Converting Web Pages for E-Reader?

MarjaE · 05-08-2016, 07:19 PM

I prefer to read online articles and stories on my e-reader to avoid arm strain, eye strain, etc. from my computer.

I haven't worked out a good consistent workflow for this. I usually switch to reader view, if it is available, and save as either html [which I'd need to convert], epub, or pdf. I discard most of these after reading, but keep some.

Anyway, it results in a mess of inconsistent formatting and bad metadata.

Does anyone know of a good workflow for this, on the Mac and the Iriver Story Hd [which can't read Html or Txt]?

Does it work better to use Grabmybooks, Dotepub [which doesn't appear in the Forefox extensions list], or the Html -> Epub conversion in Calibre [which catastrophically fails with Google translate pages]?

I think if I were to do things through Calibre, I'd need at least one library for unread files and another for read files. I'd also like to replace the existing files in some libraries with cleaner versions.

I think I'd need a good way to export from Calibre libraries too. So far, Calibre doesn't detect the sd card on the Iriver. I can only export to the device's main card, and I end up with a number of folders, one per author, none by genre, on root. I end up copying directly from the Calibre Library, to avoid all this trouble.

Ideas?

fidvo · 05-08-2016, 07:34 PM

For converting web pages to PDF, I use the Print Edit extension for Firefox. You can strip out all the pieces of the web page you don't want before exporting to PDF.

To convert to Epub, there's not really an all-in-one solution because every web page is different. I haven't really tried PDF-to-Epub from pages I've exported with Print Edit, because if I'm mostly interested in text then I'll generally reformat it manually, and if the layout is important then PDF is a more appropriate format anyway.

As for exporting from Calibre, I can't help you with it not detecting your SD card, but with a decent Save-to-Disk template you should be able to export to a temporary folder on your hard drive then copy manually to the SD card of your reader.

PeterT · 05-08-2016, 07:43 PM

Have you tried Pocket and the pocket recipe?

MarjaE · 05-08-2016, 08:06 PM

No. I thought Pocket was a tool to integrate Firefox with mobile devices. I see it does have a Mac App, so it's not just for mobile devices.

I don't see much about e-readers on its support site, so I think I'd need to configure a new Calibre library, choose Pocket as a source, and copy the Calibre files to my e-reader.

P.S. I'm not really sure how to set up a Save-to-Disk Template. I often include two or three items under genre, otherwise I'd organize by genre, then series, then author. I suppose I could cut each to one genre, and add a column for secondary genres.

Thank you both.

PeterT · 05-08-2016, 10:05 PM

No.... all that you do is save page(s) to Pocket using a browser plugin, then with your existing calibre environment setup the Pocket recipe and run it. I don't have access right now to my calibre so I can't go step by step

BetterRed · 05-08-2016, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarjaE

Does it work better to use Grabmybooks, Dotepub [which doesn't appear in the Forefox extensions list], or the Html -> Epub conversion in Calibre [which catastrophically fails with Google translate pages]?

If you don't need the side-by-side translation, try the Google Translate firefox extension, this is a sample of an item from today's local Grauniad

Click image for larger version

Name: Clipboard01.jpg
Views: 440
Size: 328.0 KB
ID: 148556

BR

MarjaE · 05-14-2016, 04:09 PM

PeterT:

I can save pages to Pocket, but it doesn't categorize the saved pages as "articles." I can change the recipe prefereces so the mminimum number of articles is 1, instead of 10, but it still wouldn't transfer that 1st saved page from Pocket to Calibre.

BetterRed:

I don't know which Firefox extension you're referring to, there are several, but when I load pages in translate, they look much like that example. And when I save as html, convert to epub in Calibre, and try to open the resulting epub, they trigger endless error messages which disable force-quit and force me to restart my computer. I have also had trouble converting badly-formatted html to epub in Calibre; in this case it doesn't produce any rather than producing a bad file. I have another tool to batch-convert to txt before converting to epub, which actually solves both problems, although of course it loses formatting and images.

PeterT · 05-14-2016, 08:44 PM

If it's not categorized as an article you need to contact Pocket support and see if they can help.

05-08-2016, 07:19 PM	#1
MarjaE Guru Posts: 924 Karma: 53902736 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: multiple	Converting Web Pages for E-Reader? I prefer to read online articles and stories on my e-reader to avoid arm strain, eye strain, etc. from my computer. I haven't worked out a good consistent workflow for this. I usually switch to reader view, if it is available, and save as either html [which I'd need to convert], epub, or pdf. I discard most of these after reading, but keep some. Anyway, it results in a mess of inconsistent formatting and bad metadata. Does anyone know of a good workflow for this, on the Mac and the Iriver Story Hd [which can't read Html or Txt]? Does it work better to use Grabmybooks, Dotepub [which doesn't appear in the Forefox extensions list], or the Html -> Epub conversion in Calibre [which catastrophically fails with Google translate pages]? I think if I were to do things through Calibre, I'd need at least one library for unread files and another for read files. I'd also like to replace the existing files in some libraries with cleaner versions. I think I'd need a good way to export from Calibre libraries too. So far, Calibre doesn't detect the sd card on the Iriver. I can only export to the device's main card, and I end up with a number of folders, one per author, none by genre, on root. I end up copying directly from the Calibre Library, to avoid all this trouble. Ideas?

05-08-2016, 08:06 PM	#4
MarjaE Guru Posts: 924 Karma: 53902736 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: multiple	No. I thought Pocket was a tool to integrate Firefox with mobile devices. I see it does have a Mac App, so it's not just for mobile devices. I don't see much about e-readers on its support site, so I think I'd need to configure a new Calibre library, choose Pocket as a source, and copy the Calibre files to my e-reader. P.S. I'm not really sure how to set up a Save-to-Disk Template. I often include two or three items under genre, otherwise I'd organize by genre, then series, then author. I suppose I could cut each to one genre, and add a column for secondary genres. Thank you both. Last edited by MarjaE; 05-08-2016 at 08:15 PM.

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05-08-2016, 07:34 PM	#2
fidvo Addict Posts: 296 Karma: 1599870 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: none	For converting web pages to PDF, I use the Print Edit extension for Firefox. You can strip out all the pieces of the web page you don't want before exporting to PDF. To convert to Epub, there's not really an all-in-one solution because every web page is different. I haven't really tried PDF-to-Epub from pages I've exported with Print Edit, because if I'm mostly interested in text then I'll generally reformat it manually, and if the layout is important then PDF is a more appropriate format anyway. As for exporting from Calibre, I can't help you with it not detecting your SD card, but with a decent Save-to-Disk template you should be able to export to a temporary folder on your hard drive then copy manually to the SD card of your reader.

05-08-2016, 07:43 PM	#3
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,172 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	Have you tried Pocket and the pocket recipe?

05-08-2016, 10:05 PM	#5
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,172 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	No.... all that you do is save page(s) to Pocket using a browser plugin, then with your existing calibre environment setup the Pocket recipe and run it. I don't have access right now to my calibre so I can't go step by step

05-14-2016, 04:09 PM	#7
MarjaE Guru Posts: 924 Karma: 53902736 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: multiple	PeterT: I can save pages to Pocket, but it doesn't categorize the saved pages as "articles." I can change the recipe prefereces so the mminimum number of articles is 1, instead of 10, but it still wouldn't transfer that 1st saved page from Pocket to Calibre. BetterRed: I don't know which Firefox extension you're referring to, there are several, but when I load pages in translate, they look much like that example. And when I save as html, convert to epub in Calibre, and try to open the resulting epub, they trigger endless error messages which disable force-quit and force me to restart my computer. I have also had trouble converting badly-formatted html to epub in Calibre; in this case it doesn't produce any rather than producing a bad file. I have another tool to batch-convert to txt before converting to epub, which actually solves both problems, although of course it loses formatting and images.

05-14-2016, 08:44 PM	#8
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,172 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	If it's not categorized as an article you need to contact Pocket support and see if they can help.

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