[Android] Dragging Calibre Lirary folder onto SD card

[A|an]

Will Calibre Companion work if you simply drag the Calibre Library folder onto your device's SD card?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by A|an

Will Calibre Companion work if you simply drag the Calibre Library folder onto your device's SD card?

The CC Cloud Connection supports getting books from a locally-stored library. See our FAQ [Android] I have a copy of a calibre library on an SD card. Can CC use it?

[ShaunBlake]

Originally Posted by chaley

The CC Cloud Connection supports getting books from a locally-stored library. See our FAQ [Android] I have a copy of a calibre library on an SD card. Can CC use it?

Tried that on Nexus 6P; CC couldn't see the folder. Does it require that the device be rooted?

(I've given up and copied the library to OneDrive though I'm unhappy; if somebody wants to snoop, I want them to kick MY door down.)

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ShaunBlake

Tried that on Nexus 6P; CC couldn't see the folder. Does it require that the device be rooted?

No, rooting isn't necessary. CC uses the Android Storage Access Facility. When you "connect" to a "local library" using the cloud connection it opens an Android file browser. You then navigate to the folder containing the calibre metadata.db. See the attached screen captures.

Note: CC can use only storage that the Android file browser can see, which is typlcally internal memory and a "real" SD card. OTG-mounted drives aren't visible.

[crane3]

How about doing the reverse, sort of. I may want to increase the size of the SD card to accommodate other things.

If I copy the CC lib from the sd to main memory, then remove & replace the SD with a larger size & copy the CC lib back to the SD card, will I need to do anything in CC?

IOW, is CC also looking for the SD card using the SD card "serial number id"? or do I just need to do the format/folder location again? as that probably be faster than reloading from CAlibre......

[chaley]

Originally Posted by crane3

How about doing the reverse, sort of. I may want to increase the size of the SD card to accommodate other things.

If I copy the CC lib from the sd to main memory, then remove & replace the SD with a larger size & copy the CC lib back to the SD card, will I need to do anything in CC?

Almost certainly yes, you will need to do something in CC. The problem is that Android treats each SD card as a separate entity so changing cards is not transparent.

Fortunately, (probably) all you will need to do in CC is use CC's "Formats and folders" setting to point at the library copy on the new SD card. CC will (probably) see that the old library is no longer available and that new folder is a library, and will update itself without further ado.

IOW, is CC also looking for the SD card using the SD card "serial number id"? or do I just need to do the format/folder location again? as that probably be faster than reloading from CAlibre......

As said above, CC doesn't look for anything special about the card. Instead it uses a special "token" given by Android to access the data on the SD card. If that token changes, as it almost certainly will if the SD card changes, then CC must be given permission again. You can use CC's "Formats and folders" to get that permission.

And yes, much of this feels like magic, but I can't do anything about it. Since Android "Lollipop" CC hasn't been forced to use Android facilities to access SD cards, which give back to CC an opaque access path. That path can become invalid for a plethora of reasons all out of CC's control, and the only way to fix it is to ask again for access.