Sure, you can.
My usual suggestion in a case like this would be to first bulk-convert the .doc files to .html (--.rtf would work too, as you noted--), and bulk-convert the html files to .mobi.
I personally do bulk conversions from .doc or .docx with the command line tools provided by AbiWord. (I don't know how to do it with MS Word, or even if it's possible.)
Here are fairly detailed instructions, which includes the conversion to Mobi using calibre's command line tools. (You don't even need to fire up calibre's GUI.)
Here's one way you can do it under Windows.
I'm covering both .doc (older versions of Word) and .docx (Word '08+) files here; let me know if you just want one or the other.
1. Download and install calibre. (Sounds like you already have.)
2. Download and install
AbiWord. It's completely free.
3. On a 64 bit WIndows, copy and paste the following lines into Notepad.
Quote:
for %%I in (*.docx) do "C:\Program Files (x86)\AbiWord\bin\AbiWord.exe" --to=html "%%I"
for %%I in (*.doc) do "C:\Program Files (x86)\AbiWord\bin\AbiWord.exe" --to=html "%%I"
for %%I in (*.html) do "C:\Program Files (x86)\Calibre2\ebook-convert.exe" "%%I" "%%~nI.mobi"
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On 32 bit Windows, use this instead:
Quote:
for %%I in (*.docx) do "C:\Program Files\AbiWord\bin\AbiWord.exe" --to=html "%%I"
for %%I in (*.doc) do "C:\Program Files\AbiWord\bin\AbiWord.exe" --to=html "%%I"
for %%I in (*.html) do "C:\Program Files\Calibre2\ebook-convert.exe" "%%I" "%%~nI.mobi"
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The only difference between those are the path where you find the executables for calibre and AbiWord. It's probably a good idea to double check that my assumptions about where those programs are installed on your computer are correct. If they're not, you may need to change the parts:
"C:\Program Files\AbiWord\bin\AbiWord.exe" (twice)
"C:\Program Files\Calibre2\ebook-convert.exe"
to whatever the right paths are.
4. Save the file in notepad with something ending in .bat that you'll remember, e.g., "word2mobi.bat". Save it in the same folder as the files you want to convert.
5. Navigate to that folder in Windows Explorer or My Computer and double click on the file "word2mobi" (or whatever you named it).
6. A batch file will then run in a terminal screen which will bulk-convert all the .docx and .doc files in that folder to .html, and then, bulk-convert all the html files to .mobi (It is possible to use .rtf files instead -- let me know if you want to try that.)
7. The file names will remain the same; I'm not sure about the metadata... you'd have to try it and see how it goes. However,
be careful--look out for .mobi or .html files that are
already in the folder in question with the same names as your .doc and .docx files, since
they will be overwritten.
Probably there's tweaking to this process that might be worthwhile, but this is my best advice.
Remember to back up your files before trying something like this, and don't hate me too much if anything goes wrong!
I'd be happy also to give instructions for doing this under linux (which may or may not be the same as for doing it with a mac).