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Old 09-07-2016, 09:19 PM   #1
Lily7
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How do I know which file was the original between epub and mobi?
I converted a bunch of books from epub to mobi, but I also downloaded original files in both formats. I have some books that I worked with a long time ago and I can not remember if I converted from one format to the other or if I actually downloaded each file type and both are originals... is there a way I can find out which file format of a book was the original or if they are both originals? Thanks!
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Old 09-07-2016, 09:24 PM   #2
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You could 'hover' over each format in the Metadata Editor
The timestamp MIGHT give a clue, but don't rely on it.

I use a custom column Mstr Format (fixed list of (format) values+ Multi, Othr for cases that don't fit). I fill this in manually when I add the books
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Old 09-08-2016, 03:37 AM   #3
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I know this won't help now but what I do if I'm buying books from Amazon for instance and download them, I have a SOURCE folder of all my ebooks whether they have DRM or no DRM. I then drag those into Calibre and Calibre then imports it and creates its own folder with that source file.

Sometimes I have done something similar where I've imported a book, converted it, deleted it and then dragged the converted back in so lose the source, so the above workflow for me is great because it means I always have a copy of the original file somewhere.

In terms of how you can determine which is the source, the only way I know of is by date stamp. But if you've done like I have then that may not even be the true source version of the ebook and may be a converted version.
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Old 09-09-2016, 02:23 AM   #4
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surely you just go to your amazon account - manage my content and devices- and see what mobi books you bought. If it's not on that list then either you bought the epub instead from another store or you are not asking about paid-for books
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Old 09-09-2016, 05:00 AM   #5
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That's why I download them all into a source folder Stumped. No guarantee that books will ever remain on the Amazon account. Also a year or so on, it's difficult to remember exactly where you purchased a book from. I do the same with music if I purchase from Apple or Amazon, it downloads, I have a script that copies it to a source file then automatically uploads it to Google Play so I have it there available on all devices for the future also.
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Old 09-09-2016, 05:03 AM   #6
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That's why I download them all into a source folder Stumped. No guarantee that books will ever remain on the Amazon account. .
???
amazon will never delete cloud copies books you bought - you have to quite deliberately remove them from your cloud , via their web site,and go through at least one are you sure warning.
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Old 09-09-2016, 07:48 AM   #7
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???
amazon will never delete cloud copies books you bought - you have to quite deliberately remove them from your cloud , via their web site,and go through at least one are you sure warning.
No, Amazon itself won't, perhaps. But remember, say, Fictionwise? Big ebook seller I bought a lot of stuff from in the early days. Also kept a library for you.

And from the Where-are-they-now department...

Cloud is good. Local backups are even better.
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Old 09-09-2016, 08:08 AM   #8
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Amazon once sold eBooks before the Kindle. If you bought any from Amazon, they are no longer able to be downloaded.So even Amazon has a history of deleting your eBook library.
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Old 09-09-2016, 09:29 AM   #9
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I never intended to suggest relying on cloud instead of backups. Just that checking your cloud records is a quick way of establishing your original purchased format. i.e. if it's in your amazon cloud then the original format was not epub.- if not , then it was epub ( unless you also shopped at some other mobi format seller).
e.g. I have a few .mobi format from humble bundle but there's a complete purchases history in my account there, so it's easy to check that.
Unless you have dozens of shopping accounts to check , it''s a quick solution to "what format is the original".
I add an "amazon" tag to any book from amazon that I place in calibre - that's even quicker
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Old 09-16-2016, 12:48 AM   #10
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???
amazon will never delete cloud copies books you bought - you have to quite deliberately remove them from your cloud , via their web site,and go through at least one are you sure warning.
As I said previously, there's no guarantee cloud books will remain in the cloud. There have been quite a few news stories where books have been wiped from Amazon accounts and Amazon accounts been closed due to some form of violation of Amazon TOC's, yet the people with their books wiped or accounts closed believe they haven't.

In the past I used to buy books way back in 2000 from PeanutPress.com which turned into PalmDigitalMedia.com then eReader.com then sold out to B&N and all my 350 books were eventually deleted and I now have no access to any of them.

So yes it is possible that your books might get removed at some point in the future. After all, Amazon's TOC's do say you merely have a license to read the book, you don't own it. So a book can be removed at any point in time if suddenly a publisher decides pull it from the store or Amazon decide to pull it.
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Old 09-16-2016, 01:00 AM   #11
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And as I said previously...
It is not about the merits of cloud storage. The OP asked how to know original format and I said, one possible simple check is look at your amazon account my content. If it is not there then you bought epub from some other store.
The issue that amazon may delete accounts or books 0.00001 % of the time is not relevant to using them to check for purchased formats.

Next time, I will not bother to comment, meanwhile do try to stay on topic

PS For speed, I just go to calibre - find book - open path - view file create date and time for each format in the pop +time up windows explorer window. earliest date = original format. that method probably does not work if you go moving stuff between libraries or transferring libraries to other devices though
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:05 PM   #12
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@Lily7

If you really want to know if your mobi files are the original files (from amazon), then check if the mobi files have the original MOBI-ASIN identifier. Original mobi files will have a 10 letter/number combination (ie, B01B173GA6). Calibre converted mobi files (epub -> mobi or mobi -> mobi) will have a long obscure MOBI-ASIN id like cd29fa12-c4d2-4ca1-96a6-d2ad08d6fee2. You can check the mobi-asin id using kindle unpack and check the content.opf that it extracts.

Or, you can go to your calibre library folder, ctrl+find *.mobi. Select all of it of the .mobi files in the search results and drag/drop to a new calibre library. Check if any has the original mobi-asin id or not and then you'll know which titles are the originals.
Last edited by moredrowsy; 09-16-2016 at 02:12 PM.
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Old 09-27-2016, 07:14 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stumped View Post
PS For speed, I just go to calibre - find book - open path - view file create date and time for each format in the pop +time up windows explorer window. earliest date = original format. that method probably does not work if you go moving stuff between libraries or transferring libraries to other devices though
That helped in figuring out which file I had first, which is helpful in it's own right, thank you!

The problem I am still having is, for example I bought and downloaded Harry Potter from Pottermore. I have both the Epub and the Mobi file. The epub file came first, but I can't remember if I merely converted from epub to get the mobi or if I *also* downloaded the mobi format from pottermore too. Any advice?
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Old 09-27-2016, 08:33 PM   #14
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Any advice?
Download MOBIEditor from here - MOBIeditor - jarrin.net

Copy the mobi from the book folder to the desktop (just in case). Run MobiEditor and browse to the mobi on the desktop, if it shows a Contributor with something like "calibre (1.37) [http://calibre-ebook.com]" you have the answer.

BTW that site was the second item in Google Search for "change mobi metadata"

BR
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Old 09-28-2016, 01:32 AM   #15
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Download MOBIEditor from here - MOBIeditor - jarrin.net

Copy the mobi from the book folder to the desktop (just in case). Run MobiEditor and browse to the mobi on the desktop, if it shows a Contributor with something like "calibre (1.37) [http://calibre-ebook.com]" you have the answer.

BTW that site was the second item in Google Search for "change mobi metadata"

BR
interesting borderline case

i am not familiar with the pottermore site ordering system but
maybe you bought both formats at the same time - so neither came first - if they do a pay once get all formats deal ?
the pottermore books should look and feel the same in both formats anyway ?
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