Re: [libreoffice-users] Book-writing with Writer

On 07/09/2013 07:27 AM, Virgil Arrington wrote:
> Ferand wrote,
>
> >  Virgil,
>
> > please stop this crap, LO and OO are the right tools to produce any 
> > document any form any size, only the lack of knowledge is a barrier .
> > All professional tools to produce a book are XML based like LO and 
> > OO, so start writing, use a simple style model , understood the 
> > OutputLevels, understood picture resolutions and go. Afterwards 
> > choose a tool  make a tranformation to deliver the work to a printer 
> > (PDF) or to a HTML 5/ Epub reader
> > Greetz
>
> I noticed you didn't copy the list (a reply vs. reply all problem), 
> but I'll include the list on my reply as I think it might be helpful. 
> I'll grant that my suggesting other products on an LO users list may 
> not be the best form, but I do think it proper to point out LO's 
> limitations.
>
> I fully agree that LO can produce any document any size. I fully agree 
> that lack of knowledge can be a barrier (to *any* product, be it LO or 
> LaTeX). But, I think your last line helps prove my point. You suggest 
> writing in LO, and then picking *another* tool to transform the final 
> product into PDF or Epub reader format. In so suggesting, you imply 
> that LO is *not* the right tool to perform those tasks.
>
> I was trying to suggest tools that could perform the entire project, 
> from writing to publishing. The PDF output from LyX/LaTeX cannot be 
> touched by *anything* that I know of (at least in the FOSS world). For 
> example, LaTeX automatically, and by default, produces ligatures, 
> those "fi" and "fl" combinations that are often found lacking today in 
> "professionally" published books produced by word processors like LO 
> or Word. The Microtype package is an absolute must for any proper 
> output with justified margins, as it justifies an entire paragraph, 
> not just lines, making small adjustments, not only between words, but 
> *within* letters as well. LO's line by line justification looks 
> hideous in comparison (yes, I'm a little OCD about these things). And, 
> unless you use Linux Libertine as your typeface, you won't be able to 
> get such professional effects as old style numbering or true small caps.
>
> There was a day when proper justification, ligatures, and professional 
> type effects were the expected norm in professionally designed books. 
> But, today, so many publishing houses are simply accepting the output 
> of word processors that it's becoming rare to find a properly designed 
> book. The lack of professional output in computer generated books was 
> the reason for the creation of TeX in the first place, some 35 years ago.
>
> As far as the ebook format is concerned, nothing I've seen (again in 
> cost-effective tools) can match the output of Atlantis.
>
> Virgil

I use LO to export my work to a PDF document that would work well on my 
tablets.  All I needed to do is format the page size to the proper one 
that works best for tablet reading.  I choose something along the page 
size used for paper-back books.  So I format the page to about 4 by 7 
inches, with a small margin size.  Then I export it to a PDF file.  Of 
course, if I want to create an ePub document format instead, for Kindle 
or Nook, then I use an external package called "Calibre".  I run it on a 
Ubuntu/Linux system, but it come in Windows as well. [if I remember 
correctly]

I also can save the book file via printing to CUPS-PDF and making sure 
that my exact fonts are embedded properly.  LO 4.1.x release notes shows 
the "embed font" as a checkbox option.

There use to be an extension to export to ePub, but I do not know if it 
is a good one or not.

SO, for my needs, I take free books that are in .txt or other formats 
and use LO and its page formatting to convert them into a document or 
book that works well for either my 7 inch or 9 inch tablets.  For 
Ligatures, well there are fonts that can be used that have those 
glyph/letter combinations available.  But I never saw the need to use 
them.  I just choose a font that works well for reading as an eBook or 
printed one.  There are fonts specifically created for their readability 
for books.  Most text books tend to use such fonts, as well as physical 
books you buy.




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