Is it possible to get Calibre View to read ebooks not in the Calibre library?

[photon_man62]

I sometimes want to view loose epubs lying around my hard drives, and I really like Calibre's ebook-viewer.exe.

However, I haven't been able to find any way to feed the program epub files other than adding them to the Calibre library and using the view function. Dragging and dropping doesn't work, and macros don't seem to work either. Is there any way to do so? Even better - a way to assign the epub extension to be read by it?

[jgaiser]

ebook-viewer filename.epub from the command line works just fine for me.

[eschwartz]

By default, the viewer should be added to the list of Open With programs that Windows sees. If you can't open by double-clicking, try right-clicking and selecting Open With. You should see a list of all installed program handlers, and E-book Viewer should be there. Select it and make sure to choose it as the default.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

By default, the viewer should be added to the list of Open With programs that Windows sees.

AFAIK - By design, the calibre install does not update the Windows Registry where the file associations are stored, and by design a calibre uninstall will not remove any association manually added.

If its added manually then its up to the user to manage it - remove it if calibre is uninstalled, update it if changing to another edition - eg to 64 bit, or to portable, fix it if it breaks etc.

BR

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

AFAIK - By design, the calibre install does not update the Windows Registry where the file associations are stored, and by design a calibre uninstall will not remove any association manually added.

If its added manually then its up to the user to manage it - remove it if calibre is uninstalled, update it if changing to another edition - eg to 64 bit, or to portable, fix it if it breaks etc.

BR

Really? Why? I know on linux .desktop files are created...

[theducks]

Calibre only makes a start menu entry

The user makes the default association setting AFAIK (it was a long time ago that I did it)

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Really? Why? I know on linux .desktop files are created...

File associations and application launch files (.lnk (W), .desktop (L), .alias (O)) are different things.

As theducks indicated the windows trusted installer (the program that processes the .msi) can create .lnk files in the Start Menu. You can elect not to have them created via the installer's Advanced options. These are the short cuts the installer created on my system in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\calibre 64bit - E-book Management\

calibre 64bit - E-book management.lnk
E-book viewer 64bit.lnk
Edit E-book 64bit.lnk
LRF viewer 64bit.lnk
Get Involved.url
User Manual.url

They launch the program (or open url in default browser), the user must then open the file via the program's open file facility.

File associations 'hook' programs to a file types context menu (shell commands). A file type can be hooked to multiple programs via a) the Open With flyout; b) common verbs such as: Open, Edit, Print...; c) user defined verbs. Recent versions of Windows (7 & 8, maybe Vista too) have concealed the latter two facilities, but there are 3rd party programs that expose them.

Attachment shows my shell menu for epubs. The default verb is Viewer - Calibre.

BR

[DoctorOhh]

As has been mentioned simply associate epubs with the viewer and use the "Open with" menu. If you don't see it in your menu use the Choose Default program option.

[Sabardeyn]

Originally Posted by photon_man62

However, I haven't been able to find any way to feed the program epub files other than adding them to the Calibre library and using the view function.

Maybe I'm confused, but did you try the Open Ebook icon (3rd icon on the left, an open blue folder)?

I understand that others are telling you how to set up a permanent file association, but if you really just want to open various ebooks on demand, try Open Ebook. It just opens and displays the ebook.

Make sure to click on the blue icon which will open a standard Open File dialog; you'll have to navigate to the file location manually. I don't recommend navigating through calibre's file structure this way.

If you click on the small arrow to the icon's right, you will display a list of previously opened ebooks.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Sabardeyn

Maybe I'm confused, but did you try the Open Ebook icon (3rd icon on the left, an open blue folder)?

I understand that others are telling you how to set up a permanent file association, but if you really just want to open various ebooks on demand, try Open Ebook. It just opens and displays the ebook.

Make sure to click on the blue icon which will open a standard Open File dialog; you'll have to navigate to the file location manually. I don't recommend navigating through calibre's file structure this way.

If you click on the small arrow to the icon's right, you will display a list of previously opened ebooks.

That only works for books IN the Library. Not what the OP wants.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by theducks

That only works for books IN the Library. Not what the OP wants.

@theducks Saberdeyn is correct.

Start the viewer (eg via the Start menu shortcut), click the Blue diskette, the file open dialogue will pop up at the user's home directory - from there you can navigate to location of the 'loose' epub. The calibre GUI does NOT have to be running.

Not the way I'd ever do it, because I would already be at the 'loose' epub in my file manager. But some people prefer to start from the process, whilst others, like me, prefer to start from the data.

BR

[Sabardeyn]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Saberdeyn is correct.

[tongue-in-cheek] Vindication! [/tongue-in-cheek]

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by Sabardeyn

[tongue-in-cheek] Vindication! [/tongue-in-cheek]

Yes you are.

After you posted earlier today I opened a book from a random location outside of calibre's library and it worked great.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Sabardeyn

[tongue-in-cheek] Vindication! [/tongue-in-cheek]

It took me a long time to realise that the 'blue thing' wasn't a fax machine or something similar

I prefer words to icons. In the Book Manager I have L&F->Icon size set to None. Guess that makes me an iconoclast

BR

[Sabardeyn]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

It took me a long time to realise that the 'blue thing' wasn't a fax machine or something similar

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone, but until I wrote that first post, I thought it was one of those old, one piece, 3 foot square behemoth, monochrome CRTs from like 1965-75! It wasn't until I really, really looked that I realized it was a blue folder seen straight-on, almost completely open to reveal the white page inside.