The most basic question.

[MrB]

I have produced material which I would like to be read on a kindle device. Please can you tell me the best way of going about it?

The material was originally written in MS Word. Following advice received elsewhere I have since saved it in Rich Text Format and I also have a version saved as an XML file. Originally I was going to publish the stuff using EPUB and have converted some of it using Sigil. Now I have changed my mind and hope to go with kindle.

I'd appreciate any advice you can give, or any links that I should follow, before I start on that well-worn path of trial and error

Many thanks.

[Doitsu]

Since both the official Kindle compiler, Kindlegen, and Calibre can convert ePub files to .mobi files there's actually no reason not to use Sigil.
You can edit your converted files in Sigil have it check for errors and when you're done with it simply convert the epub to a .mobi file.

[Mike L]

Another option would be to open the original file in Word, and save it as HTML. You then re-name the file so that the extension is .TXT. You can then read the file on the Kindle. The basic formatting will be intact.

But you'll probably get a better result if you convert to Mobi, as Doitsu suggested.

Mike

[MrB]

Thank you both very much for your advice.

Originally Posted by Mike L

Another option would be to open the original file in Word, and save it as HTML. You then re-name the file so that the extension is .TXT. You can then read the file on the Kindle.

This no longer works on some of the newer Kindles like the K5 (Kindle Touch). I'm not sure if it will work on the K4 (non-touch), but I would avoid this method as it no longer universally works. And even when it does work there will be no images.

@MrB, As far as I know there is no way to include images within an HTML file for conversion to mobi via Kindle Previewer. You will need to use an ePub or create an OPF file which is very complicated. Using an ePub created with Sigil is by far the easiest of these two methods. However an easier solution is shown below.

Easiest Solution: You could use calibre for your conversions. See the calibre instructions. If I remember correctly you can place the HTML and image files into a folder, zip them into a single file, then calibre can convert it to a mobi (or many other formats). As I recall, calibre can convert RTF files but the conversion will exclude any images. It has been a long time since I used calibre so please check in the calibre documentation and/or forums for information. Calibre can convert from many different formats, so research which is best for your situation.

[JSWolf]

In order to make sure your Word document is clean enough for conversion, save as filtered HTML and then use Sigil to clean up the mess and make a nice looking ePub. Use that ePub with Calibre to convert to Mobi and you should be good to go.

Otherwise, you can and probably will have unpredictable results. When you are going to have your source document made into an eBook, keep it away from Word. Use a text editor.

Even filtered HTML produced from Word is crap. Word tends to use measurements of "in" (inches) and "pt" (points) which likely won't be translated well into an eBook.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Even filtered HTML produced from Word is crap. Word tends to use measurements of "in" (inches) and "pt" (points) which likely won't be translated well into an eBook.

There is a script posted on MR that works with Word 2007 & 2010 that cleans up the document. But I cannot say how much work cleaning things up is left after that.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=142530

[MrB]

Again, many thanks to you all.


So much to learn!