Help and Support
Frequently Asked Questions
OpenDocument format
What software can I produce OpenDocument Text (ODT) files with?
OpenOffice.org, KOffice, Microsoft Office with Sun ODF plugin, among others
Where can I find the OpenDocument specification?
At the OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) TC
Why should I use ODT as my manuscript format?
OpenDocument is an international standard, adopted as main office document format by companies, organizations, and governments
worldwide.
ePub format
Which hardware readers support ePub format?
Sony Reader, Barnes&Nobles Nook, Apple iPad, COOL-ER, Bookeen Cybook, BeBook, jetBook, among others
What software supports ePub format?
Adobe Digital Editions (ADE), Stanza, Calibre, Sigil (WYSIWYG editor), Ibis Reader, BookWorm, among others
Which vendors back ePub format?
Adobe, Google, Apple, Sony, among others
Which publishers have adopted ePub format?
O'Reilly, Hachette Book Group USA, Random House, Penguin, Oxford University Press, among others
Where can I find the ePub specification?
At the International Digital Publishing Forum
Why should I use ePub as my e-book format?
ePub is a free and open standard, based on well-tested Web technologies, designed specifically for e-books (in contrast to
PDF, which is dedicated to printed media), reflowable, and increasingly supported by main players in digital publishing.
ODT input
Is there a limit on the book size?
Yes, the maximum size of the ODT input file is 3 MB
Can all ODT files be converted?
No, some ODT files with complex styles and formatting will fail because the XHTML output filter is not able to handle them.
If exporting as XHTML from OpenOffice.org fails, it is a good indication that the file is too complex.
Are the input files stored?
Input files are only stored temporarily during the conversion process, not permanently. They are never distributed or used
for any other purpose.
Conversion process
How long does it take to convert?
Several seconds to several minutes, depending on the complexity of the book
Can I convert several books at once?
Not at the moment
Can you clean up my book?
No, the conversion process is entirely automated, and it does not make any changes to the original ODT file.
What features are supported by the converter?
You can find them in the Features section
What are the customization options?
You can enter book metadata such as title and creator (and overwrite the original metadata from ODT).
What is the ePub sample file?
It is a full version of you ePub output, including a banner after each page-break
What kind of payments do you accept?
PayPal/credit card
What if I'm not satisfied with the result?
Please contact our support
ePub output
What metadata is included in the ePub file?
Dublin Core 1.1 elements title, language, identifier, creator, and publisher are extracted from the original ODT, if they are present there.
You can overwrite ODT values with your own in the Options step.
The terms title, language, and identifier are mandatory according to the ePub specification, the rest is optional. If you do not provide them, the result file will be invalid (but readable).
How is XHTML content packaged?
It is split into several files to make it load faster and try to keep the filesize under the 300 KB limit.
Currently the splitting is done on elements which ODT style includes a page-break before them.
The converter however does not ensure that all files fall under this limit. You have to make sure your input styles (usually headings) contain page-breaks to keep the chapters reasonably sized.
What is the 300 KB per file limit?
Some hardware readers (e.g. some Sony Reader versions) have memory limitations, which makes them unable to load an ePub package
that contains files larger than 300 KB
What kinds of length units are used?
It is recommended to use relative units (em and %) in ePub to make the content scale gracefully when the font size is changed.
So far ODT2ePub only recalculates font-size property from absolute to relative values, other absolute values remain unchanged. You might want to use relative values
where possible in the original ODT.
Can I add DRM to the ePub file?
Not with ODT2ePub. DRM might be the very reason why the e-book market has not taken off yet,
but if you still think you need it, 3rd party software like Adobe Digital Editions might be able to do that.
What if I want to make changes in my ePub file?
Make necessary changes in the input ODT and convert again, or use editing software that supports ePub format (such as Sigil).
How is the output quality ensured?
In the premium version, the ePub output is validated according to the standard specification using the EpubCheck tool. The validation output is provided.
Other
Do you support Microsoft Word (DOC) format as well?
Not at the moment, but support is planned.
DOC can also be easily exported as OpenDocument (ODT).
Do you provide publishing services?
Not at the moment
Are there any restrictions on file use?
No, use it at your own risk and responsibility