BookManager

BookManager is a Windows desktop application for organizing and tracking a local PDF book library. It scans a selected folder structure, builds a browsable catalog, and stores reading progress, ratings, statuses, notes, and favorite books locally.

The project was built as a personal library manager inspired by list-tracking services such as MyAnimeList, adapted for offline PDF book collections.

Features

• Automatically scans a local directory and its subfolders for PDF files.
• Organizes books into a tree view based on the folder structure.
• Tracks reading status: none, reading, completed, dropped, and on hold.
• Stores current page, total pages, rating, start date, completion date, and personal notes.
• Provides quick search by book title.
• Supports favorite books and library statistics such as completed books, currently reading books, dropped books, and total pages read.
• Opens books directly in the default PDF reader and can open the containing folder.
• Generates first-page PDF previews with Ghostscript.
• Stores application data locally in XML, with optional AES encryption.
• Includes early synchronization components for future client/server data syncing.

Technology Stack

• Language: VB.NET
• UI: Windows Forms
• Runtime: .NET Framework 4.8
• PDF processing: PDFsharp, Ghostscript.NET, Ghostscript
• Data storage: Local XML file, optional AES encryption
• Installer: Visual Studio Installer Project
• Experimental server component: Python synchronization server prototype

Repository Structure

.
├── BookManager                  # Main Windows Forms application
├── BookManagerInstaller         # Visual Studio installer project
├── ExternalLibs                 # External libraries and installers not managed by NuGet
├── IDRemover                    # Utility for removing IDs from PDF files
├── SyncServer                   # Prototype synchronization server
├── TestingApp                   # Sandbox project for testing new features
├── BookManager.sln
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

Requirements

• Windows
• Visual Studio with .NET Framework desktop development support
• .NET Framework 4.8 Developer Pack
• Ghostscript 10.03.0 or newer
• NuGet package restore enabled in Visual Studio

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository.
2. Open BookManager.sln in Visual Studio.
3. Restore NuGet packages if Visual Studio does not do it automatically.
4. Build the BookManager project.
5. Make sure Ghostscript is installed and available on the target machine.
6. Run the application and choose a local folder containing PDF books.

Building the Installer

1. Open BookManager.sln in Visual Studio.
2. Build the BookManagerInstaller project.
3. Run the generated installer.

Warning

Choose an installation directory where the application can create, update, and delete local data files without requiring administrator privileges.

Current Limitations

• The installer path must allow normal user-level file operations.
• Encrypted XML file detection still needs more robust validation.
• Ghostscript may have issues with file paths containing characters outside the basic ASCII character set.
• Synchronization is represented by prototype components and is not yet a complete production feature.

Planned Improvements

• Replace XML-based storage with SQLite.
• Improve application permission handling around local data files.
• Complete client/server synchronization.
• Replace or supplement Ghostscript with a more reliable PDF preview solution.
• Add broader validation and automated tests around file loading, encryption, and data persistence.