App "Books" - Doesn't seem interested in finding any books?

Applications Others
#1

Put my epub subfolders in the document directory.

“Books” settings states:

Books

Books folder
Leave the folder name empty to scan the entire memory card for books

So, i left it as follows:

[blank]

Books folder
Leave the folder name empty to scan the entire memory card for books

And yet the app resolutely refuses to find any books!

Questions:

  1. Is there supposed to be some positive action on the users part that initiates a scan? I can’t find one.
  2. The help text is specific in stating that it will scan the entire memory “card”, not storage generally. Do I seriously have to have external storage to use this Books app?
  3. If I have usb signal cut-outs trying to move epub subdirectories to new new root directory called \Books (as per the settings default), because its 1GB+, what is the best way to get books working?
  4. Bonus question - why can’t i successfully install “fbreader” from Aptoide? Install initially shows me an advert, which when i close takes me back to install dialogue, and then just cycles from Install > Install when clicked.

OS = 4.1
Device = Xperia X

#2

Does Books detect your SD-card at all? When it does, you can switch between the internal memory and the SD-card contents by swiping the bookshelf view left or right.

2 Likes
#3

I don’t have an SD card in the phone.

Makes me curious about the parameters that the app will accept when it comes to find epubs to catalogue and render?

Is it only via an SD card - which would be absurd, as why would you rationally ignore the internal storage which [will] be present, for something which [may] be present?

Is it principally on the internal storage, provided you use a folder on root with the name of “Books” - but if you blank it out it will scan external storage?

Is it any folder on internal storage, provided you rename the folder you want the app to look for - i.e. me fruitlessly changing it to “Documents” which is where i dropped by ebook subfolders?

Is it simply that the app hates subfolders, and demands that epubs are in the root of whatever folder you use for books - i have a lot so i keep them in Author named subfolders?

Right now i don’t know, as i can’t find a permuation that will find books at all? As file-transfer via USB cut-out before i can move my GB+ collection of subfolders, and I lack an external SD card.

#4

Books doesn’t find anything automatically and doesn’t scan the internal storage. It shows you whatever is sitting under ~/Documents/Books directory (and its subdirectories). There’s “Check Downloads” menu option, it scans ~/Downloads for books in known formats and copies selected books to ~/Documents/Books. That’s it. The option in settings only applies to memory cards, not to the internal storage.

Yes, you can create subfolders under ~/Documents/Books by author or whatever. I actually do that myself. The bookshelf structure in the app will mirror the directory structure. I meant to eventually implement some kind of folder management UI but never got around to actually implementing it.

3 Likes
#5

Smashing, thank you very much.
That sorted it, just didn’t understand where i needed to put the epubs.
Happy reading, and thank you for the app.