Adam Szymanski Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I'm wondering if I am able to import ePub files into Accordance, allowing me to have them available for search and notes? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Bennett Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I'm wondering if I am able to import ePub files into Accordance, allowing me to have them available for search and notes? Thank you. Maybe. An ePub is basically a .zip file that contains html/xhtml files. If you extract them and merge them together as a single file you can use our Import User Tool feature. Though, your milage may vary depending on the markup used, size, etc. See the help for more info on this. I actually just downloaded an AppleScript that uncompresses ePubs today. See here. Also, you can simply rename the extension to .zip and use the OS standard utility. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Szymanski Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 Great! Thanks. I'll check that out. On a similar note, am I able to export any of my resources to a standard ePub format? I'd like to read some of my library using other reading software, but can't figure out how to export these resources. -Adam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Bennett Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 The closest you can get is to print portions of a resource to PDF then open in your reader. Our licensed resources cannot be exported in whole due to copyright restrictions. Rick Mansfield also wrote a blog post on creating an audio file of Accordance modules; you can search his blog for details: http://thislamp.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Yentzer Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Maybe. An ePub is basically a .zip file that contains html/xhtml files. If you extract them and merge them together as a single file you can use our Import User Tool feature. Though, your milage may vary depending on the markup used, size, etc. See the help for more info on this. I actually just downloaded an AppleScript that uncompresses ePubs today. See here. Also, you can simply rename the extension to .zip and use the OS standard utility. HTH… I have done this with a few epub books I purchased and wanted to read in Accordance. I was also able to add Scripture links which was handy. I'm well versed in html so it was easy for myself to convert the separate files into one and then import the book into Accordance. There is a free ebook app Calibre that can convert files from one format into another, such as epub into html. I have used it in the past and with some minor editing I had a workable version. Your mileage may vary but I would consider it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Weaks Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Here's also a decent description of dissecting the epub format, though using Windoze tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Bennett Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Here's also a decent description of dissecting the epub format, though using Windoze tools. And, BBEdit supports editing them without extraction (same with .zip). Thought, I've found it's easier to combine them into a single files after extracting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Terry Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 I would add a second for Calibre. It is a very valuable tool for anyone with electronic resources. It is continually under development - usually updates are put out every few days it seems. It can convert between quite a few formats. You can check it out or download (it's free) it at: Calibre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Szymanski Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 Okay, this is great news! Thank you everyone for the input! I'd like to build a digital library of resources that can be used on Kindle and iPad, also using any reading software. I'm a little nervous investing too much money for secondary resources in Accordance if I am only limited to reading on Accordance software. The PDF export export in Accordance seems too limited and will probably not work will on a reader like the Kindle, right? With that said, if I were to start buying general reference eBooks (to convert and add to Accordance, but also read on Kindle), which format/store would be best to buy from? Amazon (MOBI)? From Google Books? Other? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Hi Adam, I'm not an expert on e-book formats but having just got a kindle I have looked around at formats and using PDF. You can view pdf documents on the kindle but it does not 'flow' like other formats - you just see a single page although you can zoom in if the font size is too small. I have attempted to use the pdf download facility from Accordance and the trick is to make sure you have the correct page size and font size. Being in the UK my page size defaults to A4 which meant the last few lines on the page were not displayed in the full page layout on the kindle. Found out you needed to use 'US Letter' as the page format. You then need to decide on the best font/ font size to use when 'printing' to PDF from Accordance - preferably one that allows you to read it easily on the page view in the kindle. A few test pdfs will allow you to decide what is best. Once you have done that it is an effective way of putting articles onto the kindle for reading. Of course it does have the downside of not providing a table of contents or allowing you to highlight (correction you can highlight!!) and headings just appear in the middle of pages. Therefore best for something that you just want to read through. Having said that you can always make notes in Accordance as you are reading through it on the kindle. The kindle does not work with epub texts but these can be converted to mobi using Calibre. Also if you have the time you can create a document in word and then save it in html format. That can be imported into Accordance and also converted to mobi format in Calibre. If you search there are a number of sites where older theology books have been converted to kindle format. (e.g. if you are interested in puritan writings there are a number of books that are available free of charge in mobi format). Of course the issue is that any book you buy that is currently in copyright cannot/should not be converted to another format and will probably be DRM protected anyway. Note that Google have created a lot of free out of copyright books either by just copying them (i.e it is a bit like reading a pdf file and there is no table of contents) or sometimes they have been copied using OCR software which depending on the book can make it pretty unreadable - especially if it has greek/latin in it. Again it is not formatted with a table of contents which for longer works or compete works is hopeless. Sorry its a bit rambling but hope the info helps Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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