error in converting pdf

[bobcdy]

Tried to convert a pdf file (that opens ok in Acrobat 9) with Calibre but encountered errors. So I downloaded the pdftohtml, ran it, and received the following errors:
can't find trailer dictionary
can't find xref table.

Is there anything I can to to successfully convert this file?

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by bobcdy

Tried to convert a pdf file (that opens ok in Acrobat 9) with Calibre but encountered errors.

What errors did you experience when using calibre to convert the file?

Have you read the sticky post yet?

[bobcdy]

The error details from Calibre were pretty long, but here they are:
calibre, version 0.7.45
ERROR: Conversion Error: <b>Failed</b>: Convert book 1 of 1 (xxxx)

Convert book 1 of 1 (xxxxx)
Resolved conversion options
calibre version: 0.7.45
{'asciiize': False,
'author_sort': None,
'authors': None,
'base_font_size': 0.0,
'book_producer': None,
'change_justification': u'original',
'chapter': u"//*[((name()='h1' or name()='h2') and re:test(., 'chapter|book|section|part|prologue|epilogue\\s+', 'i')) or @class = 'chapter']",
'chapter_mark': u'pagebreak',
'comments': None,
'cover': 'c:\\docume~1\\robert~1\\locals~1\\temp\\calibre_0 .7.45_tmp_cd4sxs\\calibre_0.7.45_hqe9wj.jpeg',
'debug_pipeline': None,
'dehyphenate': True,
'delete_blank_paragraphs': True,
'disable_font_rescaling': False,
'enable_heuristics': False,
'extra_css': None,
'fix_indents': True,
'font_size_mapping': None,
'format_scene_breaks': True,
'html_unwrap_factor': 0.4,
'input_encoding': None,
'input_profile': <calibre.customize.profiles.InputProfile object at 0x044FE6F0>,
'insert_blank_line': False,
'insert_metadata': False,
'isbn': None,
'italicize_common_cases': True,
'keep_ligatures': False,
'language': None,
'level1_toc': None,
'level2_toc': None,
'level3_toc': None,
'line_height': 0.0,
'linearize_tables': False,
'margin_bottom': 5.0,
'margin_left': 5.0,
'margin_right': 5.0,
'margin_top': 5.0,
'markup_chapter_headings': True,
'max_toc_links': 50,
'minimum_line_height': 120.0,
'new_pdf_engine': False,
'no_chapters_in_toc': False,
'no_images': False,
'no_inline_navbars': False,
'output_profile': <calibre.customize.profiles.OutputProfile object at 0x044FE8D0>,
'page_breaks_before': u"//*[name()='h1' or name()='h2']",
'prefer_metadata_cover': False,
'pretty_print': False,
'pubdate': None,
'publisher': None,
'rating': None,
'read_metadata_from_opf': 'c:\\docume~1\\robert~1\\locals~1\\temp\\calibre_0 .7.45_tmp_cd4sxs\\calibre_0.7.45_rsfddt.opf',
'remove_first_image': False,
'remove_paragraph_spacing': False,
'remove_paragraph_spacing_indent_size': 1.5,
'renumber_headings': True,
'replace_scene_breaks': u'',
'series': None,
'series_index': None,
'smarten_punctuation': False,
'sr1_replace': None,
'sr1_search': None,
'sr2_replace': None,
'sr2_search': None,
'sr3_replace': None,
'sr3_search': None,
'tags': None,
'timestamp': None,
'title': None,
'title_sort': None,
'toc_filter': None,
'toc_threshold': 6,
'unwrap_factor': 0.45,
'unwrap_lines': True,
'use_auto_toc': False,
'verbose': 2}
InputFormatPlugin: PDF Input running
on C:\Documents and Settings\Robert Cody\Documents 11-2010\My Documents\Calibre Library\Jack Chalker\Quintara Marathon 03. Ninety Trillion Fa (21)\Quintara Marathon 03. Ninety Trillion Fa - Jack Chalker.pdf
Converting file to html...
Python function terminated unexpectedly
(Error Code: 1)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "site.py", line 103, in main
File "site.py", line 85, in run_entry_point
File "site-packages\calibre\utils\ipc\worker.py", line 110, in main
File "site-packages\calibre\gui2\convert\gui_conversion.py", line 31, in gui_convert_override
File "site-packages\calibre\gui2\convert\gui_conversion.py", line 25, in gui_convert
File "site-packages\calibre\ebooks\conversion\plumber.py", line 904, in run
File "site-packages\calibre\customize\conversion.py", line 204, in __call__
File "site-packages\calibre\ebooks\pdf\input.py", line 50, in convert
File "site-packages\calibre\ebooks\pdf\pdftohtml.py", line 72, in pdftohtml
calibre.ebooks.ConversionError

[bobcdy]

On second thoughts, I think there might be a way around the problem because the pdf file is in other formats, such as .txt or .html that should be better for conversion.
Bob

[ldolse]

Calibre also uses pdftohtml, so it's unsurprising it choked. Best bet is to find something not based on pdftohtml - that excludes most if not all open source projects.

You could try Mobipocket creator or Acrobat Pro.

Any alternate format will always be better than pdf (assuming it wasn't sourced from the pdf).

[Manichean]

If I were you, I'd have a go with the HTML format you have. That should produce better results.

[bobcdy]

Thanks for the info. I finally used acrobat 9 to convert it to rtf, but the resulting document was really totally useless! All the line breaks had vanished except for those originally with two blank lines between text at new chapters, so each mega-paragraph was composed or numerous run-together original book paragraphs. Impossible to decipher without having having the paper book copy.

[bobcdy]

Idolse,
I tried Mobi Creator with the pdf, and it produced a very usable result - all the paragraphs were maintained unlike my effort with Adobe Acrobat 9. Once in prc form, conversion to other formats was easy with Calibre. Thanks for the info about Creator; I never even thought about using a two stage conversion.