Doing my own corrections

AlexBell · 05-15-2009, 07:59 AM

I recently downloaded a one of my favorite books in mobipocket format, and was very disappointed to find that the book is riddled with typos and layout problems. So I have decided to try to make my own corrections.

I have used Calibre to convert it to ePub format in the hope that I could get to the basic text and correct it through my HTML editor, and then use Calibre to convert the corrected version back to Mobipocket.

But I have not been able to open the ePub file at all.

Is there a way I can use Calibre to edit the basic text? If not, is there another Windows XP based program I can use to edit ePub files?

Regards, Alex

itimpi · 05-15-2009, 08:33 AM

Have you renamed the .epub file to a .zip file and then extracted the contents to get at the HTML part?

zelda_pinwheel · 05-15-2009, 08:33 AM

hi alex, an epub file is just a zip container, so you should be able to open it with winzip or winrar. use right click --> open with.

inside will be html files which can be edited with any text editor. just replace the html file in the zip when you're done editing.

AlexBell · 05-15-2009, 09:31 AM

Thanks to you both for your rapid responses. I'll try your suggestions.

Regards, Alex

AlexBell · 05-16-2009, 05:29 AM

Thanks again for your help.

What works best for me is to open the package with Winzip, and then right click on an html file and open it with the Coffee Cup HTML editor. I'm still exploring, and have some questions. The html files are in the format filename_split_n.html

- Are these in consecutive order through the book - from start to finish of the book?
- Some of the files are very short, some are quite long. Is there a reason for this?
- The files are numbered filename_split_0.html, filename_split_1.html, filename_split_10.htm ... which means that they do not appear in consecutive order. Can I rename filename_split_1.html to filename_split_01.html? Would this cause any problem when I reconvert the file to mobipocket?
- I want to do some work on mdashes. The html does not show the — it shows â€”. Is there a reason for this? More to the point, can I replace â€” with the same characters with space before and after so that the mdashes do not connect the words?

Regards, Alex

HarryT · 05-16-2009, 06:20 AM

All the "information" about the book is in the file with the "opf" extension, Alex. This defines what files make up the book, what order they appear in, and so on. It's just a text file - you can open and edit it with any text editor.

The reason that some files are long and some short is that one often has one file per chapter, and the chapters of a book are not all the same length.

You can rename the files however you like - provided that you make the corresponding changes in the opf file.

kovidgoyal · 05-16-2009, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

You can rename the files however you like - provided that you make the corresponding changes in the opf file.

If there are links between files he'll have to change those too.

HarryT · 05-16-2009, 06:45 AM

Good point - I forgot that!

Jellby · 05-16-2009, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

- I want to do some work on mdashes. The html does not show the — it shows â€”. Is there a reason for this? More to the point, can I replace â€” with the same characters with space before and after so that the mdashes do not connect the words?

It's probably the encoding.

As for the spaces, you probably don't want spaces around every em-dash, not when they are just before a closing quote, for instance.

HarryT · 05-16-2009, 07:05 AM

It's certainly "safe" to replace the em-dash "character" with the HTML entity "—", if you wish to do so.

One annoying "feature" of the CyBook is that it won't break a line at an em-dash, so I too prefer to have spaces around them (other than before or after quotes, etc, obviously!)

AlexBell · 05-18-2009, 05:51 AM

Thanks to you all. I'll go off to explore the opf file now, but probably leave the filename_split-1.html alone in case I miss a link. And yes, as Harry knows, I use a Cybook.

Regards, Alex

rogue_ronin · 05-20-2009, 04:52 AM

I've been adding &zwnj; to my &mdash: and my hyphens.

It's "Zero-Width Non-Joiner". It's invisible, but if the line breaks at the — or the hyphen, the &zwnj; breaks, moving the following word to the next line.

ie: "...he said—&zwnj;too quickly." or "Zero-&zwnj;Width Non-&zwnj;Joiner"

m a r

Jellby · 05-20-2009, 06:24 AM

Probably & #8203; (zero-width space) would be better than &zwnj;. I don't know if (and how) readers support them, however.

05-15-2009, 07:59 AM	#1
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Doing my own corrections I recently downloaded a one of my favorite books in mobipocket format, and was very disappointed to find that the book is riddled with typos and layout problems. So I have decided to try to make my own corrections. I have used Calibre to convert it to ePub format in the hope that I could get to the basic text and correct it through my HTML editor, and then use Calibre to convert the corrected version back to Mobipocket. But I have not been able to open the ePub file at all. Is there a way I can use Calibre to edit the basic text? If not, is there another Windows XP based program I can use to edit ePub files? Regards, Alex

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05-15-2009, 08:33 AM	#2
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	Have you renamed the .epub file to a .zip file and then extracted the contents to get at the HTML part?

05-15-2009, 08:33 AM	#3
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	hi alex, an epub file is just a zip container, so you should be able to open it with winzip or winrar. use right click --> open with. inside will be html files which can be edited with any text editor. just replace the html file in the zip when you're done editing.

05-15-2009, 09:31 AM	#4
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Thanks to you both for your rapid responses. I'll try your suggestions. Regards, Alex

05-16-2009, 05:29 AM	#5
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Thanks again for your help. What works best for me is to open the package with Winzip, and then right click on an html file and open it with the Coffee Cup HTML editor. I'm still exploring, and have some questions. The html files are in the format filename_split_n.html - Are these in consecutive order through the book - from start to finish of the book? - Some of the files are very short, some are quite long. Is there a reason for this? - The files are numbered filename_split_0.html, filename_split_1.html, filename_split_10.htm ... which means that they do not appear in consecutive order. Can I rename filename_split_1.html to filename_split_01.html? Would this cause any problem when I reconvert the file to mobipocket? - I want to do some work on mdashes. The html does not show the — it shows â€”. Is there a reason for this? More to the point, can I replace â€” with the same characters with space before and after so that the mdashes do not connect the words? Regards, Alex

05-16-2009, 06:20 AM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	All the "information" about the book is in the file with the "opf" extension, Alex. This defines what files make up the book, what order they appear in, and so on. It's just a text file - you can open and edit it with any text editor. The reason that some files are long and some short is that one often has one file per chapter, and the chapters of a book are not all the same length. You can rename the files however you like - provided that you make the corresponding changes in the opf file.

05-16-2009, 06:45 AM	#8
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Good point - I forgot that!

05-16-2009, 07:05 AM	#10
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It's certainly "safe" to replace the em-dash "character" with the HTML entity "—", if you wish to do so. One annoying "feature" of the CyBook is that it won't break a line at an em-dash, so I too prefer to have spaces around them (other than before or after quotes, etc, obviously!)

05-18-2009, 05:51 AM	#11
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Thanks to you all. I'll go off to explore the opf file now, but probably leave the filename_split-1.html alone in case I miss a link. And yes, as Harry knows, I use a Cybook. Regards, Alex

05-20-2009, 04:52 AM	#12
rogue_ronin Banned Posts: 475 Karma: 796 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Honolulu Device: Nokia 770 (fbreader)	I've been adding &zwnj; to my &mdash: and my hyphens. It's "Zero-Width Non-Joiner". It's invisible, but if the line breaks at the — or the hyphen, the &zwnj; breaks, moving the following word to the next line. ie: "...he said—&zwnj;too quickly." or "Zero-&zwnj;Width Non-&zwnj;Joiner" m a r

05-20-2009, 06:24 AM	#13
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,541 Karma: 19001081 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	Probably & #8203; (zero-width space) would be better than &zwnj;. I don't know if (and how) readers support them, however.

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