Anyone interested in splitting the load with me in producing an ebook from a pdf?

tricerahops · 10-18-2015, 05:45 PM

The book: http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/

So at 400+ pages this book is based on Allen B Downey's well regarded Think Python 2nd edition (Creative Commons) which sits at 244 pages.

I've currently done all the work up to getting the pdf into a manageable epub as well as doing a pass from the beginning up to the end of the 2nd chapter using Sigil. You can take a look at it so far here.

I was thinking of trying to maintain a schedule of six chapters every week, one of two people having the book each week. That can change -- really just doing this on the fly. Additional people can possibly check for errors on what has been produced thus far. Really, if you are interested in that alone please let me know.

No real experience required, but if you're interested I'd advise messing around a bit with it in Sigil to see if it's something you think you can do alright. Me, I'm new to this whole thing but so far those first two chapters look overall pretty okay when I put them on my kindle so I think it's doable. Not after a professional job here just something that is readable along with code examples that don't mess up when copied into an ide.

tricerahops · 10-18-2015, 06:10 PM

I should also mention I'm aware the table of contents are unfinished, saving that for last.

RbnJrg · 10-18-2015, 06:26 PM

Hmmm, I'm not understand you well; do you say that you are making an epub file from a .pdf of "How to Think Like a Computer Scientist"? If so, then why aren't you making it from the .html version?

Of that way you can get the epub practically with copy and paste. Of course, you'll have to polish a bit the things (especially with images) but you'll be able to get that book in epub format quite fast.

tricerahops · 10-18-2015, 07:12 PM

I made an HTML version from the pdf after cropping the header/footer all through Acrobat DC, which then went into an EPUB through Calibre which I am editing now through Sigil. I tried using the HTML version on that site but they don't distribute it as a single html file - it's in an archive with many html files and folders. Calibre wouldn't accept it and my googling to find a way came up empty.

Where I'm at right now is very close I think to where I would be if they did offer a single html file HOWEVER if you know of a way I will definitely give it a shot and compare the two. I am not that far in that I wouldn't restart if it came out better than what I have now.

RbnJrg · 10-18-2015, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tricerahops

I made an HTML version from the pdf after cropping the header/footer all through Acrobat DC, which then went into an EPUB through Calibre which I am editing now through Sigil. I tried using the HTML version on that site but they don't distribute it as a single html file - it's in an archive with many html files and folders. Calibre wouldn't accept it and my googling to find a way came up empty.

Where I'm at right now is very close I think to where I would be if they did offer a single html file HOWEVER if you know of a way I will definitely give it a shot and compare the two. I am not that far in that I wouldn't restart if it came out better than what I have now.

You didn't understand me

It doesn't matter. I attach the epub you're trying to build from the .pdf. I made it in 30 minutes just with copy and paste from the .html version. The book is quite good, it only needs the images fixed (you need to replace the linked images with local images; maybe it needs some other adjust). I didn't have time to do that in those 30 minutes but I think you can do it

Open it with ADE and tell me what you think

Regards
Rubén

PS: It has a TOC.

tricerahops · 10-18-2015, 08:22 PM

Do you mean you went into each html file and copied all the html into one big file?

Will give it a look now and get back to you soon, thank you for taking the time to do this!

DiapDealer · 10-18-2015, 08:43 PM

This is more of a "help me make an epub request" than anything. Moving to the Epub forum.

PeterT · 10-18-2015, 09:00 PM

And here's my attempt

tricerahops · 10-18-2015, 09:04 PM

@DiapDealer, no problem but what I set out to do was work with someone in Sigil so it was in the right forum and if RgnJrg didn't come along with his magic touch it would definitely still belong there (imo). (Though I kind of still wouldn't mind finding someone to work with on this lil project)

@RgnJrg, this does look a good deal better than what I was working with. There's still a fair bit that becomes off when converted to .mobi or .azw3 but a good deal less problems than before. I'm 99% sure I'll be working with this from now on, thank you so much!

@PeterT, oh wow, I'll take a look thank you.

PeterT · 10-18-2015, 09:13 PM

I should add I used the source from http://www.ict.ru.ac.za/Resources/cspw/thinkcspy3/ . In fact the updated version --> http://www.ict.ru.ac.za/Resources/cs...py3_latest.zip

I did include all images in the ePub but did not update the source files to point to them.

RbnJrg · 10-18-2015, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tricerahops

Do you mean you went into each html file and copied all the html into one big file?

Exactly! I went into each html file and copied the text in a blank sheet of Sigil (one sheet for chapter).

Here I attach a new version without borders (in case you don't like borders for an epub book).

Regards
Rubén

tricerahops · 10-18-2015, 10:18 PM

@PeterT, I had a look around and it is nice however the header/footer remains as well as the borders. Thank you for giving it a go! Oh, also the one RbnJrg worked on is uses the same version afaik -- both are updated to August 12th 2012, mentioned at the beginning (as opposed to the older one done in July). Thank you for providing that link though, I wasn't aware of an interactive version of the book.

@RbnJrg, it's like you're a mind reader, I've been trying to get those to go away for a bit now! Thank you again.

Only notable hurdles I have left are re-inserting the images and removing the tables around the code examples so when converted to mobi/azrw3 (or possibly when read on an e-reader that accepts .epub, not sure) they don't jeopardize the integrity of the code (by moving parts of code that belong on one line to the next line).

Is there a shortcut to removing tables? I've included a screenshot of an example of them + the html.

You're all awesome, I should have come here sooner!

eschwartz · 10-18-2015, 10:57 PM

And for the sake of variety, here is the official EPUB (built with Sphinx, took approximately 1 minute, two if you count the time spent cloning the Bzr branch with the source in reStructuredText)

Disclaimer: I have no idea how well Sphinx documentation actually fares with the builting EPUB converter, you can probably do a lot better with manual love and care.

Ah... worth noting. The latest revision was 2012-10-13

https://bazaar.launchpad.net/~thinkc...tart_revid=486

tricerahops · 10-18-2015, 11:15 PM

Well then. Though unfortunately at a glance that one looks near identical to what PeterT made, which puts it behind the one RgnJrg put out in the matter of half an hour. Surprised it's the official one tbh. I think I'll continue w/ the project!

PeterT · 10-18-2015, 11:59 PM

Seeing I just copied the html as is with no effort to remove navigation I'm not at all surprised. But with it now in a functioning eBook all that is needed is to open it in Sigil or calibre and edit each of the XHTML files. Maybe one or two minutes a file and it's done.

10-18-2015, 05:45 PM	#1
tricerahops Member Posts: 10 Karma: 288 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: PW 2	Anyone interested in splitting the load with me in producing an ebook from a pdf? The book: http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/ So at 400+ pages this book is based on Allen B Downey's well regarded Think Python 2nd edition (Creative Commons) which sits at 244 pages. I've currently done all the work up to getting the pdf into a manageable epub as well as doing a pass from the beginning up to the end of the 2nd chapter using Sigil. You can take a look at it so far here. I was thinking of trying to maintain a schedule of six chapters every week, one of two people having the book each week. That can change -- really just doing this on the fly. Additional people can possibly check for errors on what has been produced thus far. Really, if you are interested in that alone please let me know. No real experience required, but if you're interested I'd advise messing around a bit with it in Sigil to see if it's something you think you can do alright. Me, I'm new to this whole thing but so far those first two chapters look overall pretty okay when I put them on my kindle so I think it's doable. Not after a professional job here just something that is readable along with code examples that don't mess up when copied into an ide.

10-18-2015, 06:26 PM	#3
RbnJrg Wizard Posts: 1,728 Karma: 8700123 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Rosario - Santa Fe - Argentina Device: Kindle 4 NT	Hmmm, I'm not understand you well; do you say that you are making an epub file from a .pdf of "How to Think Like a Computer Scientist"? If so, then why aren't you making it from the .html version? Of that way you can get the epub practically with copy and paste. Of course, you'll have to polish a bit the things (especially with images) but you'll be able to get that book in epub format quite fast. Last edited by RbnJrg; 10-18-2015 at 07:05 PM.

10-18-2015, 07:12 PM	#4
tricerahops Member Posts: 10 Karma: 288 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: PW 2	I made an HTML version from the pdf after cropping the header/footer all through Acrobat DC, which then went into an EPUB through Calibre which I am editing now through Sigil. I tried using the HTML version on that site but they don't distribute it as a single html file - it's in an archive with many html files and folders. Calibre wouldn't accept it and my googling to find a way came up empty. Where I'm at right now is very close I think to where I would be if they did offer a single html file HOWEVER if you know of a way I will definitely give it a shot and compare the two. I am not that far in that I wouldn't restart if it came out better than what I have now. Last edited by tricerahops; 10-18-2015 at 07:18 PM.

10-18-2015, 10:18 PM	#12
tricerahops Member Posts: 10 Karma: 288 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: PW 2	@PeterT, I had a look around and it is nice however the header/footer remains as well as the borders. Thank you for giving it a go! Oh, also the one RbnJrg worked on is uses the same version afaik -- both are updated to August 12th 2012, mentioned at the beginning (as opposed to the older one done in July). Thank you for providing that link though, I wasn't aware of an interactive version of the book. @RbnJrg, it's like you're a mind reader, I've been trying to get those to go away for a bit now! Thank you again. Only notable hurdles I have left are re-inserting the images and removing the tables around the code examples so when converted to mobi/azrw3 (or possibly when read on an e-reader that accepts .epub, not sure) they don't jeopardize the integrity of the code (by moving parts of code that belong on one line to the next line). Is there a shortcut to removing tables? I've included a screenshot of an example of them + the html. You're all awesome, I should have come here sooner! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by tricerahops; 10-18-2015 at 10:26 PM.

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10-18-2015, 06:10 PM	#2
tricerahops Member Posts: 10 Karma: 288 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: PW 2	I should also mention I'm aware the table of contents are unfinished, saving that for last.

10-18-2015, 08:22 PM	#6
tricerahops Member Posts: 10 Karma: 288 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: PW 2	Do you mean you went into each html file and copied all the html into one big file? Will give it a look now and get back to you soon, thank you for taking the time to do this!

10-18-2015, 08:43 PM	#7
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,534 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	This is more of a "help me make an epub request" than anything. Moving to the Epub forum.

10-18-2015, 09:04 PM	#9
tricerahops Member Posts: 10 Karma: 288 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: PW 2	@DiapDealer, no problem but what I set out to do was work with someone in Sigil so it was in the right forum and if RgnJrg didn't come along with his magic touch it would definitely still belong there (imo). (Though I kind of still wouldn't mind finding someone to work with on this lil project) @RgnJrg, this does look a good deal better than what I was working with. There's still a fair bit that becomes off when converted to .mobi or .azw3 but a good deal less problems than before. I'm 99% sure I'll be working with this from now on, thank you so much! @PeterT, oh wow, I'll take a look thank you.

10-18-2015, 09:13 PM	#10
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,449 Karma: 78880114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	I should add I used the source from http://www.ict.ru.ac.za/Resources/cspw/thinkcspy3/ . In fact the updated version --> http://www.ict.ru.ac.za/Resources/cs...py3_latest.zip I did include all images in the ePub but did not update the source files to point to them.

10-18-2015, 11:15 PM	#14
tricerahops Member Posts: 10 Karma: 288 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: PW 2	Well then. Though unfortunately at a glance that one looks near identical to what PeterT made, which puts it behind the one RgnJrg put out in the matter of half an hour. Surprised it's the official one tbh. I think I'll continue w/ the project!

10-18-2015, 11:59 PM	#15
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,449 Karma: 78880114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Seeing I just copied the html as is with no effort to remove navigation I'm not at all surprised. But with it now in a functioning eBook all that is needed is to open it in Sigil or calibre and edit each of the XHTML files. Maybe one or two minutes a file and it's done.

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