FrameMaker to ePub; ePub readers and pinned graphics

[Scott Prentice]

Hey Hedley...

Good to hear from you again!

No .. FM9/10 can't export directly to ePub (out of the box) .. the 
easiest path is via RoboHelp. Unless you want to save to PDF, then use 
one of the many available PDF to ePub converters out there. Also, you 
might try downloading Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com) .. it's free .. 
and it converts to ePub from many formats including HTML and RTF (you 
could save from FM to RTF, then convert that. As long as you keep things 
simple with the styling it might not be too bad.

As for readers that let you pin a graphic .. I don't know of any .. but 
that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I like the iPad as a reader device, 
because it's more than just a reader. You're not locked to iTunes or 
Apple formats since iBooks lets you read open ePubs and PDFs (as well as 
the DRM'd ePubs from iTunes). There's also the Stanza app for iOS that 
is pretty nice since it lets you download books from your local Calibre 
Server.

Cheers!

...scott



Hedley Finger wrote:
> Good day book butchers:
>
> Can anyone tell me whether FrameMaker 9 or 10 can export directly to 
> ePub format without going through the RoboHelp intermediary process 
> (I'm still back with FrameMaker 8)?
>
> I am particularly interested in acquiring an ePub reader on which you 
> can pin a graphic so that you can read the explanatory main text by 
> scrolling around the pinned graphic.  That is, I have a diagram of how 
> double clutch gearbox works and I want to pin this diagram so I can 
> refer to it while reading the accompanying main text.  The alternative 
> would be to keep scrolling back and forth from diagram to text.  
> Another clumsy alternative might be setting two bookmarks, one on the 
> diagram and another (constantly moving) bookmark at the current point 
> in the text.
>
> Has anyone got any opinions on the best eReader and why they consider 
> it so for their purposes?  There is a comparison chart on Wikipedia 
> which leads me to think that all of them are pretty average, 
> particularly if you don't want to be locked into an Amazon Whispernet 
> or Apple iTunes to purchase and download books.
>
> Regards,
> Hedley
>
> P.S.  Hi to all after a long absence.  I am now retired and have 
> transformed into a bicycle nut!
>
> -- 
>
> PLEASE UPDATE MY ADDRESS TO hedley.finger at gmail.com IN YOUR EMAIL 
> ADDRESS BOOK OR CONTACTS LIST
>
>
> Hedley Finger
>
> 28 Regent Street   Camberwell VIC 3124   Australia
> Tel: +61 3 9809 1229   Fax: (call phone first)
> Mobile (cell): +61 412 461 558   Skype: hedley.finger
> Email. <hedley.finger at gmail.com>
>
>