Gregg's Nearly Interminable Adventures in Linux Land

[Gregg Bell]

Welcome Friends! (I did not come up with the name of this thread. We have mrmikel to thank for that. And eschwartz to thank for suggesting using it here.) This thread is dedicated to people who have questions about Linux (like me). Feel free to ask or answer anything related to Linux.

[Gregg Bell]

Okay then! Now that I see there's a thread for this I can't wait to get started!

I got a free ebook from Kobo and set it up on my Windows computer at work. I signed up for Adobe's 'computer authorization' to read the DRM book on multiple computers, and now I want to read the book on my Xubuntu comptuer at home. I have read--here in fact--about downloading VMWare Player, and in the Ubuntu software center there is VMWare View Open Client. The advice is varied, a little redundant and not a little confusing, driving me further into Interminable Adventures in Linux Land! I just want to read the book (quick and easy). Can you give me a way of doing that? Thanks!

[cromag]

Linux is big enough that you can have multiple authorities, none of whom have overlapping areas of expertise, and still not find an answer to a particular problem.

Still, I like it a lot.

But I keep my old Windows box limping along for stuff like Adobe. Then I use Calibre and some plug-ins to cleanse the file and I can read it anywhere.

You might read up on "Wine" which allows *some* Windows programs to run, but Wine is not always intuitive, and not all Windows programs will run under it. I have used it in the past, but not with Adobe, so I don't have a specific answer.

[eschwartz]

Hi there!

I know many people successfully use WINE to run ADE. Try looking at this article here: http://robert.penz.name/440/howto-in...e-book-reader/

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by cromag

Linux is big enough that you can have multiple authorities, none of whom have overlapping areas of expertise, and still not find an answer to a particular problem.

Still, I like it a lot.

But I keep my old Windows box limping along for stuff like Adobe. Then I use Calibre and some plug-ins to cleanse the file and I can read it anywhere.

You might read up on "Wine" which allows *some* Windows programs to run, but Wine is not always intuitive, and not all Windows programs will run under it. I have used it in the past, but not with Adobe, so I don't have a specific answer.

Tried the Wine route. No luck. Was reading about VMWare player but it sounds like it uses a ton of resources. Will keep searching. Thanks.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Hi there!

I know many people successfully use WINE to run ADE. Try looking at this article here: http://robert.penz.name/440/howto-in...e-book-reader/

I tried it (the article). Got stuck with trying to open the ADE file with "Open with Wine program loader." Got these error message windows with no error messages. (see screenshot)

[Gregg Bell]

I just realized I've been asking the wrong questions about a lot of things. Like I usually make my ebooks in Windows like this: Word-->html (via "web page filtered")-->epub (via Sigil)-->mobi (via Kindle Previewer). So if I go strictly Linux come April 8th (which I am fully planning on doing), how am I going to do there what I did in Windows?

For instance, the way you guys get Sigil is over my head at this point. Patching over in Wine seems iffy. And can I get Kindle Previewer in Linux? Or maybe I should use VMWare Player or Oracle Virtual Box for Sigil and Kindle Previewer and anything else I might need in Windows? Or have a Windows and a Linux computer (which if at all possible I'd rather not do).

[eschwartz]

Kindle Previewer is not available in linux, but according to what I've read should run easily in WINE.
Personally, I'd check the book on my Kindle rather than in Previewer. And if the book is properly-formatted and doesn't have anything complicated in it, it's probably going to look all right. Disclaimer -- I am a dabbler, since I fall strictly on the reader end of things, and Hitch would probably take my head for saying something so unprofessional, so don't take my word for this.

I believe the experts here would recommend a workflow of Word DOCX ==> Toxaris' addon ==> EPUB ==> kindlegen ==> dual mobi. Libreoffice can also be used, with writer2epub instead of Toxaris' addon.

In between EPUB and kindlegen, do any editing how and when you like.

Question: When your friend converted your WinXP computer to linux, did he leave it as a dual boot computer? That means both Windows and linux are installed, and when you turn on the computer you can choose which to use. It's a pretty good option if you need to run a few Win-only programs. It's what I do if I convert a computer.

[avantman42]

For writing, I'd suggest using LibreOffice, with either an extension to export to ePub, or use Calibre to convert the .odt file to ePub.

Once you've got the ePub, you can clean it up using Sigil or Calibre's ebook editor. I believe that Sigil won't be maintained in future, so Calibre's editor might be your best bet. You can also use Calibre to convert the finished ePub to Mobi for uploading to Amazon.

[st_albert]

My recommendation for epub --> mobi/kindle in linux would be to use the command-line kindlegen program (available for linux natively), especially if you intend to distribute the kindle version. Note that Kindle previewer uses this same kindlegen back-end for its conversions.

FWIW I have been making commercial epubs (and mobis) from word docs entirely in linux for years, using the tools discussed above and elsewhere on MR. I only need Windows when InDesign is involved. (OK, and also to preview the finished products in ADE and Kindle Previewer.)

[Billi]

Originally Posted by avantman42

Once you've got the ePub, you can clean it up using Sigil ...

The problem is that Gregg doesn't have installed Sigil at the moment because there is no Sigil package for Ubuntu.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by Billi

The problem is that Gregg doesn't have installed Sigil at the moment because there is no Sigil package for Ubuntu.

My bad, I missed that. Calibre's ebook editor should still be an option, though.

[st_albert]

Originally Posted by Billi

The problem is that Gregg doesn't have installed Sigil at the moment because there is no Sigil package for Ubuntu.

(my emphasis. I suppose you meant Sigil "official" packages.)

Well, there's this: https://launchpad.net/~rgibert/+archive/ebook

and this: https://launchpad.net/~sunab/+archive/sigil-git

and DiapDealer's packages: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...fficial+debian

granted, installing any of the above is a littile more complicated than installing sigil windows (or Apple??) packages. But probably easier than building from source.

And for that matter, no more complicated than when Sigil did provide "official" packages.

HTH

Albert

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Kindle Previewer is not available in linux, but according to what I've read should run easily in WINE.
Personally, I'd check the book on my Kindle rather than in Previewer. And if the book is properly-formatted and doesn't have anything complicated in it, it's probably going to look all right. Disclaimer -- I am a dabbler, since I fall strictly on the reader end of things, and Hitch would probably take my head for saying something so unprofessional, so don't take my word for this.

I believe the experts here would recommend a workflow of Word DOCX ==> Toxaris' addon ==> EPUB ==> kindlegen ==> dual mobi. Libreoffice can also be used, with writer2epub instead of Toxaris' addon.

In between EPUB and kindlegen, do any editing how and when you like.

Question: When your friend converted your WinXP computer to linux, did he leave it as a dual boot computer? That means both Windows and linux are installed, and when you turn on the computer you can choose which to use. It's a pretty good option if you need to run a few Win-only programs. It's what I do if I convert a computer.

Thanks eschwartz. I don't use Kindle Previewer to preview. I use it to convert the epub file to a mobi file. And what is a "dual mobi"? My way was so clean. There would just be the msonormal stuff and a universal replace would clean it all up in five minutes. Writer2Epub adds css. It's like everything adds something. And I considered dual booting but I have XP and so I won't be able to be on line with it come April 8th. So I won't be able to get updates. And besides, I've become determined to get this done via Linux.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Thanks eschwartz. I don't use Kindle Previewer to preview. I use it to convert the epub file to a mobi file. And what is a "dual mobi"? My way was so clean. There would just be the msonormal stuff and a universal replace would clean it all up in five minutes. Writer2Epub adds css. It's like everything adds something. And I considered dual booting but I have XP and so I won't be able to be on line with it come April 8th. So I won't be able to get updates. And besides, I've become determined to get this done via Linux.

Well, if you just need to convert the file, not test out how it looks, then there is good news. As st_albert said, Kindle Previewer is just kindlegen plus a mobi viewer. So just use kindlegen to convert it directly, as the additional usage of the Previewer to see how the files will look on the kindle, is unnecessary within your workflow.

Dual mobi is a .mobi created by kindlegen, which has both KF7 (.mobi) and KF8 (.azw3) formats. Amazon splits it into .mobi files to give old readers, and .azw3 files to give newer readers that support it.
.azw3 is Amazon's update to the MOBI format which gives it support for newer everything, including embedded fonts, since it is essentially an alternative wrapper to EPUB.

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Download kindlegen from here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000765211

save it in a folder called "bin" inside your home folder, which is "/home/gregory/".

Any programs located in "/home/gregory/bin/" will be automatically found when you type them in the command line. (After first creating the "bin" folder, you need to log out then in for the folder to be sensed.)

Then to convert a book open the terminal, type in "kindlegen", space, the filename of the document to be converted, and there you go!