BookDesigner Suggestions

RWood · 05-19-2007, 08:22 PM

vvv has created a wonderful program for us that has more power than anything else I have seen for creating LRF files for the Sony Reader. The purpose of this posting is to share observations on its operation and perhaps make a great program even better.

For example, when I am editing the chapter titles of a book I will have the main window, the corrector window, and the element browser window open. Almost any editing action I perform in the main window results in the main window then being moved to a background process and element browser assuming the active position. To make another edit I must position the mouse pointer back in the main window and left click. It would be far easier (and faster) for me if the main window could remain the active window until I clicked in the element browser or corrector again.

Another issue is the handling of graphics. I recently formatted Franklin's Autobiography and this included ornate block letters as the first letter of the first word for each chapter. Regretfully BD placed these on their own line above the start of the paragraph. Is there a way to add inline graphic support to BD so that these could be shown as originally intended? Additionally, is there a way to format simple drop caps on their own without using graphic files. (I remember reading that there was something like this available in the LRS/LRF specification.)

OK, that's my two cents worth.

kovidgoyal · 05-19-2007, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWood

vvv has created a wonderful program for us that has more power than anything else I have seen for creating LRF files for the Sony Reader.

Only if you suffer from GUI dependency syndrome.

EDIT: To answer your questions.
Yes it's possible to support simple drop caps and inline images in LRF files.

JSWolf · 05-19-2007, 09:17 PM

RWood if you download the HTML version and fix it up to have links to the chapters, you could try html2lrf that's part of libprs500. I tried it on Aesop's Fables and it almost worked except for the overly large inline images.

kovidgoyal · 05-19-2007, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

RWood if you download the HTML version and fix it up to have links to the chapters, you could try html2lrf that's part of libprs500. I tried it on Aesop's Fables and it almost worked except for the overly large inline images.

That will be fixed in the next release, which is a bit delayed as I'm working on support for tables.

JSWolf · 05-19-2007, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

That will be fixed in the next release, which is a bit delayed as I'm working on support for tables.

ooohhh! Nice!

By the way, how well would html2lrf work with MS Frontpage?

kovidgoyal · 05-19-2007, 10:39 PM

it should work fine with any halfway decent HTML

JSWolf · 05-19-2007, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

it should work fine with any halfway decent HTML

Great! I might try formatting my next PG book in Frontpage and see how well html2lrf handles it.

kovidgoyal · 05-19-2007, 11:05 PM

PG books should convert pretty well without any user interventions. See for example
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8532

HarryT · 05-20-2007, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Only if you suffer from GUI dependency syndrome.

The problem is, though, that completely automated tools can only go so far is converting books. Eg, BD makes a pretty good job at guessing what should be a "Title" that goes into the TOC, but it's far from perfect. I think personally that the ability to manually "clean it up" after the automatic processing is what makes the difference between an adequate book and a good one. That's what I love about BD - it's both a conversion tool and a GUI editor.

kovidgoyal · 05-20-2007, 02:14 AM

Ah but nothing stops you from editing the HTML file before you process it with an automatic tool. There are a plethora of nice little GUIs you can use to do that.

The downside of having an all-in-one tool is that it can never perform any one function as well as a single purpose tool. It's kind of the difference between the Unix and windows philosophies.

Another important point is that LRF is not a good archival format. Like PDF it needs to know the screen geometry and DPI for best results. You really don't want to have to put in all that work you do in cleaning it up on the LRF.

HTML or some dedicated XML semantic format is much better for archival. The proofreading work should go in there, not at the LRF stage.

HarryT · 05-20-2007, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Another important point is that LRF is not a good archival format. Like PDF it needs to know the screen geometry and DPI for best results. You really don't want to have to put in all that work you do in cleaning it up on the LRF.

HTML or some dedicated XML semantic format is much better for archival. The proofreading work should go in there, not at the LRF stage.

I completely agree with you. The other downside of LRF is that it's Sony Reader specific. I don't know what I'll be reading my eBooks on in 10 years time, but whatever it is it may not be able to read LRF. That's why I always store books in their original format.

Note that BD's "native" format is XML - whenever I work on a book I store that too. Having that, I can generate a wide range of different book formats from it.

kovidgoyal · 05-20-2007, 02:50 AM

Yup that's what I do as well. Store books in both the original format I got them in and whatever converted format I happen to need for my current ereader.

So you store the original HTML/RTF/TXT whatever, the XML and the generated LRF? Or just the XML and LRF?

HarryT · 05-20-2007, 03:10 AM

I store the original format as well. Disk space is cheap, and book files are not big!

kovidgoyal · 05-20-2007, 03:51 AM

True. Well to each his own

HarryT · 05-20-2007, 04:07 AM

Absolutely. It's great that we have such a wide range of different tools to choose from.

05-19-2007, 08:22 PM	#1
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	BookDesigner Suggestions vvv has created a wonderful program for us that has more power than anything else I have seen for creating LRF files for the Sony Reader. The purpose of this posting is to share observations on its operation and perhaps make a great program even better. For example, when I am editing the chapter titles of a book I will have the main window, the corrector window, and the element browser window open. Almost any editing action I perform in the main window results in the main window then being moved to a background process and element browser assuming the active position. To make another edit I must position the mouse pointer back in the main window and left click. It would be far easier (and faster) for me if the main window could remain the active window until I clicked in the element browser or corrector again. Another issue is the handling of graphics. I recently formatted Franklin's Autobiography and this included ornate block letters as the first letter of the first word for each chapter. Regretfully BD placed these on their own line above the start of the paragraph. Is there a way to add inline graphic support to BD so that these could be shown as originally intended? Additionally, is there a way to format simple drop caps on their own without using graphic files. (I remember reading that there was something like this available in the LRS/LRF specification.) OK, that's my two cents worth.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
BookDesigner	SirWesley	Software	4	05-20-2009 06:08 AM
BookDesigner Question	=X=	Workshop	1	06-14-2008 01:47 PM
BookDesigner and Vista	enneract	Sony Reader	4	03-10-2008 12:48 AM
BookDesigner Observations	RWood	Sony Reader	1	05-02-2007 05:45 PM
Where to get BookDesigner	SciFiReader	Sony Reader	2	03-29-2007 03:29 AM

05-19-2007, 09:17 PM	#3
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,037 Karma: 129333114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	RWood if you download the HTML version and fix it up to have links to the chapters, you could try html2lrf that's part of libprs500. I tried it on Aesop's Fables and it almost worked except for the overly large inline images.

05-19-2007, 10:39 PM	#6
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,866 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	it should work fine with any halfway decent HTML

05-19-2007, 11:05 PM	#8
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,866 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	PG books should convert pretty well without any user interventions. See for example https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8532

05-20-2007, 02:14 AM	#10
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,866 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Ah but nothing stops you from editing the HTML file before you process it with an automatic tool. There are a plethora of nice little GUIs you can use to do that. The downside of having an all-in-one tool is that it can never perform any one function as well as a single purpose tool. It's kind of the difference between the Unix and windows philosophies. Another important point is that LRF is not a good archival format. Like PDF it needs to know the screen geometry and DPI for best results. You really don't want to have to put in all that work you do in cleaning it up on the LRF. HTML or some dedicated XML semantic format is much better for archival. The proofreading work should go in there, not at the LRF stage.

05-20-2007, 02:50 AM	#12
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,866 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Yup that's what I do as well. Store books in both the original format I got them in and whatever converted format I happen to need for my current ereader. So you store the original HTML/RTF/TXT whatever, the XML and the generated LRF? Or just the XML and LRF?

05-20-2007, 03:10 AM	#13
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I store the original format as well. Disk space is cheap, and book files are not big!

05-20-2007, 03:51 AM	#14
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,866 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	True. Well to each his own

05-20-2007, 04:07 AM	#15
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Absolutely. It's great that we have such a wide range of different tools to choose from.

Advert

Advert