Please Use More Modern Kindle Formats

[shalym]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

If you upload dual Mobi to cloud, does it actually send AZW3/KF8 to the Kindle? Because I seem to recall testing a dual Mobi file (created with kindlegen, uploaded using Send to Kindle for PC) and the version downloaded to my PW3 from Amazon Cloud was just plain Mobi.

If the dual mobi is created with Calibre, then it works...sometimes. I haven't been able to figure out why it works sometimes, and other times it doesn't. If you create it using Kindlegen, though, it *always* sends kf8 to Kindles that can use that format.

I would absolutely love it if someone could create a plugin that uses Kindlegen, but nobody seems interested, and I wouldn't know where to begin.

Shari

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by shalym

I would absolutely love it if someone could create a plugin that uses Kindlegen, but nobody seems interested, and I wouldn't know where to begin.

Shari

You'd begin by:

a) Learning Python. There are lots of free tutorials.
b) Reading Calibre's developer documentation.
c) Looking at other Calibre plugins to see how they work.

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Are you a Calibre user? If so, you can convert the mobi to azw3 yourself with Calibre then help others by attaching the azw3 to a message in the thread where the mobi is posted. Over time the entire mobi library could be converted with no one person having to do that much work and the mobi would continue to be available to those that can not use azw3.

Somewhat better would be to start with the epub version and convert that to azw3.

I have a few AZW3 versions of mobileread library books, originally in epub, which I've converted using Calibre. Does anyone want me to somehow contribute them to the library? I haven't done anything wonderful, like correcting typos, all that work was done by the creator of the epub.

Just thought I'd save others the hassle of conversion. As the quote says, if we all convert a few . .
I use AZW3 because I sideload everything, so cloud storage isn't an issue.

[Jellby]

Well, from the posting guidelines: "There's really no point in posting here something which which a poster can get from the original source in two minutes." So if it's just a run-of-the-mill calibre conversion, don't.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Jellby

Well, from the posting guidelines: "There's really no point in posting here something which which a poster can get from the original source in two minutes." So if it's just a run-of-the-mill calibre conversion, don't.

Although a new thread for a run of the mill conversion would clutter the Mobileread Library, what is the harm of attaching an additional format variant to a new post in the original thread?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Although a new thread for a run of the mill conversion would clutter the Mobileread Library, what is the harm of attaching an additional format variant to a new post in the original thread?

1. it won't be indexed properly in the library, so people won't find it.
2. It may get out of date if the original is updated.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There is no one format which is optimal for all situations.

A Mobi7 book is compact and can be sent to the Cloud, but doesn't support new features.

A dual Mobi is twice the size of a Mobi 7 or AZW3 book, but can be uploaded to the Cloud. Hence not ideal for side-loading if you want to maximise the number of books you can fit on your Kindle (which is not a concern for many, of course).

An AZW3 is compact and supports all the whizzy new features, but can't be sent to the Cloud.

Your choice .

To be honest, the cloud can go rain. I would rather a better format eBook then one that is less readable and by less readable, mobi on a Kindle is less readable then KF8 on a Kindle.

[BookCat]

So the moderator opinion seems to be: don't bother.

As someone who uses the library, I would far rather have the books in AZW3 format, from the original creator, rather than the old mobi. What I've started doing is downloading epub and converting. Maybe not all members would know that this was the best method, and this could lead to the question: how do I use custom fonts? coming up again and again.

So I would say that the onus is on the creator, rather than anyone coming along with a converted version. Could the original creators of the kindle library books go back through their creations and convert them?
Especially as help from other members seems to complicate matters.

Just a thought.

[DaleDe]

Sometimes the extension does not tell the tale. It may have mobi but is really azw3. It can be hard to tell. As far as the creator is concerned, there are a couple of major contributors that have died so they can't fix any issues.

Dale

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Sometimes the extension does not tell the tale. It may have mobi but is really azw3. It can be hard to tell. As far as the creator is concerned, there are a couple of major contributors that have died so they can't fix any issues.

Dale

There's a big functional difference between mobi and azw3, particularly the ability to use custom fonts. So it seems important to use the correct extension.

I'm aware that some main contributors have died. Perhaps another experienced contributor to the library could post an azw3 conversion of their works?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

1. it won't be indexed properly in the library, so people won't find it.
2. It may get out of date if the original is updated.

If it doesn't get made, it also will not be found. I suggest that it is books that are searched and not particular flavors of amazon formats.

As time passes, I would think that it becomes less likely that the original poster will update and more likely that any such update will include azw3.

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Sometimes the extension does not tell the tale. It may have mobi but is really azw3. It can be hard to tell. As far as the creator is concerned, there are a couple of major contributors that have died so they can't fix any issues.

Dale

So a volunteer that investigates the nature of the mobi, and if appropriate, provides an azw3 has done more than what can be done by anyone in a couple of minutes.

For new (and updated) kindle uploads, maybe the best is a dual format with source stripped. Then people get "send to kindle" syncing and custom fonts, boldness adjust etc, and those that have file size concerns can extract whichever format they prefer.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by shalym

I would absolutely love it if someone could create a plugin that uses Kindlegen, but nobody seems interested, and I wouldn't know where to begin.

Shari

Originally Posted by HarryT

You'd begin by:

a) Learning Python. There are lots of free tutorials.
b) Reading Calibre's developer documentation.
c) Looking at other Calibre plugins to see how they work.

There is a Kindlegen plugin for sigil

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=248629

(I haven't tried it as Kindlegen CLI is fine by me.)

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

If it doesn't get made, it also will not be found. I suggest that it is books that are searched and not particular flavors of amazon formats.

As time passes, I would think that it becomes less likely that the original poster will update and more likely that any such update will include azw3.



So a volunteer that investigates the nature of the mobi, and if appropriate, provides an azw3 has done more than what can be done by anyone in a couple of minutes.

For new (and updated) kindle uploads, maybe the best is a dual format with source stripped. Then people get "send to kindle" syncing and custom fonts, boldness adjust etc, and those that have file size concerns can extract whichever format they prefer.

Actually anyone can just download the ePub if the equivalent exists and run it through KindleGen which will produce an azw3 and a mobi inside the same file. It will have a mobi extension. I suspect this is what most people that submit files do today.

Dale

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Actually anyone can just download the ePub if the equivalent exists and run it through KindleGen which will produce an azw3 and a mobi inside the same file. It will have a mobi extension. I suspect this is what most people that submit files do today.

Dale

In my experience, most of the mobi files are just old mobi, with none of the ability to, for example, use custom fonts. So I avoid them like the plague.

Maybe the creator could state what type of mobi it is?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by BookCat

In my experience, most of the mobi files are just old mobi, with none of the ability to, for example, use custom fonts. So I avoid them like the plague.

Maybe the creator could state what type of mobi it is?

Same issue as DaleDe mentioned before. Creator may not be around anymore to update the post.