Kindle DX and K3 Tricks v.1.2

playful · 11-09-2010, 05:45 PM

G'day everyone!

After a long month and moving from Australia to New Zealand, I'm excited to announce the release of version 1.2 of my free ebook of Kindle DX & K3 tricks!

This could not have happened without the help and comments of many ebook reader enthusiasts, whose names appear below in the summary of changes. Thank you!

Cross-announcing on MR and KB, where a number of people contributed to this version.

Gratefully taking suggestions for the one.

Thanks all for sharing,

Wishing you all a beautiful day,

Andy

Changes from v.1.1 to v.1.2
---------------------------------
- Added EPUB version of the ebook.
- Instructions to convert image to 4-bit grayscale (thanks Little Professor)
- Mentioned Duokan English translation
- Expanded description of Collection Manager
- No limit to number of Kindle devices per account (thanks trekchick)
- Printing to PDF: improved section on paper size (thanks Curstpriest)
- Fixed AWS/AZW typo (thanks Little Professor)
- Added Shift + Alt + H as alternate to Shift + Alt + G for screen shots (thanks Little Professor)
- Format for picture viewer: 4-bit, not 8-bit (thanks Little Professor)
- The DXG and the K3 have very different technical specs (thanks Little Professor)
- mention AZW1 and TPZ (thanks Little Professor)
- Simplified chapter footer (thanks meem)
- Added link to Kindleworm

ScoutPilot · 11-11-2010, 10:54 PM

Nifty! Just downloaded it. Thanks!

Jcas · 11-12-2010, 04:16 AM

Many thanks, i have just downloaded this too, i found your site rather informative and interesting, thanks for posting the links ...

playful · 11-14-2010, 04:06 PM

Hi Scoutpilot, hi Jcas,
Thank you for your encouraging messages!

TenaciousBadger · 11-14-2010, 04:21 PM

playful, i tried to use your instructions to create a TOC through mobipocket creator but it didn't work for some reason.
i added the tags you kindly provided directly in the document, a .doc file. is it there were i did it wrong? i've been trying like crazy to figure this one out but so far i seem to be missing some bit of information.

any help will be appreciated! thanks!

edit: eventually i managed to do it. opened the HTML in WordPad, then simply added the tags it showed around the chapters, in mobipocket. then ran the resulting prc through calibre! and yey!
happy camper

blanca_luz · 11-14-2010, 04:58 PM

Thanks playful!!!
Sure it will be an interesting reading.

playful · 11-14-2010, 07:00 PM

Hi blanca_luz, thanks for your message!

Hi TenaciousBadger,
Maybe "doc" files work, I don't know, I will tell you what works for me.
My ebook file has an "html" extension.
Try this. Dump the following into a file called MyBeautifulToc.html, then create a new ebook, add MyBeautifulToc.html and follow the instructions.

Code:

<body>
<h1 class="mobi">Chapter 1</h1>
Hi, my name is TenaciousBadger and this is my first chapter.

<h1 class="mobi">Chapter 2</h1>
On to chapter two now.

<h1 class="mobi">Chapter 3</h1>
And chapter 3. Will we get a TOC?
</body>

Please let me know if you succeed!

Warmest wishes,

Andy

TenaciousBadger · 11-15-2010, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by playful

Please let me know if you succeed!

i edited my first comment yesterday to let you know i had muddled my way through my very first TOC in mobipocket creator.
i did all my editing in Open Office then i saved the file as an HTML which i imported in mobipocket creator.
i also opened the HTML in WordPad and using your model <h1 class="mobi">Chapter 1</h1> i added "h1", "class" into the fields. the WordPad specified "western" instead of "mobi" so that's what i used in the third field.
then i ran the PRC through Calibre and voila a perfectly working TOC.

i just wish there was a way to do this without calibre ^_^

many thanks!

DDHarriman · 11-15-2010, 08:35 AM

Hello TenaciousBadger

Maybe you can bypass the use of wordpad in your description by doing it all in Open Office, and stop needing Calibre to build your mobipocket file too.

I think Open Office as the same functions concerning styles as Microsoft Office.
If so, check my post from point 2 on (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...68&postcount=2).

Best regards,

TenaciousBadger · 11-15-2010, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDHarriman

Hello TenaciousBadger

Maybe you can bypass the use of wordpad in your description by doing it all in Open Office, and stop needing Calibre to build your mobipocket file too.

I think Open Office as the same functions concerning styles as Microsoft Office.
If so, check my post from point 2 on (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...68&postcount=2).

Best regards,

i do use Open Office for editing!
i only opened the resulting HTML in WordPad so i could see the tags, values and attributes that i needed in mobipocket creator to have a table of contents.
the reason i'm bending over backwards here is that i want to be able to navigate through my chapters using the 5-way controller that way i don't have to press "next", "next", "next", "next", "next" ad infinitum

to get somewhere faster.

so far playful's suggestion's been spot on (granted using the tools that i already have on my computer rather than installing anything else).

also thanks for the tip, DDHarriman!

playful · 11-15-2010, 02:14 PM

Greetings TenaciousBadger,

Glad it worked, man, congratulations!!!
It's a good feeling having your first working TOC, no?

You probably already know this, but there's a lot of discussion about which editor to use to edit html files. It's really a matter of personal preference, but there's one point of general agreement: stay away from MS Word! I don't know how it is now, but Word used to insert a big "soup" of unneeded code into your files. You want a tool that doesn't try to embellish what you do.

For my taste, an editor that knows how to handle html is nice, because it will highlight the structure of the html (for instance by coloring the tags). When I last used Kompozer about four years ago, it was a decent freeware tool and I am sure it still is. These days I do everything in the Dreamweaver code window (not free). Here is a review of "best html editors" from a source I trust.

Wishing you lots of fun with your ebooks,

Andy

playful · 11-15-2010, 03:40 PM

Hi everyone!

As a result of this discussion, I edited my "Kindle tricks" page and downloadable ebook to include a full working example of an html file that will produce an ebook with a working table of contents.

You can go to the page and ebook download by clicking on my signature, or follow the link to jump straight to the ebook creation section.

Warmest wishes to all,

Andy

TenaciousBadger · 11-16-2010, 06:47 AM

hi playful

i don't edit the HTML file per se (don't really know how to). i format a book in Open Office to the best of my abilities and then export it to HTML, from where i use mobipocket creator.
i needed WordPad to see the "attribute" field, which in my case is not "mobi" but "western". otherwise i use h1 and class for the other two fields.

and yep, so good to have a navigable TOC!

pboss · 11-16-2010, 11:04 AM

Good stuff, Andy! Given the limitation of your chosen topic, I must say you got quite a nice site there.

playful · 11-16-2010, 03:29 PM

@pboss and @PhillipA82, thank you for your encouragements!
@pboss, I had not seen the picture in your avatar in many years! (It's something like the emblem of the socialist party, no?)

Hi TenaciousBadger!

Thanks for explaining your process, here's a little more information if you'd like to go deeper.

In html documents, the "class" attribute in the "h1" title tag is optional and rarely set. By a luky fluke, as you report, WordPad introduces it when it converts documents to html. The attribute can be set to anything. Wordpad probably calls it "western" to refer to a "western" style (fonts, etc) it defines elsewhere in the file. In our case, the "class" is just a signpost for MobiPocket creator. I said to use "mobi" in my example, but you can use "western" or "chocolatecake", it does not matter as long as you are consistent with the name when you create the TOC in MobiPocket Creator... Which you were.

There are a few risks with letting another program generate htlm for you... Your method worked for you, that's the main thing and I am glad to hear it.

If you ever want to take full control, you can download the sample file I posted in the short kindle ebook creation tutorial. You will see that the html file is extremely simple (probably much much simpler than the file produced by WordPad), and that all you have to do to produce such a file is to:
- paste your text,
- add "h1" tags for chapter headings,
- add "br" tags for line breaks (which can be done with search and replace).
Everything else is extra and could cause problems for MobiPocket Creator on an unlucky day.

Wishing you lots of fun with your ebook projects,

Smiles,

Andy

11-09-2010, 05:45 PM	#1
playful Mammal Posts: 126 Karma: 21380 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Right Here Device: Onyx Note Pro, Kindle DXG	Kindle DX and K3 Tricks v.1.2 G'day everyone! After a long month and moving from Australia to New Zealand, I'm excited to announce the release of version 1.2 of my free ebook of Kindle DX & K3 tricks! This could not have happened without the help and comments of many ebook reader enthusiasts, whose names appear below in the summary of changes. Thank you! Cross-announcing on MR and KB, where a number of people contributed to this version. Gratefully taking suggestions for the one. Thanks all for sharing, Wishing you all a beautiful day, Andy Changes from v.1.1 to v.1.2 --------------------------------- - Added EPUB version of the ebook. - Instructions to convert image to 4-bit grayscale (thanks Little Professor) - Mentioned Duokan English translation - Expanded description of Collection Manager - No limit to number of Kindle devices per account (thanks trekchick) - Printing to PDF: improved section on paper size (thanks Curstpriest) - Fixed AWS/AZW typo (thanks Little Professor) - Added Shift + Alt + H as alternate to Shift + Alt + G for screen shots (thanks Little Professor) - Format for picture viewer: 4-bit, not 8-bit (thanks Little Professor) - The DXG and the K3 have very different technical specs (thanks Little Professor) - mention AZW1 and TPZ (thanks Little Professor) - Simplified chapter footer (thanks meem) - Added link to Kindleworm

11-14-2010, 04:21 PM	#5
TenaciousBadger Mrawr? Posts: 1,109 Karma: 15039064 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: kindle 3 wifi	playful, i tried to use your instructions to create a TOC through mobipocket creator but it didn't work for some reason. i added the tags you kindly provided directly in the document, a .doc file. is it there were i did it wrong? i've been trying like crazy to figure this one out but so far i seem to be missing some bit of information. any help will be appreciated! thanks! edit: eventually i managed to do it. opened the HTML in WordPad, then simply added the tags it showed around the chapters, in mobipocket. then ran the resulting prc through calibre! and yey! happy camper Last edited by TenaciousBadger; 11-14-2010 at 04:55 PM.

11-14-2010, 07:00 PM	#7
playful Mammal Posts: 126 Karma: 21380 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Right Here Device: Onyx Note Pro, Kindle DXG	Hi blanca_luz, thanks for your message! Hi TenaciousBadger, Maybe "doc" files work, I don't know, I will tell you what works for me. My ebook file has an "html" extension. Try this. Dump the following into a file called MyBeautifulToc.html, then create a new ebook, add MyBeautifulToc.html and follow the instructions. Code: <body> <h1 class="mobi">Chapter 1</h1> Hi, my name is TenaciousBadger and this is my first chapter. <h1 class="mobi">Chapter 2</h1> On to chapter two now. <h1 class="mobi">Chapter 3</h1> And chapter 3. Will we get a TOC? </body> Please let me know if you succeed! Warmest wishes, Andy Last edited by playful; 11-14-2010 at 07:04 PM.

11-16-2010, 03:29 PM	#15
playful Mammal Posts: 126 Karma: 21380 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Right Here Device: Onyx Note Pro, Kindle DXG	@pboss and @PhillipA82, thank you for your encouragements! @pboss, I had not seen the picture in your avatar in many years! (It's something like the emblem of the socialist party, no?) Hi TenaciousBadger! Thanks for explaining your process, here's a little more information if you'd like to go deeper. In html documents, the "class" attribute in the "h1" title tag is optional and rarely set. By a luky fluke, as you report, WordPad introduces it when it converts documents to html. The attribute can be set to anything. Wordpad probably calls it "western" to refer to a "western" style (fonts, etc) it defines elsewhere in the file. In our case, the "class" is just a signpost for MobiPocket creator. I said to use "mobi" in my example, but you can use "western" or "chocolatecake", it does not matter as long as you are consistent with the name when you create the TOC in MobiPocket Creator... Which you were. There are a few risks with letting another program generate htlm for you... Your method worked for you, that's the main thing and I am glad to hear it. If you ever want to take full control, you can download the sample file I posted in the short kindle ebook creation tutorial. You will see that the html file is extremely simple (probably much much simpler than the file produced by WordPad), and that all you have to do to produce such a file is to: - paste your text, - add "h1" tags for chapter headings, - add "br" tags for line breaks (which can be done with search and replace). Everything else is extra and could cause problems for MobiPocket Creator on an unlucky day. Wishing you lots of fun with your ebook projects, Smiles, Andy Last edited by playful; 11-16-2010 at 03:31 PM.

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11-11-2010, 10:54 PM	#2
ScoutPilot Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Sony Pocket, Kindle 2, Kindle 3 3G+WiFi	Nifty! Just downloaded it. Thanks!

11-12-2010, 04:16 AM	#3
Jcas Zealot Posts: 143 Karma: 9668 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Kellevie, Tas. Device: Kindle PW2,Kindle DXG,iPhone 4	Many thanks, i have just downloaded this too, i found your site rather informative and interesting, thanks for posting the links ...

11-14-2010, 04:06 PM	#4
playful Mammal Posts: 126 Karma: 21380 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Right Here Device: Onyx Note Pro, Kindle DXG	Hi Scoutpilot, hi Jcas, Thank you for your encouraging messages!

11-14-2010, 04:58 PM	#6
blanca_luz Member Posts: 18 Karma: 8980 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Spain Device: Kindle DXi-Touch-Keyboard-FireHD; Nook Touch Glowlight; Sony PRS-T1...	Thanks playful!!! Sure it will be an interesting reading.

11-15-2010, 08:35 AM	#9
DDHarriman Guru Posts: 860 Karma: 4380 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Almada, Portugal Device: Cybook Gen3, Sony PRS 505, Kindle DXG and Samsung Galaxy Note	Hello TenaciousBadger Maybe you can bypass the use of wordpad in your description by doing it all in Open Office, and stop needing Calibre to build your mobipocket file too. I think Open Office as the same functions concerning styles as Microsoft Office. If so, check my post from point 2 on (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...68&postcount=2). Best regards,

11-15-2010, 02:14 PM	#11
playful Mammal Posts: 126 Karma: 21380 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Right Here Device: Onyx Note Pro, Kindle DXG	Greetings TenaciousBadger, Glad it worked, man, congratulations!!! It's a good feeling having your first working TOC, no? You probably already know this, but there's a lot of discussion about which editor to use to edit html files. It's really a matter of personal preference, but there's one point of general agreement: stay away from MS Word! I don't know how it is now, but Word used to insert a big "soup" of unneeded code into your files. You want a tool that doesn't try to embellish what you do. For my taste, an editor that knows how to handle html is nice, because it will highlight the structure of the html (for instance by coloring the tags). When I last used Kompozer about four years ago, it was a decent freeware tool and I am sure it still is. These days I do everything in the Dreamweaver code window (not free). Here is a review of "best html editors" from a source I trust. Wishing you lots of fun with your ebooks, Andy

11-15-2010, 03:40 PM	#12
playful Mammal Posts: 126 Karma: 21380 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Right Here Device: Onyx Note Pro, Kindle DXG	Hi everyone! As a result of this discussion, I edited my "Kindle tricks" page and downloadable ebook to include a full working example of an html file that will produce an ebook with a working table of contents. You can go to the page and ebook download by clicking on my signature, or follow the link to jump straight to the ebook creation section. Warmest wishes to all, Andy

11-16-2010, 06:47 AM	#13
TenaciousBadger Mrawr? Posts: 1,109 Karma: 15039064 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: kindle 3 wifi	hi playful i don't edit the HTML file per se (don't really know how to). i format a book in Open Office to the best of my abilities and then export it to HTML, from where i use mobipocket creator. i needed WordPad to see the "attribute" field, which in my case is not "mobi" but "western". otherwise i use h1 and class for the other two fields. and yep, so good to have a navigable TOC!

11-16-2010, 11:04 AM	#14
pboss Evangelist Posts: 408 Karma: 646 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: none	Good stuff, Andy! Given the limitation of your chosen topic, I must say you got quite a nice site there.

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