Quote:
Originally Posted by jhowell
I updated the first post in this thread to link to the new information by odamizu for getting Method 2 working with the latest Kindle for Mac.
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Thank you jhowell for updating the first post for Mac users.
When installing Kindle for Mac 1.25+, you should first install
1.23.1, make sure everything works, then update to 1.25+ from there. It's best to update through the app (under Preferences > Updates, turn on automatic updates); however if the app isn't updating by itself, you can also download
1.26.1 from Amazon and install it over 1.23.1. (It's best not to switch back and forth between the direct download version of K4Mac and the Apple App Store version as there are small differences that could break things.)
If you are updating to macOS Catalina, it is best to establish a working setup with 1.25+ BEFORE updating to Catalina. However, if you've already updated to Catalina and have 1.23.1 (or earlier) already installed (which won't work now), you might as well try updating manually by downloading
1.26.1 from Amazon (if you got 1.23.1 by downloading from Amazon) or updating through the App Store (if you originally got 1.23.1 through the App Store). The worst that will happen is it will continue to not work.
(If you are on Catalina and never had a working setup with Kindle for Mac 1.23.1 or earlier, you will not be able to use Kindle for Mac. Consider
Method 3 instead.)
The key to getting Alf-friendly KF8 from 1.25+ is to run chmod -x then
download books using right-click on mouse and selecting "Download" or menu bar "File > Download" rather than double-clicking or otherwise opening the book.
Detailed instructions for Kindle for Mac 1.25+ in one post:
Spoiler:
- Close Kindle for Mac
- Open Terminal window and input:
Code:
chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test
If you're still getting KFX (an .azw file accompanied by a voucher file, azw.res, azw.md), try again adding sudo before chmod:
Code:
sudo chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test
Note: If K4Mac is installed somewhere other than your Applications folder, you will need to change the filepath accordingly.
- Launch Kindle for Mac. If you have any previously downloaded KFX books, they won't open now and you will need to remove them and download again to get KF8.
- Download books using right-click on mouse and selecting "Download" or menu bar "File > Download". Do NOT open the book with double-click.
The download command will trigger a KF8/AZW3 (with generic .azw extension) to download. Retrieve this file immediately. In many cases, this file can be liberated by Alf.
If you double-click the book or otherwise try to open and read it, Kindle will convert the .azw to .kcr and delete the .azw file. The .kcr file cannot be liberated by Alf.
If you have a .kcr file, and want an .azw, delete the .kcr file then re-download the book per above without opening it.
- If you are on Mojave or earlier and Alf doesn't like your .azw/KF8, you can roll back to 1.23.1 and try again. Make sure 1.23.1 is working with Alf before updating to 1.25+.
- If you are planning to upgrade to macOS 10.15 Catalina, it's best to do all this BEFORE upgrading to Catalina. This is because 1.23.1 is 32-bit and therefore will not work on Catalina, so if 1.25+ fails, you can't roll back to 1.23.1 and try again. However, if you've already updated to Catalina and have 1.23.1 (or earlier) already installed (which won't work now), you might as well try updating manually by downloading 1.26.1 from Amazon (if you got 1.23.1 by downloading from Amazon) or updating through the App Store (if you originally got 1.23.1 through the App Store). The worst that will happen is it will continue to not work.
- If you are on Catalina and never had a working setup with Kindle for Mac 1.23.1 or earlier, you will not be able to use Kindle for Mac. Consider Method 3 instead.
- Note: Using chmod -x on 1.25+ will cause K4Mac to crash every time you close the app. This is an unfortunate side effect of disabling KFX to get KF8. It is unclear if this error has any bad effects. You therefore have to choose between getting Alf-friendly KF8/AZW3 and crashing every time you quit, or sticking with 1.23.1 and Mojave or earlier.
For more detailed help, ask on
Apprentice Harper's GitHub or
Apprentice Alf’s blog.
Thank you to chrisparker and Strether for being early Catalina testers
Happy reading!
