Oct 8 2006

Ebookwise Conversion Issues

By Jane • Ebooks • • Tags: , ,

If you have a pocket pc or a palm device, get  µbook. This post isn’t necessary for you to read. If you have an Ebookwise Reader, below are some answers to frequently asked questions on how to get the most of out of your unit.

Q: Can I read secure ebooks that are sold by Simon Says, Harper Collins and other NY publishers?

A: Yes, but you have to use a converter which may be illegal in some countries. The converters that are out there are Amberlit and ConvertLit.

Q: What about PDFs?

A: Only if the PDF is unsecured (meaning that is has no DRM attached), can you do so. If your copy is unsecured, then you need to do a ) copy and paste into word or wordpad or b) a conversion program like ABC Amber PDF.

Q: What do you do with those free books at Black Mask or at Project Gutenberg like Jane Eyre.

A: At PG, you generally have the option to download the html or the txt file. I find I have fairly good success downloading the html file. To download the html file, hover your mouse over the link and right click. Select “Save File As” or “Save As”. A dialog box will open and you can navigate to the folder that you are keeping your ebooks. Save it.

Project Gutenberg

Q: But what do I do with the html or rtf file?

A: Using the Ebookwise Librarian or eBook Librarian, you can convert html, rtf, or txt files into the “IMP” format that your Ebookwise can read. If you have extracted a “lit” file, look in the folder for the “opf” file. With either program you can use the “drag and drop” method. Dragging involves clicking on the item that you want to convert and then, while still holding the mouse down, you drag it onto the program window until a “+” sign appears. Then you release the mouse button or “drop” the file. For the rtfs, htmls, just drag those file. If you have an “opf” file, drag the OPF file.

The key to using this “drag and drop” menu involves making sure both the file and the program appear in the same window space. You can do this by resizing the program and the file folder.

drag and drop

Q: What are you talking about? I don’t see any “.opf” or “.html” or anything like that. For that matter, I don’t even know what those mean.

A: Every file has a three or four letter extension. That three letter extension tells your computer what program to open. For example, a file named letter.doc will tell your computer to open Microsoft Word for the computer believes that all files with the extension “doc” is a Word file. These are called “file associations.” Your computer “associates” files with programs based on their extensions. A file with an extension of “pdf” opens Adobe Reader. A file with “html” opens an internet browser. That internet browser may be AOL, Internet Explorer or Firefox. Here’s a handy file –> program association index:

PDF Adobe Reader/Adobe Acrobat
TXT Notepad or Wordpad
HTML Internet Browser
DOC MS Word
WPD Word Perfect
RTF Usually, MS Word or MS Works. Can also be opened with Wordpad
LIT MS Reader
PRC Mobipocket Reader
PDB Ereader or Palm Doc

Q: That’s all well and good, but my computer doesn’t show those three letter extensions.

A: They are hidden and you have to “unhide” them. This is how you do it. In any File Explorer window, Click Tools –> Folder Options –> View –> Show Hidden Files and Folders

File Options

File Options View

Just be careful that when you rename a file, you remember what the file extension is.

Q: Do I have to buy those two software programs mentioned above?

A: No, you can use the online conversion.

Q: Sometimes my conversion fails when I try to use an html.

A: You may need to do a couple of things. You can try renaming the file. (getting any punctuation out of the name helps). One thing that has always worked for me is to open the file in Word and save as an RTF. If you have Amberlit, you can save directly to rtf from the LIT file and skip this process.

Open as Word

Save As

Q: But I don’t have MS Word! What then?

A: You have a couple of options. One option involves using a program called HTMLTidy. This is a program you can download and run from your computer or you can use the online Tidy program. If you use the online Tidy program, you will be given the option, in the upper right hand corner to save the “tidied” file. I would click “save as” like you did here

If you use the HTML trim program, simply download and extract the program. Under the “options”, go to the last tab “CleanUp.” Look at the below picture. I have had success “tidy”ing files with the options below checked.

Tidy Options

Q: I have used up all my passport activations. What do I do now?

A: You need to call (866) 834-8317 and get more. Or, if you are anxious to read your new books as it can take up to 5 days to get a call, you can create a new passport and get 6 new activations. The catch is that all the books that you purchased and read under the old passport are not readable so be sure to convert those files to htmls or rtfs before getting a new passport.

Q: What about Adobe, do they have an activation help number?

A: They do. It’s 800-833-6687.

For fun, here’s a collection of bookshelf photographs. What do your bookshelves look like? Drop a comment, ask a question, give a tip, and I’ll send a random winner, Rachel Gibson’s I’m In No Mood For Love and Julie Kenner’s Carpe Demon, both books which will be reviewed this week. Right Jayne? Oh, and I am sorry but this free book giveaway is only available for those in the US and Canada. It is tres expensive to send these books overseas. I am sorry. :(

Next Sunday will be feature a review with lots of pictures of the Sony Reader. I broke down and bought one. For the good of the blog, of course.

Send to Kindle

By • Ebooks • 27 • Tags: , ,