Calibre: Free Epub Conversion Software

[Kyra]

Calibre's awesome. I use it to manage ebooks, and also used it to convert a bunch of online fanfics I was reading into mobi when I first got my Kindle (I hate reading on my computer). It'll also load books on and off of your ereading device with just a click.

For conversion, you can run all kinds of formats through there, though probably the best thing to start with is a clean HTML file (without lots of junk code in it) followed by a clean DOCX (thought it takes DOC, but it doesn't).

I use it in conjunction with another free program called Sigil (http://sigil.en.softonic.com/) to produce ebooks. Sigil has a what-you-see-is-what-you-get interface for fine-tuning your formatting and presentation and is also easy to convert HTML files with if that's what you use, but for some reason my covers were coming out 4x too big when I put them in with Sigil. seriously, you could only see the top left quadrant of the cover. So I produce the epub in Sigil (from HTML), then run it through Calibre (epub-->epub conversion) to put the cover on (you have to make sure, on the conversion tools, you select epub output and then "maintain cover aspect ratio" or else your cover image comes out distorted). The resulting product is what I put through Kindlegen (by way of the Kindle Previewer) to produce the mobi file I upload to Amazon, and the formatting comes out really nice, never had any problems with it.

sorry for rambling, I'm kind of a formatting-conversion nerd :P

[Kyra]

Oh, and I used Calibre to convert the RandR epub you sent me of your book to mobi and it came out great :)

[Amanda]

Antonio wrote: "Hey all, I just discovered an application called Calibre that purports to covert text files into Epub, Mobi, and other formats. It's free to download. Here's the link for the Windows version, but t..."

It takes a little fooling around, but, once you get the hang of it, it does work and is a handy program when you need/want to convert files.

[Elaina]

Kyra wrote: "Calibre's awesome. I use it to manage ebooks, and also used it to convert a bunch of online fanfics I was reading into mobi when I first got my Kindle (I hate reading on my computer). It'll also lo..."

My problem with Sigil is that it refused to install if I didn't accept the spammy toolbar and homepage change it wanted to make to my browser. I don't install that stuff and won't install software that insists upon it. Is there a cleaner install that doesn't placed unwanted software on your machine?

[G.G.]

That's strange because I don't install toolbars either and I installed Sigil without problems. However, I've had it for a year now, they may have changed, like Calibre did. I didn't have to create an account with credit card etc when I first got it and now it seems you do.

[Kyra]

Elaina wrote: "Kyra wrote: "Calibre's awesome. I use it to manage ebooks, and also used it to convert a bunch of online fanfics I was reading into mobi when I first got my Kindle (I hate reading on my computer). ..."

I didn't have those problems either with Sigil, and I installed it less than a year ago. Hmm.

[Kyra]

ok, I just this moment downloaded and installed the latest version of Sigil from CNET, and it worked perfectly, no toolbars or anything, and it didn't ask me to register an account or enter a credit card number or anything else, either.

http://download.cnet.com/Sigil/3000-2...

[Kyra]

Anyway, the Sigil stuff is kind of a derail, sorry. Calibre does give good results from an RTF file. I use HTML to get some fancier formatting effects (like smallcaps and no indents on the first paragraphs of chapters) but I bet you could set those up in the RTF file and have them convert over.

[Baine]

I love Calibre, We use it to test our eBooks before sending them to the eStores. It is great for converting formats and sideloading everything from physical ebook devices to eReader apps.

Kyra, Thanks for the tip on Sigil, I'll have to have my IT guy take a look at it for me.

[Elaina]

Kyra wrote: "ok, I just this moment downloaded and installed the latest version of Sigil from CNET, and it worked perfectly, no toolbars or anything, and it didn't ask me to register an account or enter a credi..."

I'll try the CNET link, then, thanks! It might have been the mirror site that added the toolbar, etc onto the executable before.