Folders on Kobo?

[Neil]

I am thinking about buying a Kobo Clara Color. I have used Kindle and Pocketbook and Apple exclusively so I got an online manual. I was trying to find an easy way to move about thirty different comic book titles (cbz) that have anywhere from ten to 200 issues of each title. In a Kindle I can make collections which is a pain so I mostly use the iPad for reading inside and the Pocketbook for reading in the sun.Each has its own copy of the complete collection. On the iPad I use the Panels app which is quite easy to move a folder of a title to the iPad in one WiFi step. The pocketbook allows you to quickly transfer folders filled with comics to either memory or card.

But the Kobo? All I can see is using Dropbox that I freaking hate (long story) or a usb cable to my computer an iMac. But here is my worry. The manual says all books move simply appear as My Books in a grid that I guess could sorted by author or date or title. But no I want folders. And what I would really like would be to transfer every folder on the computer one drop or movement at a time. I gotta be missing something. This has gotta be easy in a Kobo? But I do not see this as easy? It is easy then I buy a Kobo. If not easy I shrug my shoulders and wait for Amazon to do their color screen. Lol. So any advice?. Thanks!

[Aleron Ives]

Kobo uses metadata to sort your library. If you want a folder-based layout that uses filenames, you'd need to install KOReader.

[PeterT]

Kobo also has collections or shelves. A book can belong to multiple shelves / collections. This does NOT change their storage location on the device, rather it's a logical view of the books on your devices.

Many people use calibre to manage their content on the Kobo, and this includes the creation / management of shelves / collections.

[Neil]

Regarding KOReader: How difficult is it to use? If it is something like choosing folders from your computer and then it trasfers the books, ok. On the other hand if it is something that has a complicated line-based interface or you have to do files one by one, probably not. Than ks for suggesting and let me know if you can the details.

[Neil]

On the Kobo shelves: Does it work like collections on the Kindle in that you first load the books but then you have to name a collection then one by one verify which ebook goes into that collection? I have almost a thousand comics. I do NOT wish to have to click on each one to move them about. That's why they now are used mostly on my iPads in Panels.app. Or on the otherwise funky Pocketbook as all needed is to set up titled folders and then drop of Wifi all folder specific file in one swoop. Thank for the replying!

[theducks]

I take it that you are going anti-calibre route

Because Kobo Utilities-extended edition does all the heavy configuration.
You just set that, the send books
The Kobo device driver (also configured) takes care of Series (no side steps like needed for a Kindle).
I believe Shelves was renamed Collections. (I don't use) You can configure that to use a variety of ways. Some use a Custom (tags-like) column in calibre as that source.
Do Note: You must do a Second connection for these to take place (all you need to do is wait for the jobs spinner to stop). Kobo absorbs the book into its DB on the first disconnect (do wait for 'Processing' to complete), Now there is a place to log those collections and series to upon the second.

[Sirtel]

Calibre is the easiest way to create collections on a Kobo - no manual work involved, it's fully automatic. Of course if you've never used Calibre before, then you'll have to do manual work anyway, to set your books up in Calibre first.

Without using Calibre collections must be created manually on a Kobo. I've no idea how KOReader behaves, sorry.

[JSWolf]

Nickel does not support DIRECTORIES. KOReader does support DIRECTORIES.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Nickel does not support DIRECTORIES. KOReader does support DIRECTORIES.

Actually Nickel still sees the books even if folders/directories are used. "does not support" implies you can't have arbitrary directories, but you can.

For years now most people have been calling OS Filesystem directories, folders, so it's a synonym.

However using author, title, subtitle, series and collection metadata and ability to filter/sort view by read/finished, reading, unread, or recent/title/etc and more and quick search of the native reader seriously beats KOReader's 1970s style browse directories. KOReader can search Calibre metadata, but that's slow and awkward compared to native GUI.

KOReader is fine if you've loads of sort of broken ebooks, or need to adjust "paper" / "ink" on PDFs (native PDF reader now have per document crop), read unsupported formats. But I prefer to fixe epubs i9n Calibre and convert any ebook format to epub.
I use ImageMagick or K2PDFOPT ( https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=144711 ) to fix bad PDF scans, or read them on my tablet.


So, yes all Kobos do support folders/directories, but you don't need it. There is no native file browser because you'd never ever need it. KOReader is easy to install (no jailbreak needed) and its main interface is a file browser. You can use both systems. KOReader has no Library/metadata interface, so with 8000 ebooks, the library "My Books" is faster with native reader. Both have search, but the KO Reader search is only using a Calibre file. The native search is faster and works for books not added by Calibre.

[Neil]

OK, thanks all. It apparently would require a lot more effort and learning then I want to put into this to set up a new color Kobo with my 800-1000 issues in my many-titles comic library. I do have Calibre and I do use it a lot -- but simply because the DRM removal features allow me to buy my books and to actually use them on multiple platforms. For that I have sent the author voluntary payments every year and it is worth it. I am happy Calibre exists! But, I find the Calibre user interface to be turgid, confusing, overdone and annoyingly long, long past the point where it is anything that I feel comfortable using beyond the most basic of tasks (DRM plugin). KOReader sounds even relatively worse to me.

Last question, I guess: What would be the way to load in and to format such a library onto the Kobo using ONLY the Kobo's own built-in interface? What would be the steps involved? Again, thank you to all who have participated in tnis discussion and I much appreciate the help!

[hatuluang]

Last question, I guess: What would be the way to load in and to format such a library onto the Kobo using ONLY the Kobo's own built-in interface? What would be the steps involved? Again, thank you to all who have participated in tnis discussion and I much appreciate the help!

Arrange your folders and drag and drop them to the Kobo main directory using a USB cable, or use send.djazz.se, and Dropbox to sideload the book online.

I use Calibre to organize my books (title, author, series, and collections/tags) and sideload them to my Clara 2E. I use Calibre to send the PDFs and comic books (CBZ) wirelessly to KOReader.

[Aleron Ives]

All you do is copy/paste your books onto the Kobo and eject it. Nickel will process your books automatically. If your books have good metadata, everything just works. If your books don't have good metadata, then you get nonsensical results and have to edit them in Calibre or Sigil.

[Bumbling Bea]

Based upon how you organise your books, KOReader is your best option. You would simply connect the Kobo to your computer via USB, then copy the folder containing all of your books on to the Kobo. It is a single operation, regardless of how you organised your books in that folder. The KOReader file manager will allow you to navigate through folders and sub-folders much as you would on your computer.

In my opinion, the KOReader user interface is nowhere near as confusing as calibre. Most people will only ever work with the file manager and reader modes. The functions are available via a menu on the top of the screen or a panel on the bottom of the screen. If you're using a small number of features, you should be able to memorise where the stuff you need is. If you're using a lot of the program's functionality, it can be overwhelming. It is also worth mentioning that the developers are open to improving the user interface.

Installing KOReader is tricky, but it is a one time thing. You can update KOReader via a menu item in KOReader.

One caveat: I don't think the current release of KOReader supports the colour Kobo models, but I suspect that the next release will. (I am using a development version of KOReader on my Libra Colour, and everything seems to work.)

To muddy the waters: I believe that Plato also supports CBZ files. It will allow you to organise books in folders, though it does not work like a traditional file manager. It has a much more elegant user interface. I don't know if it supports, or if it ever will support, colour models.

[JSWolf]

Calibre like a spreadsheet for your eBooks.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Bumbling Bea

To muddy the waters: I believe that Plato also supports CBZ files. It will allow you to organise books in folders, though it does not work like a traditional file manager. It has a much more elegant user interface. I don't know if it supports, or if it ever will support, colour models.

Currently Plato 0.9.4.3 supports the Clara BW but not the Clara Colour or Libra Colour.

For me, using the native Kobo reader's search functionality is kilometres ahead of any file/directory based functionality. On the now rare occasions, when I use KOReader, I use its ability to search in the calibre metadata file stored in the root of your Kobo reader when calibre connects. Going back decades, Kobo's search is having a computerized card catalog while KOReader's native search is wandering through the stacks looking for a book. It may be workable when you have a few hundred books on your ereader but when you get into the 5,000+ range, it is no longer usable.