Operation Manual

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Exporting and publishing
Last updated 11/30/2015
InDesign creates a single .epub file containing the XHTML-based content. If specified, the exported file may include a
cover image. The cover image is created from an image, or created by rasterizing the first page in the specified
document (or the style source document if a book was selected). The thumbnail is used to depict the book in the EPUB
readers or the Digital Editions Reader library view. To view the file, you need an EPUB reader. You can also use the
Adobe Digital Editions software, which you can download free from the Adobe website.
The .epub file is essentially a .zip file. To view and edit the contents of an .EPUB file, change the extension from .epub
to .zip, and then extract the contents. This is especially useful for editing the CSS file.
Note: InDesign objects such as text frames and objects that contain placed images, are always exported when you choose
the Based on Page Layout ordering option. Empty objects are not exported unless you have applied a setting to the InDesign
object via the Object Export Options to make it export as a JPEG, GIF, or PNG.
EPUB resources
Use the following links to learn about EPUB format.
• For more information on the EPUB format, see www.idpf.org.
• Download a free copy of the Digital Editions reader at www.adobe.com/products/digital-editions.html.
• See the blog Digital Editions for information on Digital Editions.
• For information on exporting to Kindle, see the InDesign to Kindle white paper.
• Learn how to convert your InDesign files to the EPUB format and start selling your eBooks for viewing on the Apple
iPad. See the
InDesign to iPad white paper.
EPUB General export options
The General section of the EPUB Export Options dialog box includes the following options.
Include Document Metadata The metadata from the document (or the style source document if a book was selected)
is included with the exported file.
Add Publisher Entry Specify the publisher information that appears in the eBook metadata. You can specify a URL for
the publisher so that someone who receives the eBook can visit the publisher’s website.
Unique Identifier Every EPUB document requires a unique identifier. You can specify the unique identifier attribute.
If you leave this field empty, a unique identifier is automatically created.
EPUB Cover Specifies the cover image for the eBook. Choose one of the following:
No Cover Image If this option is selected no cover image is added to the eBook.
Rasterize First Page If this option is selected creates an image file by rasterizing the first page of the eBook to use as the
cover.
Use Existing Image File If this option is selected you can specify an image on your computer to use as the cover.
Ordering lets you specify the order in which the page elements are exported.
Base On Page Layout
The location of the items on the page determines the reading order.
If Base On Page Layout is selected, InDesign determines the reading order of page objects by scanning left to right and
top to bottom. In some instances, especially in complex, multicolumn documents, the design elements may not appear
in the desired reading order. Use Dreamweaver to rearrange and format the contents.