why can't Calibre convert without changing something?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by OllieDixon

English?

Title = why can't Calibre convert without changing something?

Some might take note of the question mark.



Another simple question followed by an example. Then the statement about the aggravation.. Sorry guys i didn't know i wasn't allowed to say something that aggravates me is aggravating on this forum.

When you say something is aggravating you, that constitutes an objection against the way things are working, =complaint.

Nothing about the concept of a question prevents it from being a complaint.

I am forced to conclude that in some parallel universe of yours, there is some alternative English language where that is not so.

As theducks said,

Originally Posted by theducks

If there were no changes, how can it be a 'conversion'?

If you don't want any changes to be made, you are using the wrong tool, since calibre conversions were never meant to be devoid of changes -- Kovid has in fact put vast amounts of work into making sure there are tremendous amounts of change, for the sole purpose of getting ebooks to work on as many devices as possible.

If you want no changes to be made, use the Edit Book tool and change the internal coding yourself, and only those changes will be made. Do not expect that Kovid will "fix" conversions for your sake and in the process destroy the very purpose and nature of calibre conversions for millions of other people.

And as long as you have the attitude that everyone/everything else should change to conform to your expectations, don't expect anyone to appreciate your input. Plenty of people here have contributed suggestions to calibre by politely discusssing the issue; it helps that we don't expect the impossible/ridiculous, and respond with grace when our suggestions are vetoed. We appreciate the fact that Kovid works so hard to create calibre for free, and respect the need for a solution that neets the needs of most people.

And we don't complain that we are using the wrong tool and everything isn't magically doing itself for us.

[OllieDixon]

Thanks. The second part of your reply is the first actual answer to my question.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by OllieDixon

Thanks. The second part of your reply is the first actual answer to my question.

What about these solid suggestions?

Originally Posted by davidfor

It sounds like you should use the KoboTouchExtended driver. This adds the spans that the kepub needs without doing a full conversion while it is sending the book to the device. There is very little use in having the kepub in the calibre library.

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

If you have the tweak keep original file true you will always have an untouched file in a convenient location which you can restore easily.

You can also use edit or polish for minimal changes.

I convert all my books for formatting reasons and overall I don't care if they are changed as long as they appear as I want them, but for those who are concerned there are IMO reasonable options.

Helen