If I uninstall Calibri will my books vanish

kamuzz · 11-16-2010, 05:58 AM

Unfortunately when I installed Calibri for the first time I made a bad choice when it asked where to put the library.

I pointed this at our NAS which already had many folders with e-books.

Now I have a complete mess with folders inside folders inside folders.

If I uninstall Calibri will it remove the folders that it added?

Or will all my books disappear too?

itimpi · 11-16-2010, 06:01 AM

No, uninstalling Calibre does not remove any of the books.

However, in your case what may be a better solution is to use the Calibre facility to move it's library to another location. This will then leave behind any files that Calibre does not think are part of it's library, and the new library location will contain only Calibre files.

Sweetpea · 11-16-2010, 06:02 AM

No, your books will stay. It will only remove the application itself.

But the installation of Calibre has nothing to do with the location of the books. You can simply make a new library without installing Calibre. If you select the option "Switch/Create library", you get the opportunity to pick a new location for a new library

(or what itimpi said

)

Manichean · 11-16-2010, 06:32 AM

Do what itimpi said. That way, you can easily sort calibre files from non-calibre files.

kamuzz · 11-28-2010, 01:58 AM

Well that made a complete mess. Obviously I didn't understand your instructions.

In Calibre, I went to Library, then to "switch/create library" and chose to move the current library to a new location.

Now it has picked up 95% of the folders and moved them to the new location. And there are still folders inside folders inside folders that Calibre won't find as books.

I was expecting to have the original folder tree left intact, so I could sort through it, tidy it up and then use Calibre to selectively add parts of it to the Calibre library.

Hummmm.

What if I use the move option and move the library back to its original location and then uninstall Calibre. Will that remove the Calibre folders from my original storage?

itimpi · 11-28-2010, 03:08 AM

It is not clear what you did wong.

If you used the Calibre facility to move it's library to a new location that is currently empty then the only files at that new location will be ones that Calibre knows about. The old location will contain the files that Calibre does not know about. The new location should only have a 2 level folder structure, the top one being authors and within that folders for each book.

Uninstalling Calibre will NOT cause any files from the Calibre library to be removed - it will only remove the software itself.

DoctorOhh · 11-28-2010, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamuzz

Well that made a complete mess. Obviously I didn't understand your instructions.

Reading through this post the only thing that is a complete mess is your current understanding of calibre. The good news is this understanding will become clear soon

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamuzz

In Calibre, I went to Library, then to "switch/create library" and chose to move the current library to a new location.

This is a good way to ensure you have a clean library.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamuzz

Now it has picked up 95% of the folders and moved them to the new location. And there are still folders inside folders inside folders that Calibre won't find as books.

It picked up everything that was in its database and moved those folders/files to the new location. The file structure of the new location should reflect exactly the books that show in calibre's GUI.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamuzz

I was expecting to have the original folder tree left intact, so I could sort through it, tidy it up and then use Calibre to selectively add parts of it to the Calibre library.

The original folder tree now only has the books that weren't included in calibre's library. Calibre picked up and moved everything that was entered in its library/database and moved it to the new location.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamuzz

What if I use the move option and move the library back to its original location and then uninstall Calibre. Will that remove the Calibre folders from my original storage?

Your file structure in the new location now equals what is in your calibre library. There is no need to move the library again and moving it back would serve no purpose except to maybe jumble things up again. Now it is time to start adding books and correcting metadata.

kamuzz · 11-28-2010, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwanthny

Reading through this post the only thing that is a complete mess is your current understanding of calibre. The good news is this understanding will become clear soon.

Let's work on that understanding.

Maybe my folder structure is now how it is meant to be. Maybe I just think it is wrong.

So for example, the first book I have is The year of living biblically, by AJ Jacobs. This is the only book I have from this author.

This is the folder structure:
- AJ Jacobs

- AJ Jacobs

- The year of living biblically (this folder contains 3 files: the cover, the mobi file, and a file called metadata.opf)

- The year of living bibilically (this folder contains 1 file, called metadata.opf)

Does this look right? I'm not sure why there should be a subfolder with the same name as the top folder, and then an almost empty folder for each book.

DoctorOhh · 11-28-2010, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamuzz

So for example, the first book I have is The year of living biblically, by AJ Jacobs. This is the only book I have from this author.

This is the folder structure:
- AJ Jacobs

- AJ Jacobs

- The year of living biblically (this folder contains 3 files: the cover, the mobi file, and a file called metadata.opf)

- The year of living bibilically (this folder contains 1 file, called metadata.opf)

Does this look right? I'm not sure why there should be a subfolder with the same name as the top folder, and then an almost empty folder for each book.

You win, it doesn't look right. I attached my beginning file structure for you to see a clean library.

Before we stumble forward two questions come to mind.

What is the top level directory of your calibre library called? It's not AJ Jacobs, is it?

What version of calibre are you using?

Did you move the library to a new folder?

SkyDream · 11-28-2010, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamuzz

In Calibre, I went to Library, then to "switch/create library" and chose to move the current library to a new location.

What about not moving your library but

"switch/create library" -> "Create an empty library at the new location"

Then add a few books to this new library and take a look at the structure.
This is the intended calibre library structure which can't be changed by you.

11-16-2010, 05:58 AM	#1
kamuzz Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle 3	If I uninstall Calibri will my books vanish Unfortunately when I installed Calibri for the first time I made a bad choice when it asked where to put the library. I pointed this at our NAS which already had many folders with e-books. Now I have a complete mess with folders inside folders inside folders. If I uninstall Calibri will it remove the folders that it added? Or will all my books disappear too?

11-28-2010, 03:08 AM	#6
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,347 Karma: 910899 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	It is not clear what you did wong. If you used the Calibre facility to move it's library to a new location that is currently empty then the only files at that new location will be ones that Calibre knows about. The old location will contain the files that Calibre does not know about. The new location should only have a 2 level folder structure, the top one being authors and within that folders for each book. Uninstalling Calibre will NOT cause any files from the Calibre library to be removed - it will only remove the software itself. Last edited by itimpi; 11-28-2010 at 03:10 AM.

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11-16-2010, 06:01 AM	#2
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,347 Karma: 910899 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	No, uninstalling Calibre does not remove any of the books. However, in your case what may be a better solution is to use the Calibre facility to move it's library to another location. This will then leave behind any files that Calibre does not think are part of it's library, and the new library location will contain only Calibre files.

11-16-2010, 06:02 AM	#3
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,179 Karma: 28204808 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Dell V8Pro; Asus Zenpad S8; Onyx Boox T68; Kobo Aura One	No, your books will stay. It will only remove the application itself. But the installation of Calibre has nothing to do with the location of the books. You can simply make a new library without installing Calibre. If you select the option "Switch/Create library", you get the opportunity to pick a new location for a new library (or what itimpi said )

11-16-2010, 06:32 AM	#4
Manichean Wizard Posts: 3,130 Karma: 84534 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Germany Device: Cybook Gen3	Do what itimpi said. That way, you can easily sort calibre files from non-calibre files.

11-28-2010, 01:58 AM	#5
kamuzz Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Well that made a complete mess. Obviously I didn't understand your instructions. In Calibre, I went to Library, then to "switch/create library" and chose to move the current library to a new location. Now it has picked up 95% of the folders and moved them to the new location. And there are still folders inside folders inside folders that Calibre won't find as books. I was expecting to have the original folder tree left intact, so I could sort through it, tidy it up and then use Calibre to selectively add parts of it to the Calibre library. Hummmm. What if I use the move option and move the library back to its original location and then uninstall Calibre. Will that remove the Calibre folders from my original storage?

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