.prc vs. .mobi

[cmbs]

Can some kindle owners out there please tell me if kindle reads prc files? If not, is it sufficient to simply change the file extension from .prc to .mobi to make kindle read the file? If not, what is required to make a prc file kindle compatible?

Thanks.

[bxrLvr]

yes, kindle does read prc files.

[Xiaopanda]

Kindle reads PRC files nativly, no need to convert. DRM'ed mobi files *may* present a challenge, I have not tried these. My partner has a Kindle 2, I have an EZ ez Reader, and I have played a little.

[susan_cassidy]

.prc is essentially the same as .mobi. .prc was the file extension originally used, later changed to .mobi to reflect the Mobipocket name. There may be slight differences in supported formatting, but for your purposes, they are the same.

[HarryT]

Please be careful with what you say here...

A "PRC" file is just a "container" format, a little like a "ZIP" file. A PRC file can contain data in any format whatsoever.

Yes, a PRC file may well be a Mobipocket book (in which case the Kindle can read it), but it could also be a thousand other things too, which the Kindle can't read.

So to sum up, any DRM-free Mobipocket book can be a PRC file, and the Kindle will read it, but not all PRC files are Mobipocket books.

[cmbs]

I thought it could read them, but then someone told me it had to be a .mobi file for kindle to read. I don't have a kindle so I thought maybe I was wrong. But apparently the other person was wrong.

Thanks very much for the responses. It was very helpful.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by cmbs

I thought it could read them, but then someone told me it had to be a .mobi file for kindle to read. I don't have a kindle so I thought maybe I was wrong. But apparently the other person was wrong.

Perhaps they meant that it had to be a "Mobi" file (ie a Mobipocket book) rather than a ".mobi" file (a file with an extension of ".mobi")?

[advocate2]

The prc file extension is a hangover from the Palm PDA days. All my Palm data files from the 90's (not just etexts) have the prc extension. The program files had a pdb extension.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by advocate2

The prc file extension is a hangover from the Palm PDA days. All my Palm data files from the 90's (not just etexts) have the prc extension. The program files had a pdb extension.

Other way around. "PRC" files ("Palm Resource Code") were nominally for "applications"; "PDB" files ("Palm Database") for data.

[emellaich]

In the old days (a year ago?) if you used the mobipocket creator to make a book it would turn out a .prc file. Now, it turns out .mobi.

However, I have found problems with many .prc files. For example, some of the ones from Baen used to show up on my Cybook without an author name -- although they did fine in windows using the mobipocket desktop. I found the solution was to run them through Calibre to batch convert them to .mobi files. I never tried these old .prc files on my Kindle, but I assume they would work fine. I know the converted .mobi files do work OK.

[cmbs]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Perhaps they meant that it had to be a "Mobi" file (ie a Mobipocket book) rather than a ".mobi" file (a file with an extension of ".mobi")?

No, they meant having the file extension .mobi. And they thought a conversion was needed from a prc to a mobi when apparently you can just change the extension. It works in mobipocket reader, it works on my Cybook. Obviously they don't have a kindle and have been misinformed or have misunderstood something along the way. I needed to be sure. Thanks.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by cmbs

No, they meant having the file extension .mobi. And they thought a conversion was needed from a prc to a mobi when apparently you can just change the extension. It works in mobipocket reader, it works on my Cybook. Obviously they don't have a kindle and have been misinformed or have misunderstood something along the way. I needed to be sure. Thanks.

Coming from a Cybook to a Kindle2, is what I did. I don't believe you even need to change the extension. The Kindle should handle .prc fine also.

[Xiaopanda]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Please be careful with what you say here...

A "PRC" file is just a "container" format, a little like a "ZIP" file. A PRC file can contain data in any format whatsoever.

Yes, a PRC file may well be a Mobipocket book (in which case the Kindle can read it), but it could also be a thousand other things too, which the Kindle can't read.

So to sum up, any DRM-free Mobipocket book can be a PRC file, and the Kindle will read it, but not all PRC files are Mobipocket books.

Fanx HarryT...

This I did not know, never owning or having anything to do with Palm devices.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by emellaich

However, I have found problems with many .prc files. For example, some of the ones from Baen used to show up on my Cybook without an author name -- although they did fine in windows using the mobipocket desktop. I found the solution was to run them through Calibre to batch convert them to .mobi files. I never tried these old .prc files on my Kindle, but I assume they would work fine. I know the converted .mobi files do work OK.

Until about a year ago, Baen used a Mobi creation tool which created a very old version of the Mobi file format, which didn't store author metadata. These files all have a ".prc" extension. Baen now generate "modern" Mobi books, with full metadata, and much better formatting; these files have a ".mobi" extension. They do not, however, seem to be converting the older files.

For the old format files, you'll get much better results by downloading the LIT version of the book, and converting that to Mobi.