Cover Creation/Editing

romad · 10-31-2014, 10:49 PM

I'm using Calibre to convert some eBooks in RTF to ePub. Since the RTF books don't have cover graphics, I end up with the default generic cover generated by Calibre. What I've been doing is taking the generated cover, opening it in Pages layout, and adding an appropriate graphic to the cover. Because Pages only saves in Pages or Word format, I then take a custom screen shot of the cover. This graphic is then used to replace the generated cover.

Is there a way to do all of this in Calibre, or does it have to be done outside of it?

BetterRed · 11-01-2014, 04:11 AM

@romad - just drag/drop the cover.jpg you created in Pages from Finder onto the Book Details panel - where the default cover is displayed/

You also might want to take a look at this ==>> [GUI Plugin] Generate Cover

BR

romad · 11-01-2014, 11:46 AM

Yes, that is how I added the cover I created OUTSIDE Calibre. My question was can I create the cover INSIDE Calibre? If so, how? Will the plug-in you referenced allow this?

Wow, 34 pages in that topic/thread; looks like I have a lot of reading ahead of me.

BetterRed · 11-01-2014, 05:03 PM

@romad - No need to read the 'war stories' - the first post describes the current version - i.e. post #1 is changed as new features are added. That's common for most (all ?) PI's.

BTW - I thought Pages was primarily a word processor - doesn't Apple provide an image editor?

BR

romad · 11-01-2014, 06:07 PM

Pages does both word processing and page layout. You may be thinking of Preview, which I probably could have used also.

eschwartz · 11-09-2014, 03:03 PM

The Open With plugin can open files associated with a book record (including the cover) in external programs. It comes preconfigured with a command to open the cover in GIMP, but you can add other options as well.

You will want to use an actual image editor (like GIMP), so you can save the edits directly to the image file, as a JPEG. Then you don't need to re-add the cover to the book.

11-01-2014, 11:46 AM	#3
romad U.S. Air Force, Retired Posts: 210 Karma: 5212 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Prescott, AZ Device: iPad Mini 5 & Mini 6	Yes, that is how I added the cover I created OUTSIDE Calibre. My question was can I create the cover INSIDE Calibre? If so, how? Will the plug-in you referenced allow this? Wow, 34 pages in that topic/thread; looks like I have a lot of reading ahead of me. Last edited by romad; 11-01-2014 at 11:51 AM.

11-01-2014, 05:03 PM	#4
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,721 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@romad - No need to read the 'war stories' - the first post describes the current version - i.e. post #1 is changed as new features are added. That's common for most (all ?) PI's. BTW - I thought Pages was primarily a word processor - doesn't Apple provide an image editor? BR Last edited by BetterRed; 11-01-2014 at 05:06 PM.

11-09-2014, 03:03 PM	#6
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	The Open With plugin can open files associated with a book record (including the cover) in external programs. It comes preconfigured with a command to open the cover in GIMP, but you can add other options as well. You will want to use an actual image editor (like GIMP), so you can save the edits directly to the image file, as a JPEG. Then you don't need to re-add the cover to the book. Last edited by eschwartz; 11-09-2014 at 03:06 PM.

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10-31-2014, 10:49 PM	#1
romad U.S. Air Force, Retired Posts: 210 Karma: 5212 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Prescott, AZ Device: iPad Mini 5 & Mini 6	Cover Creation/Editing I'm using Calibre to convert some eBooks in RTF to ePub. Since the RTF books don't have cover graphics, I end up with the default generic cover generated by Calibre. What I've been doing is taking the generated cover, opening it in Pages layout, and adding an appropriate graphic to the cover. Because Pages only saves in Pages or Word format, I then take a custom screen shot of the cover. This graphic is then used to replace the generated cover. Is there a way to do all of this in Calibre, or does it have to be done outside of it?

11-01-2014, 04:11 AM	#2
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,721 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@romad - just drag/drop the cover.jpg you created in Pages from Finder onto the Book Details panel - where the default cover is displayed/ You also might want to take a look at this ==>> [GUI Plugin] Generate Cover BR

11-01-2014, 06:07 PM	#5
romad U.S. Air Force, Retired Posts: 210 Karma: 5212 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Prescott, AZ Device: iPad Mini 5 & Mini 6	Pages does both word processing and page layout. You may be thinking of Preview, which I probably could have used also.

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