How can I edit metadata (e.g., author's name) for a .mobi file?
August 21, 2013 9:09 PM Subscribe
So I've been downloading books to my iPad's Kindle app from Amazon, and also downloading from Project Gutenberg to my desktop PC and mailing them to my Kindle address to get them on the iPad. And I've got a small but annoying problem.
In the ebooks it sells from its site, Amazon lists the author as, for example, "Doyle, Arthur Conan," while the .mobi files from Project Gutenberg list the author as "Arthur Conan Doyle."
Thus the Amazon files sort under D for Doyle while the Project Gutenberg files show up under A for Arthur.
Is there a way to edit the .mobi files to change the author's names to match Amazon's format and get everybody's works to come together in the same place?
Calibre will do this and many other things besides. It is wonderful.
posted by jessamyn at 9:23 PM on August 21, 2013
posted by jessamyn at 9:23 PM on August 21, 2013
Oh hey everybody's got the Calibre links sorted. Okay then I'll just say - take the time to read the guide that comes with the program. It is actually helpful and readable!
posted by Mizu at 9:36 PM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Mizu at 9:36 PM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yes to Calibre which can do tons of nice things, but I also have a couple of other more lightweight tips that might help make things easier. First of all, try looking for your Gutenberg books on manybooks.net. They offer most free books, you can get them in various formats, including .mobi, they are more nicely formatted, and they already have the author metadata in the style you want (last name first).
Second, instead of mailing your files to your Kindle address to get them on your iPad, I find it much, much easier to use Amazon's Send to Kindle app, which allows you to right click on a (.mobi, .prc, or .azw) file on your computer and send to your iPad Kindle (as well as any other devices you have a Kindle reader app for, at the same time – you select which ones with checkboxes). At that point, you also have the option to edit the book title and author name.
I just tried this with Project Gutenberg's "Hound of the Baskervilles," and edited the author name from "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" to "Doyle, Arthur Conan," and that's how it showed up on my iPad.
The Send to Kindle app also allows you to choose to upload to the cloud at the same time as you send to your iPad, if you'd like to have it saved there – just check the little box where it says "Archive document in your Kindle library."
posted by taz at 2:07 AM on August 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
Second, instead of mailing your files to your Kindle address to get them on your iPad, I find it much, much easier to use Amazon's Send to Kindle app, which allows you to right click on a (.mobi, .prc, or .azw) file on your computer and send to your iPad Kindle (as well as any other devices you have a Kindle reader app for, at the same time – you select which ones with checkboxes). At that point, you also have the option to edit the book title and author name.
I just tried this with Project Gutenberg's "Hound of the Baskervilles," and edited the author name from "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" to "Doyle, Arthur Conan," and that's how it showed up on my iPad.
The Send to Kindle app also allows you to choose to upload to the cloud at the same time as you send to your iPad, if you'd like to have it saved there – just check the little box where it says "Archive document in your Kindle library."
posted by taz at 2:07 AM on August 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
I've had this problem with different titles sent from the same source: say you get two books by the same author, both come directly from Amazon, but one is sorted by the first name and the other by the last name.
My own solution? Group them by author. Under 'menu', go to 'create new collection'; name that collection whatever you want, then drop whatever books you choose in there. (You can drop the same book into multiple collections, fyi.)
posted by easily confused at 2:33 AM on August 22, 2013
My own solution? Group them by author. Under 'menu', go to 'create new collection'; name that collection whatever you want, then drop whatever books you choose in there. (You can drop the same book into multiple collections, fyi.)
posted by easily confused at 2:33 AM on August 22, 2013
I've never been impressed with the formatting of classics from Project Gutenberg. I love Feedbooks.com for all my public domain book needs since their chapter formatting is always consistent and correct.
posted by fantine at 5:34 AM on August 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by fantine at 5:34 AM on August 22, 2013 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I did check the archives before asking the question and came upon a question where the answers appeared to be saying that Calibre doesn't actually edit the file, but just sort of keeps track of how you want things displayed on its own. Thus you could edit metadata and Calibre itself would recognize your edits, but they would be lost when you transferred the file to another device.
Maybe they've upgraded it since then. Or maybe I just misunderstood the answers.
But either way, Calibre is a little more involved than I really want to get, and the Send to Kindle App works and is a very low impact way to get that specific job done. Had no idea they'd made something like that, so Shiny!
Also appreciate everyone's suggestions for better sites than Project Gutenberg itself to get their ebooks.
Once again, AskMe comes through. Thanks again!
posted by Naberius at 4:02 PM on August 22, 2013
Maybe they've upgraded it since then. Or maybe I just misunderstood the answers.
But either way, Calibre is a little more involved than I really want to get, and the Send to Kindle App works and is a very low impact way to get that specific job done. Had no idea they'd made something like that, so Shiny!
Also appreciate everyone's suggestions for better sites than Project Gutenberg itself to get their ebooks.
Once again, AskMe comes through. Thanks again!
posted by Naberius at 4:02 PM on August 22, 2013
In terms of Calibre changing the file, it can't (AFAIK) alter DRM'd amazon ebook files. It definitely can change metadata in non-DRM'd files from other sources. The key is re-converting the file once you make changes, even if you are just converting mobi to mobi. Then any changes you make will show up on your Kindle when you send over the file.
If I add a .mobi from FeedBooks or wherever and I change the cover, then I have to re-convert the file to get those changes to "stick" and change the actual file. Nothing changes in the actual ebook unless you re-convert.
Hope that makes sense - happy to clarify further. I use Calibre a lot!
posted by fantine at 8:59 AM on August 23, 2013
If I add a .mobi from FeedBooks or wherever and I change the cover, then I have to re-convert the file to get those changes to "stick" and change the actual file. Nothing changes in the actual ebook unless you re-convert.
Hope that makes sense - happy to clarify further. I use Calibre a lot!
posted by fantine at 8:59 AM on August 23, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
http://calibre-ebook.com/
posted by bluecore at 9:11 PM on August 21, 2013 [9 favorites]