Syncing annotations in calibre (two ereaders) + exporting into obsidian

popmog · 03-21-2023, 11:29 PM

Right now I'm just trying to sync the annotations from two devices (kobo libra2 and pw 5) to calibre, not sure if they could overwrite each other or cause issues. Calibre doesn't seem to see any annotations, though obsidian sees and imports them from the kobo.

Using Calibre 6 on linux. I'm transitioning to a linux computer from windows (learning curve here). Already exported my calibre library to linux.

I'd like to back up my annotations in calibre and also export annotations and notes to obsidian for my notes. Both ereaders have sideloaded books.

On calibre I've tried "browse annotations" and it sees no annotations on any device. I've tried installing the annotations plugin and it sees no annotations. There are annotations on both devices, and there are old annotations that were imported into calibre way back when (it's been a while since I read anything), I can see them on the sidebar thing that shows the book cover, title, other info, the annotations are listed below all that. I don't recall how it was done, it was on an old machine I no longer use. I had an old kindle that is no longer in use.

I've also tried the obsidian plugin for calibre and it doesn't seem to find any annotations either!

However there is a kobo highlights plugin directly in obsidian and if you hook up your kobo by usb it can import directly into obsidian. There doesn't seem to be one for kindle though, so I'm not sure how to get the kindle or the calibre annotations into obsidian yet. Right now I'm guessing I'd have to do it by way of calibre so kindle -> calibre -> obsidian, but right now just trying to get things working in calibre first.

Quoth · 03-22-2023, 06:10 AM

Kobo Utilities can load annotations etc from Kobos. That's what I use as I copy/paste the annotation for a particular book into KATE or other text editor.

Annotations can copy annotations from Kobo and Kindle ereaders into metadata per book (a column). I used to use a Kindle, but it's much poorer than the Kobo. Now I don't save annotations in Calibre at all.

jhowell · 03-22-2023, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by popmog

I had an old kindle that is no longer in use.

The Annotations plugin imports Kindle annotations from the My Clippings file. That only contains annotations that were made on that Kindle device. Annotations made on other Kindle devices or apps cannot be imported.

popmog · 03-24-2023, 12:01 AM

I see. So annotations is for kindle, but you have to create a custom annotations column in the plugin settings first (that's why it wasn't working). And the kobo utilities handles annotations for kobo.

Not sure what would happen both devices had highlights in the same book, if there would be a collision or not.

Just an update: there is a kindle highlights plugin for obsidian, but it got removed b/c telemetry. When the author removes the telemetry it will be added. So I guess can bypass calibre and work directly in obsidian for both devices soon.

The obsidian kindle plugin has an added feature of being able to use a template to layout the data how you want to, which is cool. It will be interesting to see how it works for taking notes.

DaySleeper · 03-27-2023, 01:41 AM

What I'd like to be able to do is to import the annotations back into the epub file so that if I open the book on my PC I could see them in context. I'd use that primarily for research/study purposes. Most of the annotation-exporting tools I've used export them without context.

03-21-2023, 11:29 PM	#1
popmog Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2023 Device: kindle pw5 kobo libra 2	Syncing annotations in calibre (two ereaders) + exporting into obsidian Right now I'm just trying to sync the annotations from two devices (kobo libra2 and pw 5) to calibre, not sure if they could overwrite each other or cause issues. Calibre doesn't seem to see any annotations, though obsidian sees and imports them from the kobo. Using Calibre 6 on linux. I'm transitioning to a linux computer from windows (learning curve here). Already exported my calibre library to linux. I'd like to back up my annotations in calibre and also export annotations and notes to obsidian for my notes. Both ereaders have sideloaded books. On calibre I've tried "browse annotations" and it sees no annotations on any device. I've tried installing the annotations plugin and it sees no annotations. There are annotations on both devices, and there are old annotations that were imported into calibre way back when (it's been a while since I read anything), I can see them on the sidebar thing that shows the book cover, title, other info, the annotations are listed below all that. I don't recall how it was done, it was on an old machine I no longer use. I had an old kindle that is no longer in use. I've also tried the obsidian plugin for calibre and it doesn't seem to find any annotations either! However there is a kobo highlights plugin directly in obsidian and if you hook up your kobo by usb it can import directly into obsidian. There doesn't seem to be one for kindle though, so I'm not sure how to get the kindle or the calibre annotations into obsidian yet. Right now I'm guessing I'd have to do it by way of calibre so kindle -> calibre -> obsidian, but right now just trying to get things working in calibre first.

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03-22-2023, 06:10 AM	#2
Quoth Still reading Posts: 13,968 Karma: 103895653 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Kobo Utilities can load annotations etc from Kobos. That's what I use as I copy/paste the annotation for a particular book into KATE or other text editor. Annotations can copy annotations from Kobo and Kindle ereaders into metadata per book (a column). I used to use a Kindle, but it's much poorer than the Kobo. Now I don't save annotations in Calibre at all.

03-24-2023, 12:01 AM	#4
popmog Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2023 Device: kindle pw5 kobo libra 2	I see. So annotations is for kindle, but you have to create a custom annotations column in the plugin settings first (that's why it wasn't working). And the kobo utilities handles annotations for kobo. Not sure what would happen both devices had highlights in the same book, if there would be a collision or not. Just an update: there is a kindle highlights plugin for obsidian, but it got removed b/c telemetry. When the author removes the telemetry it will be added. So I guess can bypass calibre and work directly in obsidian for both devices soon. The obsidian kindle plugin has an added feature of being able to use a template to layout the data how you want to, which is cool. It will be interesting to see how it works for taking notes.

03-27-2023, 01:41 AM	#5
DaySleeper Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 5532 Join Date: Jul 2017 Device: MoonReader+ Android app on Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite and otherst	What I'd like to be able to do is to import the annotations back into the epub file so that if I open the book on my PC I could see them in context. I'd use that primarily for research/study purposes. Most of the annotation-exporting tools I've used export them without context.

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