calibre Portable

kovidgoyal · 06-10-2011, 07:40 PM

Hi all,

Just to let you know that calibre 0.8.5 has a "portable" version, that you can put onto a USB key and run on any windows computer (Windows XP SP3 or newer).

The portable calibre keeps its settings/plugins and of course all your books all within the "Calibre Portable" folder.

Get it from here: http://calibre-ebook.com/download_portable

If you use it, let me know if there are any problems.

On a technical note, I was able to get this to work by doing several hacks to workaround Microsofts' DLL loading policies, including a rather cool custom DLL loader

Amalthia · 06-10-2011, 08:04 PM

I can't wait to try this out! Thank you so much.

ymerejo42 · 06-11-2011, 01:20 PM

Not sure if you'd be willing or not, but PortableApps is a great site for getting portable programs, if you contact them I'm sure they'd be more than willing to work out putting calibre on their site.

kovidgoyal · 06-11-2011, 01:29 PM

calibre is already available from portableapps.com, has been for years.

CraftingGrandma · 06-11-2011, 07:58 PM

I tired it out and have a few questions/comments:

1. It won't save my library destination. I loaded portable and told it to use my existing library folder (which is outside of the portable folder, that might be what is causing the issue) and it loads fine, but when I close portable down and run it again, it reverts back to the default location in the portable folder.

2. The reason I have it looking for my existing location is because I want to have my main Calibre be the portable version so when I want to transfer and take it with me I just grab my portable folder and my library. With that being said, what are the steps I need to do to copy my settings/preferences from my main Calibre to my portable one? And do I need to copy/back up the metadata?

3. Since I'm talking about transferring my main to portable, is there anything else I should be doing to make it just the same? That way when I'm done I can remove/uninstall the main and use the portable and it will look/feel and have all my old books and metadata.

If you can please explain/answer me like I'm a child. I understand better if you talk to me like I don't know anything, because really I'm not that on top of it all.

P.S. Thanks for the great program and thank you for any help!

kovidgoyal · 06-11-2011, 08:04 PM

1. That is deliberate the portable version assumes you are using teh portable folder to store your books

2. Just copy everything from the folder where your current library is stored to the "Calibre Library" folder inside the "Calibre Portable" and you should be good to go.

3. That's all you should need to do.

Before you start make a backup of your library just in case things go wrong.

CraftingGrandma · 06-11-2011, 08:04 PM

P.P.S. Forgot to add the details.

I'm running calibre-portable-0.8.5, calibre-0.8.5.msi, and am on a Windows 7 64 bit OS.

CraftingGrandma · 06-11-2011, 08:10 PM

Wow, thank you for the quick respond.

So I just need my library folder, and all the metadata will be there? Then what is the reason for the backup metadata option in the Calibre program? When would I need to do that, just for feature reference?

Also, I know dropping the folder would be the easiest way to make it work, but I like having my books separate from my program folder. I have accidentally overwritten program folders before (when updating other portable programs) and keeping them separate adds some back up security. I know, I should learn to look things over before I do them, but I just forget things more and more these days. Is there anyway this could be done? Maybe a feature update? If not I'll just move the folder.

Again thank you for the program and you very quick response.

alansplace · 06-11-2011, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Hi all,

Just to let you know that calibre 0.8.5 has a "portable" version, that you can put onto a USB key and run on any windows computer (Windows XP SP3 or newer).

The portable calibre keeps its settings/plugins and of course all your books all within the "Calibre Portable" folder.

Get it from here: http://calibre-ebook.com/download_portable

If you use it, let me know if there are any problems.

On a technical note, I was able to get this to work by doing several hacks to workaround Microsofts' DLL loading policies, including a rather cool custom DLL loader

great, i love it so far. i anticipate possible problems with files i add to the key (sigil for one) opening using the copy on the key. we'll see.

thanks for creating and maintaining such a great application.

kovidgoyal · 06-11-2011, 09:18 PM

@CG: All metadata is stored in the calibre library folder. Simply copy that folder and all its contents and you will be good to go. The backup metadata option in calibre is an in library backup of the metadata database, it is irrelevant to most users. When you want to backup your calibre library, simply copy the calibre library folder elsewhere using windows explorer.

When you have a portable install, the books have to be in the program folder, that makes it self contained.

CraftingGrandma · 06-11-2011, 11:34 PM

ok, thank you for the help.

FizzyWater · 06-12-2011, 12:47 AM

Dumb question [Windows XP SP3] - I have Calibre installed on my computer already, but I'd love to be able to have a portable version for demo purposes (to show to people I'm trying to convince to install it) or for viewing on my netbook, if necessary.

*If I run the portable install (which is currently at 0.8.5), will it make any changes to the settings on my currently installed C: drive version (which is currently at 0.8.0)?

*If I copy the library back and forth between the two version (portable versus C drive), is it recommended that my version numbers be in sync (I seem to remember there are certain upgrades that make changes to the metadata file structure, but not all of them)?

*And - maybe this is on the how-to page? - how do you run it? Do you navigate to the file on the USB drive and doubleclick? XP had an upgrade in the last few months that disabled autorun from USB/flash drives/portable drives.

Thanks!

kovidgoyal · 06-12-2011, 01:32 AM

1) No

2) Yes, it is always best to keep the same version accessing the same library

3) Instructions are on the download page

FizzyWater · 06-12-2011, 02:09 AM

Thanks, Kovid. For #3, I thought those notes were how to install it, not how to run it. I'll give this a try tomorrow when I'm more awake.

ymerejo42 · 06-12-2011, 01:07 PM

They have calibre on PortableApps, but as a test version, not as a finished app. I was thinking, where you'd said you were re-writing part of it to have the c++ stuff inside the folder, maybe the new version would make it easier for them to get it working than the version they're using (0.8.2, from what I can tell).

06-10-2011, 07:40 PM	#1
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,851 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	calibre Portable Hi all, Just to let you know that calibre 0.8.5 has a "portable" version, that you can put onto a USB key and run on any windows computer (Windows XP SP3 or newer). The portable calibre keeps its settings/plugins and of course all your books all within the "Calibre Portable" folder. Get it from here: http://calibre-ebook.com/download_portable If you use it, let me know if there are any problems. On a technical note, I was able to get this to work by doing several hacks to workaround Microsofts' DLL loading policies, including a rather cool custom DLL loader

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06-10-2011, 08:04 PM	#2
Amalthia Wizard Posts: 1,158 Karma: 32196 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Anchorage, AK Device: Sony Reader PRS-505, PRS-650, PRS-T3, Pocketbook HD2	I can't wait to try this out! Thank you so much.

06-11-2011, 01:20 PM	#3
ymerejo42 Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: WV, USA Device: Amazon Fire HD 10 (9th Generation)	Not sure if you'd be willing or not, but PortableApps is a great site for getting portable programs, if you contact them I'm sure they'd be more than willing to work out putting calibre on their site.

06-11-2011, 01:29 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,851 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	calibre is already available from portableapps.com, has been for years.

06-11-2011, 07:58 PM	#5
CraftingGrandma Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 135916 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Sony 650	I tired it out and have a few questions/comments: 1. It won't save my library destination. I loaded portable and told it to use my existing library folder (which is outside of the portable folder, that might be what is causing the issue) and it loads fine, but when I close portable down and run it again, it reverts back to the default location in the portable folder. 2. The reason I have it looking for my existing location is because I want to have my main Calibre be the portable version so when I want to transfer and take it with me I just grab my portable folder and my library. With that being said, what are the steps I need to do to copy my settings/preferences from my main Calibre to my portable one? And do I need to copy/back up the metadata? 3. Since I'm talking about transferring my main to portable, is there anything else I should be doing to make it just the same? That way when I'm done I can remove/uninstall the main and use the portable and it will look/feel and have all my old books and metadata. If you can please explain/answer me like I'm a child. I understand better if you talk to me like I don't know anything, because really I'm not that on top of it all. P.S. Thanks for the great program and thank you for any help!

06-11-2011, 08:04 PM	#6
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,851 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	1. That is deliberate the portable version assumes you are using teh portable folder to store your books 2. Just copy everything from the folder where your current library is stored to the "Calibre Library" folder inside the "Calibre Portable" and you should be good to go. 3. That's all you should need to do. Before you start make a backup of your library just in case things go wrong.

06-11-2011, 08:10 PM	#8
CraftingGrandma Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 135916 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Sony 650	Wow, thank you for the quick respond. So I just need my library folder, and all the metadata will be there? Then what is the reason for the backup metadata option in the Calibre program? When would I need to do that, just for feature reference? Also, I know dropping the folder would be the easiest way to make it work, but I like having my books separate from my program folder. I have accidentally overwritten program folders before (when updating other portable programs) and keeping them separate adds some back up security. I know, I should learn to look things over before I do them, but I just forget things more and more these days. Is there anyway this could be done? Maybe a feature update? If not I'll just move the folder. Again thank you for the program and you very quick response.

06-11-2011, 09:18 PM	#10
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,851 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	@CG: All metadata is stored in the calibre library folder. Simply copy that folder and all its contents and you will be good to go. The backup metadata option in calibre is an in library backup of the metadata database, it is irrelevant to most users. When you want to backup your calibre library, simply copy the calibre library folder elsewhere using windows explorer. When you have a portable install, the books have to be in the program folder, that makes it self contained.

06-11-2011, 11:34 PM	#11
CraftingGrandma Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 135916 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Sony 650	ok, thank you for the help.

06-12-2011, 12:47 AM	#12
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Dumb question [Windows XP SP3] - I have Calibre installed on my computer already, but I'd love to be able to have a portable version for demo purposes (to show to people I'm trying to convince to install it) or for viewing on my netbook, if necessary. If I run the portable install (which is currently at 0.8.5), will it make any changes to the settings on my currently installed C: drive version (which is currently at 0.8.0)? If I copy the library back and forth between the two version (portable versus C drive), is it recommended that my version numbers be in sync (I seem to remember there are certain upgrades that make changes to the metadata file structure, but not all of them)? *And - maybe this is on the how-to page? - how do you run it? Do you navigate to the file on the USB drive and doubleclick? XP had an upgrade in the last few months that disabled autorun from USB/flash drives/portable drives. Thanks!

06-12-2011, 01:32 AM	#13
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,851 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	1) No 2) Yes, it is always best to keep the same version accessing the same library 3) Instructions are on the download page

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06-12-2011, 02:09 AM	#14
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Thanks, Kovid. For #3, I thought those notes were how to install it, not how to run it. I'll give this a try tomorrow when I'm more awake.

06-12-2011, 01:07 PM	#15
ymerejo42 Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: WV, USA Device: Amazon Fire HD 10 (9th Generation)	They have calibre on PortableApps, but as a test version, not as a finished app. I was thinking, where you'd said you were re-writing part of it to have the c++ stuff inside the folder, maybe the new version would make it easier for them to get it working than the version they're using (0.8.2, from what I can tell).