Gaaa! This shouldn't be so hard!

klaberte · 10-07-2011, 01:41 PM

I would think my question is a common one, one that could be found in a FAQ or any number of stickies. But I've been searching for more than an hour and have not found what I'm looking for.

I need advice about a system for syncing non-DRM side-loaded books between multiple devices, two of them android, plus PCs. I need highlighting and notes to sync between the devices. Ideally, it would also sync the latest page read or bookmarks so I could pick up where I left off after switching devices.

I am comfortable converting formats in calibre, and basically need to know to which format I should convert before starting my synchronized reading, highlighting and note taking.

I know this can be done in pdf, and bought a copy of Android Repligo in order to do this when my source document is already pdf. But is pdf really the best option when I could start with any format?

What led me to this quest is this: I have a few books in mobi format that I side-loaded on my kindle. They contain highlights and notes. Now I want to move to my android devices. I know I can look at my clippings.txt file, but there they are notated by Location, and it doesn't seem that Location remains the same across different devices. I am OK manually adding these notes and highlights for these few books, but would prefer to not have to do this again in the future.

Again, many apologies if this has been asked and answered before. I did look, but have not found a good answer.

Thanks in advance.

Ken

DSpider · 10-07-2011, 04:28 PM

I would say Dropbox. It's cross-platform (Android, iOS, Windows, OS X, Linux).

If you can move files within the system (on iOS there's "iFile" from Cydia, I don't know about Android), you should be able to sync everything together. Probably not automatically, unless you know how to run a daemon in the background (like "rsync" for Linux, which can sync multiple folders, for backup purposes mostly).

You'll also have everything "in the cloud" with Dropbox, so keep that in mind, both security-wise and wifi/3g coverage/availability. For doing this on a local network with a router... you'll probably have to create a shared network folder or something. If you plan on signing up, can you please use this URL: http://db.tt/ZnDCBQ3 ? We both get 250 MB.

klaberte · 10-07-2011, 05:07 PM

Thanks Dspider.

Sorry for not being clearer, but my question has less to do with how to actually sync the files (I already use dropbox and sugarsync).

My question is essentially which format does the best job with annotations (i.e. highlights, notes, etc) when the ebook moves between different devices and platforms?

It would seem that this would require that the annotations are stored within the same file as the book (like pdf does, and not how kindle puts them all annotations in clippings.txt for all books in the library)

DSpider · 10-07-2011, 05:38 PM

Ah, then I guess it depends on how the applications themselves deal with annotations. I remember last year or so I used Foxit Phantom to fill out some multiple question exam preps and GoodReader (iOS) could only see the PDF, not the stuff I wrote on top (the annotations).

Experiment with different programs. My best guess would be Amazon's app, coupled with "Kindle for PC" (www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/pc), except... converting PDF to a Kindle-friendly format (.mobi or .prc) won't be pretty. Always keep the originals.

Edit: Or you could stick with PDF, as long as the annotations are saved (and read) properly in Foxit/Adobe Reader, etc.

joseph.carty · 10-22-2011, 09:27 PM

The only app that I could find that was at all helpful in this area was moon reader. I use the paid version because it also has tts. It does not "sync" anything. but it does allow you to "share" your notes for a particular book or all books to any sharing activated app like evernote or email. I gets all highlights, notes, and bookmarks together. This is the closest I have come to a solution. Please let me know if you find a better answer.

10-07-2011, 01:41 PM	#1
klaberte Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: nook, android-epub	Gaaa! This shouldn't be so hard! I would think my question is a common one, one that could be found in a FAQ or any number of stickies. But I've been searching for more than an hour and have not found what I'm looking for. I need advice about a system for syncing non-DRM side-loaded books between multiple devices, two of them android, plus PCs. I need highlighting and notes to sync between the devices. Ideally, it would also sync the latest page read or bookmarks so I could pick up where I left off after switching devices. I am comfortable converting formats in calibre, and basically need to know to which format I should convert before starting my synchronized reading, highlighting and note taking. I know this can be done in pdf, and bought a copy of Android Repligo in order to do this when my source document is already pdf. But is pdf really the best option when I could start with any format? What led me to this quest is this: I have a few books in mobi format that I side-loaded on my kindle. They contain highlights and notes. Now I want to move to my android devices. I know I can look at my clippings.txt file, but there they are notated by Location, and it doesn't seem that Location remains the same across different devices. I am OK manually adding these notes and highlights for these few books, but would prefer to not have to do this again in the future. Again, many apologies if this has been asked and answered before. I did look, but have not found a good answer. Thanks in advance. Ken

10-07-2011, 04:28 PM	#2
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	I would say Dropbox. It's cross-platform (Android, iOS, Windows, OS X, Linux). If you can move files within the system (on iOS there's "iFile" from Cydia, I don't know about Android), you should be able to sync everything together. Probably not automatically, unless you know how to run a daemon in the background (like "rsync" for Linux, which can sync multiple folders, for backup purposes mostly). You'll also have everything "in the cloud" with Dropbox, so keep that in mind, both security-wise and wifi/3g coverage/availability. For doing this on a local network with a router... you'll probably have to create a shared network folder or something. If you plan on signing up, can you please use this URL: http://db.tt/ZnDCBQ3 ? We both get 250 MB. Last edited by DSpider; 10-07-2011 at 05:00 PM.

10-07-2011, 05:07 PM	#3
klaberte Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: nook, android-epub	which format? Thanks Dspider. Sorry for not being clearer, but my question has less to do with how to actually sync the files (I already use dropbox and sugarsync). My question is essentially which format does the best job with annotations (i.e. highlights, notes, etc) when the ebook moves between different devices and platforms? It would seem that this would require that the annotations are stored within the same file as the book (like pdf does, and not how kindle puts them all annotations in clippings.txt for all books in the library)

10-07-2011, 05:38 PM	#4
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	Ah, then I guess it depends on how the applications themselves deal with annotations. I remember last year or so I used Foxit Phantom to fill out some multiple question exam preps and GoodReader (iOS) could only see the PDF, not the stuff I wrote on top (the annotations). Experiment with different programs. My best guess would be Amazon's app, coupled with "Kindle for PC" (www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/pc), except... converting PDF to a Kindle-friendly format (.mobi or .prc) won't be pretty. Always keep the originals. Edit: Or you could stick with PDF, as long as the annotations are saved (and read) properly in Foxit/Adobe Reader, etc. Last edited by DSpider; 10-07-2011 at 05:42 PM.

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10-22-2011, 09:27 PM	#5
joseph.carty Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Android	The only app that I could find that was at all helpful in this area was moon reader. I use the paid version because it also has tts. It does not "sync" anything. but it does allow you to "share" your notes for a particular book or all books to any sharing activated app like evernote or email. I gets all highlights, notes, and bookmarks together. This is the closest I have come to a solution. Please let me know if you find a better answer.

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