Dropbox as backup for Calibre library

[mdmorrissey]

Sorry if this starts a new thread unecessarily, but I seem to have found a simple and fast solution to the problem that the Calibre manual mentions here, namely that putting your Calibre library in a Dropbox folder on your computer can lead to complications. My solution, which I have not seen mentioned elsewhere, is to export the library to a separate folder, e.g. "Calibre Backup," and put that folder in the Dropbox folder. That will avoid the possible conflicts mentioned in the Calibre blog, and also (I think!) uses up relatively little space in Dropbox, as opposed to storing the whole library there. Of course it also means that you have to export your library to that Dropbox folder regularly, but this to me seems easier than getting the synchs between various copies of the library mixed up. When I had the main library itself in the Dropbox, it seemed fine until somehow I ended up with multiple copies of many files and don't even know how it happened. This way is straightforward and transparent and should work without complications -- but please let me know if I am missing something!

By the way, just in case someone has the patience to explain it, I do not understand exactly what "Use the previously existing library at the new location" (under "Switch/Create library") means.

On yet another only tangentially related subject, I am using Linux Mint with Calibre and Kindle Laptop Reader but have not been about to get Adobe Digital Editions to work on Linux Mint.

And finally, while I'm at it, anyone know of progress in adapting Hoopla to the Kindle (or Calibre)?

I apologize for throwing all this in one post, Moderators, but remember, it's Christmas!

[stumped]

A calibre backup, made using export library, is almost the same size as the library it is based on, because all the books are in compressed formats to start with.
Copying the library to Dropbox makes more sense, you can mirror it i.e. one way sync it incrementally, access it directly with apps such as moon reader... All at no risk to the source library.

If you disagree on the size thing, then run some tests, and post your results.

[Sirtel]

I actually do it the other way, keep the main library in Dropbox and mirror copies for backup on my main PC and several external hard drives. I do take care to check the library almost daily for duplicates, empty books, conflicted copies etc. And I don't have Dropbox running on the background or starting with Windows. I fire it up only for syncing.

I need that setup because I want to use Calibre on two computers (including editing books and metadata) and there is nothing else that would do the trick. The content server would require both PCs to be up and running, as you can't run the server on a sleeping PC. Also you can't use plugins and many other functions with the server.

I tried with a flash drive, but that's very slow and error-prone. Ditto for network drives. Dropbox works better than anything else I've tried.

[mdmorrissey]

I am now completely confused. I do not know how to backup my Calibre library with Dropbox. If someone can explain this in the simplest possible way, I would be grateful.

[stumped]

Copy, don't move, the entire calibre library folder from your pc to a folder of the same name in Dropbox.
You need to have the Dropbox app installed on your pc then you copy it into the local Dropbox folder and leave it to sync.
Optionally you can separately copy the calibre config library from the hidden folder in app data. To a folder in dropbox. Call it calibre config or some meaningful name

Use the Dropbox app because if you try to upload to dropbox.com via a browser, it can mess up the subfolder structure that calibre needs

Once it is done you can thereafter use a file sync utility to mirror any changes to Dropbox. I use free file sync but there are others. Set it to do a one way sync to keep the Dropbox copy as a mirror of the source library. Run it whenever you make changes and it will only take a minute to reflect those into dropbox

So my source is is the folder calibre library in my documents. My copy is to a folder called calibre library in my dropbox
And Google free file sync for the freeware installer, which no longer includes any crapware. It just asks for an optional donation.

Checkout an app called calibre box in Google play store if you want to view and download books from Dropbox to a phone or twblet

[skb]

Also, don't have Dropbox running (that is, pause it) while you're working on the copy. Once the copying is done and all the copies of the files are in DB, then un-pause and let it sync.

Long story short: don't work on files in DB while DB is running (that is, syncing).

[stumped]

Originally Posted by skb

Also, don't have Dropbox running (that is, pause it) while you're working on the copy. Once the copying is done and all the copies of the files are in DB, then un-pause and let it sync.

Long story short: don't work on files in DB while DB is running (that is, syncing).

I have never needed to do that.
Dropbox is well written. Is should have no problems syncing folder a while you are doing other stuff in folder b.

And anyway, it's a Copy!, anything that goes wrong should be fixed on the next copy.
And it is a 2 stage copy. The user does stage 1 which is a windows copy into a local Dropbox folder on the same pc, then the Dropbox software manages syncing that local file to the Dropbox server. The latter is extremely reliable. If it wasn't they would have gone out of business long ago.

I mirror other stuff to Dropbox regularly, e.g.my entire emails folder and dont pause Anything while that is syncing in background
And with free file sync , I am pretty sure that places temporary locks on files while it is copying them,.
I don't try to use calibre while it is scanning to update a sync

[skb]

Originally Posted by stumped

I have never needed to do that.

Ah. Well, it could be my OTT paranoia with Scrivener (that, DB does splatify if not careful) and my one (and final) experience with the Mac one that made my documents disappear before my eyes (Note to self...when updating the OS, make sure "It just works" doesn't mean "you're an idiot, let me steal your documents").

DB is fantastic though. I don't use iSore at all (because where the heck is my stuff, dude?)

[mdmorrissey]

I am trying to process all this info (and thanks for it!) but it's a steep learning curve. Here is what I seem to have learned so far. What I am trying to do is backup my Calibre library as efficiently as possible with Dropbox using two computers, one of which uses Linux Mint and the other Windows. Linux is much faster but I have to keep the main library in the Windows machine because although Calibre and even Kindle Laptop Reader run fine on Linux, Adobe Digital Editions does not.
The easiest way to do what I want would seem to be to have the main Calibre library in the Dropbox folder on both machines. But this would be risky since I would not have a separate folder for the Calibre library that would not be affected by possible screw-ups in Dropbox.
I have downloaded Free File Synch and maybe I will learn to use it, but for now I am taking this cumbersome but I hope safe route. The main Calibre library is in my documents folder. Then following stumped's advice I manually copied and pasted that in a folder of the same name in Dropbox. Trouble is I will have to repeat this process every I make changes in the Calibre library, or at least add the books that I add to the library in a second action to the Dropbox Calibre library folder.
So if I understand this right, I now have two full Calibre libraries on my Windows computer, and another one in the Dropbox cloud. So 3x security, right?
Since I want even more security (in case the Windows computer crashes, for example), I have Dropbox in my Linux machine with the same folders as in the Windows machine. That means whatever changes in Dropbox will also change in the Linux machine, i.e. I will have a fourth full copy of the library in the Dropbox folder in the Linux machine -- which could disappear or be corrupted if the Dropbox folder is messed with. I could occasionally cut and paste the Linux Dropbox folder into another place in the Linux machine, of course, to keep that relatively safe.
Ok, that's as far as I've gotten. The advice I have gotten above goes beyond this but I have not assimilated it yet.
If anybody has any further comments, I would appreciate it.

[Sirtel]

You don't have to copy and paste the whole library folder every time you make changes. That's what FreeFileSync is for. You do a mirror sync with it (one-way, to mirror the changes in the main library to the back-up copy in Dropbox). That's pretty fast. Look in the sync options, there is an option for mirror.

[Sirtel]

And, DON'T, absolutely don't, add any files manually to the copy folder in Dropbox. That will mess up the database. Use the mirror sync in FreeFileSync.

[mdmorrissey]

Ok, thanks for the warning. I just managed to install FFS in the Linux machine and did a one-way "Update" from the Dropbox folder to an empty folder ("Calibre Backup"). Next project will be to do what you suggest on the Windows machine.

[mdmorrissey]

Just did it and it worked fine! It "mirrors" in seconds, much faster than copying and pasting. I guess "Update" rather than "Mirror" would be even faster but it hardly matters since it is so fast anyway. This is a great tool and many thanks again, also to stumped, for suggesting it!