Months of Runaround From KDP Support: Font Embedding Fails...HELP! - Page 4

Hitch · 07-22-2013, 10:10 PM

Update:

This is an HTML error somewhere in the file. I sent the OP his ePUB, pared down, that built at KDP with fonts; I suspect an open tag somewhere in one of the XHTML files I'd pulled out. He should be able to find the error in pretty quick order now that he knows it's not his CSS, etc. File was clean otherwise and it's not the font-names, spaces, lack of spaces, etc.

Hitch

Mathew Reuther · 07-23-2013, 12:52 AM

Just for the record, the issue appears to be somewhere in the html (which validates...all tags are closed) or how the css interacts with the html of the body of the work. Hitch has been elping me with this issue over the weekend and this is what we've narrowed it down to.

So, it's still not resolved, but we have been steadily eliminating issues. I am about to strip every custom style from the first chapter and start adding them back in one at a time to see where it breaks.

Mathew Reuther · 07-23-2013, 01:15 AM

So, I'm not 100% positive that this works as I have not fully reassembled the book yet, but KDP apparently errors when you give it a heading declaration with a class that affects the font. Never mind that this is wholly legitimate HTML/CSS...

So, it is absolutely a case of there being a bug in the KDP conversion process. The workaround is moving from this:

<h2 class="fontchange"><a href="link details">Chapter One</a></h2>

to this:

<h2><span class="fontchange"><a href="link details">Chapter One</a></span></h2>

Once I confirm that this is the issue I will write Amazon a bug report and send it to support. (I'll also make sure to check back in here.)

Mathew Reuther · 07-23-2013, 01:32 AM

Oh, no, wait, it gets better.

KDP has an issue when the h2 default font is specified and then an h2 class overwrites it.

I just moved from having h2 default to an embedded font and instead made two different classes which switch the font.

It works.

So now I have <h2 class="ch"> and <h2 class="head"> in my html, with h2.head defined as font1 and h2.ch defined as font2 in the CSS. This is the winning combo, after months of back and forth, and Amazon telling me to code better, I get to go back and tell them what the bug in KDP is.

HarryT · 07-23-2013, 03:14 AM

Excellent - well done for tracking it down, you two. Delighted to hear that you've come up with a solution.

quiris · 04-15-2014, 07:42 AM

I prepared minimal test case with following html code:

Code:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
  <link href="../Styles/stylesheet.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>test</h1>
  <p>test</p>
</body>
</html>

and stylesheet:

Code:

@font-face {
  src: url(../Fonts/Lobster.otf);
  font-family: "Lobster 1.4";
  }

p {
  font-family: "Lobster 1.4";
}

The above code causes deleting Lobster.otf file from Mobi file send to Personal Documents Service. Mobi file, and source epub file attached.

Doitsu · 04-15-2014, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quiris

The above code causes deleting Lobster.otf file from Mobi file send to Personal Documents Service. Mobi file, and source epub file attached.

AFAIK, the Personal Documents Service creates a Mobi7 file by default. And Mobi7 files don't support embedded fonts.

If you want to see the file(s) that KDP will offer to the readers, compile your book with Kindle Previewer. Then get the Calibre KindleUnpack plugin and unpack the .mobi file that KindlePreviewer has generated from your .ePub file. You'll end up with an azw3 file with an embedded font, a plain old mobi7 file without an embedded font file and the source files. (KDP will send the azw3 file to users who have a K3 or higher and the mobi7 file to all other users.)

Note that Kindle Previewer's eink preview is buggy, on a real Kindle the embedded font is being displayed (see screenshot).

quiris · 04-15-2014, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doitsu

AFAIK, the Personal Documents Service creates a Mobi7 file by default. And Mobi7 files don't support embedded fonts.

No, you are wrong. Mobi files created with kindlegen and uploaded to Personal Documents Service are converted to proper KF8 files with embedded fonts feature as well. You can check it yourself with below test cases (test21). The test21.mobi uploaded to PDS works without problem and displays emedded font (lobster.otf)

The only change is in CSS:

p, h1 {
font-family: "Lobster 1.4";
}

HarryT · 04-15-2014, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quiris

No, you are wrong. Mobi files created with kindlegen and uploaded to Personal Documents Service are converted to proper KF8 files with embedded fonts feature as well. You can check it yourself with below test cases (test21). The test21.mobi uploaded to PDS works without problem and displays emedded font (lobster.otf)

IF that is true, then this is something new. It certainly used to be the case that Amazon did not accept KF8 files as personal docs.

quiris · 04-15-2014, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

IF that is true, then this is something new. It certainly used to be the case that Amazon did not accept KF8 files as personal docs.

Personal Documents Service accepts dual (hybrid) mobi files (Mobi6 + KF8) created with kindlegen (or Kindle Previewer) and it converts them to two distinct files (AZW + AZW3) available for download with Kindle devices.

You can not send KF8 only file. It will be refused. Only dual (hybrid) mobi files are accepted.

Doitsu · 04-15-2014, 12:07 PM

I had another look at test20.mobi, which is indeed a hybrid .mobi file. However, the embedded font in the .azw3 file displays fine on my K3 after activating the Publisher Font option. I.e., I cannot reproduce your problem.

1. Did you try transferring the .mobi file via USB cable instead of PDS?
2. Did you test test20.mobi with devices other than your PW?
3. Does toggling the Publisher Font option display the embedded font?

quiris · 04-15-2014, 12:47 PM

Doitsu, you have to upload test20.mobi to PDS to see the described issue (stripped embedded font). Sending mobi file via USB is irrelevant to the issue since Amazon cloud servers are responsible for font stripping.

quiris · 04-15-2014, 12:51 PM

After downloading AZW3 file from Personal Documents Service to your Kindle, you can transfer it to your computer and after KindleUnpacking it you can see that lobster.off is not present in the AZW3 file

Doitsu · 04-15-2014, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quiris

Doitsu, you have to upload test20.mobi to PDS to see the described issue (stripped embedded font). Sending mobi file via USB is irrelevant to the issue since Amazon cloud servers are responsible for font stripping.

Sending mobi file via USB is not irrelevant, because you have to make sure that KindleGen does not strip the fonts, and the only way to do this is to transfer your test file via USB.

Also since PDS and KDP use different toolchains, it's quite possible that your particular font stripping problem only occurs with documents delivered via PDS. I.e., it might be a non-issue.

quiris · 04-15-2014, 01:56 PM

Doitsu, I can check presence of embedded font simple KindleUnpacking it

I will try later perform the same test using KDP.

07-23-2013, 01:15 AM	#48
Mathew Reuther SpecFic Writer Posts: 31 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Vista, CA Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire, Nook, HTC One M8	So, I'm not 100% positive that this works as I have not fully reassembled the book yet, but KDP apparently errors when you give it a heading declaration with a class that affects the font. Never mind that this is wholly legitimate HTML/CSS... So, it is absolutely a case of there being a bug in the KDP conversion process. The workaround is moving from this: <h2 class="fontchange"><a href="link details">Chapter One</a></h2> to this: <h2><span class="fontchange"><a href="link details">Chapter One</a></span></h2> Once I confirm that this is the issue I will write Amazon a bug report and send it to support. (I'll also make sure to check back in here.) Last edited by Mathew Reuther; 07-23-2013 at 01:22 AM.

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07-22-2013, 10:10 PM	#46
Hitch Bookmaker & Cat Slave Posts: 11,460 Karma: 158448243 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Phoenix, AZ Device: K2, iPad, KFire, PPW, Voyage, NookColor. 2 Droid, Oasis, Boox Note2	Update: This is an HTML error somewhere in the file. I sent the OP his ePUB, pared down, that built at KDP with fonts; I suspect an open tag somewhere in one of the XHTML files I'd pulled out. He should be able to find the error in pretty quick order now that he knows it's not his CSS, etc. File was clean otherwise and it's not the font-names, spaces, lack of spaces, etc. Hitch

07-23-2013, 12:52 AM	#47
Mathew Reuther SpecFic Writer Posts: 31 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Vista, CA Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire, Nook, HTC One M8	Just for the record, the issue appears to be somewhere in the html (which validates...all tags are closed) or how the css interacts with the html of the body of the work. Hitch has been elping me with this issue over the weekend and this is what we've narrowed it down to. So, it's still not resolved, but we have been steadily eliminating issues. I am about to strip every custom style from the first chapter and start adding them back in one at a time to see where it breaks.

07-23-2013, 01:32 AM	#49
Mathew Reuther SpecFic Writer Posts: 31 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Vista, CA Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire, Nook, HTC One M8	Oh, no, wait, it gets better. KDP has an issue when the h2 default font is specified and then an h2 class overwrites it. I just moved from having h2 default to an embedded font and instead made two different classes which switch the font. It works. So now I have <h2 class="ch"> and <h2 class="head"> in my html, with h2.head defined as font1 and h2.ch defined as font2 in the CSS. This is the winning combo, after months of back and forth, and Amazon telling me to code better, I get to go back and tell them what the bug in KDP is.

07-23-2013, 03:14 AM	#50
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Excellent - well done for tracking it down, you two. Delighted to hear that you've come up with a solution.

04-15-2014, 12:07 PM	#56
Doitsu Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,583 Karma: 22735033 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle PW2	I had another look at test20.mobi, which is indeed a hybrid .mobi file. However, the embedded font in the .azw3 file displays fine on my K3 after activating the Publisher Font option. I.e., I cannot reproduce your problem. 1. Did you try transferring the .mobi file via USB cable instead of PDS? 2. Did you test test20.mobi with devices other than your PW? 3. Does toggling the Publisher Font option display the embedded font?

04-15-2014, 12:47 PM	#57
quiris Groupie Posts: 195 Karma: 42216 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Poland Device: Kindles: KOA1, KV	Doitsu, you have to upload test20.mobi to PDS to see the described issue (stripped embedded font). Sending mobi file via USB is irrelevant to the issue since Amazon cloud servers are responsible for font stripping.

04-15-2014, 12:51 PM	#58
quiris Groupie Posts: 195 Karma: 42216 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Poland Device: Kindles: KOA1, KV	After downloading AZW3 file from Personal Documents Service to your Kindle, you can transfer it to your computer and after KindleUnpacking it you can see that lobster.off is not present in the AZW3 file

04-15-2014, 01:56 PM	#60
quiris Groupie Posts: 195 Karma: 42216 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Poland Device: Kindles: KOA1, KV	Doitsu, I can check presence of embedded font simple KindleUnpacking it I will try later perform the same test using KDP.

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