(x)html ebook specification - Page 4

rogue_ronin · 05-29-2009, 06:07 AM

Here's the spec, without any references to A Princess of Mars. Maybe you can use it.

If anyone sees anything I can improve, I'd love to hear it.

Code:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

	<head>

		<title>TITLE</title>

		<!-- BEGIN: FILE HISTORY -->

		<!-- Created on YYYY-MM-DD -->
		<!-- Revision # 0.10 on YYYY-MM-DD -->
		<!-- Revision # 0.20 on YYYY-MM-DD -->
		<!-- Current Revision # 0.80 on YYYY-MM-DD -->

		<!-- END: FILE HISTORY -->

		<!-- BEGIN: REVISION GUIDELINE -->

		<!--
		0.10 :: Initial Conversion
		0.20 :: Cover and Frontispiece
		0.30 :: Sections, Chapters and TOC
		0.40 :: Endnotes and/or Blockquotes
		0.50 :: Initial Spellcheck
		0.60 :: M-Dashes, Hyphens and Ellipses
		0.70 :: Italics, Bold, and Pre-Formatted Text
		0.80 :: Reading Proof
		0.90 :: Checked Against Canonical Source
		1.00 :: Final Version -- Optimal
		1.++ :: Minor Error Corrections
		-->

		<!-- END: REVISION GUIDELINE -->

		<!-- BEGIN: EBOOK META INFORMATION -->

		<meta name="filename" content="FILENAME" />
		<meta name="fileid" content="UNIQUE ID" />
		<meta name="filecreationdate" content="YYYY-MM-DD" />
		<meta name="fileversion" content="VERSION NUMBER" />
		<meta name="filerevisiondate" content="YYYY-MM-DD" />
		<meta name="filesource" content="FILE SOURCE" />
		<meta name="filescanner" content="NAME OF SCANNER" />
		<meta name="fileproofer" content="NAME OF PROOFER (CONTACT INFO)" />
		<meta name="filecomment" content="COMMENT" />

		<meta name="title" content="TITLE" />
		<meta name="subtitle" content="SUBTITLE" />
		<meta name="series" content="SERIES NAME" />
		<meta name="seriesnumber" content="POSITION IN SERIES" />

		<meta name="author" content="FIRST NAME|MIDDLE NAMES|LAST NAME|" />
		<meta name="illustrator" content="FIRST NAME|MIDDLE NAMES|LAST NAME|" />
		<meta name="editor" content="FIRST NAME|MIDDLE NAMES|LAST NAME|" />

		<meta name="genre" content="GENRE/SUBJECT" />
		<meta name="isbn" content="ISBN NUMBER" />
		<meta name="language" content="TWO-LETTER LOCALE CODE" />
		<meta name="description" content="SHORT DESCRIPTION OF BOOK" />
		<meta name="keywords" content="TAGS/KEYWORDS" />

		<meta name="publisher" content="PUBLISHER" />
		<meta name="publicationdate" content="YYYY-MM-DD" />
		<meta name="publicationcity" content="CITY NAME" />

		<meta name="copyrightholder" content="NAME OF COPYRIGHT HOLDER" />
		<meta name="copyrightdate" content="YEAR OF COPYRIGHT" />
		<meta name="copyrightlicense" content="COPYRIGHT STATUS OR LICENSE" />

		<!-- END: EBOOK META INFORMATION -->

		<!-- BEGIN: STRUCTURE HINTS -->

		<!--
		ELEMENTS USED :: PURPOSE OF ELEMENT IN EBOOK
		-->

		<!-- END: STRUCTURE HINTS -->

		<!-- BEGIN: MANIFEST -->

		<!--
		LIST OF LINKED FILES BY RELATIVE LOCATION :: DESCRIPTION OF FILE
		-->

		<!-- END: MANIFEST -->

	</head>

	<body>

		<div class="Spine" id="Cover">
			<a href="#START_OF_BOOK ID">
				<img src="images/cover.png" />
			</a>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Frontispiece">
			<h2>TITLE/SERIES NAME</h2>
			<ul>
				<li>SERIES LIST TITLES</li>
			</ul>
			<img src="images/frontispiece.png" />
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="FrontMatter">
			<h2>FRONT MATTER HEADING</h2>
			<p>FRONT MATTER CONTENT (BLURBS, JUNK, ADS, WHATEVER)</p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="TitlePage">
			<h1>TITLE</h1>
			<p id="Subtitle">SUBTITLE</p>
			<p id="Author">AUTHOR</p>
			<p id="Illustrator">ILLUSTRATOR</p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Verso">
			<h2>VERSO HEADING</h2>
			<a href="sounds/logo.wav">
				<img src="images/logo.png">
			</a>
			<p id="PublisherBlurb">PUBLISHER BLURB</p>
			<p id="VersionNumber">VERSION NUMBER</p>
			<p id="RevisionDate">REVISION DATE</p>
			<p id="OriginalSource">ORIGINAL SOURCE</p>
			<p id="Scanner">SCANNER</p>
			<p id="Proofer">PROOFER(S)</p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Inscription">
			<h2>INSCRIPTION HEADING</h2>
			<p>INSCRIPTION CONTENT</p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Acknowledgment">
			<h2>ACKNOWLEDGMENT HEADING</h2>
			<p>ACKNOWLEDGMENT CONTENT</p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Preface">
			<h2>PREFACE HEADING</h2>
			<p>PREFACE CONTENT</p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="TableOfIllustrations">
			<h2>TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS HEADING</h2>
			<ul>
				<li>
					<a href="#ILLUSTRATION ID">ILLUSTRATION NAME</a>
				</li>
			</ul>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="TableOfMaps">
			<h2>TABLE OF MAPS HEADING</h2>
			<ul>
				<li>
					<a href="#MAP ID">MAP NAME</a>
				</li>
			</ul>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="TableOfTables">
			<h2>TABLE OF TABLES HEADING</h2>
			<ul>
				<li>
					<a href="#TABLE ID">TABLE NAME</a>
				</li>
			</ul>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="TableOfContents">
			<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS HEADING</h2>
			<ul>
				<li>
					<a href="#CONTENT ID">CONTENT NAME</a>
				</li>
			</ul>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Introduction">
			<h2>INTRODUCTION HEADING</h2>
			<p>INTRODUCTION CONTENT</p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="PART ID">
			<h2>PART HEADING</h2>
			<p>PART CONTENT<p>


			<div class="Body" id="Prologue">
				<h3>PROLOGUE HEADING</h3>
				<ul class="NavLinks"
					<li>
						<a href="#PREVIOUS CHAPTER ID">
							<img src="images/up.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
					<li>
						<a href="#TableOfContents">
							<img src="images/toc.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
					<li>
						<a href="#NEXT CHAPTER ID">
							<img src="images/down.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
				</ul>
				<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
				<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
				<p class="Epigram">EPIGRAM</p>
				<p class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</p>
				<p>APPENDIX CONTENT</p>
				<p class="SceneBreak">&nbsp;</p>
				<img id="MAP ID" class="Map" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
				<img id="ILLUSTRATION ID" class="Illustration" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
				<table id="TABLE ID">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
				<a id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" class="EndNoteLink" href="END NOTE ID">LINK-TO-ENDNOTE NAME</a>
			</div>


			<div class="Body" id="CHAPTER ID">
				<h3>CHAPTER HEADING</h3>
				<ul class="NavLinks"
					<li>
						<a href="#PREVIOUS CHAPTER ID">
							<img src="images/up.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
					<li>
						<a href="#TableOfContents">
							<img src="images/toc.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
					<li>
						<a href="#NEXT CHAPTER ID">
							<img src="images/down.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
				</ul>
				<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
				<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
				<p class="Epigram">EPIGRAM</p>
				<p class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</p>
				<p>APPENDIX CONTENT</p>
				<p class="SceneBreak">&nbsp;</p>
				<img id="MAP ID" class="Map" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
				<img id="ILLUSTRATION ID" class="Illustration" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
				<table id="TABLE ID">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
				<a id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" class="EndNoteLink" href="END NOTE ID">LINK-TO-ENDNOTE NAME</a>
			</div>


			<div class="Body" id="Epilogue">
				<h3>EPILOGUE HEADING</h3>
				<ul class="NavLinks"
					<li>
						<a href="#PREVIOUS CHAPTER ID">
							<img src="images/up.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
					<li>
						<a href="#TableOfContents">
							<img src="images/toc.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
					<li>
						<a href="#NEXT CHAPTER ID">
							<img src="images/down.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
				</ul>
				<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
				<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
				<p class="Epigram">EPIGRAM</p>
				<p class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</p>
				<p>APPENDIX CONTENT</p>
				<p class="SceneBreak">&nbsp;</p>
				<img id="MAP ID" class="Map" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
				<img id="ILLUSTRATION ID" class="Illustration" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
				<table id="TABLE ID">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
				<a id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" class="EndNoteLink" href="END NOTE ID">LINK-TO-ENDNOTE NAME</a>
			</div>


			<div class="Body" id="APPENDIX ID">
				<h3>APPENDIX HEADING</h3>
				<ul class="NavLinks"
					<li>
						<a href="#PREVIOUS CHAPTER ID">
							<img src="images/up.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
					<li>
						<a href="#TableOfContents">
							<img src="images/toc.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
					<li>
						<a href="#NEXT CHAPTER ID">
							<img src="images/down.png" />
						</a>
					</li>
				</ul>
				<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
				<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
				<p class="Epigram">EPIGRAM</p>
				<p class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</p>
				<p>APPENDIX CONTENT</p>
				<p class="SceneBreak">&nbsp;</p>
				<img id="MAP ID" class="Map" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
				<img id="ILLUSTRATION ID" class="Illustration" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
				<table id="TABLE ID">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
				<a id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" class="EndNoteLink" href="END NOTE ID">LINK-TO-ENDNOTE NAME</a>
			</div>


		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Afterword">
			<h2>AFTERWORD HEADING</h2>
			<p>AFTERWORD CONTENT<p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="AboutTheAuthor">
			<h2>ABOUT THE AUTHOR HEADING</h2>
			<p>ABOUT THE AUTHOR CONTENT<p>
			<img id="ILLUSTRATION ID" class="Illustration" src="images/author.png" />
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Colophon">
			<h2>COLOPHON HEADING</h2>
			<p>COLOPHON CONTENT<p>
			<a href="Cover">
				<img src="images/colophon.png" />
			</a>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Endnotes">
			<h2>ENDNOTES HEADING</h2>
			<p id="END NOTE ID">
				ENDNOTE CONTENT
				<a class="BackLink" href="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID">
					<img src="images/return.png" />
				</a>
			</p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Glossary">
			<h2>GLOSSARY HEADING</h2>
			<p>GLOSSARY CONTENT<p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="Index">
			<h2>INDEX HEADING</h2>
			<p>INDEX CONTENT<p>
		</div>


		<div class="Spine" id="EndMatter">
			<h2>END MATTER HEADING</h2>
			<p>END MATTER CONTENT (BLURBS, JUNK, ADS, WHATEVER)<p>
		</div>

	</body>

	</head>

</html>

I changed the date format as gwynevans suggested.

I think I'll convert A Princess of Mars to this layout, and then I'll try to develop a CSS for it.

Help always appreciated.

m a r

radius · 07-02-2009, 09:59 AM

Looks like an interesting project (and an interesting choice of scripting language to program it in)...

One comment I have is that you might want to consider changing epigrams from being special paragraphs into being divs.

Some reasons:

- Although they are typically short, you may run into multi-paragraph epigrams
- If you want to right align an attribution its probably easier to do it within the "box" of a div
- If you want to do some CSS styling like draw a box around the epigram, change the background colour etc. it is easier to do for a div than for separate paragraphs

In fact, now that I think about it, you might also created a div for chapter "endnotes" (but I'm not sure what the real name for this is). I don't mean a list of references used en lieu of footnotes.

Consider an anthology of short stories where there is a blurb about the author, or some kind of comment by the anthology editor at the end of each story (Eric Flint from Baen books often does this in story collections, if you need to see a real world example). If my arguments above are valid, then this should probably be its own div as well.

rogue_ronin · 07-02-2009, 11:51 AM

Hey, I'll definitely check it out -- I've been trying to use divs for as large a 'box' as possible. Basically, pure chunks o' structure.

The spec is in flux right now -- I'm building the macros, and that's leading to some experimentation, and recognition of errors, too!

If I keep at it, I should have it done this weekend, I think, and I'll post the revised spec.

m a r

ps: an 'afterword', maybe for the post-discussion things? Or maybe just a 'comment' as there is often an Afterword for the entire book?

llasram · 07-02-2009, 06:07 PM

For metadata, why not just use OPF w/ the Dublin Core metadata elements? Then you could put the HTML, OPF, and any image files in a ZIP archive, to keep them all together. Then you could call it EPUB.

I do like the idea of an HTML book microformat. It's something people have discussed before.

rogue_ronin · 07-02-2009, 11:22 PM

Awesome link. I'm now reading about the boom microformat that page linked to. I may have to add elements!

I think that the reason I'm not doing the .epub thing is that it is so complex. I mean, no individual piece is complex, but altogether it's difficult to encompass. I don't like it when books are broken into multiple parts. If I want to edit an error, or change the layout in an EPUB it is unnecessarily complicated, I find. Just imagine changing chapter headings in it. How many documents might you have to open? Ridiculous. It's a web of interrelated documents, TOC, OPF, multiple chapters, size-breaks for readers, obsolescent folder structures, etc.

Making an OPF and EPUB from this should be trivial, for someone familiar with it. I am not an expert at HTML, XHTML or EPUB, OPF etc. Just trying to make something that is transparent, simple and transformable with minimal fuss.

The Dublin Core names for the meta-elements is probably something that I should do. But again, I find that DC is obscure at points (contributor, etc.) and I lean away.

This is all ground trod before, (DocBook, FB2, boom, etc.) but I can't help myself -- if I can make something lean and intuitively readable and editable, I'll be pleased. I want an archive format that doesn't require multiple steps to access and edit, or knowledge beyond basic XHTML/CSS. Hopefully it will carry its own "documentation" within it.

Plus, it's something to do.

m a r

Jellby · 07-03-2009, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_ronin

I think that the reason I'm not doing the .epub thing is that it is so complex. I mean, no individual piece is complex, but altogether it's difficult to encompass. I don't like it when books are broken into multiple parts. If I want to edit an error, or change the layout in an EPUB it is unnecessarily complicated, I find. Just imagine changing chapter headings in it. How many documents might you have to open? Ridiculous.

Hmmm... I believe the NCX file is not compulsory. The OPF file has no information about chapter headings, it's just filenames. It's also not compulsory to have multiple files, one for each chapter (although it may be needed for mobile readers). And if you want to change just the look of the chapter headings, you only have to modify the CSS file

But you're right, it would be nice to have a tool to semi-automatically create OPF (at least manifest and spine) and NCX files.

rogue_ronin · 07-03-2009, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

Hmmm... I believe the NCX file is not compulsory. The OPF file has no information about chapter headings, it's just filenames. It's also not compulsory to have multiple files, one for each chapter (although it may be needed for mobile readers). And if you want to change just the look of the chapter headings, you only have to modify the CSS file

But you're right, it would be nice to have a tool to semi-automatically create OPF (at least manifest and spine) and NCX files.

I just searched randomly on the web for an EPUB, and found Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea from ePubBooks.com.

61 files in 4 subdirectories inside a zip file. (46 chapters, 2 parts, footnotes, title, ncx, opf, etc.) Only one image, and that's the ePubBooks.com logo. All this, and not even a cover!

What's the simplest way to structure an EPUB? Whatever it is, why don't folks do that more?

Back to my current simple (ha!) work...

m a r

rogue_ronin · 07-03-2009, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radius

One comment I have is that you might want to consider changing epigrams from being special paragraphs into being divs.

snip

In fact, now that I think about it, you might also created a div for chapter "endnotes" (but I'm not sure what the real name for this is).

Still need a better name than "endnotes"... maybe "commentary"?

And I applied thinkjuice (caffeine suspensions) to the problem of epigrams (and pullquotes, too) and realized that blockquotes were the answer. They can contain paragraphs, and CSS will let you do anything that you can do to divs.

And they're both quotes, right?

Should work for "commentaries" as well.

I'm avoiding divs inside divs wherever I can, as it makes programming the macro-scripts easier. Also, I think it makes sense to keep 'em as big as possible, basically pieces of the book. (The only exception I have, is Chapters/Prologues/Epilogues/Appendices inside Parts.)

m a r

ps: I almost went with qs, but they're supposed to be short. Maybe for pullquotes...

AlexBell · 07-03-2009, 07:01 AM

[QUOTE=rogue_ronin;511121]

And I applied thinkjuice (caffeine suspensions) to the problem of epigrams (and pullquotes, too) and realized that blockquotes were the answer. They can contain paragraphs, and CSS will let you do anything that you can do to divs.

I think you'll find that there are differences between the Mobipocket version of HTML and real HTML set out according to W3C standards. One of them is that W3C standards require that you put text in tags in blockquotes - like
<blockquote>
line of text
</blockquote>
But if you do that then Mobipocket will not indent the text, which is the whole point of using blockquote. Mobipocket requires that you not use a tag, which means that the HTML will not validate.

I look forward to the day when ePub becomes the format of choice, and expect that it will use valid HTML. So I am trying to use valid HTML.

Regards, Alex

rogue_ronin · 07-03-2009, 08:11 AM

[QUOTE=AlexBell;511148]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_ronin

And I applied thinkjuice (caffeine suspensions) to the problem of epigrams (and pullquotes, too) and realized that blockquotes were the answer. They can contain paragraphs, and CSS will let you do anything that you can do to divs.

I think you'll find that there are differences between the Mobipocket version of HTML and real HTML set out according to W3C standards. One of them is that W3C standards require that you put text in tags in blockquotes - like
<blockquote>
line of text
</blockquote>
But if you do that then Mobipocket will not indent the text, which is the whole point of using blockquote. Mobipocket requires that you not use a tag, which means that the HTML will not validate.

I look forward to the day when ePub becomes the format of choice, and expect that it will use valid HTML. So I am trying to use valid HTML.

Regards, Alex

Well, mobipocket is getting up there... but I don't think it's as old as my REB1100.

It shouldn't be an issue here -- even though I don't use mobipocket, I could certainly write a macro that found ps inside blockquotes and removed them, replacing with br or whatever works, as part of the conversion process.

That's actually my goal, to have a good, valid XHTML source, and write whatever macros I need to make whatever target file I need. NoteTab can do some amazing stuff, including run other programs, so...

'course, I think Calibre will be able to do it too, (convert) and I am going to try it out once I'm finished with this. I think it makes an effort to produce good output for its target. I read that Kovid Goyal intends to produce a touch-up editor -- which may put my work here to complete death...

And EPUB will be great when there are easy tools to use. Until then I'll keep editing source...

m a r

DaleDe · 07-03-2009, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_ronin

I just searched randomly on the web for an EPUB, and found Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea from ePubBooks.com.

61 files in 4 subdirectories inside a zip file. (46 chapters, 2 parts, footnotes, title, ncx, opf, etc.) Only one image, and that's the ePubBooks.com logo. All this, and not even a cover!

What's the simplest way to structure an EPUB? Whatever it is, why don't folks do that more?

Back to my current simple (ha!) work...

m a r

Calibre is the easiest tool to use to create an ePUB. It does generate the TOC ncx file for you based on headings in the files. It can directly take the zip file. If simplifies the process completely. there is a forum here for Calibre or you can look at the wiki.

Dale

radius · 07-03-2009, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_ronin

And I applied thinkjuice (caffeine suspensions) to the problem of epigrams (and pullquotes, too) and realized that blockquotes were the answer. They can contain paragraphs, and CSS will let you do anything that you can do to divs.

ps: I almost went with qs, but they're supposed to be short. Maybe for pullquotes...

That sounds like a good solution and I agree with you in theory. Blockquotes are not only able to contain paragraphs, but in fact are only supposed to contain block level elements (ie: not plain old text). And you should be able to style blockquotes however you like with CSS. However, I find that web browsers seem to have their own ideas about how blockquotes should be presented and my CSS styling efforts don't always give predictable results. I'm guessing that ebook readers will probably end up being the same.

And you shouldn't use plain quotes for the same reason I think a single paragraph isn't enough (because they are just for short, in-line quotes).

For purely semantic storage though, blockquotes sound like a good idea.

rogue_ronin · 07-04-2009, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radius

That sounds like a good solution and I agree with you in theory. ...SNIP... However, I find that web browsers seem to have their own ideas about how blockquotes should be presented and my CSS styling efforts don't always give predictable results. I'm guessing that ebook readers will probably end up being the same.

Quote:

For purely semantic storage though, blockquotes sound like a good idea.

It was the caffeine suspensions that did it. This is largely archival, though any browser should be able to read it. And I think that your implication that I should not depend on the browser/reader is dead on. You did imply that, right?

Didn't quote you, but thanks for the info that blockquotes should only contain block elements. Didn't know that.

Quote:

And you shouldn't use plain quotes for the same reason I think a single paragraph isn't enough (because they are just for short, in-line quotes).

I'm with ya, there. I am currently, however, trying q tags for pull-quotes -- they should be short quotes, after all.

And I went with <blockquote class="Commentary"> for your after-discussion example. It should apply to other cases, as well -- such as old texts with discussion by later authors, such as Sun-Tzu's Art of War, for example. (Although, usually the readily available versions of that book don't include the commentary!)

m a r

nrapallo · 07-04-2009, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llasram

For metadata, why not just use OPF w/ the Dublin Core metadata elements? Then you could put the HTML, OPF, and any image files in a ZIP archive, to keep them all together. Then you could call it EPUB.

I do like the idea of an HTML book microformat. It's something people have discussed before.

Thanks, nice link!

Here's another link to a .pdf prepared by/for Random House showcasing all the eBook Content Files (or think of them as sections/classes).

This .pdf has been around for a few years (since 2006). In particular, the Element 4 column dissects the component parts of an ebook (from a year 2006 perspective).

rogue_ronin · 07-07-2009, 08:01 AM

Well, I think I have a final version. I'm calling it xBook.

I've written 90% of the macro/scripts, so I can semi-automate the conversion of a file. They should be complete soon. If anyone else is using NoteTab, I'd be glad to share them -- maybe I should start a new thread. (If you don't use NoteTab, you should!)

Anyhow, here is the spec:

Code:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<head>

	<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="xBook.css" />

	<title>TITLE</title>

	<!-- BEGIN: FILE HISTORY -->

	<!-- Created on YYYY-MM-DD -->
	<!-- Revision # 0.10 on YYYY-MM-DD -->
	<!-- Revision # 0.20 on YYYY-MM-DD -->
	<!-- Revision # ETC... on YYYY-MM-DD -->
	<!-- Current Revision # 0.80 on YYYY-MM-DD -->

	<!-- END: FILE HISTORY -->

	<!-- BEGIN: REVISION GUIDELINE -->

	<!--
	0.10 :: Initial Conversion
	0.20 :: Cover and Frontispiece
	0.30 :: Sections, Chapters and TOC
	0.40 :: Endnotes and/or Blockquotes
	0.50 :: Initial Spellcheck
	0.60 :: M-Dashes, Hyphens and Ellipses
	0.70 :: Italics, Bold, and Pre-Formatted Text
	0.80 :: Reading Proof
	0.90 :: Checked Against Canonical Source
	1.00 :: Final Version -- Optimal
	1.++ :: Minor Error Corrections
	-->

	<!-- END: REVISION GUIDELINE -->

	<!-- BEGIN: EBOOK META INFORMATION -->

	<meta name="FileName" content="FILENAME" />
	<meta name="FileID" content="UNIQUE ID" />
	<meta name="FileCreationDate" content="YYYY-MM-DD" />
	<meta name="FileVersion" content="VERSION NUMBER" />
	<meta name="FileRevisionDate" content="YYYY-MM-DD" />
	<meta name="FileSource" content="FILE SOURCE" />
	<meta name="FileScanner" content="NAME OF SCANNER (CONTACT INFO)" />
	<meta name="FileProofer" content="NAME OF PROOFER (CONTACT INFO)" />
	<meta name="FileComment" content="COMMENT" />

	<meta name="Title" content="TITLE" />
	<meta name="Subtitle" content="SUBTITLE" />
	<meta name="Series" content="SERIES NAME" />
	<meta name="SeriesNumber" content="POSITION IN SERIES" />

	<meta name="Author" content="FIRST NAME·MIDDLE NAMES·LAST NAME·" />
	<meta name="Illustrator" content="FIRST NAME·MIDDLE NAMES·LAST NAME·" />
	<meta name="Editor" content="FIRST NAME·MIDDLE NAMES·LAST NAME·" />
	<meta name="CoverDesigner" content="NAME" />

	<meta name="Genre" content="GENRE/SUBJECT" />
	<meta name="ISBN" content="ISBN NUMBER" />
	<meta name="Language" content="TWO-LETTER LOCALE CODE" />
	<meta name="Description" content="SHORT DESCRIPTION OF BOOK" />
	<meta name="keywords" content="TAGS/KEYWORDS" />

	<meta name="Publisher" content="PUBLISHER" />
	<meta name="PublicationDate" content="YYYY-MM" />
	<meta name="PublicationCity" content="CITY NAME" />

	<meta name="CopyrightHolder" content="NAME OF COPYRIGHT HOLDER" />
	<meta name="CopyrightDate" content="YEAR OF COPYRIGHT" />
	<meta name="CopyrightLicense" content="COPYRIGHT STATUS OR LICENSE" />

	<!-- END: EBOOK META INFORMATION -->

	<!-- BEGIN: STRUCTURE HINTS -->

	<!--
	ELEMENTS USED :: PURPOSE OF ELEMENT IN EBOOK
	-->

	<!-- END: STRUCTURE HINTS -->

	<!-- BEGIN: MANIFEST -->

	<!--
	xBook.css :: Style Sheet
	FILENAME OF THIS FILE :: MAIN FILE OF THIS XBOOK
	LIST OF LINKED FILES BY RELATIVE LOCATION :: DESCRIPTION OF FILE
	-->

	<!-- END: MANIFEST -->

</head>

<body>

	<div class="Spine" id="Cover">
		<a href="#TableOfContents">
			<img src="images/cover.EXT" />
		</a>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Frontispiece">
		<h2>HEADING / SERIES NAME</h2>
		<ul>
			<li>SERIES LIST TITLE #1</li>
			<li>SERIES LIST TITLE #2</li>
			<li>ETC...</li>
		</ul>
		<img src="images/frontispiece.EXT" />
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="FrontMatter">
		<h2>FRONT MATTER HEADING</h2>
		<p>FRONT MATTER CONTENT (BLURBS, JUNK, ADS, WHATEVER)</p>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="TitlePage">
		<h1>TITLE</h1>
		<p id="SubTitle">SUBTITLE</p>
		<p id="Author">AUTHOR</p>
		<p id="Illustrator"><em>Art:</em> ILLUSTRATOR</p>
		<p id="Editor"><em>Editor:</em> EDITOR</p>
		<p id="CoverDesigner"><em>Cover Design:</em> COVER DESIGNER</p>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Verso">
		<h2>VERSO HEADING</h2>
		<a href="sounds/logo.wav">
			<img src="images/logo.png">
		</a>
		<p id="FileVersion"><em>Version:</em> VERSION NUMBER</p>
		<p id="FileRevisionDate"><em>Revision Date:</em> REVISION DATE</p>
		<p id="FileSource"><em>Original Source:</em> ORIGINAL SOURCE</p>
		<p id="FileScanner"><em>Scanner:</em> SCANNER</p>
		<p id="FileProofer"><em>Proofer(s):</em> PROOFER(S)</p>
		<p id="ISBN"><em>ISBN:</em> ISBN NUMBER</p>
		<p id="Publisher"><em>Publisher:</em> PUBLISHER NAME</p>
		<p id="PublicationDate"><em>Publication Date:</em> DATE OF PUBLICATION</p>
		<p id="PublicationCity"><em>Publication City:</em> CITY OF PUBLICATION</p>
		<p id="CopyrightDate"><em>Copyright Date:</em> YEAR OF COPYRIGHT</p>
		<p id="CopyrightHolder"><em>Copyright Holder:</em> HOLDER OF COPYRIGHT</p>
		<p id="CopyrightLicense"><em>License:</em> DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS</p>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Inscription">
		<h2>INSCRIPTION HEADING</h2>
		<p>INSCRIPTION CONTENT</p>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Acknowledgement">
		<h2>ACKNOWLEDGEMENT HEADING</h2>
		<p>ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CONTENT</p>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Preface">
		<h2>PREFACE HEADING</h2>
		<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
		<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
		<p>PREFACE CONTENT</p>
			<a class="EndNoteLink" id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" href="#END NOTE ID">ENDNOTE NUMBER</a>
		<blockquote class="Epigram"><p>EPIGRAM</p></blockquote>
		<q class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</q>
		<blockquote class="Written"><p>LETTERS/NOTES/SIGNS</p></blockquote>
		<blockquote class="Commentary"><p>COMMENTARY</p></blockquote>
		<hr class="SceneBreak" />
		<hr class="PageBreak" />
		<img class="Map" id="MAP ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
		<img class="Illustration" id="ILLUSTRATION ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
		<table id="TABLE ID" title="TABLE CAPTION">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="TableOfIllustrations">
		<h2>TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS HEADING</h2>
		<ol>
			<li id="TOI_Link_To_ILLUSTRATION ID">
				<a href="#ILLUSTRATION ID">ILLUSTRATION NAME</a>
			</li>
		</ol>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="TableOfMaps">
		<h2>TABLE OF MAPS HEADING</h2>
		<ol>
			<li id="TOM_Link_To_MAP ID">
				<a href="#MAP ID">MAP NAME</a>
			</li>
		</ol>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="TableOfTables">
		<h2>TABLE OF TABLES HEADING</h2>
		<ol>
			<li id="TOT_Link_To_TABLE ID">
				<a href="#TABLE ID">TABLE NAME</a>
			</li>
		</ol>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="TableOfContents">
		<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS HEADING</h2>
		<img src="images/toc.png">
		<ol>
			<li id="TOC_Link_To_PART ID">
				<a href="#PART ID">PART NAME</a>
				<ol>
					<li id="TOC_Link_To_CHAPTER ID">
						<a href="#CHAPTER ID">CHAPTER NAME</a>
					</li>
				</ol>
			</li>
		</ol>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Foreword">
		<h2>FOREWORD HEADING</h2>
		<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
		<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
		<p>FOREWORD CONTENT</p>
			<a class="EndNoteLink" id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" href="#END NOTE ID">ENDNOTE NUMBER</a>
		<blockquote class="Epigram"><p>EPIGRAM</p></blockquote>
		<q class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</q>
		<blockquote class="Written"><p>LETTERS/NOTES/SIGNS</p></blockquote>
		<blockquote class="Commentary"><p>COMMENTARY</p></blockquote>
		<hr class="SceneBreak" />
		<hr class="PageBreak" />
		<img class="Map" id="MAP ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
		<img class="Illustration" id="ILLUSTRATION ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
		<table id="TABLE ID" title="TABLE CAPTION">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" class="Part" id="PART ID">
		<h2>PART HEADING</h2>
		<ul class="NavLinks">
			<li>
				<a href="#PREVIOUS PART ID OR #FOREWORD ID OR #TableOfContents">
					<img src="images/part_up.png" />
				</a>
			</li>
			<li>
				<a href="#TableOfContents">
					<img src="images/toc.png" />
				</a>
			</li>
			<li>
				<a href="#NEXT PART ID">
					<img src="images/part_down.png" />
				</a>
			</li>
		</ul>
		<p>PART CONTENT, COMMENT, ETC.<p>

		<div class="Body" class="Logue" id="Prologue">
			<h3>PROLOGUE HEADING</h3>
			<ul class="NavLinks">
				<li>
					<a href="#PARENT-PART ID OR #TableOfContents">
						<img src="images/up.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
				<li>
					<a href="#TableOfContents">
						<img src="images/toc.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
				<li>
					<a href="#NEXT CHAPTER ID">
						<img src="images/down.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
			</ul>
			<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
			<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
			<p>PROLOGUE CONTENT</p>
				<a class="EndNoteLink" id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" href="#END NOTE ID">ENDNOTE NUMBER</a>
			<blockquote class="Epigram"><p>EPIGRAM</p></blockquote>
			<q class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</q>
			<blockquote class="Written"><p>LETTERS/NOTES/SIGNS</p></blockquote>
			<blockquote class="Commentary"><p>COMMENTARY</p></blockquote>
			<hr class="SceneBreak" />
			<hr class="PageBreak" />
			<img class="Map" id="MAP ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
			<img class="Illustration" id="ILLUSTRATION ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
			<table id="TABLE ID" title="TABLE CAPTION">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
		</div>

		<div class="Body" class="Chapter" id="CHAPTER ID">
			<h3>CHAPTER HEADING</h3>
			<ul class="NavLinks">
				<li>
					<a href="#PREVIOUS CHAPTER ID OR #Prologue OR #PARENT-PART ID OR #TableOfContents OR #PARENT-PART ID">
						<img src="images/up.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
				<li>
					<a href="#TableOfContents">
						<img src="images/toc.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
				<li>
					<a href="#NEXT CHAPTER ID or #Epilogue OR #APPENDIX ID OR #Afterword OR #Colophon">
						<img src="images/down.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
			</ul>
			<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
			<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
			<p>CHAPTER CONTENT</p>
				<a class="EndNoteLink" id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" href="#END NOTE ID">ENDNOTE NUMBER</a>
			<blockquote class="Epigram"><p>EPIGRAM</p></blockquote>
			<q class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</q>
			<blockquote class="Written"><p>LETTERS/NOTES/SIGNS</p></blockquote>
			<blockquote class="Commentary"><p>COMMENTARY</p></blockquote>
			<hr class="SceneBreak" />
			<hr class="PageBreak" />
			<img class="Map" id="MAP ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
			<img class="Illustration" id="ILLUSTRATION ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
			<table id="TABLE ID" title="TABLE CAPTION">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
		</div>

		<div class="Body" class="Logue" id="Epilogue">
			<h3>EPILOGUE HEADING</h3>
			<ul class="NavLinks">
				<li>
					<a href="#PREVIOUS CHAPTER ID">
						<img src="images/up.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
				<li>
					<a href="#TableOfContents">
						<img src="images/toc.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
				<li>
					<a href="#APPENDIX ID OR #Afterword OR #Colophon">
						<img src="images/down.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
			</ul>
			<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
			<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
			<p>EPILOGUE CONTENT</p>
				<a class="EndNoteLink" id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" href="#END NOTE ID">ENDNOTE NUMBER</a>
			<blockquote class="Epigram"><p>EPIGRAM</p></blockquote>
			<q class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</q>
			<blockquote class="Written"><p>LETTERS/NOTES/SIGNS</p></blockquote>
			<blockquote class="Commentary"><p>COMMENTARY</p></blockquote>
			<hr class="SceneBreak" />
			<hr class="PageBreak" />
			<img class="Map" id="MAP ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
			<img class="Illustration" id="ILLUSTRATION ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
			<table id="TABLE ID" title="TABLE CAPTION">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
		</div>

		<div class="Body" class="Appendix" id="APPENDIX ID">
			<h3>APPENDIX HEADING</h3>
			<ul class="NavLinks">
				<li>
					<a href="#Epilogue OR #PREVIOUS CHAPTER ID">
						<img src="images/up.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
				<li>
					<a href="#TableOfContents">
						<img src="images/toc.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
				<li>
					<a href="#Afterword OR #Colophon">
						<img src="images/down.png" />
					</a>
				</li>
			</ul>
			<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
			<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
			<p>APPENDIX CONTENT</p>
				<a class="EndNoteLink" id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" href="#END NOTE ID">ENDNOTE NUMBER</a>
			<blockquote class="Epigram"><p>EPIGRAM</p></blockquote>
			<q class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</q>
			<blockquote class="Written"><p>LETTERS/NOTES/SIGNS</p></blockquote>
			<blockquote class="Commentary"><p>COMMENTARY</p></blockquote>
			<hr class="SceneBreak" />
			<hr class="PageBreak" />
			<img class="Map" id="MAP ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
			<img class="Illustration" id="ILLUSTRATION ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
			<table id="TABLE ID" title="TABLE CAPTION">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
		</div>

	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Afterword">
		<h2>AFTERWORD HEADING</h2>
		<h4>SECTION HEADING</h4>
		<h5>SUBSECTION HEADING</h5>
		<p>AFTERWORD CONTENT</p>
			<a class="EndNoteLink" id="LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID" href="#END NOTE ID">ENDNOTE NUMBER</a>
		<blockquote class="Epigram"><p>EPIGRAM</p></blockquote>
		<q class="PullQuote">PULL QUOTE</q>
		<blockquote class="Written"><p>LETTERS/NOTES/SIGNS</p></blockquote>
		<blockquote class="Commentary"><p>COMMENTARY</p></blockquote>
		<hr class="SceneBreak" />
		<hr class="PageBreak" />
		<img class="Map" id="MAP ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/MAPNAME.EXT" />
		<img class="Illustration" id="ILLUSTRATION ID" title="CAPTION" src="images/ILLUSTRATIONNAME.EXT" />
		<table id="TABLE ID" title="TABLE CAPTION">TABLE CONTENTS</table>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="AboutTheAuthor">
		<h2>ABOUT THE AUTHOR HEADING</h2>
		<p>ABOUT THE AUTHOR CONTENT<p>
		<img id="ILLUSTRATION ID" class="Illustration" src="images/author.png" />
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Colophon">
		<h2>COLOPHON HEADING</h2>
		<p>COLOPHON CONTENT<p>
		<a href="Cover">
			<img src="images/colophon.png" />
		</a>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Endnotes" title="NUMBER VALUE">
		<h2>ENDNOTES HEADING</h2>
		<ul>
			<li id="END NOTE ID">
				<p>ENDNOTE CONTENT</p>
				<a class="EndNoteBackLink" href="#LINK-TO-ENDNOTE ID">
					<img class="Return" src="images/return.png" />
				</a>
			</li>
		</ul>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Glossary">
		<h2>GLOSSARY HEADING</h2>
		<p>GLOSSARY CONTENT<p>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="Index">
		<h2>INDEX HEADING</h2>
		<p>INDEX CONTENT<p>
	</div>

	<div class="Spine" id="EndMatter">
		<h2>END MATTER HEADING</h2>
		<p>END MATTER CONTENT (BLURBS, JUNK, ADS, WHATEVER)<p>
	</div>

</body>

</html>

Anything CAPITALIZED is content, or some naming convention of the file editor. None of the elements is required, most books won't have everything.

As always, I'm looking for feedback. There are undoubtedly typos, or logical errors. I still need to write up the Structure Hints section -- it should be pretty simple to do, now that the spec is done.

I will finish up the macros, and I will convert A Princess of Mars to the format. The conversion should take less than an hour, probably less than half an hour, if the macros work properly.

After that, it's going to need a basic CSS -- anyone feeling inspired?

m a r

PS: Re-reading this, I think the TOC needs entries for front matter (Verso, Acknowledgement, Preface...) and end matter (Afterword, Glossary, Index, About the Author...). Not too hard to add, but not tonight.

07-03-2009, 07:01 AM	#54
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	[QUOTE=rogue_ronin;511121] And I applied thinkjuice (caffeine suspensions) to the problem of epigrams (and pullquotes, too) and realized that blockquotes were the answer. They can contain paragraphs, and CSS will let you do anything that you can do to divs. I think you'll find that there are differences between the Mobipocket version of HTML and real HTML set out according to W3C standards. One of them is that W3C standards require that you put text in <p></p> tags in blockquotes - like <blockquote> <p>line of text</p> </blockquote> But if you do that then Mobipocket will not indent the text, which is the whole point of using blockquote. Mobipocket requires that you not use a <p></p> tag, which means that the HTML will not validate. I look forward to the day when ePub becomes the format of choice, and expect that it will use valid HTML. So I am trying to use valid HTML. Regards, Alex

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07-02-2009, 09:59 AM	#47
radius Lector minore Posts: 649 Karma: 1738720 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Aura One, Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e, Google Pixel Slate	Looks like an interesting project (and an interesting choice of scripting language to program it in)... One comment I have is that you might want to consider changing epigrams from being special paragraphs into being divs. Some reasons: - Although they are typically short, you may run into multi-paragraph epigrams - If you want to right align an attribution its probably easier to do it within the "box" of a div - If you want to do some CSS styling like draw a box around the epigram, change the background colour etc. it is easier to do for a div than for separate paragraphs In fact, now that I think about it, you might also created a div for chapter "endnotes" (but I'm not sure what the real name for this is). I don't mean a list of references used en lieu of footnotes. Consider an anthology of short stories where there is a blurb about the author, or some kind of comment by the anthology editor at the end of each story (Eric Flint from Baen books often does this in story collections, if you need to see a real world example). If my arguments above are valid, then this should probably be its own div as well.

07-02-2009, 11:51 AM	#48
rogue_ronin Banned Posts: 475 Karma: 796 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Honolulu Device: Nokia 770 (fbreader)	Hey, I'll definitely check it out -- I've been trying to use divs for as large a 'box' as possible. Basically, pure chunks o' structure. The spec is in flux right now -- I'm building the macros, and that's leading to some experimentation, and recognition of errors, too! If I keep at it, I should have it done this weekend, I think, and I'll post the revised spec. m a r ps: an 'afterword', maybe for the post-discussion things? Or maybe just a 'comment' as there is often an Afterword for the entire book?

07-02-2009, 06:07 PM	#49
llasram Reticulator of Tharn Posts: 618 Karma: 400000 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: EST Device: Sony PRS-505	For metadata, why not just use OPF w/ the Dublin Core metadata elements? Then you could put the HTML, OPF, and any image files in a ZIP archive, to keep them all together. Then you could call it EPUB. I do like the idea of an HTML book microformat. It's something people have discussed before.

07-02-2009, 11:22 PM	#50
rogue_ronin Banned Posts: 475 Karma: 796 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Honolulu Device: Nokia 770 (fbreader)	Awesome link. I'm now reading about the boom microformat that page linked to. I may have to add elements! I think that the reason I'm not doing the .epub thing is that it is so complex. I mean, no individual piece is complex, but altogether it's difficult to encompass. I don't like it when books are broken into multiple parts. If I want to edit an error, or change the layout in an EPUB it is unnecessarily complicated, I find. Just imagine changing chapter headings in it. How many documents might you have to open? Ridiculous. It's a web of interrelated documents, TOC, OPF, multiple chapters, size-breaks for readers, obsolescent folder structures, etc. Making an OPF and EPUB from this should be trivial, for someone familiar with it. I am not an expert at HTML, XHTML or EPUB, OPF etc. Just trying to make something that is transparent, simple and transformable with minimal fuss. The Dublin Core names for the meta-elements is probably something that I should do. But again, I find that DC is obscure at points (contributor, etc.) and I lean away. This is all ground trod before, (DocBook, FB2, boom, etc.) but I can't help myself -- if I can make something lean and intuitively readable and editable, I'll be pleased. I want an archive format that doesn't require multiple steps to access and edit, or knowledge beyond basic XHTML/CSS. Hopefully it will carry its own "documentation" within it. Plus, it's something to do. m a r