Books App, why so hard to put your ePub in it?

[Huntn]

I have some ePubs that I’d like to place in iBooks, but then pull the. out of when I’m done reading them. Why does Apple make this so hard? Am I mistaken?
And why can’t you manage individual books like you do in the file sharing section us g other Apps? Is this Apple’s nefarious plan to try to keep us locked into iTunes for our purchases?
Thanks!

 

[afir93]

I’m confused, can’t you just drag and drop any ebook in the ePub format from Finder/the Files app into the Apple Books app and it will upload and sync to all your devices? I’m doing it all the time. What solution would you like that’s easier than literal drag and drop?

 

[Huntn]

I’m confused, can’t you just drag and drop any ebook in the ePub format from Finder/the Files app into the Apple Books app and it will upload and sync to all your devices? I’m doing it all the time. What solution would you like that’s easier than literal drag and drop?

I tried that, but it did not work in iTunes, dragging the ePub file to the Books section. This is the method I use to insert files in the file sharing section of iTunes. I’ve also searched online for solutions but the primary message seems to be Apple’s Books Have DRM restrictions place on them hence they limit your ability to manage them. Maybe I am confused.

Are you saying you drag an ePub into the Books App icon itself? How would you later remove it?
Thanks!

 

[Davidalan]

Have you tried opening the document or emailing the document to yourself with the share icon (box with a little arrow on top) then choosing open with ebooks. This is the same way you can convert an pages document to ebook format ant save to iBooks. From there when you are finished you can delete the book contents from iBooks or delete from everywhere after selecting the book. The later clears the book icon as well.

 

[afir93]

I tried that, but it did not work in iTunes, dragging the ePub file to the Books section. This is the method I use to insert files in the file sharing section of iTunes. I’ve also searched online for solutions but the primary message seems to be Apple’s Books Have DRM restrictions place on them hence they limit your ability to manage them. Maybe I am confused.

Are you saying you drag an ePub into the Books App icon itself? How would you later remove it?
Thanks!

Okay. Hm that's weird.

Yes, that's pretty much what I'm saying. Let's say I downloaded an .epub file on my Mac that I want to get into the Apple Books app on my iPhone/iPad to read it there. What I usually do is open the Apple Books app on my Mac, and then just dragging the .epub file from Finder into the Apple Books window (I suppose onto the app icon would work aswell). It's then imported into the app, and if you have iCloud sync for your book library enabled, it will be uploaded and appear on your iPhone/iPad next time you open the Apple Books app there.

Similarly if you want to import an ePub file that you already have on an iPad (for example in the Files app, or in Mail/Messages/...), then you can just start dragging it from there, open the Apple Books app with a second finger (or open it into split view beforehand), and drop the file into the Books app. You might need to have open the "Library" tab (not the "Now Reading" tab or so) in the books app or it may not work. On iPhone there's no drag-and-drop but you can probably just use the share-menu for the same result.

If I later want to remove it, then... well, I just remove it, I'm not sure what you're asking. On Mac, just right-click on the book and select Delete. On iPhone/iPad, press the "..."-icon below the book-icon and select Delete there.

I'm honestly a little confused as to what you need iTunes for. I suppose you can also import books to an iOS device via iTunes, but it seems like an unnecessary obstacle when there's iCloud sync (unless the iOS device belongs to a different Apple ID than the Mac, in which case you could still get the epub file to the iOS device via other means (AirDrop, E-Mail, ...) and import it directly on the device into the Apple Books app).

DRM only protects books you have bought, i.e. books you bought in the Apple Books store might have DRM on them so you can't read them elsewhere without the respective Apple ID. It doesn't stop you from importing your own .epub files into the books app (as long as the .epub files that you are trying to import are DRM-free themselves).

 

[lparsons21]

One way not mentioned is when you download an ePub with Safari on the iPhone/iPad, it will prompt to open it in Books/iBooks.

 

[Huntn]

Okay. Hm that's weird.

Yes, that's pretty much what I'm saying. Let's say I downloaded an .epub file on my Mac that I want to get into the Apple Books app on my iPhone/iPad to read it there. What I usually do is open the Apple Books app on my Mac, and then just dragging the .epub file from Finder into the Apple Books window (I suppose onto the app icon would work aswell). It's then imported into the app, and if you have iCloud sync for your book library enabled, it will be uploaded and appear on your iPhone/iPad next time you open the Apple Books app there.

Similarly if you want to import an ePub file that you already have on an iPad (for example in the Files app, or in Mail/Messages/...), then you can just start dragging it from there, open the Apple Books app with a second finger (or open it into split view beforehand), and drop the file into the Books app. You might need to have open the "Library" tab (not the "Now Reading" tab or so) in the books app or it may not work. On iPhone there's no drag-and-drop but you can probably just use the share-menu for the same result.

If I later want to remove it, then... well, I just remove it, I'm not sure what you're asking. On Mac, just right-click on the book and select Delete. On iPhone/iPad, press the "..."-icon below the book-icon and select Delete there.

I'm honestly a little confused as to what you need iTunes for. I suppose you can also import books to an iOS device via iTunes, but it seems like an unnecessary obstacle when there's iCloud sync (unless the iOS device belongs to a different Apple ID than the Mac, in which case you could still get the epub file to the iOS device via other means (AirDrop, E-Mail, ...) and import it directly on the device into the Apple Books app).

DRM only protects books you have bought, i.e. books you bought in the Apple Books store might have DRM on them so you can't read them elsewhere without the respective Apple ID. It doesn't stop you from importing your own .epub files into the books app (as long as the .epub files that you are trying to import are DRM-free themselves).

I’ll play some more with it. I have purchased some books from Goodreads and don’t want a hassle managing those books. Usually I use Marvin, but I have a book that I want to take notes on, and want those notes to sync between iOS devices. Marvin syncs read progress, allows notes to be created but does not sync the notes you make.

However, I can copy and paste quotes from Marvin into Pages, and that does sync between iOS devices.
[doublepost=1558819525][/doublepost]

One way not mentioned is when you download an ePub with Safari on the iPhone/iPad, it will prompt to open it in Books/iBooks.

I usually download books (epubs) on my Mac.

 

[Mackilroy]

Strange. When I add ePubs to iBooks, I go to 'On My Device' (see attached image) and drag and drop after selecting 'Books'. Then again, the only books I add to iBooks come from the Humble Bundle and I don't think those have DRM.

 

[Huntn]

Now that iTunes is being reimagined, it will be interesting to see how file sharing that iTunes handled (other than music) works once it is moved to the MacOS.

 

[lparsons21]

I usually download books (epubs) on my Mac.

Works similar on Mac. Select in Finder, right click select open with and Books should be the default. If Books is set to sync with iCloud the book will show up on all devices.

 

[Huntn]

Works similar on Mac. Select in Finder, right click select open with and Books should be the default. If Books is set to sync with iCloud the book will show up on all devices.

Yes, but then I open my iPhone in iTunes on my Mac, and then drag the ePub from my Mac to the files sharing section of my iPhone/iTunes using Marvin. I have not been able to drag the ePub to the Book section to make it transfer.

 

[lparsons21]

Yes, but then I open my iPhone in iTunes on my Mac, and then drag the ePub from my Mac to the files sharing section of my iPhone/iTunes using Marvin. I have not been able to drag the ePub to the Book section to make it transfer.

I haven’t used iTunes in years so I can’t help with how to make things work the way you want with it.

But you can download the ePub (or whatever) and save it to your iCloud Drive. From there you can put it into Books or Marvin and even Books and Marvin. I just did that with the free version of Marvin 3.