File extension MOBI
| File type | Mobipocket EBook Format |
| Developer | Amazon |
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What is a MOBI file?
File with a .MOBI extension contains an eBook and information on its copyrights, access permissions and DRM copying. This format war created in the year 2000 for use of French Mobipocket Reader devices, and since the year 2005, it is accepted and developed by Amazon company. An alternative for the MOBI files are the PRC files, while the opened analogue equivalent is EPUB. They can be created within Amazon for Windows software or Mac OS KindleGen and they can opened with Kindle Previewer.
Formats of Amazon Kindle eBooks, such as AZW, AZW1 and AZW3, are based on MOBI, but they introduce proprietary DRM information and advanced formatting options, such as fonts, HTML 5 functions and CSS3. Files in the above mentioned KF8 format can be stored with the .MOBI or .AZW3 extensions, therefore, not every eBook reading device, a tablet or PDA or a PC applications which support the older MOBI files, will be able to read them according to the latest Amazon specification.
Program(s) that can open the .MOBI file
Windows
Mac OS
Linux
Android
How to open MOBI files
If you cannot open the MOBI file on your computer - there may be several reasons. The first and most important reason (the most common) is the lack of a suitable software that supports MOBI among those that are installed on your device.
A very simple way to solve this problem is to find and download the appropriate application. The first part of the task has already been done – the software supporting the MOBI file can be found in the table. Now just download and install the appropriate application.
Possible problems with the MOBI format files
The inability to open and operate the MOBI file does not necessarily mean that you do not have an appropriate software installed on your computer. There may be other problems that also block our ability to operate the Mobipocket EBook Format file. Below is a list of possible problems.
- Corruption of a MOBI file which is being opened
- Incorrect links to the MOBI file in registry entries.
- Accidental deletion of the description of the MOBI from the Windows registry
- Incomplete installation of an application that supports the MOBI format
- The MOBI file which is being opened is infected with an undesirable malware.
- The computer does not have enough hardware resources to cope with the opening of the MOBI file.
- Drivers of equipment used by the computer to open a MOBI file are out of date.
If you are sure that all of these reasons do not exist in your case (or have already been eliminated), the MOBI file should operate with your programs without any problem. If the problem with the MOBI file has not been solved, it may be due to the fact that in this case there is also another rare problem with the MOBI file. In this case, the only you can do is to ask for assistance of a professional staff.
How to associate the file with an installed software?
If you want to associate a file with a new program (e.g. my-file.MOBI) you have two ways to do it. The first and the easiest one is to right-click on the selected MOBI file. From the drop-down menu select "Choose default program", then click "Browse" and find the desired program. The whole operation must be confirmed by clicking OK. The second and more difficult to do is associate the MOBI file extension to the corresponding software in the Windows Registry.
Is there one way to open unknown files?
Many files contain only simple text data. It is possible that while opening unknown files (e.g. MOBI) with a simple text editor like Windows Notepad will allow us to see some of the data encoded in the file. This method allows you to preview the contents of many files, but probably not in such a structure as a program dedicated to support them.