bd2mobi - Application to convert Book Designer html0 to .mobi

[tompe]

Originally Posted by maggotb0y

bd2mobi does exactly what HarryT's tutorial walks you through- it just automates it all. The only thing it does not automate is converting any non-jpeg images to jpeg. If it sees any gifs or pngs in the source, it will let you know that you need to fix that.

You can use GD to convert to jpeg. That is what I use in MobiPerl. The only issue was that if you use ActivePerl in Windows you have to use an alternative repository for the GD package.

If you give -jpeg to mobigen I thought it converted to jpeg but maybe it only accept jpeg and does not convert them to gif.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by maggotb0y

For the compiled version, you won't need Perl at all, just run the .exe.

Which version of Perl did you use and how did you compile it? I had a lot of trouble finding a combination of ActivePerl and PAR that worked. I finally found one but now I do not dare to update anything...

[maggotb0y]

The machine I wrote it on has a relatively recent 5.8 build from activestate- it was compiled with the activestate compiler.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tompe

If you give -jpeg to mobigen I thought it converted to jpeg but maybe it only accept jpeg and does not convert them to gif.

It does indeed convert other image formats to JPEG if you use that flag, but if you have any <IMG> links in your HTML which reference the GIF (or whatever they are) files, they don't get changed, so it's not really of that much practical use .

[tompe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It does indeed convert other image formats to JPEG if you use that flag, but if you have any <IMG> links in your HTML which reference the GIF (or whatever they are) files, they don't get changed, so it's not really of that much practical use .

The image links are always changed to a record index pointer so it will work. So mobigen -jpeg will work for files that references GIF images. The links in the documents are not used at all in the MobiPocket file. A link to a position is replaced by a "filepos" tag for example.

[maggotb0y]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It does indeed convert other image formats to JPEG if you use that flag, but if you have any <IMG> links in your HTML which reference the GIF (or whatever they are) files, they don't get changed, so it's not really of that much practical use .

I'm sure I can correct the source html to deal with new file names. Over the next day or so I'll do some playing around with documents that have jpgs and gifs and update the script to handle them automatically.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tompe

The image links are always changed to a record index pointer so it will work. So mobigen -jpeg will work for files that references GIF images. The links in the documents are not used at all in the MobiPocket file. A link to a position is replaced by a "filepos" tag for example.

OK, thanks, Tommy. I remember trying something using that flag which didn't work as I expected it too. I can't recall exactly what it was, though.

[maggotb0y]

Okay, I've updated the attachment to remove the checking for .jpgs and .gifs, so this should now properly convert any file with those graphics types. If you could try it out and let me know what you think, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for the info, Tommy!

[lovebeta]

Great tool maggotb0y. This is faster than doing it by hand following HarryT's instruction.

There's one issue about the author field though. When defining in BD, I would like to keep the "First name last name" sequence. However, as we know, to make "sort by author" work properly in Kindle, we need the output Mobi in the format of "last name, first name". Is there any work around for this? Thanks.

[dcalder]

I've downloaded and attempted to use bd2mobi but not having any luck with it.

Using this command line:

bd2mobi.exe "C:\Documents and Settings\dcalder\My eBooks\build\aylno.html0"

I end up with this result:

*****************************************
* Mobipocket mobigen.exe V6.01 build 36 *
* A command line e-book compiler        *
* Copyright Mobipocket.com 2003-2007    *
*****************************************

opt compression: standard DOC compression
opt security: no security
Error: unsupported argument -jpegdone processing A Year Like No Other by Aspen

No file appears to have been created. Am I doing something wrong or is there a bug in the script? Where should the mobi file appear - in the directory with bd2mobi or in the directory with the BD source file?

[maggotb0y]

we need the output Mobi in the format of "last name, first name". Is there any work around for this? Thanks.

I'll look into a switch for reversing the author or allowing you to specify.

[maggotb0y]

Originally Posted by dcalder

No file appears to have been created. Am I doing something wrong or is there a bug in the script? Where should the mobi file appear - in the directory with bd2mobi or in the directory with the BD source file?

If everything's working properly, the mobi file will be created in the same folder as the html0 file.

Not sure why that would happen, it may be something in the environment on your PC. Does the problem you're describing happen with all files or just one file. If you are experiencing only with this file, can you post it (is it public domain)? If not I'll work to add a switch that doesn't delete the source files so we can troubleshoot the issue.

[dcalder]

Originally Posted by maggotb0y

If everything's working properly, the mobi file will be created in the same folder as the html0 file.

Not sure why that would happen, it may be something in the environment on your PC. Does the problem you're describing happen with all files or just one file. If you are experiencing only with this file, can you post it (is it public domain)? If not I'll work to add a switch that doesn't delete the source files so we can troubleshoot the issue.

After a little further investigation, it appears that the problem may be that I'm using the latest mobigen - which no longer supports the -jpeg option, as it behaves that way by default. That's what throws the error. It seems likely that it's also what prevents the mobi file from being created.

[maggotb0y]

After an extremely long delay, I've finally gotten around to releasing an update that works with newer versions of mobigen, and also allows you to specify author, title, and cover image.

[maggotb0y]

Sorry, didn't document the usage. Its as follows

mobigen.exe "my example book.html0" --author="Smith, Agent" --title="My Example Book" --cover="My Neato Cover.jpg"