EPUB to MOBI, kindle shows extra space after quotation mark

[akita]

Hi all,
I have a bit of a bizzare issue and was hoping someone can shed some light on this one.

I just bought a Kindle Paperweight 2015 version. I also use Calibre. I have bunch of books in .EPUB that I converted to .MOBI, and uploaded the files to Kindle via USB.

the file shows fine, and the conversion looks fine.. but I noticed that for every leading quote followed by a capital C, Kindle shows extra space between the two. All other letters following the leading quote has no space.

so instead of
"Captain"
it shows
" Captain"

I looked at the MOBI file that is on my computer using Calibre, and strangely enough, the extra spacing does not exist when I display it using Calibre. but the same file viewed within Kindle after being uploaded, I get extra space, in combination with " and C.

I don't know if this means there's some control character that is being inserted in the " and C combination during the translation, or it's some bizzare Kindle bug when dealing with MOBI files generated by Calibre. so far I have noticed this pattern in at least 2 of the books.

I would be willing to edit the .MOBI file with search/replace, but since the extra space doesn't show up when viewed in Calibre, I'm not sure what to look for now.

and I don't know if this is Kindle problem or some translation problem between EPUB and MOBI.

any clue?

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by akita

I have bunch of books in .EPUB that I converted to .MOBI, and uploaded the files to Kindle via USB.

MOBI is the old Kindle format. Select AZW3 as the output format for better results

Originally Posted by akita

[...]but I noticed that for every leading quote followed by a capital C, Kindle shows extra space between the two.

Some epub books use special styles that'll display initial quotation marks as drop caps and/or in a larger/different font. I.e., the space might have come from a style (possibly via a pseudo selector) or a hard-coded non-breaking space.

Please post the HTML code and the relevant styles of a sentence where this problem occurs.

[gnargnar]

So I'm experiencing this same problem with spaces being added between quotation marks and capital letter Cs and Ks.

I'm converting a docx to mobi with Calibre and then emailing it to my Kindle Paperwhite. The spaces don't show up on my computer previewer, in Word, or even in the overview when I highlight the issue and then go through my "notes" in the Paperwhite.

I've tried deleting and retyping the offending letters, I've tried converting to epub first, I've inspected the "normal" style that they are all under, and I've checked all the Calibre settings I can think of. It's only Capital letter Cs and Ks that aren't italicized so I'm guessing it has something to do with the style, but I can't figure out anything that would only apply to those two letters and only in the Paperwhite.



Some HTML:

/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-indent:.5in;
line-height:120%;
mso-pagination:none;
mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New";}

From an offending sentence:


<p class=MsoNormal>“Come on baby, let’s go,” he was saying.</p>

[JSWolf]

Don't convert to Mobi. Convert to KF8 (AZW3). It just is a much better format than Mobi.

[gnargnar]

Thanks, but I can't e-mail AZW3 files to the paperwhite though. I tried that already :/

[gnargnar]

I've converted it to AZW3 and it does get rid of the issue, but even if I then take that AZW3 file and convert it to mobi so I can email it it adds the spaces back in. ????

[DaleDe]

Try renaming the extension of the AZW3 to MOBI and then send it.

Dale

[gnargnar]

Just tried that. No dice.

[eschwartz]

Renaming the extension doesn't change the file contents and Amazon isn't that buggy that they won't notice. They'd think it's corrupted at least.

...

Convert to dual-MOBI
Preferences ==> Conversion ==> Output Options ==> MOBI Output (tab)
MOBI file type -- set to "both" in the dropdown.

You can also use Amazon's official tool "kindlegen" which always outputs these.

This creates a file with both KF8 (AZW3) and a mobi7 fallback.
Amazon's Personal Document Service accepts these dual-MOBIs and will deliver an AZW3 to newer devices.
Sending a plain old AZW3 will not work.

[JSWolf]

Since you are using calibre to convert, just use the USB cable to connect the Kindle to your computer and transfer the KF8 eBook. Why do you need to email the eBook when you get an obsolete format?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Since you are using calibre to convert, just use the USB cable to connect the Kindle to your computer and transfer the KF8 eBook. Why do you need to email the eBook when you get an obsolete format?

For the same reason so many other people email them, as you very well know.
Annotations sync is, after all, pretty much the sole reason the PDOC service exists.

Plus, you don't get an obsolete format if you do it right.

[Notjohn]

Originally Posted by gnargnar

Thanks, but I can't e-mail AZW3 files to the paperwhite though. I tried that already :/

Yes, I began using mobis for that reason, because there's no Azw3 option in Send to Kindle. (About the only time I ever use Calibre is to convert an epub from the university library so I can read it on my Fire tablet instead of sitting at my computer. I must say that I have NEVER seen the effect you describe. These of course are books from mainstream publishers or university presses.)

I would never upload a Calibre-generated file to the KDP for publication, if that's your purpose. They are sometimes rejected by the KDP. Instead, I'd run that Word file through word2cleanhtml dot com online (there are other options for that, including plug-ins), then open it in Sigil for formatting. The KDP accepts epubs without a whimper.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by akita

and I don't know if this is Kindle problem or some translation problem between EPUB and MOBI.

any clue?

Use KindleUnpack on the problematic Mobi and you'll be able to see the HTML coding that's been applied. This will tell you whether it's a conversion problem or a Kindle problem.

[gnargnar]

Converting to "both" mobi worked! Thank you so much.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by gnargnar

Converting to "both" mobi worked! Thank you so much.

You're welcome. Happy to help.