Kindle 2 conversion for Mac

Sinthor · 02-26-2009, 05:14 AM

I found a free piece of software that will help you convert non-DRM .pdf, .doc (Word) and other types of files for Macintosh users. It seems to work pretty darn well. Depending on how your original file is structured and graphic content, it can work just like a "native" developed e-book! Check out link below for the company and software. Again, it's free, so if you have existing files, you can't beat it. Best I've found so far.

Anyone else have other or better solutions?

http://www.lexcycle.com/

Thank you,

HarryT · 02-26-2009, 05:22 AM

The above link refers to Stanza, which is a reader for the iPod Touch/iPhone. Perhaps I'm missing something, but does this have any relevance for the Kindle 2? Stanza is purely a reading application; to the best of my knowledge it has no file conversion capabilities.

pdurrant · 02-26-2009, 05:31 AM

Stanza does have a Desktop reader for Mac, but I didn't know it could create Kindle-compatible files, I thought it only did ePUB files. But it's been a while since I looked.

In general, for the Mac user I'd recommend Calibre http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/. Excellent, free, ebook library software that works on Mac (& Windows and Linux), and will also convert books from various formats into Mobipocket format, which the Kindle 2 can read.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinthor

Anyone else have other or better solutions?

HarryT · 02-26-2009, 05:32 AM

I don't believe that it "creates" any files at all, Paul. It's just a reader!

montsnmags · 02-26-2009, 05:39 AM

From the Lexcycle website:

"Stanza Desktop is also the first program that has a built-in export feature especially for the Amazon Kindle. Your PDFs, Word documents, and other eBooks can all be exported to the Kindle's native format and copied over to the device using a USB cable"
(http://www.lexcycle.com/stanza)

Cheers,
Marc

HarryT · 02-26-2009, 05:40 AM

Ah, that explains it. Thanks, Marc - I'd entirely missed that!

I suspect, though, that Calibre probably does a better job.

montsnmags · 02-26-2009, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Ah, that explains it. Thanks, Marc - I'd entirely missed that!

I was about to shut down the tab I had the page opened in myself, when it caught my eye down there at the bottom.

Quote:

I suspect, though, that Calibre probably does a better job.

I suspect so too.

(I do wish we could get Mobipocket Reader for the iPhone/iPod Touch, though I've pretty much given up on that at this stage)

Cheers,
Marc

joshewah · 02-26-2009, 11:13 AM

The Stanza reader for mac works pretty well. Its written using a bunch of open source projects, some of which may overlap with Calibre. I have used it to convert .lit books easily and export them as azw mobi files. I wish they add editing of meta-data at some point, that was my gripe with it.

I actually had never heard of Calibre till I checked out this forum recently. It looks like it would be great if you had a machine to act as a server at home. The mac interface is not what I call pretty but I'll have to give it a try. The only thing is that I keep my files backed up on an external storage device, and my bandwidth isn't the best for sharing it on the internet. Would Calibre allow you to grab files direct to Kindle if its set up as a server on the public network?

Gideon · 02-26-2009, 02:08 PM

It can do it...

But it's generally a mess. I won't use it at all.

If I'm converting from one good ebook format to another I'll use calibre. If I'm converting a PDF, HTML, or Doc I open up Parallels and use MobiCreator.

Last time I checked Stanza didn't handle mobi types very well at all.

Sinthor · 02-27-2009, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Stanza does have a Desktop reader for Mac, but I didn't know it could create Kindle-compatible files, I thought it only did ePUB files. But it's been a while since I looked.

In general, for the Mac user I'd recommend Calibre http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/. Excellent, free, ebook library software that works on Mac (& Windows and Linux), and will also convert books from various formats into Mobipocket format, which the Kindle 2 can read.

Actually, it supports import/export for over 12 formats. Again, I don't know how well it works for each just yet, but it has a nice interface and a lot of positive feedback. And free. Does support mobi files as well. I'll see how well it works as I go. I'll check out Calibre as well. Perhaps I can put together a decent comparison of the two.

Thanks for the info!

joshewah · 02-27-2009, 04:10 AM

I have been using it for .lit and txt files mostly. If its PDF I have just been using amazon's service. It uses ConvertLIT internally, I don't know if thats the same thing Calibre uses.

I have Crossover installed on my mac, I might give MobiCreator a try under that one of these days.

freecia · 02-27-2009, 07:55 PM

I use both Stanza and Calibre on my mac. Here's a few things off the top of my head in regards to viewing the files, converting them, and having the title/author appear correctly on your eReader

Stanza Desktop for mac
pros:
faster to load than the calibre viewer
exports a variety of files, which is great if you don't mind missing some TOC
Can send ePub files to Stanza on the iPhone/iPod Touch
reads a lot of different eBook file formats all in one app

cons:
Doesn't auto-gen a TOC if none is present
File conversion doesn't always set the metadata (like Title and Author) correctly.

duly noted neutrals for me:
Stanza flows the pages one after another kind of like Word's reading view.
no "send to device" button

Calibre for mac:

pros:
allows for content management including setting metadata
batch convert to one of the supported file types
can auto-generate a Table Of Contents if the file has the right tags or if you're familiar with Regular Expressions

cons:
batch convert is only to 3 file types.
No Find and Replace for batch editing of metadata
Need to set the title/author guessing to the correct format before you import especially if you have a lot of books or you'll be editing the titles for a while...

duly noted:
viewer is more like a browser viewer or Word's print layout view.

fugazied · 02-28-2009, 01:32 AM

I'll checkout stanza desktop for Mac (I have a lot of university material I need to transfer to Kindle), I'll let you know how the quality goes.

cerement · 02-28-2009, 04:30 PM

From the FAQ on the Stanza website, under the heading How can I create ePub files from my books?

Quote:

4. Calibre (http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/): a free tool for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux that allows you to convert to ePub from a wide variety of formats. Calibre currently does a better job than Stanza Desktop at preserving styles and formatting of source documents.

(emphasis mine)

DaleDe · 02-28-2009, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cerement

From the FAQ on the Stanza website, under the heading How can I create ePub files from my books?

(emphasis mine)

Yea, that is because Stanza conversion strips all formatting from the source files.

Dale

02-26-2009, 05:14 AM	#1
Sinthor Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2	Kindle 2 conversion for Mac I found a free piece of software that will help you convert non-DRM .pdf, .doc (Word) and other types of files for Macintosh users. It seems to work pretty darn well. Depending on how your original file is structured and graphic content, it can work just like a "native" developed e-book! Check out link below for the company and software. Again, it's free, so if you have existing files, you can't beat it. Best I've found so far. Anyone else have other or better solutions? http://www.lexcycle.com/ Thank you,

02-27-2009, 07:55 PM	#12
freecia Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 378 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: CA Device: kindle 3 3g+wifi, kindle 2, kindle 1	stanza and calibre user I use both Stanza and Calibre on my mac. Here's a few things off the top of my head in regards to viewing the files, converting them, and having the title/author appear correctly on your eReader Stanza Desktop for mac pros: faster to load than the calibre viewer exports a variety of files, which is great if you don't mind missing some TOC Can send ePub files to Stanza on the iPhone/iPod Touch reads a lot of different eBook file formats all in one app cons: Doesn't auto-gen a TOC if none is present File conversion doesn't always set the metadata (like Title and Author) correctly. duly noted neutrals for me: Stanza flows the pages one after another kind of like Word's reading view. no "send to device" button Calibre for mac: pros: allows for content management including setting metadata batch convert to one of the supported file types can auto-generate a Table Of Contents if the file has the right tags or if you're familiar with Regular Expressions cons: batch convert is only to 3 file types. No Find and Replace for batch editing of metadata Need to set the title/author guessing to the correct format before you import especially if you have a lot of books or you'll be editing the titles for a while... duly noted: viewer is more like a browser viewer or Word's print layout view.

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02-26-2009, 05:22 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The above link refers to Stanza, which is a reader for the iPod Touch/iPhone. Perhaps I'm missing something, but does this have any relevance for the Kindle 2? Stanza is purely a reading application; to the best of my knowledge it has no file conversion capabilities.

02-26-2009, 05:32 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I don't believe that it "creates" any files at all, Paul. It's just a reader!

02-26-2009, 05:39 AM	#5
montsnmags Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,155 Karma: 4632658 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	From the Lexcycle website: "Stanza Desktop is also the first program that has a built-in export feature especially for the Amazon Kindle. Your PDFs, Word documents, and other eBooks can all be exported to the Kindle's native format and copied over to the device using a USB cable" (http://www.lexcycle.com/stanza) Cheers, Marc

02-26-2009, 05:40 AM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Ah, that explains it. Thanks, Marc - I'd entirely missed that! I suspect, though, that Calibre probably does a better job.

02-26-2009, 11:13 AM	#8
joshewah Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 1 & 2	The Stanza reader for mac works pretty well. Its written using a bunch of open source projects, some of which may overlap with Calibre. I have used it to convert .lit books easily and export them as azw mobi files. I wish they add editing of meta-data at some point, that was my gripe with it. I actually had never heard of Calibre till I checked out this forum recently. It looks like it would be great if you had a machine to act as a server at home. The mac interface is not what I call pretty but I'll have to give it a try. The only thing is that I keep my files backed up on an external storage device, and my bandwidth isn't the best for sharing it on the internet. Would Calibre allow you to grab files direct to Kindle if its set up as a server on the public network?

02-26-2009, 02:08 PM	#9
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	It can do it... But it's generally a mess. I won't use it at all. If I'm converting from one good ebook format to another I'll use calibre. If I'm converting a PDF, HTML, or Doc I open up Parallels and use MobiCreator. Last time I checked Stanza didn't handle mobi types very well at all.

02-27-2009, 04:10 AM	#11
joshewah Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 1 & 2	I have been using it for .lit and txt files mostly. If its PDF I have just been using amazon's service. It uses ConvertLIT internally, I don't know if thats the same thing Calibre uses. I have Crossover installed on my mac, I might give MobiCreator a try under that one of these days.

02-28-2009, 01:32 AM	#13
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	I'll checkout stanza desktop for Mac (I have a lot of university material I need to transfer to Kindle), I'll let you know how the quality goes.

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