Calibre4 > Kobo firmware 4.25.15875 - transfer issues

[skn]

Hello, I did upgrade a Kobo Aura H2O firmware to 4.25.15875 as Calibre 4.23 proposed it. Maybe it was foolhardy as new uploaded books do not show in Kobo reader. Old Calibre can not handle new Kobo database version.

Calibre says it is possible to try to access Kobo database but it is not secure procedure. Is there a real risk of damaging device? Or is the risk that Kobo must be reset, losing uploaded books? Does it usually succeed?

Would using Calibre 5.81 help and make uploading books behave normally? I suppose DeDRM plugin is not ready yet? Is it possible to load epubs to version 4.23 and use version 5.81 to connect Kobo? Are there any problems with using two versions (I think the book database is compatible both ways)?

[JSWolf]

The 7.0.1 DeDRM plugin does work with KF8 and ePub eBooks. Those are the two formats I've been able to remove the DRM from using Calibre 5. I've not tried any other formats.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by skn

Hello, I did upgrade a Kobo Aura H2O firmware to 4.25.15875 as Calibre 4.23 proposed it. Maybe it was foolhardy as new uploaded books do not show in Kobo reader. Old Calibre can not handle new Kobo database version.

Calibre says it is possible to try to access Kobo database but it is not secure procedure. Is there a real risk of damaging device? Or is the risk that Kobo must be reset, losing uploaded books? Does it usually succeed?

The simple answer is it is safe. Follow the instructions in the message and it will be fine. If you have concerns, look for the thread discussing the firmware version. There will be a statement in the first page or two about the calibre support.

Would using Calibre 5.81 help and make uploading books behave normally? I suppose DeDRM plugin is not ready yet? Is it possible to load epubs to version 4.23 and use version 5.81 to connect Kobo? Are there any problems with using two versions (I think the book database is compatible both ways)?

Yes, calibre version 5.8.1 is perfectly safe. The only real issue is the DRM plugins. And you don't need that until you buy some new books that have DRM. There is a pre-release version available that is reported to work. I haven't tried it as I haven't needed to use it for a while. And yes you can use calibre 4.23 and copy the books over. There is a thread in the calibre forum discussing this.

[skn]

Thank you, I followed this:



and everything seems to work right, or at least as good as earlier!

Kobo though does not display series information, but that has been a problem for some time now, thus it is not about the latest firmware. It may be a Calibre issue or something that popped up in already earlier firmware.
Also, Kobo cannot list epubs in import order, so there is no way to order latest import first – latest ones must be spotted from a long list (author or title order). I have no idea if this has ever worked as need for ordering popped up only after getting a lot of books to Kobo..

Originally Posted by davidfor

calibre version 5.8.1 is perfectly safe. The only real issue is the DRM plugins. And you don't need that until you buy some new books that have DRM. There is a pre-release version available that is reported to work. I haven't tried it as I haven't needed to use it for a while. And yes you can use calibre 4.23 and copy the books over.

Thank you, I may test importing DRM epubs with Calibre 4.23 and try transferring to Kobo with Calibre 5.81. I think both versions can use same epub library.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by skn

Thank you, I may test importing DRM epubs with Calibre 4.23 and try transferring to Kobo with Calibre 5.81. I think both versions can use same epub library.

Backup your Calibre preferences first. Export your DeDRM keys. Install the latest Calibre 5 and the DeDRM 7.0.1 plugin. I don't know if you'll need to delete the DeDRM.jason file or not and if so, import the keys. But you'll be able to test if Calibre 5 and the current DeDRM works for you.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by skn

Kobo though does not display series information, but that has been a problem for some time now, thus it is not about the latest firmware.

Series info works well with all versions of calibre and the firmware. If it didn't there would be loud noises here. But, I would probably have seen any problems and already fixed the problem if it was a calibre issue.

Series info not appearing on the device is usually a configuration issue. Make sure the appropriate options are selected in the driver. And make sure that on the "Sending books to devices" page of the preferences, the "Metadata management" option is set to the automatic choice.

It may be a Calibre issue or something that popped up in already earlier firmware.
Also, Kobo cannot list epubs in import order, so there is no way to order latest import first – latest ones must be spotted from a long list (author or title order). I have no idea if this has ever worked as need for ordering popped up only after getting a lot of books to Kobo..

Use the "Recent" sort. It shows books in what is basically the "last fiddled with" order. This is a combination of the date the book was imported by the device and the last read date. If you filter by Unread, the only ones out of added order will be books you marked as unread. And within a batch of books added and imported, they should be in reverse title order (it could be file name order but, that is the same for me). The "A"s are added first, so "Zookeeping for fun and profit" will probably be the first book listed.

[skn]

So, would the right answer be that set management to automatic and add series, series_index and timestamp to template (see image)? Should there also be #collections included in template or is it controlled elsewhere? Collections have worked fine so far (but I am not sure if I nulled setting now...).

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by skn

So, would the right answer be that set management to automatic

Yes.

and add series, series_index and timestamp to template (see image)?

That is completely up to you. This template is used to set the filename on the device. Kobo devices don't really use it. The books need a unique name, but, the device tries to get the title, author and some other metadata from the metadata contained in the book, not from the filename. It will use the filename for the title if it cannot do this.

Personally, the only change I have made to the default is to add the name of the library in the path to reduce the number of directories in the root of the device. That was only done for convenience because I do look at the device when testing things.

Also, the save template on the "Sending books to devices" page is a default used by the drivers. If you change the driver configuration, the save template is copied to the device configuration and will need to be changed there in the future.

Should there also be #collections included in template or is it controlled elsewhere? Collections have worked fine so far (but I am not sure if I nulled setting now...).

The collections are controlled by the driver. You configure this in the driver configuration. The series info is also done by the driver and again, it has the configuration for whether to update the series info and other metadata.

With the metadata management set to automatic, when you connect the device, the driver will update the metadata on the device for all the books on the device that are in the library. For Kobo devices, the driver can update the database on the device directly. This is what the device gets the metadata and collections while you are using it. The driver will update the device with any changes in the library since the last time it was connected. This is needed for the series info as the device does not read it from the books. There are some other metadata that this happens with, but, the series info is the one most people are interested in.