rtf to epub?

bobcdy · 12-13-2009, 02:48 PM

I've been working on making an epub from an initial rtf file, and started with calibre to convert from rtf to epub, then used sigil 1.5 to edit it mainly for the toc. Although almost everthing came out pretty well, I found that there were a number of inconsistent occurring <div>...</div> separating paragraphs that cause the spacing between paragraphs to be inconsistent on my pc Adobe DE and my bebook 1. That is, some paragraphs were separated with <div class="s1"><p class...>...</div></p> whereas other paragraphs had the <div class="s1">...</div> omitted. Looking at the original rtf file did not disclose why there should be this inconsistency so it seems it must have originated with calibre for some reason. Editing the entire ebook with sigil to get rid of these problems seemed pretty time consuming, and I wondered if starting with Book Designer would have a better choice than with calibre; perhaps start with BD, then use Calibre, then sigil to be sure that all the coding is consistent?

What do others think is the best way to progress from rtt to finished epub (without coding from scratch)?
Bob

mrsquash · 12-14-2009, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobcdy

What do others think is the best way to progress from rtt to finished epub (without coding from scratch)?

I find Atlantis Word Processor to be very good for this. There's a fully functional trial version available. I bought a license for it. It's a very good light-weight word processor. More info in this thread:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48775

jackie_w · 12-14-2009, 02:06 PM

If you have MSWord, I have had very good results by loading the rtf in Word, doing all my editing using a standard template, then saving as type Webpage-Filtered to get HTML. Then I load the HTML version into calibre before converting to epub.

If you do it this way make sure you format your Chapter headings with one of the default Word Heading styles (Heading 1-6) so that you can tell Calibre how to detect Chapters (i.e. tag h1-h6).

bobcdy · 12-15-2009, 11:37 AM

I ran the rtf through the trial Atlantis and found it provided a more consistent epub than calibre, then edited it a bit with sigil and the result was excellent. The rtf was very simple - text only without any unusual formatting which seemed like it would be easy to convert to epub and I was surprised with Calibre's inconsistent <div>s. I'll probably purchase Atlantis because it was so easy to use, gave good results, and is inexpensive.

I've tried Word (I only have Word 2000) but never liked the html output that seemed overly complex.

Thanks for your suggestions and help.
Bob

12-13-2009, 02:48 PM	#1
bobcdy Fanatic Posts: 527 Karma: 1048576 Join Date: May 2009 Device: bebook; prs-950; nook simple touch; HTC Jetstream tablet	rtf to epub? I've been working on making an epub from an initial rtf file, and started with calibre to convert from rtf to epub, then used sigil 1.5 to edit it mainly for the toc. Although almost everthing came out pretty well, I found that there were a number of inconsistent occurring <div>...</div> separating paragraphs that cause the spacing between paragraphs to be inconsistent on my pc Adobe DE and my bebook 1. That is, some paragraphs were separated with <div class="s1"><p class...>...</div></p> whereas other paragraphs had the <div class="s1">...</div> omitted. Looking at the original rtf file did not disclose why there should be this inconsistency so it seems it must have originated with calibre for some reason. Editing the entire ebook with sigil to get rid of these problems seemed pretty time consuming, and I wondered if starting with Book Designer would have a better choice than with calibre; perhaps start with BD, then use Calibre, then sigil to be sure that all the coding is consistent? What do others think is the best way to progress from rtt to finished epub (without coding from scratch)? Bob

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12-14-2009, 02:06 PM	#3
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,206 Karma: 16228558 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	If you have MSWord, I have had very good results by loading the rtf in Word, doing all my editing using a standard template, then saving as type Webpage-Filtered to get HTML. Then I load the HTML version into calibre before converting to epub. If you do it this way make sure you format your Chapter headings with one of the default Word Heading styles (Heading 1-6) so that you can tell Calibre how to detect Chapters (i.e. tag h1-h6).

12-15-2009, 11:37 AM	#4
bobcdy Fanatic Posts: 527 Karma: 1048576 Join Date: May 2009 Device: bebook; prs-950; nook simple touch; HTC Jetstream tablet	I ran the rtf through the trial Atlantis and found it provided a more consistent epub than calibre, then edited it a bit with sigil and the result was excellent. The rtf was very simple - text only without any unusual formatting which seemed like it would be easy to convert to epub and I was surprised with Calibre's inconsistent <div>s. I'll probably purchase Atlantis because it was so easy to use, gave good results, and is inexpensive. I've tried Word (I only have Word 2000) but never liked the html output that seemed overly complex. Thanks for your suggestions and help. Bob

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