Calibre experts?:book cover upload frustration

amolibri · 07-01-2011, 04:26 PM

I had some books on my kindle 3 uploaded from calibre that did not have covers. I connected the kindle and deleted the books. I then added the covers in calibre by editing the metadata.

I re-uploaded the books and when I opened the books there was no cover image at the beginning of the book.

Looking at the files on the kindle, I saw the mobi file and an unfamiliar file with the .apnx ending for each uploaded book. OK. I researched that and found out that it was amazon's paging format. Hmmm. I was not online with the kindle.

Looking at the calibre metadata the covers were there.
Looking at the .mobi files using calibre's ebook viewer, there was no cover.
Looking at a book I created as and html file and converted to mobi, the cover was there both in metadata and in the calibre ebook viewer.

Questions:

Where is the .apnx file coming from? Calibre must be creating it, right?
Looking at books added to the Kindle some months ago, there are no .apnx files.

How can I get the cover showing in calibre's metadata to upload and show in the kindle?

Thanks for the help.

itimpi · 07-01-2011, 04:31 PM

To guarantee getting a cover actually added into the book you need to run a conversion on the book (even if it is something like mobi->mobi). Normally Calibre will try and insert the cover when it transfers the book to a device, but that can only be done if the cover is properly identified in the book. Running the conversion ensures that it will be (and anyway has also inserted the cover as part of the conversion process).

I believe the apnx files are generated by the kindle driver to try and support syncing if you have multiple Kindle devices/apps.

transmitthis · 07-01-2011, 04:32 PM

Convert the books, using the same format.
ie mobi to mobi.

From what I understand the covers are not integrated into the books, until conversion is done.

amolibri · 07-01-2011, 04:53 PM

Thanks for the quick replies.

I deleted the problem book from the kindle.
I deleted the problem book's mobi from the calibre library.
I reconverted the book.
I uploaded the book and the cover now shows.
Checking the calibre's ebook viewer, the book cover now also shows there.

Thanks!!!!!!

But....

When I opened the book on the kindle, it put me at the first page of the story, and not at the actual beginning of the file. Paging backwards, I saw the table of contents and then back again I saw the cover.

Do you guys know why it would not start with the cover? This was the first opening of a completely redone book conversion and uploading.

transmitthis · 07-01-2011, 04:56 PM

Sorry I don't. someone else might though.
maybe due to the kindle still having a file of where you got to in a book with that title, but I don't have a reader yet, so can't say for sure.

itimpi · 07-01-2011, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amolibri

Do you guys know why it would not start with the cover? This was the first opening of a completely redone book conversion and uploading.

Because that is the way Amazon have designed the Kindle firmware to work

If you do not like this behavior then you can try complaining to Amazon to see if they will consider changing this behavior in a future Kindle firmware update.

amolibri · 07-01-2011, 08:16 PM

I can live with it. I just wanted to be sure I didn't miss anything in the way I was using Calibre.

I consider this problem closed.

07-01-2011, 04:26 PM	#1
amolibri Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: kindle	Calibre experts?:book cover upload frustration I had some books on my kindle 3 uploaded from calibre that did not have covers. I connected the kindle and deleted the books. I then added the covers in calibre by editing the metadata. I re-uploaded the books and when I opened the books there was no cover image at the beginning of the book. Looking at the files on the kindle, I saw the mobi file and an unfamiliar file with the .apnx ending for each uploaded book. OK. I researched that and found out that it was amazon's paging format. Hmmm. I was not online with the kindle. Looking at the calibre metadata the covers were there. Looking at the .mobi files using calibre's ebook viewer, there was no cover. Looking at a book I created as and html file and converted to mobi, the cover was there both in metadata and in the calibre ebook viewer. Questions: Where is the .apnx file coming from? Calibre must be creating it, right? Looking at books added to the Kindle some months ago, there are no .apnx files. How can I get the cover showing in calibre's metadata to upload and show in the kindle? Thanks for the help.

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07-01-2011, 04:31 PM	#2
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,552 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	To guarantee getting a cover actually added into the book you need to run a conversion on the book (even if it is something like mobi->mobi). Normally Calibre will try and insert the cover when it transfers the book to a device, but that can only be done if the cover is properly identified in the book. Running the conversion ensures that it will be (and anyway has also inserted the cover as part of the conversion process). I believe the apnx files are generated by the kindle driver to try and support syncing if you have multiple Kindle devices/apps.

07-01-2011, 04:32 PM	#3
transmitthis Addict Posts: 288 Karma: 1003542 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Google Nexus 7 16GB	Convert the books, using the same format. ie mobi to mobi. From what I understand the covers are not integrated into the books, until conversion is done.

07-01-2011, 04:53 PM	#4
amolibri Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: kindle	Thanks for the quick replies. I deleted the problem book from the kindle. I deleted the problem book's mobi from the calibre library. I reconverted the book. I uploaded the book and the cover now shows. Checking the calibre's ebook viewer, the book cover now also shows there. Thanks!!!!!! But.... When I opened the book on the kindle, it put me at the first page of the story, and not at the actual beginning of the file. Paging backwards, I saw the table of contents and then back again I saw the cover. Do you guys know why it would not start with the cover? This was the first opening of a completely redone book conversion and uploading.

07-01-2011, 04:56 PM	#5
transmitthis Addict Posts: 288 Karma: 1003542 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Google Nexus 7 16GB	Sorry I don't. someone else might though. maybe due to the kindle still having a file of where you got to in a book with that title, but I don't have a reader yet, so can't say for sure.

07-01-2011, 08:16 PM	#7
amolibri Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: kindle	I can live with it. I just wanted to be sure I didn't miss anything in the way I was using Calibre. I consider this problem closed.

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