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Just upgraded to 22.04 and the ebook viewer is unable to open .mobi file with ebook viewer error message:

calibre, version 5.41.0
ERROR: Render process crashed:
The Qt WebEngine Render process has crashed.
You should try restarting the viewer.

I've tried this before and after Calibre update and is getting the same result.

Bug report filed

Update:

as recommended by @andrew.46, using the repository version will resolve the problem. Kindly scroll down to view his answer for a complete walk-thru.

ManOnTheMoon
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  • I can confirm the same behavior both before and after a fresh install of Calibre directly from the project itself: https://calibre-ebook.com/download_linux It isn't specific to the Mobi format. It happens with Epub as well. I've determined that the files in question weren't damaged by opening the directory containing them (O from the Calibre interface) and double-clicking the .epub files to read them with Atril. – Dale Gulledge Apr 22 '22 at 21:24
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    Actually after wrestling with a more permanent fix using `QTWEBENGINE_DISABLE_SANDBOX=` I saw that the Jammy repository version of 5.37 works out of the box and I suspect the best option is to simply remove the binary version and use the repository version. – andrew.46 Apr 23 '22 at 09:10
  • @andrew.46 will using the repository version have problem when a calibre new update is available? i remember having trouble using the repository version from 20.04 and had to use the binary version(which was the only quick fix at the time). – ManOnTheMoon Apr 23 '22 at 09:53
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    @ManOnTheMoon Hopefully there will be no problem :). But I tested the repository version and found no errors so for the moment this would be the way to go... – andrew.46 Apr 23 '22 at 10:00
  • @andrew.46, tested and verified. Thanks! How do i mark this as solved? – ManOnTheMoon Apr 23 '22 at 10:30
  • @ManOnTheMoon Conventionally you would not post the answer inside your own question :). I have posted a full answer below and if you are happy with it you would 'Accept' it by clicking on the tick or check mark near it and also consider voting it up. And enjoy a fully functioning Calibre, a truly amazing application... – andrew.46 Apr 23 '22 at 21:28
  • @andrew.46, edited my post and hit Accept with the up vote. Cheers! – ManOnTheMoon Apr 23 '22 at 21:41

3 Answers3

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Normally the best advice with Calibre is to follow the directions of Kovid Goyal (the Calibre developer) and use the binary edition available on the Calibre web site.

However currently there is an issue either with this version: 5.41.0 or with its interaction with glibc and/or QT on the host system leading to this error:

enter image description here

This can be worked around by running Calibre and its associated applications with:

QTWEBENGINE_DISABLE_SANDBOX=1

But this is an ugly hack and seems to have a few ill effects on the running of Calibre on Ubuntu 22.04. Fortunately the repository version 5.37.0 runs perfectly and can be installed from the Software Center, Synaptic or simply from the command line as:

sudo apt-get install calibre

And then we can all get back to reading :).

andrew.46
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2

In case you configured the desktop entry in order to have calibre available in start menu, you can configure it as follows:

[Desktop Entry]
    Encoding=UTF-8
    Name=Calibre
    GenericName=Ebook reader
    Comment=Ebook reader
    TryExec=/opt/calibre/calibre
    Exec=env QTWEBENGINE_DISABLE_SANDBOX=1 /opt/calibre/calibre %F
    StartupNotify=true
    Terminal=false
    Type=Application
    Icon=/opt/calibre/resources/images/library.png
    Categories=Office;Viewer

You can see that the entry

  Exec

contains settings for variable QTWEBENGINE_DISABLE_SANDBOX just before the command to execute Calibre.

Daniele Gagliardi
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  • There are a handful of executables that are part of Calibre, most of which can operate independently of Calibre itself. Have you tested these and would you add the details to your answer? – andrew.46 May 01 '22 at 04:11
  • Actually I use Calibre as a whole tool. I configured the file /usr/share/applications/calibre.desktop with the content described in my answer, but I didn't tried all the Calibre features with that environment variable. What I can say is that at the moment I don't face any issue with it. In case I would face something, I will report it in this thread. Anyway I'm using Calibre 5.41, 64 bit edition, on my Ubuntu 22.04, having followed Kovid Goyal advice about using the binary edition available on the Calibre web site (https://calibre-ebook.com/download_linux). – Daniele Gagliardi May 02 '22 at 09:56
  • Ran into the same issue with something that worked fine in all over versions of Ubuntu and the QTWEBENGINE_DISABLE_SANDBOX works perfect. Set it inside my app so it will work going forward. – Mike R May 17 '22 at 22:19
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Latest version of Calibre fix it: https://calibre-ebook.com/it/whats-new, download it from here: https://download.calibre-ebook.com/5.42.0/

Daniele Gagliardi
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