[Conversion Output] KFX Output

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Elaine T

would it make a difference that I have Calibre delete the KFX file when the story is updated? Would that wipe out any 'wrong' lingering conversion preferences? or is it that the way my process works (epub ->kfx ebook ->kindle)I don't have the 'wrong' preference ever set?

Deleting the file created by conversion does not revert the conversion preferences to their default values. I assume your process works bedause you have the defaults set the way you want them before converting a book for the first time.

[BetterRed]

FWIW: Whenever a book is converted the conversion settings used are stored in the database regardless of whether they are specifically set or the 'default' settings in Preference are used.

The template function has_conversion_options can be used to interrogate, I use it to set a column icon:



They can be removed in Bulk Metadata edit



BR

[Olanbin]

Problem Description:
When using the Calibre plugin KFX Output to convert an EPUB file to a KFX file, an error occurs with the following message:

calibre, version 8.15.0
Error: KFX conversion failed: <p><b>Cannot convert test</b>

<b>Conversion error:</b> Enhanced Typesetting not supported for this book</p>

After testing, it was found that this error occurs when the EPUB file being converted contains CJK extension characters with Unicode codes such as "2E8A9," "322DC," "322D5," etc. An EPUB file is attached for reference. We hope you can resolve this issue. Thank you very much!

KFX Output, version 2.18.0

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Olanbin

Error: KFX conversion failed: <p><b>Cannot convert test</b>

I tried your book and it works for me.

Most of the conversion process is performed by Amazon's Kindle Previewer. Any version of the Previewer 3.54 (released in June 2021) or later should be capable of converting that book.

If you are using an older version you will need to update it. If you are using a more recent version then please post a log from the conversion and I will investigate it further.

[Olanbin]

I upgraded Kindle Previewer and the issue is resolved now. Thank you so much! Additionally, I have another issue related to CJK extension characters. Could you please analyze it and see if there's a way to fix it?

In my EPUB file, I used NoteRef and Footnote. When the text content following a NoteRef includes CJK extension characters, the annotation that should originally appear as a pop-up note changes to a jump-to-footnote behavior. I've attached a test EPUB file. Please convert it to KFX format and test the annotations in Kindle - specifically check the annotations before and after annotation [15] in the next paragraph. The annotation in the following paragraph should display as a normal pop-up.

My device is a 2022 Kindle Scribe with firmware version 5.18.6.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Olanbin

In my EPUB file, I used NoteRef and Footnote. When the text content following a NoteRef includes CJK extension characters, the annotation that should originally appear as a pop-up note changes to a jump-to-footnote behavior. I've attached a test EPUB file. Please convert it to KFX format and test the annotations in Kindle - specifically check the annotations before and after annotation [15] in the next paragraph. The annotation in the following paragraph should display as a normal pop-up.

I did some testing using the book that you provided and I was able to duplicate the failure to display pop-up footnotes when the link to the footnote is preceded in the same paragraph by a Unicode character outside of the basic plane. I was able to determine that the Kindle Previewer is messing up in that case and not marking the footnote properly in KFX format.

I do not have a solution to fix that. Sorry.

[tomsem]

I had e a comic book in PDF format and after importing it to Kindle Create, and attempting to export to KPF, it said 'too big, sorry' (I think it has stated limit of about 650 MB but there are certainly larger KFX comic downloads from Kindle Store). However it exported KPF anyway, and I was able to generate a KFX with that. The original PDF is 234.8 MB, but the KPF in this case was 834 MB, KFX is 879 MB. A rather awkward size. When I exported to CBZ, it generates 6213x9550 images.

Yet the images in the PDF are 1988x3056. Page size, however, turned out to be 20.71 x 31.83 in, and KC seems to get flustered by this. The paperback edition is 6.63 x 0.3 x 10.19 in.

I changed the PDF page size to match the physical book size, and that reduced the resulting KFX file size, with 1989x3057 res, virtually the same as the images in the original PDF, and while somewhat larger in sized than the PDF, not 4x bigger...

At any rate, this was a little surprising to me, that the PDF page size affects the resolution KC exports for comics/manga. I thought that it would just grab the image objects it found without regard to page size. At least now I know!

Also I learned that Acrobat Pro exports to images without changing their resolution, while PDF Expert scales them up to page size. (PDF does not store DPI of image objects.)

By the way, can one unpack KPF files somehow to restore KCB w/resources? I usually throw them away but when I go to the trouble of defining panels for guided view, I might keep them around so I can do incremental adjustments.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by tomsem

At any rate, this was a little surprising to me, that the PDF page size affects the resolution KC exports for comics/manga. I thought that it would just grab the image objects it found without regard to page size. At least now I know!

It works pretty much how I expected it to. PDF pages can be complex with multiple images, text, transforms, and scaling. The easiest way to deal with it is to just rasterize the whole thing.

Originally Posted by tomsem

By the way, can one unpack KPF files somehow to restore KCB w/resources?

KPF files are basically a ZIP of the project folder used by Kindle Create. You can unzip them and open the included book.kcb file in KC to restore the project.

[dhowl]

calibre, version 8.16.2
ERROR: KFX conversion failed: <p><b>Cannot convert The Hidden Staircase</b><br/><br/><b>Conversion error:</b> The source file C:\Users\xyz\AppData\Local\Temp\6ace7578-353c-476f-bc76-5b9bbd9f9db4\cTemp\conv_temp\preprocessed\0_1_67f8 94a6894a25c2_7-titlepage.xhtml cannot be read.</p>

I updated to the latest plugin. I've converted many books over the years and just now it keeps failing.

[theducks]

I believe this may be a Pirated book. Approval pending by a Greenie

[dhowl]

FYI, the book is in the public domain

[theducks]

Originally Posted by dhowl

FYI, the book is in the public domain

I believe you are correct (1930). I did a fast look and came up with a newer edition.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by theducks

I believe you are correct (1930). I did a fast look and came up with a newer edition.

It's not public domain in the US. The author is Mildred Wirt Benson and she died May 28, 2002.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by dhowl

calibre, version 8.16.2
ERROR: KFX conversion failed: <p><b>Cannot convert The Hidden Staircase</b><br/><br/><b>Conversion error:</b> The source file C:\Users\xyz\AppData\Local\Temp\6ace7578-353c-476f-bc76-5b9bbd9f9db4\cTemp\conv_temp\preprocessed\0_1_67f8 94a6894a25c2_7-titlepage.xhtml cannot be read.</p>

I updated to the latest plugin. I've converted many books over the years and just now it keeps failing.

It works for me.

I will need to see a log of the failed conversion in order to research this further. To access the log, either click on the "Jobs: 0" label in the lower right corner of the calibre window or use the Alt-Shift-J keyboard shortcut to activate the Jobs dialog. Select the failed conversion job from the list (the most recent will be first) and click the "Show job details" button.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by dhowl

FYI, the book is in the public domain

Um.. Reading the Wikipedia article it states there are two versions; the original from 1930, and a new edition published in 1959.

A significant difference in the two is the number of chapters in the book.

Original - 1930 Edition

1930 original edition, 25 chapters

1959 Edition

1959 revised edition, 20 chapters

The version posted contains 20 chapters....

I strongly suggest that the version you have posted IS NOT public domain.