# Calibre question about converting files



## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

I've never used Calibre before, but I just downloaded it because I've got tons of non-DRM EPUB books that I'd like to start converting to Mobi. I just tried it and I think it worked okay, but my question is about the files it generated. There are three:

nameofbook.mobi
cover.jpg
metadata.opf

Do I need to copy all three files to my Kindle for each book?


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

If you are using Calibre, you don't want to manually copy anything to the Kindle. Plug the Kindle into the computer and then use Calibre's Copy to Device function and the necessary things will be done. Copying manually may not transfer the titles and covers properly.

Calibre is intended to handle all those chores for you. Best take a few minutes and go through the video demo for Calibre and browse the manual. One of the worst thing you can do with Calibre is to try to manage the files yourself. Leave them alone in the Calibre directory, or things can get seriously out of sync, just as in any database program.

There is a nice plug-in for Calibre that will allow you to flag books and have them automatically transfer to the Kindle next time it is plugged into the computer (with Calibre running, of course)


Mike


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## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

I'm definitely going to have to go through the manual. Calibre doesn't seem to be quite as intuitive as most programs are. I'm glad I asked before I started copying anything. Thank you very much!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. Or go to the Calibre Support forums at:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=166

where the author hangs out and answers questions.

One of the features I frequently use is the ability to connect to Calibre through WiFi and download books directly to the Kindle.

Mike


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

There's currently an ongoing series of articles about Calibre on Teleread. Juli from here on KB is one of the contributors. There's some good info that I wish I'd had a while back.

http://www.teleread.com/category/calibre/

Calibre isn't always intuitive, but it's well worth figuring out. And if you have a Dropbox account (or some other Cloud service) You might want to consider storing your Calibre library there - I love being able to access my Calibre library from anywhere.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Meemo said:


> You might want to consider storing your Calibre library there - I love being able to access my Calibre library from anywhere.


I wish I could do that. My library is too big to fit on the space a free account has.

Mike


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## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

I'll be checking out the manual and Teleread. Thank you for that info. Without reading anything yet I converted several books and noticed that on the left there was a selection for formats which listed both the epub and mobi formats. I clicked on epub, highlighted the books and deleted them since I didn't need them anymore. Well, it deleted everything I'd done and I ended up having to do it all over again. Yeah, the program is not very intuitive, but from what I've heard it's well worth learning. I won't be trying anything else until I know what I'm doing. Thanks for all your help!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

7vn11vn said:


> Yeah, the program is not very intuitive, but from what I've heard it's well worth learning. I won't be trying anything else until I know what I'm doing.


Agreed, it's not very intuitive in some cases. That's usually what happens with a powerful program. 

Kovid has done a good job of hiding most of the complex stuff. I only use a few of the Calibre features, myself, along with four or five plug-ins.

Some of what he can do is limited by the tools he uses for cross platform development. His development platform is Linux, with the Mac and Windows versions being generated automatically from that. Which is why the Mac version does not look very Mac-like and the Windows version is not very Windowsy.

One of the features you may like is the Get Books function. You can search various sources like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Feedbooks, Gutenberg, Mobilread, and many others for books by author, title, etc. It will list the results and give price and DRM info. You can then download the books from within Calibre. I use this a lot, it's my first step in looking for a book.

Mike


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

jmiked said:


> I wish I could do that. My library is too big to fit on the space a free account has.
> 
> Mike


Mine too, but my husband had decided recently to go ahead and pay for additional storage. Then I found out about the Marvin reading app for iOS and started using it, and among its long list of wonderful features is its built-in link to Dropbox. So I held my breath and moved my Calibre library to Dropbox. It didn't all go smoothly, but it really is nice to have it all available from anywhere.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I guess I could move just the ePub ones to Dropbox. Those are the devices I mainly sync. 


Mike


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I moved my calibre database to Dropbox a couple of weeks ago (thanks to Marvin) and its working out nicely. 

There are quite a few ways to expand your Dropbox without paying. You can get an extra 3GB for uploading photos (I uploaded them, got my space and then deleted the pictures). Also through referrals (you can get up to 16GB free from referrals) plus a bit of extra space for linking it to Facebook and twitter. 

I'm maxed out at nearly 22 GB of space which is more than enough for all of my Calibre needs (and then some!)


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## charlie51923 (Mar 4, 2013)

7vn11vn said:


> I've never used Calibre before, but I just downloaded it because I've got tons of non-DRM EPUB books that I'd like to start converting to Mobi. I just tried it and I think it worked okay, but my question is about the files it generated. There are three....


If you like side-loading content to your Kindle, you might bebetter off skipping Calibre and just use Amazon's Advanced Previewer to make the mobi file. Simply drag & drop your epub file onto Previewer's window and it will convert it automatically with the standard c1 compression. Then side-load the mobi to Kindle in the regular way.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000765261


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## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

I've never heard of Previewer before. I'll check it out. Thank you!


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## Mark Philipson (Mar 9, 2013)

The .mobi file is the self contained zipped files that contains the .epub support files and directories. The .mobi file is an .epub with a few variants and different extension. The .mobi upload should work fine.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

pezerp said:


> The .mobi file is the self contained zipped files that contains the .epub support files and directories. The .mobi file is an .epub with a few variants and different extension. The .mobi upload should work fine.


I think the only time an epub file is included in a mobi file is when an epub is submitted to Amazon as source material. Both formats are then included in the azw file. If a book is submitted as html or such, then there is no epub in the mobi file.

It seems to be possible to now get a huge ebook file that has epub, mobi and the new azw3 format, all in one file.  

But I could be wrong.

Mike


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## Mark Philipson (Mar 9, 2013)

jmiked said:


> I think the only time an epub file is included in a mobi file is when an epub is submitted to Amazon as source material. Both formats are then included in the azw file. If a book is submitted as html or such, then there is no epub in the mobi file.
> 
> It seems to be possible to now get a huge ebook file that has epub, mobi and the new azw3 format, all in one file.
> 
> ...


The workflow I use is Word Precessor to plain text, convert plain text to .html With Multimarkdown, Generate .epub with Sigil, validate .epub and convert .epub to .mobi With Calibre. Sure fire.


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## charlie51923 (Mar 4, 2013)

Within the mobi container made by KindleGen is a mobi7, mobi8, and a zip folder with the source files. Inside the mobi8 is an epub (although it's useless for anything) plus on OBES folder that has the source files copied yet again.

Calibre is okay for making mobi files that are for personal use. However, Amazon started rejecting many Mobi files made by Calibre about six months ago if uploaded via KDP. It does a better job converting a mobi to an epub, but I still dislike the way it changes all your styles and plasters its name all over the CSS and HTML along with advertising itself in the meta-data. I don't use it for anything these days. For simpler non-KF8 books it's easiest to make the ePub first starting by converting a Word .doc or other text doc to .rtf and then working up an HTML version with a TOC, and CSS files by hand, then bringing into those into Sigil to break the HTML into chapters/sections and make the OPF and NCX files before saving as ePub. When I'm done, I just ditch the cover page and leave the cover photo loose in the image folder with the OPF pointing to it the way mobi files are supposed to be, save as a second ePub and drag that one onto Previewer to make the Mobi. Sometimes I'll use KindleGen instead if I want C2 compression, but that's hardly ever the case.


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## jeorekles (Mar 28, 2013)

I've never heard of Previewer . I'll check it. Thank you!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Mark Philipson said:


> The workflow I use is Word Precessor to plain text, convert plain text to .html With Multimarkdown, Generate .epub with Sigil, validate .epub and convert .epub to .mobi With Calibre. Sure fire.


That's similar to one method I use, which is to edit in OpenOffice, use a plugin to convert to ePub, then pop it into Sigil to have a cursory look at the code, then use Calibre to generate the .mobi.

Alternatively, I just import the OpenOffice .odt file directly into calibre and convert.

Mike


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I'll note that the OP appears to be asking for help with personal documents only -- anyone interested in conversion for uploading for PUBLISHING, should ask questions in the Cafe.  My impression is that Calibre was never meant to be a full featured publisher's tool.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> My impression is that Calibre was never meant to be a full featured publisher's tool.


It absolutely isn't.

Mike


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