slightly mangled old mobi created by Kindle Previewer 3.31.0

[lumpynose]

In Kindle Previewer 3.31.0 I opened an EPUB I created in Sigil and then exported it, which makes a dual MOBI. I then used the KindleUnpack plugin in Calibre to extract the AZW3/KF8 and old MOBI files. I then added the old MOBI to Calibre and sent it to my old Kindle Touch (with the latest firmware for it) and opened it there.

After the first title page all of the text is like this, in italics.

The book is a collection of short stories by the same author and each short story is in a separate xhtml file and each short story has preceding it a separate xhtml file that is its title page. For the first title page the text is correct, not italics. The first story starts with a lead in/bridge that is in a blockquote and that is in italics, so I'm guessing that it's the problem.

Any suggestions for how to fix this?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

In Kindle Previewer 3.31.0 I opened an EPUB I created in Sigil and then exported it, which makes a dual MOBI. I then used the KindleUnpack plugin in Calibre to extract the AZW3/KF8 and old MOBI files. I then added the old MOBI to Calibre and sent it to my old Kindle Touch (with the latest firmware for it) and opened it there.

After the first title page all of the text is like this, in italics.

The book is a collection of short stories by the same author and each short story is in a separate xhtml file and each short story has preceding it a separate xhtml file that is its title page. For the first title page the text is correct, not italics. The first story starts with a lead in/bridge that is in a blockquote and that is in italics, so I'm guessing that it's the problem.

Any suggestions for how to fix this?

Lumpy:

I must be missing something. Why not just edit the ePUB, fix the italics issue and then build a new mobi?

Hitch

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Lumpy:

I must be missing something. Why not just edit the ePUB, fix the italics issue and then build a new mobi?

Hitch

I would if I knew what to fix. The epub is fine. I went through the rigmarole of extracting the old mobi in order to see what it's going to look like for people with kindles that should be behind glass in a museum.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

I would if I knew what to fix. The epub is fine. I went through the rigmarole of extracting the old mobi in order to see what it's going to look like for people with kindles that should be behind glass in a museum.

Are you perhaps calling a font, in the ePUB, that isn't on the device? I've seen this with KF7 mobis if you are calling a font in the ePUB that can't be displayed in the MOBI.

What do you mean, you "extracted" the old mobi? Do you mean you went through all that nonsense of splitting the MOBI? I mean...why? Why not just put the full mobi on this older device, and see what was there?

What's the HTML for this blockquote and the ensuing paragraph that's unhappily italicized and what's the css?

Hitch

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Are you perhaps calling a font, in the ePUB, that isn't on the device? I've seen this with KF7 mobis if you are calling a font in the ePUB that can't be displayed in the MOBI.

What do you mean, you "extracted" the old mobi? Do you mean you went through all that nonsense of splitting the MOBI? I mean...why? Why not just put the full mobi on this older device, and see what was there?

What's the HTML for this blockquote and the ensuing paragraph that's unhappily italicized and what's the css?

Hitch

In my css I've made a point of only using the web standard font names; e.g., sans-serif. Small caps didn't seem to work on the kobo and I don't remember if that's still in my css, but I wasn't using small caps in the early part of the book.

Yes, for the extract and going through the nonsense. If I put the dual moby on my Kindle Touch it would just use the azw3 piece in it; I was curious to see what the old mobi would look like.

Anyhow, don't lose any sleep over it. A) As it turns out I rearranged the short stories so the one that had a lead-in in italics is no longer the first one. B) Going through all that rigmarole to extract the old mobi was a pain in the ass and I don't want to do that again. C) I'm not going to worry about people with antique steam powered kindles that use the old mobi in the dual mobi.

[lumpynose]

I should have deleted this thread after I decided it wasn't worth worrying about.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

In my css I've made a point of only using the web standard font names; e.g., sans-serif. Small caps didn't seem to work on the kobo and I don't remember if that's still in my css, but I wasn't using small caps in the early part of the book.

Yes, for the extract and going through the nonsense. If I put the dual moby on my Kindle Touch it would just use the azw3 piece in it; I was curious to see what the old mobi would look like.

Anyhow, don't lose any sleep over it. A) As it turns out I rearranged the short stories so the one that had a lead-in in italics is no longer the first one. B) Going through all that rigmarole to extract the old mobi was a pain in the ass and I don't want to do that again. C) I'm not going to worry about people with antique steam powered kindles that use the old mobi in the dual mobi.

Those old "steam powered kindles" don't have a sans-serif font. Think that might have something to do with it?

Hitch

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Those old "steam powered kindles" don't have a sans-serif font. Think that might have something to do with it?

Hitch

Hmm, so in my css can I put serif after sans-serif, where you list fallbacks? Do you think that would help?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

In Kindle Previewer 3.31.0 I opened an EPUB I created in Sigil and then exported it, which makes a dual MOBI. I then used the KindleUnpack plugin in Calibre to extract the AZW3/KF8 and old MOBI files. I then added the old MOBI to Calibre and sent it to my old Kindle Touch (with the latest firmware for it) and opened it there.

After the first title page all of the text is like this, in italics.

The book is a collection of short stories by the same author and each short story is in a separate xhtml file and each short story has preceding it a separate xhtml file that is its title page. For the first title page the text is correct, not italics. The first story starts with a lead in/bridge that is in a blockquote and that is in italics, so I'm guessing that it's the problem.

Any suggestions for how to fix this?

Use KindleUnpack to unpack the old MOBI file to HTML, and see what the coding looks like. When you see why the italics aren't ending, look at the equivalent coding in the ePub and see if there's something wrong there.

Or use the ScrambleEbook plugin on the original ePub file, run through the same process with that file, see if the bug is still there (it should be), and then upload the scrambled ePub and the scrambled old MOBI file here, and I'll take a look.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Use KindleUnpack to unpack the old MOBI file to HTML, and see what the coding looks like. When you see why the italics aren't ending, look at the equivalent coding in the ePub and see if there's something wrong there.

Or use the ScrambleEbook plugin on the original ePub file, run through the same process with that file, see if the bug is still there (it should be), and then upload the scrambled ePub and the scrambled old MOBI file here, and I'll take a look.

My wild-ass gut hunch is, perhaps there's an open italics tag inside the blockquote that wasn't closed. {shrug}.

Hitch

[lumpynose]

Ok, thanks, both of you. I'll look at it again.