Kindle Skills - Using Calibre to add ebooks to your Kindle

Calibre Knows where your Kindle Documents folder is.

This is for all you folks who are comfortable downloading books from places like manybooks.net but have a tendency to roll up in a ball when it comes to sending them to your Kindle using a mouse and file management skills.

If you use Calibre to organize your downloaded (non DRM) public domain or otherwise free books, sending them is as easy as opening Calibre (or having it opened already), connecting your Kindle with the USB cable to your computer, and clicking the Send to device button. Calibre just KNOWS to send the book your have selected to the Documents folder on your connected Kindle.

The first time I noticed the Send to device button at the top of Calibre on my PC I was surprised. I had just connected my Kindle and happened to have Calibre opened. Within a few seconds the Send to device button appeared with a little down arrow (indicating choices) to the right of it.

Send to main memory was kind of confusing... There is no other choice available (the others are greyed out), but it did send the selected book to the actual Documents folder on the Kindle, which is exactly where your ebooks need to go (on your Kindle). If you haven't already converted the book file to a Kindle friendly format, Calibre will automatically create a copy (in .mobi format for the Kindle) and send only that copy over to your Kindle. It is so smart! When you remove your Kindle from the USB connection and turn it on to the Home screen, your book will be right there, ready to organize with the rest of the books already on your Kindle.

I also like the Eject device option. It is handy, and allows you to safely remove (eject) your Kindle without having to right click anything or otherwise hunt for the option. Slick...

Another button also appears when you connect your Kindle. It is named Reader and clicking the little arrow to the right of it gives you a couple of other interesting choices.

Clicking the words Show books in the main memory of the device does exactly that... Amazing huh? 

Special Note: This only works with book files... not audio files (music) or audiobook files.

Where to Find Calibre:

You can get Calibre for FREE at http://calibre-ebook.com/download

Download the installation file to your Desktop so you can delete it after you install.

Work in progress: Calibre is just that, a work in progress. You can expect frequent updates and new versions to be made available for you to download and install. There is no need to uninstall the previous version, just download and install the new one and it will replace the older version. When you get a new installation file, you will need to close Calibre (if it is running) before installing the new version. If you don't, it will gently remind you.

Ask Mrs. Wizard:
Please send me a personal email (mrswizard@mrswizard.com) if you have any questions. I answer all my emails and am more than happy to help any time I can. Your questions mean a lot to me, and may even inspire an article that will help others and make this a more valuable resource to anyone who reads it. 

If you are reading this on your computer and would like to have this blog delivered to your Kindle wirelessly every day, click the link below. New subscribers will get the first two weeks free! If you know of a fellow Kindle owner, please share a good word and let them know about From the Desk of Mrs. Wizard.

Kindle Skills - Use Calibre to Organize your Non Amazon Ebook Files

Calibre is a great FREE software, and a must if you have a Kindle and like to browse non-amazon sites for additional free books for your little machine. All you have to do is make sure you know where you downloaded the ebook files, then open Calibre and drag the ebook file into the main window pane of your Calibre software.  Calibre will do the rest for you, including making it easy for file management challenged folks to transfer the books to the Kindle when you are ready.

There are really two ways to add books to your Calibre library. You can click the Add books button (top left in the main Calibre window) or drag to the main window. I prefer dragging, but click the button at least to see your choices, and the types of books Calibre can import and convert to a nice Kindle format for you. You can spend a lot of time in Calibre and learn something new it will do for you every day. It is still hard for me to believe it is absolutely free.

Once you have the file dragged into your Calibre window and Calibre has added it to the list, you can delete the original one you downloaded and dragged. Calibre has its own folder setup and organization, has copied your book file, and has it well taken care of. From the Calibre window, you will be able to convert it to other formats, or just save and organize it for you. You can right click any file listed in your Calibre window and choose Open containing folder, as well as several other right click options.

Computer tips: 

• Your right mouse button is a great way to explore options anywhere on any computer. Place your pointer anywhere, press the right mouse button and see what your choices are. The right mouse button gives you choices. The left mouse button makes things happen (usually with a single click). 
• Mac users have an "invisible" right mouse button. Press the CTRL key when you click something and it is the same as a right mouse click on a PC.

Calibre will allow you to spend more time hunting for vintage and public domain books on the Internet. All you need to do is know the file name for the book and make sure when you download it, you download it to your Desktop, or someplace on your computer where you can easily find the file and delete it when you are finished with it. The rest is dragging, dropping, and watching Calibre work its magic!

If you are reading this on your computer and would like to have this blog delivered to your Kindle wirelessly every day, click the link below. New subscribers will get the first two weeks free! If you know of a fellow Kindle owner, please share a good word and let them know about From the Desk of Mrs. Wizard.

Kindle Skills - Calibre - Browsing folders

August 15, 2010 Cindy O'Neal
Browse your folders:
Any time you want, you can dig into individual folders for books you have listed in Calibre. Right click (ctrl+click if you use a Mac) the title of any book listed and choose open containing folder.

Notice, while you're at it, all the other lovely options when you right click. Make your choice with a single left click.

It is that easy.

Kindle Skills - Calibre - Metadata

August 14, 2010 Cindy O'Neal
Edit Metadata:
Once you have a book listed in Calibre, could be a web page you converted, a book file you found, or a personal file you brought into Calibre to convert for your Kindle, use the Edit metadata button to enhance your book before you actually do the final conversion.

Edit the title, author's name, rating, all manner of "under the hood" tweaks. You can even drag and drop an image to be imported and used for the cover. I LOVE dragging and dropping... but if you have been reading this blog any length of time, you already know that.

If you have already converted a book or two and decide to go back and tweak the metadata by adding new book covers etc, no problem. Just reconvert and the old files will be replaced by the newer updated ones.

Kindle Skills - Calibre - Drag drop and Convert

August 13, 2010 Cindy O'Neal
Quick Book
Want to save information from a website to read at your leisure with your Kindle? There are plenty out there, just waiting for you to save.

• Find the page you want (web pages with lots of text convert the best for the Kindle). Images can be iffy.
• Click the word File at the top of your browser window, then Save As.
• Choose to save it as a web page (.htm or .html). 
• Save it on your Desktop, or somewhere you can find it easily. 
• Open Calibre. Left click and drag the file to the area where your existing books are listed.
• You will see the familiar hourglass while your "book" is being created. When it is finished, the title should match the file name.
• Click the little down arrow to the right of the Convert Books button and choose Convert individually. Make sure your new book is highlighted (selected) first.
• Be sure to double check the top right area of the next window (the conversion last chance window) to make sure .mobi format is chosen as your output format. If you don't see MOBI, click the little down arrow to the right and choose it from the drop down list.
• Wait a bit and you will see a nice little link to the .mobi formatted copy next to the .zip original that was created when you dragged the web page file over. If you open the .zip file you will see there are probably lots of related files included to make the overall "book." Calibre tries to glean as much as it can from a web file so the final converted file will be as complete as possible. It isn't perfect, but it is very good.
• All that is left is for you to send your newly converted information "book"/file to your Kindle for future use.

Kindle Skills - Calibre Knows

August 12, 2010 Cindy O'Neal

Calibre Knows where your Kindle Documents folder is.
This is for all you folks who are comfortable downloading books from places like manybooks.net but have a tendency to roll up in a ball when it comes to sending them to your Kindle using a mouse and file management skills.

If you use Calibre to organize your downloaded (non DRM) public domain or otherwise free books, sending them is as easy as opening Calibre (or having it opened already), connecting your Kindle with the USB cable to your computer, and clicking the Send to device button. Calibre just KNOWS to send the book your have selected to the Documents folder on your connected Kindle.

The first time I noticed the Send to device button at the top of Calibre on my PC I was surprised. I had just connected my Kindle and happened to have Calibre opened. Within a few seconds the Send to device button appeared with a little down arrow (indicating choices) to the right of it.

Send to main memory was kind of confusing... There is no other choice available (the others are greyed out), but it did send the selected book to the actual Documents folder on the Kindle.

I also like the Eject device option. It is nice and handy, and allows you to safely remove (eject) your Kindle without having to right click anything or otherwise hunt for the option. Slick...

Another button also appears when you connect your Kindle. It is named Reader and clicking the little arrow to the right of it gives you a couple of other interesting choices.

Clicking the words Show books in the main memory of the device does exactly that... Amazing huh? 

Special Note: This only works with book files... not audio files (music) or audiobook files.

Ask Mrs. Wizard:
Please send me a personal email (mrswizard@mrswizard.com) if you have any questions. I answer all my emails and am more than happy to help any time I can. Your questions mean a lot to me, and may even inspire an article that will help others and make this a more valuable resource to anyone who reads it. 

Kindle Skills - Calibre - Opening Files

August 10, 2010 Cindy O'Neal
If Calibre can open your book file or personal file... that is, if you can see it from within Calibre as part of your list of Calibre books, you no longer need the original file. Tuck it away in a safe place for backup if you like. Calibre has created its own copy in a Calibre Library folder. You can use this with Calibre as your main organizing folder if you like.

Files Calibre will open:
EPub Books (.epub)
LRF Books (.lrf)
HTML Books (.htm, .html, .xhtm, .xhaml)
LIT Books (.lit)
MOBI Books (.mobi, .prc, .azw)
Topax books (.tpz, .azw1)
Text books (.txt, .rtf)
PDF Books (.pdf)
Comics (.cbz, .cbr, .cbc)
Archives (.zip, .rar)

The thing to remember is, if Calibre can "open" the book, it can also convert it to a nice Kindle format for you. This can be a Text file (.txt only) or any of the MOBI formats (.mobi, .prc, .azw). Forget the archive files (.zip or .rar). Although they are listed, they should be considered folders with compressed files inside. If the c ompressed file inside is something Calibre can not "read," you won't be able to view it within Calibre or have Calibre convert it. I don't know why these file types are listed, unless the Calibre folks want you to know Calibre can open compressed files to view book files inside.

Ask Mrs. Wizard:
Please send me a personal email (mrswizard@mrswizard.com) if you have any questions. I answer all my emails and am more than happy to help any time I can. Your questions mean a lot to me, and may even inspire an article that will help others and make this a more valuable resource to anyone who reads it. 

Kindle Skills - Calibre - Installing

August 9, 2010 Cindy O'Neal

Download the latest version of Calibre from http://calibre-ebook.com/.

Mac Install: If you are using a Mac, you will see the Mac version available for you in the download area. Click where it indicates OS X. You will be taken to another page where it is pretty clear Calibre will only work on OS X Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard.

Click the link that says OS X universal dmg to begin the download process. I like to save things I download on my Desktop so they are easy to find when I am ready to install. This file will be 65.3 Mb, pretty hefty, so you need to have a nice fast online connection.

To install, double click the file you downloaded. The file will "unpack" and you should see another small window appear with a Calibre icon named Calibre.app. At the top left of your main screen, you should see the word Finder. Click any empty area if you don't see it (to make it appear).

Look for the word Go to the right of the word Finder. Click Go, then move your mouse pointer down and click the word Applications. This will open another special window with all your applications listed.

Left click (and hold) and drag the file named Calibre.app into your Applications folder. This is all you need to do to install it. If you have an older version, it wil be replaced by the newer one. To open Calibre, click the application file from your applications folder. Once it is open, you can choose to keep the icon in your dock for easy access if you prefer. If you are updating from an older version, the new version will simply replace the older one. There is no need to remove the older version.

Once installed: DELETE the original download file, as well as the application "disk" file that remain on your desktop. There is no need to keep either.

PC Install: Download the latest version. Be sure to save the download file to your Desktop so it will be easy to find and remove when you are finished with it.

The Windows installer file name will be calibre-0.7.13.msi. The version numbers in the file name will change with newer versions of the file. The file will be 30.1 Mb.

Double click the installation file to begin the install process. If you see a security warning window appear, click where it says run and give permission. This is a safe file.

A setup dialog will appear. Click Next to continue installation process. Make sure you check in the I accept the terms in the License Agreement box in order to continue. Then click the Install button below. It should all be very straightforward. Be sure to give permissions when needed if you have Vista or Windows 7. If you are updating from an older version, the new version will simply replace the older one. There is no need to remove the older version.

When installation is complete, you should see Calibre open and running on your screen, as well as a new shortcut for the program on your Desktop.

Be sure to remove the installation file when finished. You won't need it any more. I usually remove the shortcuts from my Desktop too... If you have a lot of software installed, they tend to clutter the Desktop after a while. Use the Start button and All Programs to start your programs instead. It can make for a much neater main screen (Desktop).

Kindle Skills - Calibre

August 8, 2010 Cindy O'Neal

You can read more and download Calibre at http://calibre-ebook.com/.  There is a version for Windows, Mac (OS X), as well as Linux computers. Every day you use it you will wonder what on earth you ever did without it.

Calibre is a great Open Source, absolutely free to use and share application for your PC or Mac. If you download ebooks from places other than Amazon or have ever had to deal with the various other ebook formats (not Amazon .azw files), Calibre could become your new best friend. Once you turn a few search engines loose, you will be amazed how many places there are to find good DRM-free (digital rights management-free) books to add to your Kindle library. Manybooks.net, feedbooks.com, gutenberg.org and inkmesh.com are four of my favorites.

Calibre will open many different ebook file types, some the Kindle won't touch, and Calibre can convert those for you quickly and easily to a Kindle friendly format. The help area on the Calibre site includes a step by step guide to converting html and Microsoft Word format files using Calibre. These are the types of files you may be likely to use for personal files you might want to use on your Kindle.  Calibre is a great tool for taking a personal file and making it perfectly readable on your Kindle.

Calibre knows when you have a Kindle hooked up to your computer (mac or pc) so transferring your files to your Kindle is as simple as clicking the Send to device button. Kindle related buttons only appear when your Kindle is connected. When your Kindle is connected, you will also see little green check marks next to any books Calibre has sent to it before.

Over the next few days I will share some of my favorite Calibre tips and tricks. Stay tuned!