sirozha

Q: Syncing notes, highlights, and bookmarks between iOS devices

Hi,

 

I've decided to digitize my technical library by purchasing ebooks from now on. The problem is which ebook format to go with. My ideal requirements would be to be able to purchase books from various sources and be able to read them both on my Mac and on iOS devices. Additionally, I want to be able to sync the highlights, bookmarks, and notes among all of these devices.

 

Currently, the real winner that satisfy all of these conditions is Amazon mobi format. The only problem is that I can only purchase books from Amazon if you go with this platform.

 

On the other hand, Apple iBooks is a close second here - the lack of a solution for a Mac is a problem, but I am hoping that Apple is working on the iBooks application for the Mac. The syncking of notes, highlights, and bookmarks among various iOS devices is a nice feature, and it does not require a tethered connection to iTunes - instead, these items they can now sync wirelessly among devices on the same iTunes account.

 

My question is if the syncing of notes, highlights, and bookmarks works only with ePub books purchased from the Apple's iBooks store or if this feature works with unprotected ePub books purchased elsewhere and loaded on iOS devices via the iTunes syncing feature. For example, most of the technical books I am going to be digitizing are Cisco books published by Cisco Press. As of late, most of their ebooks are available in the unprotected ePub format, and I would be using the iBooks app to read these books. So, if I were to purchase ebooks from Cisco Press, would I be able to to make a note in a book on one iOS device (e.g. iPad), and later see this note in the same book on my iPhone?

 

Thanks!

Posted on May 2, 2011 11:19 AM

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Q: Syncing notes, highlights, and bookmarks between iOS devices

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  • Helpful answers

  • by sirozha,

    sirozha sirozha May 3, 2011 10:29 AM in response to sirozha
    Level 1 (20 points)
    May 3, 2011 10:29 AM in response to sirozha

    So, no one knows if ePub books not purchased in the Apple iBooks store support the syncing of highlights, notes, and bookmarks across iOS devices when loaded in the iBooks app?

  • by King_Penguin,

    King_Penguin King_Penguin May 3, 2011 10:46 AM in response to sirozha
    Level 10 (133,631 points)
    iTunes
    May 3, 2011 10:46 AM in response to sirozha

    This page http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4059 says (I havn't tried it though) :

     

    iBooks will automatically remember where you left off each time you close a book or return to your Home screen. Tap the bookmark icon in the upper-right corner to bookmark a specific page. Wirelessly sync your Bookmarks, Highlights, and Notes with your other devices using your iTunes Store account by tapping Settings > iBooks > Sync Bookmarks > ON.

  • by sirozha,

    sirozha sirozha May 3, 2011 11:59 AM in response to King_Penguin
    Level 1 (20 points)
    May 3, 2011 11:59 AM in response to King_Penguin

    This does not answer my question. I know iBooks syncs bookmarks, highlights, and notes among iOS devices on the same iTunes account in books that were purchased in the iBooks store. I have tried this, and it works well.

     

    I am specifically asking if the same functionality works with ePub books (non-DRM ePub) purchased from other sources and side-loaded into the iBooks app using iTunes.

  • by Seany_B,

    Seany_B Seany_B May 17, 2011 10:11 AM in response to sirozha
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 17, 2011 10:11 AM in response to sirozha

    I can confirm that, yes, iBooks syncs side-loaded non-DRM ePub bookmarks (I haven't tried highlights or notes) among iOS devices.

  • by Tahoe_Biker,

    Tahoe_Biker Tahoe_Biker Jan 23, 2012 1:00 PM in response to sirozha
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 23, 2012 1:00 PM in response to sirozha

    Yes. Highlights, notes, etc work with any ePub. They don't have to be purchased through the iBookStore.

  • by paulfrombarry,

    paulfrombarry paulfrombarry Mar 30, 2014 8:35 AM in response to Tahoe_Biker
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 30, 2014 8:35 AM in response to Tahoe_Biker

    I haveMavericks on my mac but epub  ebooks stored in ibooks are marked as test how can i stop this . whenever they are downloaded the are in the form of ibooks icon.

  • by Pauly 6 String,

    Pauly 6 String Pauly 6 String Apr 20, 2015 9:10 AM in response to Seany_B
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 20, 2015 9:10 AM in response to Seany_B

    How do you put a book on your devices to make this happen?  Do I have to load all books into iTunes then sync them to my iPad and iPhone?

     

    Thanks for any help.  I would like to have iBooks do this as I have been doing with the Kindle app.