Does Amazon not provide any further information on the matter? I just tried creating an ePub3 using basic default metadata settings (I only added my name as author), and then ran ePubCheck on the .epub file. It tests as valid, so it’s hard to say what Amazon thinks is wrong with it, especially if all they say is that it isn’t “properly structured”.
[code]Validating using EPUB version 3.2 rules.
No errors or warnings detected.
Messages: 0 fatals / 0 errors / 0 warnings / 0 infos
EPUBCheck completed[/code]
I don’t have Kindle Previewer installed on my test PC at the moment, so I cannot test that integration precisely, but if I take that same ePub file and drop it into Previewer on my Mac, it opens it up just fine. Likewise, if I use the embedded version of KindleGen found inside Previewer on the file. Here is the output log from that:
Amazon kindlegen(MAC OSX) V2.9 build 0000-kdevbld
A command line e-book compiler
Copyright Amazon.com and its Affiliates 2015
Info(prcgen):I1047: Added metadata dc:Title “epub_validity”
Info(prcgen):I1047: Added metadata dc:Creator “AmberV”
Info(prcgen):I1002: Parsing files 0000003
Info(prcgen):I1015: Building PRC file
Info(prcgen):I1006: Resolving hyperlinks
Info(prcgen):I1008: Resolving start reading location
Warning(prcgen):W14016: Cover not specified
Info(pagemap):I8000: No Page map found in the book
Info(prcgen):I1045: Computing UNICODE ranges used in the book
Info(prcgen):I1046: Found UNICODE range: Basic Latin [20…7E]
Info(prcgen):I1046: Found UNICODE range: General Punctuation - Windows 1252 [2013…2014]
Info(prcgen):I1017: Building PRC file, record count: 0000008
Info(prcgen):I1039: Final stats - text compressed to (in % of original size): 44.16%
Info(prcgen):I1040: The document identifier is: “epub_validity”
Info(prcgen):I1041: The file format version is V6
Info(prcgen):I1031: Saving PRC file
Info(prcgen):I1033: PRC built with WARNINGS!
Info(prcgen):I1016: Building enhanced PRC file
Info(prcgen):I1007: Resolving mediaidlinks
Info(prcgen):I1011: Writing mediaidlinks
Info(prcgen):I1009: Resolving guide items
Info(prcgen):I1046: Found UNICODE range: General Punctuation - other than Windows 1252 [203B…206F]
Info(prcgen):I1017: Building PRC file, record count: 0000010
Info(prcgen):I1039: Final stats - text compressed to (in % of original size): 44.58%
Info(prcgen):I1041: The file format version is V8
Info(prcgen):I1032: PRC built successfully
Info(prcgen):I15000: Approximate Standard Mobi Deliverable file size : 0000026KB
Info(prcgen):I15001: Approximate KF8 Deliverable file size : 0000031KB
Info(prcgen):I1037: Mobi file built with WARNINGS![/code]
There are some non-critical warnings, some just because this is a quick test like having no cover page, but nothing that halts the production of a .mobi file.
Maybe make sure you’re up to date with your Amazon tools as well, if those haven’t been checked in a while.
I’d also suggest downloading and running some of these tools yourself to get better diagnostic data than what Amazon is giving. It might help pin down the nature of the problem.
No, they were pretty vague on what the problem was, but I think it’s because the language in the compiler keeps reverting to Fijian. I had reset it to English and assumed it was still set that way in the Metadata section, but it had reset again. I just got the file to work in Kindle Previewer 3 or Kindlegen, whatever they’re calling it these days, so I’ll test it in the dashboard and that works, we’re all good.
I’m not sure why the language in the options is English, and the Compiler is Fijian, but that’s whatever. As long as I know I need to add checking that to my list of things to do before compiling, I’m good.
ETA: That worked and it seems to be holding this time, so it was probably a transient glitch.
Hmm, I have yet to see that happen, it’s always set to English for me when I create test projects. It could be a specific issue that crept in over time as things changed in the beta, i.e. not something that would show up in the next new project you create, more of a one-off problem.
It’s a setting that indicates the language that the book itself was written in, not how the software, used to write it, works. So it wouldn’t be odd to have a mismatch per se, someone might prefer to use software in its native language but still write books in Portuguese or whatever. What is odd is that the setting shouldn’t get lost every other time you compile.
Fingers crossed it doesn’t, but if it comes back and you wanted to dig a little deeper into what is going on:
Navigate to the project folder in Explorer, and drill down into the Settings folder.
Open the “compile.xml” file in a plain-text editor.
Search for “EbookLanguage”. With the compiler setting on “English”, you should see this:
<EbookLanguage>en</EbookLanguage>
If that’s what is in the file but it comes up with Fijian anyway, it may be worth sending the .xml file in to support so we can take a look at it.