Sideloaded ePubs, chapters and bookmarks

Steven Lyle Jordan · 01-18-2011, 01:46 PM

I've been experiencing non-working bookmarks on sideloaded ePub content, stored on the SD card of my device.

In a book, I can set bookmarks as I go. It took me a bit to find the bookmarks access, and at one time, the bookmarks section displayed no bookmarks at all (this was when turning on the device and opening a book). But when I advanced to a bookmarked page... there it was, plain as day.

Later, I'd return to the bookmarks access screen, but touching on any bookmark, even when the page of the bookmark was listed, took me to the cover page.

As it so happens, these books (which were converted from Amazon .prc format using Calibre) also have chapter links that all take you to the first page of the book. In short, I cannot advance to a bookmark or chapter, I can only scroll the book to get to the page I want.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice for workarounds?

RAH · 01-19-2011, 09:52 AM

If these books are non-DRM, you should be able to fix at least the chapter links using Sigil ( http://code.google.com/p/sigil/ ). Links in epub files are coded as regular HTML links (since epub files are HTML), so it seems that you could easily get the links coded correctly and working again.

As far as bookmarks, I'm not sure. You could look at the help info on the Sigil website and see if it says anything about them.

RAH · 01-19-2011, 10:32 AM

I should have mentioned that the Chapters in your book may be implemented as a Table of Contents. If so, you'd need to use a different technique to fix them than if they are implemented as a series of links (often used, for example, on a List of Illustrations page). In Sigil, anything with an H1 tag is considered a TOC entry.

Bookworm_Girl · 01-20-2011, 09:51 AM

Sounds like an issue with the file conversion. The Sigil suggestion is a good one to recreate the ToC for your books.

I would also try a few other things:
1) Have you confirmed that it is only these converted books? You don't have issues with any other sideloaded books?
2) Have you confirmed that you have the same issue with these books if you sideload them onto the main memory rather than SD card?

Steven Lyle Jordan · 01-20-2011, 01:23 PM

I tried one of my ebooks, on the SD card and in main memory, set a new bookmark, moved to a new page, and returned using the bookmark. Both worked. I'll have to try the books in question on the main memory, but reworking the book in Sigil is probably a good idea.

There's probably something going on in the conversion from Amazon PRC through Calibre. I'm actually a few versions behind in Calibre, and upgrading just solved another issue I was having, so running them through the latest Calibre might be the answer, too.

Bookworm_Girl · 01-20-2011, 04:21 PM

Sound like a good plan. Let us know please if you get it fixed by any of those methods.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-05-2011, 11:13 AM

I've discovered at least one cause of the non-working chapters and errant bookmarks. When I added one novel to my NC, I'd converted it, via Calibre, to ePub from Mobi (de-drm'd Kindle). Examining the ePub file, I realized that Calibre had broken up the text into literally dozens of smaller HTML files.

I went back into Calibre (which I'd updated) and created a new conversion. I'm still ferreting out which of the settings I changed made a difference, but this time, the resultant ePub text was split among only 3 files. I put that ePub into Sigil and pasted the text from files 2 and 3 into file 1 and deleted 2 and 3, thereby putting all of my text into 1 file.

I saved that and moved it to the NC. Now I can create bookmarks that stick and that work, and I can navigate by chapter selection.

SCION · 02-05-2011, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

I've discovered at least one cause of the non-working chapters and errant bookmarks. When I added one novel to my NC, I'd converted it, via Calibre, to ePub from Mobi (de-drm'd Kindle). Examining the ePub file, I realized that Calibre had broken up the text into literally dozens of smaller HTML files.

I went back into Calibre (which I'd updated) and created a new conversion. I'm still ferreting out which of the settings I changed made a difference, but this time, the resultant ePub text was split among only 3 files. I put that ePub into Sigil and pasted the text from files 2 and 3 into file 1 and deleted 2 and 3, thereby putting all of my text into 1 file.

I saved that and moved it to the NC. Now I can create bookmarks that stick and that work, and I can navigate by chapter selection.

Thanks for sharing this. I had that happen to me as well (many HTML files).

Bookworm_Girl · 02-05-2011, 04:49 PM

Very interesting, Steven. I wonder if the parsing into multiple HTML files is based on which profile you select for the output. I do know that Sony has specific file size limits and that calibre accommodates during the conversion process to ensure that each HTML file does not exceed that limit. That's why I typically select Sony for my output profile since I read the same EPUB file across multiple devices. I do not know if other ereaders have similar limits.

Pushka · 02-05-2011, 07:04 PM

As a kindle owner wanting to put these books onto the nook which will arrive next week, I used calibre to convert all my mobi files to epub. How can I check to see if all these files will not experience the same issues in advance of getting the nook? I have a waiting time ahead so would like to get it sorted for these 500 or so epubs now while I wait? Thankx for any advice.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-05-2011, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Very interesting, Steven. I wonder if the parsing into multiple HTML files is based on which profile you select for the output. I do know that Sony has specific file size limits and that calibre accommodates during the conversion process to ensure that each HTML file does not exceed that limit. That's why I typically select Sony for my output profile since I read the same EPUB file across multiple devices. I do not know if other ereaders have similar limits.

I did change the profile, input from Mobipocket, output to Nook, so that might have impacted it. I also set "do not split on page breaks", "flatten epub file structure", "remove header", "remove footer" and set "split files larger than" at 260, which is supposed to be the ADE default.

01-18-2011, 01:46 PM	#1
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Sideloaded ePubs, chapters and bookmarks I've been experiencing non-working bookmarks on sideloaded ePub content, stored on the SD card of my device. In a book, I can set bookmarks as I go. It took me a bit to find the bookmarks access, and at one time, the bookmarks section displayed no bookmarks at all (this was when turning on the device and opening a book). But when I advanced to a bookmarked page... there it was, plain as day. Later, I'd return to the bookmarks access screen, but touching on any bookmark, even when the page of the bookmark was listed, took me to the cover page. As it so happens, these books (which were converted from Amazon .prc format using Calibre) also have chapter links that all take you to the first page of the book. In short, I cannot advance to a bookmark or chapter, I can only scroll the book to get to the page I want. Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice for workarounds?

01-19-2011, 10:32 AM	#3
RAH Guru Posts: 615 Karma: 575652 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hampton, NH Device: Kobo Aura H20; Kobo ClaraBW	I should have mentioned that the Chapters in your book may be implemented as a Table of Contents. If so, you'd need to use a different technique to fix them than if they are implemented as a series of links (often used, for example, on a List of Illustrations page). In Sigil, anything with an H1 tag is considered a TOC entry. Last edited by RAH; 01-19-2011 at 10:35 AM.

01-20-2011, 01:23 PM	#5
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	I tried one of my ebooks, on the SD card and in main memory, set a new bookmark, moved to a new page, and returned using the bookmark. Both worked. I'll have to try the books in question on the main memory, but reworking the book in Sigil is probably a good idea. There's probably something going on in the conversion from Amazon PRC through Calibre. I'm actually a few versions behind in Calibre, and upgrading just solved another issue I was having, so running them through the latest Calibre might be the answer, too. Last edited by Steven Lyle Jordan; 01-20-2011 at 01:27 PM.

02-05-2011, 11:13 AM	#7
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	One solution I've discovered at least one cause of the non-working chapters and errant bookmarks. When I added one novel to my NC, I'd converted it, via Calibre, to ePub from Mobi (de-drm'd Kindle). Examining the ePub file, I realized that Calibre had broken up the text into literally dozens of smaller HTML files. I went back into Calibre (which I'd updated) and created a new conversion. I'm still ferreting out which of the settings I changed made a difference, but this time, the resultant ePub text was split among only 3 files. I put that ePub into Sigil and pasted the text from files 2 and 3 into file 1 and deleted 2 and 3, thereby putting all of my text into 1 file. I saved that and moved it to the NC. Now I can create bookmarks that stick and that work, and I can navigate by chapter selection.

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01-19-2011, 09:52 AM	#2
RAH Guru Posts: 615 Karma: 575652 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hampton, NH Device: Kobo Aura H20; Kobo ClaraBW	If these books are non-DRM, you should be able to fix at least the chapter links using Sigil ( http://code.google.com/p/sigil/ ). Links in epub files are coded as regular HTML links (since epub files are HTML), so it seems that you could easily get the links coded correctly and working again. As far as bookmarks, I'm not sure. You could look at the help info on the Sigil website and see if it says anything about them.

01-20-2011, 09:51 AM	#4
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,873 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Sounds like an issue with the file conversion. The Sigil suggestion is a good one to recreate the ToC for your books. I would also try a few other things: 1) Have you confirmed that it is only these converted books? You don't have issues with any other sideloaded books? 2) Have you confirmed that you have the same issue with these books if you sideload them onto the main memory rather than SD card?

01-20-2011, 04:21 PM	#6
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,873 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Sound like a good plan. Let us know please if you get it fixed by any of those methods.

02-05-2011, 04:49 PM	#9
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,873 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Very interesting, Steven. I wonder if the parsing into multiple HTML files is based on which profile you select for the output. I do know that Sony has specific file size limits and that calibre accommodates during the conversion process to ensure that each HTML file does not exceed that limit. That's why I typically select Sony for my output profile since I read the same EPUB file across multiple devices. I do not know if other ereaders have similar limits.

02-05-2011, 07:04 PM	#10
Pushka Wizard Posts: 1,119 Karma: 1019140 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Device: kindle, Ipad, Iphone, Nexus and PPW	As a kindle owner wanting to put these books onto the nook which will arrive next week, I used calibre to convert all my mobi files to epub. How can I check to see if all these files will not experience the same issues in advance of getting the nook? I have a waiting time ahead so would like to get it sorted for these 500 or so epubs now while I wait? Thankx for any advice.

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