Help With Converting KPF Print Replica Files to ePub on Calibre

[AdamH9999]

Hi all. I correctly installed the KFX Conversion Input Plugin into Calibre.

What I am attempting to do is take print replicas I created in Kindle Create (KPF files), open them in Calbre, convert them to ePub using the aforementioned plugin, and then upload them to Apple Books.

I am getting as far as converting them, but when I go to upload them to Apple Books, I am informed that the files have hundreds of errors and will not be accepted.

So I went back to the directions to the plugin an found this tip (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...php?t=291290):
"Dealing with conversion errors: This plugin will fail to convert files that contain unexpected data, such as new or uncommon KFX features. It will also fail for books that use a fixed layout, such as comics and print replica books. Use the KFX Input CLI for those books instead."

Can anyone explain what "Use the KFX Input CLI" means? I cannot find this option in Calibre and I see no other plugin to add. I am completely new at this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Adam

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by AdamH9999

Hi all. I correctly installed the KFX Conversion Input Plugin into Calibre.

What I am attempting to do is take print replicas I created in Kindle Create (KPF files), open them in Calbre, convert them to ePub using the aforementioned plugin, and then upload them to Apple Books.

I am getting as far as converting them, but when I go to upload them to Apple Books, I am informed that the files have hundreds of errors and will not be accepted.

So I went back to the directions to the plugin an found this tip (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...php?t=291290):
"Dealing with conversion errors: This plugin will fail to convert files that contain unexpected data, such as new or uncommon KFX features. It will also fail for books that use a fixed layout, such as comics and print replica books. Use the KFX Input CLI for those books instead."

Can anyone explain what "Use the KFX Input CLI" means? I cannot find this option in Calibre and I see no other plugin to add. I am completely new at this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Adam

If you look in one of the spoilers in the first message in the KFX Input thread, it reads:

Converting Print Replica Books:

Print replica books contain the original PDF content that was used to produce the book. PDF pages are rendered as JPEG images if the book is converted to EPUB. A PDF file can be extracted instead using the following procedure:

Import the book into calibre and verify that the imported format is KFX. (KFX-ZIP format indicates a failure.)
Use the "Save to disk", "Save only KFX format to disk in a single directory" to export the book from calibre.
Open a command/terminal window in your OS and change to the folder where the KFX file was saved.
Use "--pdf" option of the KFX Input plugin CLI to extract PDF content. Eg:
calibre-debug -r "KFX Input" -- --pdf "my book file.kfx"


Links between pages, such as in the Table of Contents, may not not be present in the extracted PDF file.

I've never actually used this functionality since the few print replica books I've downloaded from Amazon allowed me to extract the embedded PDF using the KindleUnpack plugin but you should be able to run the bolded command line in the spoiler.

[jhowell]

CLI is short for command line interface. It is the command prompt under Windows or Terminal under MacOS.

Instructions for using the KFX Input plugin CLI are found under the heading "Command Line Interface" in the first post in the KFX Input plugin thread. I suggest posting in that thread if you need further help with this.

The KFX Input plugin will convert your KPF to an EPUB that contains proprietary markup for fixed layout that is Kindle-specific. You will probably need to edit it to make into something acceptable to Apple. You may be better off starting from scratch with whatever source files you used to produce the KPF.

[AdamH9999]

Thanks David. I actually already have the PDF files. I'm the publisher. I'm trying to take those PDF files and get them into a format suitable for Apple Books. There doesn't seem to be an easy way.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by AdamH9999

Thanks David. I actually already have the PDF files. I'm the publisher. I'm trying to take those PDF files and get them into a format suitable for Apple Books. There doesn't seem to be an easy way.

PDF conversion to other formats is generally a PITA. What program was used to generate the .PDF file? Can it generate a different format that would be better suited to converting to epub?

[jhowell]

I suggest going back to whatever program you used to create the PDF and see whether it can export the book to a format that Apple's Pages program will accept.