EPub -> Mobi seems to drop style file from manifest

kensmosis · 12-07-2021, 01:30 PM

Hi,

I'm using Calibre (ebook-convert) version 5.17.0. I have an epub generated by pandoc/sigil. During conversion by ebook-convert from epub to mobi, it gives an error:

"Stylesheet 'EPUB/styles/stylesheet1.css' referenced by file 'EPUB/nav.xhtml' not in manifest"

I unzipped the epub, and the relevant file is indeed present both as an entry in the content.opf file (in the <manifest> section):

<item id="stylesheet1" href="styles/stylesheet1.css" media-type="text/css"/>

and as an actual file in the specified location.

My only guess is that ebook-convert must be dropping it from the manifest prior to reaching that point. It emitted a message "Trimming unused files from manifest..." earlier in the process.

Is it possible it somehow is dropping the style/stylesheet1.css entry from the manifest because it thinks it is unused? That file is referenced in every html file in the epub via an entry like <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../styles/stylesheet1.css" />
in the <head> section, so this would surprise me --- but it seems like the most sensible explanation.

Needless to say, much of the resulting mobi is mangled without the appropriate styles (in particular, the style ensures proper sizing and placement of images).

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Ken

kovidgoyal · 12-07-2021, 09:21 PM

Convert to azw3 not mobi.

kensmosis · 12-07-2021, 09:48 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately that won't work for me. I'm submitting a book to a review service which requires mobi. I was under the impression that ebook-convert could in fact convert to mobi. Is this not the case? If it's legacy and unsupported, I can try to find some other way. I was hoping to manage everything via a Makefile toolchain, so ebook-convert is preferable if I can get it working.

kovidgoyal · 12-07-2021, 10:08 PM

mobi works fine, the mobi format however is HTML 3 and has no support for CSS. Some basic styling will get converted to HTML3 equivalents, but more advanced styling will not.

kensmosis · 12-07-2021, 10:30 PM

Ah, I see. Thanks for explaining! I'll ask them if they can handle azw3 or if I should remove all the style-sensitive components from the original and stick with mobi.

Cheers,
Ken

JSWolf · 12-08-2021, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kensmosis

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately that won't work for me. I'm submitting a book to a review service which requires mobi. I was under the impression that ebook-convert could in fact convert to mobi. Is this not the case? If it's legacy and unsupported, I can try to find some other way. I was hoping to manage everything via a Makefile toolchain, so ebook-convert is preferable if I can get it working.

This book review service is lousy if they only accept Mobi. They should accept ePub and KF8. I don't understand why they only accept an obsolete format.

pdurrant · 12-08-2021, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kensmosis

I'm using Calibre (ebook-convert) version 5.17.0. I have an epub generated by pandoc/sigil. During conversion by ebook-convert from epub to mobi, it gives an error:

"Stylesheet 'EPUB/styles/stylesheet1.css' referenced by file 'EPUB/nav.xhtml' not in manifest"

I unzipped the epub, and the relevant file is indeed present both as an entry in the content.opf file (in the <manifest> section):

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

mobi works fine, the mobi format however is HTML 3 and has no support for CSS. Some basic styling will get converted to HTML3 equivalents, but more advanced styling will not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kensmosis

Ah, I see. Thanks for explaining! I'll ask them if they can handle azw3 or if I should remove all the style-sensitive components from the original and stick with mobi.

You should not need to change a valid ePub before converting it to Mobi format. This does sound like a genuine bug.

Run the ePub (assuming it's copyright) through a scrambler, e.g. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=267998 and post it either here or in a bug report.

I think Kovid has mis-read your report as a complaint that the CSS file isn't in the converted Mobi file.

jhowell · 12-08-2021, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kensmosis

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately that won't work for me. I'm submitting a book to a review service which requires mobi.

When a MOBI file is required for publishing that generally refers to a Master MOBI which is produced using Amazon's Kindle Previewer software. A Master MOBI contains multiple Kindle formats in a single file.

(Note that Amazon has moved on and no longer supports MOBI as a format for publishing reflowable books.)

12-07-2021, 01:30 PM	#1
kensmosis Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 22 Join Date: Sep 2015 Device: none	EPub -> Mobi seems to drop style file from manifest Hi, I'm using Calibre (ebook-convert) version 5.17.0. I have an epub generated by pandoc/sigil. During conversion by ebook-convert from epub to mobi, it gives an error: "Stylesheet 'EPUB/styles/stylesheet1.css' referenced by file 'EPUB/nav.xhtml' not in manifest" I unzipped the epub, and the relevant file is indeed present both as an entry in the content.opf file (in the <manifest> section): <item id="stylesheet1" href="styles/stylesheet1.css" media-type="text/css"/> and as an actual file in the specified location. My only guess is that ebook-convert must be dropping it from the manifest prior to reaching that point. It emitted a message "Trimming unused files from manifest..." earlier in the process. Is it possible it somehow is dropping the style/stylesheet1.css entry from the manifest because it thinks it is unused? That file is referenced in every html file in the epub via an entry like <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../styles/stylesheet1.css" /> in the <head> section, so this would surprise me --- but it seems like the most sensible explanation. Needless to say, much of the resulting mobi is mangled without the appropriate styles (in particular, the style ensures proper sizing and placement of images). Any help would be appreciated. Cheers, Ken

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12-07-2021, 09:21 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,860 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Convert to azw3 not mobi.

12-07-2021, 09:48 PM	#3
kensmosis Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 22 Join Date: Sep 2015 Device: none	Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately that won't work for me. I'm submitting a book to a review service which requires mobi. I was under the impression that ebook-convert could in fact convert to mobi. Is this not the case? If it's legacy and unsupported, I can try to find some other way. I was hoping to manage everything via a Makefile toolchain, so ebook-convert is preferable if I can get it working.

12-07-2021, 10:08 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,860 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	mobi works fine, the mobi format however is HTML 3 and has no support for CSS. Some basic styling will get converted to HTML3 equivalents, but more advanced styling will not.

12-07-2021, 10:30 PM	#5
kensmosis Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 22 Join Date: Sep 2015 Device: none	Ah, I see. Thanks for explaining! I'll ask them if they can handle azw3 or if I should remove all the style-sensitive components from the original and stick with mobi. Cheers, Ken