Breaking up a large epub file

weberr · 12-08-2014, 08:34 AM

I unfortunately have a humongus epub -- "The Complete Works of ..." -- consists of 12 books each with as much as 20 chapters with every chapter a separate html file. I would like to create a number of those books into individual stand-alone epubs. Does either Sigil or Calibre Epub editor have some way to select a set of html files and create an epub using those selected files? Only way I have found that works is so tedious:
1. Use calibre to create an empty epub and open it in 7-Zip.
2. Open the master epub in 7-Zip and copy the selected html files into a folder.
3. Use the Sigil file import function to import the set of html files into the empty epub.
4. Copy the style sheets from the master epub into the new epub.
5. Copy the appropriate image files from the master into the new epub.

Wish I could simply select the html files and right-click them into an epub.

Anybody got a more efficient process?

PeterT · 12-08-2014, 09:14 AM

Why not use the calibre plug-in [GUI Plugin] EpubSplit?

phossler · 12-08-2014, 02:05 PM

bit of a brute force approach, but to make sure that I got each file only where it belongs, I'd copy the master 12 times and just delete what I didn't want from each of the 12 copies

Not very elegant but I use it because it helps prevent (careless) hard to track down mistakes

thewitt · 12-09-2014, 01:47 AM

Open the ePub in Sigil.
Select and Delete the HTML files you don't want.
Generate a new TOC
SAVE AS the new ePub.
Repeat.

weberr · 12-09-2014, 02:46 AM

Why....? Because I never heard of it.

What an special piece of work. Will save me hours of tedious work.

You guys are simply amazing in what you can do. Doesn't seem like a week goes by that I don't learn/find some new functionality.

Now I have lots of hours to find out all about plug-ins.

weberr · 12-09-2014, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phossler

bit of a brute force approach, but to make sure that I got each file only where it belongs, I'd copy the master 12 times and just delete what I didn't want from each of the 12 copies

Not very elegant but I use it because it helps prevent (careless) hard to track down mistakes

Thanks for your suggestion. That certainly would be a safer and easier brute force approach.

weberr · 12-09-2014, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thewitt

Open the ePub in Sigil.
Select and Delete the HTML files you don't want.
Generate a new TOC
SAVE AS the new ePub.
Repeat.

Thanks for your suggestion. That would have helped with stylesheets and images.

murg · 12-09-2014, 05:33 PM

If you are doing any reformatting of the text, you may find it easier to do so before you split the file.

This only really works if the entire book is formatted the same. If it is a collection of previously formatted books (all formatted differently), then it is easier to split first.

You can generally tell by the number of css files. If there is one, then the whole book usually formatted the same. If there is one per sub-book, then they are generally formatted differently.

12-08-2014, 08:34 AM	#1
weberr New old guy Posts: 69 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: kindle fire	Breaking up a large epub file I unfortunately have a humongus epub -- "The Complete Works of ..." -- consists of 12 books each with as much as 20 chapters with every chapter a separate html file. I would like to create a number of those books into individual stand-alone epubs. Does either Sigil or Calibre Epub editor have some way to select a set of html files and create an epub using those selected files? Only way I have found that works is so tedious: 1. Use calibre to create an empty epub and open it in 7-Zip. 2. Open the master epub in 7-Zip and copy the selected html files into a folder. 3. Use the Sigil file import function to import the set of html files into the empty epub. 4. Copy the style sheets from the master epub into the new epub. 5. Copy the appropriate image files from the master into the new epub. Wish I could simply select the html files and right-click them into an epub. Anybody got a more efficient process?

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12-08-2014, 09:14 AM	#2
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,698 Karma: 79983758 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Why not use the calibre plug-in [GUI Plugin] EpubSplit?

12-08-2014, 02:05 PM	#3
phossler Wizard Posts: 1,090 Karma: 447222 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Valley Forge, PA, USA Device: Kindle Paperwhite	bit of a brute force approach, but to make sure that I got each file only where it belongs, I'd copy the master 12 times and just delete what I didn't want from each of the 12 copies Not very elegant but I use it because it helps prevent (careless) hard to track down mistakes

12-09-2014, 01:47 AM	#4
thewitt Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 1135446 Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Miami, Florida Device: iBooks	Open the ePub in Sigil. Select and Delete the HTML files you don't want. Generate a new TOC SAVE AS the new ePub. Repeat.

12-09-2014, 02:46 AM	#5
weberr New old guy Posts: 69 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: kindle fire	Why....? Because I never heard of it. What an special piece of work. Will save me hours of tedious work. You guys are simply amazing in what you can do. Doesn't seem like a week goes by that I don't learn/find some new functionality. Now I have lots of hours to find out all about plug-ins.

12-09-2014, 05:33 PM	#8
murg No Comment Posts: 3,240 Karma: 23878043 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Australia Device: Kobo: Not just an eReader, it's an adventure!	If you are doing any reformatting of the text, you may find it easier to do so before you split the file. This only really works if the entire book is formatted the same. If it is a collection of previously formatted books (all formatted differently), then it is easier to split first. You can generally tell by the number of css files. If there is one, then the whole book usually formatted the same. If there is one per sub-book, then they are generally formatted differently.