Pages to EPUB conversion issue

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Pages to EPUB conversion issue

There is a little image (the letters OBJ inside a dashed box) against the photos in my Mobi Ebook when viewed using the Kindle app on iOS devices but not MacOS machines. I've yet to test a PC environment.

The conversion was from Pages to EPUB then from EPUB to Mobi using Zamzar. I've also been advised that the EPUB viewed on an old Sony reader shows a little box with a cross in it against the photos.

I've seen a previous reference to this OBJ image problem (Dec 2016) but that fix, provided in Pages, is not suitable for reflowable text. That fix was: In Format Sidebar, click on Arrange and under 'Object Placement' select "Stay on page". Reflowable text needs the "Move with text" option. My Mobi (and EPUB) Ebooks would look more professional without that little image. Can anyone help? Thanks.

iMac 21.5", 10.14

Posted on Nov 3, 2019 6:27 PM

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Answer 1

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gill243 Author

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Nov 6, 2019 11:45 AM in response to VikingOSX

Thank you, very helpful advice. I found I could add my source Word document to Calibre and after a bit of tweaking create EPUB and Mobi ebooks. So far so good - happily no sign now of the little OBJ image in iOS.

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Answer 2

Nov 4, 2019 6:36 AM in response to gill243

You should be looking at the free, 64-bit Calibre, which is in its 10th year, and compatible with Mojave or later with the current version. I exported a Pages v8.2 document to PDF, and then dropped that PDF into Calibre, and then requested it convert to ebook. It wrote out a compatible Apple Books ePub. Calibre also supports numerous other output formats including old and new mobi formats, and kindle directly. Those are configurable through its Preferences panel.

I suggest you export your Pages content to PDF, and see if Calibre can eliminate the Zamzar step which may be introducing that icon obj gibberish.

Although the excellent Vellum ebook generator is free, a lifetime book publish to multiple ebook formats with one button press is not. Vellum expects Word .docx as input, and allows you to model how your ebook would look on multiple devices by changing fonts and styles.

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Answer 3

Nov 6, 2019 1:20 PM in response to gill243

Remember, I mentioned that Caliber 4.20 can take a PDF exported from Pages and create ePub and Mobi ebooks from that too. Avoids any translation intrigue from Pages to Word .docx. Just need the right tools… 😎

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Answer 4

gill243 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 6, 2019 2:18 PM in response to VikingOSX

Yes, thank you, but I didn't go that route because my original document/book is in Word and I thought the less conversions the better. Thanks very much for your help - I was tearing my hair out over those little OBJ's. My current EPUB/Mobi conversions are looking very good on Mac and iOS and Kindle. I am hoping that testing will show the Calibre conversions also behave on other devices. 😊

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Answer 5

Nov 6, 2019 2:44 PM in response to gill243

Microsoft also mentioned in their release notes for Mac Word 16.30 that one can now open a PDF in Word, and convert it to .docx. I don't have Word, but that would be something to see.

Also, open your Word .docx in Vellum, to profile what the epub would look like in various formats. They only charge to generate the ebooks.

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Answer 6

gill243 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 7, 2019 2:21 AM in response to VikingOSX

Thank you, a very helpful tip. It will be useful to do as my EPUB is suffering a bit from photo/caption dislocation - a common problem I understand.

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Pages to EPUB conversion issue

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