Wrong covers show on my Nook?

[DiapDealer]

An easy test would be to manually pull one of the problematic epubs off of the Nook and inspect it to determine conclusively which cover image/page is actually included when sending (pre epub to epub conversion) via calibre.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

There must be somewhere else in the ePub that points to a cover file, but I'm not sure where.

Something that you could also check is the cover metadata entry in the .opf file, which looks like this in epub2 books:

<meta name="cover" content="cover.png" />

note that cover.png is an id, not the file name and in this case points to:

<item id="cover.png" href="Images/cover.png" media-type="image/png"/>

Maybe the Nook software uses the cover meta entry which might still point to the old cover.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

An easy test would be to manually pull one of the problematic epubs off of the Nook and inspect it to determine conclusively which cover image/page is actually included when sending (pre epub to epub conversion) via calibre.

Typically, the ePubs will include both files. When I add the cover, I don't usually delete the old one. So there will be a file called cover.jpeg and one called cover.jpg. Or in the case of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, there's a file called cover.jpg and a file called 0008.jpg.

Anyway, I did check one of the ePubs I sent to the Nook with a cover problem. The ePub displays the correct cover. But in the library and home screen, the Nook displays the original cover.

Since the Sony doesn't have thumbnails, I can no longer confirm that it displays the correct cover.

I did drag and drop the ePub to my Kobo and it displayed the correct cover in the thumbnail.

I suspect that either Doitsu is right, as I did notice the ePub metadata file still points to the original cover, or Tex2002ans is right and Calibre is sending some sort of mixed signal.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

Something that you could also check is the cover metadata entry in the .opf file, which looks like this in epub2 books:

<meta name="cover" content="cover.png" />

note that cover.png is an id, not the file name and in this case points to:

<item id="cover.png" href="Images/cover.png" media-type="image/png"/>

Maybe the Nook software uses the cover meta entry which might still point to the old cover.

Aha! That is the problem. The Add Cover tool doesn't currently (at least as of Sigil 9.14) update the cover data in content.opf in the ePub. And that is what the Nook seems to be looking at.

I tried messing with content.opf with the earlier Hunchback ePub and that didn't work, but I had already added the book earlier and I think the Nook still held on to the old data.

[KevinH]

Actually Sigil's AddCover routine does invoke the OPF SetResourceAsCoverImage routine that sets the metadata properly. It has long done that (literally for years!). So perhaps you are not properly saving the epub afterwards? Or maybe you did not refresh the opf tab if it was open when you made the change? Try adding the cover, saving the epub and then unzipping it manually to verify that the opf has in fact been updated (both the guide and the metadata) for epub2.

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

... and I think the Nook still held on to the old data.

This. NOOK software is a headache. I loved NOOK for a long time, but eventually bailed to Kobo, and I've not regretted making that move.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Aha! That is the problem. The Add Cover tool doesn't currently (at least as of Sigil 9.14) update the cover data in content.opf in the ePub. And that is what the Nook seems to be looking at.

I tried messing with content.opf with the earlier Hunchback ePub and that didn't work, but I had already added the book earlier and I think the Nook still held on to the old data.

What could also happen is:

Calibre has an original_epub + EPUB (this is created by your EPUB-to-EPUB conversion).

You use Sigil to Add Cover, to the EPUB.

When you tell Calibre to send-to-device, Calibre may be sending the original_epub over instead.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I tried messing with content.opf with the earlier Hunchback ePub and that didn't work, but I had already added the book earlier and I think the Nook still held on to the old data.

Another way to test this:

Do another minor tweak besides Add Cover. Maybe add a simple line in the copyright page.

When you send it to your Nook, you can tell if it was the original or the adjusted EPUB by checking for your edit.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

What could also happen is:

Calibre has an original_epub + EPUB (this is created by your EPUB-to-EPUB conversion).

I only do ePub to ePub conversion as a last ditch act. And in those cases, I never have the cover issue.

Do another minor tweak besides Add Cover. Maybe add a simple line in the copyright page.

When you send it to your Nook, you can tell if it was the original or the adjusted EPUB by checking for your edit.

Other tweaks always work. Justifying text, adding table of contents and so on.

Maybe my original post wasn't clear enough. The place the cover issue occurs is when the Nook creates a thumbnail for my library and home page. That's when I see the original cover.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by KevinH

Actually Sigil's AddCover routine does invoke the OPF SetResourceAsCoverImage routine that sets the metadata properly. It has long done that (literally for years!). So perhaps you are not properly saving the epub afterwards?

I mean, I dunno. I make my changes and click save. If I'm making a mistake in the process, let me know.

Or maybe you did not refresh the opf tab if it was open when you made the change?

I literally never opened the opf tab until just before I started this thread.

Try adding the cover, saving the epub and then unzipping it manually to verify that the opf has in fact been updated (both the guide and the metadata) for epub2.

Just did that. The ePub had a file labelled cover.jpeg as the cover. I added cover.jpg, using the steps mentioned in post #4.

I closed Sigil and then reopened the ePub with Sigil. I opened contents.opf and did a search on the word 'cover'.

There are four lines with 'cover'. Here they are:

<meta name="cover" content="cover.jpg" />
<item id="cover" href="Images/cover.jpeg" media-type="image/jpeg"/>
<item id="cover.jpg" href="Images/cover.jpg" media-type="image/jpeg"/>
<reference type="cover" title="Cover" href="Text/titlepage.xhtml"/>

It's the second line (which I bolded) that is causing the Nook to generate a thumbnail of the old cover, so far as I know.

[KevinH]

And that is exactly correct assuming "Images/cover.jpg" is the new cover (the one that you just added), and that "Images/cover.jpeg" still exists in the epub and there is a still a link to it someplace in the epub (otherwise you can just delete it in BookBrowser), and that Text/titlepage.xhtml accurately links to Images/cover.jpg and not "Images/cover.jpeg".

If those conditions are true, the Nook itself is at fault, or how you load it.

[JSWolf]

Since the eBooks are loaded in Calibre,why not use either Polish or the Modify ePub plugin to update the cover? It's a lot easier to update the cover with Calibre since the eBook is already there.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Since the eBooks are loaded in Calibre,why not use either Polish or the Modify ePub plugin to update the cover? It's a lot easier to update the cover with Calibre since the eBook is already there.

I tend to open every ePub with Sigil, including books purchased in other formats and converted to ePub. I just like to make sure the text is justified, there aren't gaps between paragraphs, there is a table of contents, etc. I prefer the standalone Sigil to Calbre's built in editor which just felt too cramped when I tried using it years back.

I have to do something while the better half is watching RuPaul's Drag Race!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by KevinH

If those conditions are true, the Nook itself is at fault...

Sure, I freely admit that it is likely a quirk to how the Nook generates images for library view. I just wanted to see what might be causing it and what I might do to fix it.

Now the only problem is I don't know of a simple way to remove the offending ePubs from the Nook and reload them, since it seems to keep that info somewhere, even after ejecting from Calibre several times. Live and learn.

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Now the only problem is I don't know of a simple way to remove the offending ePubs from the Nook and reload them, since it seems to keep that info somewhere, even after ejecting from Calibre several times. Live and learn.

Desperate measures: delete the bad book. Slightly change the title of the good book. Load the good book onto the NOOK. Its new identity will prevent any connections to old data.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

Desperate measures: delete the bad book. Slightly change the title of the good book. Load the good book onto the NOOK. Its new identity will prevent any connections to old data.

Talk about desperate measures: I went through all 35 pages of the library on my Nook, found all the naughty books, updated them on my hard drive, deregistered the Nook, signed back in and resent the books to the Nook.

Now I see a couple of my Stephen Baxter books were missed. Alas!

I could convert those two from ePub to ePub. But man, I think those two can stay.