.mbp info

1611mac · 04-16-2011, 03:47 PM

is this the right forum to ask questions about Kindle for Mac and iPad generated .mbp files? (or should I go to Apple Devices forum?)

ATDrake · 04-16-2011, 04:01 PM

Well, technically they do accompany .mobi files and you're asking about them on two devices, not just the iPad.

Unless your question's going to be about very specific iPad use and you think there's a broad enough userbase with enough Mobi experience who'll be able to answer it there.

1611mac · 04-16-2011, 04:28 PM

Ok.. thanks..
Background:
I read mostly public domain stuff, mostly for research and education, so highlighting, marking, and making notes is very important to me. I believe I have found that Kindle is the best way to go on Mac/iPad because the .mbp file can be transferred back and forth along with the .mobi file (via the Kindle app file sharing feature in iTunes). I use Calibre to convert all files to mobi's.

I have also found that a Kindle for Mac (desktop) generated .mbp will NOT work when copied to the iPad but an iPad generated .mbp WILL work on BOTH platforms.

So to ensure compatibility, my procedure is to put the book (mobi) on my iPad so the .mbp is generated there, then copy it to my Kindle for Mac library on my desktop Mac. Doing this gives me an .mbp that works on both devices.

I have used HexEdit to view both .mbp files and there are some differences. Would be happy to post screen shots if that would be helpful.

Question
Is there anywhere I can learn about .mbp files? Is there such a thing as an .mbp editor (I can use HexEdit if necessary).

With the .mbp file being so important (annotations for research) why is it treated so "casually" and why is there so little information about it?

In short:
I want to know more about .mbp files. I want to be sure mine are as usable and as compatible between devices as possible.

ATDrake · 04-16-2011, 04:43 PM

About the only info you'll be able to really get is via this guy, who wrote a handy .mbp extractor and made notes about what he noticed when writing up his program.

Of course like everything else having to do with Mobi, the format is not open and poorly, if at all documented. Amazon is simply not interested in sharing much and everyone else who wants to work with their stuff basically has to stick with the officially supplied tools or reverse engineer on best guesswork.

I myself have noticed a distinct difference between .mbp files generated with the K4Mac app, and those generated on my K2 with the 2.5 firmware upgrade.

Pre-2.5, .mbp files all included the text of the highlight as well as the notes. Post 2.5, only your actual notes seem to be included, with pointers to the presumable internal location of your highlights being substituted. I think this is what makes K4Mac notes (generated in the old style) unreadable on a Kindle hardware device, although newer versions of K4Mac seem to have no problem reading Kindle-generated notes.

In any case, if you make a lot of notes and want them to at least be exportable, then the MBPreader script will still work to export your notes.

Unfortunately, you're stuck for the highlights (which normally get exported to MyClippings.txt on a hardware Kindle, which you don't seem to have, and only if they were made on said Kindle).

Although it might be possible to tweak the script in conjunction with some of the Mobi unpacking tools and get it to look up and export the highlights from their references, if anyone manages to figure out the pointer syntax.

Hope this helps.

1611mac · 04-16-2011, 04:48 PM

Some very good info there... Thank you VERY much for your time, interest, and knowledge. I just hate to make a ton of notes and marks only to have them un-usable at some time, some place, on some device!

ATDrake · 04-16-2011, 05:07 PM

If you're worried about note/highlight exportability and willing to work with an older format with several disadvantages, I think perhaps eReader's pdb format might work well for you.

The eReader for Mac app I've tried lets you do highlights in 4 colours as well as notes, and will fully export both highlight and note text to plain text.

The notes are kept in separate corresponding files to the individual original .pdb with a certain extension all in the ~/Documents/eReader/Book Data folder (something like that), rather than directly with the book files, and I'm pretty sure you should be able to move them back and forth.

Very likely the eReader for iPhone app will store stuff in much the same way (the eReader for Windows app which I tried via Wine did), and they're really unlikely to change the file format any time soon, since it's practically defunct now and they haven't even updated their software in years.

So as long as they don't yank the downloads, you won't have to worry about suddenly introduced incompatibility.

PDB formatting display can be a little primitive even compared to Mobi, which is pretty backwards, but the format is documented and easy to convert and you'll be mainly reading and fixing older mostly plain-text books if I've read your post right?

It may not be optimal, but maybe worth a try to see if it can work for you.

1611mac · 04-16-2011, 05:13 PM

again... good info... I'll investigate! Thank you!

04-16-2011, 03:47 PM	#1
1611mac eWanderer Posts: 523 Karma: 1441998 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NC, USA Device: iMac,iPad3,iPhone5-Kindle Fire,Touch,PaperWhite	.mbp info is this the right forum to ask questions about Kindle for Mac and iPad generated .mbp files? (or should I go to Apple Devices forum?)

04-16-2011, 04:43 PM	#4
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	About the only info you'll be able to really get is via this guy, who wrote a handy .mbp extractor and made notes about what he noticed when writing up his program. Of course like everything else having to do with Mobi, the format is not open and poorly, if at all documented. Amazon is simply not interested in sharing much and everyone else who wants to work with their stuff basically has to stick with the officially supplied tools or reverse engineer on best guesswork. I myself have noticed a distinct difference between .mbp files generated with the K4Mac app, and those generated on my K2 with the 2.5 firmware upgrade. Pre-2.5, .mbp files all included the text of the highlight as well as the notes. Post 2.5, only your actual notes seem to be included, with pointers to the presumable internal location of your highlights being substituted. I think this is what makes K4Mac notes (generated in the old style) unreadable on a Kindle hardware device, although newer versions of K4Mac seem to have no problem reading Kindle-generated notes. In any case, if you make a lot of notes and want them to at least be exportable, then the MBPreader script will still work to export your notes. Unfortunately, you're stuck for the highlights (which normally get exported to MyClippings.txt on a hardware Kindle, which you don't seem to have, and only if they were made on said Kindle). Although it might be possible to tweak the script in conjunction with some of the Mobi unpacking tools and get it to look up and export the highlights from their references, if anyone manages to figure out the pointer syntax. Hope this helps. Last edited by ATDrake; 04-16-2011 at 04:47 PM. Reason: Break up giant chunk of single-sentence paragraph.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Anyway to use Kindle mbp file with Calibre?	1611mac	Calibre	18	04-16-2011 02:00 PM
Viewing .mbp file on Nokia E63	scooterguy	Alternative Devices	1	03-26-2010 12:50 PM
Viewing .mbp file on Nokia E63	scooterguy	Introduce Yourself	3	03-24-2010 08:39 PM
Mobi mbp files	lisa.m	Calibre	0	11-16-2009 03:15 PM

04-16-2011, 04:01 PM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Well, technically they do accompany .mobi files and you're asking about them on two devices, not just the iPad. Unless your question's going to be about very specific iPad use and you think there's a broad enough userbase with enough Mobi experience who'll be able to answer it there.

04-16-2011, 04:28 PM	#3
1611mac eWanderer Posts: 523 Karma: 1441998 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NC, USA Device: iMac,iPad3,iPhone5-Kindle Fire,Touch,PaperWhite	Ok.. thanks.. Background: I read mostly public domain stuff, mostly for research and education, so highlighting, marking, and making notes is very important to me. I believe I have found that Kindle is the best way to go on Mac/iPad because the .mbp file can be transferred back and forth along with the .mobi file (via the Kindle app file sharing feature in iTunes). I use Calibre to convert all files to mobi's. I have also found that a Kindle for Mac (desktop) generated .mbp will NOT work when copied to the iPad but an iPad generated .mbp WILL work on BOTH platforms. So to ensure compatibility, my procedure is to put the book (mobi) on my iPad so the .mbp is generated there, then copy it to my Kindle for Mac library on my desktop Mac. Doing this gives me an .mbp that works on both devices. I have used HexEdit to view both .mbp files and there are some differences. Would be happy to post screen shots if that would be helpful. Question Is there anywhere I can learn about .mbp files? Is there such a thing as an .mbp editor (I can use HexEdit if necessary). With the .mbp file being so important (annotations for research) why is it treated so "casually" and why is there so little information about it? In short: I want to know more about .mbp files. I want to be sure mine are as usable and as compatible between devices as possible.

04-16-2011, 04:48 PM	#5
1611mac eWanderer Posts: 523 Karma: 1441998 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NC, USA Device: iMac,iPad3,iPhone5-Kindle Fire,Touch,PaperWhite	Some very good info there... Thank you VERY much for your time, interest, and knowledge. I just hate to make a ton of notes and marks only to have them un-usable at some time, some place, on some device!

04-16-2011, 05:07 PM	#6
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	If you're worried about note/highlight exportability and willing to work with an older format with several disadvantages, I think perhaps eReader's pdb format might work well for you. The eReader for Mac app I've tried lets you do highlights in 4 colours as well as notes, and will fully export both highlight and note text to plain text. The notes are kept in separate corresponding files to the individual original .pdb with a certain extension all in the ~/Documents/eReader/Book Data folder (something like that), rather than directly with the book files, and I'm pretty sure you should be able to move them back and forth. Very likely the eReader for iPhone app will store stuff in much the same way (the eReader for Windows app which I tried via Wine did), and they're really unlikely to change the file format any time soon, since it's practically defunct now and they haven't even updated their software in years. So as long as they don't yank the downloads, you won't have to worry about suddenly introduced incompatibility. PDB formatting display can be a little primitive even compared to Mobi, which is pretty backwards, but the format is documented and easy to convert and you'll be mainly reading and fixing older mostly plain-text books if I've read your post right? It may not be optimal, but maybe worth a try to see if it can work for you.

04-16-2011, 05:13 PM	#7
1611mac eWanderer Posts: 523 Karma: 1441998 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NC, USA Device: iMac,iPad3,iPhone5-Kindle Fire,Touch,PaperWhite	again... good info... I'll investigate! Thank you!

Advert

Advert