BookDesigner update

[NatCh]

If I'm remembering correctly, BD uses MS Word as a resource to process certain file types, and from what you've said it must also use it for .LIT files. However, there are a number of conversion apps that will put your .LIT file into something else (like HTML) for you, which BD will handle fine on its own. I'd suggest Amber Lit Converter, or ConvertLIT for starters. They seem to be the ones that folks have the best luck with, based on recommendations around here.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by NatCh

If I'm remembering correctly, BD uses MS Word as a resource to process certain file types, and from what you've said it must also use it for .LIT files. However, there are a number of conversion apps that will put your .LIT file into something else (like HTML) for you, which BD will handle fine on its own. I'd suggest Amber Lit Converter, or ConvertLIT for starters. They seem to be the ones that folks have the best luck with, based on recommendations around here.

Amber LIT Converter has a bug in it that really bugs me. Just like one of the earlier versions of BD left out the leading space in italics, so does Amber LIT Converter. That's why I don't use it. I think it may be based on the code for CLIT 1.2 which also I think had the same bug.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by NatCh

If I'm remembering correctly, BD uses MS Word as a resource to process certain file types, and from what you've said it must also use it for .LIT files. However, there are a number of conversion apps that will put your .LIT file into something else (like HTML) for you, which BD will handle fine on its own. I'd suggest Amber Lit Converter, or ConvertLIT for starters. They seem to be the ones that folks have the best luck with, based on recommendations around here.

BD does use Word to import HTML - at least some types of HTML. I suspect that what's happening here is that it's converting the LIT to HTML and then trying to use Word to import the HTML. The reason I know this is that, when I open an HTML file in BD, I get a pop-up from my virus scanner telling me that it's waiting to scan the Word template file.

[vvv]

Originally Posted by lady_morana

I have bookdesigner installed.

However, I do not use MSWord, I use OpenOffice.

When I try to open a LIT file, It comes up with an error that says

"Operation failed. Check your MS Word Installation"

While I know that MS Word can be used to make LIT files, why do you have to have Word installed to open LIT in book designer?

Is there a work around?

Try:
1. Settings -> re-format completely, keep pictures, keep bookmarks and links, keep styles: all checked.
2. load your lit

Under the above settings BD will not use Word for the pre-processing of html's extracted from lit. However in this case some tag tree errors may appear. To check a tag's tree, press Tools -> Html Fragment Editor -> whole code. If there are some errors, they will be reported at the statusbar, and you will have to fix them manually (an automatic tree corrector is not ready yet).

[JSWolf]

So what part of Word is needed to do the conversion so maybe only that bit can be installed and not the rest? This is a guess that it's possible to do this.

[Studio717]

I haven't seen this addressed, but does BD work with Word 2007? I have Win XP (not Vista).

[RWood]

If you look at the files used by BD in the Program Files subdirectory you will see "clit" which I suspect is what BD uses to convert LIT files.

[JSWolf]

Yes BD uses CLIT to convert LIT. But it also accesses Word in order to convert to something BD understands. That is if I am understanding what vvv has been saying.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Studio717

I haven't seen this addressed, but does BD work with Word 2007? I have Win XP (not Vista).

I have XP pro and Office 2007 running on my wife's machine, which is where I do my BD work, I haven't seen any issues.

[JSWolf]

I'm running Office 2003 with BD and it works great.

[Studio717]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I have XP pro and Office 2007 running on my wife's machine, which is where I do my BD work, I haven't seen any issues.

Thanks, NatCh.

[NatCh]

You're welcome, Studio717.

[vvv]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Yes BD uses CLIT to convert LIT. But it also accesses Word in order to convert to something BD understands. That is if I am understanding what vvv has been saying.

You are right: Word is used to standardize html's and to fix tag tree errors which occur frequently in original html's. Well, Word outputs quite complicated html's, but I prefer to deal with them rather than with messed originals...

[astra]

BD never ceases to amaze me.

Yesterday I encountered a book that looked very odd in html format.

All ' signs were replaces by some sort of grey rectangles about a size of a capial N. All " signs were replaced by black squares about 1/2 size of the mentioned rectangles. More over some of " signs were replaced by some odd sign...when I uploaded the file into BD, it sorted all the problems!

Isn't it amazing?

[astra]

Originally Posted by Yaksha

I might be able to help you with this as I also had this problem.

My work has Adobe Professional, and while you can probably do this with Adobe Standard, I'm not sure if you can do it with Adobe Reader. But give it a shot!

Anyway, open the PDF and go to a page with the title at the top. Then go to Document -> Crop Pages.

Under "Margin Controls" change the top so that the line appears below the title.

In "Page Range" select All. I kept mine as Apply to: "Odd and Even Pages" but you might try just Even.

Click OK to crop the document.

Now, even though it's cropped, the words are still there. If you try to save the PDF and import it into BD, it'll still detect the title text. Also, you should check the document to make sure you didn't crop anything you didn't want to.

What you have to do is go to File -> Print. Select Adobe PDF and print it to a new document.

Open the new document and voila, no more titles every two pages.

You genius!
It works!