Trying to make a thumbnail cover appear on kindle

[werls]

Hi there. I'm developing a ebook using Sigil that'll be converted to a MOBI at the end.

I'm trying to add a cover to the epub in a way that shows as a thumbnail in Kindle library. I've tried many methods editing and adding data to content.opf ( as described in Kindle Publishing Guidelines), with no success at all.

First, I though that was a problem in the conversion of epub to MOBI (I was using the Kindle Previewer). So, i've tried to change to Kindlegen, but the result keep appearing on the Kindle as it doesn't have a cover image to thumbnail display.

When I use Calibre to convert the epub, the thumbnail cover looks fine, but Calibre mess with all my CSS.

So, there's a way that I can make this work?

[HarryT]

Moved to the “Kindle Formats” forum.

[johnnyb]

Quick hack: take the cover file that Calibre generates and merge it into your Sigil project.
Clean it up if necessary and turn it into a template for further use.
Also, be aware that Kindles under certain circumstances have trouble generating covers from kf8-format files. It’s a bug in the Kindle firmware that has never been fixed). Try viewing the file on additional devices and see what happens (e.g. use send to Kindle with the epub renamed as a txt file and have a look at it on an iPad or phone).

[odamizu]

For KF8/AZW3, Kindle thumbnails aren't extracted from the ebook; rather, Kindles download cover thumbnails from Amazon based on an ASIN embedded in the metadata.

You can insert an ASIN in Sigil using Doitsu's KindleGen plugin: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=2957196

1. Go to Amazon's website, find the book, scroll down to "Product details" and copy the ASIN, which is 10 digits and starts with a B, e.g., B123456789
2. Add the following metadata to the opf file:
   <dc:identifier>urn:amazon:B000000000</dc:identifier>
   and/or
   <dc:identifier>urn:mobi-asin:B000000000</dc:identifier>
   (use the actual ASIN, not all zeroes)
3. Make sure there is also the following metadata:
   <meta name="cover" content="[insert item id]" />
4. Run the KindleGen plugin and when the options window comes up, check "Add Fake ASIN"
5. Transfer the ebook via USB or a cloud service like Dropbox. Make sure WiFi is on when you transfer the book. The Kindle will then download the cover automatically. (Note: You cannot use Send-to-Kindle as Send-to-Kindle overwrites any ASIN you input and creates a new one, which is why you won't get a cover if you use Send-to-Kindle.)

[johnnyb]

Thanks for the clarification!