InDesign won't export to an EPUB

Report · Jun 07, 2024

I know this isn't a hyperlink problem because I made attempts with simpler versions with no hyperlinks. Every time I go through the standard motions to export a reflowable EPUB I get taken to a menu telling me to select another program I have (notepad, Word, etc.) or download random ones from online. Am I missing something? I've never seen this extra step/need for another program mentioned anywhere. Is my version of InDesign corrupted or missing something vital?

Report · Jun 07, 2024

It's trying to open the ePub? So you need an ePub reader installed.

You can download epub readers for Mac or Windows.

If you have already - then you need to associate the file type with those.

If you look up File Associctions for either Mac or Windows.
It's not clear what your OS is.

Either that or I've misread the situation, ironically.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

ID will open a designated EPUB viewer if you tell it which one to use (in the last pane of the EPUB export menu). Otherwise, it doesn't care and doesn't require a viewer to complete the export. This is an oddball fault.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

I tried but it still does the same thing.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

I changed "viewing apps" on the menu and switched the system default "winword.exe" to the kindle previewer. When I do I get a message that it "could not preview this book due to conversation failure. Please refer to the conversion log for more details." The conversion log is the same list I got from before with Word on it. Instead of EPUB it makes Word files I can't open.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

Word is not an EPUB viewer of any kind and should never have been associated with the file type. Kindle Previewer, if properly installed and up to date, is very good as a general EPUB previewer and, of course, perfect if you're aiming for Kindle anyway.

There shouldn't be a Word file or conversion anywhere in this process. Something is badly misconfigured. If you have no EPUB viewer checked in that pane, it should create the EPUB file and just stop, for you to go find the file and open it as with PDF, etc.

Go to your detault apps list and disconnect everything that is listed for .epub extensions. If that fixes the problem, then reassign it to Kindle Previewer, and you can enable or disable that in the export menu as you like.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

Yeah, I had a professional tech person look at it. While they managed to save it to something that read through the kindle reader even they couldn't make it an EPUB. I'll be testing it out further and if I can't get it to work like I'd need I might have to take it in.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

Okay. Well, something is extremely wrong here; while an EPUB might be faulty in any number of ways, InDesign's export is pretty much go/no-go, not "let's generate some weird other file format."

I simply cannot imagine what kind of software or OS/system problem that would cause this.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

I thought so too because nothing I found in my research ever mentioned this. Even the tech seemed flustered by this tech issue.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

My only thought remains that somehow the .epub extension got assigned to Word, and the process is trying to open the export file with the latter... but even that's bizarre.

Report · Jun 09, 2024

I think it was assigned to word when the menu first showed up and I accidently hit it. Regardless whatever the tech did that let the kindle previewer work, despite not being an EPUB, no longer works. I need to send it in now since I have an important deadline approaching.

Report · Jun 09, 2024

I can't think of anything to add for a hands-on tech to check. But just to make absolutely sure...

I can't think of any fault of any kind that would make ID export a faulty EPUB. Even if the file association was 'orribly messed up, as it seems, ID would still export the EPUB and all of the weird faults would occur when the system tried to do something with it. Have you tried (specifically):

Pick any simple ID doc you have.
Export it to reflowable EPUB, don't sweat the settings.
Ignore any madness the system throws at you.
Open that exported EPUB directly, from a file folder view, with an EPUB reader such as Calibre, EPUBreader or (last choice because of all the issues) Kindle Previewer.

That would take everything out of the loop except ID's actual generation of the file. If the reader says it's not valid or such... I'm completely baffled.

Report · Jun 09, 2024

Yes, I had to rebuild my previous document and have been using a simple version to test it.

Most of the times I tried have been a reflowable EPUB version. Sometimes I do normal settings sometimes I don't. It has the same results. I even worked at another family computer although I used a flash drive with my work so maybe that corrupted it.

You're not the only one who's baffled.

I've been using the kindle previewer. In fact, every time I asked one expert for assistance the only thing they'd say is to use the reader. But that's not the problem. I took it in to get looked at (it's currently there) and it still doesn't save to EPUB. I had an expert try to fix it remotely and changed it from Word. I don't know what the file it exports to technically is (the icon has a ID logo but looks different) but sometimes the reader can process it and sometimes it brings up the log to have me pick a program. Two of of the four tech people I talked with seemed to think this was fine but I don't think it will upload.

Report · Jun 09, 2024

Have you opened an exported file to see if it at least resembles an EPUB in structure (hint: they're just ZIP files). Here's what a typical one looks like, opened in a zip archive tool:

Report · Jun 10, 2024

No, I didn't. The techs should have it for a few days and if they can't do anything I guess I can look.

Report · Jun 11, 2024

I'll have to give this a try. I got the computer back and a nothing's changed. All I know is that the computer itself isn't the problem.

Report · Jun 11, 2024

It was pretty unlikely to be the computer. It's a configuration problem of some kind.

Take any simple ID doc and export it to an EPUB. Open the file as above and see if it has a comparable file structure.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

When does this menu appear? At exactly what step in the process? (And what version of InDesign are you using, on what platform/OS?)

Check the last pane of the EPUB export menu and make sure no boxes are checked for a viewer. ID may be looking for an app that no longer exists... but a viewer is not required to complete the export.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

It popped up right after I hit OK on the EPUP options menu. Now it does it after the reader connections with a "could not preview this book due to conversation failure. Please refer to the conversion log for more details." The log is the original list with the programs like Excel and Word.

Whether the box is checked or not it still exports to a Word file.

Report · Jun 08, 2024

I signed up for InDesign around April so it should be fairly recent.