Universalis

Installing 'kindlegen'

If you want to create e-books for the Amazon Kindle, you need to install a utility program called 'kindlegen' from Amazon's web site. This page tells you how to do this.

Downloading

  1. To dowload the 'kindlegen' utility for Mac OS, visit Amazon's "Publishing Program" page. The first section is labelled "Download KindleGen".
  2. Tick the box to say that you agree with the terms and conditions.
  3. Find the entry that says "KindleGen for Mac OS 10.5 and above i386", and click on the "Download Now" box next to it.

Your web browser will download the Zip file. The file will have a name that looks something like KindleGen_Mac_i386_v2.5.zip. It is possible that your browser may automatically open the Zip file into a folder for you: it depends on the browser.

Extracting the file you need

  1. If your browser has not already opened the Zip file, double-click the Zip file so that it opens into a folder that looks something like this:

    Picture

  2. Take the icon labelled 'kindlegen' and drag it onto your desktop.
  3. Close the folder: you don't need it any more.

Installing the file in Universalis

  1. In the Universalis program, select the menu command "Universalis > Application Support Folder".
  2. A folder called Universalis Application Support will open on the screen.
  3. Drag 'kindlegen' from the desktop into the Universalis Application Support folder.
  4. IMPORTANT for Mac OS 10.8 (Mountain Lion) and above:
    1. right-click (or Control-click) on 'kindlegen' in the Application Support folder.
    2. Select 'Open' from the pop-up menu.
    3. Mac OS will say "Kindlegen is a Unix application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?".
    4. Press "Open".
    5. You will then see a small window appear with text in it, ending with "Process Completed".
    6. Close that window.
  5. Close the Application Support folder.

The installation is now complete, and Universalis will be able to create e-books for the Kindle.

If you can't see "Application Support Folder" in your Universalis menu then you must have an old version of the Universalis program. Download and install the latest version and try again.

Why the extra step for Mountain Lion? If you are using Mac OS 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or above then you are probably using Gatekeeper, which limits the use of programs downloaded from the Internet. You have just downloaded a program from the Internet, and so you need to authorise it before Universalis can use it to create Kindle e-books. If you do not do this, all attempts to create Kindle e-books with fail.