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mattmc · 10-08-2016, 05:37 PM

So, after a long time of creating ePub2 files in InDesign and then scripting the living daylights out of them to make useable files for various platforms, an interesting turn of events had me using iBooks Author for the last several months.

I have to say that I'm quite pleased with iBA. It's like a simpler InDesign, and it has the strong advantage in that it was a tool designed to make eBooks. It was also made by Apple, which may be a turn-off for some, but I find their design and UX principles to be generally sound and even superior. That's not to say that the product doesn't lack; I have 3 or 4 bug reports, usability fixes and so forth filed with Apple currently.

It used to be that iBA could only make a .ibooks files, so it was iPad-only, but last year Apple added ePub3 output from iBA, so you can create a regular reflowable book. Prior to that, iBA had only been suitable for creating textbooks, interactive stuff, fixed layouts, etc. Now it's...basically a legitimate eBook editor.

Despite this, I'm not comfortable taking my iBA ePub3 and distributing it elsewhere than the iBookstore. Out of curiosity, I dumped my ePub3 into Readium in Chrome, and I shuddered and had to close the browser. So fine, looks like iBA for iBookstore and that's it.

So now I'm going back to InDesign -> ePub2, and the more work I have to do in InDesign the more I miss iBA. When you're making a reflowable eBook, most of ID is a cumbersome, useless distraction, and you can very easily and invisibly pervert your document structure with one stray key press, only to notice an hour later when your post-export, pre-Kindlegen script is running. As valiantly as Adobe has tried to make ID relevant in the age of the ePub, it's just the wrong tool for the job.

...And yet, it does many things. Indexing, for example, which iBA lacks. It does hyperlinks pretty OK, and it has para & char styles, spacing & kerning and all that stuff which I have found to be vital in a layout program. It lets you add your own custom CSS, which iBA doesn't, and the markup it generates seems cleaner than iBA's.

So I'm idly casting about for an alternative program with:

The simplicity, clarity and focus of iBooks Author
The power of InDesign (indexes, regex styles, scripting)
Clean ePub2 export

Ideas?

10-08-2016, 05:37 PM	#1
mattmc Connoisseur Posts: 89 Karma: 185923 Join Date: May 2015 Device: iPad 1/2/Air, K3/PW2/Fire1, Kobo Touch, Samsung Tab, Nook Color/Touch	InDesign Alternatives So, after a long time of creating ePub2 files in InDesign and then scripting the living daylights out of them to make useable files for various platforms, an interesting turn of events had me using iBooks Author for the last several months. I have to say that I'm quite pleased with iBA. It's like a simpler InDesign, and it has the strong advantage in that it was a tool designed to make eBooks. It was also made by Apple, which may be a turn-off for some, but I find their design and UX principles to be generally sound and even superior. That's not to say that the product doesn't lack; I have 3 or 4 bug reports, usability fixes and so forth filed with Apple currently. It used to be that iBA could only make a .ibooks files, so it was iPad-only, but last year Apple added ePub3 output from iBA, so you can create a regular reflowable book. Prior to that, iBA had only been suitable for creating textbooks, interactive stuff, fixed layouts, etc. Now it's...basically a legitimate eBook editor. Despite this, I'm not comfortable taking my iBA ePub3 and distributing it elsewhere than the iBookstore. Out of curiosity, I dumped my ePub3 into Readium in Chrome, and I shuddered and had to close the browser. So fine, looks like iBA for iBookstore and that's it. So now I'm going back to InDesign -> ePub2, and the more work I have to do in InDesign the more I miss iBA. When you're making a reflowable eBook, most of ID is a cumbersome, useless distraction, and you can very easily and invisibly pervert your document structure with one stray key press, only to notice an hour later when your post-export, pre-Kindlegen script is running. As valiantly as Adobe has tried to make ID relevant in the age of the ePub, it's just the wrong tool for the job. ...And yet, it does many things. Indexing, for example, which iBA lacks. It does hyperlinks pretty OK, and it has para & char styles, spacing & kerning and all that stuff which I have found to be vital in a layout program. It lets you add your own custom CSS, which iBA doesn't, and the markup it generates seems cleaner than iBA's. So I'm idly casting about for an alternative program with: The simplicity, clarity and focus of iBooks Author The power of InDesign (indexes, regex styles, scripting) Clean ePub2 export Ideas?