Cleaning and organizing library, adding covers that don't show up, etc...

[Mikey1969]

Hello all,

I am really enjoying Calibre and I would now like to truly make Calibre my managed library for my nook. All of the books I have added in the last 2 months have been added through Calibre, but none of the stuff before. Also, I have different locations for what I have added. I want to make my Calibre library be identical to my nook and vice versa, I'm just looking for the best way to do this.

Here are the questions I've come up with:

1. Where are my local books? Does Calibre keep a library here on my computer, or does it just leave the books in the multiple locations spread on my computer?

2. If it DOES keep a local library, where does it keep it, and is that able to be changed?

3. I see the 'auto add' feature for adding books to Calibre, and have set that up, that will help me organize my books in the feature. Is there some kind of auto sync for my nook? In other words, anything I add would automatically be put on the nook the next time I attach it and launch Calibre.

4. If there isn't an auto sync feature, is there a manual way to do this?

5. Assuming that my books are actually spread all over my computer and I decide to clean Calibre, what's the best way to go about this? Do I delete all of the files from my library and then re-download from my nook and call it good after that, or is it better to move them inside Calibre?

6. Once this is all cleaned and backed up, what's the best way to back up and manage my library? I know that there is a database feature somewhere, but is it just as easy to back up just the library files themselves?

Two other questions, related to making everything look nice and neat:

I have some books that have covers that look OK in Calibre, but don't show up on my nook. Anyone know what causes this, and is there an easy way to figure out which books have this issue and which ones don't?

If I select the book on my nook, and update the cover, does it work that way, or do I need to update it on the Claibre side and re-upload to my nook?

Thank you guys in advance for any help, I really love this app and plan on buying it when the holidays are over and after I get a new job. This is definitely a quality app, and the developer deserves some major kudos for such a good piece of work.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by Mikey1969

1. Where are my local books? Does Calibre keep a library here on my computer, or does it just leave the books in the multiple locations spread on my computer?

All the books are stored in one folder on your computer.

Originally Posted by Mikey1969

2. If it DOES keep a local library, where does it keep it, and is that able to be changed?

I think the default is Calibre library in your My documents folder. You could search for the metadata.db file. This file stores your library info and is located in the root folder of your calibre library. You can change the location via the Switch/create library menu under the dropdown menu of the library icon.

Originally Posted by Mikey1969

Is there some kind of auto sync for my nook? In other words, anything I add would automatically be put on the nook the next time I attach it and launch Calibre.

No.

Originally Posted by Mikey1969

4. If there isn't an auto sync feature, is there a manual way to do this?

I think the reading list plugin might help you with this. Check the sticky post "Index of plugins" to find the Reading list plugin and review all of the various other plugins available.

Originally Posted by Mikey1969

6. Once this is all cleaned and backed up, what's the best way to back up and manage my library? I know that there is a database feature somewhere, but is it just as easy to back up just the library files themselves?

Backing up your library is as simple as backing up the folder that has the metadata.db in it along with all sub-folders.

Originally Posted by Mikey1969

I have some books that have covers that look OK in Calibre, but don't show up on my nook. Anyone know what causes this, and is there an easy way to figure out which books have this issue and which ones don't?

The covers in calibre should be embedded in your book when you use the Send to device feature, however sometimes that doesn't work. One sure way to embed the cover in the epub is to do a epub - epub conversion, however the best option (no chance of changing the ePub beyond adding a cover) is to use the Modify ePub plugin (see the Index of plugins) to embed the cover in the book.

Originally Posted by Mikey1969

If I select the book on my nook, and update the cover, does it work that way, or do I need to update it on the Claibre side and re-upload to my nook?

I don't have a Nook but in my experience it has to be updated on the calibre side then delete on your Nook and re-upload the book to your Nook.

Good Reading.

[Mikey1969]

Nice...

Thanks for the quick response and all of the good tips. Most online forums have been steadily going downhill since about '05 or so, it's nice to see a good community here. I've gotten polite, helpful and quick responses to my questions, and I truly appreciate that.

Thanks again, now I have an idea what to do to make everything look all nice and organized. It's always easier to get on top of this early, rather than after it's all gotten so buried that you don't even know which way is up.

:

[travger]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

The covers in calibre should be embedded in your book when you use the Send to device feature, however sometimes that doesn't work. One sure way to embed the cover in the epub is to do a epub - epub conversion. Another option may be to use the Modify ePub plugin (see the Index of plugins) to embed the cover in the book.

I'd prefer the plugin. It opens the epub, inserts the cover and closes it again without bothering other files. With conversion there's more chances for things to go wrong, people here have mentioned that Calibre adds some code (maybe some forgotten/unnoticed setting...). I like to know the changes I make.

Check out unboggling's thread for how he manages his books, lots of good tips there.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by travger

I'd prefer the plugin. It opens the epub, inserts the cover and closes it again without bothering other files. With conversion there's more chances for things to go wrong, people here have mentioned that Calibre adds some code (maybe some forgotten/unnoticed setting...). I like to know the changes I make.

I agree, but if the Send to device feature doesn't embed the cover in the book there is a good chance the Modify ePub plugin won't work either since in theory they use the same code to accomplish this feat.

[kiwidude]

@DoctorOhh - actually that isn't quite the case. If you mean using the "Update metadata" feature of Modify ePub to replace the cover (the original feature of the plugin), then yes this is the same code as Send to Device/Save to Disk and yes it has the same limitations of only being able to replace the cover in EPUBs where the cover has been correctly specified in the manifest.

However if you are using the "Insert/replace cover" feature of Modify ePub (which is what I would always recommend if replacing/updating the cover is your goal) then this uses completely bespoke code that will *always* succeed, since if it cannot detect an existing cover in the book it will insert a new page at the front containing one.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

However if you are using the "Insert/replace cover" feature of Modify ePub (which is what I would always recommend if replacing/updating the cover is your goal) then this uses completely bespoke code that will *always* succeed, since if it cannot detect an existing cover in the book it will insert a new page at the front containing one.

Excellent!