Any way to store and use Kindle ".apnx" files?

HarryT · 01-30-2012, 11:51 AM

I buy most of my books from Amazon, and these days they generally come with a ".apnx" file which provides page numbers.

I store all my books in Calibre, and load then on my Kindle in the same way.

I know that it doesn't really fit in with Calibre's goals of device independence, but it would be really nice if Calibre were able to store the ".apnx" file associated with a book, and transfer that to the Kindle along with the book, when the book is sent to the device.

Is there any way that this can - or could - be achieved?

(I know there's an "apnx" plug in which will generate a "pseudo-apnx" file; that's not what I'm talking about here; I'd like to store and use the proper apnx file that comes from Amazon.)

theducks · 01-30-2012, 12:40 PM

I don't see how this violates the concept of device independence.
.apnx is Kindle (series) specific. Other formats are device (compatible) specific.
So including a APNX file and sending it to compatible devices seems no different than the ability to send OPF and JPG to others.

Drivers will need touch-up for this to happen

The big questions: What file (format) is the APNX paired with in the Library?
How to maintain-assure proper pairing?
my 2 cents

kovidgoyal · 01-30-2012, 10:44 PM

In theory, you can add the apnx file to the book record and the Kindle driver could be modified to check for the existence of an apnx and use it when present, but this is something that I think is rather fragile, so I'm not really motivated to implement it. For example, if you decide to do a mobi-mobi conversion, what happens to the apnx? The information in the apnx will no longer co-incide with the structure of the MOBI. And then there will be problems if amazon decide to change the format of the apnx file, like they did with the mbp file a couple of years ago, which broke fetching annotation from newer Kindles.

Incidentally, there's nothing "pseudo" about the apnx file generated by the plugin. It simply uses an algorithm to calculate the number of pages in a book.

HarryT · 01-31-2012, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Incidentally, there's nothing "pseudo" about the apnx file generated by the plugin. It simply uses an algorithm to calculate the number of pages in a book.

Sorry - I meant they are "pseudo-pages", not that it's a "pseudo-file"

. ie, they are rather like ADE page numbers - a count of bytes in the file - rather than corresponding to pages in a printed book, as a apnx file supplied by Amazon does.

01-30-2012, 11:51 AM	#1
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Any way to store and use Kindle ".apnx" files? I buy most of my books from Amazon, and these days they generally come with a ".apnx" file which provides page numbers. I store all my books in Calibre, and load then on my Kindle in the same way. I know that it doesn't really fit in with Calibre's goals of device independence, but it would be really nice if Calibre were able to store the ".apnx" file associated with a book, and transfer that to the Kindle along with the book, when the book is sent to the device. Is there any way that this can - or could - be achieved? (I know there's an "apnx" plug in which will generate a "pseudo-apnx" file; that's not what I'm talking about here; I'd like to store and use the proper apnx file that comes from Amazon.)

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01-30-2012, 12:40 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,785 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I don't see how this violates the concept of device independence. .apnx is Kindle (series) specific. Other formats are device (compatible) specific. So including a APNX file and sending it to compatible devices seems no different than the ability to send OPF and JPG to others. Drivers will need touch-up for this to happen The big questions: What file (format) is the APNX paired with in the Library? How to maintain-assure proper pairing? my 2 cents

01-30-2012, 10:44 PM	#3
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,844 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	In theory, you can add the apnx file to the book record and the Kindle driver could be modified to check for the existence of an apnx and use it when present, but this is something that I think is rather fragile, so I'm not really motivated to implement it. For example, if you decide to do a mobi-mobi conversion, what happens to the apnx? The information in the apnx will no longer co-incide with the structure of the MOBI. And then there will be problems if amazon decide to change the format of the apnx file, like they did with the mbp file a couple of years ago, which broke fetching annotation from newer Kindles. Incidentally, there's nothing "pseudo" about the apnx file generated by the plugin. It simply uses an algorithm to calculate the number of pages in a book.

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