Having trouble reading saved files

PKTC · 04-01-2016, 02:16 AM

Scenario:

Latest version of Sigil freshly installed. No prior installations. Installation is successful.

Plugin for EPUB 3 installed successfully.

Open an html book file in Sigil. Opens successfully.

Save file to EPUB 2 or 3.

Attempt to open newly generated EPUB file with Sigil. Get error message "Cannot load EPUB: name of file". Click on show details. Get message:

Unable to read OPF file.
Line: 5 Column 11 - Expected '>' or '/', but got ':'.

However, there is no contents.opf file in that folder (or anywhere else on the computer). Press close on the dialogue box. The dialogue vanishes, Sigil starts but comes up with an empty file, not the saved file.

What I am doing wrong? I want to open the html file, edit it, then save it to epub that I can open again.

Toxaris · 04-01-2016, 07:12 AM

If you open an HTML in Sigil, you should be able to save it as an ePUB. However, it is not necessarily a valid ePUB. An ePUB2 works with XHTML and there are differences. Before (or after) saving always check the ePUB first. Also you need to set some metadata as well, as some metadata is mandatory.

KevinH · 04-01-2016, 08:51 AM

Can you please post a small testcase here (only noncommercial things that belong to you or something in the public domain). If it helps, you could grab one of the public domain epubs available here at MR, and load and save it and if it shows the error point me at it.
Thanks,
KevinH

KevinH · 04-01-2016, 12:43 PM

Even simpler, open your epub in Sigil and thn save it to a new name such as junk.epub.
Exit from Sigil and then do the following.

1. rename junk.epub to junk.zip
2. unzip junk.zip and look inside the resulting folder.
3. in that folder look for and open the OEBPS folder
4. copy the content.opf file to your Desktop
5 zip up the content.opf to create content.opf.zip and upload just that file here

That will allow me to see what if anything is going wrong.

Thanks,
KevinH

DiapDealer · 04-01-2016, 12:53 PM

I'll do some checking when I get home, as well. I admit, I don't really use the Open HTML feature, so perhaps there is some bug being exposed there. I'm much more likely to Add an HTML file to a blank epub, rather than Open an HTML file.

KevinH · 04-01-2016, 03:27 PM

I just tried importing an html and saving it and had no problems. I wonder if that problem html file has some improperly structured html meta data (instead of "DC.") as that is the only way I can think that an html file could get something bad written into the content.opf.

KevinH

DiapDealer · 04-01-2016, 03:39 PM

That could be.
What if the html opened with Sigil had some epub3-type metadata in it that gets rammed into an epub2 opf (because of the default new epub version setting)? Don't even know if that's possible or not...I've never used the html metadata import ability Sigil has, myself.

04-01-2016, 02:16 AM	#1
PKTC Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2016 Device: kindle	Having trouble reading saved files Scenario: Latest version of Sigil freshly installed. No prior installations. Installation is successful. Plugin for EPUB 3 installed successfully. Open an html book file in Sigil. Opens successfully. Save file to EPUB 2 or 3. Attempt to open newly generated EPUB file with Sigil. Get error message "Cannot load EPUB: name of file". Click on show details. Get message: Unable to read OPF file. Line: 5 Column 11 - Expected '>' or '/', but got ':'. However, there is no contents.opf file in that folder (or anywhere else on the computer). Press close on the dialogue box. The dialogue vanishes, Sigil starts but comes up with an empty file, not the saved file. What I am doing wrong? I want to open the html file, edit it, then save it to epub that I can open again.

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04-01-2016, 07:12 AM	#2
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	If you open an HTML in Sigil, you should be able to save it as an ePUB. However, it is not necessarily a valid ePUB. An ePUB2 works with XHTML and there are differences. Before (or after) saving always check the ePUB first. Also you need to set some metadata as well, as some metadata is mandatory.

04-01-2016, 08:51 AM	#3
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,554 Karma: 5703586 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Can you please post a small testcase here (only noncommercial things that belong to you or something in the public domain). If it helps, you could grab one of the public domain epubs available here at MR, and load and save it and if it shows the error point me at it. Thanks, KevinH

04-01-2016, 12:43 PM	#4
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,554 Karma: 5703586 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Even simpler, open your epub in Sigil and thn save it to a new name such as junk.epub. Exit from Sigil and then do the following. 1. rename junk.epub to junk.zip 2. unzip junk.zip and look inside the resulting folder. 3. in that folder look for and open the OEBPS folder 4. copy the content.opf file to your Desktop 5 zip up the content.opf to create content.opf.zip and upload just that file here That will allow me to see what if anything is going wrong. Thanks, KevinH

04-01-2016, 12:53 PM	#5
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,458 Karma: 203840626 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I'll do some checking when I get home, as well. I admit, I don't really use the Open HTML feature, so perhaps there is some bug being exposed there. I'm much more likely to Add an HTML file to a blank epub, rather than Open an HTML file.

04-01-2016, 03:27 PM	#6
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,554 Karma: 5703586 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	I just tried importing an html and saving it and had no problems. I wonder if that problem html file has some improperly structured html meta data (instead of "DC.") as that is the only way I can think that an html file could get something bad written into the content.opf. KevinH

04-01-2016, 03:39 PM	#7
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,458 Karma: 203840626 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	That could be. What if the html opened with Sigil had some epub3-type metadata in it that gets rammed into an epub2 opf (because of the default new epub version setting)? Don't even know if that's possible or not...I've never used the html metadata import ability Sigil has, myself.

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