The Amazon Kindle/Mobi format is the proprietary eBook format used for the Amazon Kindle platform. Internally it is almost identical to ePUB, but it is packaged in a proprietary binary container instead of in a standard Zip archive like ePUB.
Since the actual format of Kindle/Mobi is so similar to ePUB, the two formats share the same basic settings. You can configure these settings in
You need the free Kindle compiler from Amazon to be able to publish Kindle/Mobi eBooks. This compiler is included in the Amazon Kindle Previewer package, which you can download here:
Download the Amazon Kindle Previewer
Important: Do NOT try to install the Kindle Previewer in the Program Files folder!
Don't change the default installation location of the Kindle Previewer package! If you do, it will not work correctly and you will get all kinds of errors. Because of the way this Amazon program works, it absolutely needs to be installed in your Windows user account directory in the location Amazon specifies, otherwise it will not have the necessary write permissions while it is running.
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Once installed, H+M should find the Kindle compiler automatically. If you have problems, you can set the location automatically in . The standard location for the compiler is:
Kindle Previewer version 2:
C:\Users\YourUserAccount\AppData\Local\Amazon\Kindle Previewer\lib\kindlegen.exe
Kindle Previewer version 3:
C:\Users\YourUserAccount\AppData\Local\Amazon\Kindle Previewer 3\lib\fc\bin
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Before generating ePUB eBooks you need to install a viewer for previewing the results on your Windows machine. The free Calibre program is currently the only solution that can be recommended for Kindle/Mobi books on Windows.
Calibre is an excellent tool and supports a wide range of different eBook formats very well, including both ePUB and Kindle/Mobi.
 Calibre download page
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At the time of writing, the iOS Amazon Kindle app for the Apple iPad and iPhone is inferior to other software and hardware Kindle applications in many ways. Since so many users read Kindle books on these devices you need to be aware of these restrictions and avoid formatting that will result in ugly or incorrect layout on these devices.
Lists only support plain black round bullets and simple numbering
No other bullets will be displayed in lists on the iOS Kindle app and multi-level lists with changing numbering and bullet formats will be displayed as an unpredictable mess. It is best to use only simple bullet lists, and simple numbered lists. Also, numbered lists should not contain more than 9 items, because the indents will look incorrect as soon as the list switches from single to double digits.
Indents are ignored entirely
Indented paragraphs are not possible in Kindle eBooks displayed on the iOS version of the Kindle app. They will simply be ignored by the reader.
Table column widths and vertical alignment are ignored
If you use tables in your Kindle eBook any column widths you set will be ignored. Vertical alignment settings for tables are also ignored. Instead, all alignment is automatically set to middle. The result is that the text in table cells with less text is centered vertically instead of starting at the top or bottom of the cell. There is currently no way to change this.
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At the time of writing, the restrictions in the Kindle app for Windows Phone are particularly extreme. Formatting is very limited and unpredictable and it is not possible for Windows Phone users to load Kindle books onto their phones themselves. This is only possible via the Kindle store.
If you want to target Windows Phone users we strongly recommend that you avoid the Kindle/Mobi format. Use standard ePUB instead, so that your users can load their eBooks themselves with a third-party eBook app.
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Styles used in Mobi
Most of the style settings in your project will be used in Mobi eBooks with the exception of the font face (see below). If you have separate style settings defined for screen and print view then the print view settings will be used in Mobi.
Your font face choice is not final
The Kindle readers allow users to select the font they want to display their book in. You have no control over that.
Mobi supports font embedding
You can embed your fonts in your Mobi books, but this may not be worth the trouble since users can change the display font anyway. Embedding fonts makes your eBook files much bigger and you must have permission to distribute the fonts from the font copyright holders as well.
Variable font size
Users want to be able to change the font size in the reader. To make this possible you must set your font size encoding to either percent or ems in (these options are also used in eBooks).
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Help+Manual produces standard Mobi source files that you can also edit and process manually and with other programs for editing and producing Mobi eBooks.
Accessing the source files:
When you publish to Mobi the source files are automatically written to a new folder in your project folder called:
~tmpmobi
If you turn off the Delete temporary files after publishing option in the Publish dialog page you can view and edit these files directly with any text editor or a program that supports editing the source of Kindle/Mobi eBooks. Note that the specifications for Kindle eBooks are very strict, so familiarize yourself with them in detail before proceeding.
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See also: (ePUB suggestions and settings shared with Mobi)
Formatting recommendations
ePUB settings
Managing Fonts in ePUB
