Non-destructive send to device?

caphector · 07-22-2009, 03:34 AM

I've noticed, when I've been changing formats and formatting on books that re-copying a book to my device (PRS-505) that any metadata for the book gets removed (Pages read, bookmarks, etc). I like having this meta-data; it helps me keep track of what I've read, what I haven't read, etc. I also like tweaking my books while I learn Calibre…adding ToCs, adding links, fixing errors, and would like to do that while preserving the metadata the PRS-505 writes.

What I'm seeing happening doesn't seem ideal–Calibre overwriting the device metadata. I'd prefer to be able to select all and send to device, rather than having to remember which books I added, which I edited, and which I want to preserve metadata for.

Am I missing a feature that does a send to device without touching the device metadata? If I'm not, is there any way Calibre could not destroy the data when sending to device?
P.S. I'm not sure if the Sony Library software leaves metadata intact; I can't test it since I don't have Windows. If the Sony software can preserve metadata, than I'd love for Calibre to do so as well.

kovidgoyal · 07-22-2009, 10:04 AM

No, there is no way to do it. You could acheive it by just saving to disk and then overwriting the file on the device by using a file manager, but that is probably too tedious for everyday use.

caphector · 07-22-2009, 01:32 PM

Any chance this could be added? I've been looking at writing an rsync script to do the copies manually, but if Calibre could do it that'd be lovely.

Want me to open a ticket for this feature request?

kovidgoyal · 07-22-2009, 01:50 PM

Sure, open a ticket, but I'm so swamped at the moment, that it's not likely to be looked at anytime soon, unless someone else is willing to do it.

caphector · 07-23-2009, 02:21 PM

If anyone is interested, the ticket is: http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/ticket/2906

I'm working on a very basic bash script that copies updated files and copies files that aren't on the device. If anyone wants a copy I can post it here, but my scripting/support time is a bit limited, so I can't promise much help if it doesn't work.

ykmm · 07-31-2009, 10:18 AM

I would like to take a look at this issue (not promising anything) where can I find more documentation about the location and the format of the bookmark file on the device, and how can I start integrating it into calibre?

kovidgoyal · 07-31-2009, 12:40 PM

All that information is in the calibre.devices.prs505 package in the calibre sources. Basically it is just a simple XML file.

07-22-2009, 03:34 AM	#1
caphector Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: iPhone (Current), Sony PRS-505	Non-destructive send to device? I've noticed, when I've been changing formats and formatting on books that re-copying a book to my device (PRS-505) that any metadata for the book gets removed (Pages read, bookmarks, etc). I like having this meta-data; it helps me keep track of what I've read, what I haven't read, etc. I also like tweaking my books while I learn Calibre…adding ToCs, adding links, fixing errors, and would like to do that while preserving the metadata the PRS-505 writes. What I'm seeing happening doesn't seem ideal–Calibre overwriting the device metadata. I'd prefer to be able to select all and send to device, rather than having to remember which books I added, which I edited, and which I want to preserve metadata for. Am I missing a feature that does a send to device without touching the device metadata? If I'm not, is there any way Calibre could not destroy the data when sending to device? P.S. I'm not sure if the Sony Library software leaves metadata intact; I can't test it since I don't have Windows. If the Sony software can preserve metadata, than I'd love for Calibre to do so as well.

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07-22-2009, 10:04 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,157 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	No, there is no way to do it. You could acheive it by just saving to disk and then overwriting the file on the device by using a file manager, but that is probably too tedious for everyday use.

07-22-2009, 01:32 PM	#3
caphector Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: iPhone (Current), Sony PRS-505	Any chance this could be added? I've been looking at writing an rsync script to do the copies manually, but if Calibre could do it that'd be lovely. Want me to open a ticket for this feature request?

07-22-2009, 01:50 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,157 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Sure, open a ticket, but I'm so swamped at the moment, that it's not likely to be looked at anytime soon, unless someone else is willing to do it.

07-23-2009, 02:21 PM	#5
caphector Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: iPhone (Current), Sony PRS-505	If anyone is interested, the ticket is: http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/ticket/2906 I'm working on a very basic bash script that copies updated files and copies files that aren't on the device. If anyone wants a copy I can post it here, but my scripting/support time is a bit limited, so I can't promise much help if it doesn't work.

07-31-2009, 10:18 AM	#6
ykmm Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: prs-505	I would like to take a look at this issue (not promising anything) where can I find more documentation about the location and the format of the bookmark file on the device, and how can I start integrating it into calibre?

07-31-2009, 12:40 PM	#7
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,157 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	All that information is in the calibre.devices.prs505 package in the calibre sources. Basically it is just a simple XML file.

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