Books imported from Kindle not showing as on device

paulrw · 04-13-2018, 07:23 AM

I have a number of books purchased from Amazon on my Kindle 2 that I have imported from the Kindle into Calibre, however Calibre does not show them in the "on Device" column. The files are AZW3, I can still see them on the device if I go to "add books", and I can read them on the Kindle. In fact I can even read the imported files in Calibre, no DRM surprisingly. The only difference I can see is that they are in the root of the "documents" folder rather than in sub-directories like the others. I found the "use sub-directories" on "configure this device" and unchecked it, but it made no difference. Any suggestions?

HLS · 04-13-2018, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulrw

I have a number of books purchased from Amazon on my Kindle 2 that I have imported from the Kindle into Calibre, however Calibre does not show them in the "on Device" column. The files are AZW3, I can still see them on the device if I go to "add books", and I can read them on the Kindle. In fact I can even read the imported files in Calibre, no DRM surprisingly. The only difference I can see is that they are in the root of the "documents" folder rather than in sub-directories like the others. I found the "use sub-directories" on "configure this device" and unchecked it, but it made no difference. Any suggestions?

***edit***I posted to the wrong thread. lol

tomsem · 04-13-2018, 12:41 PM

I assume by ‘Kindle 2’ you mean ‘Kindle 2nd generation’. If not, none of what follows applies.

K2 does not support .azw3 (‘KF8’) format. This support only exists in 3rd generation or later Kindles. If I remember, downloads from Kindle Store on K2 will have .azw or more rarely .tpz file extension (the latter all have DRM and calibre cannot convert or view them without Alf tools plugin).

If you use calibre’s Device view, it will show you the books on the K2 (i.e., the .azw files).

I am guessing that when you import files from the K2, calibre is automatically converting to .azw3, and that is why these exist. I don’t have calibre handy and the online user guide is not sufficiently detailed, but suspect this is a Preference that you can configure. But assuming this is the case, you should see both .azw and .azw3 files in the calibre library folder for the book after the import.

Calibre should be smart enough to only put K2-compatible .azw files (or .mobi/.prc/.pdf etc) on the K2, i.e there should not be any .azw3 files on the K2 if you use calibre to move books to it. Of course you can copy them there by other means, but they’ll just be ignored.

I don’t remember whether K2 creates subdirectories for each book when you download from Kindle Store - guessing not - but calibre may create them when you add books. If you uncheck calibre option to use subdirectories it is probably not going to clean up ‘documents’ subdirectories that already exist on the device.

Again if I remember correctly, K2 will find books in subdirectories of ‘documents’ if there are books in them. So it might be better to use subdirectories for books you side-load from calibre (as opposed to those you download from Kindle Store) just to make it easier for you to identify which is which. Calibre will do its best to keep them straight regardless.

I am probably wrong about some of these details. If you cannot sort it out, I would post in the calibre forums here instead of this one, as those will be frequented by people who use calibre regularly, where this forum includes many who do not.

paulrw · 04-24-2018, 04:42 PM

Thanks, I may be wrong about it being a Kindle 2, I have never found it easy to keep track (like iPads, why call everything the same??). It definitely reads AZW3s though. I will repost to the Calibre forum as you suggest, just thought it might be something a Kindle user had come across.

j.p.s · 04-24-2018, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulrw

Thanks, I may be wrong about it being a Kindle 2, I have never found it easy to keep track (like iPads, why call everything the same??). It definitely reads AZW3s though. I will repost to the Calibre forum as you suggest, just thought it might be something a Kindle user had come across.

You can use the first 4 to 6 characters of your Kindle's serial number to uniquely identify its model on this page: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_Serial_Numbers

Blame Amazon for the ambiguous names that shift as each model comes out.

04-13-2018, 07:23 AM	#1
paulrw Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Liverpool, England Device: Kindle keyboard, Kindle Oasis, iPhone, iPad, PC	Books imported from Kindle not showing as on device I have a number of books purchased from Amazon on my Kindle 2 that I have imported from the Kindle into Calibre, however Calibre does not show them in the "on Device" column. The files are AZW3, I can still see them on the device if I go to "add books", and I can read them on the Kindle. In fact I can even read the imported files in Calibre, no DRM surprisingly. The only difference I can see is that they are in the root of the "documents" folder rather than in sub-directories like the others. I found the "use sub-directories" on "configure this device" and unchecked it, but it made no difference. Any suggestions?

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04-13-2018, 12:41 PM	#3
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I assume by ‘Kindle 2’ you mean ‘Kindle 2nd generation’. If not, none of what follows applies. K2 does not support .azw3 (‘KF8’) format. This support only exists in 3rd generation or later Kindles. If I remember, downloads from Kindle Store on K2 will have .azw or more rarely .tpz file extension (the latter all have DRM and calibre cannot convert or view them without Alf tools plugin). If you use calibre’s Device view, it will show you the books on the K2 (i.e., the .azw files). I am guessing that when you import files from the K2, calibre is automatically converting to .azw3, and that is why these exist. I don’t have calibre handy and the online user guide is not sufficiently detailed, but suspect this is a Preference that you can configure. But assuming this is the case, you should see both .azw and .azw3 files in the calibre library folder for the book after the import. Calibre should be smart enough to only put K2-compatible .azw files (or .mobi/.prc/.pdf etc) on the K2, i.e there should not be any .azw3 files on the K2 if you use calibre to move books to it. Of course you can copy them there by other means, but they’ll just be ignored. I don’t remember whether K2 creates subdirectories for each book when you download from Kindle Store - guessing not - but calibre may create them when you add books. If you uncheck calibre option to use subdirectories it is probably not going to clean up ‘documents’ subdirectories that already exist on the device. Again if I remember correctly, K2 will find books in subdirectories of ‘documents’ if there are books in them. So it might be better to use subdirectories for books you side-load from calibre (as opposed to those you download from Kindle Store) just to make it easier for you to identify which is which. Calibre will do its best to keep them straight regardless. I am probably wrong about some of these details. If you cannot sort it out, I would post in the calibre forums here instead of this one, as those will be frequented by people who use calibre regularly, where this forum includes many who do not.

04-24-2018, 04:42 PM	#4
paulrw Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Liverpool, England Device: Kindle keyboard, Kindle Oasis, iPhone, iPad, PC	Thanks, I may be wrong about it being a Kindle 2, I have never found it easy to keep track (like iPads, why call everything the same??). It definitely reads AZW3s though. I will repost to the Calibre forum as you suggest, just thought it might be something a Kindle user had come across.

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