PRS-600 File Transfer Nightmare!

[GRIZDOG]

Did you ever figure this out, chameleon? I'm having the EXACT SAME PROBLEM with this unit! Even Calibre treats my PDF files the same way, so it doesn't help!!!!!

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by chameleon

thanks for your replies.

However I already realise I can drag and drop onto the Sony 600, that was the first thing I tried, but it doesn't retain the folder structure: ie it just compiles all the books in one LONG list, which I then have to endlessly go through in order to re-categorize as 'Collections', you cannot drag across folders with folders inside them eg a cookery section folder with authors folders inside it...it doesn't recognize folders at all!...that was my problem.

Also the fact that it randomly renames files which makes it very hard to find them amongst hundreds listed?

I have d'loaded Calibre but am not sure if it will solve the problem as it seems to be the way Sony have structured the reader itself...Collections should allow you to reorganize the files themselves into respective folders, not just point shortcuts at the original files... that would allow for folders to be dragged.

Has anyone else had a problem with arbitrary renaming of files, especially pdfs?

thanks

I haven't had this problem with most PDFs I load in Calibre, in the Sony Reader Library, and on my ereader. A possible factor in this is that I make my own PDFs for my ereader using StarOffice (the commercial version of OpenOffice.org) and it allows me to edit the ebook's title in its properties. That title will appear when I load the ebook into Calibre, the Sony Reader Library (SRL), and my ereader.

The only quirk I've found is that if the title has a "-" in it it may show the part of the title after the "-" as the author when the book is loaded into Calibre (easily corrected with a quick edit). Other than that, the title appears unaltered when loaded in the above locations. Also, I've used a free program called "BeCyPDFMetaEdit" to edit the metadata in my PDF ebooks, allowing me to set the title and the author.

I haven't had a problem with the use of collections to organize my ebooks on my ereader and on my computer. I've found it a much better way to arrange ebooks than folders since it allows the same ebook to be placed in many different collections and it allows faster reorganization of my ebooks. Also, I've found that Calibre's use of tagging is much better method of creating and organizing ebooks into collections than the SRL method of creating collections and then dragging and dropping ebooks into them.

[phenomshel]

So collections are just tags, then? If I tag something in Calibre as "Cozy" when I transfer it to the Sony it'll be in a Collection called "Cozy" ? Or am I missing a few steps. Forgive the newbie question, I just got home with a Sony 600 about an hour ago. It's still charging. I'm currently converting the things in my library that weren't already ePub into that format in preparation, I figured if tags = collections I can do that at the same time.

[Josieb1]

Yes thats right, I use the tag system in Calibre to create my collections, they then drop into the collections folder once transferred to the Touch via Calibre

[phenomshel]

Thanks Josie. Yes, I'm finding that this is an absolute dream (not a nightmare, thankfully) to get the books into the right collections, using Calibre. I'm really liking it, it makes things much easier to find.

[FredPC]

Originally Posted by tofubean

Forget about sony library. Try to use another program like calibre to organise your books. The software is really crappy compared to the product itself.

TRUE! I support this statement too. I only run the Sony Library software when I want to check for firmware updates (VERY few and far between) and/or access the Sony Store (also far between).

I use Calibre almost exclusively, but I know that you can also simply drag and drop your "library folder structure" to the SD (SDHC) card and the Sony PRS600 will read and index your library that way. While I have done this with ePub and TXT files, I haven't done it with PDFs. But it should work the same way.

Try Calibre, you'll like it.
http://calibre-ebook.com/

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Yes thats right, I use the tag system in Calibre to create my collections, they then drop into the collections folder once transferred to the Touch via Calibre

I do basically the same thing (tag my ebooks in Calibre and then send them to my ereader). Also, I've found that if I change an ebook's tags in my Calibre library and then connect my ereader to my computer, the ebooks on my ereader will be reorganized into collections that reflect the changes I've made to my tags.