How-to Guides: Producing EPUB eBooks from InDesign

January 24, 2010

Adobe recently published three how-to guides that teach you how to produce EPUB eBooks from InDesign. They are very informative and go into great depth. The first white paper provides detailed instructions for setting up an eBook document in InDesign and exporting it to an EPUB file. The second white paper answers common questions about exporting EPUB files from InDesign. And the third white paper teaches you how to prepare images for optimum display on a variety of eBook readers. If you're serious about eBook publishing, you definitely want to download these white papers. You can download them from Adobe.com…

Posted in News/Announcements, EBooks

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Episode 11: Creating an eBook with InDesign (Part 2)

November 16, 2009

In Episode 10, I introduced you to the EPUB format and I explained how it's different from a PDF file. I also started the process of setting up an InDesign document that can be accurately converted to the EPUB file format. In this episode, I show you how to create page breaks, setup a table of contents, insert hyperlinks and cross-references, and add metadata to the eBook. Then I walk you through the process of exporting the final EPUB file.

If you would like even more in-depth information on creating EPUB files, check out my article in the October/November 2009 issue of InDesign Magazine.…

Posted in EBooks, Layout, Video Podcasts

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Episode 10: Creating an eBook with InDesign (Part 1)

November 11, 2009

eBook publishing is becoming increasingly popular. More and more publishers are providing content in the eBook format. Major bookstores such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders are selling thousands of eBooks every day. And as more people become savvy with eBook readers, eBooks will become even more popular. This new and different way of distributing and accessing book content expands the opportunities for reading, just as the MP3 file did with digital music.

Adobe InDesign lets you create eBooks in the EPUB (electronic publication) format, which is an open eBook standard that was designed to enable content to adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions. With more publishers, bookstores, and developers supporting the EPUB format, there is no better time to start exploring the world of eBook publishing. In this episode, I start by introducing you to the EPUB file format. Then I show you some best practices for setting up an InDesign file that can be accurately converted to an EPUB file.…

Posted in EBooks, Layout, Video Podcasts

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Using Oxygen XML Editor to Edit EPUB Files

October 08, 2009

InDesign CS4 is an excellent tool for creating eBooks in the EPUB format. After laying out a document, choose File > Export for Digital Editions to generate an EPUB version of it. If you set up your document properly, it will be converted into a well-designed eBook. When you need to make changes to your eBook, simply edit the original InDesign document and re-export it. Sometimes, however, there are changes that cannot be made with InDesign. For example, if you want to create an expandable cover image, format a table, add additional metadata, or customize the TOC, you'll need to edit the EPUB file itself.

When I started editing EPUB files, I would manually extract the contents of a file and edit its various components using a simple text editor. After making all the changes, I had to re-archive everything back into an EPUB file. If I wasn't satisfied with a change or if I needed to make more changes, I had to go through the process again. As you can imagine, this method is tedious and time consuming.

I recently discovered that I can significantly speed up the editing process by using Oxygen XML Editor to directly open an EPUB file without having to extract its contents. Oxygen is a cross platform XML editor that provides an amazing set of tools for working with XML content and it makes it easy to work with EPUB files. If you create a lot of eBooks, Oxygen is definitely worth your investment.…

Posted in EBooks

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Episode 9: Automating Layouts with the EasyCatalog Plug-in for InDesign (Part 3)

July 14, 2009

In Episode 7, I introduced EasyCatalog. In Episode 8, I demonstrated how to use EasyCatalog to import data into InDesign and configure it. In this episode, I show you how to create a catalog template from start to finish. I start by creating the product style, which is a prototype of a typical product in the catalog. Then I test pagination by dragging data from the Data panel to the product style. This important step ensures that the product style works correctly. Once I finish testing, I finalize the template and test again by paginating multiple products at once. Along the way, I share a wealth of tips and tricks that make the template creation process faster and easier.

After watching this episode, you might want to practice creating the catalog template yourself. After becoming a member, you'll be able to download the practice files.…

Posted in Automation, Plug-ins, Video Podcasts

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