Starting with version 1.19, Kindle for PC (and Kindle for Mac) often uses the new KFX format, which is incompatible with calibre. These books will appear in a subdirectory of the 'My Kindle Content' folder, will import into calibre as 'AZW' format, and will fail to convert with the error: 'KFXError: This is an Amazon KFX book. Step 1: Download and install Kindle for PC and Calibre for Windows on your computer. Once you have installed these tools, launch the Kindle app for Windows and download the books you would like to. Calibre Companion (CC), recommended by calibre developers, is three applications in one: - a superb device-based calibre library organiser - a high-performance WiFi-based calibre device emulator - a calibre content server and cloud provider client (Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive) 1) CC is a device.
Post updated on 22nd March, 2013
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 and above.
The simplest way to remove the DRM from your ebooks is to use calibre and the DeDRM calibre plugin, as described in my post DeDRM plugin for calibre: the simplest option for removing DRM from most ebooks. If you don’t want to use calibre, for whatever reason, here is an alternative.
The DeDRM application identifies an ebook’s format, and then removes the DRM from that ebook by running the appropriate DRM removal python script.
Installing the DeDRM Application
Mac OS X 10.4 only: Install Python 2.7.3
- Download Python 2.7.3 from python.org and, if necessary, mount the disk image file by double-clicking it.
- Run the Python.mpkg application from the disk image, accepting all defaults.
Install the DeDRM application
- Download the latest tools zip archive (link in this post).
- Unzip the tools archive (by double-clicking it).
- Open the folder “DeDRM_Application_Macintosh” that’s in the unzipped tools folder.
- Read the “DeDRM ReadMe.rtf” file that’s in the “DeDRM_Application_Macintosh” folder!
- Drag the “DeDRM.app” application to your “Applications” folder or wherever is convenient for you.
- If you wish, drag the “DeDRM.app” application into your Dock to make is easily accessible.
Using the DeDRM Application
To remove DRM from a Kindle for Mac or an Adobe Digital Edition ebook, just drag & drop the ebook file onto the application when it is not running.
For other ebooks, you will need to enter some extra information. Run the DeDRM application by double-clicking it to access the configuration dialogs.
To remove DRM from several ebooks or folders of ebooks at once, just drag & drop the files and folders onto the DeDRM application when it is not running.
Notes
eReader ebooks: The output from an encrypted eReader file is a .pmlz zip file of the unencypted PML and images. If you have DropBook, a free application available from http://www.ereader.com/ereader/software/browse.htm installed on your Mac, DropBook will be used to also produce an unencrypted eReader file. Sometimes there are problems compiling the decode PML file using DropBook. In such a case, Calibre can also import the PMLZ file and convert to other formats. N.B. The DropBook application will not run on Mac OS X 10.7 and later.
Amazon Topaz ebooks: Some Amazon Kindle ebooks are in a format known as Topaz. This AppleScript will remove the DRM from the Topaz files, but to allow the file to be converted into other formats, the Topaz format must be converted during the de-drming process. The end result is that you end up with two files from one Topaz format ebook. One is the text (& pictures) of the book in HTML format created from the OCR text that’s stored in the Topaz file. Another is a set of SVG page images which very closely resemble the pages of the book the Topaz file was created from. For most purposes, you’ll only need the HTML file, but if the OCR is poor, you might want to unzip the folder of SVG images to check the pages or convert them to an image based PDF file.
Anti-Piracy Notice
Please only use this application for gaining full access to your own ebooks for archiving/converson/convenience. De-drmed ebooks should not be uploaded to open servers, torrents, or other methods of mass distribution. No help will be given to people doing such things. Authors, retailers and publishers all need to make a living, so that they can continue to produce books for us to read. Don’t be a parasite.
About the Macintosh DeDRM Application
This application is written in AppleScript, and can be opened and edited using the AppleScript Script Editor.
— Alf.
The Amazon Kindle is a great ebook reader, but it's tightly tied to Amazon's ecosystem. If you have a Kindle Fire or a smartphone, you can download other e-reading apps to beef up your library, but with the E Ink Kindles (including the , the , and the ), you're pretty much tied to getting your content directly from Amazon.
Well, sort of. Using a bit of free software, you can take ebooks in the EPUB, Mobi, and PDF formats and zap them over to your Kindle lickety-split. Here's how to do it.
To get your Kindle's email address, go to www.amazon.com/myk using your PC's Web browser. Tap on 'Your Devices,' then choose the relevant Kindle from the gallery below. Next to 'Email,' you'll find the Kindle's email address.
Now click 'Settings' and scroll all the way down to the 'approved personal document e-mail list.' Click 'add a new approved e-mail address,' and add the email address you intend to send your books from.
Remember, your Kindle needs to be attached to a Wi-Fi or 3G network for this to work. It doesn't have to be your home network, of course; you can go to a coffee shop or a public library, for instance.
![Calibre For Kindle Mac Calibre For Kindle Mac](/uploads/1/1/9/8/119875427/103967933.png)
Mobi Format
Good news: If your books are in the Mobi format, they're already readable by the Kindle. Attach the .mobi file to an email, send it to your Kindle's email address (with any subject, and no body in the email), and it should appear on your Kindle shortly.
Good news: If your books are in the Mobi format, they're already readable by the Kindle. Attach the .mobi file to an email, send it to your Kindle's email address (with any subject, and no body in the email), and it should appear on your Kindle shortly.
PDF Format
Amazon can automatically convert PDFs into the Kindle format, but you get two formatting choices. If you want your Kindle to display every page in the PDF as if it were a graphic, just email the .pdf file to your Kindle's address without a subject line. That will maintain the formatting and graphics, but the font size may be too small to read.
Amazon can automatically convert PDFs into the Kindle format, but you get two formatting choices. If you want your Kindle to display every page in the PDF as if it were a graphic, just email the .pdf file to your Kindle's address without a subject line. That will maintain the formatting and graphics, but the font size may be too small to read.
Your other option is to attach the .pdf file to an email, and make the subject line 'convert'--just that word. Send it to your Kindle email address and your PDF will be converted into a Mobi file, where you can control the font size and formatting. The graphics will still be in there as well, but you'll lose the layout of the original PDF.
EPUB Format
EPUB is a common ebook format around the Web, but the Kindle can't read it natively. That's OK; you can convert .epub files to Mobi files for the Kindle to read.
EPUB is a common ebook format around the Web, but the Kindle can't read it natively. That's OK; you can convert .epub files to Mobi files for the Kindle to read.
The key is a free piece of software called Calibre. Calibre can reformat almost any kind of ebook for almost any ebook reader, although cracking the copy protection on books purchased from Amazon or certain other stores is forbidden.
Calibre is available for both Windows and Mac PCs. When you set up the software, it asks you for your model of ebook reader, and suggests sending the books by email. Unfortunately, Calibre's own email system was all screwed up when I tried it. You'll just have to send them manually.
How To Use Calibre For Kindle
Once you set up Calibre, click on 'Add books,' and pick out the free ebook files you've downloaded. They'll appear in the Calibre library. Now click on an entry in your Calibre library and choose 'convert books' from the top bar. In the upper right hand corner, make sure the 'output format' is 'MOBI.' Click OK, and wait until the 'Jobs' number at the lower right of the main screen goes from 1 down to 0.
Now select the title again and click 'Save to disk.' Pick the folder you want to save it in. It'll create a subfolder with the name of the author. In Explorer or Finder, drill into that folder until you find the juicy Mobi file within, which you can email to your Kindle as above.
So Where Do I Get Free Ebooks?
Calibre actually has a good 'get books' metasearch function, but you need to know exactly what you're looking for; it's not for browsing.
Calibre actually has a good 'get books' metasearch function, but you need to know exactly what you're looking for; it's not for browsing.
If you belong to a U.S. public library, try downloading the Overdrive Media Console. Available for both Windows and Mac PCs, it hooks into public library catalogs and lets you download Kindle books through Amazon. You can find your library's Overdrive Web site at www.overdrive.com, and the Overdrive send-to-Kindle instructions are here.
If you want classics, a great place to start is Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, which has been around basically as long as the Internet, has nearly 50,000 copyright-free ebooks. Open Library has even more downloadable books; it also has a lending system that doesn't work with Kindles. For historical and academic texts, check out archive.org.
Calibre Mac Kindle Paperwhite
Goodreads has about 2,500 more recent free books available, and they're even mostly in Mobi format. ManyBooks.net mixes classics and self-published titles, with around 30,000 in its library. You'll find more classics and self-published works at FeedBooks. There's also Free-Ebooks.net, but frankly, the stuff up there looks really awful. (Not dishonest or anything, just bad books.) If you like science fiction, the publisher Baen also has a set of free ebooks.
Some bookstores use copy protection that doesn't work with Kindles. Unfortunately, that's the case for Google Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.
Also, remember, text files and Word documents can be emailed to your Kindle, too! Just send them to your Kindle's email address and enjoy.