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PaulGFerguson
Participant
June 29, 2014
Answered

FM 6 to FM 12 to eBook?

  • June 29, 2014
  • 1 reply
  • 450 views

I have used Framemaker 6 to produce and publish a few guidebooks. I would like to take the most recent book from this year and make available an eBook version for Kindle.

My book is about 400 pages and has many maps, photographs, and tables. I doubt running the PDF thru any of the tools like Kindle Direst Publishing (KDP) will produce output acceptable to me.

My questions:

1. Does FM 12 do a good job of importing an FM 6 book source?

2. Would you recommend this as the best path to do produce a quality eBook?

PaulF

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer ScottPrentice

Hi Paul...

Yes .. FM12 will open your FM6 files without trouble, and does provide an "easy" way to get an eBook (EPUB or Kindle). (I say "easy" because you will have to do a bit of setup and tweaking to get something the way you want .. but that's the case regardless of the path you take.)

However .. that seems like a pricey path just to get one eBook. If you'll be using FM12 for other things as well, then it's probably worth the cost, but if this is the sole purpose, you might look at other options.

ElmSoft makes an FM plugin (supports FM6) that can generate an EPUB or Kindle file. Last I knew this cost $49. It's not quite as slick as the RoboHelp engine in FM12, but far cheaper, and does a good job (again, after a bit of setup and tweaking). I'm not sure if they are still offering this plugin though. The website doesn't look promising, but you might email them to see ..

     http://elmsoftonline.com/ElmProducts.html

There are other low-cost tools that can import RTF and produce EPUB/Kindle. You could export your FM files to RTF (YMMV), then open it in one of these tools ..

- Apple Pages (if you're on a Mac)

- Atlantis Word Processor

- Jutoh (if you save the RTF to ODT)

- Scrivener

- Calibre

- others...

There are also some not-so-low-cost tools that might do the job. I gave a presentation on Techcomm EPUB Tools at the 2012 STC Summit. This provides info on these and other tools.

     http://leximation.com/presentations/2012-STC-epub-whats-the-best-tool.pdf

Good luck!

…scott

Scott Prentice

Leximation, Inc.

www.leximation.com

1 reply

ScottPrentice
ScottPrenticeCorrect answer
Inspiring
June 29, 2014

Hi Paul...

Yes .. FM12 will open your FM6 files without trouble, and does provide an "easy" way to get an eBook (EPUB or Kindle). (I say "easy" because you will have to do a bit of setup and tweaking to get something the way you want .. but that's the case regardless of the path you take.)

However .. that seems like a pricey path just to get one eBook. If you'll be using FM12 for other things as well, then it's probably worth the cost, but if this is the sole purpose, you might look at other options.

ElmSoft makes an FM plugin (supports FM6) that can generate an EPUB or Kindle file. Last I knew this cost $49. It's not quite as slick as the RoboHelp engine in FM12, but far cheaper, and does a good job (again, after a bit of setup and tweaking). I'm not sure if they are still offering this plugin though. The website doesn't look promising, but you might email them to see ..

     http://elmsoftonline.com/ElmProducts.html

There are other low-cost tools that can import RTF and produce EPUB/Kindle. You could export your FM files to RTF (YMMV), then open it in one of these tools ..

- Apple Pages (if you're on a Mac)

- Atlantis Word Processor

- Jutoh (if you save the RTF to ODT)

- Scrivener

- Calibre

- others...

There are also some not-so-low-cost tools that might do the job. I gave a presentation on Techcomm EPUB Tools at the 2012 STC Summit. This provides info on these and other tools.

     http://leximation.com/presentations/2012-STC-epub-whats-the-best-tool.pdf

Good luck!

…scott

Scott Prentice

Leximation, Inc.

www.leximation.com

P
PaulGFergusonAuthor
Participant
July 1, 2014

Scott - Thank you very much for telling me about all the options.I am very happy I asked the question on this forum and reached someone so knowledgeable.

I decided to try the ElmSoft plugin. Their website did look a bit antiquated, but it allowed me to pay for and download the plugin. I did not receive the registration number automatically. I emailed tech support, and a day later got the registration number with a note saying the automatic generation system was down.

Best regards,

Paul Ferguson

ScottPrentice
ScottPrentice
Inspiring
July 1, 2014

Sounds like a good first step!

From what I recall, this tool tries to emulate the formatting in the FM files, which is often not the best plan for an ebook (margins, indents, etc.). I suggest that you create a very simple template that removes any side heads, and margins, as well as any other page-oriented formatting, and apply that to your files. Then use that to create the ebook from.

Cheers,

…scott

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