Newbie in need of help.

ChaosSoldier · 06-07-2009, 08:16 AM

Hi all. I just wanted to say hello and if possible, get some help on a few things as I just got my sony reader prs505. I am new to pretty much all of this as it was an impulse purchase that I will be using to archive manga and japanese text/workbooks (I'm majoring in japanese at the university of Hawaii).

So to start off my questions...

1. Since I've doing a lot of lurking on this forum to gather the info I hoped to obtain, I've found that I have come to the conclusion that I need some basic knowledge before I progress any further with what I wish to use my prs505 for. I wanted to know if anyone can explain to me how to create a table of contents that will be recognized in my sony reader. I've looked up several programs and have tried a few, but without knowing how to insert a table of contents in my pdf file, I'm pretty much at a standstill at this point. This question applies to both image files (a ToC for manga scans) and text (japanese textbooks), if even possible [for image files in a pdf].

2. what is/are the ideal program(s) for a beginner to use to get up-and-running for my tasks (creating manga and ebooks for my 505)?

I would really appreciate any type of help. I'm so lost ~_~

Sabardeyn · 06-08-2009, 05:17 AM

ChaosSoldier,

Like you I'm still new to calibre and don't use a hardware ebook reader. So I cannot address most of your issues. However, based on what I've been reading, manga is difficult for most hardware ebook readers simply because of the small screen size. It is not impossible, just awkward.

Using a non-scalable image file format on a small screen tends to make the manga hard to view - let alone read. If you can pan around an image, full pages could be viewed with scrolling. A scalable image format (SVG) would be much better. From what I've been able to tell, manga generally is used either as a PDF or EPUB.

Check the wiki (link is at top left of page) to find out more about prs505 (which has two links to manga topics here in the forum about creating manga books). As well as links to file formats, graphics, etc.

(While I also have manga, I'm using software to read them on a desktop computer system. With more than enough memory, storage and screen space to read them without issue.)

ChaosSoldier · 06-08-2009, 07:36 AM

Thanks for the help.

After doing searching it seems that I will try to get a hold of calibre to contain my ebooks and whatnot. I still need to find out if it is possible to add a table of contents for an image pdf (manga/comic) and find an ideal way for a beginner to add a table of contents to an ebook that does not have one.

For manga I have already tested a few chapters on my prs505 and I have no major complaints, so that isn't a big issue for me. Thanks for your help. It is appreciated.

Sabardeyn · 06-08-2009, 07:30 PM

Not a problem. Actually, you're ahead of me on the manga front. Right now I'm using Manga Meeya to read manga, but I'm considering using Calibre for the library management aspect.

Both file formats mentioned (PDF and EPUB) allow the creation of a table of contents with links to other portions of the book. If I remember correctly, the current stable version of Calibre (v0.5.xx) is a poorer implementation than v0.6 (currently in beta testing) at converting any format into EPUB. Not sure about any into PDF. Considering you're new it might not be worthwhile for you to do beta testing and learning the program at the same time.

As for creating a TOC from scratch, EPUB is just a zip file with an epub extension. Change the extension back to zip, decompress and you can edit it in any editor. However, what exactly you need to do from there to create the TOC I'm not qualified to say.

I know that their are other topics on this issue though. Search the forums.

06-07-2009, 08:16 AM	#1
ChaosSoldier Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505	Newbie in need of help. Hi all. I just wanted to say hello and if possible, get some help on a few things as I just got my sony reader prs505. I am new to pretty much all of this as it was an impulse purchase that I will be using to archive manga and japanese text/workbooks (I'm majoring in japanese at the university of Hawaii). So to start off my questions... 1. Since I've doing a lot of lurking on this forum to gather the info I hoped to obtain, I've found that I have come to the conclusion that I need some basic knowledge before I progress any further with what I wish to use my prs505 for. I wanted to know if anyone can explain to me how to create a table of contents that will be recognized in my sony reader. I've looked up several programs and have tried a few, but without knowing how to insert a table of contents in my pdf file, I'm pretty much at a standstill at this point. This question applies to both image files (a ToC for manga scans) and text (japanese textbooks), if even possible [for image files in a pdf]. 2. what is/are the ideal program(s) for a beginner to use to get up-and-running for my tasks (creating manga and ebooks for my 505)? I would really appreciate any type of help. I'm so lost ~_~

06-08-2009, 05:17 AM	#2
Sabardeyn Guru Posts: 644 Karma: 1242364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Right Coast Device: PC (Calibre), Nexus 7 2013 (Moon+ Pro), HTC HD2/Leo (Freda)	ChaosSoldier, Like you I'm still new to calibre and don't use a hardware ebook reader. So I cannot address most of your issues. However, based on what I've been reading, manga is difficult for most hardware ebook readers simply because of the small screen size. It is not impossible, just awkward. Using a non-scalable image file format on a small screen tends to make the manga hard to view - let alone read. If you can pan around an image, full pages could be viewed with scrolling. A scalable image format (SVG) would be much better. From what I've been able to tell, manga generally is used either as a PDF or EPUB. Check the wiki (link is at top left of page) to find out more about prs505 (which has two links to manga topics here in the forum about creating manga books). As well as links to file formats, graphics, etc. (While I also have manga, I'm using software to read them on a desktop computer system. With more than enough memory, storage and screen space to read them without issue.) Last edited by Sabardeyn; 06-08-2009 at 05:22 AM.

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06-08-2009, 07:36 AM	#3
ChaosSoldier Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505	Thanks for the help. After doing searching it seems that I will try to get a hold of calibre to contain my ebooks and whatnot. I still need to find out if it is possible to add a table of contents for an image pdf (manga/comic) and find an ideal way for a beginner to add a table of contents to an ebook that does not have one. For manga I have already tested a few chapters on my prs505 and I have no major complaints, so that isn't a big issue for me. Thanks for your help. It is appreciated.

06-08-2009, 07:30 PM	#4
Sabardeyn Guru Posts: 644 Karma: 1242364 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Right Coast Device: PC (Calibre), Nexus 7 2013 (Moon+ Pro), HTC HD2/Leo (Freda)	Not a problem. Actually, you're ahead of me on the manga front. Right now I'm using Manga Meeya to read manga, but I'm considering using Calibre for the library management aspect. Both file formats mentioned (PDF and EPUB) allow the creation of a table of contents with links to other portions of the book. If I remember correctly, the current stable version of Calibre (v0.5.xx) is a poorer implementation than v0.6 (currently in beta testing) at converting any format into EPUB. Not sure about any into PDF. Considering you're new it might not be worthwhile for you to do beta testing and learning the program at the same time. As for creating a TOC from scratch, EPUB is just a zip file with an epub extension. Change the extension back to zip, decompress and you can edit it in any editor. However, what exactly you need to do from there to create the TOC I'm not qualified to say. I know that their are other topics on this issue though. Search the forums.

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