Epub exactly as PDF

xsannyx · 04-02-2013, 12:26 PM

Is it possible in any way at all to do that?
I have been trying to replicate this pdf with no success:
[LINK DELETED]
Thanks in advace guys!

pdurrant · 04-02-2013, 12:53 PM

That seems likely to be an unauthorised copy of a copyright work. Link deleted.
Do not post such things to MobileRead.

DSpider · 04-02-2013, 01:16 PM

First, you need to figure out how to extract the text, with all the bolds and italics (don't worry about the chapter titles, footnotes, etc). Copy-pasting won't work. You may have to run the PDF through ABBYY FineReader and OCR it. Then you need to recreate the layout, either in Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Word, or whatever.

Adobe InDesign will export it as ePub. Recreating it in Microsoft Word will also work, but then you should export as Filtered HTML and import that into Sigil. There's also the fact that FineReader itself can export as ePub (FineReader 11). Don't forget to proofread it at least once. Tracking down the fonts or matching them with something that looks similar is optional, but adds a nice touch. You can find the name of the fonts if you open up the PDF in Adobe Reader and go to File - Properties - Fonts.

Freeshadow · 04-02-2013, 01:44 PM

The idea behind PDF is to be static. Think of digital sheets of paper. Code WYSIWYG as device independent as possible. The idea behind epub is to be a data container to be processed by the reading system. Code WYSIWYM with regard for limits of the reading system and individual settings. Yes there are limited functionality addons for the contrary concepts within both specs (reflow in PDF and "fixed" property in epub) but it isn't the purpose of a PDF to be dynamic or of an epub to be fixed.

DSpider · 04-02-2013, 03:45 PM

Oh, and don't bother about the page numbers; they're calculated on-the-fly, according to the resolution of the device, the font selection and the font size. So yeah, it won't be "exactly" like the PDF. Same goes for the footnotes! The third revision of ePub (ePub 3.0) promises "real" footnotes (at the bottom of the page, through HTML5), except that the vast majority of e-readers out there cannot read this spec, so you're stuck with the second revision (ePub 2.01), meaning that you will need to convert the footnotes as endnotes.

Some devices may have issues with tables, so it's recommended that you save those as images - especially if they have vertical text or anything fancy like that.

xsannyx · 04-05-2013, 03:18 AM

Thanks a lot for the replys!
I'm not sure if the content was copywrited or not (I got legal premission to use it).
I'll do my best to replicate the PDF in InDesign.
Do any of you have any experience with exporting as ePub 3.0 with layout (some adobe experimental format)?
Will I have better results with it if I open my ePubs in the correct ePub reader?

mrmikel · 04-05-2013, 07:05 AM

Many devices read PDFs directly, so you are better off just leaving it in that format if the devices allow and it isn't unreadable because of multiple columns, etc.

There are few devices that will display epub 3.0, so identify your target device and make sure of its limitations before you spend a lot of time making a beautiful compliant epub that the device can not fully use.

Right now, this is the bleeding edge, a fascinating, but sometimes not so pleasant, place to be.

AlPe · 04-18-2013, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xsannyx

Thanks a lot for the replys!
I'll do my best to replicate the PDF in InDesign.

First, ask yourself: if you want it to look exactly like a PDF, why can't you leave it in PDF format? Do you really need it to be EPUB (3?) ?

(BTW, InDesign is a poor tool to create eBooks.)

DSpider · 04-19-2013, 02:12 AM

Hmmm... InDesign is the publishing industry standard. Sure, there are other tools, perhaps with a shorter learning curve, but I wouldn't exactly call it a "poor" tool.

For someone who wants the ePub to look "exactly" like the PDF, I suggest that they start in InDesign with a PDF output in mind, export as PDF, then save an extra copy and "dumb" it down for ePub export.

AlPe · 04-19-2013, 03:29 AM

"Poor" w.r.t. the production of eBooks, for which better tools are out there. The fact that it is the industry standard, given it was conceived for authoring printed material, does not make it automatically good for eBooks.

xsannyx · 04-19-2013, 06:55 AM

I need to make it the same as .pdf and make it an ePub is because these books will be used as school learning material and we want to enable students to bookmark their text, highlight the important stuff and make notes.

If not for InDesign, which tools would you recommend for ePubs?

Turtle91 · 04-19-2013, 07:25 AM

You certainly don't need PDF to bookmark or highlight...any "good" reading device or app will allow that...I recommend Marvin - it has great bookmarking/highlighting and importing/exporting of notes! (And it's free!) it is currently available for ipad...iphone will be out in 2-3months and android shortly after that. If that is the only reason you want a PDF style, then you can rest easy in a normal, reflowable, ePub.

For ease of use and making a normal/reflowable ePub quickly/well I would use Sigil. You really only need some basic HTML/CSS skills to use it. I found it much easier to use than indesign and the learning curve for HTML/CSS is much easier than indesign's.

Cheers,

AlPe · 04-19-2013, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xsannyx

make it an ePub is because these books will be used as school learning material and we want to enable students to bookmark their text, highlight the important stuff and make notes.

FYI, you can do those things with PDFs too (even with better support than most EPUB Reading Systems...)

AlPe · 04-19-2013, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xsannyx

If not for InDesign, which tools would you recommend for ePubs?

It depends on your workflow. If you want to stay cheap, Sigil is ok. (Any XHTML editori will do the job --- I use pure Vim.) Otherwise, oXygen or BlueGriffon.

parrothead · 02-08-2014, 11:57 AM

Sigil does not support PDFs directly. They must be converted to HTML first. Much of the WYSIWYG formatting is lost in that conversion. Don't get me wrong, I love Sigil, but it is not the ultimate solution for this type of conversion. This is the voice of experience speaking. I have struggled with this problem for quite some time.

04-02-2013, 12:26 PM	#1
xsannyx Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2013 Device: iPad mini	Epub exactly as PDF Is it possible in any way at all to do that? I have been trying to replicate this pdf with no success: [LINK DELETED] Thanks in advace guys! Last edited by pdurrant; 04-02-2013 at 12:52 PM.

04-02-2013, 01:16 PM	#3
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	First, you need to figure out how to extract the text, with all the bolds and italics (don't worry about the chapter titles, footnotes, etc). Copy-pasting won't work. You may have to run the PDF through ABBYY FineReader and OCR it. Then you need to recreate the layout, either in Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Word, or whatever. Adobe InDesign will export it as ePub. Recreating it in Microsoft Word will also work, but then you should export as Filtered HTML and import that into Sigil. There's also the fact that FineReader itself can export as ePub (FineReader 11). Don't forget to proofread it at least once. Tracking down the fonts or matching them with something that looks similar is optional, but adds a nice touch. You can find the name of the fonts if you open up the PDF in Adobe Reader and go to File - Properties - Fonts. Last edited by DSpider; 04-05-2013 at 11:21 AM.

04-19-2013, 07:25 AM	#12
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,093 Karma: 18727053 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	You certainly don't need PDF to bookmark or highlight...any "good" reading device or app will allow that...I recommend Marvin - it has great bookmarking/highlighting and importing/exporting of notes! (And it's free!) it is currently available for ipad...iphone will be out in 2-3months and android shortly after that. If that is the only reason you want a PDF style, then you can rest easy in a normal, reflowable, ePub. For ease of use and making a normal/reflowable ePub quickly/well I would use Sigil. You really only need some basic HTML/CSS skills to use it. I found it much easier to use than indesign and the learning curve for HTML/CSS is much easier than indesign's. Cheers, Last edited by Turtle91; 04-19-2013 at 07:31 AM.

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04-02-2013, 12:53 PM	#2
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 71,496 Karma: 306214458 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Voyage	That seems likely to be an unauthorised copy of a copyright work. Link deleted. Do not post such things to MobileRead.

04-02-2013, 01:44 PM	#4
Freeshadow temp. out of service Posts: 2,791 Karma: 24285242 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Duisburg (DE) Device: PB 623	The idea behind PDF is to be static. Think of digital sheets of paper. Code WYSIWYG as device independent as possible. The idea behind epub is to be a data container to be processed by the reading system. Code WYSIWYM with regard for limits of the reading system and individual settings. Yes there are limited functionality addons for the contrary concepts within both specs (reflow in PDF and "fixed" property in epub) but it isn't the purpose of a PDF to be dynamic or of an epub to be fixed.

04-02-2013, 03:45 PM	#5
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	Oh, and don't bother about the page numbers; they're calculated on-the-fly, according to the resolution of the device, the font selection and the font size. So yeah, it won't be "exactly" like the PDF. Same goes for the footnotes! The third revision of ePub (ePub 3.0) promises "real" footnotes (at the bottom of the page, through HTML5), except that the vast majority of e-readers out there cannot read this spec, so you're stuck with the second revision (ePub 2.01), meaning that you will need to convert the footnotes as endnotes. Some devices may have issues with tables, so it's recommended that you save those as images - especially if they have vertical text or anything fancy like that.

04-05-2013, 03:18 AM	#6
xsannyx Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2013 Device: iPad mini	Thanks a lot for the replys! I'm not sure if the content was copywrited or not (I got legal premission to use it). I'll do my best to replicate the PDF in InDesign. Do any of you have any experience with exporting as ePub 3.0 with layout (some adobe experimental format)? Will I have better results with it if I open my ePubs in the correct ePub reader?

04-05-2013, 07:05 AM	#7
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	Many devices read PDFs directly, so you are better off just leaving it in that format if the devices allow and it isn't unreadable because of multiple columns, etc. There are few devices that will display epub 3.0, so identify your target device and make sure of its limitations before you spend a lot of time making a beautiful compliant epub that the device can not fully use. Right now, this is the bleeding edge, a fascinating, but sometimes not so pleasant, place to be.

04-19-2013, 02:12 AM	#9
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	Hmmm... InDesign is the publishing industry standard. Sure, there are other tools, perhaps with a shorter learning curve, but I wouldn't exactly call it a "poor" tool. For someone who wants the ePub to look "exactly" like the PDF, I suggest that they start in InDesign with a PDF output in mind, export as PDF, then save an extra copy and "dumb" it down for ePub export.

04-19-2013, 03:29 AM	#10
AlPe Digital Amanuensis Posts: 727 Karma: 1446357 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Turin, Italy Device: Several eReaders and tablets	"Poor" w.r.t. the production of eBooks, for which better tools are out there. The fact that it is the industry standard, given it was conceived for authoring printed material, does not make it automatically good for eBooks.

04-19-2013, 06:55 AM	#11
xsannyx Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2013 Device: iPad mini	I need to make it the same as .pdf and make it an ePub is because these books will be used as school learning material and we want to enable students to bookmark their text, highlight the important stuff and make notes. If not for InDesign, which tools would you recommend for ePubs?

02-08-2014, 11:57 AM	#15
parrothead Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2014 Device: nook hd	Sigil does not support PDFs directly. They must be converted to HTML first. Much of the WYSIWYG formatting is lost in that conversion. Don't get me wrong, I love Sigil, but it is not the ultimate solution for this type of conversion. This is the voice of experience speaking. I have struggled with this problem for quite some time.