Troubleshooting Some book icons have 'Personal' label. Why?

phunnylinguist · 12-08-2014, 07:07 PM

I'm referring to the small book thumbnail icons in cover view on a Paperwhite 2. Some are mobi, the others are azw. All had been previously clean, non-DRM epubs converted with Calibre.

I've forgotten the precise workflow used in their conversion but am curious as to what might be my options to remove those bottom band labels and what steps should be taken in the future to avoid them.

susan_cassidy · 12-08-2014, 08:39 PM

I believe the metadata has to be changed from PDOC to EBOK.

eschwartz · 12-08-2014, 09:51 PM

The Kindle has the concept of cdetypes, which is a metadata field describing the type of document. Examples are periodicals, ebooks, personal documents, etc.

EBOK == ebook
PDOC == personal document

Personal documents are automatically given the "Personal" banner by the Kindle firmware. By default calibre sends books as PDOCs, but there is an option in the Output preferences for MOBI/AZW3.

Set the Personal Documents tag to "EBOK" in MOBI Output, and make sure the option "Enable sharing of book content" is unchecked. That *should* do the trick.

This FAQ entry is pretty much the same thing but in reverse:
http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq....droid-ipad-etc

Mote that you will need to select ALL books, enter Bulk Edit Metadata (shortcut key is "E") and check "Remove stored conversion settings for the selected books" or else the previous settings take precedence.

Alternatively, you can install [GUI Plugin] Quality Check, and use the twin options:

Check Mobi ==> Check missing EBOK cdetype

(selects all books that would be affected by this problem)

Fix ==> Fix ASIN for Kindle Fire

(inserts an ASIN which forces the Kindle to see the book as an EBOK)

phunnylinguist · 12-09-2014, 10:37 AM

I seem to recall reading here somewhere of a user questioning where their representative (as opposed to generic) book covers went to, where the suggestion was made to leave *checked* the "Enable sharing of book content" box in a conversion. It may be my failing memory but since I'd been experiencing a similar issue I tried the suggestion and viola!---the more graphic icons reappeared.

What I'd neglected to state in my original post was how I'd populated the books into the Paperwhite: by drag-and-drop or via Calibre, which I suspect may have made a difference.

Not to muddle this any further but having others respond that azw (and not mobi) is a more preferred conversion output, what steps might I be more aware of in a Calibre conversion to azw should I be vigilant of regarding your recent suggestion to Set the Personal Documents tag to "EBOK" in MOBI Output with the option "Enable sharing of book content" as unchecked?

Grazie for your prompt and pertinent reply, Eschwartz!

eschwartz · 12-09-2014, 10:52 AM

AZW3, not AZW.

AZW is a renamed MOBI.
AZW3 is a successor format.

AZW3 is preferred because it supports more features, but older devices don't support it, and the Keyboard needs the last firmware update to read it.

Don't worry though -- MOBI Output preferences will cover AZW3 as well.

As regards missing covers:
if a book is an EBOK, (well, if it has an ASIN really,) the Kinde thinks it comes from Amazon servers and tries to pull the cover thumbnail from there.
If it is a PDOC, Amazon extracts a cover thumbnail fom the book file.
Whoops, what happens for books with rigged ASINs? No cover is on Amazon, but the Kindle firmware is too stupid to extract a cover from the ebook file.

calibre is designed to work around these problems. When sending a book from calibre to a Kindle, if the book has an ASIN a cover thumbnail will be generated by calibre and added to the folder

Code:

[userstore]/system/thumbnails/

(userstore is user-visible storage a/k/a Kindle Drive)

If you use drag-and-drop, calibre doesn't know and cannot do anything about it.

Moral of the story -- let calibre do the work, that is what it is good for.

phunnylinguist · 12-09-2014, 11:06 AM

First I must confess to not having used any of the html or CSS features of Calibre. As a result, my conversion workflow while working with Calibre has been to download metadata while in edit metadata mode. This has enabled me (and other users I'm sure) to choose from a source of covers.

Has this practice been in error or counterproductive?

eschwartz · 12-09-2014, 11:37 AM

It won't affect anything, except that MOBI does not have the ability to update embedded covers (one of the things AZW3 fixed), which is a different bugbear altogether.
Because calibre will still copy over the right (updated) thumbnail, even if it is wrong (old version) in the book.

12-08-2014, 07:07 PM	#1
phunnylinguist Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 66952 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Some book icons have 'Personal' label. Why? I'm referring to the small book thumbnail icons in cover view on a Paperwhite 2. Some are mobi, the others are azw. All had been previously clean, non-DRM epubs converted with Calibre. I've forgotten the precise workflow used in their conversion but am curious as to what might be my options to remove those bottom band labels and what steps should be taken in the future to avoid them.

12-09-2014, 10:52 AM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	AZW3, not AZW. AZW is a renamed MOBI. AZW3 is a successor format. AZW3 is preferred because it supports more features, but older devices don't support it, and the Keyboard needs the last firmware update to read it. Don't worry though -- MOBI Output preferences will cover AZW3 as well. As regards missing covers: if a book is an EBOK, (well, if it has an ASIN really,) the Kinde thinks it comes from Amazon servers and tries to pull the cover thumbnail from there. If it is a PDOC, Amazon extracts a cover thumbnail fom the book file. Whoops, what happens for books with rigged ASINs? No cover is on Amazon, but the Kindle firmware is too stupid to extract a cover from the ebook file. calibre is designed to work around these problems. When sending a book from calibre to a Kindle, if the book has an ASIN a cover thumbnail will be generated by calibre and added to the folder Code: [userstore]/system/thumbnails/ (userstore is user-visible storage a/k/a Kindle Drive) If you use drag-and-drop, calibre doesn't know and cannot do anything about it. Moral of the story -- let calibre do the work, that is what it is good for. Last edited by eschwartz; 12-09-2014 at 10:55 AM.

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12-08-2014, 08:39 PM	#2
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	I believe the metadata has to be changed from PDOC to EBOK.

12-08-2014, 09:51 PM	#3
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	The Kindle has the concept of cdetypes, which is a metadata field describing the type of document. Examples are periodicals, ebooks, personal documents, etc. EBOK == ebook PDOC == personal document Personal documents are automatically given the "Personal" banner by the Kindle firmware. By default calibre sends books as PDOCs, but there is an option in the Output preferences for MOBI/AZW3. Set the Personal Documents tag to "EBOK" in MOBI Output, and make sure the option "Enable sharing of book content" is unchecked. That should do the trick. This FAQ entry is pretty much the same thing but in reverse: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq....droid-ipad-etc Mote that you will need to select ALL books, enter Bulk Edit Metadata (shortcut key is "E") and check "Remove stored conversion settings for the selected books" or else the previous settings take precedence. Alternatively, you can install [GUI Plugin] Quality Check, and use the twin options: Check Mobi ==> Check missing EBOK cdetype (selects all books that would be affected by this problem) Fix ==> Fix ASIN for Kindle Fire (inserts an ASIN which forces the Kindle to see the book as an EBOK)

12-09-2014, 10:37 AM	#4
phunnylinguist Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 66952 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I seem to recall reading here somewhere of a user questioning where their representative (as opposed to generic) book covers went to, where the suggestion was made to leave checked the "Enable sharing of book content" box in a conversion. It may be my failing memory but since I'd been experiencing a similar issue I tried the suggestion and viola!---the more graphic icons reappeared. What I'd neglected to state in my original post was how I'd populated the books into the Paperwhite: by drag-and-drop or via Calibre, which I suspect may have made a difference. Not to muddle this any further but having others respond that azw (and not mobi) is a more preferred conversion output, what steps might I be more aware of in a Calibre conversion to azw should I be vigilant of regarding your recent suggestion to Set the Personal Documents tag to "EBOK" in MOBI Output with the option "Enable sharing of book content" as unchecked? Grazie for your prompt and pertinent reply, Eschwartz!

12-09-2014, 11:06 AM	#6
phunnylinguist Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 66952 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Device: Kindle Paperwhite	First I must confess to not having used any of the html or CSS features of Calibre. As a result, my conversion workflow while working with Calibre has been to download metadata while in edit metadata mode. This has enabled me (and other users I'm sure) to choose from a source of covers. Has this practice been in error or counterproductive?

12-09-2014, 11:37 AM	#7
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	It won't affect anything, except that MOBI does not have the ability to update embedded covers (one of the things AZW3 fixed), which is a different bugbear altogether. Because calibre will still copy over the right (updated) thumbnail, even if it is wrong (old version) in the book.

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