# Metadata edited on Calibre, won't stay on Kindle



## KojikaSekai (Aug 6, 2011)

I went and edited some books via Calibre, and then transferred them to my Kindle, only the changes didn't apply, it's still jumbled garbage. What can I do to assure that the changes stay once the mobi files are back on my Kindle? I'm extremely frustrated to the point where I want to take my Kindle back to the store and exchange it for a better product. Can anyone help me?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

To be fair, I wouldn't blame the Kindle.  The problem is that you're not happy with the metadata supplied by the author/publisher and want to change that.  

It is true that Calibre, a third party bit of software completely unrelated to Amazon or the Kindle, will help you do that.  I've never tried it myself, though the comments I've seen here indicate that it's a bit of a . . . . process. . . .not just a quick 'click, click, click' and you're done.  We do have members, though, who've used it successfully, and I'm sure they'll be able to help you when they come on the 'boards next.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

I use Calibre to change the metadata on my Kindle books quite successfully. First I use 'add books' and pick the larger of the two files that are on the Kindle for each book. Then I change the metadata and in that same screen I click on the red plus sign on the top right and add the smaller file.

Then I delete the files from the Kindle. There's more than one way to put the book back onto the Kindle but I use the 'save to disk' option. Be sure to save it in your Kindles 'documents' folder.

This method has always worked for me on all the Kindles I've tried it with.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

KojikaSekai said:


> I went and edited some books via Calibre, and then transferred them to my Kindle, only the changes didn't apply, it's still jumbled garbage. What can I do to assure that the changes stay once the mobi files are back on my Kindle? I'm extremely frustrated to the point where I want to take my Kindle back to the store and exchange it for a better product. Can anyone help me?


What kind of books? Did you get them from Amazon, or another source? What metadata are you changing? Do they have DRM?

Mike


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## KojikaSekai (Aug 6, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> it's a bit of a . . . . process


Yeah... 6 steps or more... which is fine I guess, but when I have 20 or more gig worth of mobi files to sort through, those steps are going to be a huge time killer.

Mobi2Mobi crashes when I attempt to boot it up.
MobiCreator wants formats that I don't even have.

I would just like to be able to download a simple program that works simply (in 2 or less steps) so that I can finish this project quickly.



jmiked said:


> What kind of books? Did you get them from Amazon, or another source? What metadata are you changing? Do they have DRM?


1. Mobi file format
2. No.
3. A zip from my mother.
4. Title, Author, Cover.
5. I don't know what "DRM" is.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

KojikaSekai said:


> I went and edited some books via Calibre, and then transferred them to my Kindle, only the changes didn't apply, it's still jumbled garbage.


What metadata did you change, and in what way was it jumbled garbage?

If your books have come from another source, don't put them on the Kindle first: import them into Calibre, tidy up the metadata and then transfer them to the Kindle. If you've already put them on the Kindle I'd delete them and try again.

Also, despite the seemingly large amount of memory in the Kindle, it's not a good idea to put a huge number of books on there; people with a hundred or two hundred books on their Kindle have no problems, people with thousands of books seem to have a lot of problems.

Keep your 20 gig library in Calibre on the PC, and only transfer across the books you want in the near distant future.

Don't transfer too many books to the Kindle at once; the indexing process on new books can severely impact your battery charge!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

KojikaSekai said:


> 5. I don't know what "DRM" is.


Digital Rights Management. It's the method vendors use to try to prevent people from copying books.

Here's a suggestion:

Start with a "clean" copy of the file. Import it into Calibre. Edit the metadata. Convert the book from mobi to mobi. Plug the Kindle into your computer. Copy the book onto the Kindle using Calibre.

See if that makes any difference. Changing metadata in Calibre does not make any changes to the book itself, it makes a change to an index file in the Calibre database. In theory, when you transfer the book to the Kindle, the new metadata is then written to the mobi file that gets created on the Kindle (but original will be unchanged). You have to use Calibre for the transfer (or copying to a new folder), or the new data will not be copied and you will still see the old data.

Doing a mobi to mobi convert will ensure that the new data is actually written to the new replacement copy in the Calibre database.

Mike


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