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Old 03-03-2017, 08:29 AM   #1
dps582
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Can't Open EPUB from Calibre with Android/Google Play

My Android phone won't open the epub that I created. Here's what I did:

1) I used Calibre to convert a document and create an epub file that looks good in the Calibre viewer and also displays in fbreader. I used the generic "tablet" setting when choosing the target device.
2) I chose "save to disk/save only epub format to disk"
3) I copied the epub file to my Android (5.1) phone
4) I tried to open the epub using Google Play Books like I do with Project Gutenberg and other epub files, and it failed with "can't open file"

I ran the file through an epub validator and it says its good. I want to produce a file that will open on any device that reads epub.

Can anyone tell what I may have done wrong?
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Old 03-03-2017, 11:59 AM   #2
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Did you validate the EPUB that arrived on the device? Something may be trashing the transfer.

BTW What size IMAGES did you send? Tablet size images crash my old PEz (RMSDK, 600x800)
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Old 03-03-2017, 01:43 PM   #3
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No, I did not validate the file after I copied it to the phone. (I emailed it to myself and then picked it up on the phone.)

The only image in the file is the cover image.

Here's something odd, though ... I tried uploading the file to my Google Play Books account using the web interface on my Desktop computer. Surprisingly, it uploaded and after several minutes I was able to view the book in Google Play on my phone. However, opening the file directly on the phone failed every time. I thought that was strange. I did notice that in my library the cover image was a different size than the other books from Project Gutenberg and other places, so maybe you're onto something with the image.

Maybe I'd get better results if I targeted "generic e-ink device" rather than "tablet"? I have no idea what's actually going on underneath when you select different targets.

Last edited by dps582; 03-03-2017 at 01:44 PM. Reason: fixed unclear sentence
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Old 03-03-2017, 01:53 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dps582 View Post
No, I did not validate the file after I copied it to the phone. (I emailed it to myself and then picked it up on the phone.)

The only image in the file is the cover image.

Here's something odd, though ... I tried uploading the file to my Google Play Books account using the web interface on my Desktop computer. Surprisingly, it uploaded and after several minutes I was able to view the book in Google Play on my phone. However, opening the file directly on the phone failed every time. I thought that was strange. I did notice that in my library the cover image was a different size than the other books from Project Gutenberg and other places, so maybe you're onto something with the image.

Maybe I'd get better results if I targeted "generic e-ink device" rather than "tablet"? I have no idea what's actually going on underneath when you select different targets.
That is because Google Play Books is not an epub reader see:

Google Play Books Doesn’t Support Epub, and Other Crazy Possibilities

bernie
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Old 03-03-2017, 02:21 PM   #5
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Yes, I saw that article earlier too, but it's a pretty old article and I figured they must have better support for epub by now. But maybe not. I wonder how Project Gutenberg creates their epub files, since those all work for me in Google Play opening them directly on my phone.
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Old 03-30-2017, 05:47 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dps582 View Post
My Android phone won't open the epub that I created. Here's what I did:

1) I used Calibre to convert a document and create an epub file that looks good in the Calibre viewer and also displays in fbreader. I used the generic "tablet" setting when choosing the target device.
2) I chose "save to disk/save only epub format to disk"
3) I copied the epub file to my Android (5.1) phone
4) I tried to open the epub using Google Play Books like I do with Project Gutenberg and other epub files, and it failed with "can't open file"

I ran the file through an epub validator and it says its good. I want to produce a file that will open on any device that reads epub.

Can anyone tell what I may have done wrong?
+1 on this issue, practically word for word.

I cannot open my .epub file (made with Calibre) on any Android app. ( Google Play Books, Aldiko, FBReader...)

I keep getting the "can't open file" message. The response is so immediate when clicking on the file that it's almost as though android doesn't recognise the file as a .epub file, or doesn't know that it has the app to open it with; it's just an immediate "can't open file" message, like it didn't even try...

I have no troubles on any other devices.

You can get my book for free at www.obliviousthebook.com and try it for yourself.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated!
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Old 03-30-2017, 11:01 PM   #7
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If you cannot open it in any app then the problem is likely hat the file was corrupted during transfer.
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Old 03-31-2017, 03:52 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by kovidgoyal View Post
If you cannot open it in any app then the problem is likely hat the file was corrupted during transfer.
I've tried downloading it multiple times (to try to negate the risk that it's a one off corruption event) and it doesn't work on any of the downloads.

For what it's worth, I've also tried changing the name of the file (as I thought it might have been too long) but that wasn't the problem either...

Any other suggestions? Seems like there might be an issue if a couple of us are getting the message...

Again, you can download my book for free and try it on your android (if you have one) to test this out. Any help in getting this fixed up would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks
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Old 03-31-2017, 05:53 AM   #9
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New information: file will open when sent as an email attachment but wont work as a download through my websitesite... Is there any way that I can interrogate the .epub file that wont work (via download) to see if it is indeed corrupted?
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Old 03-31-2017, 06:48 AM   #10
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I cant see a direct download link at http://www.obliviousthebook.com/, I do see a couple of Gimme buttons that request my email address, which I am unwilling to provide.

BR
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Old 03-31-2017, 10:22 AM   #11
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I cant see a direct download link at http://www.obliviousthebook.com/, I do see a couple of Gimme buttons that request my email address, which I am unwilling to provide.

BR
(A invitation for SPAMing)
even 'Free', if it has strings like that.
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Old 03-31-2017, 01:38 PM   #12
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if you are downloading ti via your website the issue is almost certainly an incorrect mimetype being sent for the file by your web server
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Old 03-31-2017, 02:04 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gbm View Post
That is because Google Play Books is not an epub reader see:

Google Play Books Doesn’t Support Epub, and Other Crazy Possibilities

bernie
That is an article from 2014. Are you sure things are still the same now in 2017?
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Old 04-07-2017, 03:06 AM   #14
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I cant see a direct download link at http://www.obliviousthebook.com/, I do see a couple of Gimme buttons that request my email address, which I am unwilling to provide.

BR
I'd say that I'd send it to you personally, but then you'd have to give me your email to do that, and then we'd be back at square one. Such a bind...

Up to you! I can tell you that I'm legit a human and I have zero interest in anyone's email address. I couldn't care less. That's just the way that the sendowl file transfer works...
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Old 04-07-2017, 03:16 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by kovidgoyal View Post
if you are downloading ti via your website the issue is almost certainly an incorrect mimetype being sent for the file by your web server
This is interesting... any advice on testing the theory? How do I check the "before and after" mimetype of the .epub file?
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