Sigil ePub not recognized in Android

[knadles]

I've been using Sigil to produce ePubs for about a year now. My iPad recognizes them with no problem, whether I access them via the web, Dropbox, or email. I can also open them on the computer using Calibre or Digital Editions.

Yesterday I got a Nexus because I wanted to see how the files render in different software, and write a set of instructions for users who aren't using an Apple product.

I can go to our website and download the files. They land in the Android downloads folder, and according to everything I've read, I should be able to click them and get a list of apps that will open ePubs.

But that's not what happens. Depending on the file and how I've gotten it onto the device, the icon varies and I'll either get a message that says "Webpage not available," "Can't open file," or a popup menu of apps that do not open ePub files.

At first I thought the problem was Android (or my lack of knowledge about the platform), but I visited gutenberg.org and downloaded some ePubs and they work perfectly, with no unexpected behavior.

So I have to believe the problem is with my ePubs. Something...most likely some bit of metadata somewhere...prevents Android from recognizing my files as ePubs, even though there is no DRM and they all bear the .epub extension.

Any thoughts on this? I'm told the vast majority of our users (physicians) are using iPads, so it's not a critical problem, but I'd like maximum compatibility, and in any event, if there's a problem with the ePubs l'd like to find it and fix it.

Thank you!

Peter

[PeterT]

Have you installed any apps to read ePubs on the nexus?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Have you installed any apps to read ePubs on the nexus?

According to the OP:

Originally Posted by knadles

At first I thought the problem was Android (or my lack of knowledge about the platform), but I visited gutenberg.org and downloaded some ePubs and they work perfectly, with no unexpected behavior.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by knadles

At first I thought the problem was Android (or my lack of knowledge about the platform), but I visited gutenberg.org and downloaded some ePubs and they work perfectly, with no unexpected behavior.

Have you tried uploading the ePubs that are causing problems directly from your Nexus to ePubCheck Online to check for formatting or file transfer errors?

[knadles]

Thanks very much for the comments. I just ran the latest ePub through ePubcheck and it returned the following:

Detected version: EPUB 2.0
Results: Congratulations! No problems were found in AAOS Now_2013-12.epub.
Validated using EpubCheck version 3.0.1.

So it appears I'm doing something right, but I still can't get the ePubs to be recognized on Android. For the record, the app I'm using is Aldiko, but I don't think it's an Aldiko issue. It looks like Android doesn't even recognize the file as an ePub.

[Peter21]

Peter
Like you I am writing an ebook as an epub and also wanted non apple users to be able to read the book.
Kindle seems to be one of the biggest players so I have converted my epub files to .mobi files (using kindlegen), which allows all kindle readers (whether hardware or software) to recognise the files.
Just another approach but it is working for me.
I am a beginner and have had a load of help from other forum users here along the way.
Peter

[exaltedwombat]

Originally Posted by knadles

Thanks very much for the comments. I just ran the latest ePub through ePubcheck and it returned the following:

Detected version: EPUB 2.0
Results: Congratulations! No problems were found in AAOS Now_2013-12.epub.
Validated using EpubCheck version 3.0.1.

So it appears I'm doing something right, but I still can't get the ePubs to be recognized on Android. For the record, the app I'm using is Aldiko, but I don't think it's an Aldiko issue. It looks like Android doesn't even recognize the file as an ePub.

I also use Aldiko on a Nexus 7. The only quirk I have discovered is that the reader rejects graphics if the picture file is too big. Keeping the shorter dimension inside about 1000px seems OK.

If you want to send me one of your problem epub files privately, I can see if it works here.

How big IS your epub file? (Actually, if the online epubcheck accepted it, it must be less than 10MB, so you can forget that...)

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by exaltedwombat

I also use Aldiko on a Nexus 7. The only quirk I have discovered is that the reader rejects graphics if the picture file is too big. Keeping the shorter dimension inside about 1000px seems OK.

If you want to send me one of your problem epub files privately, I can see if it works here.

How big IS your epub file? (Actually, if the online epubcheck accepted it, it must be less than 10MB, so you can forget that...)

How about a "dumb" test? Try taking one of your epubs, open it with the ePUBtweak or new edit doodah in Calibre (you'll need help from one of the Calibre-guys here, I don't know much about how it works) and save it with a new name somewhere. In other words, make a Calibre-generated ePUB in name only, without actually using the "convert.exe" part of Calibre. Like changing the metadata or swapping out the cover.

Then try loading that, and see if it works. That at least might give everyone a place to start. Just a thought...

AND, do any of the ePUBs that you find here at MR work on it? Who here has a Sigil-pub that they can point to for him to test on the MR Library?

Hitch

[mrmikel]

Re calibre do-dah:

Download and install the latest calibre. Then create a shortcut to ebook-edit.exe (if you are using Windows.) It will be in calibre2 in Program Files or Program Files (x86).

Then you use File/open and see if it opens there. You can make a trivial change and save it. It will be different from Sigil, since at a minimum it will remove the DOCTYPE. Save it and see what happens.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by mrmikel

Re calibre do-dah:

Download and install the latest calibre. Then create a shortcut to ebook-edit.exe (if you are using Windows.) It will be in calibre2 in Program Files or Program Files (x86).

Then you use File/open and see if it opens there. You can make a trivial change and save it. It will be different from Sigil, since at a minimum it will remove the DOCTYPE. Save it and see what happens.

See? You can always count on the guys here to pitch in.

Hitch

[MyDK]

Oh I can see this post is almost 1 month old... And I do not really have THE answer.. But goes anyway:
My experience is that iOS is much better in rendering EPUBs than Android, at least at the moment. So, perfectly Valid EPUBs might fail on Android device because its browsers or apps render same HTML codes according to their own "tabels" (not sure of that is the correct word). True, we have basis HTML but if that is not properly used in EPUB, then it will not show content as intended.
It has ben mentionned that img size max 1000 pix works.
Svg is an issue on Android. iOS have no problems with svg wrapping.
Do you use svg?
I would try to work on svg - max width and such, and if it does not work, I would simplify my HTML code in the EPUB in order to make it work across platforms.

[MyDK]

WTF... Why am I advertizing for a seminar in my post... translated, it says "females with a passion")?!

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by MyDK

WTF... Why am I advertizing for a seminar in my post... translated, it says "females with a passion")?!

You aren't. Is it possible there is an ad right above/below your post, and you are confusing with that? I wouldn't know, as I use Adblock Plus.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by MyDK

My experience is that iOS is much better in rendering EPUBs than Android, at least at the moment.

This statement is nonsense. Sorry.

iOS does not render ePubs. Neither does Android. They're platforms. Apps do the rendering. There are good ones and bad ones (ePub apps) on both platforms, but there is no inherent advantage/disadvantage for either platform when it comes to how ePubs happen to be rendered.

[Toxaris]

Originally Posted by MyDK

Oh I can see this post is almost 1 month old... And I do not really have THE answer.. But goes anyway:
My experience is that iOS is much better in rendering EPUBs than Android, at least at the moment. So, perfectly Valid EPUBs might fail on Android device because its browsers or apps render same HTML codes according to their own "tabels" (not sure of that is the correct word). True, we have basis HTML but if that is not properly used in EPUB, then it will not show content as intended.
It has ben mentionned that img size max 1000 pix works.
Svg is an issue on Android. iOS have no problems with svg wrapping.
Do you use svg?
I would try to work on svg - max width and such, and if it does not work, I would simplify my HTML code in the EPUB in order to make it work across platforms.

Couple of additional points:
-The format ePUB uses is XHTML, not HTML. Seems small, but can be important.
-SVG does work, but not the whole SVG specifications is supported in an ePUB. It is possible that those things work in a reader, but it is not requred. Basic SVG functionality does work.
- check the ePUB specifications to see what should be supported with XHTML, again not everything is (or should) be supported.

The fact that iBooks (which I think you are talking about) is supporting that code, does not make it valid ePUB... The checkers are not checking for those kind of things, which is one of the gripes with the checkers. That is one of the reasons why a lot of people test with ADE. It is not foolproof, but it gives a good indication.
Otherwise post a dummy file so we can check for you.