CloudLibrary for iOS - support?

[pshute]

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this thread. Can anyone tell me anything about getting support for this app?

My public library loans ebooks in this format, so I have to use this app to read them, and I'm not happy with it. I'm happy with its features, but it's slow, resets when returning from other apps, and often requires tricks to get books to open.

As far as I can tell, the only way to get tech support is through my library. Only one librarian knows anything about it, and he's not in on the rare occasion I can get to the library. I tried asking him once, and he doesn't know anything other than the basics. Anything else is just passed on to CloudLibrary tech support, and you never get a sensible answer.

I've got a lot of feedback I like to pass on to them.

[tracyeo]

You can import the books to Calibre and then side load them to your ereader or phone and read them with any app that supports your format.

[pshute]

Originally Posted by tracyeo

You can import the books to Calibre and then side load them to your ereader or phone and read them with any app that supports your format.

How do I download them? The only way I know is to log into the library on my ipad using the CloudLibrary app, and then I don't think I can do anything but read them with the app.

[pshute]

I've worked out there's a CloudLibrary program for Windows. I've installed that, logged into my library, and I can see the books I've borrowed. How do I get them into Calibre? I would have thought there would be some protection on them.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by pshute

I've worked out there's a CloudLibrary program for Windows. I've installed that, logged into my library, and I can see the books I've borrowed. How do I get them into Calibre? I would have thought there would be some protection on them.

There is DRM on them. With DRM the Calibre viewer won't read them.

The app should have a button on the My Books page that says View Book Files. The books are DRM'd to the Adobe ID I use in ADE 2.0.1 so I can open them in ADE or a device registered with that ID.

[pshute]

OK, I found the epub files. This seems to be a lot of bother to get around the issue though. I can get by with CloudLibrary, I just want to make contact with the company to let them know my gripes with it. I've never come across a company that doesn't even accept feedback, and the product shows it.

[Flaneurette]

Originally Posted by pshute

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this thread. Can anyone tell me anything about getting support for this app?

My public library loans ebooks in this format, so I have to use this app to read them, and I'm not happy with it. I'm happy with its features, but it's slow, resets when returning from other apps, and often requires tricks to get books to open.

As far as I can tell, the only way to get tech support is through my library. Only one librarian knows anything about it, and he's not in on the rare occasion I can get to the library. I tried asking him once, and he doesn't know anything other than the basics. Anything else is just passed on to CloudLibrary tech support, and you never get a sensible answer.

I've got a lot of feedback I like to pass on to them.

I have an iPad 2017 running ios 11.2.6 and have had no issues with CloudLibrary at all, no slowness or crashing. sorry probably not much help:

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by pshute

OK, I found the epub files. This seems to be a lot of bother to get around the issue though. I can get by with CloudLibrary, I just want to make contact with the company to let them know my gripes with it. I've never come across a company that doesn't even accept feedback, and the product shows it.

If the company doesn't allow you to contact them directly, leave a 1-star review on iTunes detailing your recommendations/complaints.

[pshute]

Originally Posted by Flaneurette

I have an iPad 2017 running ios 11.2.6 and have had no issues with CloudLibrary at all, no slowness or crashing. sorry probably not much help:

Thank, that is useful. I suspect most of the problems relate to it not dealing well with the consequences of insufficient RAM. Your iPad 2017 has 2GB, whereas my iPad Air has only 1GB.

Do you use other apps? Mine would work fine too if I didn't. I'm regularly swapping between CloudLibrary, Mail, Safari, Facebook, iBooks etc. I believe it tries to hold the most recently used apps in RAM, and unloads the least recently used when RAM runs low. It's up to the apps to restore things when reloaded. iBooks, for example, will open, then open the book you were reading, then turn to the page you were on.

CloudLibrary just opens, and you have to open the book again yourself. It at least remembers the page you were on. As of iOS 12, it sometimes gets stuck on that page, and when you turn the page, you're on the same page.

Often it simply won't open the book. I have to click the Return tab, and then choose Open instead of Return.

My theory is that you should be seeing these problems too, if you open enough apps to get it to run out of RAM.

[pshute]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

If the company doesn't allow you to contact them directly, leave a 1-star review on iTunes detailing your recommendations/complaints.

That's a good idea. I've been maintaining my review there since I started discovering problems, but I'd given it a 4 star review because it is the best featured library app, in my opinion, apart from these glitches. I've changed it to two stars. There are a lot of bad reviews on there.

I've discovered if I login into my library via the CloudLibrary website, there's a support option that sets up an email to my library. I might try bugging them with my problems, and maybe they'll pass them on to the company.

[pshute]

Originally Posted by Flaneurette

I have an iPad 2017 running ios 11.2.6 and have had no issues with CloudLibrary at all, no slowness or crashing. sorry probably not much help:

Flaneurette, if you have the time and energy, could you please try this experiment? Choose a book and start adding highlighting. The highlighting can be single words, it doesn't matter, just so long as you add a lot of them.

I've found that the more highlights there are, the longer the book takes to open. I've got about 60 in my current book, and it now sits there spinning for 30 seconds before it'll open. I tend to add a highlight every couple of pages (things to look up, or add to a review, etc), so an average length book can be getting pretty slow to open by the end.

It should be much faster on yours, but I'm curious to know how much effect it has on a faster iPad, if any.