Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
Quote:
Originally Posted by Giggleton
Thank you for making Sigil, it is very good program. I would suggest not worrying about catering to those who make ebooks as a business and focus on those who make ebooks for fun and to share with friends.
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Yes, of course, because, heaven knows, those of us actually donating to help support the thing should have FAR less of a say than those who don't.
Hitch |
As far as I'm concerned the attraction of Sigil is that it's
better at its clearly-defined purpose than programs that cost $$$ (like OxygenXML, which costs $$$, then costs an extra $$ if you want any support or upgrades).
A large part of this advantage lies in the words "clearly-defined purpose". Sigil, in my mind, is a tool for people who are comfortable with the idea of coding in xhtml and css (which are, frankly, ridiculously simple in general) rather than for those looking for a 'word-processor' experience.
If you're in the latter group, then I highly recommend
Atlantis Word Processor, which can handle .docx files from Word and also has a powerful set of word-processor functions. It's not free, but it's really cheap. It's also the only program I've found that really manages to produce clean xhtml from Word files, and can directly export an ePub with very clean code (and is certainly a lot better than other automatic conversion tools). [Though I generally clean up the css it produces to match my own notion of the correct conventions for reflowable content.]
So, Giggleton (and every one else), if you're looking for an easy-to-use program to create ePubs from basic text without having to worry about the intricacies of the format, then AWP (or something like Pages or Scrivener if you have to use a Mac*) is a great idea.
But if you want a tool with the power to give you total control, then with great power comes great responsibility, and for Sigil to have the power it does, it needs to assume that you know WTF you're doing. This assumption is key -- Sigil is a tool for people who know WTF they're doing, and that should never change. This has nothing to do with commercial interests (there are a whole slew of commercial issues with book production that Sigil completely ignores, and should continue to do so, because they're best addressed by other tools).
Quote:
Originally Posted by user_none
charleski has been a bug fixing machine.
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Strahinja's code is very sound. But (as is usual) it's easier to spot the bugs when you have a fresh set of eyes on the code.
*I typed my PhD thesis into a PowerMac Duo (OUCH) [which dates me], and despite owning an aging MBP I hate the Dock with a passion, so don't look to me for unbiased opinions, since I've been burnt already.