Going from InDesign files to fixed layout ePub3 via Flipick

Creating Fixed Layout ePub3 book from InDesign is not a simple process. Yet the Fixed Layout format is precisely what many companies need when they ask for something that

• can be read on tablet devices
• maintains the original layout with tables, charts, and side-by-side text
• can have interactive features

From Paper to Multimedia using QR codes

Ordinarily this blog covers taking InDesign layouts and publishing them as digital publications—ebooks, PDF files, or tablet applications.

But today I’m excited to present a whole new format for publishing: Paper books with embedded movies.

Dreamweaver as ePub Editor

We recently got the following email from Jim Maivald. Jim is one of the foremost experts on XML and web design. As you can see Jim is on a mission to get more people to use Dreamweaver as an ePub editing program.

Hi. I was just perusing your “Digital Publishing” book and ran across the suggestion of using Dreamweaver as an EPUB editor, p 207. First, I like the book. I hope you get tons of sales.

Second, I love DW as an EPUB editor. I use it all the time. I am a huge advocate to get DW to be Adobe’s official EPUB editor. It offers tons of productivity enhancements that your readers should know about.

Doing the discount math for creating DPS apps

Are you interested in creating DPS apps for the iPad? Working with ID CS6? Right now Adobe’s offering an upgrade price to the Creative Cloud for existing CS6 customers that makes it a no-brainer for what to buy.

Alert for updating DPS Tips app

If you’ve downloaded the DPS Tips application from Bob Bringhurst, you may see that there’s an update available. 

We’ve discovered there’s a bug that doesn’t affect many users, but does cause problems for some.

Adding a new orientation to an existing folio?

Here’s a frustration that we just came across.

Let’s say you are about to create a DPS folio and the client has said “I ONLY want portrait. There’s no way I will ever need landscape. Never!” (That little voice in your head should be shouting at you, “Don’t believe him!” But we’ll continue.)

Adobe Inspire goes from InDesign to iPad

Adobe Inspire is a bi-monthly magazine which helps readers be inspired to use Adobe software in creative ways. It is available as a web page as well as an iPad app. The magazine is free and you can subscribe to the web version to get notifications when the new issue is posted.

The October 2012 issue is of particular interest to InDesign users creating DPS apps. It’s an article about how the magazine converts their InDesign pages into DPS for the iPad version.

Hacking into a DPS file

I’m not too sure of the usefulness of the following, but Branislav Millic, an InDesign guru based in Belgium, recently sent out the following information. He discovered this technique trying to find the protection of data in a DPS file:

In your iTunes folder, go to the “Mobile Applications” folder and select an .ipa that is, for instance, a DPS project.

Make a copy on the Desktop.

Woodwing opens up their DPS tools to anyone using InDesign

Woodwing was one of the earliest third-party companies to offer a DPS solution from InDesign. However, it required the user to be using Woodwing’s expensive plug-ins for file management.

Now, Tim Cole, Woodwing’s new evangelist for their products, has announced a beta test of a new product, SmartDPS, for creating DPS applications. Here’s what Tim has had to say: (Check out the paragraph in bold/italic. It explains some features in SmartDPS that InDesign doesn’t do).

Importing a list of items for list boxes and combo boxes

At the most recent NY InDesign User Group meeting, an exciting event occured.

Fresh from writing about forms in our book, I demonstrated the long-requested PDF form tools for InDesign.

I showed how easy it is to add form fields such as radio buttons, text fields, and combo boxes. But I had to mention that you can’t import a list of items into a list or combo box. The user has to manually type each entry.