Top 10: MOBI Editors

2023. Send to Kindle is losing MOBI support



In the kind of language that might make even a Vogon pause and scratch its head in bemusement, Amazon has commenced the herculean task of reminding its customers—with a most ominous "Final Reminder"—that the beloved but arcane MOBI file format (.AZW, .MOBI, .PRC) will no longer be welcome in the sprawling universe of their Send to Kindle service as of later this Earth-year. This wasn’t entirely unanticipated; after all, Amazon did declare, with as much solemnity as one can muster while talking about file formats, that MOBI support would fade into the mists of "late 2022." Naturally, this timetable wandered a bit, lurching toward "early 2023," then whistling jauntily along until an unexpected September 2023. Now, however, with all the vigor of an advanced bureaucracy, Amazon is—probably—determined to "phase out support" for the ancient MOBI files starting November 1st, 2023, when the proverbial curtain finally descends on a format older than most people’s email passwords.


2023. Calibre improves metadata editor



Calibre has released a new version 6.17 with some useful enhancements. In particular it added support for WOFF format fonts and CID keyed fonts in book editor that allows to reduce book file size. Additionally, when data files are present, the book details now include a convenient link to open the data files folder. The template language has been upgraded with various functions that allow users to query the extra files associated with a book. In the Edit book feature, users can now compress images in the WEBP format. The comments editor has also been improved - it now has buttons to create links to data files and folders when inserting a link. Furthermore, users can now display the id, formats and path columns in Preferences. A new button has been added to the trash bin to clear its contents. Lastly, the metadata editor now has a preview option for custom columns that store Markdown formatted text.

2019. Jutoh adds MOBI book generation



The latest version of Jutoh 2.92, has been released and it comes with a new feature that allows users to generate Kindle files using Kindlegen, Calibre, or None for Kindle-optimized Epubs. If the Kindle mode is set to None when compiling a Mobipocket configuration, Jutoh will automatically assume an Epub file should be generated. The Kindlegen download dialog has been updated and now users can set the Kindle file generation method and install it from a local archive. Additionally, options for word count have been moved to their own Options page in the Word Count dialog, including a new option called "Paragraphs to exclude" that allows users to exclude paragraph styles from the word count. Finally, developers added a "Remove paragraphs by style" option to the Document Cleanup dialog, which lets users remove specific styles of paragraphs, such as notes, from their book in one step.