Valid ePub, but not valid enough for iBooks - Page 3

luthar28 · 08-14-2010, 12:56 AM

This really does concern me. So even if our files come back validated, Apple still may find errors?

senthilnatha · 08-16-2010, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldespain

I think I figured my problem out. I had multiple image files in the ePub package that had spaces in their names. Sigil understood this in the HTML coding by adding %20 but the file names still had spaces in the images folder. When I renamed them without spaces: like title_page.jpg the file uploaded successfully. Sigil was even smart enough to know to change the image name in the HTML for me so I didn't have to change them myself. Such a simple solution, really, but absolutely NO indication in the error messages that that was the problem. What a relief!

I am getting this exact same error. I have looked very carefully through the assets in my EPUB and there are no spaces in any of the filenames.

My file passes epubcheck, and I am using zip on the command line in OS X to make sure that no extraneous Mac OS files get zipped.

Any more ideas from anyone?

senthilnatha · 08-16-2010, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldespain

I worked on my ePub file in Sigil and now my customer is having trouble uploading it with iTunes Producer. This is the error message that he got:

1 package(s) were not uploaded because they had problems:
/Users/jeffgoforth/Music/iTunes Producer/Playlists/1424316545.itmsp - Error Messages:
Apple's web service operation was not successful
Unable to authenticate the package: 1424316545.itmsp
ERROR ITMS-4000: "Line 88 column 92: bad character content for element at XPath /package/book/assets/asset[1]/data_file/file_name"

This went through the ePub validator with no problems. Any ideas?

In your case, did "asset[1]" actually correspond to a specific file in your EPUB? I have the same error with "asset[2]" and I'm trying to figure out exactly what file inside the EPUB it is referring to.

ldespain · 08-17-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senthilnatha

In your case, did "asset[1]" actually correspond to a specific file in your EPUB? I have the same error with "asset[2]" and I'm trying to figure out exactly what file inside the EPUB it is referring to.

Possibly your image file. Since they ask for 600 px high, maybe the image file is a little too small? Someone else had mentioned that. And then it also should be named ISBN13.jpg.

Another thing could be the metadata you're entering in the form. Some of the fields are required. Page count, book description, etc. Just get as much info in there as you can.

I finally got my file to pass all the validation but then get this: since I had uploaded it on my Apple ID, I am now not able to load it on my client's ID. Since the ISBN13 is the key field, they won't allow duplicates. C'mon!! The saga continues...

senthilnatha · 08-19-2010, 06:16 PM

Idespain, it actually turned out to be a copyright symbol: ©
I had one in my content.opf file in the rights metadata and one in the copyright page XHTML file of my EPUB. I don't know which caused the problem. Perhaps if I had only removed one, the other would have tripped the same alarm. I changed them both to "(c)" and everything was fine.

I'm not surprised, to be honest, that Apple has more stringent requirements than epubcheck, but they should tell us exactly what they are, and their error codes should be more precise, or at least quote the part of the file that is problematic. A copyright symbol should be allowed. It is within the UTF-8 character set that EPUB requires!

Logseman · 08-19-2010, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Idespain, it actually turned out to be a copyright symbol: ©

I find this really amusing

ldespain · 08-19-2010, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senthilnatha

Idespain, it actually turned out to be a copyright symbol: ©
I had one in my content.opf file in the rights metadata and one in the copyright page XHTML file of my EPUB. I don't know which caused the problem. Perhaps if I had only removed one, the other would have tripped the same alarm. I changed them both to "(c)" and everything was fine.

I'm not surprised, to be honest, that Apple has more stringent requirements than epubcheck, but they should tell us exactly what they are, and their error codes should be more precise, or at least quote the part of the file that is problematic. A copyright symbol should be allowed. It is within the UTF-8 character set that EPUB requires!

Get outta town! That is the silliest thing I've heard lately. Good to know though - thanks for posting!

senthilnatha · 08-19-2010, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldespain

Get outta town! That is the silliest thing I've heard lately. Good to know though - thanks for posting!

Agreed: silly. And it says nothing of this or any other type of UTF-8 disallowed characters in the iBookstore Publisher User Guide 1.3.

Toxaris · 08-20-2010, 04:10 AM

Try & #169; or © instead of (c). That is the html code for © and should work. Even for Apple....

Remove the space between the & and #. The forum immediately translates it otherwise.

I always tend to use html code for symbols and accented letters.

mythical · 11-11-2010, 10:59 AM

Apple's web service operation was not successful
Unable to authenticate the package: 1424316545.itmsp
ERROR ITMS-4000: "Line 88 column 92: bad character content for element at XPath /package/book/assets/asset[1]/data_file/file_name"

This went through the ePub validator with no problems. Any ideas?[/QUOTE]

I had the same problem uploading my epub to Apple. It was fixed by removing the ellipsis that was somehow inserted at the end of the file name for the epub. Don't know how it got there but the ellipsis was causing Apple to reject the entire file.

Fabe · 11-11-2010, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senthilnatha

A "©" is okay in the body of a document. Where the glitch comes in is adding it inside metadata. That's my experience. - Fabe

Fabe · 11-11-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldespain

Possibly your image file. Since they ask for 600 px high, maybe the image file is a little too small? Someone else had mentioned that. And then it also should be named ISBN13.jpg.

Apple's requirement is that Covers be at least 600 px on the shortest side. They do not need to be ISBN-13 named. Non-cover graphics can be any size. - Fabe

Oldpilot · 11-13-2010, 11:26 AM

Where are you guys getting these Apple error messages? Are you uploading from your Mac computers directly to the iBookstore?

Not being Mac enabled, I am using Lulu as an aggregator.

Fabe · 11-13-2010, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldpilot

Where are you guys getting these Apple error messages? Are you uploading from your Mac computers directly to the iBookstore? Not being Mac enabled, I am using Lulu as an aggregator.

Oldpilot, Yes, I use a Mac and yes, I do my own uploading as an Apple Publisher. My errors not only come from Apple, but also from epub validation. -Fabe

Dwayne Smith · 12-14-2010, 01:31 AM

Further information for others...

I came across a similar error, but the line was "....suggested_retail_price".
This was a problem in the .itmsp, not the .epub.

Turns out that if you use a tab delimited file to generate your metadata (as you would for multiple titles), you should use a "." in any Euro Physical List Price, rather than the more correct ",".

iTunes Producer (2.2.1) will still display it as "," but if it is "," in the .itmsp it throws an error.

I ended up fixing this by hand by editing each .itmsp file in Text Wrangler. Trying to correct it directly in iTP didn't work.

d.

08-20-2010, 04:10 AM	#39
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	Try & #169; or © instead of (c). That is the html code for © and should work. Even for Apple.... Remove the space between the & and #. The forum immediately translates it otherwise. I always tend to use html code for symbols and accented letters. Last edited by Toxaris; 08-20-2010 at 04:13 AM.

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08-14-2010, 12:56 AM	#31
luthar28 Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle	This really does concern me. So even if our files come back validated, Apple still may find errors?

08-19-2010, 06:16 PM	#35
senthilnatha Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: iPad	Idespain, it actually turned out to be a copyright symbol: © I had one in my content.opf file in the rights metadata and one in the copyright page XHTML file of my EPUB. I don't know which caused the problem. Perhaps if I had only removed one, the other would have tripped the same alarm. I changed them both to "(c)" and everything was fine. I'm not surprised, to be honest, that Apple has more stringent requirements than epubcheck, but they should tell us exactly what they are, and their error codes should be more precise, or at least quote the part of the file that is problematic. A copyright symbol should be allowed. It is within the UTF-8 character set that EPUB requires!

11-11-2010, 10:59 AM	#40
mythical Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: ipad	Apple's web service operation was not successful Unable to authenticate the package: 1424316545.itmsp ERROR ITMS-4000: "Line 88 column 92: bad character content for element at XPath /package/book/assets/asset[1]/data_file/file_name" This went through the ePub validator with no problems. Any ideas?[/QUOTE] I had the same problem uploading my epub to Apple. It was fixed by removing the ellipsis that was somehow inserted at the end of the file name for the epub. Don't know how it got there but the ellipsis was causing Apple to reject the entire file.

11-13-2010, 11:26 AM	#43
Oldpilot Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 2572 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle	Where are you guys getting these Apple error messages? Are you uploading from your Mac computers directly to the iBookstore? Not being Mac enabled, I am using Lulu as an aggregator.

12-14-2010, 01:31 AM	#45
Dwayne Smith Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Brisbane, Australia Device: none	Further information for others... I came across a similar error, but the line was "....suggested_retail_price". This was a problem in the .itmsp, not the .epub. Turns out that if you use a tab delimited file to generate your metadata (as you would for multiple titles), you should use a "." in any Euro Physical List Price, rather than the more correct ",". iTunes Producer (2.2.1) will still display it as "," but if it is "," in the .itmsp it throws an error. I ended up fixing this by hand by editing each .itmsp file in Text Wrangler. Trying to correct it directly in iTP didn't work. d.

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