Problems with Kindle file only on Windows

franklinveaux · 12-18-2014, 06:59 PM

I'm creating a Kindle eBook file that's a translation of Sanskrit texts to English. The text uses a number of letters with diacritical marks, all of which are standard Unicode characters.

When I create a Kindle .mobi file, the file passes validation, displays correctly in Amazon's Kindle Previewer, and works fine on Kindle devices and on the Mac Kindle software.

However, the diacritic marks do not appear on the Windows Kindle reader. And *only* on the Windows Kindle reader. Characters such as "ḍ" (d with a dot under it) appear as boxes.

I'm completely stumped. The file is not using any special or unusual fonts, and like I said, it passes validation just fine. It's only Windows that's giving me grief. Any ideas?

susan_cassidy · 12-18-2014, 08:20 PM

Make sure that it is cooectly encoded for UTF-8, and declared as such in the file.

franklinveaux · 12-18-2014, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

Make sure that it is cooectly encoded for UTF-8, and declared as such in the file.

The file is correctly encoded as near as I can tell. It passes validation, anyway. The file does have an "encoding='utf-8' tag at the head; it beings with

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">

which I assume is correct. Is that the case?

JSWolf · 12-18-2014, 08:41 PM

Sometimes you have to add in

Code:

<meta content="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml;charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"/>

. I add it as the line after the title.

franklinveaux · 12-18-2014, 09:11 PM

Thanks for the suggestion. I've tried that, and the results are the same: the file views correctly everywhere except Kindle for Windows, where the accented characters don't display correctly.

I've also tried replacing the accented characters with their HTML entities, with the same results: works on Mac and Kindle devices, doesn't render properly on Windows.

JSWolf · 12-18-2014, 09:14 PM

Try embedding the following fonts...https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=184056. It could be the font used doesn't have those characters.

Doitsu · 12-19-2014, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklinveaux

I'm creating a Kindle eBook file that's a translation of Sanskrit texts to English. The text uses a number of letters with diacritical marks, all of which are standard Unicode characters.

AFAIK, the Kindle for PC app doesn't use the same fonts that Kindle Previewer uses and might display some letters as boxes.

Depending on how you coded the d with a dot below, you could try the following:

1. If you used a pre-combined letter (U+1E0D), try to code it as a regular d followed by combining dot below (U+0323).

2. If you used a d followed by a combining dot below try a precombined letter.

If none of my suggestions makes a difference, you or your readers will need to fiddle with the Windows system fonts. The Kindle uses an old shareware font, code2000.ttf, for all characters not present in the default system fonts. This font is located in the \AppData\Local\Amazon\Kindle Previewer\lib folder, which you can access by copying and pasting the following path in the Windows Run dialog box:

Code:

"%LOCALAPPDATA%\Amazon\Kindle Previewer\lib"

If you install this font (or another font that contains the combining dot below or the small letter d with dot below characters) you should see a d with a dot below regardless of the encoding method.

franklinveaux · 12-19-2014, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Try embedding the following fonts...http://www.mediafire.com/download/om...L_-_Hinted.rar. It could be the font used doesn't have those characters.

I was hoping to avoid using an embedded font, as it increases the size of the Kindle file. However, after tearing my hair out trying all the suggestions here and elsewhere without success, I've embedded an open-source font called Gentium that contains the full complement of Unicode characters, and that has resolved the problem.

It appears there are some Unicode characters that simply aren't present in the font that Kindle for Windows uses, and there's no way around that other than using a different font.

Thanks!

JSWolf · 12-19-2014, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklinveaux

I was hoping to avoid using an embedded font, as it increases the size of the Kindle file. However, after tearing my hair out trying all the suggestions here and elsewhere without success, I've embedded an open-source font called Gentium that contains the full complement of Unicode characters, and that has resolved the problem.

It appears there are some Unicode characters that simply aren't present in the font that Kindle for Windows uses, and there's no way around that other than using a different font.

Thanks!

My version of Charis SIL that I linked you to is very good for a Kindle. It solves the KF8 line height problem. Also, it's had weight added so it looks good with eInk. Plus, it also has all of the various symbols and stuff that you'll need. And with ePUBOptimizer from Toxaris, you can seubset it and it take a lot less space.

franklinveaux · 12-20-2014, 05:10 PM

I've downloaded that typeface and will take a look at it. Thanks!

12-18-2014, 06:59 PM	#1
franklinveaux Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Portland, OR Device: Kindle	Problems with Kindle file only on Windows I'm creating a Kindle eBook file that's a translation of Sanskrit texts to English. The text uses a number of letters with diacritical marks, all of which are standard Unicode characters. When I create a Kindle .mobi file, the file passes validation, displays correctly in Amazon's Kindle Previewer, and works fine on Kindle devices and on the Mac Kindle software. However, the diacritic marks do not appear on the Windows Kindle reader. And only on the Windows Kindle reader. Characters such as "ḍ" (d with a dot under it) appear as boxes. I'm completely stumped. The file is not using any special or unusual fonts, and like I said, it passes validation just fine. It's only Windows that's giving me grief. Any ideas?

12-18-2014, 08:41 PM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,741 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Sometimes you have to add in Code: <meta content="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml;charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"/> . I add it as the line after the title.

12-18-2014, 09:14 PM	#6
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,741 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Try embedding the following fonts...https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=184056. It could be the font used doesn't have those characters. Last edited by JSWolf; 07-17-2016 at 04:20 PM. Reason: Fixed markup

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12-18-2014, 08:20 PM	#2
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	Make sure that it is cooectly encoded for UTF-8, and declared as such in the file.

12-18-2014, 09:11 PM	#5
franklinveaux Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Portland, OR Device: Kindle	Thanks for the suggestion. I've tried that, and the results are the same: the file views correctly everywhere except Kindle for Windows, where the accented characters don't display correctly. I've also tried replacing the accented characters with their HTML entities, with the same results: works on Mac and Kindle devices, doesn't render properly on Windows.

12-20-2014, 05:10 PM	#10
franklinveaux Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Portland, OR Device: Kindle	I've downloaded that typeface and will take a look at it. Thanks!

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