Hi, long-time Scrivener user here (c.2009). Huge fan. I tell every writer I know to buy your products.
I rely on the compile to .mobi to directly transfer my files (via a USB-C cable) to my Kindle Paperwhite for review in an iterative editing process, and since Kindle will not acknowledge an .epub directly dropped onto the drive, the removal of this option requires me to take an extra step every single time I want to update copy for review. I may do this dozens, if not hundreds, of times a day. I do not want to use “send to kindle” to convert the format or run my intellectual property through Amazon’s hands or accrue delays. I usually use my Kindle without registering it, disconnecting it from the internet, to protect my intellectual property from misappropriation by big tech.
I avidly support your company, in part, because you are not tied into big tech, and I trust you to not harvest my intellectual property without my knowledge or consent.
Please restore the .mobi export format option. It would save me so much grief. I understand that I could work around it. I’m asking for mercy. Don’t put me through the ceaseless hassle.
If I’ve missed something that would resolve the problem and return this to a one-click export situation—which I am accustomed to, and which delighted me for years—please advise me.
Thank you for your lovely product and years of excellent service.
Would txt be a possible workaround? Of course then you would loose all formatting.
And about a decade and many Kindle software updates ago, there was a neat trick: Save to html and change the extension to txt, before you send it to the Kindle. Then the Kindle would display it as rich text. Don’t ask me who had come up with that. But I can assure you, it did work. I have not tried it for a long time, though.
Thank you for the suggestion. I can use Calibre to convert the file entirely, the issue is the extra step, having to run it through a separate system every time I want to review changes as opposed to directly exporting it and having it be intact and readable. This is a 200,000+ word document in progress, and I absolutely need my structure and formatting intact.
I don’t care if it’s .mobi format particularly—I see that the formats have changed since I last researched this and .mobi is obsolete. Any natively supported Kindle format would be fine—like .Azw3 format. I just want to be able to plug in, compile and export, unplug, and go, without hitting a secondary program or process.
It’s one of the three tools I’ll use for troubleshooting ebook help tickets. I pair it with Calibre and Sigil. And occasionally Apple Books on my Mac if needed.
Thank you. Again, that’s sensible, but still a workaround, extra steps, totally doable, but adds x1000000 seconds lost over time due to my specific creative process, and also puts my intellectual property closer to Amazon’s hands. I just want the option restored. I am content with my setup.
Edit to add: I benefit enormously from viewing the copy on the separate screen, on the Kindle. Rereading, I think you were suggesting that I review copy on the laptop? My brain needs the switch between these specific devices. It helps me so much.
I had to try this. And as expected—because Amazon makes anything involving sideloading worse and worse—the trick to rename html to txt and keep the formatting does not work anymore. At least with the latest software. If you have an (significantly?) older Kindle it might be worth a try.
How about you set up a Compile format specifically for Kindle, maybe Markdown, but with a txt file extension? That might work with just text, no images, probably no tables and no footnotes. I suppose you would have to tinker with the Compile format for a while until you get something close to what you want. But once it is set up you could transfer the compiled text directly to your Kindle without any intermediate step.
Another idea, and probably not a good one, would be compiling to PDF. PDF on the Kindle is no fun when it comes to moving and zooming a page. So to make this at least 1/8 decent you would have to compile to a page format of the size of the Kindle screen so you could read the pages in a 1:1 ratio. And still you—again that word—probably would get the flickering screen refresh after every page. (By the way, you could highlight parts of the PDF on the Kindle, but if you transferred it back to your computer, you would loose the highlights. Amazon …)
Compiling Markdown might work! I’ll test exporting different formats and see if any of them work natively and can be coaxed into submission through Scrivener’s formatting options. I don’t have any images, tables, or footnotes, thankfully. Thank you for this suggestion! I’ll report back once I cool down my steaming hot brain.
Is it actually the different screen that your brain needs or just that the text looks different? It is a well known phenomenon that the latter can help when reviewing a text. I remember there once was a version of iA Writer that worked with, I guess, three different fonts: One for writing a text, one for just reading, and another one for editing.
With Scrivener that can be easily done with Compile. My output, for instance, is mostly docx with Times New Roman, because that works almost everywhere. When writing I use a whole different font, font size, line width, etc. And when I check the Times New Roman docx I will always find typoes I have overlooked while writing. And not because my writing font is difficult to read, quite the opposite. It’s just the different view angle, so to speak, that helps.
Of course, if you want the Kindle because its e-ink screen is easier on the eyes that is totally understandable.
Yes, I need the e-ink screen and the physical format change. It just helps. I enjoy it.
I just tried .docx, .rtf, .txt, and .html files. The only one that works—natively—is the .txt, which loses all formatting. The others do not show up at all when I open my kindle, even though they are physically on the drive, and in the correct location. They are ghosts.
This is really a plea to the developers to re-add a native kindle export option into the compile process.