A 'Portable Calibre'

[edella]

I use calibre as my usual 'library for ebooks and am very happy with this system. But I also want to store books, in this case all books belonging to a particular author, on individual CDs.

I originally asked elsewhere if I could just load a copy of calibre, plus books all suitably formatted and prettyfied, on a CD, which could be run when and where wanted. A kind soul said that they thought that there actually was a 'mobile calibre' for a flash stick (which might work with a CD?). I'd love more info.

I wouldn't need a full calibre with all bells and whistles, just a kind of 'pocket calibre' -- a framework to hold ebooks, convert them if necessary to other formats and download to a device or monitor screen.

Perhaps not even that much, almost using calibre as a fancy file folder, with book covers, annotations, extra word documents relating to the ebooks on the CD, a really neat and attractive way of collating (and searching) all sorts of word and picture 'stuff' relating to an author or specific subject.

But easily stored as a physical object, and separate from any eDevices... You would still need a computer to run such a CD, but it doesn't need to be your own -- seems a useful way of using files and docs for special projects or study -- foolish to most I guess, but extremely attractive for my purposes!

regards from edella, slowly diminishing some of her paper books (about 4000 but dropping rapidly) and accommodation needs for retirement purposes!

[HarryT]

Have you looked at the Calibre download page? It's clearly labelled: "Portable".

http://calibre-ebook.com/download

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by edella

IA kind soul said that they thought that there actually was a 'mobile calibre' for a flash stick (which might work with a CD?). I'd love more info.

Like Harry said, there is a clearly marked 'Portable' version on the main Calibre download page; I use it on an external USB disk and on a USB stick.

However, that still needs write access to the library (to be able to update the metadata database and OPF files) so it will not run directly from CD, as far as I know.

[speakingtohe]

Storing books on a CD will make them Read Only. Not sure if this matters when calibre is sending the book to a device, but something to check on?

Helen

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Storing books on a CD will make them Read Only. Not sure if this matters when calibre is sending the book to a device, but something to check on?

I don't think it will even run with the metadata.db on a read-only medium, or even just marked as being read-only.

I seem to remember someone on this forum having Calibre refusing to start with a setup restored from CD (with the files marked read-only as a result) that started working when the RO attribute was removed.

[edella]

Thanks a lot for suggestions given -- I wasn't sure if all the calibre data and general 'mcgubbins' are all stored in one place or files scattered about on a PC. I think one web friend runs calibre from her iPad but this is just another sort of computer. I'd noted the 'portable' already, but was after self-contained portable <G> -- ready to access with any device available --no big deal as I was planning to store a CD for each author as epubs -- would have been prettier in a calibre wrapping!

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by edella

Thanks a lot for suggestions given -- I wasn't sure if all the calibre data and general 'mcgubbins' are all stored in one place or files scattered about on a PC.

On the portable version all the calibre data and general 'mcgubbins' are all stored in one place.

Originally Posted by edella

I think one web friend runs calibre from her iPad but this is just another sort of computer.

Calibre only comes in the OS flavors you see on the calibre's download page, Linux, Windows, and OSX. There is no version that will run on an iPad or Android device. Your "web friend" just uses calibre to manage their ebooks and transfer them to the iPad via iTunes or possibly wireless.

Originally Posted by edella

I'd noted the 'portable' already, but was after self-contained portable

Place the portable version on a USB drive and it doesn't get any more self-contained then that.

Originally Posted by edella

no big deal as I was planning to store a CD for each author as epubs -- would have been prettier in a calibre wrapping!

You can use CDs for archival purposes but as others have said you can not run calibre from a read only medium.

[edella]

//You can use CDs for archival purposes but as others have said you can not run calibre from a read only medium. //

Thanks! Have come to this conclusion, and don't mind -- archival is just fine. As long as one copy of data is separated from a computer -- can't imagine living without one in any case. Will enjoy slowly removing paper books from my bookshelves to leave room for more artifacts!

BTW, I am enjoying the high calibre <G> of responses and their general kindness to an ebook duffer.

regards from edella

[speakingtohe]

Sorry if I am beating the subject to death, but if you copy a file from a CD or DVD to a hard drive or your reader then that file is read only and you may have to edit the file attributes to delete it or change it.

Helen