Best way to convert from Mobi to ePub?

[DiapDealer]

The term "mobi" is currently rather fluid. I find it best not to get too worked up over the various labels. I lean towards "kindlebook" myself these days--for purposes of simplicity in an environment where several different "formats" can be contained by several different file extensions. It may not be absolutely "correct," but it works for me.

It does seem rather pedantic, though, to entirely exclude KF8 from "mobi" discussions when the official software used to create kindlebooks creates--by default--a "mobi file" that contains both the mobi and KF8 formats.

[DaleDe]

To make it even more complicated a Kindebook can be a pdf in a mobi wrapper (AZW4) or lately a CBR/CBZ rewrapped into a KF8 fixed layout. For those needing help we need to learn to be more specific.

Dale

[crashnburn]

Damn! I had no idea .mobi files could have such variety of mutations!

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by crashnburn

Damn! I had no idea .mobi files could have such variety of mutations!

yea, and I didn't even mention the Topaz (AZW1) eBooks. Check AZW in our wiki.

Dale

[crashnburn]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

yea, and I didn't even mention the Topaz (AZW1) eBooks. Check AZW in our wiki.

Dale

I have a bunch of .mobi files shared from some friends.

1. Is there an easy way to first figure out which TYPE is contained within?
2. Once I know which type, can we make MAPPING LIST that outlines which WORKFLOW is best for a certain type?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by crashnburn

I have a bunch of .mobi files shared from some friends.

You may have just shot yourself in the foot, there ... with regard to receiving much assistance on MobileRead, anyway. In addition to the fact that that "sharing" entails (in all likelihood) some copyright violation, it's also completely irrelevant to the problem at hand.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by RbnJrg

Hi JSWolf;

Well, Amazon seems not to think like you When we, nowadays, get a book from the service of Kindle Direct Publishing, we get a .mobi but THAT .mobi has inside a .kf8 and a .mobi7. So we can't call .mobi anymore just the old mobi format; now there are mobis that are -simultaneously- .kf8 and .mobi7.

Now, if you consider .mobi ONLY the old .mobi format, then you are right and KindleUnpack is not the best option to convert the .mobi in .epub. But how do you know is the .mobi is a modern one or old one? The best thing is trying with KindleUnpack and to see if produces or not an .epub. If so, then we have our .epub; if not, then we can follow your indications.

Regards

I will say this, you are wrong. You are not converting a Mobi eBook. You are converting a KF8 eBook. Different things. The eBook you get back from Amazon is a combination of Mobi and KF8. It is not a Mobi as the topic means. So in this combination file, you are ignoring the Mobi part of it in order to use the KF8 part. I don't know what to call the combination file, but I do know it's not strictly Mobi or KF8.

[RbnJrg]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I don't know what to call the combination file, but I do know it's not strictly Mobi or KF8.

Yes, I agree with you, is not strictly mobi or kf8 but AMAZON call it MOBI And Amazon is the creator; so is for the creator those kind of files are mobis then I must call them mobi too.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by RbnJrg

Yes, I agree with you, is not strictly mobi or kf8 but AMAZON call it MOBI And Amazon is the creator; so is for the creator those kind of files are mobis then I must call them mobi too.

Well what Amazon returns for proofreading purposes from their direct conversion service is not what they provide to customers. For customers they look at the capabilities of the device itself and provide a custom version for that device. How is it that Amazon calls it mobi? Is it the extension they provide on the file or an email attachment they send to you? As provided to a customer they provide a azw type extension but KindleGen does use mobi as the extension for the file which is an intermediate file that contains 3 files inside. The KF7, the KF8, and the source. It is huge but the mobi designation only refers to the container and is left over from version 1 of KindleGen.

Dale

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by crashnburn

I have a bunch of .mobi files shared from some friends.

1. Is there an easy way to first figure out which TYPE is contained within?
2. Once I know which type, can we make MAPPING LIST that outlines which WORKFLOW is best for a certain type?

How were these produced? Kindleunpack can take them apart and provide the type of the file if there is no DRM on the file.

Dale

[DiapDealer]

And "What's My MOBI?" (a few threads down) can tell you exactly what format is under the hood, if you're not afraid of a little Python.

[RbnJrg]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Well what Amazon returns for proofreading purposes from their direct conversion service is not what they provide to customers. For customers they look at the capabilities of the device itself and provide a custom version for that device. How is it that Amazon calls it mobi? Is it the extension they provide on the file or an email attachment they send to you? As provided to a customer they provide a azw type extension but KindleGen does use mobi as the extension for the file which is an intermediate file that contains 3 files inside. The KF7, the KF8, and the source. It is huge but the mobi designation only refers to the container and is left over from version 1 of KindleGen.

Dale

Hi Dale;

It seems to me we are having a "Byzantine discussion". What is .mobi? Kindlegen generates an hybrid that Amazon calls it mobi; Kindle Direct Publishing also generates another hybrid called mobi. JSWolf says that this section of the forum is only to matters with regards to .mobi (the old mobi format). So, is someone wants to make a question about .kf8/azw3, where must s/he post? If is in this section, then the discussion about if mobi is only the old format is meaningless. A member of this forum asked about the best method to convert a mobi into epub. Since we don't know what kind of mobi is his mobi, to try KindleUnpack to see if that software produces or not an epub is a valid method. I said that since my first post and you have agreed with me:

How were these produced? Kindleunpack can take them apart and provide the type of the file if there is no DRM on the file.

I think there is a better way to spend our time that discussing about what is strictly a mobi file. There are more inside a triangle than in its vertices.

The best for you
Rubén

[crashnburn]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You may have just shot yourself in the foot, there ... with regard to receiving much assistance on MobileRead, anyway. In addition to the fact that that "sharing" entails (in all likelihood) some copyright violation, it's also completely irrelevant to the problem at hand.

Did I say they were copyrighted books? or with DRM? Why do you assume so?
Several are open domain, some are community created etc etc. Several learning and interest groups & spiritual knowledge that is open domain.

There are tons of copyright free books available online as .MOBI files. Gutenberg type of sites etc. I want to make ePubs for use in MARVIN - CONSISTENT READING ENVIRONMENT.

Originally Posted by DaleDe

How were these produced? Kindleunpack can take them apart and provide the type of the file if there is no DRM on the file.

Dale

That is the thing. I do not know how each of them was produced. Sources vary and author, producers, tools (and now I realized internal formats) all vary .

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by crashnburn

Did I say they were copyrighted books? or with DRM? Why do you assume so?
Several are open domain, some are community created etc etc. Several learning and interest groups & spiritual knowledge that is open domain.

There are tons of copyright free books available online as .MOBI files. Gutenberg type of sites etc. I want to make ePubs for use in MARVIN - CONSISTENT READING ENVIRONMENT.

My point was that many people WILL assume (because let's face it: the sharing of public domain and creative commons licensed ebooks in bulk is largely unnecessary). And since it's still irrelevant to the problem at hand (getting a bunch of ebooks shared from friends), why mention it and risk limiting the assistance you might receive?

I wish you luck. And as I mentioned above, the What's My Mobi thread (a few threads down) has a handy python tool for identifying the underlying formats of a folder(s)-ful of files with the various file extension normally associated with mobi and other kindlebooks.

[crashnburn]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

My point was that many people WILL assume (because let's face it: the sharing of public domain and creative commons licensed ebooks in bulk is largely unnecessary). And since it's still irrelevant to the problem at hand (getting a bunch of ebooks shared from friends), why mention it and risk limiting the assistance you might receive?

I wish you luck. And as I mentioned above, the What's My Mobi thread (a few threads down) has a handy python tool for identifying the underlying formats of a folder(s)-ful of files with the various file extension normally associated with mobi and other kindlebooks.

My mistake to have mentioned it. Maybe we should never share what SOURCE was.

For e.g. a lot of books that I download from gutenberg and open domain stuff ends up being saved in a folder. My cousin is not big on going online and doing this, so I share those on a pen drive with him. For an uncle I pretty much have to put them onto his reader. Not very tech savvy.

How does it matter to people how & where I got the books? The question asked was MOBI to ePUB from all flavors of .mobi files.

Why? Because MARVIN is much much better for reading and highlighting than any .mobi reader that I know about.