Frequently Asked Questions About eBook Conversion and the eReading Experience
My ebook conversion has been completed. How do I get my ebook?
How do I read my ebook?
EBooks are designed to be read on an actual ereader device. These devices provide the optimum ereading experience, using their built-in hardware and software features to render the text and images in your book. However, you can also use “ebook previewer” software on your computer, but keep in mind that this is generally second best; the previewers can only provide a subset of the hardware features that an actual ereader device can provide.
Can I read an ebook on my computer, or do I need a dedicated reading device?
Yes, you can read an ebook using “previewer” software on your computer, but keep in mind this is generally second best; the previewers can only provide a subset of the hardware features that an actual ereader device can provide. Kindle Previewer is available from the following link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000765261 and Kindle for PC from the following link: https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Digital-Services-LLC-Download/dp/B00UB76290.
The most common program people use when looking at EPUB files on a computer is Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). You can install the ADE software on your computer by the downloading the app from the following link: http://www.adobe.com/products/digital-editions/download.html
Readium plugin for Chrome is another previewer available from the following link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readium/fepbnnnkkadjhjahcafoaglimekefifl?hl=en-US&utm_source=chrome-ntp-launcher.
Please note that you must have the Chrome browser installed in order to use Readium.
How do I load the ebook onto my ebook reading device?
Most eReaders and tablets allow you to load an eBook file directly to the device by connecting it to your computer and copying the EPUB-format file into a folder. In general, this process involves the following steps (or something similar):
- Connect your tablet or eReader to your PC or Mac using the USB cable. You should see it connected as a drive in your File/Finder window.
- Open the device's folder.
- Usually these devices have a Documents or similar folder. Find the correct folder and open it (may vary depending on the device settings).
- Drag and drop the EPUB file into the folder from your computer.
- Safely eject the device from your computer.
- Unplug the USB cable.
- Look for your eBook in the device's library. You may need to search in subfolders or a Documents section of the list to find it.
Loading the EPUB file to iPad/iPhone/iTouch (this action requires iTunes)
- Download the EPUB file to your computer.
- Open iTunes and click File, Open, and add the EPUB to your iTunes.
- Go to your Books section and you will see the EPUB there.
- Connect your iPad with the USB cable, click the iPad device name on the left, then the Books section of the iPad, and make sure the book you just added is checked to be included when syncing. (You can check a box that says always do all books.)
- Sync your device and it will copy the EPUB to your device.
- Safely eject the device from your computer.
- Unplug the USB cable.
- The eBook should appear on the Books library.
OR
- Save the EPUB on iCloud Drive.
- Use the "Files" app to go to iCloud drive.
- In "Files" app, select the EPUB that you want to load into Books library.
- The ebook should appear on the Books library.
Loading the MOBI file to Kindle:
- Save the file to your hard drive on your desktop/laptop.
- Connect the Kindle with the USB cable.
- Open the finder/file manager/windows explorer on your computer.
- You will see a new device on the left called SDCARD or Internal Storage.
- Inside the SDCARD device or Internal Storage there is a /my files/documents folder.
- Copy your ebook’s “.MOBI” file to the folder representing your Kindle device.
- Safely eject the device from your computer.
- Unplug the USB cable.
- The ebook should appear on the Kindle device’s carousel screen.
Why do I have two ebook files, one ending in ".EPUB" and one ending in ".MOBI"?
EPUB is the standard ebook format used by most ereaders such as iPad, Nook, Sony, etc. and MOBI is specifically for the Kindle.
How do I open the ".EPUB" file on my computer?
The most common program people use when looking at EPUB files on a computer is Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). You can install the ADE software on your computer by the downloading the app from the following link: http://www.adobe.com/products/digital-editions/download.html.
Open the ADE app, click File, Add to Library, locate the EPUB from your computer, click the EPUB file and click the open button.
Readium plugin for Chrome is another previewer available from the following link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readium/fepbnnnkkadjhjahcafoaglimekefifl?hl=en-US&utm_source=chrome-ntp-launcher.
Please note that you must have the Chrome browser installed in order to use Readium.
Open your Chrome browser, locate Click plus symbol (+) in the upper right corner, click choose file button, locate the EPUB you want to open from your computer, click open button.
How do I open the ".MOBI" file on my computer?
You can review the MOBI file on your computer, using the Kindle Previewer available from the following link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000765261 and Kindle for PC from the following link: https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Digital-Services-LLC-Download/dp/B00UB76290
Open the Kindle Previewer Click Open Book, locate the MOBI file from your computer, click Open button. Or, you can drag and drop the MOBI file at the center of Kindle Previewer. If you have the Kindle for PC app installed in your computer, double click the MOBI from your computer and your ebook will open.
What’s the best way to review the ebook files?
Open the source file sent for the conversion and do a side-by-side comparison with the MOBI loaded in Kindle Previewer or EPUB in Adobe Digital editions or using the actual device. This way, you can compare the source file versus the ebook format. Try to use different font sizes to see how the text reflows as this will give you a better understanding of how the reflowable ebook works.
Why does my ebook look so different than the print version?
It is impossible for a reflowable ebook to exactly match the look of the print source because the person in control of the reading device is in control of the font size, orientation, screen size, etc. Similarly, there is no way to ensure that the reflowable spacing is exactly as found in print since a reflowable ebook will look different based on the platform, the font size, and the screen size on which it is being viewed.
Can my ebook look exactly like the print version?
The fixed layout ebook format basically mimics the look of the source file, this is ideal for children's books and other heavily designed books such as a coffee-table book or cookbook. However, unlike reflowable ebooks, where the same ebook files can be used across a variety of platforms, a fixed layout conversion is limited to the device family for which it was created. The MOBI fixed layout format is optimized only for Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Paperwhite. The EPUB fixed-layout format for iPad can only be viewed on iOS devices.
Why does my ebook have so little text on each screen page?
Ebooks are designed as reflowable content. This means that there is no concept of a “page” and the content is reworked to best fit the size of the screen on the device it is being viewed on as well as the font size chosen by the reader. Try reducing the font size to show more text on the screen at once.
Why does my ebook have so much text on each screen page?
Ebooks are designed as reflowable content. This means that there is no concept of a “page” and the content is reworked to best fit the size of the screen on the device it is being viewed on as well as the font size chosen by the reader. Try choosing a larger font size to show less text on the screen at once.
My ebook was changed and I was sent a new version. Why it does not show the changes?
In order to see the changes made to the ebook files, you have to delete the old version from the ereader/previewer before side-loading the latest version of the ebook.
Why don’t full page images in the source document appear as full screen images in the ebook?
By default, ereaders have set margins. Depending on the device, readers can adjust the width of the margins (e.g., on the Kindle device, the width of the margins can be set to wide, normal, narrow).
Why wasn’t the background image in the source captured? Why was only the text captured?
Background images are not supported in the reflowable ebooks. However, overlaying text on an image can be done in fixed-layout ebooks.
Why isn’t the caption of the photo/figure/table always on the same page/screen as it appears in the source?
Standard ebook conversion practice is to capture captions as reflowable text, so that the text will move depending on the screen size and font size. Upon specific request, captions can be converted as a part of the image, rather than as separate text. Other than that, there is no way we can force an image and its caption to be in the same page/screen.
Is there a workaround to keep the image and its caption together at all times?
Yes, captions can be captured as part of the image. However, the downside is it will forfeit the ability of the reader to search the text within the image. In addition, some ereaders/previewers have helpful features such as highlight, add note, search the web, lookup, share features which the readers can no longer use if the captions are not captured as reflowable text.
Why don’t the sidebars/text wrapped around the images appear as such in the ebook version?
Many of the previewers/ereaders cannot render sidebars correctly. Therefore, in order to maintain the alignment of the text, and to prevent the text from overlapping the image, sidebars in the source are captured to appear after the paragraph where they appear in the source.
Why were the equations captured as images?
Many of the previewers/ereaders cannot render mathematical characters correctly. Therefore, in order to maintain the accuracy of equations across all previewers and devices, equations are best captured as images.
Why isn’t the text inside the equation uniformly sized?
Equations normally come in various lengths, hence, the relative size of characters within the equations converted as images will vary as well. Forcing all images to have the same dimensions will result in a distorted aspect ratio of some images.
What are the advantages of reflowable versus fixed-layout conversion?
The beauty of a reflowable ebook is that the “page” changes based on the size of the screen and the user chosen font size. Reflowable MOBI format can be viewed in all Kindle devices and other devices such as iPad with the Kindle app installed. The reflowable EPUB format can be viewed in iOS devices, Sony, Nook, and other ereaders that use EPUB format.
The fixed layout format is proprietary for each device. The fixed layout ebook format basically mimics the look of the source file, this is ideal for children's books and other heavily designed books such as coffee-table books or cookbooks. The MOBI fixed layout format is optimized only for Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Paperwhite. The EPUB fixed-layout format for iPad can only be viewed in iOS devices.
Although a fixed-layout ebook mimics how content is laid-out in the source, the downside is that it can only be viewed in a limited set of ereader devices, comes with much bigger file sizes and is more expensive to convert as opposed to its reflowable counterpart.
Can I print my ebook?
Generally, ebooks can only be printed one page at a time. This depends on your browser and settings, but the entire document is not meant to be printed all at once.
Why does my ebook have a different amount of pages than my print book?
Ebooks are designed as reflowable content. This means that there is no concept of a “page” and the content is reworked to best fit the size of the screen on the device it is being viewed on as well as the font size chosen by the reader. What may appear as 151 pages on one device might show up as 251 pages on a different device, depending on how the layout is resized to work with that specific device.
How do I report an issue or request for edits?
To facilitate the correction, please do not use ebook locations or “page” numbers on the previewers/devices to report the issue, since devices and previewers locations vary. Instead, use the page number of the original source file (e.g., docx and PDF page numbers), provide a search key (a phrase/sentence), and then describe the edits to be made (e.g., docx/pdf page #, delete text “text A”, replace “text B” with “text C”, relocate the text/image from point A to point B).