[Tips & Tricks] Expanded/condensed viewing modes, "Uncollected" collections and more

kguil · 10-14-2013, 05:12 PM

Hi everyone. I've published a bunch of tutorials that I think you'll find useful.

Many people asked for a special "smart" collection that shows you books that haven't been categorised in a collection yet. This is really useful for organising books into collections:
Tutorial here.

On iPad you can pinch in and out in the library to view it in expanded or condensed mode:
Tutorial here.

The very next version of Marvin will support native backup and restore functionality. In the meantime, I've prepared a tutorial on backing up and restoring Marvin using iFunBox:
Tutorial here.

Smart snapping allows you to skip multiple pages or snap to landmarks when swiping a page with multiple fingers:
Tutorial here.

While you are reading, you can tap the header to show more info about the book you're reading:
Tutorial here.

Enjoy!

fireland · 10-15-2013, 12:29 PM

Thanks for the tutorials! (As well as a fine reading experience.)

kguil · 10-16-2013, 06:11 AM

@fireland - You're welcome!

mephistopheles · 01-12-2014, 06:29 PM

Hi Kris,

Quick question for you. I have Marvin on both my iPad and iPhone. It's terrific that it can sync reading position between devices, but is Marvin capable of syncing collections and assigned books to those collections also? I've been trying for ages to set that up, but with no luck. This is the only thing I miss in iBooks.

I finally gave up, and setup the same collections on each device and moved the corresponding books to each one. Took me ages! Then I thought, I'm sure there are discrepancies between each device (after all, on one device, I had tagged 56 read books, and the other device read 62 read books).

So, I decided to create a backup of my iPhone, and I'll try and restore my iPad using that same version. That way, I'll essentially have the same books, in the same collections etc. Really, I'm expecting an exact duplicate. But, again, what if I mark a book as read. Do I have to manually mark it as read on the other device?

Is there an easier way to do this?

Regards

kguil · 01-13-2014, 02:03 AM

Not right now. Syncing only works for locations for the time being. I'm investigating ways to make sync cover more areas.

mephistopheles · 01-13-2014, 04:58 PM

Thanks Kris,

I tried moving my iPhone backup to my iPad and it didn't work. I followed the instructions to a tee on the blog, six separate times. I also tried reinstalling Marvin on my iPad several times and restarted my device to ensure everything was clear before I attempted the restore.

I saved the backup folder in iTunes/Marvin/Documents to my desktop, plugged in my iPad (disconnected my iPhone of course) and copied the backup file into the same place.

I was expecting to open Marvin and have it automatically restore from the backup but Marvin simply crashed. Please note, Marvin was not in memory at the time. I'd also restarted my iPad.

I tried creating three other backups on my iPhone and each time it said it would take up 4Gb. Strangely when I looked in iTunes when connecting the iPhone, each time the file was listed as only 2Gb. Perhaps that could be the issue? For the record, I have 20gb+ of space on my iPhone so no issue with running out of space.

Any help would be appreciated. I can't go back to using iBooks! Help me obi-wan Kenobi you're my only hope. All I want is the same books and collections on each device. I thought this would be an easy way to do it.

mephistopheles · 01-13-2014, 06:33 PM

Kris, I've not really tried this yet, and not sure if it'll work, but having setup all my collections on Marvin on the iphone, is it possible to sync those collections via the XD plugin, and then sync back all the books and their associated collections to my ipad the same way?

kguil · 01-14-2014, 03:16 AM

I don't think that Marvin XD option will help in your case.

As an alternative to Marvin's backup and restore (since it's not working), you can try this: http://blog.marvinapp.com/post/62814894703

Would you send me an email to support-at-marvinapp.com? I'd like to figure out why the backup isn't working.

mephistopheles · 01-14-2014, 05:58 PM

Hi Kris,

I used iFunbox and it works perfectly. I now have an exact duplicate of books and collections etc on both my ipad and iphone. I'll get an e-mail to you ASAP and perhaps we can figure out what happened with the backup/restore.

kguil · 01-15-2014, 01:42 AM

That would be great. On some rare occasions, people have been having trouble with the backup and restore procedure and I'd really like to get to the bottom of it.

10-14-2013, 05:12 PM	#1
kguil Addict Posts: 1,215 Karma: 1836966 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Malta, Europe Device: Marvin for iOS	[Tips & Tricks] Expanded/condensed viewing modes, "Uncollected" collections and more Hi everyone. I've published a bunch of tutorials that I think you'll find useful. Many people asked for a special "smart" collection that shows you books that haven't been categorised in a collection yet. This is really useful for organising books into collections: Tutorial here. On iPad you can pinch in and out in the library to view it in expanded or condensed mode: Tutorial here. The very next version of Marvin will support native backup and restore functionality. In the meantime, I've prepared a tutorial on backing up and restoring Marvin using iFunBox: Tutorial here. Smart snapping allows you to skip multiple pages or snap to landmarks when swiping a page with multiple fingers: Tutorial here. While you are reading, you can tap the header to show more info about the book you're reading: Tutorial here. Enjoy!

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10-15-2013, 12:29 PM	#2
fireland Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Tierra del Fuego, Argentina Device: iPad3, iPad mini, iPhone 4S	Thanks for the tutorials! (As well as a fine reading experience.)

10-16-2013, 06:11 AM	#3
kguil Addict Posts: 1,215 Karma: 1836966 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Malta, Europe Device: Marvin for iOS	@fireland - You're welcome!

01-12-2014, 06:29 PM	#4
mephistopheles Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: iPhone5	Hi Kris, Quick question for you. I have Marvin on both my iPad and iPhone. It's terrific that it can sync reading position between devices, but is Marvin capable of syncing collections and assigned books to those collections also? I've been trying for ages to set that up, but with no luck. This is the only thing I miss in iBooks. I finally gave up, and setup the same collections on each device and moved the corresponding books to each one. Took me ages! Then I thought, I'm sure there are discrepancies between each device (after all, on one device, I had tagged 56 read books, and the other device read 62 read books). So, I decided to create a backup of my iPhone, and I'll try and restore my iPad using that same version. That way, I'll essentially have the same books, in the same collections etc. Really, I'm expecting an exact duplicate. But, again, what if I mark a book as read. Do I have to manually mark it as read on the other device? Is there an easier way to do this? Regards

01-13-2014, 02:03 AM	#5
kguil Addict Posts: 1,215 Karma: 1836966 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Malta, Europe Device: Marvin for iOS	Not right now. Syncing only works for locations for the time being. I'm investigating ways to make sync cover more areas.

01-13-2014, 04:58 PM	#6
mephistopheles Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: iPhone5	Thanks Kris, I tried moving my iPhone backup to my iPad and it didn't work. I followed the instructions to a tee on the blog, six separate times. I also tried reinstalling Marvin on my iPad several times and restarted my device to ensure everything was clear before I attempted the restore. I saved the backup folder in iTunes/Marvin/Documents to my desktop, plugged in my iPad (disconnected my iPhone of course) and copied the backup file into the same place. I was expecting to open Marvin and have it automatically restore from the backup but Marvin simply crashed. Please note, Marvin was not in memory at the time. I'd also restarted my iPad. I tried creating three other backups on my iPhone and each time it said it would take up 4Gb. Strangely when I looked in iTunes when connecting the iPhone, each time the file was listed as only 2Gb. Perhaps that could be the issue? For the record, I have 20gb+ of space on my iPhone so no issue with running out of space. Any help would be appreciated. I can't go back to using iBooks! Help me obi-wan Kenobi you're my only hope. All I want is the same books and collections on each device. I thought this would be an easy way to do it.

01-13-2014, 06:33 PM	#7
mephistopheles Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: iPhone5	Kris, I've not really tried this yet, and not sure if it'll work, but having setup all my collections on Marvin on the iphone, is it possible to sync those collections via the XD plugin, and then sync back all the books and their associated collections to my ipad the same way?

01-14-2014, 03:16 AM	#8
kguil Addict Posts: 1,215 Karma: 1836966 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Malta, Europe Device: Marvin for iOS	I don't think that Marvin XD option will help in your case. As an alternative to Marvin's backup and restore (since it's not working), you can try this: http://blog.marvinapp.com/post/62814894703 Would you send me an email to support-at-marvinapp.com? I'd like to figure out why the backup isn't working.

01-14-2014, 05:58 PM	#9
mephistopheles Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: iPhone5	Hi Kris, I used iFunbox and it works perfectly. I now have an exact duplicate of books and collections etc on both my ipad and iphone. I'll get an e-mail to you ASAP and perhaps we can figure out what happened with the backup/restore.

01-15-2014, 01:42 AM	#10
kguil Addict Posts: 1,215 Karma: 1836966 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Malta, Europe Device: Marvin for iOS	That would be great. On some rare occasions, people have been having trouble with the backup and restore procedure and I'd really like to get to the bottom of it.

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