Need to create ePub from PDF with equations, diagrams and tables

prankie · 04-24-2013, 07:14 AM

Hi,

As the title suggests I would like to create ePub from PDF's which I have licensed. Problem is most of these PDF's are Engineering Books, which means they are full of mathematical equations, tables and diagrams.
I have used Calibre but it ruins the formatting and doesn't display Mathematical equations at all.
I also tried using Adobe professional ---> Turning PDFs to RTF/HTML but in all cases equations and diagrams are badly affected!

Is there a way of dealing with this? I have heard that ePub3 natively supports mathematical equations? Is there an easy solution for conversion?
Any sort of help would be appreciated. Looking forward.

Regards,
Prankie

pdurrant · 04-24-2013, 09:00 AM

I don't think that there is any current automated system that will help you.

Yes, ePub3 is supposed to support MathML, but

(a) few readers support the full ePub 3 spec (non yet fully support the ePub 2 spec!)
(b) PDFs are glyphs on a plane if you're lucky (if unlucky, just bitmaps). There's usually no semantic mark-up that would help convert the equations to MathsML.

mrmikel · 04-24-2013, 09:52 AM

About the only way to do it is to make images of equations, tables and diagrams. Most PDF readers have a snapshot function which will allow you to do that relatively easily. But if the book is full of them, it will be a lot of work. Displaying math symbols and equations and even tables is the bleeding edge, still.

You can turn the tables into HTML alright, but the table may be too small to use or cut off on some devices. When I have the original, I will often just make a image of it. If I can see it on my small device, I know it will be readable, if not always pleasant, on any device.

eping · 04-25-2013, 10:17 PM

PDF is nearly a final static format.
Since all PDFs are created from other formats, why not convert from original formats?
If you don't have the original format, the conversion from such PDF is almost impossible.

meeera · 04-25-2013, 10:21 PM

Just one other thing to think about - would it work for your purposes (which are, I'm assuming, to read them on a small reader) to convert them into different PDFs, customising them to a six inch screen instead of an A4 page?

04-24-2013, 07:14 AM	#1
prankie Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2013 Device: Asus Nexus 7	Need to create ePub from PDF with equations, diagrams and tables Hi, As the title suggests I would like to create ePub from PDF's which I have licensed. Problem is most of these PDF's are Engineering Books, which means they are full of mathematical equations, tables and diagrams. I have used Calibre but it ruins the formatting and doesn't display Mathematical equations at all. I also tried using Adobe professional ---> Turning PDFs to RTF/HTML but in all cases equations and diagrams are badly affected! Is there a way of dealing with this? I have heard that ePub3 natively supports mathematical equations? Is there an easy solution for conversion? Any sort of help would be appreciated. Looking forward. Regards, Prankie

04-24-2013, 09:00 AM	#2
pdurrant The Grand Mouse Posts: 24,326 Karma: 73595938 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle 2; iPhone 3G; Bookeen Opus; NOOK ST GlowLight	I don't think that there is any current automated system that will help you. Yes, ePub3 is supposed to support MathML, but (a) few readers support the full ePub 3 spec (non yet fully support the ePub 2 spec!) (b) PDFs are glyphs on a plane if you're lucky (if unlucky, just bitmaps). There's usually no semantic mark-up that would help convert the equations to MathsML. __________________ Kai Lung Raises His Voice, now available at Amazon and BooksOnBoard A new collection of ‘Kai Lung’ stories by Ernest Bramah, including four previously unpublished stories. Need professional help formatting your ebook? Send me email.....................Books I've read in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010

04-25-2013, 10:17 PM	#4
eping ePub Maker Posts: 90 Karma: 16 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Beijing Device: iPad,iPhone,Kindle	PDF is nearly a final static format. Since all PDFs are created from other formats, why not convert from original formats? If you don't have the original format, the conversion from such PDF is almost impossible. __________________ ePub Maker Professional Word to ePub solution

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04-24-2013, 09:52 AM	#3
mrmikel Book Twiddler Posts: 975 Karma: 1087515 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	About the only way to do it is to make images of equations, tables and diagrams. Most PDF readers have a snapshot function which will allow you to do that relatively easily. But if the book is full of them, it will be a lot of work. Displaying math symbols and equations and even tables is the bleeding edge, still. You can turn the tables into HTML alright, but the table may be too small to use or cut off on some devices. When I have the original, I will often just make a image of it. If I can see it on my small device, I know it will be readable, if not always pleasant, on any device.

04-25-2013, 10:21 PM	#5
meeera Fanatic Posts: 538 Karma: 1378842 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Touch, iPad; support a Sony PRS-T1 and 2 Kindles	Just one other thing to think about - would it work for your purposes (which are, I'm assuming, to read them on a small reader) to convert them into different PDFs, customising them to a six inch screen instead of an A4 page?


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