Does anybody have experience with Vibosoft ePub Editor Master?

[Iskariot]

Does anybody have experience with Vibosoft ePub Editor Master?
I was looking for something to replace Sigil now that they have abandoned 'book view'.

To me this Vibosoft program seems to offer all that Sigil is now lacking, and more, but I am not sure. I can not find reviews.

The program costs 60 dollars, but to me that is worth it if it is a reliable WYSIWYG epub editor.


If you do not know the program, but do have recommendations for other software, then please let me know.

[DiapDealer]

Looks like a direct ripoff of an older version of Sigil's codebase with no attribution whatsoever to me. They didn't even change the names of the widgets. Real nice.

And for the record ... if you like Sigil with Book View, why not simply continue to use the older versions of Sigil with Book View? The versions you like aren't going to suddenly quit working. No need to pay someone else for the same older software that we're giving away.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by Iskariot

Does anybody have experience with Vibosoft ePub Editor Master?
I was looking for something to replace Sigil now that they have abandoned 'book view'.

You really might want to give the latest Sigil version another try, because the developers tried really hard to make the transition for Book View users as painless as possible. The Book View/Code View buttons are gone, but they've added a new PageEdit button to the toolbar.



Also, if you press F2, Sigil will open the current HTML file in PageEdit, if you've configured PageEdit as your preferred HTML editor.
If you enable the Preview window, resize it and drag it next to the Code View window, Sigil behaves pretty much like older versions.

If you still want to spend money on a commercial epub editor, you might want to check out the trial versions of Atlantis Word Processor and Jutoh. Both are much cheaper than the Sigil ripoff that Vibosoft sells.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

You really might want to give the latest Sigil version another try, because the developers tried really hard to make the transition for Book View users as painless as possible. The Book View/Code View buttons are gone, but they've added a new PageEdit button to the toolbar.



Also, if you press F2, Sigil will open the current HTML file in PageEdit, if you've configured PageEdit as your preferred HTML editor.
If you enable the Preview window, resize it and drag it next to the Code View window, Sigil behaves pretty much like older versions.

If you still want to spend money on a commercial epub editor, you might want to check out the trial versions of Atlantis Word Processor and Jutoh. Both are much cheaper than the Sigil ripoff that Vibosoft sells.

If someone really HAS TO HAVE Bookview, then get Atlantis. It's the easiest transition from a word-processor, as it IS a word processor and then you can edit in "book view."

Isn't using Sigil in a commercial product against the T&C for it? Isn't that what was set from the jump? I realize that nobody is going to sue, all things considered, but it's a shame. Ridiculous that someone will PAY for an older version of FREE sigil, just because they're afraid of losing Bookview and their ability to screw up the HTML by typing therein.

Hitch

[Iskariot]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

You really might want to give the latest Sigil version another try, because the developers tried really hard to make the transition for Book View users as painless as possible. The Book View/Code View buttons are gone, but they've added a new PageEdit button to the toolbar.



Also, if you press F2, Sigil will open the current HTML file in PageEdit, if you've configured PageEdit as your preferred HTML editor.
If you enable the Preview window, resize it and drag it next to the Code View window, Sigil behaves pretty much like older versions.

If you still want to spend money on a commercial epub editor, you might want to check out the trial versions of Atlantis Word Processor and Jutoh. Both are much cheaper than the Sigil ripoff that Vibosoft sells.

Some interesting tips. I will look into it.

Due to my personal constitution I am very fixed in my routines. I was/am very used to a certain workflow and I have trouble adapting to changes in general.

For me being able to quickly switch between html and book view is of great value and I have only minimal knowledge of html. Therefore a WYSIWYG approach is a must.

I will reinstall the new Sigil and give it another go with the help of the information you have given.

Thank you.

[Iskariot]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Looks like a direct ripoff of an older version of Sigil's codebase with no attribution whatsoever to me. They didn't even change the names of the widgets. Real nice.

And for the record ... if you like Sigil with Book View, why not simply continue to use the older versions of Sigil with Book View? The versions you like aren't going to suddenly quit working. No need to pay someone else for the same older software that we're giving away.

Did you know about this program?
When I looked into it, it did feel somewhat fishy to me. That is why I asked about it here. I am glad I did.

Currently I do indeed have an older version of Sigil reinstalled.

[Iskariot]

Originally Posted by Hitch

If someone really HAS TO HAVE Bookview, then get Atlantis. It's the easiest transition from a word-processor, as it IS a word processor and then you can edit in "book view."

Hitch

Can one use Atlantis to load existing epubs in it?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Iskariot

Did you know about this program?
When I looked into it, it did feel somewhat fishy to me. That is why I asked about it here. I am glad I did.

No. I hadn't heard of it until you mentioned it, actually. But the screen shots of the program told me everything I need to know. The central tabbed widget. A dockwidget on the the left that contains a tree-view named "Book Browser," a widget on the right with a tree-view Table of Contents.

My guess is it's a snapshot of Sigil's code from around version 0.5.x or 0.6.x (maybe 0.7.x) and re-branded a bit.

The downloaded installer indicates it's published by a Chinese corporation, but that's all the further I was willing to investigate. If I get curious, I may install it on a virtual Windows machine that I can just reset from a snapshot if anything goes wonky.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Isn't using Sigil in a commercial product against the T&C for it?

The GPLv3 doesn't prevent charging money for code derivative of other GPLv3 source-code, but it does mean that your modifications must also be GPLv3 and the source code made available.

https://tldrlegal.com/license/gnu-ge...nse-v3-(gpl-3)

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Iskariot

Can one use Atlantis to load existing epubs in it?

Yes.

At least back when in the dim past of 2014, there was a freebie (no updates, no support) version of Atlantis. To me, using Atlantis is pretty much like using LibreOffice Writer, Apple Pages, Scrivener or Google Docs or any other word processor with a save as epub option or conversion (I've played with MS Word and Draft2Digital) outside the word processor.

Overall, I prefer Sigil since it lets me get down and dirty with the raw code (The power! The ability to turn your epub into cruft!). With the newest Sigil version, I have PageEdit installed but for the most part I use the Preview pane on a secondary monitor. Like too many people, I ran into issues when doing a quick edit in BookView did not produce the expected result (i.e. Gospel In, Garbage Out).

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Iskariot

Can one use Atlantis to load existing epubs in it?

Atlantis can create an ePub but cannot load one. It cannot even paste HTML.
I have a review of AWP Review in our wiki.

Dale

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Atlantis can create an ePub but cannot load one. It cannot even paste HTML.
I have a review of AWP Review in our wiki.

Dale

Interesting. I seem to remember opening an epub from within Atlantis. It's been close to 5 years so my memory may be playing tricks on me.

[Iskariot]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Atlantis can create an ePub but cannot load one. It cannot even paste HTML.
I have a review of AWP Review in our wiki.

Dale

That is what I feared. A lot of these programs can not load an existing epub.
I would only use such a program to repair/improve/beautify existing ebooks.
I do not need to create ebooks myself.

[Iskariot]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Overall, I prefer Sigil since it lets me get down and dirty with the raw code (The power! The ability to turn your epub into cruft!). With the newest Sigil version, I have PageEdit installed but for the most part I use the Preview pane on a secondary monitor. Like too many people, I ran into issues when doing a quick edit in BookView did not produce the expected result (i.e. Gospel In, Garbage Out).

I have not mastered handling the raw code. As opposed to you I feel quite powerless when I look at it .
That is why a good straight forward WYSIWYG epub editor is of great interest to me. I want the program to do the things in the background I do not understand myself. I only want to have to pay attention to things like the lay out of a document, book structure, appearance etc.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Iskariot

I have not mastered handling the raw code. As opposed to you I feel quite powerless when I look at it .
That is why a good straight forward WYSIWYG epub editor is of great interest to me. I want the program to do the things in the background I do not understand myself. I only want to have to pay attention to things like the lay out of a document, book structure, appearance etc.

Well...with all due respect, that's pretty much what everyone wants, who doesn't know HTML or CSS. Every author. Every publisher. They want some magic eBook-making software that makes a perfect ebook, that allows them to NOT know what the hell they're doing.

I realize that in this day and age, every task more complicated than doing the dishes "has an app for that," but maybe if you really want to modify eBooks to suit your own tastes, you might want to learn how to make them. (And I'd point out, typing in the code and seeing what happens in Preview is a great way to start learning that....)

However, if you're going to insist on not understanding the code--even though, honestly, it's truly not hard or complicated, mostly just a few hours to start learning--you can always take an ePUB or MOBI, put it in Calibre, export it to Word and then put the Word file into Atlantis.

Problem solved.

Hitch