Some problems with epub to mobi conversion using Calibre. Help please.

JMForte85 · 01-13-2015, 03:50 PM

So after converting several of my epubs to mobi format for my new Kindle Paperwhite (had a Nook before) using Calibre, I've noticed two things that irritate me and am hoping there is a way to fix them. I love my Kindle except for these 2 things.

The cover pictures are not showing up on the menu screen of the kindle but the pictures are there as they appear as the first page of the book. On the menu I just have a bunch of generic book titles. I tried both with "Use cover from source file" checked and unchecked.

The page numbers are not showing up. Only locations. I know the epubs had page numbers because they worked on the Nook with them. Location is not the same not being able to see page numbers. Again this has happened on several of my converted epubs. I'm guessing it may be a problem with the conversion but I'm not sure. Any way to fix this?

Thanks in advance for any help. I really appreciate it.

pdurrant · 01-13-2015, 03:54 PM

Do convert to azw3 for your Paperwhite, not mobi.

The cover question I'll leave to others

The page numbers problem, IMO, is just the way things are - the page numbers on nook are fake anyway. It might be that there's some plugin for calibre that will create a fake .apnx file for transfer to your Kindle, which I think is how Amazon does its implementation of page numbers., perhaps someone else will jump in on that. But really, I suggest learning to love locations.

NiLuJe · 01-13-2015, 04:12 PM

@JMForte85: How are you sending your books, exactly? (And how old is the Calibre version you're running?)

Because with the default conversion/device plugin settings, all of those things are handled transparently, provided you use "Send To Device".

(I *might* be mistaken on the defaults for the Kindle device interface plugin, check its settings, the corresponding checkboxes are fairly obvious

).

JMForte85 · 01-13-2015, 06:32 PM

I didn't realize the send to device feature. I've just been dragging and dropping the mobi file from the Calibre folder on my PC to the documents folder on the Kindle. I will look into that feature later and see if it fixes my problems. Thanks!

Section8 · 01-13-2015, 08:48 PM

I also recently replaced an aging nook with a PW2 and use calibre to manage my ebooks and send them to the kindle, and all of this just works.

First, as pdurrant said, convert epubs to azw3 for the PW2. Thumbnail covers, for me at least, always just work for all these books.

To handle page numbers takes some configuration. You should set up a custom column in calibre with the # of pages in each book. I set this up ages ago with the "Count Pages" plugin, so that the plugin generates the ADE page count for my epubs (which the nook uses) in that column.

Then, configure the the kindle driver plugin with this page count column for the "Custom column name to retrieve page counts from". The easiest way to do this, is to first plugin the kindle USB cable with calibre running. Then press the calibre device library button->configure this device option.

Once this is all set up, the kindle driver does whatever magic it needs to get the kindle to recognize pages in the azw3 books when you use calibre to send them to the kindle.

JSWolf · 01-13-2015, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Do convert to azw3 for your Paperwhite, not mobi.

The cover question I'll leave to others

The page numbers problem, IMO, is just the way things are - the page numbers on nook are fake anyway. It might be that there's some plugin for calibre that will create a fake .apnx file for transfer to your Kindle, which I think is how Amazon does its implementation of page numbers., perhaps someone else will jump in on that. But really, I suggest learning to love locations.

.apnx generation is built into Calibre. You can have Calibre just do it based on some predefined algorithm or you can create a custom page number column and fill it in with a page number and that will be used as the last page number. You do have to configure things to use that column. If you don't fill in that column, Calibre will default to it's own way of figuring out page numbers.

JMForte85 · 01-13-2015, 11:26 PM

Thanks for the help guys. I am now using azw3, sending directly to the device from Calibre and downloaded the Custom Page plugin. Between all of that, it got everything working properly now. Thanks again for your suggestions.

JSWolf · 01-14-2015, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMForte85

Thanks for the help guys. I am now using azw3, sending directly to the device from Calibre and downloaded the Custom Page plugin. Between all of that, it got everything working properly now. Thanks again for your suggestions.

What is the custom page plugin? If it is the apnx generator, you don't need it as Calibre will generate the apnx file for you and you can create a custom column and put int he page number you want to use.

01-13-2015, 03:50 PM	#1
JMForte85 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Some problems with epub to mobi conversion using Calibre. Help please. So after converting several of my epubs to mobi format for my new Kindle Paperwhite (had a Nook before) using Calibre, I've noticed two things that irritate me and am hoping there is a way to fix them. I love my Kindle except for these 2 things. The cover pictures are not showing up on the menu screen of the kindle but the pictures are there as they appear as the first page of the book. On the menu I just have a bunch of generic book titles. I tried both with "Use cover from source file" checked and unchecked. The page numbers are not showing up. Only locations. I know the epubs had page numbers because they worked on the Nook with them. Location is not the same not being able to see page numbers. Again this has happened on several of my converted epubs. I'm guessing it may be a problem with the conversion but I'm not sure. Any way to fix this? Thanks in advance for any help. I really appreciate it.

01-13-2015, 04:12 PM	#3
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047202 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	@JMForte85: How are you sending your books, exactly? (And how old is the Calibre version you're running?) Because with the default conversion/device plugin settings, all of those things are handled transparently, provided you use "Send To Device". (I might be mistaken on the defaults for the Kindle device interface plugin, check its settings, the corresponding checkboxes are fairly obvious ). Last edited by NiLuJe; 01-13-2015 at 04:15 PM.

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01-13-2015, 03:54 PM	#2
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,941 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Do convert to azw3 for your Paperwhite, not mobi. The cover question I'll leave to others The page numbers problem, IMO, is just the way things are - the page numbers on nook are fake anyway. It might be that there's some plugin for calibre that will create a fake .apnx file for transfer to your Kindle, which I think is how Amazon does its implementation of page numbers., perhaps someone else will jump in on that. But really, I suggest learning to love locations.

01-13-2015, 06:32 PM	#4
JMForte85 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I didn't realize the send to device feature. I've just been dragging and dropping the mobi file from the Calibre folder on my PC to the documents folder on the Kindle. I will look into that feature later and see if it fixes my problems. Thanks!

01-13-2015, 08:48 PM	#5
Section8 Addict Posts: 264 Karma: 2121470 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Arlington, TX Device: Kindle PW4, Moon+ Reader on a cheap Android tablet	I also recently replaced an aging nook with a PW2 and use calibre to manage my ebooks and send them to the kindle, and all of this just works. First, as pdurrant said, convert epubs to azw3 for the PW2. Thumbnail covers, for me at least, always just work for all these books. To handle page numbers takes some configuration. You should set up a custom column in calibre with the # of pages in each book. I set this up ages ago with the "Count Pages" plugin, so that the plugin generates the ADE page count for my epubs (which the nook uses) in that column. Then, configure the the kindle driver plugin with this page count column for the "Custom column name to retrieve page counts from". The easiest way to do this, is to first plugin the kindle USB cable with calibre running. Then press the calibre device library button->configure this device option. Once this is all set up, the kindle driver does whatever magic it needs to get the kindle to recognize pages in the azw3 books when you use calibre to send them to the kindle.

01-13-2015, 11:26 PM	#7
JMForte85 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Thanks for the help guys. I am now using azw3, sending directly to the device from Calibre and downloaded the Custom Page plugin. Between all of that, it got everything working properly now. Thanks again for your suggestions.

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