NOOKcolor Things you Should Know (inspired by Doug_Pardee)

[Beachgirl75]

Welcome. Tap the bottom of the page of the book you're reading and you'll get a menu bar. You can click on "content" and scroll through the chapters or slide the page number bar to the first page. Enjoy your NC.

[TelSC]

I'm not sure when it started, but pinch to zoom is available in the web browser and has been for a while now.

[marko59]

Hey thanks for this information I am sure I will keep coming back as I explore and usemy NooK Tablet

[KerrieNY]

I have been wondering this myself! Any answers??..

Ooops sorry! Found answer..(new to this)

[apagafuego]

You can transfer pictures from a digital camera directly to the nook if you use a microSD card with adapter in the camera, then put it into the nook. This also seems to work with MP4 movies....

[BruceMcF]

The Nook Color reads comic book "cbz" files but not comic book "cbr" files.However, many sources of public domain comics, like the Digital Comics Museum, prefer the "cbr" format because it saves storage space.

Both forrmats are simply a folder of graphics images that have been compressed. The only difference is that "cbr" was compressed with "rar", and "cbz" was compressed with "zip". So to convert, all you need is PC file compressor software that handles both "rar" and "zip" formats. I use 7-zip on Windows, but any software that can handle the formats will work.

(1) Uncompress the .cbr file on your PC. If the software refuses to recognize it, rename the file and change the filetype to ".rar".

(2) Compress the folder that resulted as a "zip" file. Compress the folder as a single item, rather than going inside and compressing the set of graphic files inside.

(3) Rename the compressed file, changing the file type from ".zip" to ".cbz".

(4) Sideload the ".cbz" file into your preferred location on the Nook Color.

You can now delete the uncompressed folder, and the .cbr file as well unless that is your archive copy.

If you haven't used the ereader to read "Nook Comics": pinch to zoom to expand the size, grab and slide to read different parts of the page, and swipe right or left to go to the next page. Pivoting the Nook Color changes from portrait to landscape, as you'd expect.

(an ereader setting to hold the zoom when changing pages, keeping the top right or top left corner on the page depending on which way you swiped, is on my wishlist, but the stock reader is workable for reading comics as it is.)

[HumbleCorrespo…]

BruceMcF, thanks for the cbr to cbz conversion instructions, and the explanation of how they are handled. I got 7-Zip, and the whole thing worked like a charm. The only disappointment I have is with Calibre. For some reason, even though it lets you add cbz books and add metadata to them, it will not let me send it to my nc without converting it to epub format. Even though I kept it in Calibre for organizational purposes, I had to manually copy the file over. This is annoying since now there is now no title or author on the file. In XP, it was easy to add this to a file, but in Windows 7 I haven't figured out how. Does anyone know how to either get Calibre to send the cbz file without conversion, or how to add metadata to files in Windows 7? Thanks

[BruceMcF]

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HumbleCorrespondent wrote:
... The only disappointment I have is with Calibre. For some reason, even though it lets you add cbz books and add metadata to them, it will not let me send it to my nc without converting it to epub format. Even though I kept it in Calibre for organizational purposes, I had to manually copy the file over. ...

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I don't know for sure, but I doubt that the Nook system would recognize .cbz style metadate anyway ~ its stored in the .zip file comment, and I strongly suspect that it ignores that data, looking instead inside the zipped folder for a rights.xhtml file.

However, to send from inside Calibre, right click on the book, pick send to main memory or send to disk A, and when it complains about format and asks whether to convert, select "no".

You don't want to convert, because Calibre doesn't do Nook Comics epub layout when converting .cbr or .cbz, so converting loses pinch to zoom.

[HumbleCorrespo…]

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BruceMcF wrote:

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HumbleCorrespondent wrote:
... The only disappointment I have is with Calibre. For some reason, even though it lets you add cbz books and add metadata to them, it will not let me send it to my nc without converting it to epub format. Even though I kept it in Calibre for organizational purposes, I had to manually copy the file over. ...

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I don't know for sure, but I doubt that the Nook system would recognize .cbz style metadate anyway ~ its stored in the .zip file comment, and I strongly suspect that it ignores that data, looking instead inside the zipped folder for a rights.xhtml file.

However, to send from inside Calibre, right click on the book, pick send to main memory or send to disk A, and when it complains about format and asks whether to convert, select "no".

You don't want to convert, because Calibre doesn't do Nook Comics epub layout when converting .cbr or .cbz, so converting loses pinch to zoom.

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The problem I had was that when I clicked "No" it aborted the send.  I did some more digging and discovered that the Nook device interface plugin for the NC had to be updated to accept cbz files.  It was probablly originally set to not accept cbz files since the NC did not take them before the 1.4.1 update.

To do it, click "Preferences", then "Plugins" on the "Advanced" line.  Next, click on "Device Interface Plugins" to expand the list.  Scroll down and select the "Nook Device Interface" for the NC.  Then, click the "Customize plugin" button at the bottom of the screen.  Click the cbz check box.  Click "OK", then "Apply".  It will no longer ask you to convert when sending cbz files.

[BruceMcF]

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HumbleCorrespondent wrote:

The problem I had was that when I clicked "No" it aborted the send.  I did some more digging and discovered that the Nook device interface plugin for the NC had to be updated to accept cbz files. 

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Thanks for that. I didn't have that problem, but it may be that I have a more recent Calibre version, since I only started using it in December, and I tell it to update every time it nags me.

However, the same procedure would be handy if I want to send CBR files to be read by PerfectViewer ~ it has pinch to zoom and tap to page (though I sometimes lose track of where to tap on the screen to do what) and handles CBR without conversion.

[BAD18]

Thank you so much for these excellent tips.  I love learning how to add a cover to library books I read on my NC.  It works great on most of my books.  However,  I have a few books that show color covers in Calibre but when you open the epub in Calibre there is no cover.  When I check the table of contents there is no line for a cover as there is in most epub library books.  Do you know of a way to add the cover??

Thanks.

Barbara

[bobstro]

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BAD18 wrote:

[...]  However,  I have a few books that show color covers in Calibre but when you open the epub in Calibre there is no cover.  When I check the table of contents there is no line for a cover as there is in most epub library books.  Do you know of a way to add the cover??

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Is it safe to assume these are epub files you got directly from somewhere, and that you have NOT done any format convesion in Calibre? Is so, try deleting them off your NOOK, then doing an epub-to-epub conversion in Calibre. Send them to your NOOK again afterwards, and they should show up with covers.

Apparently, the same thing happens on Kindles, so those users have to do a MOBI-to-MOBI conversion.

If you have converted files from any other format to epub, and they had Calibre cover images before the conversion, they should show with covers on your NOOK. I make a point of downloading covers and metadata for every title and converting to epub (even if already epub) before sideloading, and see all my cover images on the NOOK.

If only this worked for PDFs!

[HumbleCorrespo…]

BruceMcF wrote:

"The Nook Color reads comic book "cbz" files but not comic book "cbr" files.However, many sources of public domain comics, like the Digital Comics Museum, prefer the "cbr" format because it saves storage space.

Both forrmats are simply a folder of graphics images that have been compressed. The only difference is that "cbr" was compressed with "rar", and "cbz" was compressed with "zip". So to convert, all you need is PC file compressor software that handles both "rar" and "zip" formats. I use 7-zip on Windows, but any software that can handle the formats will work."

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Do you know how to create a table of contents for cbz comics?  Some of the old public domain stuff is quite long by today's standards, and a toc would be a nice touch.  I tried Google, but did not find anything.  The thumbnail list of the pages is created correctly in the viewer, but as I said a TOC is a nice touch, although not essential.  I figure it is done with some kind of control file in the archive, but I do not have an example of a comic that has an actual toc.  Thanks in advance.

[jooneazize]

Have 14 folders if pics uploaded from pc. Even though in folders, pics from ANY foldet just randomly show up. Please help

[BruceMcF]

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jooneazize wrote:
Have 14 folders if pics uploaded from pc. Even though in folders, pics from ANY foldet just randomly show up. Please help

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I just read an old forum topic on that. The problem is that the pictures display in creation order, youngest to oldest, folder by folder (but seamlessly, so you don't have a chance to select a folder). When original poster tried the following, they said it worked, so it would be interesting to know if the Gallery still works this way:

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withfeeling wrote:

When you attach your NC to your PC via USB, your NC appears as an additional drive, just like you plugged in a thumb drive. It will appear as two drives if you also have a microSD card inserted.

You can make directories on those drives just like any drive on your PC. Gallery searches all your drives for images and video, so I suspect it will find them no matter where you put a new directory. The images in the gallery are grouped by the directory it finds them in. There is no demarcation, but all the images from one directory are together. The order that they appear in the Gallery within each directory is what I was discussing in my post, above.

There is also a mechanism where Gallery (and other media programs) will ignore a directory (and all its subdirectories) if it contains a file with the name ".nomedia". I have discussed this in other posts. You can use these mechanisms, but you may get unintended consequences if files you need to "see" in some apps gets ignored.

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[PepSnickerMint]

When I convert EPUB to EPUB in Calibre, it gives me two formats: EPUB and ORIGINAL_EPUB. I don't use Sigil because this works for me, cover wise. However, if I delete the EPUB version of the book and leave O_E, I can no longer use the file like I was able to before .. for example, if I tried to convert it again, it would say it's not the proper format. 

Am I supposed to be seeing O_E, and do I need to be deleting the EPUB format after I have converted to O_E? 

Also, this is more Calibre related - but does anybody know how to save a copy of all my books loaded in Calibre on my hard drive somewhere? Do I have to save them all individually? 

[Ya_Ya]

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PepSnickerMint wrote:

When I convert EPUB to EPUB in Calibre, it gives me two formats: EPUB and ORIGINAL_EPUB. I don't use Sigil because this works for me, cover wise. However, if I delete the EPUB version of the book and leave O_E, I can no longer use the file like I was able to before .. for example, if I tried to convert it again, it would say it's not the proper format. 

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You want to delete the ORIGINAL_EPUB file and keep the EPUB.

You can convert the EPUB  to EPUB again (or to another format) as well as read it with the new cover attached.

[bobstro]

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PepSnickerMint wrote:

When I convert EPUB to EPUB in Calibre, it gives me two formats: EPUB and ORIGINAL_EPUB. I don't use Sigil because this works for me, cover wise. However, if I delete the EPUB version of the book and leave O_E, I can no longer use the file like I was able to before .. for example, if I tried to convert it again, it would say it's not the proper format. 

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This is just a backup in case something goes wrong with the conversion. If you're happy with the resulting EPUB (the modified one with, hopefully, a correct cover image), you can delete the ORIGINAL_EPUB version. I tend to keep both because they're small, and sometimes I might not notice a problem with a file until later, and I like to have the original to fall back to. Calibre can make a mess of conversions on occasion.

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[...] Also, this is more Calibre related - but does anybody know how to save a copy of all my books loaded in Calibre on my hard drive somewhere? Do I have to save them all individually? 

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I don't think there's a simple way to do this in calibre. You just want a copy of all the ebooks stored somewhere else, correct? Probably the simplest way to do this is to use a file search tool to locate all the epub files under the calibre catalog directory and copy them in one operation. I don't know of any Windows tools for this, but it's easily done on Linux (and presumably Mac OSX) using the 'find' command.

[PE55]

When I tried this..there was no "the future of reading" just the "Read Forever".

[Sewinglady51]

PepSnickerMint and others:  I use Calibre on a daily basis.  Calibre created its own file in My Documents and in the C drive under users and my name.  Everytime I add books to Calibre the "Calibre" file is updated automatically on its own.  I imagine it would be a good idea to make a copy of that file on a usb, portable hard drive or a rewritable cd/dvd.