CC's config files, structures, file locations and other data, that allows similar transfer via USB.

I'd also be interested to know if there's a way that I can make CC come up as the default screen when I restart my inkBOOK, just like Kindle's library comes up as the default on my 3rd gen Kindle Keyboard.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by tadas

I'd be interested in a similar application for the Android OS, or some kind of extension, either to CC, or a plugin to Calibre that understands and can manipulate CC's config files, structures, file locations and other data, that allows similar transfer via USB

Won't ever happen with CC. The CC database is not visible over USB (no app's data is) so no calibre plugin can touch it. The MTP USB connection only allows reading & writing of files, and even that often fails. I am not interested in attempting to create some kind of file-based sync interface for CC, and I am not interested in giving CC source code to someone else so they can do it.

AFAIK none of the CC competitors have implemented a USB interface to their app. They are all network based in one form or another (cloud, OPDS, etc).

I'd also be interested to know if there's a way that I can make CC come up as the default screen when I restart my inkBOOK, just like Kindle's library comes up as the default on my 3rd gen Kindle Keyboard.

Not that I know of.

[tadas]

Originally Posted by chaley

Won't ever happen with CC. The CC database is not visible over USB (no app's data is) so no calibre plugin can touch it. The MTP USB connection only allows reading & writing of files, and even that often fails. I am not interested in attempting to create some kind of file-based sync interface for CC, and I am not interested in giving CC source code to someone else so they can do it.

AFAIK none of the CC competitors have implemented a USB interface to their app. They are all network based in one form or another (cloud, OPDS, etc).

OK, it's an operating system limitation. Wish I'd known that before I beamed my negativity your way - my sincere apologies for my snarky tone. I can understand your not wanting to research and write some kludge-around fighting with what the OS wants to let you do, and your code is yours to release or not as you desire. Actually, once my books and categories are in place, I'm happy with your program.

I was originally planning to run it only on my new inkBOOK, replacing my old one that's broken, so I wasn't going to buy a second copy. I'm actually thinking of leaving it installed on the tablet I used as an intermediate step in migrating the library to the inkBOOK. Do I need to purchase another license?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by tadas

I was originally planning to run it only on my new inkBOOK, replacing my old one that's broken, so I wasn't going to buy a second copy. I'm actually thinking of leaving it installed on the tablet I used as an intermediate step in migrating the library to the inkBOOK. Do I need to purchase another license?

You can run Android CC on as many devices as you want, as long as a) the devices use the same ID (email address) to connect to the Google Play store, or b) the device doesn't support the GP store, in which case we assume that the user is honest and has paid for the app on some other device. For iOS the answer is the same, except that the question of a device not having access to the Apple store never comes up.

What we cannot do is license across iOS and Android. Someone who uses both ecosystems must buy the app from each store. We also cannot share licenses between the GP and Amazon stores, but this is usually less of an issue.

[tadas]

Thank you. I'm working with all Android devices. Keep up the good work.

[Pizza_Cant_Read]

I wondered why I couldn't transfer over USB as well, thanks for the info Chaley.