# Can I edit the title/author of books listed as "unknown"?



## MmmmBalf (Sep 11, 2010)

Hello all, I'm new to the world of Kindle, having just received my K3.  My wife also has a K3.  I tried a search for this question but without success.

On my wife's Kindle, she has a bunch of books that come up as "unknown" title and author.  These are books possibly converted from pdf, not purchased through Amazon.  It's obviously annoying since you can't tell what they are without opening them.  Is there a way of editing the title and author of a file on the Kindle?

Thanks
Michael.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I believe all you need to do with such a file is change the file name to "Book Name - Author Name.mobi" (or whatever the file suffix is.


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## MmmmBalf (Sep 11, 2010)

The files in question already have that type of file name.  If you plug the Kindle into the computer, and look at the documents on it, the file name will be for example Stephanie Meyer - Twilight.azw  But on the home page on the Kindle, all it says is "unknown"

I can't figure out what's wrong.  They're converted pdf files using Stanza.

Any ideas?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

MmmmBalf said:


> The files in question already have that type of file name. If you plug the Kindle into the computer, and look at the documents on it, the file name will be for example Stephanie Meyer - Twilight.azw But on the home page on the Kindle, all it says is "unknown"
> 
> I can't figure out what's wrong. They're converted pdf files using Stanza.
> 
> Any ideas?


The AZW files may be handled differently, getting the data from the file itself. I'm not sure if Calibre can modify that, perhaps? (There are several Calibre "power users" around here, so hopefully someone smarter than me will know.  )


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

MmmmBalf said:


> The files in question already have that type of file name. If you plug the Kindle into the computer, and look at the documents on it, the file name will be for example Stephanie Meyer - Twilight.azw But on the home page on the Kindle, all it says is "unknown"
> 
> I can't figure out what's wrong. They're converted pdf files using Stanza.
> 
> Any ideas?


You need to change the metadata, that's where the info is that Kindle uses. It doesn't care what the filename is.

Stanza won't change metadata on MOBI/AZW files. It's primarily an ePub reader (where it _will_ change metadata).

Your best bet is to get Calibre (a freeware, open-source ebook database program). It will edit metadata, do format conversions, and provide a database/library for your ebooks. Be sure and watch the demo video on the home page at: http://calibre-ebook.com/

Mike


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## MmmmBalf (Sep 11, 2010)

Thanks so much for your help, we'll see how it goes  

Cheers
Michael


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## MmmmBalf (Sep 11, 2010)

Ok, Calibre is awesome.    Fixed the problem & so easy to use!  An easy way to manage ebooks.

Thank you very much for the info.

Regards
Michael.


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## danio13 (Dec 22, 2021)

I tried this too, but still came up as unknown


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