Quote:
Originally Posted by mitch13
I have the same question as to whether kfx files will be eventually downloaded to Calibre.
mitch13
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In reality we don't know, but the likely answer is not any time soon.
To explain, the situation is similar to when .azw3 files were first introduced. Calibre support could not be added until the format was understood. As Amazon does not release the specifications of its file formats, this involved reverse-engineering that format. I think I recall reading earlier that this took about 6 months. Once the format was understood Calibre support was developed enabling the use of all of Calibres functionality including conversion and viewing of drm-free azw3 files.
My understanding is this. kfx has not long been released, and is not understood. Already it presents additional difficulties to those encountered with azw3. Even drm-free .kfx ebooks are encrypted (or perhaps merely obfuscated). This was not the case with .azw3. This encryption or obfuscation must be broken as a preliminary step to even begin understanding the format. At the moment I am not aware of anyone seriously attempting this task. It has been suggested that no one will seriously bother doing so whilst .azw3 files remain readily available. Some much more knowledgeable than myself seem confident that this will be accomplished if Amazon does cease providing .azw3 files. But there are, of course, no guarantees. And of course this is only the first step.
Whilst I am sure it would be possible to have Calibre import .kfx format books, without an understanding of the format it would effectively only be for cataloguing purposes. Functions such as viewing, converting etc. would not be available. Functionality would be similar to that of a drm infested ebook imported without resort to Apprentice Alf. Even this limited support would present problems as Calibre expects to import a single file, whilst .kfx seems to require multiple files.
So, the most likely answer to your question is that Calibre support for kfx is a long way off, and may well not be seriously pursued whilst .azw3 files remain readily available. This, of course, is up to Amazon.