ePub format

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:04 am

This is my css info:

@font-face { font-family: "Linux Libertine O"; src: url(fonts/LinLibertine_Re-2.8.14.otf); }
@font-face { font-family: "Linux Libertine O"; font-style:italic; src: url(fonts/LinLibertine_It-2.8.2.otf); }
@font-face { font-family: "Linux Libertine O"; font-weight:bold; src: url(fonts/LinLibertine_Bd-2.8.1.otf); }
@font-face { font-family: "Linux Libertine O"; font-style:italic; font-weight:bold; src: url(fonts/LinLibertine_BI-2.8.0.otf); }
.st001 { text-align:center; text-indent:1em }
.st002 { color:#000000; font-size:0.8em; font-weight:bold }
.st003 { page-break-before:avoid; text-align:center; text-indent:1em }
.st004 { color:#000000; font-size:0.8em; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal }
.st005 { page-break-before:avoid; text-align:left; text-indent:1em }
.st006 { page-break-before:avoid; text-align:justify; text-indent:1em }
.st007 { page-break-before:always; text-align:center; text-indent:1em }
.st008 { color:#000000; font-size:0.8em; font-style:italic; font-weight:normal }
.st009 { page-break-before:always; text-align:left; text-indent:1em }
.st010 { page-break-before:always; text-align:justify; text-indent:1em }
<body>
{ text-align: justify; background: url(Paper.jpg) }
</body>

Robert · Post by **Robert** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:59 am

Hi André,
HTML code has to be included AS IS. You have got to be accurate.

In css files, the “body” attribute looks like this:

body { text-align: justify; background: url(flowers.png) }

As you can see, there isn’t anything like <body> </body>

In your above example (that is in your css file), it should be:

body { text-align: justify; background: url(Paper.jpg) }

That’s all.

If you want to have a background image on a specific page, you have to edit the corresponding “.html” file and include a “background” attribute within the “body” tag. Like so:

<body background=Paper.jpg>

That’s all.

HTH.
Cheers,
Robert

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 1:06 pm

Btw. when I try to do this on my mac instead on windows, I get these files after renaming it from epub to zip:

see picture...

No Ops folder there. Just an observation, doe this mean that epub files are different on mac and windows?

Robert · Post by **Robert** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:48 pm

Hi André,
First, I don’t have a Mac, have no access to a Mac, and Atlantis cannot be run on a Mac. So I cannot say anything about epub files on a Mac. But I assume they should look the same, the epub format being cross-platform.

Now it appears that epub files are built slightly differently depending on which application is used to create them. It also appears that not all applications stick to the official specifications. If I am to believe the tutorial available at http://www.jedisaber.com, the basic epub file layout should look like this:

- mimetype
META-INF
- container.xml
OEBPS
images
- content.opf
- toc.ncx
- stylesheet.css
- content.xhtml

If I take “Raouls%20Reddingsmissie%20-%20Andreas%20van%20Haren.epub” as a sample document, and “unzip” it, I get the following structure (the first two items being folders):

content
META-INF
mimetype
toc.ncx
metadata.opf

If you open the “content\resources” sub-folder, you’ll find a file named “index_2.css”. Open it in a pure text editor like Windows Notepad. It includes the following lines:

body {
margin-top: 0;
margin-bottom: 0;
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0
}
body {
margin-left: 5pt;
margin-right: 5pt
}

Replace all of them with these lines:

body {
margin-top: 5;
margin-bottom: 5;
margin-left: 5;
margin-right: 5;
Background: url(background.png);
}

Please replace “background.png” by the name of the picture that you want to use as a background. Note that names, including file names, are case sensitive.

HTH.
Cheers,
Robert

Post by **admin** » Sun May 24, 2009 6:13 pm

Andremusic wrote:Here it is. This is my first novel and it was published for some years in Holland, but I have the full copyrights again since this year, so no laws are being broken by posting it here! Maybe you have some suggestions how to improve the epub file. Like I said, when I read it on my iphone, the links work but the chapters are starting randomly in the middle of pages.

http://www.box.net/shared/uxya5lr0pt

André

(ps. this book was completely written in Atlantis!)

As I understand, you composed your eBook (I mean your file "Raouls Reddingsmissie - Andreas van Haren.epub") in Calibre.

You might wish to know that your .epub file does not display correctly in Adobe Digital Editions and Mobipocket Reader Desktop. Table of Contents does not work correctly when your .epub is viewed in Adobe Digital Editions (I suppose the problem is that Calibre does not split ebooks into chapters correctly). Mobipocket Reader Desktop simply refuses to open your .epub.

Post by **admin** » Sun May 24, 2009 6:14 pm

Atlantis Word Processor 1.6.3 with support for the DOCX document format of MS Word 2007 has been just released officially.

Atlantis Word Processor 1.6.4 with the "Save as E-book" feature will be available for betatesting in the next few days.

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Mon May 25, 2009 2:28 am

admin wrote:Atlantis Word Processor 1.6.3 with support for the DOCX document format of MS Word 2007 has been just released officially.

Atlantis Word Processor 1.6.4 with the "Save as E-book" feature will be available for betatesting in the next few days.

That sounds great! Looking forwards to this coming release!

André

Post by **admin** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:22 pm

Atlantis Word Processor 1.6.4 is now available for betatesting.

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 3:16 am

You guys are great! Thanks for this option, it's so easy to create a pub file now for my iphone! I am going to try it and will tell you how it goes.

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 3:49 am

I tried the Rembrandt example, took out all the green text, opened the createdepub file with Stanza and synced it with Stanza on my iPhone. Everything works and looks great! And the toc works perfect. Only the cover image and the Title text are too big for the iPhone screen. I see only about 2/3 of it. Would it be better to make the image smaller?

I remember we talked before about giving the paper of the ebook a personal touch, like a different papers structure or color. Is this possible to include as well?

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 5:09 am

I am adjusting my own book now, according to the Reambrandt example. The only things that doesn't seem to get through, is the paragraph first line indent from every paragraph in my own book. On my iPhone it becomes left outlined. The italics, though are still there. That is great.

Also, in my original file, I use little pictures in between paragraphs, centered. On my iPhone they are very large, not so practical to I took them out.

André

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:30 am

I turned my whole book into an ebook now and it works great! Even the internet link that I put on the first page opens the web browser on my iPhone. The only 2 things that doesn't work are the first line indent (as I mentioned before) and the center option for the chapter headings. Maybe this is a Stanza thing, though.

I thought it would be nice to show what is possible so here is the link to my book, made with this new Atlantis function. Thanks again!

http://www.box.net/shared/23ufplk73k

André

andygrunt · Post by **andygrunt** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 7:04 am

A very trivial point and I only mention it as it's in a Beta version (and so wouldn't do much damage if it changed)...

I have to admit the epub format isn't something I'm likely to use but as an impartial observation, it seems a little odd to me that Atlantis is able to save in a format it cannot open.

Maybe it's just that it's called a 'Save' option. Perhaps it would seem more logical if it was called an 'Export' option?

Just a thought.

Robert · Post by **Robert** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 9:59 am

Hi,
First, I was unable to download André's file. When I went to http://www.box.net/shared/23ufplk73k and clicked on the download button, I got a message saying that I “wasn’t allowed to use direct links”.
Please take a look at http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/en ... php?t=1064 for ways to attach a sample file to your postings on the Atlantis Forum. This would be the most practical method for everybody.

Now if your cover image is too big for your iPhone screen, you can always resize it in MS Paint or in any other graphic editor, and use the resized image instead in your original RTF or DOCX file. Same thing with the pictures that you had placed to separate paragraphs. Resize them or use smaller pictures.
Also same thing with the “Title text”. Use a smaller font size for the “Book Title” and/or the “Heading 1” styles in the original Atlantis document.

If I use a first line indent in the original DOCX document, the corresponding EPUB file also displays with first line indent in ADE under Windows XP SP3. Unfortunately, I don’t have a iPhone on which to check this.
Same thing if I use a centered alignment for the Heading 1 style. They are centered in the corresponding EPUB file viewed in ADE. Maybe it is possible to install ADE on the iPhone?

Finally, on the subject of why it is called a “Save” option. Strictly-speaking, it isn’t a “Save” option, it is a “Save Special” option. Of course, it could be called an “Export” option but the change of name would only be rhetorical. It would not change the fact that a file is “saved” to your hard drive. The same is true of the “Save As Web Page” or “Save As PDF” commands.
Of course, it would be wrong if Atlantis had an “Open EPUB” command because it cannot open such file formats. But it is perfectly correct to say that Atlantis “saves” EPUB files because technically it does “save” these files. You do something similar when you “save” a RTF file as a DOC, DOCX, or PDF file. A new file is stored on your hard drive in a different format.
Honestly, I don’t see any need to call this function an “export” function. When “export” is used, it does not mean anything different from “Save”.

HTH.
Cheers,
Robert

andygrunt · Post by **andygrunt** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:01 am

Robert wrote: Finally, on the subject of why it is called a “Save” option. Strictly-speaking, it isn’t a “Save” option, it is a “Save Special” option. Of course, it could be called an “Export” option but the change of name would only be rhetorical. It would not change the fact that a file is “saved” to your hard drive. The same is true of the “Save As Web Page” or “Save As PDF” commands.
Of course, it would be wrong if Atlantis had an “Open EPUB” command because it cannot open such file formats. But it is perfectly correct to say that Atlantis “saves” EPUB files because technically it does “save” these files. You do something similar when you “save” a RTF file as a DOC, DOCX, or PDF file. A new file is stored on your hard drive in a different format.
Honestly, I don’t see any need to call this function an “export” function. When “export” is used, it does not mean anything different from “Save”.

Yep - I can't really argue with much of that. There's no doubt the file is saved

I guess I noticed it as it doesn't follow the convention of other software I use i.e. when you save a file in a non native format (for that application), it's referred to as 'Exporting' the file. Likewise, loading a non native file format is 'Importing'. I would say 'Exporting' applies to saving a file as PDF although the likes of DOC, RTF, TXT etc files are text files that Atlantis can read, edit and save so are legitimate 'save' options.

Anyway, like I said, a very trivial point and one I'm unlikely to lose sleep over but I noticed it so thought it was worth mentioning.

Robert · Post by **Robert** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:22 am

Hi Andy,
In Word 2007, you have a “Save As PDF” and a “Save As XPS” command in the “Save As” (F12) dialog.
Word 2007 cannot open either file types.
So it is not always easy to say which commands are “standard”, “traditional”, or “conventional”.

Cheers,
Robert

Robert · Post by **Robert** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 3:51 pm

Hi André,
Here is an article on ADE and the iPhone. “Publishers Ponder Putting E-books on the iPhone”:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.a ... =CA6458084

However, it seems that the deal hasn’t materialized yet and ADE only supports the following devices:

Sony® Reader PRS-505 and PRS-700 (see http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaled ... ystemreqs/)

You might want to have a look at some of the other eBook Readers available. A number of them are listed at http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_software

Apparently, Amazon.com has released a free Kindle for iPhone software. But I was unable to find out where it might be available from. Some pages say at the Apple Store. I could not find it there. But I must say it is a rather messy site...

Apparently, you can also download a (free?) “ShortCovers” application for the iPhone from http://www.shortcovers.com/iphone

You’ll find other eBook Readers at the following Web addresses too:

http://readdle.com/products/readdledocs (ReaddleDocs)

http://ripdev.com/i2reader (i2Reader)

http://www.classicsapp.com/ (Classics reading platform for iPhone)

HTH.
Cheers,
Robert

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:18 pm

Hi Robert, sorry for that. I remember last time was the same problem, and even now, I tried it on different computers here and it works normally. Maybe it's a firewall problem? I cannot attache the file because it says that epub files are not allowed.

"The Extension epub is not allowed"

But I put the file here instead, now it should work:
http://www.freedrive.com/folder/213533

André

andygrunt · Post by **andygrunt** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 2:58 am

Robert wrote: Apparently, Amazon.com has released a free Kindle for iPhone software. But I was unable to find out where it might be available from. Some pages say at the Apple Store. I could not find it there. But I must say it is a rather messy site...

The Kindle app is only available on the American app store. There are a number of other readers available though e.g. 'Stanza'.

Andremusic · Post by **Andremusic** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 3:30 am

Robert wrote:Hi André,
Here is an article on ADE and the iPhone. “Publishers Ponder Putting E-books on the iPhone”:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.a ... =CA6458084

However, it seems that the deal hasn’t materialized yet and ADE only supports the following devices:

Sony® Reader PRS-505 and PRS-700 (see http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaled ... ystemreqs/)

You might want to have a look at some of the other eBook Readers available. A number of them are listed at http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_software

Apparently, Amazon.com has released a free Kindle for iPhone software. But I was unable to find out where it might be available from. Some pages say at the Apple Store. I could not find it there. But I must say it is a rather messy site...

Apparently, you can also download a (free?) “ShortCovers” application for the iPhone from http://www.shortcovers.com/iphone

You’ll find other eBook Readers at the following Web addresses too:

http://readdle.com/products/readdledocs (ReaddleDocs)

http://ripdev.com/i2reader (i2Reader)

http://www.classicsapp.com/ (Classics reading platform for iPhone)

HTH.
Cheers,
Robert

Hi Robert,
yes, I know most of them. I am looking at Shortcovers now and putting it on my iPhone. Problem is mostly that it's not possible to upload my own books in these apps. I can only download from their stores. Only Stanza let me do this as far I can see. That is the program I use now to read the epub file I made with Atlantis on my iPhone.
The Classicsapp is beautiful, I have it, that is how I would like to read my book on the iPhone!

Andre