trouble with ePub cover images

bossmanx9 · 04-24-2009, 04:13 PM

Hi,
I've been creating some ebooks and reading them in calibre, but it isn't detecting the cover images. The ebooks are in ePub format and the cover image in each book is specified in the content.opf file like so:

Code:

	<guide>
		<reference type="cover" title ="Cover Page" href="images/cover.jpg" />
	</guide>

Other programs such as Mobipocket Reader display the cover image, but calibre just displays the first page as the cover image.

What am I doing wrong? Do I have to add a reference to the cover image somewhere else?

I am running version 0.5.9 on Windows Vista. I am creating the ebooks outside of calibre and simply importing them into calibre (without any conversion).

kovidgoyal · 04-24-2009, 04:18 PM

That is an incorrect way to specify the cover. The fact that it works in mobi pocket reader is a bug in mobipocket reader.

Either create an epub file in calibre with a cover or download one from feedbooks.com to see how to specify covers in epub

bossmanx9 · 04-24-2009, 04:50 PM

Okay, I did what you suggested. All I saw was that the cover image was placed inside an HTML page and then the page was referenced in the guide, rather than the image directly. Is this correct?

kovidgoyal · 04-24-2009, 05:16 PM

yes it is

bossmanx9 · 04-27-2009, 12:45 PM

I've been messing around with this a bit and seem to have found that calibre uses the first page in the spine as the cover image, regardless of what is specified in the guide. In fact, it seems to ignore the guide altogether as far as I can tell. The problem with this is that the spine also defines the reading order of the pages, which forces the cover image to always be the first page of the book.

Is there any way to specify a cover image without having it also be the first page that the book opens to when someone starts reading it?

kovidgoyal · 04-27-2009, 03:06 PM

In the EPUb format? You can set the linear="no" attribute on the first spine item. But them most EPUB readers will have no way of ever getting to the cover and most users will never see it. This is a limitation of EPUB and nothing to do with calibre. For example calibre generated MOBI files have a cover that isn't the first page.

bossmanx9 · 04-27-2009, 04:05 PM

Hmm. I set linear="no" for the cover's itemref in the spine like so:

Code:

<itemref idref="cover" linear="no" />

but it is still being displayed as the first page when you open the book. I also checked the OPF specification, but didn't really get any insight there.

I'd like to have the cover treated basically as an icon for the book. I.e. the thumbnail image of the book shows the cover, but when you open it the cover isn't displayed. Or at least find a way to move it to the end of the book.

I guess this just might not be possible with ePub...

kovidgoyal · 04-27-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bossmanx9

I'd like to have the cover treated basically as an icon for the book. I.e. the thumbnail image of the book shows the cover, but when you open it the cover isn't displayed. Or at least find a way to move it to the end of the book.

I'm curious as to why you want this behavior?

bossmanx9 · 04-27-2009, 04:42 PM

Quote:

I'm curious as to why you want this behavior?

The ebooks I'm creating are for a newspaper. I want to use an image of the front page as the "cover," but all the articles inside the book are in text form. The cover images I have are small thumbnail-sized images and when they are blown up and displayed as the first page they look really bad.

wallcraft · 04-27-2009, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bossmanx9

The ebooks I'm creating are for a newspaper. I want to use an image of the front page as the "cover," but all the articles inside the book are in text form. The cover images I have are small thumbnail-sized images and when they are blown up and displayed as the first page they look really bad.

One of the advantages of the ePub approach to "covers" is that it really is the 1st page no matter what this contains. So you could build a cover page that included HTML for the name of the newspaper and the date and then below that the thumbnail-sized image (perhaps magnified a bit, but not full page). Note that Calibre will then make a (600x800?) image of the full page to act as the cover image when converting the ePub to MOBI.

bossmanx9 · 04-28-2009, 07:16 PM

Thanks for the help, guys. I may not be able to get my ePubs perfect, but at least my Kindle 2 versions are nearly flawless...

04-24-2009, 04:13 PM	#1
bossmanx9 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2	trouble with ePub cover images Hi, I've been creating some ebooks and reading them in calibre, but it isn't detecting the cover images. The ebooks are in ePub format and the cover image in each book is specified in the content.opf file like so: Code: <guide> <reference type="cover" title ="Cover Page" href="images/cover.jpg" /> </guide> Other programs such as Mobipocket Reader display the cover image, but calibre just displays the first page as the cover image. What am I doing wrong? Do I have to add a reference to the cover image somewhere else? I am running version 0.5.9 on Windows Vista. I am creating the ebooks outside of calibre and simply importing them into calibre (without any conversion).

04-27-2009, 04:05 PM	#7
bossmanx9 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2	Hmm. I set linear="no" for the cover's itemref in the spine like so: Code: <itemref idref="cover" linear="no" /> but it is still being displayed as the first page when you open the book. I also checked the OPF specification, but didn't really get any insight there. I'd like to have the cover treated basically as an icon for the book. I.e. the thumbnail image of the book shows the cover, but when you open it the cover isn't displayed. Or at least find a way to move it to the end of the book. I guess this just might not be possible with ePub...

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04-24-2009, 04:18 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,562 Karma: 24495948 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	That is an incorrect way to specify the cover. The fact that it works in mobi pocket reader is a bug in mobipocket reader. Either create an epub file in calibre with a cover or download one from feedbooks.com to see how to specify covers in epub

04-24-2009, 04:50 PM	#3
bossmanx9 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2	Okay, I did what you suggested. All I saw was that the cover image was placed inside an HTML page and then the page was referenced in the guide, rather than the image directly. Is this correct?

04-24-2009, 05:16 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,562 Karma: 24495948 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	yes it is

04-27-2009, 12:45 PM	#5
bossmanx9 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2	I've been messing around with this a bit and seem to have found that calibre uses the first page in the spine as the cover image, regardless of what is specified in the guide. In fact, it seems to ignore the guide altogether as far as I can tell. The problem with this is that the spine also defines the reading order of the pages, which forces the cover image to always be the first page of the book. Is there any way to specify a cover image without having it also be the first page that the book opens to when someone starts reading it?

04-27-2009, 03:06 PM	#6
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 44,562 Karma: 24495948 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	In the EPUb format? You can set the linear="no" attribute on the first spine item. But them most EPUB readers will have no way of ever getting to the cover and most users will never see it. This is a limitation of EPUB and nothing to do with calibre. For example calibre generated MOBI files have a cover that isn't the first page.

04-28-2009, 07:16 PM	#11
bossmanx9 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2	Thanks for the help, guys. I may not be able to get my ePubs perfect, but at least my Kindle 2 versions are nearly flawless...

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