warning error during compile

[jwnelson]

Although it does not appear to affect the results of the compile to .mobi, I wanted to share this screen image of the warning panel that opens just prior to the "finished" OK panel. I did not see any subject lines that looked like this issue and wanted to be sure the coders were aware of it.
thanks!
John

[MimeticMouton]

It looks like you've got some images in your compiling documents that have invalid characters in their names, which is causing a problem during the conversion (and will cause a problem for the EPUB when you try to open it, too, though it doesn't give a warning during compile). There's a bug in 1.7.0.5, maybe in a few earlier betas too, where images included in imported Word documents ended up with invalid names, and an earlier bug, since fixed in the public betas I believe, where linked images would revert to an invalid name when the project was closed and reopened.

You can edit the image names in your project by right-clicking the image and choosing "Edit Image", then giving it a new name. In 1.7.0.5 your new name should stick, but let us know if you have a case where it doesn't.

[jwnelson]

Many THANKS! To be sure I understand you, you are suggesting that I change the filename of any image in my compiled documents? Since the cover page is the only image in the compile list, I will assume that it is the culprit. (Despite the error, Kindle Previewer displays the cover and everything else correctly.)
best regards and thanks for a great piece of software,
JohnN

It looks like you've got some images in your compiling documents that have invalid characters in their names, which is causing a problem during the conversion (and will cause a problem for the EPUB when you try to open it, too, though it doesn't give a warning during compile). There's a bug in 1.7.0.5, maybe in a few earlier betas too, where images included in imported Word documents ended up with invalid names, and an earlier bug, since fixed in the public betas I believe, where linked images would revert to an invalid name when the project was closed and reopened.

You can edit the image names in your project by right-clicking the image and choosing "Edit Image", then giving it a new name. In 1.7.0.5 your new name should stick, but let us know if you have a case where it doesn't.

[MimeticMouton]

Hm, no, I really meant that if you had images inserted inline in your text documents, you'd want to check the image names on those. It sounds like that's not the problem, if you've only got a cover image. If you compile to EPUB and then run a validation on that (in Sigil or via EPUB Validator), do you get any warnings or errors?

[jwnelson]

Hm, no, I really meant that if you had images inserted inline in your text documents, you'd want to check the image names on those. It sounds like that's not the problem, if you've only got a cover image. If you compile to EPUB and then run a validation on that (in Sigil or via EPUB Validator), do you get any warnings or errors?

Great question (and I should have followed up with that before being asked). I compiled an .epub file for a friend and I did not receive a similar error message.
Allow me to add an unrelated comment: the Custom Meta-data option is superb and adds value to both the outliner and the corkboard.

[MimeticMouton]

Glad you're enjoying the custom meta-data!

Okay, so the warning report you're seeing is specifically created by KindleGen during the conversion process from EPUB--basically, Scrivener creates an EPUB in your Temp folder and then feeds it to KindleGen to create the .mobi at the location you chose; the temp EPUB file is then deleted. Could you try recreating the process by compiling to EPUB from Scrivener, and then opening that EPUB file in Kindle Previewer? Previewer will convert it to .mobi via its own copy of KindleGen and will give you the option of viewing the full log of any errors and warnings, so we can see if that hits the same problem and offers any more specifics.

[jwnelson]

Glad you're enjoying the custom meta-data!

Okay, so the warning report you're seeing is specifically created by KindleGen during the conversion process from EPUB--basically, Scrivener creates an EPUB in your Temp folder and then feeds it to KindleGen to create the .mobi at the location you chose; the temp EPUB file is then deleted. Could you try recreating the process by compiling to EPUB from Scrivener, and then opening that EPUB file in Kindle Previewer? Previewer will convert it to .mobi via its own copy of KindleGen and will give you the option of viewing the full log of any errors and warnings, so we can see if that hits the same problem and offers any more specifics.

I opened the epub file (that I generated for my friend) in the Kindle Previewer and I have attached a TXT file that I think/hope contains what you asked for. Thanks again!
John

PS: what do I do when my beta copy "shuts off" on May 17??

[MimeticMouton]

Thanks for this. Do you happen to have a sample project that produces the error, maybe a stripped-down version of your main project? I'd really like to get to the bottom of it, but the KindleGen warning alone isn't much to go on.

[jwnelson]

Thanks for this. Do you happen to have a sample project that produces the error, maybe a stripped-down version of your main project? I'd really like to get to the bottom of it, but the KindleGen warning alone isn't much to go on.

Let me see if I can get this error to pop with a smaller project when I can carve out some time to do it properly. Also, I need to test against the latest beta version, which I downloaded yesterday.

[jwnelson]

Thanks for this. Do you happen to have a sample project that produces the error, maybe a stripped-down version of your main project? I'd really like to get to the bottom of it, but the KindleGen warning alone isn't much to go on.

Jennifer,
I took the same Scrivener file and used the 1.7.0.6 beta version. When I tried to .mobi compile the complete novel (~80000 words) I received that error message, but when I only tried to compile a few chapters, I did not receive the error message. Does that help at all?
John

[MimeticMouton]

The problem is probably with a setting in a particular file in combination with the whole...e.g. there's a bug where images in documents before a page break (anywhere before a page break) do not compile correctly to epub/mobi, though images *after* the final page break are fine, and any images used both before and after will be fine (since the last one is fine, and they all link to the same exported image file on compile). So any individual file in this case is fine, and if there aren't page breaks set they're fine, and if all the images happen to occur after the page break, they're fine...

Mainly I was hoping to get a sample project that I could poke at with a stick for a while to figure out which pieces are playing badly together.

[jwnelson]

Wish I could be more helpful. Other than the novel's cover image for .mobi (and .epub), there are no images in any of my folders or files. For what it's worth, all my "page break befores" are folder-based (my folders = chapters). Would/could storing this Scrivener /directory on Dropbox be an issue?
JohnN

The problem is probably with a setting in a particular file in combination with the whole...e.g. there's a bug where images in documents before a page break (anywhere before a page break) do not compile correctly to epub/mobi, though images *after* the final page break are fine, and any images used both before and after will be fine (since the last one is fine, and they all link to the same exported image file on compile). So any individual file in this case is fine, and if there aren't page breaks set they're fine, and if all the images happen to occur after the page break, they're fine...

Mainly I was hoping to get a sample project that I could poke at with a stick for a while to figure out which pieces are playing badly together.

[MimeticMouton]

Dropbox wouldn't be an issue. I don't know that the images are actually involved in this case either--that was my original supposition just based on it being a media error and the characters in the filename, which looked like the old bug I mentioned in that earlier post. My example just now about the images and page breaks was just by way of demonstrating how all the different pieces work together to trigger a bug, not because I thought it was the problem you're seeing.

Well, if it comes up again, we'll see if we can find any common factors to narrow the field.

[jwnelson]

Okay! From what I could see, it did not effect the final .mobi file. Thanks!

Dropbox wouldn't be an issue. I don't know that the images are actually involved in this case either--that was my original supposition just based on it being a media error and the characters in the filename, which looked like the old bug I mentioned in that earlier post. My example just now about the images and page breaks was just by way of demonstrating how all the different pieces work together to trigger a bug, not because I thought it was the problem you're seeing.

Well, if it comes up again, we'll see if we can find any common factors to narrow the field.

[tiho_d]

Hi jwnelson! The message that you see contains messages generated from the kindlegen tool used to generate the mobi book. From the message I can see that it complains about some files. The name of the file is strange and reminds me of an old bug with Image files that got exported with strange files names similar to the one in the image. It was a bug that was corrected in the latest Beta versions, but if you had imported from the Web via Copy/Paste you might still get some strange image names. I would recommend finding out which document is causing these warnings, then check the image names within that file. The images should have some useful names, or only letters and numbers. If they have strange symbols and characters, feel free to rename them after your taste.

If you see that warning, most probably some images(2 in your case) will be missing from the final mobi book. Hope this helps to generate a warning free mobi book, jwnelson.