Book Collections Is Available for the Fire!
"I’d say that a lot of people will find this valuable. Bottom line: if you want to organize your books (and your personal documents) on your Kindle Fire, I recommend Book Collections." - Bufo Calvin, I Love My Kindle
"The Book Collection App is great. It is nice to be able to put the books into folders, and makes it easier to find them. The people who worked so hard to create this app have done a terrific job. Thank you so much for making this app available." - Doris, Amazon Reviewer
The Book Collections app is now better than ever! Featuring a ton of new features, including BOOK COVERS, sorting alphabetically by author or title, folders within folders, ability to move folders, search functions, ability to move multiple books in multiple folders, and more are included in the new Book Collections version 2.3.2!
Book Collections Help
To add new books to the app, tap the menu button at the bottom and hit scan.
To create a
new folder, tap the menu button and choose New Folder. Then type in the
name of your folder.
To move a
book into a folder, tap the book you’d like to move, choose Move To, and
then select the destination folder.
To create a
folder inside of a folder, enter a folder, tap the menu button, and choose
the New Folder option.
To remove a
book from a folder, open the folder, tap the book, and select the Remove
option.
To
permanently remove a book from the Book Collections app, tap it and select
the Permanently Remove option. Remember that you will not be able to import
that book again unless you completely uninstall and reinstall the Book
Collections app.
To move
multiple books into one or more folders, tap the check boxes next to the
books you would like to move, tap the menu button, choose Bulk Move, and select
the destination folders.
To edit a
book’s title or author name, tap the book and select the Edit Book Data and
Location option. Some books with DRM (digital rights management) prevent the
Book Collections app from automatically displaying this information, which can
be entered manually.
To open a
folder, edit a folder name, delete it, or move it, tap on the folder and
choose the corresponding option from the menu.
To search
for a book, tap the magnifying glass to the right of the menu button.
To sort
your books in alphabetical order according to author name or title, tap the
menu button, the sort button, and then your preferred option. This can also be
done within a folder.
To record
your location after you finish reading, tap the Back button and enter the
number in the Location Number bar. This is purely to help you remember where
you left off. Use the slider when you reopen the book to return to your place.
Organizing your library of books on your Fire in whatever way you choose is now possible. Thank you again for your support, and enjoy the app!
Waiting patiently, funny wife's Fire worked, my having the problem. Curious what the difference is that caused it, but welcome to the wonderful world of code!! Patience
ReplyDeleteYes, it's very odd and that's been the bulk of our problem, figuring that out. Thanks!
DeleteVersion 1.9 worked for my fire.....thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! As Jan can testify, our debugging is going very well and we're very close to being able to upload a new version for everyone. Thanks to everyone for your patience!
Deletei don't know if this will help your troubleshooting or not...after clearing out some space, i installed the version that is currently on amazon (7/14/2012 @ 7:00 pm EDT)on my EVO 4G cell phone and it works properly, however my phone doesn't have the storage capacity to run the kindle for android app or download my books. next i uninstalled and then reinstalled on my fire, but this version doesn't work on the fire either.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us know, Lewis. We've basically got the situation taken care of, but there's a lingering issue with not all of everyone's books showing up that we need to resolve before uploading. It'll happen very soon and we're committed to making sure everyone has a functioning app. Thanks for your patience!
Deletemaybe it will work if i delete all of my books out of the fire??? thoughts or suggestions?
DeleteSome people have tried that and it has worked for them, but it's completely your choice if you'd like to experiment with that. It would certainly be a pain for someone with thousands of books.
Deleteany idea when amazon is going to allow the app for purchase again?
ReplyDeleteWe're hoping it'll be very soon, but it's hard to tell. If you want to get us your email address somehow, we can let you know when it's available.
DeleteI want to know, too. I am on your newsletter list. I'm waiting with bated breath.
ReplyDeleteJeanne, we won't be sending out a reminder to everyone on the newsletter list. If you'd like to be reminded immediately when the app's available to update, please get us your email address independently.
DeleteWhy is it taking so long? They are not putting it up on their page. I wish they would at least let us know what is going on. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it does take a bit of time to get approved and for the app to go live. I'm hopeful that the wait is almost over. Very sorry, Donna!
Deleteas of this morning book collections is back on amazon. However, mine is not showing an update for it and the app is still force closing when trying to load my books.
ReplyDeletei figured i would play around with it for a min. so i uninstalled and then installed the app again from the cloud and it appears to be working. so thank you very much and great job!!!
DeleteHi jeanie, glad to know it's working for you. I was going to say to your original comment that I was unsure when an automatic update would go out, but I'm glad uninstalling and reinstalling worked for you. Enjoy the app! :)
DeleteI uninstalled , downloaded from the cloud, and it still force closes..... I uninstaled again, shut off the Kindle, turned it back on, rinstalled from cloud and it worked!!
DeleteVery glad to hear it. It's just a matter of getting the new version to download. I'm still not sure when it'll be done automatically. Thank you!
DeleteThank you. It is working. Now I can organize my books
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Thank you very much!
DeleteI purchased the app just a few minutes ago. Where can I find something in the way of instructions that will tell me how to create new folders, and whether or not folders can be nested (e.g., main folder HISTORY, subfolders AMERICAN, EUROPEAN, etc., with subfolders of 16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, etc, within each of the original subfolders). Even the most basic directions would be much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteWe're doing our best, Shoshanna! Thanks for your support!
DeleteNext question: Is there any chance that this app will be released for the iPad?
ReplyDeleteWhen my fiance's KFire gave out just before his birthday in June, when I gave him an iPad3, he brought all of his Kindle books over to the new device and began using that exclusively. (Given that his KFire is only seven months old, its performance was not impressive!) He has thus far been unable to find any iPad-friendly book-sorting app for his Kindle volumes, and I'm hoping this one will be made available. Any chance of it?
Thanks again for a great new app-- I'm making folders like mad!
Hi, I'll be honest and say that it's very unlikely it'll be released for Apple's iOS operating system. I just don't know that much about it. We'll see though. Someone else did ask about that too earlier. I'll keep it in mind.
DeleteI uninstalled Book Collections and tried to reinstall it. It never appeared again in my apps. I purchased it a 2nd time and it is still not in my apps. Where the heck did it go?????????
ReplyDeleteHi Molly, I'm very puzzled by this. You certainly shouldn't have had to repuchase the app a second time. I would recommend calling Amazon customer service to straighten out the purchases and make sure that you're able to access the updated app. Sorry for the trouble!
DeleteYeah, it worked. Only I have 3295 books and docs. It only d/l'd 3043. Will it d/l the rest later. I think maybe those are ones that I have added since the first issue of BC. And some of the book titles have strange characters included in the name. But, I found how to change the title to the correct name. So, not a real problem yet. I will keep you posted as to how it works as the days go by. Thank you for your patience and understanding to all of us faithful followers and diehard Kindle Fire owners. I can say we have probably been a handful at times. But we had faith in you guys - You were all awesome. THANK YOU. <3
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna. Books that don't appear with titles have DRM (digital rights management), which prevents the app from displaying any information. Unfortunately these restrictions are beyond anything we can do something about, and editing in the data yourself is the best option. Hope you enjoy the app. Thank you!
DeleteI want to know what do the data fields mean exactly? Specifically the location number field. Is there an instruction sheet or manual available with this app? I am not able to find a help screen to give me more info.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hi Richard, sorry for the confusion. The data fields are for your own benefit. In the case of the location and %, it's to allow you to remember your last place in a book, because the Kindle's e-reader won't automatically remember when accessed through our app. You don't have to fill anything in if you don't want to, but if you want to record your place for future reference just hit the Back Arrow button when you finish and the menu will come up to jot it down. Hope that helps!
DeleteGreat app and I'm just starting to check it out but I see one concern. It doesn't have a way to remember where you left off? I see it says to use the back button and record your location but even when I did this and reopened the book, it opened at page 1. Is this something that may be "fixed" with a later update? or is it what it is? The book will always open to page 1?
ReplyDeleteSheri, recording your location is so that you can easily flip back to your place in the book. We're going to keep looking for a way that it can remember your place automatically, but there are restrictions on how to use the Kindle e-reader that for the moment make it impossible. So it'll always open on page 1, but if you know the location # it won't take more than a second or two to flip forward and regain your place. Hope that helps!
DeleteKnowing that, if there is a way, you will find it, helps yes! I understand you have restrictions you have to work with. I have poor memory to work with and, believe it or not, to look at what location it says, then opening the book and manually going to that location can be taxing to my memory bank. Just to enter a title into the data field, I need to take a picture of the title page and then open the photo so I can remember it to fill it in. Sad but true (not your problem though, I just stated this fact to show you why this 1 minute process is a big deal to me)lol
ReplyDeleteI would like to add though that it would have been nice if this little fact were stated BEFORE purchase. Or maybe it is and I missed it?
Hi Sheri, yes, we make that clear right in the description of the app. Sorry about any confusion. We're going to keep looking for ways to improve this part of the app.
DeleteSheri I am the same way. I may have to go thru the Collection app to find what I want to read, then open it thru Kindle, until a *save* can be found. I guarantee I will forget to save it. LOL And I aslo have to reopen the book because I forgot the title in 2 seconds. Just wanted you to know you aren't alone. ;)
DeleteI have faith! You'll get it :) (If Amazon lets you--lol)
ReplyDeleteWe hope so too. We've got a guy whose sole job it is to find a way to get that to work!
Deletesomewhat odd question about the app - do your books still show in the carousel after being loaded in the Collections app? I'd love to find a way to remove them en masse from the carousel instead of individually, but I haven't seen any comments on whether or not this app impacts what gets shown there. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGood question. I'm pretty sure that books accessed through the app don't reappear in the carousel. So if you do remove them from the carousel and only read through the Book Collections app, it won't come back. Hope that helps!
DeleteAny chance you can re-post the link to the app. i had saved it in my wish list and now its gone. amazon removed it.
ReplyDeleteSorry for any trouble. You can find Book Collections here. Thanks!
DeleteI hope that in future updates, you'll have Book Collections set up to read and recognize books in the .azw format. That would be so helpful!
ReplyDeleteAlso, would love to see book titles able to be saved in a variety of folders, not just one. Maybe this is already possible, and I just can't tell how to place one title into different folders at the same time?
Thanks - loving this new app!
Hi Julieann, thank you. Yes,we do plan on adding those and a few other features in an update we're going to start working on on Monday. Thanks for letting us know what you'd like.
DeleteIs it necessary to search through all my books to find the ones by the same author and move them one at a time to the folder I set up or can I move all books by one author at the same time? If I delete them from my device , can I then download them directly to the folder made for them? I have thousands of books (thank you very much!) and it will take me quite awhile if I have to do this individually.
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel, we're just about to start working on an update that will allow sorting of books and adding books in bulk to a folder. We realize that that would be helpful. Sorry it's not available yet!
DeleteThat's okay, I can wait. Just knowing that it will be possible in the future is a help :)
DeleteThanks, Rachel. This app is really only going to get better and better as time goes on. Thanks for your patience!
DeleteI thought my Book Collections did not work but after reading the posts I think maybe I did not understand what it can do. I guess when you open a book in the app it always goes to the cover and you
ReplyDeleteuse the bar on the bottom to go to your place.(Not so easy with a 1000 page book). My question is that when I move a book up or down
in a collection its position will not hold when I leave the app and come back. Is this normal? Thank you for trying to fill a serious need on the Kindle Fire1.
John
Hi John, yes, unfortunately providing a space to record your last place for your own memory is the best we could do with the restrictions on the device. Books jumping out of position is something I haven't heard of, but we're going to start working on a new update with a number of sorting options, and we'll definitely check to see that books remain in their proper place. Thanks for letting us know and sorry about the trouble!
DeleteThanks for the prompt reply and Good Luck! I am sure it is tough sledding. I am just grateful someone is trying to do something that would be terrific for the Amazon Fire community. It is a much needed app!
DeleteJohn
Thanks for your support, John. We felt this was needed as well and we're going to keep pushing to improve it until it's the best it can be.
DeleteOk gadget,
DeleteI thought I might mention that Nook, Apple's iBook, and even Google play show how many pages are left in the chapter. This is very handy for ebooks. Maybe something down the road to look into. I am not sure if this is something only easy in an Epub format. Maybe an idea for something down the road. I know, as if you don't have your hads full now:)
John
It's a little hard to assign page numbers to e-books when the size of the text can vary. We'll have to see if this is something Amazon accommodates in the future.
DeleteJust want to say I am a happy, happy customer. I love this new app. And I have really appreciated how we've been able to actually connect with someone. I know there's a real person behind Gadget, and I sincerely liked your interaction with each of us. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad you're happy, Jeanne. Thank you and be sure to let me know if there's ever anything I can do to help. Communication absolutely is extremely important, and I'm glad people have spoken up when they've had an issue. If you get a chance, Jeanne, please do write a review for the app! :)
DeleteReview written. Thanks.
DeleteI just found out about this app and it sounds great. I purchased the app and got it installed on my Kindle Fire. It did the search and parsing; but all it is picking up is my pdf files (I have about 1,400 pdf books under docs). It is not picking up my very numerous regular "books". Any ideas? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi Shirley, thanks for writing and I'm sorry about the problem. So far the reason that the app is detecting books is that they might be in .azw format instead of .prc format. Do you know if that's the case. If it is, we're working on an update that'll include those (which you can try). If it's not, let me know and I'll tell you how to contact us and we can see if something else is going on.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply. Hmmmm, to be honest I don't know how to tell what format they are in. I can tell you that they are the regular books purchased off of Amazon with the one click send to Kindle option, which then show up on my Kindle Fire as they are delivered. The pdfs, which are the ones the app picked up, are mostly all netgalley pdf docs and a few personal pdfs.
ReplyDeleteShirley, can you send a quick email to medianlinetech@gmail.com? We can try some things and get this figured out. Thanks!
DeleteI had taken the time to put all my books in folders. Then the other day I purchased some new books. I went to the application to add them to the folders and all my folders disappeared while I was adding a book to the app. It was as if the app reset itself. Now I have to make new folders and put my books in them. A complete waste of my time.
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry to hear that. We're already starting to work on a new update adding features, and I'll send a message to the programmer about this. Hopefully we can make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm very sorry.
DeleteI purchased the app this morning and I'm feeling a bit disappointed. First with the most obvious issue being that of no automatic save of the book's location and second, even when I enter the data upon exiting the book, the next time I open it, it's back at page one anyway. Actually, I'm hoping that this is more my lack of understanding of how the app works than anything else. While the app seems very self explanatory, I was wondering if there is any help available?
ReplyDeleteOk, with all my complaining, I need to say that I greatly appreciate your efforts here and will provide any info that I can to help! Thanx
Hi Jeff, sorry for the confusion. Recording the location is solely to make it easier for you to flip back to where you were. If that proves cumbersome, some people prefer to use the app solely for organization and then keep the book they're reading on the favorites shelf. Most likely this issue is why Amazon never released something like this. We'll keep working on it!
DeleteNot thrilled with your answer but I understand where you are coming from and very much appreciate the quick response!
DeleteThanks,
Jeff
It's great to be able to sort out my books now, but I have just a quick question. Once I put a book in a folder I don't find a way to move it to another folder. Am I missing something?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Alice
Hi Alice, thanks for your question. When a book is in a folder, you can choose the Remove option to put it back in the unsorted area and then move it to another folder. We're currently working on an update that'll allow books to be put into several folders at once. Hope that helps! :)
DeletePerfect. Thanks!
DeleteMaybe this is a silly question but I usually leave the books I'm not currently reading uninstalled in the cloud...my thinking being that I don't want to use up all the memory on my Fire. Because of this my books don't show up in collections app. Am I being paranoid about memory space? Should I just leave them all downloaded on the device? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Terry, you can check how much storage you have remaining by going to Quick Settings at the top> More > then Device where the Internal Storage space is listed. If you don't have movies or big apps or a ton of music, it's very possible you have a huge amount of space left over. With nothing else, the Fire could hold about 6,000 books depending on size. Hope that helps!
DeleteI downloaded this app since this is the only thing I miss when I switched from a Kindle to a Kindle Fire. When I did a scan for books, I was given an error message and it was force closed. I uninstalled, restarted the kindle and reinstalled but I'm still having the same problem. What am I doing wrong???
ReplyDeleteThanks so much.
Hi Linda, thanks for getting in touch and sorry about the trouble. Can you send a quick email to medianlinetech@gmail.com and we can try to figure out what's going on. Thanks!
DeleteYes, that is the latest version currently available, Nancy. Are you saying that you're having problems with it? If so, tell us in a quick email to medianlinetech@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThis app is awesome and will get better and better, but as I sit here sorting and sorting, when the very cool new update comes out allowing sorting etc will we lose everything we just put in with this version? Just wondering because I already spent the last two hours before I thought of this? Thanks and thanks for the app too
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question. We did spent some time trying to make sure that the app remembers all previous data, and it worked like that for all of our testers, so I expect it to work like that for everyone who updates.
DeleteThank you that makes it even greater, whew!!
DeleteHow is this collection app now. Did they apply the fixes? Would live to find out before I purchase it. Looking forward to feedback....thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe new version was just approved, so that's what you'd get if you were to purchase it, but it does seem that people who already own it will need to wait a bit for it to filter through to their device for download.
DeleteOn Tuesday, I noticed a changed in the app. I did not do anything to get this updated version. I alphabetized my folders. When I left the app and came back in, the folders were no longer in alphabetical order. Is there a save so that the folders stay in order?
ReplyDeleteHi jgale, sorry for the trouble. That is a bug that snuck through into the latest version. We'll be uploading a new version shortly that takes care of that, but in the meantime they are unlikely to stay in order. Thanks for letting us know though, and sorry!
DeleteThanks for your quick reply
DeleteSince this post did Amazon do something because all my folders are gone
DeleteHi jglale unfortunately there were some more serious problems with later versions, and we had no choice to revert the app to an earlier version. Although it went live more than it a week ago, it seems that's how long Amazon took to deliver it to you. I'm very sorry about the trouble and you can be sure that there won't be another loss of data.
DeleteI cannot seem to ion my books to any one of the programs offered and there appears to be no other option than to back out of the app to read my book. What am I to do? The other aspect of organization works flawlessly so I am just a bit dismayed about this. What's the scoop?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the message, Daniel, and I'm sorry for the trouble. So it's not finding any readers at all? Very strange. Can you send an email to medianlinetech@gmail.com with any other details and we can investigate further? Thanks and hopefully we'll be able to get this taken care of quickly for you.
DeleteYes I sure will. I apologize for the structure of my opening sentence. I realized too late that a few characters were missing. But thanks for the quick response and I will contact medianlinetech. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI go to open app last night and notice new stuff in the app so I assume you updated it. But when I go to scan for new books it forces close. I uninstalled then reinstalled app, which makes me lose all the books and collections I had in the app already, and it won't scan just forces close again. So, now I have no books in the app and no way to put them in again at all. Help!
ReplyDeleteHi Janean, sorry for the trouble. Send an email to medianlinetech@gmail.com, and hopefully we'll be able to get this working for you quickly.
DeleteThanks Gadget, I did was you said. Hopefully it can get fixed so I can use it again as I really liked the app.
DeleteI'm having the same issue as Janean. It started last night when I tried to scan several new books into the app. After waiting about a minute I get the following message:
ReplyDeleteSorry - Applications "BookCollections" is not responding. Then it gives you the options to "Force Close" or "Wait". Selecting Wait results in receiving the same again after about a minute.
Was working GREAT prior to this glitches.
Hi Deb, I'm very sorry for the trouble, and I'm dismayed that the app is still having problems with this. I've just uploaded a slightly new version to Amazon, and you're welcome to send an email to me to try it out more quickly if you like at medianlinetech@gmail.com.
DeleteDeb I hope it works for you as I did what was asked even tried new version andside loaded as asked and mine still does not work. Can not scan books at all so the app is worthless at this point. They need to fix the app so we can download it from Amazon and it should work.
DeleteJanean, we're very interested in making the app work for everyone, but diagnosing and correcting problems cannot be done without the help of the people experiencing those problems. It's sort of like going to a doctor and telling her to make you feel better without saying where it hurts (saying it crashes while scanning isn't specific enough). We're very sorry for the trouble, but unless you're interested in playing with test versions (which is fun for some people), the only option is to wait until it's available from Amazon. That will take some time.
DeleteWe were able to get the app working for Deb, who has been kind enough to test a couple different versions for us. Her time and effort have been greatly appreciated.
As I told you in an email Amazon has my Kindle Fire Logs why don't you get them from Amazon and they can tell you why it is not working. Speaking of Amazon they were very interested that you were asking their customers to purchase other apps so we can side load an app we bought thru their store which should work in the first place with out having to side load.
DeleteBy the way, you don't need to purchase those apps you suggested in the email you sent me to side load, you can do it with free apps.
How much more specific can I be? I told you exactly what happened just as Deb did and I even side loaded the app you gave me in an email and I told you in my email after I side loaded it what it did and didn't do. The app does not work period. Maybe you should not try to sell an app that does not work and if you want to upgrade the app maybe you should work out the bugs before you put it for sale or allow the people who bought the app to upgrade an app that does not work.
I will side load test more if you send them to me. But,my point is, as a customer who purchased the app, I purchased it in good faith that the app would work when I purchased it and if you chose to upgrade that same app that I purchased in good faith then it should still work even with the upgrade. Bottom line is You got my money from Amazon for the app I purchased and I got an app that does not work.
Janean, I was never contacted by Amazon with any of your logs. Remember that we're not a part of Amazon. Believe me that we want everyone who purchases the app to have one that works perfectly, but there are some machines that work slightly differently than others, which can lead to problems like this.
DeleteWe recommend those two apps to sideload because they make it the easiest for people who are unfamiliar with sideloading.
I absolutely agree that you shouldn't have had any problems, and I'm very sorry that isn't how it worked out. I know it's frustrating and not fair, but it happens with software. I'm doing my best to make sure you have something that works.
Hi! I'm a big fan of the Kindle app for the Android OS. My question is: will Book Collections work on my Android tablet or only on Kindle tablets? Thanks! Jean
ReplyDeleteHi Jean, thanks for your question. We honestly haven't done much testing for Book Collections other than on the Kindle Fire. I'm pretty sure that it'll be able to scan books and allow you to organize them, but I do not think you will be able to open the books from within the app. If you already have Book Collections for your Fire, you should be able to install it on other devices you have the Amazon Appstore installed on. I'd be interested to hear how it goes for you. Hope that helps!
DeleteHey I'm willing to help out any way I can to assist you folks in working out any kinks that develop with this app even if it means I need to spend 99¢ to obtain 2 additional apps that will assist me in the process! I've been wanting an app like BookCollections for the past 7 month and I'm ecstatic that it's finally here! I understand that "Rome wasn't built in a day" and all processes are a matter of "trial and error" - it just requires diligence on one end and patience on the other end. Let me know if I can be of further assistance and keep on "keeping on..."
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. I think we've got it covered. It's odd because there really wasn't much that was changed for you between the version with the scanning problem and the version that worked. The programmer was tempted to have you try to sideload the old version just to see if it would actually work, but I think the only real question is if the latest version will work for everyone who had a problem, and not just you. It is trial and error, but we're committed to making sure it works for everyone. Thanks for your support!
DeleteMy BookCoolections app just did the latest update. I went to scan for the new books I purchased today and the app can no longer scan and shuts itself down. The app is now acting like it did when it was first released. I'm not a happy camper right and I am just about ready to just delete the app and call it a day!
ReplyDeleteHi srnana, I'm very sorry to hear about this. There seems to be a problem with Amazon's distribution of the new update, since people have been having this problem seem to be able to simply uninstall and reinstall the app to have a working version. I'd try that, and then you can send us an email at medianlinetech@gmail.com if you need us to send you a sideloadable version.
DeleteGadget I decided to download it again from amazon just in case and I am thrilled to say that the app now works for me! I hope the test stuff I did and sent you helped out. Thanks so much for not giving up on your customers. Thanks, Janean
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. We want to make sure the app works perfectly for everyone. Thanks for your help!
DeleteI purchased this app recently and was absolutely loving it until tonight when I discovered that all of the books I carefully sorted into folders are now a jumbled mess. Is this a glitch hopefully or do I need to resort everything? If so, I will be one unhappy camper.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, I'm sorry to say that that was an issue with the version that was up. A new one was just approved that shouldn't have that problem, and I recommend uninstalling and reinstalling to prevent that from happening again. Sorry! :(
DeleteI haven't been in the app for a few days and went in today to check on the blog. It started scanning for books as soon as it opened. It looks like an update was released because I created new folders and sorted my books with no problem! Thanks!
DeleteTwo suggestions:
1. Some of the books are identified with a long number instead of the title so I had to enter the title and author. It would be nice if the first letter in those fields was automatically capitalized.
2. It would be *wonderful* if there were some way to flag the books with our sorts so if we ever have to reinstall then we won't have to re-sort. I have only about 120 books and I can imagine what a pain it would be for people who have more.
Do you know if existing apps will work on the new Kindles coming out?
Hi Sherry, thanks for your comments. Capitalizing the first letter is possible, but saving data like that is much trickier. I fully realize how much of a pain resorting is. As for the forthcoming Kindles, I think it's very likely that the apps will work and very unlikely that the new Fires will already have some sort of similar Collections program, but until the 14th it'll be impossible to know for sure.
DeleteI bought the app but about halfway through parsing it closes so I cannot do anything with this app. What do I need to do to fix this.?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that, pw. I'd try uninstalling and reinstalling first. If that doesn't help, you can send an email to medianlinetech@gmail.com and we can do some tests to figure out what's going on.
DeleteI've *really* been missing a way to organize my books and have been thinking about buying this app for a while now. However, the reviews I've read are equally good and bad. When I logged on to this blog, I read above that, just yesterday, there are some MAJOR glitches and that you've had to back track and are trying to figure out what's wrong. In the meantime, is the version currently available functional?? I really don't want to waste the money on an app that will be more headache than what it's worth.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, I can completely understand the feeling. We don't want to sell people an app that doesn't work either. Backtracking to a version that works also had the negative effect on some users of resetting their data, which problems in versions beyond 2.1.1.0 were already messing with.
DeleteAs for whether you'll find the current app functional, here's the situation: since going back to 2.1.1.0, the app has sold roughly about 500 copies. There have been zero returns, and we've gotten just 1 email about an issue, which should be resolved soon. It seems clear to us that new users aren't having any serious problems, and this should be the end of problems for older users as well.
Thanks!! For both the reply and the quick answer!!
DeleteNo problem, Michelle. We're doing our best to help people as much as possible. :)
DeleteI just discovered that all of the book covers in my library have been dumped into the pictures file in my photo Gallery on my Fire. What's up with that?
ReplyDeleteI can say for certain that it has nothing to do with the Book Collections app, which has no power to have any external effect on your device's systems. I've used various photo gallery apps that have instantly displayed my book covers, leading me to think that the device does register them as pictures somewhere. I'm not aware of any changes that would cause such a sudden change though.
DeleteThanks for the reply. I can't imagine what has done that. Weird.
DeleteBTW, in future updates, it would be *great* if you could add a warning for when you go to delete a folder. One of the standard "Are ya sure ya wanna do this, because everything in this folder's gonna get dumped into your main folder?" deals. I spent hours painstakingly organizing books into about 80 subfolders only to have all of those subfolders dumped into Unsorted books when I accidentally hit 'remove folder' while trying to access the main folder. Since folders can't be moved, I had to re-create the main folder I'd accidentally deleted, THEN re-create all of those subfolders and move all of those books (over 300 of them). I was not a happy camper.
I'm sorry to hear that. Doesn't sound like fun at all. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to add that in.
DeleteI've been reading through all of the comments, questions and problems and my one recurring thought has been, "This is a feature that Amazon should have included in the Fire anyway, and shame on them for not doing so." They have included enough other useless features that I could live without!
ReplyDeleteAny idea of when an update incorporating the suggestions and/or applying the tweaks noted on this board might be rolling out?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it seems like we're in kind of a tight spot with the app. We do have updates that take care of a number of common issues, but we haven't been able to test them enough to make sure they'd work for everyone. Also, it likely that uploading the update would wipe out everyone's data, which everyone would find displeasing. And lastly, Amazon's decision to block how our app opened books in the new Fire HD's makes it hard to spend more time developing this.
DeleteSo I think how it's going to stand is that people having issues with the version they purchased can contact us at medianlinetech@gmail.com to sideload these newer versions, which may work better but can't be guaranteed.
I wish Amazon had tried to work with us on this rather than shut us down, but no doubt they have their reasons.
Thanks for replying. This is disappointing news. Sucks that Amazon's being so douchey. I'd think that with all the screaming about Collections being left out of the Fire's capabilities, Amazon would have been relieved that there was a solution to that problem.
DeleteTHANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOI!
ReplyDeleteI just downloaded this app and am currently organizing my 1000 plus books. It is quite a project.
Just wndering if there is a way to backup the folders to the cloud. If at some point my Kindle needs to be replaced or gets corrupted, I sure don't want toorganize them all over again.
Glad you're finding it useful, Chris. Unfortunately there really isn't a way to backup data. Sorry.
DeleteRealy? Bummer. Is there any way to acess the files and email them to myself? Will you be working on a way to backup these files in the future?
ReplyDeleteNot that I know of, Chris. I really wouldn't expect there to be a situation where the app discards all of its data. It's possible at some point you might restore your device to factory defaults, but I don't think there's any way to save that data. I'm sorry to say it's unlikely this is going to get worked in at this point.
DeleteIt is my second day using Book Collections. I just downloaded a new book and I can't find it in Unsorted. Is it somewhere else? Is there something I need to do?
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, you'll want to tap the menu button and run another scan to detect and integrate new books. It's impossible for the app to automatically know when new books are downloaded without running another scan. Hope that helps! :)
DeleteWhere can I find the email address for problems? The app is on my Fire, but when I open it there is a pop-up saying that I don't own the app.
ReplyDeleteHi Kat, our email address is medianlinetech@gmail.com, but I'll tell you that having the Fire say you don't own the app is something you'll have to contact Amazon customer service about. There's nothing we can do about that.
DeleteOkay, good, thanks for that info!
ReplyDeleteI purchased this app on October 21st and it works fine except for one problem. I cannot open any of my books in this application. Not one. This is very disappointing as that was the whole reason for purchasing the app besides being able to organize my books. When I touch the book icon it pulls up the screen that allows you to "open" the book, after I touch open, it doesn't open the book, instead I get the screen where you can edit the information and put in where you left off in the book. What can I do to fix this? I've uninstalled and reinstalled the app several times which does not fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteHi Regina, unfortunately with the new Kindle Fire HD's (which I'm assuming you have), Amazon has blocked the ability of our app to directly open books. That's something we explain on the app's product page. There's really nothing we can do to change that. If you feel like the app is of no value to you without that, the only thing you can do is ask Amazon customer service for a refund. We wish Amazon hadn't gone this way with their new devices, and sorry for the trouble.
DeleteI was reading through some of the contents and I'll bet Amazon closed the loop hole for the older fire's too so you can't open a book in the app either. :-( I'll wait to hear back from you.
ReplyDeleteHi Gadget,
ReplyDeleteYou responded just as I posted again. Actually I have one of the very first fires that came out last year. As I said, I suspect that they closed the loophole for the older Fires too. And I agree they should've worked with you guys. I think other than not being able to open books, it's a great app. But unfortunately it's of no use to me if I cannot open a book in the app that I've organized within the app. Otherwise I'm just back to hunting for books again with their crappy tray system. I would've purchased a different reader if I'd known this was going to end up being such a problem.
You have one of the older Fires? I just checked and I have no problem opening books, even after checking that I have the latest software update and reinstalling the app. Are you familiar with sideloading? I can send you some test versions that might work better, or we can see if this is something the programmer could fix. I wouldn't completely rule out that Amazon has done something, but I wouldn't go as far to say that the capability has been removed from all the older Fires. If you'd like to try some other versions, drop a quick email to medianlinetech@gmail.com. We'll see if we can figure it out. Sorry for the trouble!
DeleteHi Gadget,
ReplyDeleteSure I'm game. I'd love to have this app work for me it would solve so many problems. Sending you an e-mail right now! Thanks so much for being willing to work with me. :-)
I assume by sideloading you mean downloading the app to my kindle from my computer with a USB cord?
Yes, using a USB cord to transfer the app file is fine. Looking forward to your email!
DeleteIs there a way that I can move my book in Book Collections from one folder to another? I tried using "Remove" and it took the whole folder out. all the books ended up in the unsorted area.
ReplyDeleteHi Judy, try using the Copy to Other Folder option and then Remove from the original folder, or Remove back to Unsorted and then Move it again. Kind of a minor quirk with the database. Sorry for the trouble!
DeleteI have seen many ask if this app can be used on other tablets, I have an Acer Iconia 200. Although I can not open books to read with it (as some of the newer Kindle Fire versions), I still find it very useful to keep them sorted and then go to my Kindle app, search by the title and then read it. I only have about 200 books and already find it so handy, I can not imagine when I reach 2000 (like some people)how I would survive without it. All the other features seems to work as intended :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that, Dee. Thanks for letting us know. Yes, I've heard the book opening doesn't work, but most other things should be fine. Enjoy!
DeleteThe 'Manage Your Kindle' page only applies to Amazon-purchased books. I have a ton of books that I side-loaded via Calibre. I guess the only way to check the number of books on my device is to plug into Calibre and view the book count there. I was hoping for a way to view the number on my device.
ReplyDeleteDoes this work on other android tablets like the Nexus 7 or Samsung Galaxy Tab 2? Any chance of this app being offered in the google store as well?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I'm fairly sure the app will work with the exception of being able to open books. I can email it to you to try first if you send me a message at medianlinetech@gmail.com. Thanks for your question!
DeleteGadget:
ReplyDeleteI've just ordered a Fire HD 8.9. After reading all the problems with your app I'm wondering what your plans are to keep the fixes coming. I understand that opening a book from your app is now blocked but since the last page read feature isn't available it probably makes more sense to organize the books in your app and read them in the kindle app. What are the chances it will work on my new 8.9 with your new 8,9 app?
Hi Peter, it's a tough call and results are all over the map. Some users on Fire HD's are able to open books and do everything fine. Some aren't. I'm happy to send a copy of the app to you to try it out, and then you can buy it if it works. Just drop an email to medianlinetech@gmail.com. Thanks! Realistically at this point I'm not sure we're going to be able to invest much in improving the app for a number of reasons.
DeleteHi, I really like the app. And when I first installed it I could open the book in the app. Now I can't, any suggestions to fix that? I have a fire hd. Thanks
ReplyDeleteCarrie
Hi Carrie, I'm sorry to hear about the trouble. You might try uninstalling and reinstalling. If that doesn't work, you can send an email to medianlinetech@gmail.com, and I can send you some other versions to sideload and try. It's possible there's been an update that has blocked the function as well.
DeleteHow can I back up everything that I saved in this app after I have organized my books? When I hook up my Kindle Fire to my computer via USB, I only see where the book cover photos are saved, which is Android / Data / com.kindlefiredept.bookcollections / files / Pictures. Where are the folders (collections) that I created saved? I spent many days organizing my collection of about 500 books, only to loose everything when I had to reset my Kindle to factory default settings because of a different problem. I don't want to spend hours downloading and re-organizing my books if I can't back up all that is in this app somehow.
ReplyDeleteHi Donna, I'm sorry to say there really isn't a way to back up your data from the app.
DeleteWill this app organize books that have been side-loaded or does it only organize books purchased directly from Amazon?
ReplyDeleteHi Belladonna, the Book Collections app will allow you to organize sideloaded books in a number of formats. Hope that helps!
DeleteExcellent! Thanks for the quick response!
DeleteI have got all my books into folders but if I want to re-read one of my books how do I open it once it is in a folder. It doesn't open when I click on it. I am using a new kindle fire. I also have an earlier basic kindle which had a very simple filing system built in. Why was this not built into the Kindle Fire.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon, so you're saying it opens books when they're in the main Unsorted area but not when they're in folders? I'm very mystified why it would work like that. Unfortunately there are restrictions on the Fire HD that do limit the app's ability to open books on the Fire HD. If you'd like to send an email to medianlinetech@gmail.com, I can send you some test versions that might work better.
DeleteI just downloaded the book collections app onto my Kindle Fire (original, not HD) from Amazon yesterday. I got my books organized into folders but ran into a couple of problems.
ReplyDeleteFirst problem involved the book titles. Some of them were in "code" instead of actual titles. I followed the instructions and typed the titles and author information manually, taking a great deal of time to do several of them. Then the manually input information disappeared, putting me right back where I started.
Second problem involved folders. Everything seemed fine until I tried to create a couple of folders inside a folder. Those folders came out of the original folder and the original disappeared. Now when I try to move a book from one folder to another, I get a message that says no folders exist. The only way I was able to move was either to copy to another folder and then delete or remove a book from a folder back to unsorted books and then move it to a folder.
Also, the app shut down and "crashed" several times while I was working with it. I haven't yet tried reading from the app, so I don't know how well that works.
Any help would be appreciated.
Hi, thanks for getting in touch. The books that appear in "code" have DRM (digital rights management, an anti-piracy measure used by publishers). That can make saving file name data difficult, but we do have some test versions that work better for that. Send a quick email to medianlinetech@gmail.com, and I can give you them as well as instructions on how to sideload. It should help with crashes as well.
DeleteThe system for moving books once they're in folders does have some quirks. Once books are in a folder, you want to use Copy rather than Move.
Like Simonsaunt " have got all my books into folders but if I want to re-read one of my books how do I open it once it is in a folder. It doesn't open when I click on it. I am using a new kindle fire" 7" HD. Have tried sending it to the cloud, shutting down the Kindle and them puting it back on the device. Does not help. How will we know when there is a downloadabe update? Thanks for all you work on this forum.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately on the Kindle Fire HD, Amazon has put in restrictions that limit our app's ability to open books on the device. This is something we note in the description. I'm really not sure there's much we can do. Very sorry for the trouble!
Delete
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to use my application called Book Collections for my Kindle FIre. I purchased it last summer and now am trying to sort through my collection of books to be able to access my library easier.
However when I go to scan, it starts the scan but not very far into it
I get the error message:
Sorry
The application BookCollections (process
com.kindlefiredept.bookcollections) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again.
Force close
I have uninstalled the application and reinstalled it twice and still
get the same message and I can't use this app.
I chatted with the amazon appstore help center and their suggestions didn't work
Please advise if there is something I can do to get this application
to work for me.
Thanks.
It's possible you're still using an old version, kam. I recommend emailing me at medianlinetech@gmail.com and I can try to find a newer version that'll work better for you. Sorry for the trouble!
DeleteI was wondering if my version has been updated to keep it from freezing up and closing on me? I start to mark books to put into folders and it goes out of the app and I have to start all over to include opening the app. I have the original version after the first bugs were ironed out. Becky Velez, Original Fire. Can you email me an answer at sfcretired29@aol.com
ReplyDeleteI just got a Kindle Fire in December. I believe it is a version 2 (bought it new at Best Buy). I bought your Collections app because I wanted to be able to differentiate between the books I've read and ones I haven't. I only have about 60 books on it and a couple of PDF's. I'm having several problems. One, when I just swipe my finger paging through the books, the program will just stop. Clicking on OK exits. Second, I also have not been able to open a book. Am I doing something wrong?
ReplyDeleteHi EN, sorry to hear about the trouble. I don't think it's you. Things have been glitchy with the new Fires. We have a couple test versions that should work better for you. I can send them over if you drop a line to medianlinetech@gmail.com.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI added books from my cloud to my device and then loaded them, with pictures into the App. The program kept closing on me but slowly I was able to sort the books into folders. Now the program is closing on me when I try to go into the folders. I would love some support. You can email me at funscrapn@cox.net
Thank you,
Christine
In September, I asked about the BC app dumping cover art into my Pictures folder on my Kindle Fire. Gadget assured me (scroll up to see the post) that it had absolutely nothing to do with the app. I have found that it absolutely DOES have everything to do with the app. I had to reset my KF to factory settings, and have been re-loading books. I double checked after side-loading books and after downloading cloud books, and there were NO photos at all in my Pictures folder. Then I d/l BC, had it scan the 250 items I'd loaded, and then checked the Pictures folder again. Sure enough, there were the covers of all those books. I can't tell you how irritating this is. The main reason I reset my KF was because the Pictures folder was massively bloated with duplicate and sometimes triplicate copies of cover art, which was taking up space on the SD card. Prior to resetting the device, I tried deleting the cover art from the Pictures folder, and found that BC wouldn't even open. Do you have a fix for this?
ReplyDeleteYes, it does look like the covers are in the Pictures folder. We are working on an update and we can see if there's any other way to handle this. Of course, if the alternative is to not have book covers, many people would find that irritating as well. Thanks for your help and sorry about the trouble.
DeleteI just downloaded this app last night for my Kindle Fire (1st edition) and keep getting a force close error when trying to organize my books. What do I do?
ReplyDeleteHi nickus98, can you send a quick email to medianlinetech@gmail.com. We're getting ready to test a new update that should work much better. Sorry for the trouble!
DeleteHave you considered moving the remove button further from the open button when opening folders? Several times I have accidentally hit remove. Since there is no "are you sure" prompt I have to recreate the folder. Just a thought... Thx!
DeleteHi Nick, thanks for letting me know about that issue. We'll keep it in mind for future revisions. Sorry for the trouble!
DeleteI just got kindle fire second generation and bought app book collections think I did something wrong downloaded all books from cloud brought them all into bc. Then sorted everything into folders. Then and I think this is where I went wrong moved all books back to cloud. Now in bc when I try to open a book it says not on as card. So do I need to remove all books in my folders then bring back down from cloud reload into bc and put into folders again guess I need to always keep the books on my device. Or is there a problem or a different fix thank you
ReplyDeleteHi Ann, yes, putting the books back in the cloud prevents the Book Collections app from reaching them. I do recommend keeping them on the device. Hope that helps!
DeleteIs there a way to search for a book if you do not remember which folder you put it in?
DeleteHi Ann, yes, tapping the magnifying glass will allow you to search. You can find that next to the menu button. :)
DeleteWhen will you be ready to release your latest version? I have nearly 5000 books and it is easy to use, but it doesn't seem to retrieve the covers.
ReplyDeleteHi Judy, the latest versions are out at the links above. The app will never be able to find all of the book covers because we have to rely on whether there's an image in the book file while Amazon has the info on their servers (not all ebooks have the covers embedded), but the latest versions are better about displaying the covers. Hope that helps!
DeleteSorry - where are the links?
DeleteSorry, Judy. Right here: Book Collections for Kindle Fire
DeleteI bought this app for my Kindle Fire and it worked ok, especially after they released a couple of updates. Then I got a Kindle Fire HD and it doesn't work. Just closes. This was a paid app. Is there anything I can do?
ReplyDeleteHi Deborah, we do have an update that works better with the Kindle Fire HD, but we did get in a situation where another update would wipe people's data. So rather than upset people for whom it's working like that, we released the new version as a new app and there's a free version you can get here(though it does take signing up): Book Collections Free
DeleteThe Kindle Fire has updated its software which looks like the reason for the app not working. Are there plans to update it?
ReplyDeleteHi, yes, we've already submitted an update that adjusts for the changes Amazon made. Hard to say how long it'll take to get approved and filter out to devices, but it's on its way!
DeleteExcellent....I have been waiting so long for this app I don't want to lose it. Is there anyway I can get notified when the update is available or should it automatically update?
DeleteIt should automatically update, but honestly Amazon's system doesn't seem to be very good about that and it might not do it immediately. If you send an email to medianlinetech@gmail.com, I can try to let you know, but I am juggling a lot of emails over this.
DeleteBought the Book Collections for Kindle app. Once scanning is complete, a list of books is placed in the unsorted list. When a title is tapped a menu appears. If the "Move to" option is selected, a message appears - "Book Collections has stopped" and display returnes to the home screen. So it's impossible to create book collections in the book collections app! Any advice gratefully received.
ReplyDeleteHi John, thanks for getting in touch and sorry about the trouble. We've been trying to update the app after a Kindle Fire software update, and one version went live with that error with moving books. Please send an email to medianlinetech@gmail.com, and I'll send you an updated version that works properly as soon as it's available. Sorry!
DeleteGlad to hear it, John. Sorry again for the trouble. Enjoy the app!
DeleteHi John, thanks for getting in touch and sorry about the trouble. The latest version of the app is 4.0.0, which seems to have taken care of the issue for everyone we've heard from, but we'd be happy to see what's going on with your case, please send a quick email to medianlinetech@gmail.com and we can see what's going on.
ReplyDeleteI have downloaded several books and they appear in my carousel, but when I scan in the app on my Kindle Fire it says "0 Books Found"..it was working fine until today.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, the app was having problems with the latest Kindle Fire update, but we have put in some updates for the app that should take care of that. Check the App Updates folder on your Fire for them, or you can get a sideloadable version by emailing medianlinetech@gmail.com, though that will mean starting over with your data.
DeleteThe update worked! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI recently got a Kindle Fire HD 7" and bought this Collections app for $2.99 to to categorize my 337 books that I downloaded from the cloud to the Device. The app only took 16 of my books and I cannot get the rest of them into this app! The Help tab says to click the Menu at "the bottom" but there is no Menu at the bottom or anywhere else, on the page where all my books are listed or in the app itself. I checked for updates but it says there aren't any and I even ran the "fix" but This app Is still not working! Before I leave a negative review, I wanted to give you a chance to help me. Please, please help me. I wanted so much to LOVE this app but as of right now, I am terribly disappointed. With so many books, I truly need to be able to categorize them to be able to see what I have.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Susan, I replied to your email much earlier. Please check it. Thanks.
Delete