Conversion Demo

If you have an eBook in the Microsoft Word format, it is fairly straightforward to convert it into the EPUB format. First, use one of the following word processors to open your Word document (.doc) and save it as an HTML document (any file name).

• Microsoft Office Word: In "Save as", select "Web Page, Filtered (*.htm; *.html)".
• OpenOffice Writer: Save as HTML document.

Please also follow the "Important Guidelines" to prepare your Word document and save it as an HTML document. Then you can upload the HTML document to test our conversion tool.

Important Guidelines

Heading Numbers

Your word processor can apply various formattings (styles) to selected texts. One of them is Heading, which is very important for making a structured ebook. You should use proper Heading numbers to format the headings of parts, chapters, or sections in your book. Suppose your book contains three levels: parts, chapters and sections, you should use Heading 1 for the headings of parts, Heading 2 for chapter headings and Heading 3 for section headings (example). If your book has only one level (say, chapters) you should use the same Heading number for all chapter headings.

When the HTML file is uploaded, our system will immediately separate it into several smaller files based on Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3. Everything before the first heading will be ignored. If your work is short (without chapters or parts) you do not need to use any headings. Headings 4 to 6 will not be separated into individual pages, but they will be displayed as headlines in a page. Do not use Heading numbers beyond Heading 6.

Character Encoding

The EPUB format requires UTF-8 (unicode) encoding. Therefore, you must set the encoding to UTF-8 before saving your works as HTML documents.

• Microsoft Office Word 2007: Office Button > Word Options > Advanced > Web Options (under General) > Encoding > Unicode (UTF-8).
• Microsoft Office Word 2003: Tools > Options > General > Web Options > Encoding > Unicode (UTF-8).
• OpenOffice Writer: Tools > Options > Load/Save > HTML Compatibility > Character Set > Unicode (UTF-8).

Images

Do not include a cover image in your Word document. From the publishing area, you can either create the cover image automatically or upload it separately (not available in this demo). If your eBook contains images other than the cover image, Microsoft Office Word works better than other word processors in converting Word to HTML. It creates image files (in a separate folder) with file names like "image001", "image002", etc. In the "Upload" page of our publishing area, click "Multiple Images" to upload these image files.

Table of Contents

There is no need to include Table of Contents in your Word documents. Our system will automatically generate it based on headings. Heading 1, 2 and 3 will be shown in the Table of Contents, but Heading 4 or 5 will not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use MS Office Word to edit an HTML file and save it as an HTML document?
No, because it may create a lot of extra codes. You should save your works as a Word document while you are modifying your works. You need to convert it into an HTML document only when you are ready to upload it to our website.

Can I copy portions of HTML documents into MS Office Word?
Yes! You may copy HTML content (such as Wikipedia articles) into MS Office Word and save the work as a Word document. The MS Office Word can preserve most formattings, including images. Mathematical equations in Wikipedia can also be preserved because they have been rendered as images.

Can I upload HTML documents produced by HTML editors?
You can try. For best results, please use heading tags <h1>, <h2> and <h3> only for the structure of your book (parts, chapters and sections), rather than making font size larger. Headings within these tags will be included in the Table of Contents. Use <h4> or <h5> for headlines which will not be shown in the Table of Contents. Be sure to use UTF-8 encoding and include this information in the META tag, such as: <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">. Please also refer to the default style sheet which is linked to all separated HTML files.

Can I edit my work after it has been uploaded?
Yes! Our platform includes an XHTML editor which is very easy to use. You can also edit the style sheet.