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Old 10-19-2018, 05:12 AM   #1
bookandtea
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Exclamation Calibre isn't working - where to get help?

I started out tonight wanting to try Calibre because I'm hoping to buy the new Kobo and get away from Amazon. I'd like to convert my 3k+ Kindle books to epub.

I downloaded Calibre and plugged in my Kindle. The app can see the books, but it can't convert anything that's .kfx (which seems to be every book now). So this is useless.

I go back to Calibre's website and find nothing. I Google it, and everyone is talking about some kind of plug-in, but what does that mean? A plug-in for a browser? For the app itself? Be specific, internet. Where does this plug-in exist, how do you use it?

I finally find Apprentice Alf's Blog, and download his latest file. There is supposedly an app in that just strips DRM, but my MacBook Air tells me, "The application can't be opened". Great.

So then I try to download the plug-ins into Calibre. That works! I'm so excited. Finally it's coming together. I quit the app and restart, and try to convert a .kfx file. It tells me this file is DRM-protected and can't be converted. Okay, what is Calibre even FOR if not to remove the DRM? And why didn't the plug-ins do anything at all?

It's now past 2am and I have wasted precious hours of life on this quest. Is it even possible to still use this software? Even in this forum, the sticky "New to Calibre? Start here" has broken links from 2011. It's 2018.

Can this even be done? Is it actually possible to take a bunch of Kindle book and convert them to a file that a Kobo can use? Because I see a lot of talk about how it's done but none of the directions are working.
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Old 10-19-2018, 05:47 AM   #2
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Okay, what is Calibre even FOR if not to remove the DRM?
It's a program for managing a library of ebooks. It helps you catalog them and manage the metadata. It can be used as a reader on a PC. It can convert DRM-free ebooks between the file versions it supports.

It does not, by design, support stripping DRM.

However...

It has the ability to support plugins. Which are programs third parties write that can be called from the Calibre interface. One set of these is found at "Apprentice Alf's" blog. These plugins can be used to strip DRM. However we are prohibited from discussing the details on mobileread by the site policy. Refer to that blog to ask detailed questions about the use of these plugins.

I can refer you to threads about KFX - which is a relatively new format. It is possible to strip DRM from KFX, and it is possible to convert to and from it. But you need plugins, whereas older Kindle formats are supported natively. This and reasons to do with the format itself, are why many people prefer to force Kindle for PC to download non-KFX versions and go from there.

Thread about K4PC and KFX

thread about KFX Input plugin

HTH
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Old 10-19-2018, 01:56 PM   #3
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Oh thank you! Just that one starting piece of knowledge, that Calibre wasn't designed to strip DRM, helps. Because everywhere you go with the question, "How do I free my Kindle books from DRM?" you get, "Calibre!", so it's natural to assume that's the whole point of the software. This gives me a better jumping off point to finding the next thing I need. I'll check those links and try again today. Thanks again!
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Old 10-19-2018, 08:29 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by bookandtea View Post
everywhere you go with the question, "How do I free my Kindle books from DRM?" you get, "Calibre!", so it's natural to assume that's the whole point of the software.
That's probably because using the DeDRM plugin with Calibre is far, far easier than setting up a Python environment to try and get the DeDRM scripts working.
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Old 10-22-2018, 03:52 AM   #5
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That's probably because using the DeDRM plugin with Calibre is far, far easier than setting up a Python environment to try and get the DeDRM scripts working.
Okay, so that's why trying to use that app didn't work. I’m married to a programmer, which means I often know just enough to be confused. I could tell that this wasn’t a normal app, and figured I was supposed to do something beforehand, and I knew vaguely that writing a script was likely involved, but I just didn’t have enough computer knowledge to go farther.

Which in the end is going to be fine I think, because I’m enjoying the Calibre app a lot.
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Old 10-22-2018, 11:07 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by bookandtea View Post
Okay, so that's why trying to use that app didn't work. I’m married to a programmer, which means I often know just enough to be confused. I could tell that this wasn’t a normal app, and figured I was supposed to do something beforehand, and I knew vaguely that writing a script was likely involved, but I just didn’t have enough computer knowledge to go farther.

Which in the end is going to be fine I think, because I’m enjoying the Calibre app a lot.
You don't need to write a script at all. You just install the plugin in Calibre.

Alas, plugin is not built-in nor is it on Calibre's official list of plugins (Preferences – Plugins – Get new plugins). You need to go to Alf's website for more details on installation, setup and support.
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Old 10-22-2018, 11:13 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by ilovejedd View Post
You don't need to write a script at all. You just install the plugin in Calibre.

Alas, plugin is not built-in nor is it on Calibre's official list of plugins (Preferences – Plugins – Get new plugins). You need to go to Alf's website for more details on installation, setup and support.
Yes I know. You had set it was easier to use Calibre than to get a Python environment going, that's what I was talking about. I was agreeing with you. I don't know how to run the scripts to get the DeDRM going - I had tried to run that app as it appears in the folder you download from Alf, but it didn't work. It was much easier to just use Calibre and install the plug-ins.
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Old 10-22-2018, 11:32 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by bookandtea View Post
Yes I know. You had set it was easier to use Calibre than to get a Python environment going, that's what I was talking about. I was agreeing with you. I don't know how to run the scripts to get the DeDRM going - I had tried to run that app as it appears in the folder you download from Alf, but it didn't work. It was much easier to just use Calibre and install the plug-ins.
Gotcha. Yeah, not easy to get the standalone DeDRM scripts working.
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Old 10-22-2018, 02:22 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by bookandtea View Post
Yes I know. You had set it was easier to use Calibre than to get a Python environment going, that's what I was talking about. I was agreeing with you. I don't know how to run the scripts to get the DeDRM going - I had tried to run that app as it appears in the folder you download from Alf, but it didn't work. It was much easier to just use Calibre and install the plug-ins.
No, it doesn't work. You have to install python and pythocrypto (or something like that) before running the bat file inside the folder.
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Old 10-22-2018, 02:45 PM   #10
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No, it doesn't work. You have to install python and pythocrypto (or something like that) before running the bat file inside the folder.
PyCrypto, iirc.
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