Are there any iOS reader app that understands Calibre bookmarks?

georgehuang · 10-30-2020, 09:48 PM

Not sure about other formats, but for epub, Calibre now saves bookmarks and highlights directly in the ebook files. I guess this means any epub reader can access that information and potentially let users sync their highlights across all apps that understand `calibre_bookmarks.txt` and epubcfi.

Is there any existing iOS reader app that does exactly this, so that I can finally ditch Apple Books and its closed system?

kovidgoyal · 10-30-2020, 10:07 PM

Not that I know of, but you can use in the in-browser viewer that is part of the calibre content server to read your books on the devices.

georgehuang · 10-30-2020, 11:20 PM

Thank you for the reply and your great work on Calibre, Kovid.

Yeah, I searched and tried many reader apps in vain before decided to post this thread. I think this will be a great feature for third-party reader apps though.

I also tried the Content server in hopes for hosting by own library but found the in-browser viewer not working reliably enough on iOS's Safari. Specifically I couldn't even turn the pages on some of the books while they work fine on my desktop browser. Highlights don't seem to sync either, I'm not sure why.

kovidgoyal · 10-30-2020, 11:34 PM

Yeah safari is a bit of a red headed step child. As for syncing, have you setup user accounts, and told the viewer which account to sync with? See https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/vie...hlighting-text

georgehuang · 10-31-2020, 01:58 AM

It works! I didn't know about that setting. It surely makes sense considering the server can be accessed by different users. Thanks for the advise.

georgehuang · 11-05-2020, 10:54 PM

A quick update to those who have problem turning the pages on iOS's Safari, I just found that "Flow mode" works.

Go to "Preferences" → "Page layout" → "Flow mode".

10-30-2020, 09:48 PM	#1
georgehuang Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2020 Device: MacBook, iPhone, Kindle Paperwhite	Are there any iOS reader app that understands Calibre bookmarks? Not sure about other formats, but for epub, Calibre now saves bookmarks and highlights directly in the ebook files. I guess this means any epub reader can access that information and potentially let users sync their highlights across all apps that understand `calibre_bookmarks.txt` and epubcfi. Is there any existing iOS reader app that does exactly this, so that I can finally ditch Apple Books and its closed system?

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10-30-2020, 10:07 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,384 Karma: 23766374 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Not that I know of, but you can use in the in-browser viewer that is part of the calibre content server to read your books on the devices.

10-30-2020, 11:20 PM	#3
georgehuang Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2020 Device: MacBook, iPhone, Kindle Paperwhite	Thank you for the reply and your great work on Calibre, Kovid. Yeah, I searched and tried many reader apps in vain before decided to post this thread. I think this will be a great feature for third-party reader apps though. I also tried the Content server in hopes for hosting by own library but found the in-browser viewer not working reliably enough on iOS's Safari. Specifically I couldn't even turn the pages on some of the books while they work fine on my desktop browser. Highlights don't seem to sync either, I'm not sure why.

10-30-2020, 11:34 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,384 Karma: 23766374 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Yeah safari is a bit of a red headed step child. As for syncing, have you setup user accounts, and told the viewer which account to sync with? See https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/vie...hlighting-text

10-31-2020, 01:58 AM	#5
georgehuang Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2020 Device: MacBook, iPhone, Kindle Paperwhite	It works! I didn't know about that setting. It surely makes sense considering the server can be accessed by different users. Thanks for the advise.

11-05-2020, 10:54 PM	#6
georgehuang Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2020 Device: MacBook, iPhone, Kindle Paperwhite	A quick update to those who have problem turning the pages on iOS's Safari, I just found that "Flow mode" works. Go to "Preferences" → "Page layout" → "Flow mode".

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