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eBooks with InDesign and Dreamweaver CS6

Create eBooks for iPad, Kindle & More

Making eBooks is a very different process from creating print books. Let us show you how it’s done. We’ll teach you how to create ePub files that work on Apple’s iPad, iPhone, Nook and other eReaders, as well as how to create Mobi & KF8 files for Amazon’s Kindle. We'll be teaching InDesign CS6, which is a major update and has many new features that make eBooks easier to create. For eBooks, you'll want to use CS6!

eBooks are essentially webpages, so experience with HTML and CSS is required. InDesign provides a good start, but we will need to edit some of the HTML/CSS code using Dreamweaver (although in your work you could use whatever editor you prefer). If you have no HTML, CSS, or Dreamwaver experience, we suggest you take our Dreamweaver Level 1 class before this class.

  • eBooks have nice thumbnails on some eReaders.

  • Learn to make eBooks for the iPad and other eReaders.

  • You can use custom fonts in eBooks and we’ll show you how!

  • Learn how to add video and audio to your eBooks.

  • You’ll learn how to properly convert eBooks into the Kindle’s Mobi and KF8 formats.

What You’ll Learn

Section 1
Making Your First eBook

Topics

  • Exporting an ePub (The Main eBook File Format)
  • Previewing the ePub in Adobe Digital Editions
  • Controlling Image Size: Fixed versus Relative to Page
  • Creating a Table of Contents
Controlling Image Position Using Anchored Objects

Topics

  • Anchoring Images to Control Their Position in the eBook
  • Anchoring Images with Captions
  • Fixing Tinted Color Problems
  • Setting Custom Object Export Options
Controlling Document Flow Using the Articles Panel

Topics

  • Creating Articles
  • Controlling the Order of Objects Using the Articles Panel
  • How Anchored Objects Work in the Articles Panel

Upcoming Classes

Price: $650 Click for Discounts

  • 12 hours of Hands-On Training
  • Custom Written Workbook Included
  • Mac or PC

We Literally Wrote the Book!

eBooks Workbook

To make the perfect class we had to write our own workbooks which are included with each class.

Can’t take a class? Our workbooks are the next best thing.

Buy Workbook

Other InDesign Classes

Section 2
Cover Art, Book Metadata & Expanding ePubs

Topics

  • Adding Important Metadata About the eBook
  • Defining the Cover Art in the ePub versus the Cover Thumbnail
  • Letting InDesign Create a Cover
  • Choosing Your Own Cover Art
  • Expanding the ePub to See Inside
Creating Chapter Breaks Using the Book Feature

Topics

  • Creating a Book in InDesign
  • Adding Chapters to the Book
  • How Book Chapters Turn into ePub Chapter Breaks
Creating Links (Internal & External)

Topics

  • Creating Links to External Websites
  • Creating Internal Links Using Cross-References
  • Creating Internal Links Using Hyperlink Destinations
Styling (Font/Size) & Structure (Headings/Paragraphs)

Topics

  • Setting Fonts & Size for Headings in InDesign
  • Setting Fonts & Size for Paragraphs
  • Defining How Styles Will Map to HTML Tags
  • Expanding an ePub File to See the Code
Section 3
Embedded Fonts & Text Alignment in iBooks

Topics

  • Getting Embedded Fonts to Work in iBooks
  • How to Use the com.apple.ibooks.display‑options.xml File
  • Dealing with Encrypted Fonts
  • Controlling Text Alignment in iBooks
Paragraph Rules, Background Colors & Margins

Topics

  • Unzipping an ePub to Edit the Files
  • Adding Paragraph Rules (Borders) Using CSS
  • Adding Background Colors
  • Re-Zipping an ePub
Dealing with iBooks Image Sizing Issues

Topics

  • Wrapping Images in a Span Tag
  • HTML Image Size versus CSS
Preventing Bad Breaks & Hyphenation

Topics

  • Various Techniques to Prevent Unwanted Hyphenation
  • Keeping Items Together (Avoiding Page Breaks)
Section 4
Cleaning Up Code & ePub Validation

Topics

  • Fixing the Styling of Hyperlinks
  • Validating and Preflighting ePub Files
  • Deleting the iTunesMetadata.plist File
Converting to the Kindle Format (Mobi/KF8)

Topics

  • Converting ePubs Into a Mobi/KF8 File for the Amazon Kindle
  • Converting Using Kindlegen (Built into the Kindle Previewer)
  • Previewing Using Kindle Previewer (A Kindle Emulator)
Adding Audio

Topics

  • Adding Audio in InDesign
  • Fixing InDesign’s Code So Audio Works on Nook Color
  • Customizing the Width of iBook’s Audio Controls
  • MP3 Versus M4A Audio Files
Adding Video

Topics

  • Adding Video in InDesign
  • Determining the Proper Video Size
  • Fixing InDesign’s Code So Video Works on Nook Color
  • Adding Poster Images