Ebook creators

[Maverick]

Has anybody had any experience with these? If so can you suggest which ones to try please?

[fatman]

I kinda like the WebCompiler best - it even has minor form handling stuff integrated. Unfortunately, it is very expensive. It also does some things right - for example, if you check some of the other compilers, you'll notice that they decompress your files into the Windows TEMP directory. So much for protecting your files!

But for portability, nothing beats a PDF file, of course.

[Maverick]

Thanks for the info. I agree, I think PDF is probably the best way to go. Do you know how easy it is to convert web pages into PDF format? For instance can it handle shtml pages and SSI? Oh and another important thing - how big are the files it creates?

[ccreighton]

Hi Maverick,

Check out CtrlP's website. They offer PDF creation software free and will also mail you a CD copy.
http://www.ctrlp.com

Also look at EBOOKBUILDER 4:
EbookBuilder 4 will compile HTML and Text documents and images in the BMP, GIF and JPG format in a completely self standing Ebook executable that has all the files included in the executable in a compressed form. The Ebook itself can be read like a normal book with a left and a right page and page navigation buttons to flip thru the book. Creating an Ebook just takes a couple of minutes: click and drag files and give the create command; Ebook Scripts and support for sound (wav, mid and mp3) files; print pages from your Ebook. NEW: single or two-page view; auto launch browser or email program; special include tags. (Password = 1148am)
http://jansfreeware.com/ebookbuilder4.zip

Good luck.

[fatman]

I have only tried HTMLDOC, which is free, and not the well-known Adobe one which costs quite a bundle. It seem to work quite smoothly, and the software is continually being updated, with new versions appearing once in a way (mine is an old version, though). My version does not support CSS nor SSI; I don't know about newer versions. I think Adobe's works differently: it installs as a printer driver, and you simply print your page from whatever software you use. (This is the impression I get from reading around about it. I have no first hand experience. Neither do they have a demo.)

HTMLDOC, if you're interested, can be found at:
http://www.easysw.com/htmldoc/

To answer your question about how easy - it was a matter of putting the filename in the appropriate boxes, and clicking a button. There are other options for you to configure various things if you want, of course.


[Edited by fatman on 04-14-2001 at 10:26 PM]

[Maverick]

Thanks for all the tips guys. There's some very interesting programs amongst them. Until now I thought that if you wanted to create PDF files you had to use Acrobat or nothing at all. It's good to hear they haven't monopolised the software. It would be a different story if Microsoft had developed the format. :)