Hyperlinks in Kindle books

Hadrien · 12-07-2007, 02:39 PM

I'm currently adding the Mobipocket output for Feedbooks and I've been wondering about something:
Would it be possible to add hyperlinks pointing to another .mobi file directly in an e-book ?

We usually add recommendations on our e-books at Feedbooks, this mean that you could basically directly download one of these recommendations.

DaleDe · 12-07-2007, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hadrien

I'm currently adding the Mobipocket output for Feedbooks and I've been wondering about something:
Would it be possible to add hyperlinks pointing to another .mobi file directly in an e-book ?

We usually add recommendations on our e-books at Feedbooks, this mean that you could basically directly download one of these recommendations.

Yes, there is. There is a whole set of Bible study books based on MobiPocket. I posted an article on it in the 'other places on the web' forum. I can find the link if you wish.

Dale

Hadrien · 12-08-2007, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Yes, there is. There is a whole set of Bible study books based on MobiPocket. I posted an article on it in the 'other places on the web' forum. I can find the link if you wish.

Dale

Thank you for this answer. Yet, I still wonder if it'll work... In the case of the Bible study books, basically you dowloaded an edition of the bible and those books are somehow linked together right ? I've seen on the Mobipocket website that this is possible.

In my case, it's a bit different, instead of pointing to another book available in your Mobipocket library, those links would point to a .mobi file on our website.

The easiest thing to do will be to test it on a Kindle. Our Mobipocket support is almost ready, I'll post a file shortly afterwards in this topic.

DaleDe · 12-08-2007, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hadrien

Thank you for this answer. Yet, I still wonder if it'll work... In the case of the Bible study books, basically you dowloaded an edition of the bible and those books are somehow linked together right ? I've seen on the Mobipocket website that this is possible.

In my case, it's a bit different, instead of pointing to another book available in your Mobipocket library, those links would point to a .mobi file on our website.

The easiest thing to do will be to test it on a Kindle. Our Mobipocket support is almost ready, I'll post a file shortly afterwards in this topic.

Ahh, that is a totally different question than you originally asked. I do not believe you can bring up a URL inside of MobiPocket. It is not a browser. The URL's inside the file need to be resolved to locations on the device to build a book I believe or they will simply be ignored. You can set the pointers up in a book and if the user owns both books then it will work.

Dale

Hadrien · 12-08-2007, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Ahh, that is a totally different question than you originally asked. I do not believe you can bring up a URL inside of MobiPocket. It is not a browser. The URL's inside the file need to be resolved to locations on the device to build a book I believe or they will simply be ignored. You can set the pointers up in a book and if the user owns both books then it will work.

Dale

Well, it works on the Reader Software for Windows, and the Kindle is a connected device with a built-in browser.

Here's a .mobi file in this zip (you'll get a sample of what Feedbooks output will be, there's still a few images missing and the TOC but everything else should be pretty close). The links are directly pointing to where our Mobipocket files will be. Right now it should show the 404 page, could someone try this file and see how the Kindle react ?

Nate the great · 12-08-2007, 09:46 PM

Oops. I forgot to turn on the wireless.

I clicked on the link "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom", and had the option of following the link to the internet.

I turned on the wireless.

Yes, it worked.

P.S. I love my Kindle!!!

Hadrien · 12-08-2007, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Oops. I forgot to turn on the wireless.

I clicked on the link "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom", and had the option of following the link to the internet.

I turned on the wireless.

Yes, it worked.

Thanks a lot Nate ! That's a very cool news indeed.

When I'll start working on Mobipocket support for RSS feeds, I'll leave the hyperlinks.

I can think about a few applications now that I know that these links work, for example, we could use a .mobi file kinda like a "book guide". It would list all the books available on Feedbooks, and with a simple click you'd be able to download it.

Nate the great · 12-08-2007, 10:05 PM

Are you going to do an email option? I ask because the current PDF download option is very slow on my PC, and if I tried something similar from the Kindle it would be abysmally slow.

How about allowing a second email address? Then someone can select the option "send this to my Kindle" from your webpage. I don't think that automatic daily downloads is a good idea.

Hadrien · 12-09-2007, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Are you going to do an email option? I ask because the current PDF download option is very slow on my PC, and if I tried something similar from the Kindle it would be abysmally slow.

How about allowing a second email address? Then someone can select the option "send this to my Kindle" from your webpage. I don't think that automatic daily downloads is a good idea.

It's only slow for RSS feeds because currently we have to parse them and download the images before downloading them. Once the cache is ready, it should be a lot faster.

The "send this to my Kindle option" wouldn't be very useful if we add support for Mobipocket on our RSS feeds. As long as you have to click somewhere to get your files, clicking on a direct link to a Mobipocket file would be the same.

Hadrien · 12-09-2007, 01:14 PM

Well, I've just finished implementing the TOC on the Mobipocket files. There's an inline html TOC at the end of the book, and I also added a reference to this TOC in the OPF file (should show up a TOC icon on the Java version of the Mobipocket Reader).

I think that everything will be up this evening, this time it'll be interesting to see if it directly download the .mobi file when you click on the link ^^

Hadrien · 12-09-2007, 07:21 PM

Here it is, Mobipocket output is available for public domain & creative commons on Feedbooks. Might be a few bugs left, and I'm working on something that'll generate nice covers for the Cybook too.

Can anyone try this file on the Kindle, and see if the links to the other books work ?

Metrophage from Richard Kadrey: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/mobi/1810

Nate the great · 12-09-2007, 07:31 PM

It doesn't quite work right. When I click on a link, the ebook is loaded as a webpage and I see the MOBI source.

Hadrien · 12-09-2007, 07:36 PM

I've updated the MIME type, could you try again ?

Nate the great · 12-09-2007, 07:55 PM

The links to Horse Latitudes and Blind Shrike worked correctly. I was directed to your website and prompted to download the ebook.

Hadrien · 12-09-2007, 07:56 PM

Fantastic news. Thanks a lot Nate for your help ! I hope we'll find some very cool things to do now that we know that direct links to other .mobi files work.

12-07-2007, 02:39 PM	#1
Hadrien Feedbooks.com Co-Founder Posts: 2,263 Karma: 145123 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Paris, France Device: Sony PRS-t-1/350/300/500/505/600/700, Nexus S, iPad	Hyperlinks in Kindle books I'm currently adding the Mobipocket output for Feedbooks and I've been wondering about something: Would it be possible to add hyperlinks pointing to another .mobi file directly in an e-book ? We usually add recommendations on our e-books at Feedbooks, this mean that you could basically directly download one of these recommendations.

12-08-2007, 09:46 PM	#6
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Oops. I forgot to turn on the wireless. I clicked on the link "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom", and had the option of following the link to the internet. I turned on the wireless. Yes, it worked. P.S. I love my Kindle!!! Last edited by Nate the great; 12-08-2007 at 09:49 PM.

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12-08-2007, 10:05 PM	#8
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Are you going to do an email option? I ask because the current PDF download option is very slow on my PC, and if I tried something similar from the Kindle it would be abysmally slow. How about allowing a second email address? Then someone can select the option "send this to my Kindle" from your webpage. I don't think that automatic daily downloads is a good idea.

12-09-2007, 01:14 PM	#10
Hadrien Feedbooks.com Co-Founder Posts: 2,263 Karma: 145123 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Paris, France Device: Sony PRS-t-1/350/300/500/505/600/700, Nexus S, iPad	Well, I've just finished implementing the TOC on the Mobipocket files. There's an inline html TOC at the end of the book, and I also added a reference to this TOC in the OPF file (should show up a TOC icon on the Java version of the Mobipocket Reader). I think that everything will be up this evening, this time it'll be interesting to see if it directly download the .mobi file when you click on the link ^^

12-09-2007, 07:21 PM	#11
Hadrien Feedbooks.com Co-Founder Posts: 2,263 Karma: 145123 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Paris, France Device: Sony PRS-t-1/350/300/500/505/600/700, Nexus S, iPad	Here it is, Mobipocket output is available for public domain & creative commons on Feedbooks. Might be a few bugs left, and I'm working on something that'll generate nice covers for the Cybook too. Can anyone try this file on the Kindle, and see if the links to the other books work ? Metrophage from Richard Kadrey: http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/mobi/1810

12-09-2007, 07:31 PM	#12
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	It doesn't quite work right. When I click on a link, the ebook is loaded as a webpage and I see the MOBI source.

12-09-2007, 07:36 PM	#13
Hadrien Feedbooks.com Co-Founder Posts: 2,263 Karma: 145123 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Paris, France Device: Sony PRS-t-1/350/300/500/505/600/700, Nexus S, iPad	I've updated the MIME type, could you try again ?

12-09-2007, 07:55 PM	#14
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	The links to Horse Latitudes and Blind Shrike worked correctly. I was directed to your website and prompted to download the ebook.

12-09-2007, 07:56 PM	#15
Hadrien Feedbooks.com Co-Founder Posts: 2,263 Karma: 145123 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Paris, France Device: Sony PRS-t-1/350/300/500/505/600/700, Nexus S, iPad	Fantastic news. Thanks a lot Nate for your help ! I hope we'll find some very cool things to do now that we know that direct links to other .mobi files work.

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