Exporting EPUB and HTML e-books from Layout by Zaweba
Export reflowable or fixed layout EPUB 3 and HTML from Layout by Zaweba, with CSS control, a Reading order panel and EPUB accessibility metadata.
A book laid out for print can also be an e-book, and a brochure can also be a web page. Layout by Zaweba exports EPUB 3, in both reflowable and fixed layout forms, and HTML, so the work done for the printed page carries over to screens without rebuilding the document in another tool.
Reflowable or fixed layout EPUB
Reflowable EPUB is built from the document's stories in reading order. The text flows to fit the reader's screen and font size, which is what readers expect from a novel, a memoir, a guide or any book that is mostly continuous text. The page design of the print edition doesn't carry over exactly, because the reader controls the size and the device controls the line length, but headings, paragraphs, emphasis and pictures do.
Fixed layout EPUB keeps each page as designed. It suits picture books, cookbooks, comics, photo books and magazines, where the position of every element matters. The reader zooms rather than reflows.
Choose by the content. If the words matter more than where they sit, go reflowable. If the design is the content, go fixed.
HTML export
HTML export produces web pages from the document. It is useful for putting a report, a newsletter or a programme online alongside the print or PDF version, or for handing content to a web developer in a form they can style further.
Controlling the CSS
For EPUB and HTML, you decide how much styling goes out as CSS. There are four levels: styles and local formatting, styles only, class names only, or none. You can also add your own style sheets.
Styles and local formatting carries over the most, including formatting applied directly to text. Styles only leaves out the direct formatting, which gives cleaner code when a document's styling is mostly done through paragraph and character styles. Class names only gives each element its style name as a class with no rules attached, for a developer who will write all the CSS. None leaves out styling altogether.
Your own style sheets let you control the look closely: fonts, spacing, colours, and how headings and captions appear. For a series of e-books with a consistent look, one shared style sheet across every title is ideal.
Reading order
In a print layout, a page may have a main story, a sidebar, captions and pull quotes. A reflowable e-book has one stream of content, so the order of those pieces has to be decided. The Reading order panel sets it. Without it, a sidebar might land in the middle of a paragraph, or a caption a page away from its picture.
EPUB accessibility metadata
EPUB exports can carry accessibility metadata, which describes how accessible the book is to readers who use assistive technology. Many stores and libraries look for it. Combine it with alt text on pictures, proper heading styles and a sensible reading order, and the e-book is much more usable for everyone.
Mistakes people make with EPUB
Designing for print only and hoping the e-book will sort itself out is the big one. Use styles for everything, because styles are what carry into EPUB cleanly.
Using local formatting heavily produces messy CSS. Build styles first.
Leaving reading order alone in documents with sidebars or boxes makes a confusing e-book. Check the panel.
Choosing fixed layout for a text heavy book makes it hard to read on a phone. Reflowable is kinder for long text.
The appeal is building once. A self published novel can be laid out for print and exported as a print PDF and an EPUB from the same document. Equations go out as MathML, tables keep their header rows, and interactive elements such as buttons and multi-state objects can work in EPUB and HTML as well.
