NST: epubs with either no cover or faulty TOCs

Tahini · 07-24-2012, 06:36 PM

Hi,
I have just received my first ereader (a NST with Glowlight) from a friend who lives in US... without a doubt I am a newbie in the mobile reading world so I hope I dont ask or state anything obvious.

I started putting some sideloaded epubs in the Nook, using Calibre.
Several epubs didnt have a cover which I thought was a bit annoying...
googling the issue I found that in order to get a cover displayed, you'll need to use Calibre to convert the files in question in Epubs... basically reprocess the epubs.
I did it and alas the covers show in Nook... unfortunately the TOCs are all faulty.

I actually dont know if I am using the term TOC in the correct way, but when I tap the center page and select "Go to...", the Nook does not seem to get any chapters demarcation, because when I slide right and left the progress bar, i.e. it will indicate "Cover, 0 pages left" wherever the progress bar is.
The interesting part is that in the original, unprocessed coverless epub the chapter demarcation is read nicely by the Nook... so it means some information vital to the ereader is lost in the reprocessing of the epub files.

It's also interesting that some reprocessed epubs dont have this problem, ie the sliding bar shows the correct chapter limits and remaining page amount.

So does anyone know what I have to do to either have the covers show without reprocessing the epubs, or to process the files so that the correct TOC shows in the Nook?

Cheers
Renato

PS: i forgot to mention that I am using Calibre 0.8.38 on Linux 64-bit

afv011 · 07-24-2012, 08:30 PM

One of the ways to show the cover is the epub -> epub conversion, but I prefer to use Sigil for this.

On Sigil, open the epub and make sure the cover is properly set. Next right click on the image in the Book Browser and, under "Add Semantics", choose Cover Image if it is not already checked. If it is checked, deselect it and select it again (this adds the meta element defining the cover to the OPF). Save the epub and exit Sigil.

Tahini · 07-25-2012, 08:15 AM

Thanks!
I'll try that when I get back home.
Do you know if there's a (semiautomated) way in Calibre to copy metadata from one file to the other? I painstakingly edited all the reprocessed epubs metadata and I wouldnt want to copy each tag fields one by one by hand when I re-import the original, unprocessed epubs...

afv011 · 07-25-2012, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tahini

Thanks!
I'll try that when I get back home.
Do you know if there's a (semiautomated) way in Calibre to copy metadata from one file to the other? I painstakingly edited all the reprocessed epubs metadata and I wouldnt want to copy each tag fields one by one by hand when I re-import the original, unprocessed epubs...

Yes, you can select a bunch of books at once, right click on the selection, and then choose "Edit metadata in bulk". It does not copy the data across, but allows you to modify the common metadata for all the books at once.

bearymore · 07-25-2012, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tahini

PS: i forgot to mention that I am using Calibre 0.8.38 on Linux 64-bit

Try upgrading Calibre. I'm using 0.8.61 on Linux 64-bit. On the epubs I have to reconvert to epub to get the cover (some are fine without the conversion), the TOC's are fine.

susaz · 07-26-2012, 09:12 AM

Not all ePubs are formatted correctly. Some are simply scanned from books with page numbers included and simply converted to ePub. Fortunately there are more properly formatted books on the net, and those DO come with a working TOC. But Calibre doesn´t generate it automatically. You need Sigil and some CSS knowledge to do that.

GreenMonkey · 07-26-2012, 10:46 AM

Try adding the modify epub plugin

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=134249

Lets you tweak covers without reprocessing the whole epub. One of the methods I use for this (sometimes I use Sigil also).

07-24-2012, 06:36 PM	#1
Tahini Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight	NST: epubs with either no cover or faulty TOCs Hi, I have just received my first ereader (a NST with Glowlight) from a friend who lives in US... without a doubt I am a newbie in the mobile reading world so I hope I dont ask or state anything obvious. I started putting some sideloaded epubs in the Nook, using Calibre. Several epubs didnt have a cover which I thought was a bit annoying... googling the issue I found that in order to get a cover displayed, you'll need to use Calibre to convert the files in question in Epubs... basically reprocess the epubs. I did it and alas the covers show in Nook... unfortunately the TOCs are all faulty. I actually dont know if I am using the term TOC in the correct way, but when I tap the center page and select "Go to...", the Nook does not seem to get any chapters demarcation, because when I slide right and left the progress bar, i.e. it will indicate "Cover, 0 pages left" wherever the progress bar is. The interesting part is that in the original, unprocessed coverless epub the chapter demarcation is read nicely by the Nook... so it means some information vital to the ereader is lost in the reprocessing of the epub files. It's also interesting that some reprocessed epubs dont have this problem, ie the sliding bar shows the correct chapter limits and remaining page amount. So does anyone know what I have to do to either have the covers show without reprocessing the epubs, or to process the files so that the correct TOC shows in the Nook? Cheers Renato PS: i forgot to mention that I am using Calibre 0.8.38 on Linux 64-bit

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07-24-2012, 08:30 PM	#2
afv011 Captain Penguin Posts: 2,950 Karma: 2079575093 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kobo Libra 2, Nook Glowlight	One of the ways to show the cover is the epub -> epub conversion, but I prefer to use Sigil for this. On Sigil, open the epub and make sure the cover is properly set. Next right click on the image in the Book Browser and, under "Add Semantics", choose Cover Image if it is not already checked. If it is checked, deselect it and select it again (this adds the meta element defining the cover to the OPF). Save the epub and exit Sigil.

07-25-2012, 08:15 AM	#3
Tahini Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight	Thanks! I'll try that when I get back home. Do you know if there's a (semiautomated) way in Calibre to copy metadata from one file to the other? I painstakingly edited all the reprocessed epubs metadata and I wouldnt want to copy each tag fields one by one by hand when I re-import the original, unprocessed epubs...

07-26-2012, 09:12 AM	#6
susaz Zealot Posts: 149 Karma: 664784 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Buenos Aires Argentina Device: Nook Color, Grammata Papyre 6.2, Sony PRS T1, Nook ST Glow,Kobo Glo	Not all ePubs are formatted correctly. Some are simply scanned from books with page numbers included and simply converted to ePub. Fortunately there are more properly formatted books on the net, and those DO come with a working TOC. But Calibre doesn´t generate it automatically. You need Sigil and some CSS knowledge to do that.

07-26-2012, 10:46 AM	#7
GreenMonkey DRM hater Posts: 945 Karma: 2066176 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Michigan Device: Nook ST glow, Kindle Voyage	Try adding the modify epub plugin https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=134249 Lets you tweak covers without reprocessing the whole epub. One of the methods I use for this (sometimes I use Sigil also).