Fixed layout for Ebooks

marenkus · 07-21-2015, 07:54 AM

Dear Community,
i have created a Power Point presentation (approx. 300 slides) that i would like to convert into an ebook. The presentation contains many pictures and different fonts.
Is it possible with Sigil to create a fixed layout? Are there any other options that wont be too expensive? Is there a free software? It would be best if i can run the program on a MAC.
The ebool should be readable on Kindle and Ipad if possible.
Do you have an recommandations for me?
Maren from Berlin!

Turtle91 · 07-21-2015, 08:37 AM

Wie Geht's Maren! Welcome to MR Forum!

There is a good sub-forum for asking formatting/project questions: The Workshop

As I have heard repeatedly, Fixed Format ebooks are a real pain to work with and not all devices support them. However, the easiest way I can think of would be to save each slide as an image - then make each image it's own page in the book using an SVG wrapper like this:

Code:

<body>
  <div>
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="100%" preserveAspectRatio="xMidYMid meet" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 1000 1600" width="100%" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><image height="1600" width="1000" xlink:href="../Images/image.jpg" />
    </svg>
  </div>
</body>

*make sure to update viewBox="0 0 1000 1600" as well as <image height and width> with your image's dimensions*

I'm sure there are many other ways that people can recommend here, but this will get the job done quickly and easily. I'm not sure if all kindles/iPads support multiple SVG images (??) but if they don't you can also try using the following:

Code:

<div class="whatever"><img alt="" src="../Images/example.jpg" /></div>

with CSS:
.whatever {width:100%; max-width:2015px} 
               *set max-width to the actual width of that image*
               *add any other styling to your preferences*

If all your slides are the same dimensions then that would be fairly simple to code.

Tschüs!

gbm · 07-21-2015, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marenkus

Dear Community,
i have created a Power Point presentation (approx. 300 slides) that i would like to convert into an ebook. The presentation contains many pictures and different fonts.
Is it possible with Sigil to create a fixed layout? Are there any other options that wont be too expensive? Is there a free software? It would be best if i can run the program on a MAC.
The ebool should be readable on Kindle and Ipad if possible.
Do you have an recommandations for me?
Maren from Berlin!

Be sure to let people know it is a FIXED layout ebook. There is no way I will ever read it, fixed layout is a bad word to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtle91

Wie Geht's Maren! Welcome to MR Forum!

There is a good sub-forum for asking formatting/project questions: The Workshop

As I have heard repeatedly, Fixed Format ebooks are a real pain to work with and not all devices support them. However, the easiest way I can think of would be to save each slide as an image - then make each image it's own page in the book using an SVG wrapper like this:

Spoiler:

I'm sure there are many other ways that people can recommend here, but this will get the job done quickly and easily. I'm not sure if all kindles/iPads support multiple SVG images (??) but if they don't you can also try using the following:

Spoiler:

If all your slides are the same dimensions then that would be fairly simple to code.

Tschüs!

I would code the css like this:

Code:

  height: auto;
  max-height: 100%;
  width: auto;
  max-width: 100%;

Good luck
bernie

Dr. Drib · 07-21-2015, 10:57 AM

Now moved to the Workshop.

(Thank you, Turtle91.)

Don
(Moderator)

faltradl · 07-21-2015, 12:11 PM

Fixed Layout? Use PDF instead of raping a dynamic layout format.

thewitt · 07-21-2015, 03:38 PM

ePUB documents are dynamic, and though embedding your fixed formatting in SVG images in a ePUB is possible, it would make much more sense to simply use a PDF.

marenkus · 07-22-2015, 03:34 AM

Thank you all for your solutions! I will try to work my way through now ;-)

marenkus · 07-22-2015, 04:15 AM

One more question about that PDF. How does the PDF work on different mobile devices? How can I be sure that it will always look the same on ipdad, kindle, etc.? Can i publish PDF´s normally through iTunes or Amazon?
Thanl you for all the help!

dickloraine · 07-22-2015, 05:43 AM

The problem with pdf (and all fixed layouts) is, that it looks the same on every device. If you make your pdf to look good on an ipad, it would be nearly unreadable on a phone.

One question: You want to sell a book only consisting of your slides? I don't know how others think about this, but I wouldn't call that a book. Aren't slides more like notes? Wouldn't it be better to actually write down your presentation?

Toxaris · 07-22-2015, 06:04 AM

Even if you resort to fixed layout, keep in mind that the readers that do support fixed layout all have their own variant.

Hitch · 07-22-2015, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbm

Be sure to let people know it is a FIXED layout ebook. There is no way I will ever read it, fixed layout is a bad word to me.

Oh, c'mon. There are excellent uses for Fixed-Layout. Not everything is fiction, and not everything should/can/will reflow. Instructional books, for example, are oftentimes far, far better in FXL than in reflowable, particularly things like learn-to-cook books. Don't tar everything with the same brush.

Quote:

I would code the css like this:

Code:

  height: auto;
  max-height: 100%;
  width: auto;
  max-width: 100%;

Good luck
bernie

Don't do that. That won't work for FXL, at all. And would a reflowable book, made up of one image after another, as "pages," somehow be better than a properly-crafted FXL book?

Quote:

Originally Posted by thewitt

ePUB documents are dynamic, and though embedding your fixed formatting in SVG images in a ePUB is possible, it would make much more sense to simply use a PDF.

Can't sell that online at the retailers that carry eBooks. That's a no-go at Amazon, B&N, iBooks, KoboBooks, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by marenkus

One more question about that PDF. How does the PDF work on different mobile devices? How can I be sure that it will always look the same on ipdad, kindle, etc.? Can i publish PDF´s normally through iTunes or Amazon?
Thanl you for all the help!

Nope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxaris

Even if you resort to fixed layout, keep in mind that the readers that do support fixed layout all have their own variant.

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding, ladies and gents, we have a WINNER! Each of the major retailers have their OWN specifications for FXL. If you plan to do an FXL book, you'll need to follow those specifications. I can warn you in advance that going directly from Powerpoint-->almost anything is a huge pain. You might indeed do better to screenshoot them all, but without knowing something more about the content, I can't assist.

Got a page/slide we can see? Or a dummy, that looks LIKE your slides, in large part?

Hitch

BetterRed · 07-22-2015, 08:50 PM

@Marenkus - have you considered converting your Powerpoint document to a Word document. If the material is mainly textual then a DOCX may be a better starting point than a PPTX.

I've also seen PPT presentations converted to video to good effect.

BR

Hitch · 07-22-2015, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@Marenkus - have you considered converting your Powerpoint document to a Word document. If the material is mainly textual then a DOCX may be a better starting point than a PPTX.

I've also seen PPT presentations converted to video to good effect.

BR

Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I must say, I've seen this done, and I've tried it myself, and generally speaking, the results are fairly disastrous. You need to do a LOT of clean-up, after the conversion is output. However, yes, I agree: it's likely a far better solution than endeavoring to make the book from slides.

Hitch

BetterRed · 07-23-2015, 05:02 AM

You're right of course, was just thinking outside the square. Would need to be very simple PPT. If there are lots of notes attached to the slides then it may also be worthwhile.

Publishing PPT to PDF is usually OK, but the resultant PDF usually falls into the 'don't even think about converting' bucket.

BR

Hitch · 07-23-2015, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

You're right of course, was just thinking outside the square. Would need to be very simple PPT. If there are lots of notes attached to the slides then it may also be worthwhile.

Publishing PPT to PDF is usually OK, but the resultant PDF usually falls into the 'don't even think about converting' bucket.

BR

Y'know, Red, seriously....depending on this person's budget, s/he might be better off hiring a company like ours (not saying, use us, I just mean, a professional conversion house) to convert from PDF. They'd scan and OCR the PDF, and you'd end up with a good final product. It would of course cost more than DIY, but I've tried, myself, to export slides, yadda, and man, the clean up was ONEROUS, and remember: I do this type of clean-up for a living. Or, I ought to say, I used to do it daily. Now I mostly push paper for my company, but I can still regex and clean with some skill. What I remember most about my attempt was that all the headings, etc., were BOLLIXED.

I ended up putting the Word output file into outline view, and used that to do my cleanup, to get consistent styles set on everything. Then I regexed it to hell and gone, to assign para styles to the heading styles (that outline view uses).

So...that would be my DIY suggestion. For a really good result, I'd probably say, this might be best left to professionals. I don't always say that, despite what some folks might think, but some things really are.

Hitch

07-21-2015, 07:54 AM	#1
marenkus Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 9402 Join Date: Jul 2015 Device: none	Fixed layout for Ebooks Dear Community, i have created a Power Point presentation (approx. 300 slides) that i would like to convert into an ebook. The presentation contains many pictures and different fonts. Is it possible with Sigil to create a fixed layout? Are there any other options that wont be too expensive? Is there a free software? It would be best if i can run the program on a MAC. The ebool should be readable on Kindle and Ipad if possible. Do you have an recommandations for me? Maren from Berlin!

07-21-2015, 08:37 AM	#2
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,095 Karma: 18727053 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	Wie Geht's Maren! Welcome to MR Forum! There is a good sub-forum for asking formatting/project questions: The Workshop As I have heard repeatedly, Fixed Format ebooks are a real pain to work with and not all devices support them. However, the easiest way I can think of would be to save each slide as an image - then make each image it's own page in the book using an SVG wrapper like this: Code: <body> <div> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="100%" preserveAspectRatio="xMidYMid meet" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 1000 1600" width="100%" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><image height="1600" width="1000" xlink:href="../Images/image.jpg" /> </svg> </div> </body> make sure to update viewBox="0 0 1000 1600" as well as <image height and width> with your image's dimensions I'm sure there are many other ways that people can recommend here, but this will get the job done quickly and easily. I'm not sure if all kindles/iPads support multiple SVG images (??) but if they don't you can also try using the following: Code: <div class="whatever"><img alt="" src="../Images/example.jpg" /></div> with CSS: .whatever {width:100%; max-width:2015px} set max-width to the actual width of that image add any other styling to your preferences If all your slides are the same dimensions then that would be fairly simple to code. Tschüs!

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07-21-2015, 10:57 AM	#4
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,748 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Now moved to the Workshop. (Thank you, Turtle91.) Don (Moderator)

07-21-2015, 12:11 PM	#5
faltradl Guru Posts: 602 Karma: 1712372 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: germany Device: PocketBook Touch	Fixed Layout? Use PDF instead of raping a dynamic layout format.

07-21-2015, 03:38 PM	#6
thewitt Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 1135446 Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Miami, Florida Device: iBooks	ePUB documents are dynamic, and though embedding your fixed formatting in SVG images in a ePUB is possible, it would make much more sense to simply use a PDF.

07-22-2015, 03:34 AM	#7
marenkus Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 9402 Join Date: Jul 2015 Device: none	Thank you all for your solutions! I will try to work my way through now ;-)

07-22-2015, 04:15 AM	#8
marenkus Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 9402 Join Date: Jul 2015 Device: none	One more question about that PDF. How does the PDF work on different mobile devices? How can I be sure that it will always look the same on ipdad, kindle, etc.? Can i publish PDF´s normally through iTunes or Amazon? Thanl you for all the help!

07-22-2015, 05:43 AM	#9
dickloraine Guru Posts: 631 Karma: 7544080 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Berlin Device: PRS 350, Kobo Aura	The problem with pdf (and all fixed layouts) is, that it looks the same on every device. If you make your pdf to look good on an ipad, it would be nearly unreadable on a phone. One question: You want to sell a book only consisting of your slides? I don't know how others think about this, but I wouldn't call that a book. Aren't slides more like notes? Wouldn't it be better to actually write down your presentation?

07-22-2015, 06:04 AM	#10
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	Even if you resort to fixed layout, keep in mind that the readers that do support fixed layout all have their own variant.

07-22-2015, 08:50 PM	#12
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 20,572 Karma: 26954694 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@Marenkus - have you considered converting your Powerpoint document to a Word document. If the material is mainly textual then a DOCX may be a better starting point than a PPTX. I've also seen PPT presentations converted to video to good effect. BR

07-23-2015, 05:02 AM	#14
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 20,572 Karma: 26954694 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	You're right of course, was just thinking outside the square. Would need to be very simple PPT. If there are lots of notes attached to the slides then it may also be worthwhile. Publishing PPT to PDF is usually OK, but the resultant PDF usually falls into the 'don't even think about converting' bucket. BR