Best way to create backup on cloud for EPUB books

[Quoth]

I sync a one way copy of almost user desktop files to server (on separate UPS and all the network gear is on UPS for server). Then if I'm going out with laptop I one way sync, updating from server files.

I then never change the Calibre library on laptop and any other individual files created / changed on laptop are copied direct to desktop workstation (and then get backed up from it later in the day).

I also do USB HDD backups of server, workstation and laptop.

I have a 2nd occasionally used workstation for SCSI scanner. It also occasionally gets a copy of the main workstation user files and any scanned images copied to main workstation. All 1Gbps ethernet cables.

[DNSB]

I prefer multiple backups (external USB connected hard drive, NAS and cloud). I am now moving to using an encrypted .zip file for my cloud backups.

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Unix mount points are in many ways a much better idea.

Which is why that's what I use in Windows when a file needs to appear local but is actually on a remote disk. Unlike actual *nix mounting, though, the only way to "unmount" on Windows is to remove the symlink that acts as the mount point.

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by DNSB

If @Sweetpea is being very careful with not connecting from more than one calibre instance and has a good Internet connection, they might not see issues. OTOH, it's an unnecessary risk IMNSHO.

If you use OneDrive on a single computer and never touch the data in the cloud until you lose something local, you should be completely safe, because it's just a one-way backup to the cloud.

When you do lose something local (like editing an EPUB and saving it after deleting things that you can't recover), then the correct course of action is to download an older version from the cloud to a place outside of the Calibre library and then use Calibre to delete the wrongly-edited EPUB and then import the downloaded backup into the book record.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

If you use OneDrive on a single computer and never touch the data in the cloud until you lose something local, you should be completely safe, because it's just a one-way backup to the cloud.

When you do lose something local (like editing an EPUB and saving it after deleting things that you can't recover), then the correct course of action is to download an older version from the cloud to a place outside of the Calibre library and then use Calibre to delete the wrongly-edited EPUB and then import the downloaded backup into the book record.

No need to do that, just drag the downloaded backup EPUB (e.g. from desktop) into the Book details panel and confirm you want to replace. Then delete the downloaded backup EPUB.

BR

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

If you use OneDrive on a single computer and never touch the data in the cloud until you lose something local, you should be completely safe, because it's just a one-way backup to the cloud.

When you do lose something local (like editing an EPUB and saving it after deleting things that you can't recover), then the correct course of action is to download an older version from the cloud to a place outside of the Calibre library and then use Calibre to delete the wrongly-edited EPUB and then import the downloaded backup into the book record.

I don't have that problem. I have a library of the original eBooks. I then copy what I want to my active library and then edit from there. If I was to be done and delete the original ePub backup, I still have the original eBook.

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

No need to do that, just drag the downloaded backup EPUB (e.g. from desktop) into the Book details panel and confirm you want to replace. Then delete the downloaded backup EPUB.

This is true, but a minor mouse miss can result in replacing an EPUB in a different book record. For users who have already made a mistake big enough to warrant the download of a backup, opening the metadata editor for the book record and deleting then adding might be safer.

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have a library of the original eBooks.

The advantage to OneDrive backup is that you can pick the version that has all the changes you made to the book that were correct, right before you made the big mistake. No need to go all the way back to the original.

It's not common to need something like that if you are making relatively minor corrections to a commercial EPUB source, but if you are dealing with a PDF to EPUB conversion, or an OCR source, it might take many days to finish, so losing a large portion of that work would be very painful.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

This is true, but a minor mouse miss can result in replacing an EPUB in a different book record. For users who have already made a mistake big enough to warrant the download of a backup, opening the metadata editor for the book record and deleting then adding might be safer.

Read what I wrote

Originally Posted by BetterRed

. . . drag the downloaded backup EPUB (e.g. from desktop) into the Book details panel and confirm you want to replace.

It's as big as house



And the confirm message informs the user of the precise consequences of proceeding.

BR

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

This is true, but a minor mouse miss can result in replacing an EPUB in a different book record. For users who have already made a mistake big enough to warrant the download of a backup, opening the metadata editor for the book record and deleting then adding might be safer.

Hard to place the ePub in a different book record when you are dropping it on the details pane since it is a large target and has a confirm message. If you miss and drop it on the library view, you are probably going to get the duplicate book message or add the book to your library as a new book.

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

It's as big as house

I did not know that you could drag to the book details panel, but I also don't have it visible all the time, so that may be why I never even tried it.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

I did not know that you could drag to the book details panel, but I also don't have it visible all the time, so that may be why I never even tried it.

Nor me.

Shift+Alt+D will toggle the Book details panel. All of the Layout panels have a show/hide shortcut toggle. I make use of the ones for Book details and Tag browser; and because I never need to hide it, I disabled the Search bar show/hide toggle.

An alternative to DnD into BD, is to copy the format file into the clipboard in your file manager (select, Ctrl+C), and then use calibre's Add->Add files to selected book records from clipboard option, which I've set to Alt+Shift+V… I have Ctrl+V set to Paste metadata from clipboard. This feature allows copy & paste of multiple files to a selected book… e.g. a cover and format file, or a single file into multiple books… e.g. a format template.

I avoid using modal dialogue boxes as much as I can.

No one knows or can remember every feature of calibre, not even Kovid. I got caught out yesterday because I'd forgotten what a mouse pointer can do when hovered over book list cell cloaked by an icon

BR