EPUB to RTF Conversion Gone Bad

Trester · 03-01-2011, 05:56 PM

I just got a book (EPUB) from KOBO that I'm trying to convert to RTF.

When I view the book in Calibre, the formatting is perfect. When I convert and load the RTF file into WORD, carriage returns have been deleted and the paragraphs run together. If there are multiple CR's (empty lines) then the CR is retained by the Calibre conversion.

I have done hundreds of the EPUB to RTF conversions and have not seen this problem before. Am I missing something, any ideas?

I tried converting to PDF, and the correct format is made. I haven't tried converting to text because I would really like to retain the formats.

Thanks for any help

Archon · 03-02-2011, 02:05 PM

What OS are you using and what other tools do you have?

Select the book in Calibre and right click and choose "Tweak Epub" or just use the "T" key.
Copy the HTML files to another folder and use a word processor that can handle HTML files (like Word) to combine the files and convert them to RTF. Then re-import to Calibre and merge files.

Basically, if you can't get Calibre to convert it properly try other software until you find what works.

Calibre is a great swiss army knife but some files just don't convert well.

Happy Wednesday

user_none · 03-02-2011, 06:36 PM

Most likely your EPUB is differentiating paragraphs using div tags. The RTF output does not support this. Paragraphs must be within p tags for RTF output.

Trester · 03-17-2011, 10:48 AM

This may be my perception only, but the problem seems to have gotten much worse as I have upgraded versions of Calibre. So many of the EPUB's that I convert to RTF do not end the paragraph where it should when converted. So I am ending up with a document that has a lot of run-on paragraphs.

For the problem EPUBS, I am using an online converter (http://www.2epub.com/) and the conversions are perfect.

I download from a lot of different sources, so it is possible that the books I am having problems with are from the same source. But still, it doesn't make sense that Calibre can't convert these files.

Any thoughts?
Anyone know of a free EPUB converter that can be downloaded?
Thanks

Trester · 03-17-2011, 11:10 AM

An FYI.
Using Calibre, I converted some of the problem files to MOBI, and then to RTF. The conversions were perfect.

user_none · 03-17-2011, 11:24 AM

MOBI is a simplier format than EPUB. That tells me there is something unnecessary in the EPUB file that is tripping up the conversion that is being removed during the intermediate conversion to MOBI.

Trester · 03-17-2011, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by user_none

MOBI is a simplier format than EPUB. That tells me there is something unnecessary in the EPUB file that is tripping up the conversion that is being removed during the intermediate conversion to MOBI.

Thanks for the quick response.

Since all of these books are original Retail format, it doesn't make sense that I am the only one experiencing this. Yet I can not find any other posts on this topic.

Since both Calibre (converting EPUB to MOBI to RTF) and (www.2epub.com) can do the conversion correctly, doesn't it indicate that the character(s) that are causing the problem, are consistent and can be handled correctly?

user_none · 03-17-2011, 12:59 PM

Open a ticket at http://bugs.calibre-ebook.com and attach a file displaying the behavior. It will be looked into being fixed. No guarentees when, RTF is a low priority format.

Trester · 03-17-2011, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by user_none

Open a ticket at http://bugs.calibre-ebook.com and attach a file displaying the behavior. It will be looked into being fixed. No guarentees when, RTF is a low priority format.

Thank You!

Manichean · 03-17-2011, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trester

Since all of these books are original Retail format, it doesn't make sense that I am the only one experiencing this. Yet I can not find any other posts on this topic.

Doesn't surprise me. EPub is the most common ebook format, so not many people would need to convert from that to anything else. I believe most people convert to ePub.

03-01-2011, 05:56 PM	#1
Trester Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PRS-300	EPUB to RTF Conversion Gone Bad I just got a book (EPUB) from KOBO that I'm trying to convert to RTF. When I view the book in Calibre, the formatting is perfect. When I convert and load the RTF file into WORD, carriage returns have been deleted and the paragraphs run together. If there are multiple CR's (empty lines) then the CR is retained by the Calibre conversion. I have done hundreds of the EPUB to RTF conversions and have not seen this problem before. Am I missing something, any ideas? I tried converting to PDF, and the correct format is made. I haven't tried converting to text because I would really like to retain the formats. Thanks for any help

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03-02-2011, 02:05 PM	#2
Archon Zealot Posts: 110 Karma: 5176 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Mac OSX, iPad, iPod, & Nook	What OS are you using and what other tools do you have? Select the book in Calibre and right click and choose "Tweak Epub" or just use the "T" key. Copy the HTML files to another folder and use a word processor that can handle HTML files (like Word) to combine the files and convert them to RTF. Then re-import to Calibre and merge files. Basically, if you can't get Calibre to convert it properly try other software until you find what works. Calibre is a great swiss army knife but some files just don't convert well. Happy Wednesday

03-02-2011, 06:36 PM	#3
user_none Sigil & calibre developer Posts: 2,488 Karma: 1063785 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida, USA Device: Nook STR	Most likely your EPUB is differentiating paragraphs using div tags. The RTF output does not support this. Paragraphs must be within p tags for RTF output.

03-17-2011, 10:48 AM	#4
Trester Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PRS-300	This may be my perception only, but the problem seems to have gotten much worse as I have upgraded versions of Calibre. So many of the EPUB's that I convert to RTF do not end the paragraph where it should when converted. So I am ending up with a document that has a lot of run-on paragraphs. For the problem EPUBS, I am using an online converter (http://www.2epub.com/) and the conversions are perfect. I download from a lot of different sources, so it is possible that the books I am having problems with are from the same source. But still, it doesn't make sense that Calibre can't convert these files. Any thoughts? Anyone know of a free EPUB converter that can be downloaded? Thanks

03-17-2011, 11:10 AM	#5
Trester Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PRS-300	An FYI. Using Calibre, I converted some of the problem files to MOBI, and then to RTF. The conversions were perfect.

03-17-2011, 11:24 AM	#6
user_none Sigil & calibre developer Posts: 2,488 Karma: 1063785 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida, USA Device: Nook STR	MOBI is a simplier format than EPUB. That tells me there is something unnecessary in the EPUB file that is tripping up the conversion that is being removed during the intermediate conversion to MOBI.

03-17-2011, 12:59 PM	#8
user_none Sigil & calibre developer Posts: 2,488 Karma: 1063785 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida, USA Device: Nook STR	Open a ticket at http://bugs.calibre-ebook.com and attach a file displaying the behavior. It will be looked into being fixed. No guarentees when, RTF is a low priority format.

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