Saving to ePub Problem

General comments and questions. Technical support.
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HimBob
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2024 7:34 pm

Saving to ePub Problem

Post by HimBob »

I'm new to Atlantis, and evaluating the newest trial version for creating epubs.

Is there a way to tell Atlantis to disable or hide those buttons in the toolbar that create formatting that is not saved as an epub?

For example, you can create lists in Atlantis that are numbered 1, 1.1, 1.2.1, etc. But when you save the document as an epub, the numbering is lost, and replaced with 1, 2, 3, etc. Since most eReaders don't support the entire CSS suite, I understand why Atlantis needs to replace numbering (i.e., to make the epub more compatible across more eReaders). And I think that is a good approach.

However, since you don't know which formatting is not supported for an epub, you often have to go back and rework the document again. I read in the Help you can create custom toolbars, but I wouldn't know which buttons to hide/disable for an epub.

Thanks
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Re: Saving to ePub Problem

Post by admin »

Is there a way to tell Atlantis to disable or hide those buttons in the toolbar that create formatting that is not saved as an epub?
This would not be possible even theoretically. Some toolbar commands like “Font format” or “Paragraph format” are only partially inapplicable to EPUB documents. What’s more, such “EPUB toolbars” would not help with existing document formatting “incompatible” with EPUB. Most people do not design EPUBs from scratch but use existing documents as a starting point.

When creating EPUB eBooks, it is important to remember that EPUB is a reflowable document format. A properly designed EPUB document is supposed to display correctly on any eReader under any settings. Thus, you should not expect a WYSIWYG conversion to EPUB. EPUB is not PDF. If you open your EPUB file with your eReader, it would look quite differently than the source document in Atlantis. The actual display depends not only on the eReading device and its configuration, but also on the “save as eBook” settings of Atlantis. As a rule of thumb, simpler formatting is always better than complex formatting.
For example, you can create lists in Atlantis that are numbered 1, 1.1, 1.2.1, etc. But when you save the document as an epub, the numbering is lost, and replaced with 1, 2, 3, etc.
You can enable the “Save manual lists” option in the “Save as eBook” dialog of Atlantis.
HimBob
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2024 7:34 pm

Re: Saving to ePub Problem

Post by HimBob »

Thanks for the reply.

I intend to use Atlantis to create epubs from scratch. I have been using another word processor, but was looking at other alternatives.

So, far the only formatting I noticed that was significantly different after saving an epub, was the numbered list example I presented earlier. However, your suggestion of using “Save manual lists” option solves that problem. Thanks!
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