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Back Calibre Quick Start Guide Save as PDF
Chapters (10)
  1. Introduction
  2. The Main Library Window, aka the GUI
  3. Common Tasks
  4. Task 1: Organizing
  5. Task 2: Conversion
  6. Task 3: The e-book editor
  7. Task 4: Downloading news
  8. Task 5: Interacting with e-book readers
  9. Task 6: The e-book viewer
  10. Where to get help

Another major reason for the proliferation of e-book formats is exclusivity. Many vendors like to control their own proprietary format so they are not dependent on outside companies. They also have the benefit of being able to license their format for use by others. Finally, controlling the format allows them to lock users into their platform. E-books, being relatively new, are undergoing the same growing pains that Betamax and VHS or HD-DVD and Blu-Ray went though. The EPUB format, from the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), is an industry standard intended to reduce these problems.

2.3: Conversion basics

The first thing you need to do is find out what formats your e-book reader supports. The Kindle supports AZW3, MOBI, PRC, AZW1, TPZ, PDF and TXT. The Kobo supports EPUB, PDF, MOBI, RTF, CBZ, CBR, and TXT. The Nook supports EPUB, and PDF. Don’t let this scare or confuse you; all of the major e-book readers support multiple formats. Even with this jumble of letters, you only need to worry about the preferred format for the e-book reader. This preferred format is the one that gives the best formatting. As I mentioned earlier for the Kindle, you really only need to worry about AZW3. For the Kobo and Nook you only need to worry about EPUB. However, it is a good idea to be aware of all of the supported formats because it wouldn’t make sense to convert a MOBI to AZW3 for reading on your Kindle because the Kindle can already read MOBI. Conversion is only necessary to fill in the gaps. For example, if you want to read an EPUB on your Kindle you can convert the EPUB to AZW3.

2.4 Auto conversion

  1. Open Calibre and select the e-book to convert in the library list.
  2. Connect your e-book reader to your computer. Calibre will take a moment to detect and scan your e-book reader.
  3. Click the ‘Send to device’ button in the top tool bar.
  4. Calibre is smart enough to know if the book is in a format supported by your reader. If it’s not, calibre will ask you if you want to auto convert. Say yes, and calibre will take care of the conversion and put the book on your reader.

That’s all there is to it. Doing it is easier than it sounds because all you need to do is select the book you want on your device and click ‘Send to device.’ Calibre worries about the formats and converting for you.

2.5: More robust conversion