[GUI Plugin] KindleUnpack - The Plugin

[kiwidude]

Cool. Given the 99% restart required case for the plugins off this forum anyways and the downsides of users being given some fairly nasty & obscure error messages like the above I like your decision. If they really don't want to restart right then (like when updating several plugins sequentially in plugin updater) they can still click on the "Don't restart" button on that dialog.

Users do tend to just blow through warning message dialogs and forget - heck I've even caught myself out the odd time. Whereas the conveience of that modal choice to restart straight away just makes it a no brainer really.

Are you happy to make the change yourself in both places? Or do you want me to do a plugin updater patch after you do the load plugin one? They both have similar code at the point of plugin installation (but it is replicated).

[kovidgoyal]

I'm occupied at the moment, so it would be better if you sent me a patch, otherwise, it will have to wait for a while.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by DMee

Got some MOBI files that Calibre just can't convert - thought your plugin might be the trick.

MUst say its a bit weird on first use - I right click the file, plugin is there, only option was to Customise Plugin - only by clicking other files did I realise it only offered options when it found a suitable MOBI file.....

Maybe a note "Unable to unpack this file"??

So, I still have some files that are supposed to be MOBI and even your plugin won't touch - there is SOMETHING in them as opening in Notepad produces gibberish text.

Not a biggie now as I am not interested in reading these downloads - just curiosity piqued as to why they can't be tweaked (and they're not DRM'd)

(Even the eReader in Calibre won't deal with them!)

I'd love it if you could point me toward one of these MOBIs that the plugin isn't recognizing as a MOBI (as long as no copyright is being violated).

If you have python installed you can try the stand-alone Mobi_Unpack script to see if the issue is limited to the plugin, or if the underlying Mobi_Unpack code is equally confused. There's a link in the first post.

[mwyoung]

AH HA!

Restart! Oh Ya...Restart...

Yes, another noob proves his worth...

Restarted calibre...and...Of course the plugin was there and working properly...

Thanks
MWYoung

[tilia]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'd love it if you could point me toward one of these MOBIs that the plugin isn't recognizing as a MOBI (as long as no copyright is being violated).

I had a hunch, and after checking: Baen prc-files from Fifth Emporium. At least some of them. The plugin just shows the customise option. Mobi_Unpack_v050 unpacks them (Kindle Previewer couldn't recompile, aborted since title wasn't set).

Cordelia's Honor (Probably the other Bujold prc-files as well, but the later omnibuses that are mobis are recognised by the plugin)
Worlds of Honor


When I imported some of these into calibre last year, they showed up as mobi, now they import as prc. The files are a bit of a mess, I've been cleaning up the epub and converting that to mobi.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by tilia

I had a hunch, and after checking: Baen prc-files from Fifth Emporium. At least some of them. The plugin just shows the customise option. Mobi_Unpack_v050 unpacks them (Kindle Previewer couldn't recompile, aborted since title wasn't set).

Cordelia's Honor (Probably the other Bujold prc-files as well, but the later omnibuses that are mobis are recognised by the plugin)
Worlds of Honor


When I imported some of these into calibre last year, they showed up as mobi, now they import as prc. The files are a bit of a mess, I've been cleaning up the epub and converting that to mobi.

Cool... thanks. If the underlying Mobi_Unpack code will unpack them, then I certainly don't want the plugin choking on them. I'll dig into it, but I assume the problem is happening when the plugin tries to gather some preliminary data about the various formats in the ebook's calibre library entry.

[JoyfulT]

Trying to move free Kindle books to my nook. And one DRM book has been added to Calibre And I really do not understand any of this. I've got the plugin and the zip file downloaded to my computer now what. Are there step by step instructions anywhere? I've seen apprentice alf instructions but I do not understand them. I really need very basic stuff. Sorry to be so needy. Thank you, Joyful

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JoyfulT

Trying to move free Kindle books to my nook. And one DRM book has been added to Calibre And I really do not understand any of this. I've got the plugin and the zip file downloaded to my computer now what. Are there step by step instructions anywhere? I've seen apprentice alf instructions but I do not understand them. I really need very basic stuff. Sorry to be so needy. Thank you, Joyful

1) This plugin has nothing to do with DRM-removal.
2) You can't get specific help for DRM-removal on MobileRead. It's against the rules. If Alf's instructions are unclear, then ask Alf questions... but ask them where Alf lives. Alf doesn't live here.

Originally Posted by tilia

I had a hunch, and after checking: Baen prc-files from Fifth Emporium. At least some of them. The plugin just shows the customise option. Mobi_Unpack_v050 unpacks them (Kindle Previewer couldn't recompile, aborted since title wasn't set).

I figured out what was going on. That particular one was a TEXtREAd PRC that the plugin was barfing on, but it's probably older MOBIs in general that my plugin is having trouble with. I've got a solution that seems to be working, but I'd like to do more testing this weekend before uploading.

[tilia]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

1) I figured out what was going on. That particular one was a TEXtREAd PRC that the plugin was barfing on, but it's probably older MOBIs in general that my plugin is having trouble with. I've got a solution that seems to be working, but I'd like to do more testing this weekend before uploading.

Great. Thank you for the plugin and your work on the script

[DiapDealer]

Updated the plugin to incorporate the latest bug fixes in the underlying Mobi_Unpack engine (0.51) and also fixed a bug in the plugin that was keeping it from working with older MOBIs/PRCs.

Now at version 0.5.1.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Updated the plugin to incorporate the latest bug fixes in the underlying Mobi_Unpack engine (0.51) and also fixed a bug in the plugin that was keeping it from working with older MOBIs/PRCs.

Now at version 0.5.1.

Does the plugin fix the bug I found with the stand alone Python version where the html file has no line ends at the end of a line?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Does the plugin fix the bug I found with the stand alone Python version where the html file has no line ends at the end of a line?

No... mainly due to the fact that what you "found" is not a bug.

[JSWolf]

Can you work with kiwidude to have this plugin run Modify ePub so after you've built the ePub from the KF8, the cover gets added it?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can you work with kiwidude to have this plugin run Modify ePub so after you've built the ePub from the KF8, the cover gets added it?

Probably not.

While I can understand your interest in wanting to save a step or two by combining portions of the two plugins (and I respect and use kiwidude's work myself), but Mobiunpack is not about creating new things (or modifying old things)... it's about showing "what's in there"... even if what's in there isn't very pretty. Modifying "what's in there" is for you and other programs/tools to do.

[mark4asp]

It is not working very well.

I tried it on 3 books, only 1 converted. All the books were first cracked from Kindle format. I needed to do that because my Kindle no longer works and I want to read them on my Kobo.

I installed the plugin above (mobi_unpack_v051_plugin.zip).

Only 1 in 3 books were converted.

1. The oldest book seems to have been converted well
2. A recent book (bought last week) was not recognised as being in mobi format, the the file menu didn't even provide the option to convert
3. The 3rd book produced no files, but gave an error message (below)

calibre, version 0.8.61
ERROR: MobiUnpack - The Plugin v0.5.1: unpack_from requires a buffer of at least 20 bytes

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre_plugins.mobiunpack_plugin.extraction" , line 163, in unpack_ebook
File "calibre_plugins.mobiunpack_plugin.utilities", line 211, in unpackMOBI
File "calibre_plugins.mobiunpack_plugin.mobiunpack.mobi _unpack", line 950, in unpackBook
File "calibre_plugins.mobiunpack_plugin.mobiunpack.mobi _unpack", line 698, in process_all_mobi_headers
error: unpack_from requires a buffer of at least 20 bytes

PS: I'm using Windows XP (32 bit)