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Full Version: HOW TO: Connect to Calibre
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Instructions – short version:
  • In Calibre’s preferences screen, set the Content Server username and password to your preferred values, and make a note of them.
  • Start the Content Server and leave Calibre running.
  • Look up the IP address of the machine that’s running Calibre.
  • Ensure your device is connected via WiFi or a wired network, to the same network as the machine running Calibre (not via mobile data)
  • On your device, run Freda, go right to the books sources list, and find (or create) an OPDS source called 'calibre'.  Don't fill in anything for URL or search URL yet.
  • Tap the source icon; it will open and fail to find the source contents.
  • Tap the 'edit' button, and for 'calibre host' enter the IP address mentioned above, and tap 'ok' to save it.  Note: in general, Freda will not work with a Calibre server running on the same machine as Freda.  But, depending on your security settings, you may be able to get it to work if you enter the 'loopback' IP address here, 127.0.0.1.
  • If you've set a password on your Calibre server, then set it on Freda too, by tapping the 'password' button and entering it here.
  • Tap the 'home' button at the top of the screen, and you should now see folder icons representing the different sections of your Calibre catalog.
If this does not work, it's time to try the long version of the instructions.

Instructions – long version:
1) Update to the latest version of Calibre (if you run Calibre it will tell you if there is a newer version).

2) On the PC that is running Calibre, open a command window (for example, by clicking the ‘start’ button on the screen and typing CMD into the text box there). In that window, type IPCONFIG, and look for the ‘Ipv4 Address’ line in the result.  You're looking for a string of four numbers separated by dots - like 192.168.1.2 or 10.0.0.2 . This is the IP address of your Calibre server; note it down for later use.

3) Run Calibre, and click the Preferences item on the main toolbar.  On the Preferences screen, select ‘Sharing over the net’.

4) Set the screen up with password and username blank, and server port 8080, then click the ‘Start Server’ button. If you wish, you can supply a user name and password here - but note that if the procedure does not work, then it is worth trying it again, using blank user name and password.
 
5) On the same screen, click the Test Server button, and check that a page is displayed, showing a book catalog, or a button asking you to select a catalog. If not, please refer to Calibre’s documentation.
 
6) On the machine running Calibre, open a web browser window (using, for example, Chrome, Edge or Internet Explorer). Type the address: http://192.168.1.2:8080/ (replacing 192.168.1.2 with the IP address you noted earlier). You should see a web page showing a book catalog, or a button asking you to select a catalog.
If you do not see that page, refer to the Calibre documentation for possible solutions. One point to check: is Calibre being blocked by your PC’s Firewall? The exact procedure for opening the Firewall to Calibre will depend on which operating system you're running on that PC.

7) If you have another PC available on your network, you can perform a further check: On that machine , open a web browser window (using, for example, Chrome, Edge or Internet Explorer). Type the address:
http://192.168.1.2:8080/ (replacing 192.168.1.2 with the IP address you noted earlier). You should see a web page showing a book catalog, or a button asking you to select a catalog).

Again, if you do not see that web page, you should check the Firewall setup on your Calibre PC. It is also possible that access is being blocked by your router; refer to your router documentation for troubleshooting suggestions – bearing in mind that what you are trying to do is to permit machines on your local network to communicate with each other using TCP/IP Port 8080.

8) Now repeat step (7), using the address http://192.168.1.2:8080/opds (again, replacing those numbers with the IP address you noted earlier). You should see a catalog display (the exact format will depend on what web browser you are running – but you should get some content). If you do not, then there is a problem with Calibre content server (it is failing to produce an OPDS catalog). Refer to Calibre’s documentation for troubleshooting suggestions.

Assuming you’ve got to this point, and passed all the checks OK, the Calibre content server is working, and serving up an OPDS catalog to machines on your local network. Now we’re ready to try to reach it using the device that is running Freda.
 
9) Connect your device to your home network via WiFi (or a network cable). If your device is connecting to the internet using 3G/HSDPA (i.e. your mobile data plan) then these instructions won't work.
You need to check that the device is connected to the WiFi or wired network. On a phone, you can tell this by looking for the WiFi symbol in the row of symbols that pop up along the top of the phone screen - it looks like a bunch of concentric arcs, and it should be stable (i.e. the number of arcs should be constant, not cycling up and down). You can ensure the phone makes a WiFi connection by (in the Settings menu) turning off the 3G/4G connection and the mobile data connection.
 
10) On your device, check that you can reach the internet using the WiFi/wired connection – for instance, open up internet explorer and look at some web site. If that does not work, refer to Windows documentation for resolving issues with WiFi/wired connectivity.
 
Assuming you’ve got to this point, and passed all the checks OK, your device is connecting to WiFi OK, and you have a working Calibre content server running on your home network. You’re now ready to try accessing it using Freda.
 
11) On your device, ensure there is a Calibre book source. Normally, the program comes with such a source already there, but if it is missing, you can create it: tap the "+" menu label under list of sources, and select the 'Calibre' menu option, and enter the name (which can be 'calibre', or any other name if you prefer - but it should begin with the word 'calibre'); don't fill in anything for URL or search URL yet.
 
12) Find the 'Calibre' book source icon in the list of sources, and tap it. It will open and fail to find the source contents. Now tap 'edit' button, and for 'calibre host' enter the IP address you noted earlier above, and tap 'ok' to save it.  If you've set a password on your Calibre server, then set it on Freda too, by tapping the 'password' button and entering it here.
Note: in general, Freda will not work with a Calibre server running on the same machine as Freda.  But, depending on your security settings, you may be able to get it to work if you enter the 'loopback' IP address here, 127.0.0.1. Note that, if you're running Freda and Calibre on the same machine, you may actually be able to get the functionality you need by simply configuring Calibre to use Freda as its reader program for opening EPUB books (see instructions in this forum at http://www.turnipsoft.com/forums/showthr...p?tid=1727 )

13) Tap the 'home' button at the top of the screen, and you should now see folder icons representing the different sections of your Calibre catalog.
 
If you do not, please contact me with further details and I will see what I can do. Please send me Freda’s log file (see the HOW TO in this forum). Please also email me Calibre’s server log files (you can get these by tapping the ‘View server logs’ button on the Calibre preferences screen for ‘Sharing over the net’).
 
Other points worth noting:
If these instructions work for a while, and then stop working, it may be because your Calibre PC has a dynamic (DHCP) IP address. That is to say, its IP address changes from time to time. The simple fix is to look up the IP address (by running IPCONFIG again) and update the Freda catalog details accordingly. A better solution is to set the machine up with a static IP address. Look in your machine documentation (or Google) for how to do that.
 
It is possible to set things up so that you share your book collection over the internet - but it's quite a bit more complicated, and the exact procedure depends on the make and model of your router. You will want to get it working on your local home network first. Then you can proceed with opening up port 8080 to the internet, and setting NAT translation so that inbound access requests for port 8080 are routed to your Calibre PC. If you do this, it would really be a good idea to set a user name and password for your content server (see step 4 above).