import .nebo in Elipsa

[billbokay]

Hello, I bought a kobo Elipsa for Christmas.
The goal is to write a book, so to take notes (in a notebook), to export them, and then to rework them by re-importing them. After several hours of trying, we can't import a .nebo file (the notebook format) on the Elipsa.
We have .nebo files that we have modified (using myscript), which are on the e-reader (we see them in the folders, and the e-reader prevents us from creating a notebook with the same name), but which are not recognized as notebooks, and are therefore not openable in the e-reader.
Could you help us to import nebo files as notebooks in the e-reader?

[Quoth]

I've only ever exported from Sage and Elipsa, except copy of nebo files from one Sage (or Elipsa) to another Sage. That simply works.
I've no iPad, or an Android with a digitiser, to test the standalone Nebo app.

I use Advanced Notebook on Sage with usually plain text export and copy to PC via USB. I use Notepad++ or KATE for plaintext. Or if it's got non-text items I use docx via and convert to odt in LO Writer.

I got the Elipsa first and was so enamoured with the handwriting conversion I bought a Sage and now only use the Elipsa for some PDFs.

I don't quite follow what you are trying to achieve?

My workflow is:

1. Write fragments in Kobo Advanced notebook with conversion to text
2. Export text each time before leaving, so from 2nd time, overwrite.
3. Copy via USB to PC (it's Linux sinc Jan 2017, but Mac & Windows is the same) and open in KATE (used to be Notepad++) because it has Tabs per document (Characters, events, places, notes from web as plain text, imported from Kobo exports etc).
4. Eventually outline and write a 1st Draft in LO Writer (MS Word works too).
5. Replace all multiple spaces with one
6. Run regex search to remove space at start or end of a line (paragraphs) and blank paragraphs and other stupids.
7. Run spell check. Use custom per series/book dictionaries.
8. Extra Save As in docx as you must use odt for native editing.
9. Convert to epub2 in Calibre and remove docx from Calibre
10. Proof read on Sage (Elipsa or Libra etc fine too) and ONLY use text input for annotations, never the pen (that's only good for Notebooks or PDFs).
11. Use Calibre to read the annotations via kobo Utilities, not Annotations plugin, and copy / paste to a new KATE (or Notepad++) doc. Use regex to make the format as I want.
12. Open odt in LO Writer and save As with incremented number suffix
13. Edit "notes" part at start (removed on published version) to reflect what kobo annotations etc added and date.
14. With annotations in a Text Editor window and source odt (or docx in Word) in LO Writer, search and edit. Mark off note in text window with a *
15. Increment & save again if deleting a paragraph or adding paragraphs or reordering chapters etc.
16. Repeat from item 5 as many times as needed. Maybe get to version 10+ to 40+ before finalised.

Always increment if you do ANY significant change.
Always reproof (with incremented odt if last docx is same version number) via docx, calibre & epub if ANY edit, before publish/sharing.
Make azw3 from epub for any Kindle using beta reader.

[Quoth]

Are you using MyScript's Nebo app outside the Kobo? If so what on? Is it the free version (more limited than that in the Kobo) or full version?

I maybe can check on my Grandson's ipad. But I can't see why I'd ever want to convert text BACK to nebo. The edit features on iOS or Kobo are solely to add text. Once you export to .txt or .docx far better to edit in a real program (MS Word, Notepad++, LO Writer and KATE).
I did use Word till about 2015 and Notepad++ till about 2018. Now 100% Linux since January 2017, though I have Word 2007 & Notepad++ on WINE on Linux.
I have XP, Win7 and Win10 VMs but hardly use them and not for any workflow.

Stopped printing proof copies on paper in 1997.
All proofing on eInk since 2014, First Kindle, then Kobo H2O.

[Cootey]

I have had no success importing .nebo files from my iPad’s full version Nebo app into my Kobo Elipsa. My guess is that the Kobo .nebo files are an earlier version than the ones created in the Nebo app on my iPad. The Nebo app supports colors, and fancier fonts and graphics formatting.

So, taking a Nebo journal from my Elipsa and putting it into the iPad’s Nebo app works (backwards compatibility), but the moment it is imported into the iPad Nebo app, the journal is no longer compatible with the Elipsa.

I have had success, however, exporting journals that I created on my Elipsa and prettying them up in the iPad Nebo app for publication. However, Nebo journals have moderate formatting incompatibilities exporting them from the app into PDF files. Things are never centered correctly or aligned and formatted the way that I’d like.

[Quoth]

I'd export to docx and pretty that for publication (using Styles, not direct formatting). Though with LO Writer I save as odt and do an extra final Save As in docx. Then I can use Calibre to make epub. Or direct export of PDF.

Nebo on the iPad, like Kobo Advanced Notepad, is for initial notes, not publishing. That's why there are a range of export options.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I'd export to docx and pretty that for publication (using Styles, not direct formatting). Though with LO Writer I save as odt and do an extra final Save As in docx. Then I can use Calibre to make epub. Or direct export of PDF.

Nebo on the iPad, like Kobo Advanced Notepad, is for initial notes, not publishing. That's why there are a range of export options.

I didn’t think to export as DocX, though I’ve played with it before. It *does* do a better job of formatting sometimes. I’ll have to experiment with that. What does “odt” refer to? I’m not familiar with that acronym.

[Quoth]

The native format for LO Writer is odt. It will read and write docx, but that is a conversion.

Always, with MS Word or LO Writer, you need to "clean up" formatting, by using styles.

The docx formatting will ALWAYS be better after Wordprocessor cleaning. Even if converted and edited as odt and an extra Save As docx at the end with LO Writer.

Either MS Word or LO Writer can export PDF for publishing, but the simplest route where all styles becomes CSS for epub2 is to import a docx to Calibre (it does this better than odt import, so with LO Writer you do an extra Save As docx as you edit in odt). Then make epub3, mobi, lrf, pdb, azw3, kfx etc from the epub2. You might have to manually edit CSS of image styles, but everything else should be perfect if the Wordprocessor is used correctly.

Maybe 10 years ago MS Word was better than LO Writer (or prior Open Office), but now you only need MS Office if working in a business using MS Office and exchanging document with co-workers several times a day.

I switched completely to LO from MS on Windows about 2015 and from Windows to Linux completely in Jan 2017.
Libre Office is a better idea than MS Office on the Mac (or Pages).

InDesign is now expensive rental and better suited to paper publishing by Corporates. Even for Corporate users it's pointless compared to MS Word or LO Writer for a straight novel to PDF.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The native format for LO Writer is odt. It will read and write docx, but that is a conversion.
…
InDesign is now expensive rental and better suited to paper publishing by Corporates. Even for Corporate users it's pointless compared to MS Word or LO Writer for a straight novel to PDF.

Thanks. I’ll look into LO Writer for the Mac. Recently had to use Google Docs for document sharing, but ran into many odd formatting quibbles that made extra work for me. Even if LO Writer doesn’t do cloud sharing per se, I might have need for a lean WP. I currently work in Scrivener. But your workflow fascinates me since I want to include my Elipsa in the proofing and editing process.

As for InDesign, I prefer Vellum for outputting mss. I don’t mind it’s templates, and it produces clean, compatible documents that match the preview for the intended devices.

[Quoth]

I make the Navigator (shows outline) a separate window and also undock the Sidebar tool set and set it to Styles & Formatting (Quick set styles). All Rulers and toolbars in edit window are off.
Custom dictionaries per series or book. Also I remove alternate correct spelling I don't use from the main dictionary, because any document should for example have nosy or nosey, but not both.



LO Writer (undocked tools) & KATE on a 4K screen. Even a 1366 x 768 will work.

There is no need for Scrivener or Vellum if you master LO styles, outline navigation, PDF export and Save As docx for Calibre (there is also a Sigil plugin for docx if you are creating textbooks etc, but the docx to Calibre epub2 perfectly maps styles to CSS, headings, links etc. Then make other non-PDF from epub2, inc epub3 if you need it, or edit in in Sigil).

I've tried Scrivener and seen the ebooks Velum makes!

I guess I've used most wordprocessors on CP/M, DOS, Windows (NT and other) and Linux. Hardly used a Mac since OS9!

I build timelines in a spreadsheet and copy/paste as text.
A separate spreadsheet tracks document / project status.

I used Notepad++ in Windows, then WINE for import of annotations, events, places, characters, plot outline or whatever as it's tabbed. I switched to KATE on Linux as it's similar but native.
See https://www.cleverfiles.com/howto/notepad-mac.html
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Perhaps KATE can work on Mac?
https://ports.macports.org/port/kate/

I've used spreadsheets for tracking projects for 40 years. Only massive projects need Project Management tools/SW. People manage projects, the SW only documents and shows schedule conflicts.

I don't use LO Calc as spreadsheet for the writing related projects purely to avoid it in the MRU doc list, but others might prefer it.
I did use MS Word and MS Excel for over 20 years.

[Quoth]

Oh, and I do sketch only for png export in Basic Notebook, and only export txt from Advanced Notebook, unless it has converted shapes, or check boxes (new feature), sketches, unconverted text or converted maths, in which case I use the docx.

If the export seems to hang I cancel and export again which will be instant.

I always export (as a sort of backup) before exiting a notebook.

If you don't use Dropbox (I don't), then putting SideloadedMode=true in the config file removes that option as well as ditching the ad laden home screen, giving My Books as the Homescreen. Of course then sync doesn't work either. I've never found sync any value on Kindle or Kobo. If I pick up a different device a quick search for last phrase remembered can be faster than 2 x WiFi.