How to create a clean ePub? (total beginner)

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by Fstab

Thank you all!

@JSWolf
Seems better to export only the text, but I suppose it is a lot more work for the layout?

Once you figure out search and replace even plain text is usable. Often the paragraphs are separated by a blank line so you can search for two end-of-lines and replace that with a close p and a start p. Starting with html is generally less work but it may require cleaning out stuff that's not needed.

And I did not know it is better to know HTML and CSS (which I know a little) to make good ePub.

You can think of ePubs as web pages that are inside of an ePub container. (I make each chapter a separate xhtml file because the ereaders start a new page at the end of the files.) So you definitely need to know HTML and CSS, but as I said before, the helpful web sites for HTML and CSS also give lots of information that's only useful on web sites.

To begin, I don't want to have some personal fonts, only to use what is provided by the devices. Maybe it will be siample that way?

It won't be less work if you don't use personal fonts, and it's best to not use them in any case.

[Fstab]

Thank you Turtle91. I will look into it.

For Toxaris, is it better with old version of Microsoft Word, to have a cleaner output file, or is it identical with the last version?

@lumpynose
Thank you for all these details.

[Turtle91]

No matter what version of Word you use, it is always recommended to use the Styles appropriately and consistently...that makes the best output.

Toxaris' plugin does a great job getting clean, consistent, output no matter the version of Word....although there is a minimum version required to support plugins... sorry, I don't recall what version of Word that is??? I'm pretty sure he mention's it in his plugin thread.

[lumpynose]

I shudder at the thought of installing Word. The last time I installed it it installed a some other crud that I didn't want and couldn't uninstall. Never again.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

No matter what version of Word you use, it is always recommended to use the Styles appropriately and consistently...that makes the best output.

The same recommendations apply equally to LO/OO Writer.

For various reasons, I can't use Toxaris' add-on for EPUB Generation, but I use its other features, some of which were added/modified at my request. I think it needs Word 2007 or later.

And if you're using Word (2007…19) or especially Writer I suggest you save as DOCX and use the DOCX->EPUB conversion/import features in Calibre or Sigil to get an EPUB. Calibre conversion is fine for most texts (providing they're Styled). If you want 1:1 mapping of Word/Writer styles with CSS styles use Sigil's DOCX Import plugin - but you have to specify the mapping tables.

There's a thread somewhere about Writer's Save as ePUB feature, last time I looked the comments seem to suggest it was less functional that the Calibre and Sigil based tools --- but it could be worth checking out.

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

I shudder at the thought of installing Word. The last time I installed it it installed a some other crud that I didn't want and couldn't uninstall. Never again.

We know, you're like a broken record -- you never let an opportunity to post the same irrelevancy over and over and over.

BR

[AliceWonder]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

I shudder at the thought of installing Word. The last time I installed it it installed a some other crud that I didn't want and couldn't uninstall. Never again.

That's a trend in software world in general now. It's why I mostly only use CentOS and also why I rarely use my phone for anything other than calls.

Once Internet became commercialized, the potential of what it could have become was lost. And it's quite sad.

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

We know, you're like a broken record -- you never let an opportunity to post the same irrelevancy over and over and over.

BR

Sorry, I'll try to restrain my blathering.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Fstab

@JSWolf
Seems better to export only the text, but I suppose it is a lot more work for the layout?
I have to make some tests before, because for now I don't know the process.
And I did not know it is better to know HTML and CSS (which I know a little) to make good ePub.

If you really want to use a word processor such as word, you need to learn to use styles. You are not allowed to highlight text and apply anything to it other then a style. Also, you have to remove all the default styles and create your own as you need them. You have to be as neat as possible. It does take some getting used to. But it can be done. Then you export as clean HTML (if using Word) and take the resulting HTML into Sigil or Calibre (editor) and work from there. You want to make the code as simple as possible.

[Notjohn]

>Maybe Sigil is the best way, but I was reading on the website it was not updates for years.

Actually, it updates so frequently that I have given up updating it.

Here's how I make a clean epub: I run my Word doc through Word2CleanHtml dot com online and open the resulting file in Sigil. I add my style sheet, which you can borrow from my blog (notjohnkdp), break it in chapters, etc etc. An 80,000-word all-text book should weigh in at about 500 KB. I don't think you can get cleaner than that.

[JSWolf]

A clean eBook is not just clean code, but clean formatting.