maintaining URLs and Images in PDB files

[monsieurms]

Hi---I tend to split my files between *.pdb and *.prc, but tend to prefer *.pdb files on my device.

I typically use Amber Text converter to make htm and doc files into pdbs.

Often, though, I find myself forced to use Mobi Creator, which is a great little program but makes files that I have to use with MobiPocket reader software, which I rather detest.

So, hence, the dilemma. If I use MobiCreator, I wind up with prcs I'd rather not use. If I use Amber it doesn't maintain images and hyperlinks necessary for tables of contents etc.

Is there any solution? How can I make a pdb for use with eReader software that will maintain images and links? I sent a tech request to Amber. No response, which seems fairly typical.

[Elfwreck]

I preferred PDB, and used PML and Dropbook to make PDBs with images & links.

I suspect that there might be a way to automate links, but not image conversion, because that would require images that fit within eReader's specific limitations, and no simple conversion program is going to do that.

Palm Markup Language is simpler than HTML (mostly 'cos it's a lot more limited), and most of it can be placed with find-and-replace functions in Word. Images & URLs can't, but they're not very complicated; PML doesn't have a steep learning curve.

I used to take HTML texts, copy-paste into Word, then use find-replace to put \i around the italics and \B around the bold text (have to remember to use "match caps" or it gets weird), then put \x and \c around chapter sections, then do some manual touchup to make sure the \c parts always end on a new line.

Then I'd make images--open Photoshop (or GIMP, which is free) and make sure the images were saved as PNG 8bit non-interlaced, into a folder called FILENAME_img. (And no more than 65kb each, which required downsampling sometimes. Making them no more than 320 pixels wide usually took care of that on its own.)

I rarely bothered with links, but sometimes I'd build a TOC. If I'd done it more, I think I would've learned to make macros that helped.

When I got the file done, I saved the Word doc (in case I needed to edit it later), copy-pasted the text into a TXT file, and then dropped that into Dropbook.

[monsieurms]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I preferred PDB, and used PML and Dropbook to make PDBs with images & links.

I suspect that there might be a way to automate links, but not image conversion, because that would require images that fit within eReader's specific limitations, and no simple conversion program is going to do that.

Palm Markup Language is simpler than HTML (mostly 'cos it's a lot more limited), and most of it can be placed with find-and-replace functions in Word. Images & URLs can't, but they're not very complicated; PML doesn't have a steep learning curve.

I used to take HTML texts, copy-paste into Word, then use find-replace to put \i around the italics and \B around the bold text (have to remember to use "match caps" or it gets weird), then put \x and \c around chapter sections, then do some manual touchup to make sure the \c parts always end on a new line.

Then I'd make images--open Photoshop (or GIMP, which is free) and make sure the images were saved as PNG 8bit non-interlaced, into a folder called FILENAME_img. (And no more than 65kb each, which required downsampling sometimes. Making them no more than 320 pixels wide usually took care of that on its own.)

I rarely bothered with links, but sometimes I'd build a TOC. If I'd done it more, I think I would've learned to make macros that helped.

When I got the file done, I saved the Word doc (in case I needed to edit it later), copy-pasted the text into a TXT file, and then dropped that into Dropbook.

Thanks for that detail. Whew. That's a lot of work---I compliment your work ethic or dedication to pdb format, but if that's the only solution, I guess prcs are looking better and better.