[Conversion Output] KFX Output

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by gers1978

Kindle Previewer error: Error:E00015: Unsupported tag or style was found. Tag: (), HTML Attribute: (), CSS Style: (-webkit-box-shadow=rgb(170, 170, 170) 0px 0px 5px inset).

Those books contain a property (-webkit-box-shadow) that is not completely supported by the KFX converter contained wihin the Kindle Previewer. That seems to be markup that is often used in an advertising page in books published by Orbit (an imprint of Hachette). The only solution at present is to edit the source format of the book to remove this property before attempting to convert to KFX.

[jhowell]

Version 1.36.0 - 23 Dec 2019

Compatibility fixes for calibre beta versions using Python 3.

Detect Kindle Previewer versions up to 3.36 and remove support for Previewer versions older than 3.34. Version 3.36 provides better support for page-break-inside:avoid in CSS and for nested HTML tables.

Detect use of a non-standard installation directory for the Kindle Previewer under Windows. (Thanks to Silverbacknet.)

Reduce duplication of Kindle Previewer warning messages in the conversion log.

[gers1978]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Those books contain a property (-webkit-box-shadow) that is not completely supported by the KFX converter contained wihin the Kindle Previewer. That seems to be markup that is often used in an advertising page in books published by Orbit (an imprint of Hachette). The only solution at present is to edit the source format of the book to remove this property before attempting to convert to KFX.

Would checking the "perform error tolerant conversion" box help?

EDIT: every since updating to Calibre 4.7 and the latest KFX Output plugin, the same books now hang at 67% when trying to convert

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by gers1978

Would checking the "perform error tolerant conversion" box help?

Yes, in this particular case.

Originally Posted by gers1978

every since updating to Calibre 4.7 and the latest KFX Output plugin, the same books now hang at 67% when trying to convert

67% indicates that the KFX Output plugin is running. Some books can take several minutes to convert. If it does not complete you can use the "Show job details" button to see the conversion log. Copy and post it here and I can look for anything that indicates what is going wrong.

[gers1978]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Yes, in this particular case.



67% indicates that the KFX Output plugin is running. Some books can take several minutes to convert. If it does not complete you can use the "Show job details" button to see the conversion log. Copy and post it here and I can look for anything that indicates what is going wrong.

Ok, I will. A few things first:

1) It jumps to 67% almost instantly, then hangs there - I've left it over 2 hours (it's a 2018 MacBook Pro 2.6Ghz 6 core i7, 16GB RAM, so it's not a lack of computing power)

2) Ticking the "perform error tolerant conversion" made no difference - still hangs on 67%

[Sov]

Originally Posted by gers1978

Ok, I will. A few things first:

1) It jumps to 67% almost instantly, then hangs there - I've left it over 2 hours (it's a 2018 MacBook Pro 2.6Ghz 6 core i7, 16GB RAM, so it's not a lack of computing power)

2) Ticking the "perform error tolerant conversion" made no difference - still hangs on 67%

Have the same issue, hangs on 67%.
Job details:
"Successfully converted input format to EPUB
Converting C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_tivneq\x6i coo.epub
Converting C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_tivneq\x6i coo.epub to KPF
Preparing C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_tivneq\x6i coo.epub for conversion
Launching Kindle Previewer 3 - KFXGenApp (version unknown_26064312)"

Could it be due to Previewer version 3.36.1 ? Any way to downgrade to 3.36.0 ?

Calibre version 4.8

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Sov

Have the same issue, hangs on 67%.
Job details:
"Successfully converted input format to EPUB
Converting C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_tivneq\x6i coo.epub
Converting C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_tivneq\x6i coo.epub to KPF
Preparing C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_tivneq\x6i coo.epub for conversion
Launching Kindle Previewer 3 - KFXGenApp (version unknown_26064312)"

Could it be due to Previewer version 3.36.1 ? Any way to downgrade to 3.36.0 ?

Calibre version 4.8

I cannot duplicate this problem so it is hard to diagnose. Previewer version 3.36.1 works for me, so I doubt that is a factor.

What OS version are you running?

Do you have any anti-virus software installed besides that provided by the OS?

Does it hang on one particular book or on all books?

I suggest that you try to convert this edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley to see if it also hangs up. If so then post the entire conversion log. That may provide some useful detail.

[marwa59]

please i want to know what makes some inline svgs show up and some of them don't, is that smt about plugins or what?

thanks in advance

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by marwa59

please i want to know what makes some inline svgs show up and some of them don't, is that smt about plugins or what?

thanks in advance

SVG content is converted to JPEG for KFX format, but many SVG features are not supported, such as text. There is a limit of 25 SVG images per book in KFX.

You can read more in section 10.4.11 Use Supported SVG Tags and Elements of the Amazon Kindle Publishing Guidelines.

[jhowell]

Version 1.37.0 - 10 Jan 2020

Detect Kindle Previewer versions up to 3.36.1.

Support additional KFX features. (Fixes "Invalid local symbol created: crop_bleed" and "Unexpected Ion symbols used: $35")

Replace the "-webkit-box-shadow" property with "box-shadow" in the source EPUB. This prevents conversion failure in the Kindle Previewer when "-webkit-box-shadow" is applied to inline elements.

Add an option in both GUI and CLI to stop conversion if a fifteen minute timeout is exceeded. This can help to debug cases where the Kindle Previewer becomes hung up during conversion.

[thetyrantcbass]

The issue where KFXGenApp sometimes fails to launch definitely seems to be related to specific books and specific formats of books. I tried converting a retail epub purchased this morning from the Google Play Store to KFX and failed. Converting the epub to an AZW3 and then the resulting AZW3 to KFX worked.

Logs of both the failed and successful conversions are attached.

macOS 10.13.6, Calibre 3.48.0 (last version that runs on 10.13.X), KFX Output 1.37.0.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by thetyrantcbass

Logs of both the failed and successful conversions are attached.

The log of the failed conversion shows KFXGenApp being started and nothing after that. I assume that the conversion continues without completing or producing an error message.

I have been unable to duplicate this problem with any of the books I have tried. I use Windows and that may be a factor.

In the conversion dialog there is an option in the KFX Output tab to "Enable conversion timeout". Set this and start a new conversion. After about 15 minutes it should terminate and result in a conversion log with more information. Perhaps that will help me to diagnose the problem.

[thetyrantcbass]

Right, the previous conversions just continued without completing.

Here's the conversion log for the same epub after the 900s timeout.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by thetyrantcbass

Right, the previous conversions just continued without completing.

Here's the conversion log for the same epub after the 900s timeout.

Thanks for your help with this. I didn't find much useful in the new log to diagnose the problem so I tried another approach.

I found the name of the book you were trying to convert and bought a copy from Google Play. Using that book I was able to duplicate the problem of the Previewer hanging during conversion. I traced the problem to the presence of an EPUB 3 switch element within the book's content. Apparently this is not handled properly by the Previewer.

I will release an update to the KFX Output plugin that strips out switch elements before conversion. It should be ready in the next day or two.

[jhowell]

Version 1.38.0 - 18 Jan 2020

Remove EPUB 3 switch elements. These sometimes cause the Kindle Previewer to become hung up and fail to complete conversion.