Frank Lowney

Q: What data is there on ePub 3 compliance in iBooks Author?

This question relates to the new ePub export functionality in iBA 2.3. Although I've done a little experimentation using the ePub 3 validator, the BISG matrix and Readium eReader, I really don't have a clear idea as to what should work in ePub 3-compliant eReaders such as Radium (Chrome app). My purpose is to be able to advise authors as to the consequences of using the various features in iBooks Author EPUB templates. Has Apple published any guidelines, specs or other helpful information. All leads are appreciated.

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2), 12 TB Disk Space

Posted on Jul 19, 2015 3:45 PM

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Q: What data is there on ePub 3 compliance in iBooks Author?

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  • by Tom Gewecke,Helpful

    Tom Gewecke Tom Gewecke Jul 19, 2015 6:27 PM in response to Frank Lowney
    Level 9 (79,055 points)
    Jul 19, 2015 6:27 PM in response to Frank Lowney

    To my knowledge Apple has only published one piece of information about this new feature, namely

     

    About ePubs created with iBooks Author - Apple Support

     

    I suspect that the published results of experiments by yourself and others will be a better source of info for authors than anything Apple is likely to provide.

  • by Frank Lowney,

    Frank Lowney Frank Lowney Jul 20, 2015 10:23 AM in response to Tom Gewecke
    Level 1 (113 points)
    Jul 20, 2015 10:23 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

    It was helpful to see Apple asserting ePub 3 compatibility with the further assertion that ePub 3 eReaders other than iBooks should be able to render ePubs created with iBooks Author in some fashion. My limited testing indicates that this is partially true. Using Readium (what IPDF says is the benchmark to use), I obtained mixed results. text, singular static images and video (presumably audio too) worked fine. The Image Gallery widget was rendered as a sequence of inline images with captions which is congruent with Apple's claim that rendering will be successful but may appear differently. I tried to use the Bookry Calculator widget but this widget was not functional in Readium as it  was in iBooks.

    I suppose that we can look forward to seeing the results of BISG testing of the latest versions of the iBooks.app or become evaluators ourselves. That would cover the eReader aspect of this question.

    The ePub creator app aspect will be a bit more difficult. I suspect that you are correct in thinking that we're on our own here. It's a "black box" problem that will yield answers only with a great deal of data collection, coordination and discussion. I do hope that someone will pick up this challenge and establish a web site that facilitates this kind of work.