Web to epub for Android?

Schizophonix · 06-24-2015, 05:15 PM

Hi there,
I am using the epub format mainly to collect articles from around the internet and organise them into a great knowledgebase via Calibre. I want them organised by category and searchable so they can then form the basis of my research when writing my own articles.

Up to a couple of weeks ago I used to do this with the dotEpub extension on the chrome browser. It is a simple cloud app that turns a webpage into epub, keeping only the text. Recently I abandoned the laptop for an Android tablet. Chrome has no extensions on Android, hence no dotEpub.

So far i have found no android app that can turn a web page into an epub file. Instapaper has a function for downloading the last 20 saved articles into one big epub, but it will not do, i need individual files for each article, for categorisation and research purposes.

Any hints or workarounds are appreciated.

eschwartz · 06-24-2015, 07:09 PM

Does dotEpub do a Firefox extension?

Firefox on Android supports the full range of FF extensions (although depending on the extension, some UI-facing code might need to be ported).

dickloraine · 06-24-2015, 07:46 PM

I don't know if firefox for android supports this, but as an alternative to epub, you could use the maff (webarchive) format to download a website as one file.
A little bit more work: just save the webpage and convert the html with calibre to epub. To make the file look clean, you could just use the build in read modus from firefox or use readability.
Speeaking of readability, I now think that has the ability you seek, but as a mobi (which couldbe converted easily by calibre). I think you can use readability as a webservice, which would make it independent of the device and platform. There should be a bookmarklet to for it, which should make using it even easier and should work in many browsers.

PeterT · 06-24-2015, 09:01 PM

@dickloraine: The only issue is that Schizophonix wants to avoid using a laptop and do everything on the tablet; calibre does not run on the tablet...

Schizophonix · 06-24-2015, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

@dickloraine: The only issue is that Schizophonix wants to avoid using a laptop and do everything on the tablet; calibre does not run on the tablet...

I still have Calibre on my desktop computer, however nowadays i do most reading on the tablet, and i d'like to avoid having to go back to the PC to convert every single file.

Readability indeed has a send to kindle option, but not on Android (and no chrome extension for the same reason).

I will look into the firefox option.

Any other ideas? Thanks.

eschwartz · 06-24-2015, 09:36 PM

Well, you could see if the website(s) in question have a calibre recipe available... and then schedule a job and have the resulting EPUBs emailed to you. Not completely independent of the PC, but at least you don't have to be at the PC. Or you could even have this done by a private webserver -- some people pay ~$10 a month to host their calibre library on e.g. linode so they can download from their calibre Content Server anywhere.

But otherwise, I would say looking into the dotEpub (or similar) extension for Firefox is it.

dickloraine · 06-25-2015, 04:35 AM

Have you looked at the bookmarklet of dotepub and/or readability? This things are not extensions but bookmarks with some code. You just save them as a bookmark and on a page you want to save click on it. But I don't know if and what android browsers support them.

dickloraine · 06-25-2015, 04:40 AM

A final option would be pocket or your instapaper. For pocket there is a news recipe in calibre. But as instapaper it downloads more than one article. I don't know if one could change some code in the recipe to change this.
But there is a plugin for calibre, called splitepub. This should be able to split the big epub into multiple epubs easily.

dickloraine · 06-25-2015, 04:44 AM

If you just use it for research, wouldn't pocket or evernote or onenote a better way? They all allow tagging and you could use them on your tablet, which you can't do with calibre.

BBR_67 · 06-26-2015, 09:32 AM

Hello everyone,
the best way to capture web pages is to use Grab My Books for Android. Also available for Google Chrome and Firefox.
It is here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ooksFree&hl=fr
There is a Lite version for 5 pages and unlimited version for 0.99 Euros

06-24-2015, 05:15 PM	#1
Schizophonix Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2012 Device: Sony PRS-T1	Web to epub for Android? Hi there, I am using the epub format mainly to collect articles from around the internet and organise them into a great knowledgebase via Calibre. I want them organised by category and searchable so they can then form the basis of my research when writing my own articles. Up to a couple of weeks ago I used to do this with the dotEpub extension on the chrome browser. It is a simple cloud app that turns a webpage into epub, keeping only the text. Recently I abandoned the laptop for an Android tablet. Chrome has no extensions on Android, hence no dotEpub. So far i have found no android app that can turn a web page into an epub file. Instapaper has a function for downloading the last 20 saved articles into one big epub, but it will not do, i need individual files for each article, for categorisation and research purposes. Any hints or workarounds are appreciated.

06-26-2015, 09:32 AM	#10
BBR_67 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0	GrabMyBooks for Android Hello everyone, the best way to capture web pages is to use Grab My Books for Android. Also available for Google Chrome and Firefox. It is here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ooksFree&hl=fr There is a Lite version for 5 pages and unlimited version for 0.99 Euros

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06-24-2015, 07:09 PM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Does dotEpub do a Firefox extension? Firefox on Android supports the full range of FF extensions (although depending on the extension, some UI-facing code might need to be ported).

06-24-2015, 07:46 PM	#3
dickloraine Guru Posts: 631 Karma: 7544080 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Berlin Device: PRS 350, Kobo Aura	I don't know if firefox for android supports this, but as an alternative to epub, you could use the maff (webarchive) format to download a website as one file. A little bit more work: just save the webpage and convert the html with calibre to epub. To make the file look clean, you could just use the build in read modus from firefox or use readability. Speeaking of readability, I now think that has the ability you seek, but as a mobi (which couldbe converted easily by calibre). I think you can use readability as a webservice, which would make it independent of the device and platform. There should be a bookmarklet to for it, which should make using it even easier and should work in many browsers.

06-24-2015, 09:01 PM	#4
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,166 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	@dickloraine: The only issue is that Schizophonix wants to avoid using a laptop and do everything on the tablet; calibre does not run on the tablet...

06-24-2015, 09:36 PM	#6
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Well, you could see if the website(s) in question have a calibre recipe available... and then schedule a job and have the resulting EPUBs emailed to you. Not completely independent of the PC, but at least you don't have to be at the PC. Or you could even have this done by a private webserver -- some people pay ~$10 a month to host their calibre library on e.g. linode so they can download from their calibre Content Server anywhere. But otherwise, I would say looking into the dotEpub (or similar) extension for Firefox is it.

06-25-2015, 04:35 AM	#7
dickloraine Guru Posts: 631 Karma: 7544080 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Berlin Device: PRS 350, Kobo Aura	Have you looked at the bookmarklet of dotepub and/or readability? This things are not extensions but bookmarks with some code. You just save them as a bookmark and on a page you want to save click on it. But I don't know if and what android browsers support them.

06-25-2015, 04:40 AM	#8
dickloraine Guru Posts: 631 Karma: 7544080 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Berlin Device: PRS 350, Kobo Aura	A final option would be pocket or your instapaper. For pocket there is a news recipe in calibre. But as instapaper it downloads more than one article. I don't know if one could change some code in the recipe to change this. But there is a plugin for calibre, called splitepub. This should be able to split the big epub into multiple epubs easily.

06-25-2015, 04:44 AM	#9
dickloraine Guru Posts: 631 Karma: 7544080 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Berlin Device: PRS 350, Kobo Aura	If you just use it for research, wouldn't pocket or evernote or onenote a better way? They all allow tagging and you could use them on your tablet, which you can't do with calibre.