Creating a web page to download .mobi files to Kindle

[Steve00932]

Hi all, I am new to this forum and am hoping you can help me find a solution to a problem. I have setup Calibre to download newspapers to my kindle, but if I use the 3g to collect these I will have to pay charges. I would like to create a web page with links to the .mobi files I have created so that I can visit that page and download the .mobi file to read at my leisure. SO far I have done the following:
1 - Extracted the RSS feed from a newspaper (Daily Telegraph)
2 - Converted the feed into a .mobi format
3 - FTP'd the telegraph.mobi file to my web server
4 - Created a web page with a link to the .mobi file

When I visit this page in explorer it asks me if I want to download the file, but on the Kindle browser it tries to load the .mobi file in the web browser and gives me rubbish.

I know that project gutenbourg manages to download .mobi files when you click on their site, does anyone know how to do this?

Any help would be appreicated.

PS - the link I have setup so far is

www.theusualplace.co.uk/newspapers

The file "this is kent - calibre.mobi" exists on the server.

Thanks in advance!

[Blossom]

I would just use Dropbox It's alot easier to download your ebook library that way. I just drag and drop files from my PC into my Dropbox and it's uploaded then I just use the Kindle browser to log into my Dropbox and download whatever Mobi book I need at the moment. You get 2GB at signup which is plenty and you can get more by doing various things but it's free to use.

If you use my referral link We both get 250MB extra once you install the program on your PC. Alot of us here use Dropbox and it makes owning a Kindle even better. It's completely Free and easy to use.

[DiapDealer]

Your server needs to have the proper mimetype declared in order for the Kindle's browser to recognize the mobi file you're trying to serve.

For Apache webservers, add the following to your server conf:
AddType application/x-mobipocket-ebook .mobi .prc .azw

You can also add that same line to your .htaccess file if you don't have access to your webserver's configuration.

If you don't have any kind of access to your webserver (other than downloading/uploading files), you can try creating the link on your webpage in the following manner:

<a href="www.yourwebsite.com/ebooks/test.mobi" TYPE="application/x-mobipocket-ebook">Click here</a>

That's pretty hit or miss depending on the webserver's configuration, though. You should really use one of the first two options if you can.

[Mike L]

Steve,

I know this doesn't answer your question, but have you considered simply connecting your Kindle to the computer via the USB cable?

That way, you could set up a simple batch file that copies the .MOBI file to the Kindle. If you use Calibre's timer to trigger the RSS download, you could use the Windows Scheduler in a similar way to fire the batch file, say, five minutes after the Calibre download starts.

It's true that you'd have to physically plug in the cable, but, apart from that, the process would be automatic.

[HarryT]

One note of caution: if your web page is publicly available, your Mobi books created from newspaper web sites will probably be in breach of copyright. Make sure that only you can access them!

[bonzi]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Your server needs to have the proper mimetype declared in order for the Kindle's browser to recognize the mobi file you're trying to serve.

[...]

Perfect! This solved my problems. It seems that the old rickety browser on K2 relied on file extensions instead.

Thanks!

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by bonzi

Perfect! This solved my problems. It seems that the old rickety browser on K2 relied on file extensions instead.

Actually, no. The K2's rickety browser relied on what mime-type the web server was reporting for a file to be properly downloaded (along with the extension). If the Kindle's browser was relying entirely on the file's extension... there would have been no need to configure the server's mime-types. It would have just worked... with no extra configuration necessary.

But I'm glad my post helped you solve a problem.

[Kindlevarazs]

Hi!
I think it is false. I have tried to download PRCs from server and Kindle rejected it. Another time and another place it has worked. If I rename the same prc to mobi, it has worked, too. And from another server the prc has worked, too. So my practice has proved, that the server settings are necessary for the correct download.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Kindlevarazs

Hi!
I think it is false. I have tried to download PRCs from server and Kindle rejected it. Another time and another place it has worked. If I rename the same prc to mobi, it has worked, too. And from another server the prc has worked, too. So my practice has proved, that the server settings are necessary for the correct download.

You think what is false? Everyone agrees that the proper server-side configuration is necessary for the Kindle (at least the older ones) to successfully download ebook files from a webserver.

[Kindlevarazs]

Sorry, I misunderstood this sentence:
"If the Kindle's browser was relying entirely on the file's extension... there would have been no need to configure the server's mime-types."

[bonzi]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Actually, no. The K2's rickety browser relied on what mime-type the web server was reporting for a file to be properly downloaded (along with the extension). If the Kindle's browser was relying entirely on the file's extension... there would have been no need to configure the server's mime-types. It would have just worked... with no extra configuration necessary.

Hm, my K2i browser was happily downloading the same files that K3 was trying to display instead. That sent me searching for solution which I found here. It never occurred to me to inspect http headers.

Anyway, problem solved. Thanks again! (Ah, there's a glorified emoticon for that here: )

[mkgtu]

Original post doesn't say which Kindle is being used. If it is K3 or later (i.e. with Wi-Fi capability), I just email the calibre newspapers automatically everyday to my free kindle email, e.g. "username@free.kindle.com", which is only delivered via wi-fi, not 3G. There is no charge from Amazon for wi-fi delivery. Of course the old transfer by USB works fine if you're at home. Of course, if your Kindle doesn't use wi-fi or you have no wi-fi router at home for daily use, you're out of luck on that.
The other advantage of the email solution is that now anything you email to your Kindle address (free or otherwise) is stored on your Amazon Kindle cloud and will show up almost immediately in the Archive folder on the Kindle, where you can just click to download them. That's great for books you email, but a blessing and a curse for newspapers and magazines from calibre. They're ALL there. You'll find every copy of the New York Times you ever emailed from calibre, and, unlike the Amazon subscription version in the Archive folder, there are no dates showing. I think today's issue would be the last (or first) in the list, but finding a specific back isuue would be a bit of a challenge.
A similar email situation is to auto-email the calibre news to some other address you can access on the Kindle. They show up as an attachment which can be easily downloaded. In addition to sending news to my Kindle free address each day, I also auto-mail them all to my blackberry address where they are opened with mobipocket reader. (It's an older phone, won't take the Kindle app.)
Another alternative, though I have never used it, is that calibre itself functions as a server. You need to log onto its server address from any browser and your entire library is there for the taking. I presume you could do that from the kindle browser. Check the user manual for how to do that. You just have to remember to keep calibre runniing on your computer, even in the tray area. Close it completely and the server shuts down as well.
A final caution, if you happen to also have a Kindle Fire, the email function, especially as regards periodicals, simply doesn't work. The stuff gets there, but Amazon messes with the file in transit and it loses all the navigational controls, i.e. no "Sections and Articles." They show up like a book and can't be "browsed Through" like a periodical. The calibre folks have so far been stumped on how to fix that. Seems its an Amazon issue. You also can't access an "archive folder" on the Fire. And access to their famous Cloud doesn't work either, at least not yet. In many respects the Fire is still a cart without a horse.

[mkgtu]

Whoops, just noticed original poster IS using Kindle with 3G AND Wi-Fi. solution is simple then, just have calibre automatically email the downloaded periodical to "username@free.kindle.com." Bingo, arrives in less than a minute, no charges.

To auto-mail, just go into Calibre's "preferences", set up the free.kindle address and check the box next to it for auto delivery. It will deliver all the periodicals as soon as they are finished loading. This will not auto-deliver books or anything else that you import manually into calibre.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by mkgtu

Whoops, just noticed original poster IS using Kindle with 3G AND Wi-Fi. solution is simple then, just have calibre automatically email the downloaded periodical to "username@free.kindle.com." Bingo, arrives in less than a minute, no charges. ...

True, but IF AND ONLY IF a WiFi connection is available. When there is no WiFi and you are relying on a 3G connection you won't recieve things sent to the *@free.kindle.com" address. The OP was looking for a method that was both free and via 3G.

The solution discussed here involves a custom webpage and the necessary webserver configuration. The proper server configuration is what allows Kindles to download directly from their web browser from sites like Project Gutenberg and my site for a small book that I publish for another author.

[bonzi]

Originally Posted by mkgtu

Another alternative, though I have never used it, is that calibre itself functions as a server. You need to log onto its server address from any browser and your entire library is there for the taking. I presume you could do that from the kindle browser. Check the user manual for how to do that. You just have to remember to keep calibre runniing on your computer, even in the tray area. Close it completely and the server shuts down as well.

I was playing with this just yesterday, and it works very well. One can run the server independently from the main Calibre application, and rendering of its pages on K3 browser is reasonably good (there are several formats of varying complexity to choose from). K2 and Calibre server don't seem to play, though - it seems that the server is not satisfied with K2 request format (it also balks if one simply tries to access it with "naked" GET request on its port using telnet). When I find some time I will snoop a bit at the K2 requests.

Just make a shortcut to start calibre-server.exe with appropriate parameters, or you can use one of the utilities to start is as a service (starting with Vista Microsoft does not seem to include this capability in its resource kit).

See http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/cli/calibre-server.html