HTML to MOBI question

jenlen · 07-27-2011, 11:47 PM

Hello all!

I convert a lot of HTML Ebooks to MOBI (to read on my Kindle DX). I have a very weird problem though. Often, quotes and apostrophes turn into this:

â€œ

So, a sentence like this: "She's walking the dog now, and then we'll have lunch."

Looks like this "â€œSheâ€œs walking the dog now, and then weâ€œll have lunch.â€œ

Here is another example:

HTML:
“Fascinating and extremely important…. [A] synopsis doesn’t do credit to the immense subtlety of this book.”

MOBI Output:
â€œFascinating and extremely importantâ€¦. [A] synopsis doesnâ€™t do credit to the immense subtlety of this book.â€�

I see this in both the MOBI viewer and on the Kindle.

Makes for difficult reading!

I can import the HTML into Word and it fixes it, but that causes even worse problems of making the entire book do weird justifies, plus it bloats the HTML into double the file size.

I tried putting cp1252 into the place the FAQ suggests, but it doesn't solve this.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

theducks · 07-27-2011, 11:49 PM

try UTF-8

DoctorOhh · 07-28-2011, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenlen

I tried putting cp1252 into the place the FAQ suggests, but it doesn't solve this.

Just to be clear, you need to be following #2 of this section of the FAQ. After you put cp1252 in the html to zip plugin (Preferences - Plugins - File type plugins - HTML to Zip plugin) you have to delete the zip format file and re-add the html to the calibre book record. You can delete and re-add the formats via the formats of area of the edit metadata window.

jenlen · 07-28-2011, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

try UTF-8

That did it!

Thank you!

theducks · 07-28-2011, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenlen

That did it!

Thank you!

The clue was a single character being shown as multiple (>2) characters.
UTF-16 is another choice

jenlen · 10-15-2011, 08:23 PM

I am still having horrors with some HTML to MOBI conversions, cp1252, utf-8, or what have you.

Quotes and dashes turn into these little diamonds with question marks inside, sometimes!

Example:
He asked, �Are you looking at the mountains�or beyond them?"

The first diamond should be a quote symbol, the second one should be a dash.

Even running this one through Word doesn't fix it. I am at a total loss.

JSWolf · 10-15-2011, 09:36 PM

Can you post the header of the HTML?

DoctorOhh · 10-15-2011, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenlen

I am still having horrors with some HTML to MOBI conversions, cp1252, utf-8, or what have you.

You also have to be concerned with encoding when actually adding the html to calibre prior to attempting a conversion. Read this section of the FAQ.

07-27-2011, 11:47 PM	#1
jenlen Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Kindle DX	HTML to MOBI question Hello all! I convert a lot of HTML Ebooks to MOBI (to read on my Kindle DX). I have a very weird problem though. Often, quotes and apostrophes turn into this: â€œ So, a sentence like this: "She's walking the dog now, and then we'll have lunch." Looks like this "â€œSheâ€œs walking the dog now, and then weâ€œll have lunch.â€œ Here is another example: HTML: “Fascinating and extremely important…. [A] synopsis doesn’t do credit to the immense subtlety of this book.” MOBI Output: â€œFascinating and extremely importantâ€¦. [A] synopsis doesnâ€™t do credit to the immense subtlety of this book.â€� I see this in both the MOBI viewer and on the Kindle. Makes for difficult reading! I can import the HTML into Word and it fixes it, but that causes even worse problems of making the entire book do weird justifies, plus it bloats the HTML into double the file size. I tried putting cp1252 into the place the FAQ suggests, but it doesn't solve this. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance!

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07-27-2011, 11:49 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,891 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	try UTF-8

10-15-2011, 08:23 PM	#6
jenlen Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Kindle DX	I am still having horrors with some HTML to MOBI conversions, cp1252, utf-8, or what have you. Quotes and dashes turn into these little diamonds with question marks inside, sometimes! Example: He asked, �Are you looking at the mountains�or beyond them?" The first diamond should be a quote symbol, the second one should be a dash. Even running this one through Word doesn't fix it. I am at a total loss.

10-15-2011, 09:36 PM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,029 Karma: 144284074 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Can you post the header of the HTML?