[GUI Plugin] Kobo Utilities

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by stuartjmz

I wanted to ask if, "HSD" warning notwithstanding, there is any real risk to selecting the "attempt to support newer firmware" option in the extended driver?

According to davidfor in this post there is no problem for firmware 4.12.12111. See last paragraph.

[stuartjmz]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

According to davidfor in this post there is no problem for firmware 4.12.12111. See last paragraph.

Yes, David posted that shortly after I asked here. I should have remembered our Tasman neighbours are a bit behind the times, compared to us

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by stuartjmz

I upgraded my H@O2's firmware half an hour ago, and when I plugged it in and opened calibre, I got this amazing error notification:
"calibre, version 3.35.0
WARNING: Failed: Kobo database version unsupported - See details

Your Kobo is running an updated firmware/database version. As calibre does not know about this updated firmware, database editing is disabled, to prevent corruption. You can still send books to your Kobo with calibre, but deleting books and managing collections is disabled. If you are willing to experiment and know how to reset your Kobo to Factory defaults, you can override this check by right clicking the device icon in calibre and selecting "Configure this device" and then the "Attempt to support newer firmware" option. Doing so may require you to perform a factory reset of your Kobo.
Device database version: 149.
Device firmware version: (4, 12, 12111)"
I say amazing because it was clear and helpful and explanatory, thanks! I wanted to ask if, "HSD" warning notwithstanding, there is any real risk to selecting the "attempt to support newer firmware" option in the extended driver?

In most cases there is no real risk, and in this case definitely no risk. I am in Kobo's beta firmware group and have tested the versions leading up to this. There are no changes affecting how calibre interacts with the devices. The update to bump the supported firmware version will be in the next calibre release. Along with a fix for a bug I introduced in the last one (if you didn't notice it, don't worry).

If you are worried, just wait for my post in the firmware thread. I will post my knowledge of the firmware including a statement about calibre as soon as I can. Sometimes I get in before someone has noticed, but generally not as Kobo does the release while I'm asleep,

And for the record, the above message comes from the KoboTouch driver, not from this plugin. This is not strictly the right place for the post, but I understand why people post here about this.

[stuartjmz]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I

And for the record, the above message comes from the KoboTouch driver, not from this plugin. This is not strictly the right place for the post, but I understand why people post here about this.

I realised this myself as I neared the end of my post, which is my mentioned the driver in my final paragraph - I was too lazy to abort and repost in the correct thread, sorry.

[coalescent]

I am new to using Calibre with kobo readers, having only recently switched away from kindle to a kobo forma.

Which driver should I be using with the forma and KoboUtilities? Kobo Touch or KoboTouchExtended?

Thank you!

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by coalescent

I am new to using Calibre with kobo readers, having only recently switched away from kindle to a kobo forma.

Which driver should I be using with the forma and KoboUtilities? Kobo Touch or KoboTouchExtended?

You can use either, but the normal rule-of-thumb is to use KoboTouchExtended if you might want to format-shift your epubs to kepubs on-the-fly during calibre's send-to-device process. Otherwise KoboTouch should suffice.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by coalescent

I am new to using Calibre with kobo readers, having only recently switched away from kindle to a kobo forma.

Which driver should I be using with the forma and KoboUtilities? Kobo Touch or KoboTouchExtended?

As @jackie_w, you can use either. The choice is really about whether you want to use the function that the extended driver supplies. The Kobo Utilities plugin was written to work with either. I can't think of anything that works with one that doesn't work with the other.

[pavelh]

Hi David!

Do the Kobo Utilities work with Clara HD, pls?

(I don't have Clara yet, so cannot test myself. Before buying it I am looking for a way to export my highlights/annotations from sideloaded books from Clara to PC)

Many thanks in advance for your kind help!

best,

pavel

[PeterT]

The utilities work with ALL of the Kobo eink based readers.

In essence all of the current Kobo devices (ie all except the original Kobo and Kobo wifi) run the same firmware. When new devices are released normally the only required change to calibre is to add the new usb I'd to its internal code.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[davidfor]

I had completely forgotten that I had listed devices in the first post. And, more importantly, not updated it for a while. That explains a few questions over the years.

I have removed the list and added a "Supported device" section with the statement:

All Kobo e-ink ereaders are supported if calibre supports them. Some functions are not supported on the original Kobo eReader or the WiFi.

I think that explains it. But, if anyone has suggestions for improvement, I'm happy to hear them.

[pavelh]

Thank you both for your kind replies!


pavel