Coverting from the Open eBook

Borodin · 08-08-2014, 08:05 PM

It is clear that ebook-convert can be used to convert from any supported format to Open eBook format, which is a collection of files in a directory, but there is nothing in the documentation that describes a way to convert from that collection.

Am I missing something, or does such a facility really not exist?

It seems to me that the OEB directory format is best for manually tweaking the format of books before they continue to their intended destination, as the HTML, stylesheets, images, and manifest files are laid out there ready for editing as desired.

The documentation says that "These files are the files that would normally have been passed to the output plugin" it is clear that the functionality is already there to make the final transformation, but it seems to be accessible only as the second half of a conversion from one readable format to another.

Can someone please help me with this?

kovidgoyal · 08-08-2014, 11:03 PM

ebook-convert file.opf whatever

eschwartz · 08-10-2014, 03:38 AM

As Kovid said, use as the input file, the opf which lists all the book's resources.

But maybe you should be using the editor? If you are tweaking, you may not want some of the changes a conversion will do. Like flattening the CSS, which is only nice for end users that just want the book on their device already.

The editor will pop open the book and offer you the raw resources, with lots of useful tools to process them and a checkpoint system for reverting mistakes. Or use the Unpack book feature to temporarily extract the book to a temp folder, where you can edit it with any tools you might prefer before rebuilding it.

Borodin · 09-10-2014, 04:30 PM

Thank you both for your help.

I hadn't realised that the editor was less intrusive than the convertor. I'll take a look.

Is there a command-line utility to just unpack an eBook file?

theducks · 09-10-2014, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borodin

Thank you both for your help.

I hadn't realised that the editor was less intrusive than the convertor. I'll take a look.

Is there a command-line utility to just unpack an eBook file?

(EPUB is a zip file with rules)

Tweak-book
free from the makers of AWP
makes it a snap

Calibre has unpack builtin but I don't know if you can use it from the CLI

eschwartz · 09-10-2014, 05:15 PM

http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/gene...bre-debug.html

Code:

calibre-debug --explode-book /path/to/book

Command-line launcher for Unpack Book.

Give the editor a look though -- it has a lot of nice tools notepad++ and others don't have, specific to ebooks.

08-08-2014, 08:05 PM	#1
Borodin Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Android mobile phone	Coverting from the Open eBook It is clear that ebook-convert can be used to convert from any supported format to Open eBook format, which is a collection of files in a directory, but there is nothing in the documentation that describes a way to convert from that collection. Am I missing something, or does such a facility really not exist? It seems to me that the OEB directory format is best for manually tweaking the format of books before they continue to their intended destination, as the HTML, stylesheets, images, and manifest files are laid out there ready for editing as desired. The documentation says that "These files are the files that would normally have been passed to the output plugin" it is clear that the functionality is already there to make the final transformation, but it seems to be accessible only as the second half of a conversion from one readable format to another. Can someone please help me with this?

08-10-2014, 03:38 AM	#3
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	As Kovid said, use as the input file, the opf which lists all the book's resources. But maybe you should be using the editor? If you are tweaking, you may not want some of the changes a conversion will do. Like flattening the CSS, which is only nice for end users that just want the book on their device already. The editor will pop open the book and offer you the raw resources, with lots of useful tools to process them and a checkpoint system for reverting mistakes. Or use the Unpack book feature to temporarily extract the book to a temp folder, where you can edit it with any tools you might prefer before rebuilding it. Last edited by eschwartz; 08-10-2014 at 03:40 AM.

09-10-2014, 05:15 PM	#6
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/gene...bre-debug.html Code: calibre-debug --explode-book /path/to/book Command-line launcher for Unpack Book. Give the editor a look though -- it has a lot of nice tools notepad++ and others don't have, specific to ebooks.

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08-08-2014, 11:03 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,255 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	ebook-convert file.opf whatever

09-10-2014, 04:30 PM	#4
Borodin Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Android mobile phone	Thank you both for your help. I hadn't realised that the editor was less intrusive than the convertor. I'll take a look. Is there a command-line utility to just unpack an eBook file?

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