Please, please help!!!!! Calibre/PC/Dropbox/Android Issues

[GoBucks 44070]

Hello-

I apologize for the length and all the questions.

I lost my eyesight a year ago and have had many surgeries and too many Dr visits to count and only have 50% of my eyes back and it's killing me. Things I know how to do I just can't any more because I can't see to accomplish them. So again my apologies.

I am trying to set up Calibre on a Windows PC using Dropbox to store the Library then using Calibre Companion to connect to the library on my Android phone and my Android tablet. I am open to different programs or other suggestions on how to accomplish my objectives.

Here is the text of an email I sent the creator of Calibre Companion and the link I tried to follow....

https://raymondlamsk.blogspot.com/20...et-up.html?m=1

I have my library setup in Dropbox correctly. It is also added to Calibre in my PC correctly (as all of the books populated to my PC from the correct Dropbox folder.) However when I go to Calibre Companion on my Android to set up the library it connects to Dropbox but the folder that has my Calibre library in it is not one of the selections for me for setup. I have tried the two different options that are listed and neither let's me go past selecting them. There is no further folders or pathways after the first folder. So I am not sure what I am doing wrong there.

Also. If I can get it all set up properly and I understand correctly this would put all of my books on my PC and on my Android phone via Calibre Companion and my Android Tablet via Calibre Companion. Is that correct? Or would I need to download each book to my tablet and phone as I read it? Also I know you mention MoonReader Pro as your eBook reader where does that come into play? Can I read through Calibre Companion or do I have to also have an ebook reader? One last question if all my books are in Calibre am I able to utilize my Kindle?

Also. I do not understand the purpose of removing DRM. Or how to accomplish that. I believe when I downloaded Calibre it included plugins that enable me to do so? But I do not understand how to use them.

Thank you so very,very much!!!!!!

[Sirtel]

First, it's a bad idea to keep your active library on a cloud or a network drive. You could mirror a copy to your Dropbox, using FreeFileSync or the like, but keep your active library on a local drive. Else your library can easily get corrupted.

Calibre Companion is abandoned, so I'm not sure you can get it to work. AFAIK your library must be in the Dropbox root folder, not in any subfolders, and you must use Gmail for your e-mail address. Beyond that, I have no idea, as I haven't used CC for years.

As to DRM, no, no plugins come with Calibre for removing it. You must install the plugin separately. It can be downloaded from here:
https://github.com/noDRM/DeDRM_tools

We can't give you any other instructions as to how to remove DRM. Ask on the github where you downloaded the plugin. There should be instructions included with the .zip file too.

[GoBucks 44070]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

First, it's a bad idea to keep your active library on a cloud or a network drive. You could mirror a copy to your Dropbox, using FreeFileSync or the like, but keep your active library on a local drive. Else your library can easily get corrupted.

Calibre Companion is abandoned, so I'm not sure you can get it to work. AFAIK your library must be in the Dropbox root folder, not in any subfolders, and you must use Gmail for your e-mail address. Beyond that, I have no idea, as I haven't used CC for years.

As to DRM, no, no plugins come with Calibre for removing it. You must install the plugin separately. It can be downloaded from here:
https://github.com/noDRM/DeDRM_tools

We can't give you any other instructions as to how to remove DRM. Ask on the github where you downloaded the plugin. There should be instructions included with the .zip file too.

Okay.

Is it possible for you to guide me towards a way to explain what mirroring my library is than a way to do that? If there's a website that explains these?

Also, what would recommend instead of Calibre Companion to accomplish having my library on all the devices on own?

1-Kindle
1-Androi phone
1-Android tablet
1-Windows PC

[theducks]

Mirror (mode) is simply a dynamic Shadow (one way only) copy (a near instant backup)
(FWIW a simple RAID mirror is just a second disk that is an exact copy. If one fails, the other is usable and can become the master of a NEW copy (rebuild in background) My NAS has 4 drives.Any 1 can fail and I am still good. At any time, I can put in a blank and after a few hours it is fully ready. A RAID array is faster than a Single (add/or with mirror))

[Quoth]

1-Kindle
1-Androi phone
1-Android tablet

Use a USB cable and MANAGE from Calibre on the PC. Also charges the device.
I manage 4 x kindles (3 models), 4 x kobo (3 models), 3 x Android phones, Android eInk, Lenovo Tablet. That's the whole point of Calibre.
I back up a copy of the Calibre files to a backup USB HDD and to my server (which is functionally the same use as NAS for user files, but also runs local copies of a Wiki and a Wordpress install).

I hardly ever need to charge any ereader as they get enough charge while on the laptop. The phones & tablet need separately charged.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by GoBucks 44070

Okay.

Is it possible for you to guide me towards a way to explain what mirroring my library is than a way to do that? If there's a website that explains these?

Also, what would recommend instead of Calibre Companion to accomplish having my library on all the devices on own?

1-Kindle
1-Androi phone
1-Android tablet
1-Windows PC

Mirroring is creating a copy via one-way sync. FreeFileSync has a mirror option, for example.

Personally I just connect my various ereaders to my computer with Calibre via a USB cable and load the books. There's also Calibre Content Server, which can be used on an Android device via a browser. The instructions for the server are in the Calibre User Manual:
https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/server.html

[Quoth]

1) You CAN of course select any number of books in the Calibre GUI and select "Save to disk". Save them somewhere outside the calibre library on local storage.
2) Copy (not move) those files to a NAS or Internet service such as Google or Dropbox (but personally I use hosting I rent, better uptime, privacy & security if you choose well).
3) Delete the exported saved local files.

Pretend the ebook files used by the Calibre Library program don't exist. Those are copies that Calibre imports and only exist as files (local disk only) because that works better than having them inside the database Calibre uses to manage the library. Don't use Calibre files directly, don't share them and only have on storage internal to the Mac/Windows/Linux computer. That's why Calibre has a "Save to Disk" option (right click menu). You can also define a disk location as a "Device" if you are not copying/moving the files at that location, then Send works. This is a solution to use SD cards or USB sticks used elsewhere or in a device, or to use devices that do mount on the filesystem but are not recognised by Calibre (some old Binatone LCD ereaders).

[slm]

I don't like to contradict the experts but my experience is that the advice is overly restrictive.

My extensive experience with Dropbox is that if you store your Calibre library in a Dropbox folder on your local machine but NEVER make changes to the folder other than through the local machine copy of Calibre, everything works fine--the Dropbox folder acts as a mirror in that case. I've done this for years.

I also used Calibre Companion and several alternatives this way for a while without trouble. (I think some of them may have added a file or two to the Dropbox folder, but the added file didn't affect Calibre's operation)

In this set up, I have had no trouble accessing the Dropbox files to download to my Android devices. Similarly, opening the "Path" from Calibre and using the "Send" options in the Windows shell does not seem to cause any issues.

YMMV

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by slm

My extensive experience with Dropbox is that if you store your Calibre library in a Dropbox folder on your local machine but NEVER make changes to the folder other than through the local machine copy of Calibre, everything works fine--the Dropbox folder acts as a mirror in that case. I've done this for years.

Terrible advice. The Calibre files are part of Calibre and using them with NAS, Sharing, or Google/Amazon/Apple/Dropbox online storage is asking for trouble. Use "Save to Disc" right click on a book or range of selected books, that's what it's for.

40 years of programming & OS, 30 years network use and 25 years of databases.

Otherwise there is little point in using Calibre except to convert files.

[GoBucks 44070]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Mirroring is creating a copy via one-way sync. FreeFileSync has a mirror option, for example.

Personally I just connect my various ereaders to my computer with Calibre via a USB cable and load the books. There's also Calibre Content Server, which can be used on an Android device via a browser. The instructions for the server are in the Calibre User Manual:
https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/server.html

I had initially set it up and connected via the serve it was easy and all was well. However to my understanding the computer the server is on would need to be powered on and running 24/7 I don't want to do that as it is my laptop and that's not always possible.

Or is there a way to have the server set up and not have to have the PC on 24/7?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by GoBucks 44070

I had initially set it up and connected via the serve it was easy and all was well. However to my understanding the computer the server is on would need to be powered on and running 24/7 I don't want to do that as it is my laptop and that's not always possible.

Or is there a way to have the server set up and not have to have the PC on 24/7?

Yes, unfortunately the PC must be running. That's why I don't use the server myself.

For your use case it seems best to either keep a mirror copy of your library in Dropbox or use the Save to Disk feature to copy the books to Dropbox (not really feasible with huge libraries).

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by GoBucks 44070

Okay.

Is it possible for you to guide me towards a way to explain what mirroring my library is than a way to do that? If there's a website that explains these?

Also, what would recommend instead of Calibre Companion to accomplish having my library on all the devices on own?

1-Kindle
1-Androi phone
1-Android tablet
1-Windows PC

Look up Calibre Web. It's a web interface over a Calibre database so you can access your library in a web browser and download books straight from there. So long as a device as a decent web browser it works.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

Look up Calibre Web. It's a web interface over a Calibre database so you can access your library in a web browser and download books straight from there. So long as a device as a decent web browser it works.

But it also requires the host computer to be running.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by slm

I don't like to contradict the experts but my experience is that the advice is overly restrictive.

My extensive experience with Dropbox is that if you store your Calibre library in a Dropbox folder on your local machine but NEVER make changes to the folder other than through the local machine copy of Calibre, everything works fine--the Dropbox folder acts as a mirror in that case. I've done this for years.

I also used Calibre Companion and several alternatives this way for a while without trouble. (I think some of them may have added a file or two to the Dropbox folder, but the added file didn't affect Calibre's operation)

In this set up, I have had no trouble accessing the Dropbox files to download to my Android devices. Similarly, opening the "Path" from Calibre and using the "Send" options in the Windows shell does not seem to cause any issues.

You are right. If the only place you update the files from is within calibre running in only one location, then it will most likely work. But, the moment you forget this and fiddle elsewhere, you will run into trouble. And at that point you will remember the above post and realise why the advice is overly restrictive.

It is the same for storing library on a LAN connected device. It works. And in all honesty, it should work. But, there are enough things going on that if there is a single hiccough (another calibre session started, an error on the network device, the network connection interrupted, the network running a bit slow) you will suddenly be in trouble.

The recommendation is "don't" because it is known to fail and fail catastrophically. And it has probably gotten "overly restrictive" because there have been far to many posts which begin with "I have had my library on <non-local storage> and it has been working for years, but, I have just lost my library".

[slm]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The recommendation is "don't" because it is known to fail and fail catastrophically. And it has probably gotten "overly restrictive" because there have been far to many posts which begin with "I have had my library on <non-local storage> and it has been working for years, but, I have just lost my library".

Actually I used to run two copies of Calibre on different machines. And, of course, the database would become corrupt particularly if I added or removed files from the secondary computer.

One of the great virtues of Calibre however, is that it can reconstruct its database from the folders and files themselves. When I corrupted the database, the "Restore Database" command always worked fine, though it takes a while.