2/26/12 Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Automation Release Notes

1/2www.macosxautomation.com/lion/epub/index.html

Text to EPUB FileThe ability to easily create and share information is an essential requirement for businesses and classroomsalike. Since many computers and mobile media devices now support digital reader applications, the use ofdigital books as a means of content delivery has dramatically increased. On the iPad and the iPhone, theApple-provided reader application is iBooks, and it supports the viewing of both commercial and non-commercial digital publications, including those created in the free and open Electronic Publication (EPUB)format.

A third-party application for reading EPUB documents on Mac OS X is Bookle by Stairways Software. It isavailable on the App Store as well.

Mac OS X Lion includes a built-in Automator action, named Text to EPUB File, that is designed to make itvery easy to convert selected text or text documents into EPUB books, ideal for transferring to iPads andiPhones. Additionally, the created EPUB books can include images, MPEG audio, or MPEG video files.

NOTE: If the source documents for the action are in Rich Text Format (RTF), any formatting they possesswill be preserved, and display correctly in the EPUB document. HOWEVER, files in RTFD format (Rich Textwith embedded images and/or media) are not supported as input.

Also, the action includes full Unicode support, so Asian and Arabic characters are preserved as well.

THE ACTION INTERFACEThe action's interface is divided into two sections: on the left are the input fields for determining the createdfile name and location,; and on the right are the controls for adding related images, audio files, or movies.Here's an overview of the action interface controls.

Document Parameters and Metadata: (NOTE: all of these controls accept Automator workflow variables asinput)

1. Title - Enter the title of the book in this text field (1).2. Author - Enter the author of the book in this text field (2). By default, the name of the current user will

be used.3. File Name - Enter the name for the created EPUB document in this text field (3). EPUB file names must

end with a name extension of "epub" like: My Story.epub4. File Destination - Choose the folder that will contain the created EPUB document from this popup

menu (4).

NEW ACTIONS IN LION

1. Text to EPUB File2. Website PopUp3. Create Banner Image from Text4. Encode to MPEG Audio5. Encode Media6. Create Annotated Media File7. Get Web Content/Save Images from

Web Content

ABOUT AUTOMATOR/SERVICES

To learn more about how to create yourown Automator workflows and servicesusing this action, watch these shortmovies:

Introduction to AutomatorIntroduction to Services

WHAT IS EPUB?

The International DigitalPublishing Forumis the trade andstandards associationfor the digitalpublishing industry.".epub" is the fileextension of an XMLformat for reflowabledigital books and

publications. ".epub" is composed of threeopen standards, the Open PublicationStructure (OPS), Open Packaging Format(OPF) and Open Container Format (OCF),produced by the IDPF. "EPUB" allowspublishers to produce and send a singledigital publication file through distributionand offers consumers interoperabilitybetween software/hardware forunencrypted reflowable digital books andother publications.

EDITING EPUB DOCUMENTS

Essentially, EPUB documents are saved asarchived folders containing editable filesand media.

To make changes to an EPUB document,first drag it onto the Unpack EPUBand an unpacked copy of the digital bookwill be placed on the desktop.

To re-pack the edited EPUB folder, launchthe Re-Package EPUB script and choosethe edited folder to be reconstituted and arepackaged EPUB document will becreated.

(Download Scripts)

TUTORIALS

In addition to the service installers, this

| Mac OS X Automation | Lion Release Notes | Automator/Services

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2/26/12 Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Automation Release Notes

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Optional Media:

5. Cover Image - Optionally, the EPUB book can have a custom cover image. Select the image file to beused as the cover image from this popup menu (5).

6. Media Placement - Images, audio (.m4a), or video (.m4v) files added to the book are placed one perchapter at either the beginning or end of each chapter. Select the insertion location from this popupmenu (6).

NOTE: additional media files (those unassigned to chapters) will be placed as a group at the end of thebook in a chapter titled "Illustrations." For example, if seven images are added to a book containingthree chapters, the first three images in the list will be placed one-per-chapter and the remainning fourimages will be placed in an illustrations chapter at the end of the book.

7. Scale Images - Select this checkbox (7) if you want to reduce the file size of the EPUB document byscaling the images added to the book to fit within 1024 pixels.

8. Media List - A list of the added media files (8). Files can be added or removed using the controlsbeneath the list view (9).

EPUB SERVICES

By default, Mac OS X Lion does not include any services that use the Text to EPUB File action. However, theText to EPUB Services collection available on this website contains four Automator services for convertingtext into digital books:

1. Create EPUB Book with Selected Files2. Create EPUB Book with Selected Text3. Create Formatted EPUB Book with Selected Text4. Create EPUB Book with Contents of Clipboard

View the service workflows

Download the service files

MEDIA PREPARATION

Audio and video files should be encoded prior to using them with the Text to EPUB File action. Video filesadded to EPUB documents must be in MPEG (.m4v) format, and audio files must be in MPEG (.m4a) format.Fortunately, Mac OS X Lion includes two built-in services for converting video and audio files to the properformats for inclusion in digital books. These services appear in the Finder's contextual menu whenappropriate audio/video source files are selected:

Encode Selected Movie Files • This service will encode movie files (.mov) selected in the Finder, toMPEG files (.m4v) for use with AppleTV, iPod, iPhone, or the iPad. (learn more)Encode Selected Audio Files • This service will encode selected audio files of WAV, AIF, CAF, or SDIIformats, to MPEG (.m4a) files for use with the iPod, iPhone, or the iPad. (learn more)

DOWNLOADS AND TUTORIALS

You can download the installer for the EPUB services here.

In addition to the service installers, this website contains two hands-on tutorials with example materials.

1. Simple Formatted Book • create a single-flow formatted book from the text selected in a document.2. Multi-Chapter Book • create a multiple chapter book from selected text files, and add audio and image

files as well.

TOP

In addition to the service installers, thiswebsite contains two hands-on tutorialswith example materials.

1. Simple Formatted Book • create asingle-flow formatted book from thetext selected in a document.

2. Multi-Chapter Book • create amultiple chapter book from selectedtext files, and add audio and imagefiles as well.

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