[Hitch]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Gentlemem, googling WYSIWYG epub editor returns this!

sigil - A WYSIWYG ebook editor. - Google Project Hosting

as the first (or second) hit.

I believe that this implies to the vast majority that it's like a word-processor and the editing of an Epub can be done in [what sigil calls] book view, after all, what mainstream word-processor even has a code-view included? IMHO, this result in a google search is misleading to the vast majority and also what probably has mislead the OP.

Yes, Harry:

But it ALSO says, once you get to the Sigil page:

Sigil is a multi-platform EPUB ebook editor with the following features

• Online Sigil User's Guide, FAQ, and Wiki documentation
  
• Free and open source software under GPLv3
• Multi-platform: runs on Windows, Linux and Mac
• Full UTF-8 support
• Full EPUB 2 spec support
• Multiple Views: Book View, Code View and Split View
• WYSIWYG editing in Book View, supporting all XHTML documents under the OPS specification
• Complete control over directly editing EPUB syntax in Code View
• Table of Contents generator with multi-level heading support
• Metadata editor with full support for all possible metadata entries (more than 200) with full descriptions for each
• User interface translated into 15 languages
• Spell checking with default and user configurable dictionaries
• Full Regular Expression (PCRE) support for Find & Replace
• SVG support and basic XPGT support
• Supports import of EPUB and HTML files, images, style sheets, and fonts
• Documents can be validated for EPUB compliance with the integrated FlightCrew EPUB validator
• Embedded HTML Tidy: all imported files have their formatting corrected, and your editing can be optionally cleaned
• Native C++ application

I mean, c'mon--what about that implies "no knowledge of html or css needed?"

Nobody says that JimLL mightn't have misunderstood the basic functionality of Sigil. What EVERYONE has been saying, for at least, hell, 20 posts now, is that a) you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and b) you can't make an ePUB omelet without breaking a few html & css eggs. He's furious because he thinks we're all in some elitist conspiracy to keep out the (untrained) "riff-raff," but as Keroberos said, to paraphrase, is that SURE, you can make CRAPPY eBooks with Sigil totally in BookView--but to compensate for what this guy did NOT do in an html editor (e.g., correctly mark up his headings with header class tags, or regex/s&R out extraneous spaces), he wants Sigil to do that in BV. Everyone here, myself included, told him to use Jutoh, or, for that matter, try the PC Beta of Scrivener, which (at least on the Mac) puts out a very decent eBook. Or use Calibre. Or...

I mean, it's like everything else in life--don't know how to fix your own car? Pay someone else to do it, (or in this case, pay for a program like Jutoh that will). OR, get an auto-repair manual, read up, and learn how to do it. I mean, this discussion really has transcended into the Theater of the Absurd. Do I think that user_none ought to change the description of Sigil, to make it clear that it's NOT Jutoh? Yes, I do, if for no other reason than to avoid this type of brouhaha; but at the end of the day, making ePUBs takes what it takes, and only the simplest titles can be made into ePUB format (via Calibre, JUTOH, whatever) without any knowledge of html or css at ALL. And if he wants something that works "semi-magical," then he can save up his money until he can pay for Jutoh, which WILL work as he wishes it to.

Moreover, he's posted not less than four times as to how he's now cognitively-disabled, due to a stroke. He's advised us he CANNOT LEARN and CANNOT remember. Seriously--how will he ever learn to use Sigil? No amount of "dumbing down" will make this easy enough for someone to learn without having to remember at least SOME stuff. This is an excruciating exercise in futility. I understand why he's "mad." He's frustrated and angry. Fine--but there's no reason we should be wearing it OR bearing the brunt of it.

(And, do I know why on earth I'm still posting about this? No.)

Hitch