MOBI support for reflowable files ending on June 28, 2021

[Big Howard]

Hey all.

I posted this on the Kindle developers forum, but perhaps it would be of more interest here. Mods, please feel free to remove as you see fit.

I received this notification from KDP Customer Support today:

We listened to your feedback and are making it simpler to publish eBooks on Kindle. Starting June 28, 2021, we will no longer support files in MOBI, PRC or AZK formats when publishing new reflowable eBooks or updating the content for previously published eBooks. Instead, we ask publishers to use EPUB, KPF (Kindle Create files), or DOC/DOCX (Microsoft Word files) files for reflowable eBooks. Please note MOBI files are still accepted for fixed-layout eBooks.

Have I misunderstood, or does this put an end to the "dual mobi" approach described in this thread?

[JSWolf]

I'm hoping this means that no more Mobi. Mobi should have gone away a long time ago.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Big Howard

Starting June 28, 2021, we will no longer support files in MOBI, PRC or AZK formats when publishing new reflowable eBooks or updating the content for previously published eBooks.

Big news.

Originally Posted by Big Howard

Have I misunderstood, or does this put an end to the "dual mobi" approach described in this thread?

When you publish a reflowable book on Amazon using a MOBI or DOCX file Amazon converts it to all of the formats supported by old and new Kindle devices/apps. There is no need to publish using a "dual MOBI" (aka Master MOBI) to achieve that effect.

[Big Howard]

Originally Posted by jhowell

When you publish a reflowable book on Amazon using a MOBI or DOCX file Amazon converts it to all of the formats supported by old and new Kindle devices/apps. There is no need to publish using a "dual MOBI" (aka Master MOBI) to achieve that effect.

If Amazon will no longer allow me to upload the MOBI file that is created by KindleGen/Kindle Previewer, then how do I get the backwards compatibility to KF7 described by Tex2002ans here?

My concern is that, as Hitch says here, there are millions of older devices still out there, and they cannot read KF8.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by Big Howard

If Amazon will no longer allow me to upload the MOBI file that is created by KindleGen/Kindle Previewer, then how do I get the backwards compatibility to KF7 described by Tex2002ans here?

Simply upload valid epubs. Amazon will automatically generate books suitable for older devices.

[Quoth]

Dual mobi is only for Smashwords or your own use.

The mobi format has been depreciated for UPLOADS years ago. The epub2 is recommended.

This has only ONE effect on Amazon customers. Newer Kindles may get more advanced formatting than possible from mobi uploads to KDP. Older Kindles will still get mobi/KF7 downloads.

AFAIK Amazon doesn't deliver dual mobi to customers.

What Doitsu says.

So this is hardly news. Amazon no longer accepts an upload format that no-one should be using and they recommended alternatives years ago.

Oodles of free and paid tools convert wordprocessor content to epub2.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm hoping this means that no more Mobi. Mobi should have gone away a long time ago.

There is no sign that the elimination of the book delivery formats needed to support older Kindle devices is driving this change or is even a goal of Amazon.

I believe that this change is a step toward making all reflowable books published in the future available in the newer KFX format.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I believe that this change is a step toward making all reflowable books published in the future available in the newer KFX format.

This is what I'm thinking too.

Probably wanted to slowly phase out the "Dual MOBI"/ancient formats + push their new KFX format.

Also making sure people who are updating older ebooks are now following more modern code/standards.

Originally Posted by Doitsu

Simply upload valid epubs. Amazon will automatically generate books suitable for older devices.

Yep, that's also what I'm thinking.

So you could either:

1 (Best). Upload EPUB.

Amazon will generate all the files (KF7+KF8+KFX) for you.

2. Upload KPF (just like you would the "Dual MOBI").

Amazon will generate (KF7+KFX) for you.

Originally Posted by jhowell

There is no sign that the elimination of the book delivery formats needed to support older Kindle devices is driving this change or is even a goal of Amazon.

Exactly. Seems to me it's just simplifying the input.

(Although I wish Amazon were more open... would be interesting to see exactly how much garbage they get. What % of ebooks coming in are still PRC/AZK/Calibre-converted-MOBI, etc.)

I'm betting they've been spending a ton on customer support dealing with the confusion around "Dual MOBI" as well.

And as was discussed last year in those linked threads... there's a whole bunch of nonsense about MOBI floating around online too. This KPF push probably lets them get rid of a decade+ of baggage.

[odamizu]

So if author/publisher uploads KPF, there will be no KF8 available to readers? If readers go to Amazon website and "download for transfer via USB" they will get KF7?

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

... So you could either:

1 (Best). Upload EPUB.

Amazon will generate all the files (KF7+KF8+KFX) for you.

2. Upload KPF (just like you would the "Dual MOBI").

Amazon will generate (KF7+KFX) for you.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by odamizu

So if author/publisher uploads KPF, there will be no KF8 available to readers?

Yes, I believe that's correct.

I think I recall jhowell explaining it in detail in one of those threads a few months ago. See his Post #3 in "ebook in KFX and old-mobi - no KF8".

(Although that was a KPF out of Kindle Create. Unsure if that still holds for a KPF out of the new Kindle Previewer.)

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

(Although that was a KPF out of Kindle Create. Unsure if that still holds for a KPF out of the new Kindle Previewer.)

That is still an open question. The KPF produced using the Kindle Previewer includes the source file so it would be possible for Amazon to run that through kindlegen and produce KF8. But it is also possible that they might be using the same workflow as they do for KPF files from Kindle Create that result only in MOBI7 as a fallback.

I am hoping that someone will publish a book using a Previewer KPF and let us know the ASIN so that this can be determined one way or the other.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by jhowell

... I am hoping that someone will publish a book using a Previewer KPF and let us know the ASIN so that this can be determined one way or the other.

Any guesses or speculation on how many publishers upload epub vs Previewer KPF?

(I'd like to think most publishers upload epub. Wouldn't that make sense if they are also distributing to other vendors, like Kobo, GooglePlay, and Overdrive? Or am I exercising wishful thinking?)

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Any guesses or speculation on how many publishers upload epub vs Previewer KPF?

I'm going to guess they're completely dwarfed by the sheer amount of self-published DOCX.

As you could tell from Amazon's KDP help pages...

Originally Posted by jhowell

I am hoping that someone will publish a book using a Previewer KPF and let us know the ASIN so that this can be determined one way or the other.

I thought we tested that out a few months ago?

If not, the next ebook I complete, I'll ask them to test out KPF input, then send you the ASIN.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Dual mobi is only for Smashwords or your own use.

The mobi format has been depreciated for UPLOADS years ago. The epub2 is recommended.

This has only ONE effect on Amazon customers. Newer Kindles may get more advanced formatting than possible from mobi uploads to KDP. Older Kindles will still get mobi/KF7 downloads.

AFAIK Amazon doesn't deliver dual mobi to customers.

What Doitsu says.

So this is hardly news. Amazon no longer accepts an upload format that no-one should be using and they recommended alternatives years ago.

Oodles of free and paid tools convert wordprocessor content to epub2.

Mmmmm...I wouldn't say that. We're still giving dual-mobi hand-coded MOBI files to our customers. I don't want "one file to rule them all" for the simple reason that this means no media queries for the (various) Kindle formats--KF7, KF8, etc. And when you're doing more-complex books, with images, text boxes, blabbety-blab, you bloody well need them.

YES, we can do that with an ePUB specifically made for KDP, but then if you're in the biz, where customers routinely upload the wrong files (despite detailed, pictorial, step-by-step, click-by-click Guides and handouts that you send to them!), sending a single client two ePUBs and hoping that they'll upload the right one is nerve-wracking. And if anybody here says, "but, but, HITCH, put "Amazon" or "KDP" in the file name," run for your life.

Yeah, 'cuz that ALWAYS works. (not).

Hitch

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Any guesses or speculation on how many publishers upload epub vs Previewer KPF?

I suspect that practically no one publishes using a KPF file produced using the Kindle Previewer. There is no advantage to doing that instead of the EPUB or DOCX source document, except possibly in the case Hitch mentions where she wants to be sure that the file destined for Amazon gets used.

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

I thought we tested that out a few months ago?

If not, the next ebook I complete, I'll ask them to test out KPF input, then send you the ASIN.

I don't recall having access to a book published using a Previewer KPF. It would be informative if we could be sure that it was actually published that way.