R. Scot Johns's Blog, page 3

Kindle Textbook Creator Updated

Amazon released a major upgrade (1.5.14.0) to the fledgling Textbook Creator app this afternoon that adds two significant improvements: support for embedded audio and video (as well as popup images), and simple table of contents creation. There are also new rulers and guides to help you align the inserted content.

You can find the official announcement here, and download the updated application here. The User Guide has also been updated from edition 1.1 to 2.0, and can be downloaded from the link on the lower-right of the application page.

A quick look at the Revision Notes shows several new sections have been added to the User Guide:
Before looking at the specifics of these changes (and several others that are curiously not listed), I should point out that the files created with KTC are currently only readable on newer HDX Fire tablets, since they are by nature higher resolution fixed layout files that the older (and smaller) Kindle readers are not well suited to view without some means to magnify the text, which KTC does not yet provide - unless you use the new image pop-ups to do so; but this is cumbersome at best, as it employs a clunky icon rather than actual interactive text as in the standard KF8 fixed format. The program outputs the unique Kindle Package Format (KPF) file type, rather than the standard AZW3 or other fixed mobi formats that are supported on nearly all Kindle devices and apps. Note, however, the following detail from today's announcement:

Access to the interactive features in these textbooks...will soon be available on other free Kindle reading apps for iPhone, iPad, Android phones, and Android tablets, as well as Mac and PC computers.

Notice that they do not include any additional Kindle devices, only Kindle mobile or desktop apps. Still, this will greatly broaden the usability of these files, and bring them to the majority of screens most readers of digital textbooks are likely to use. Textbooks are, of course, the intended purpose of this file format, although in the KDP Help Topics the listing for KTC is found under the somewhat ambiguous heading Publishing Illustrated Content. Even more confusingly, this page has long had interactive content listed as available in this format, even though it has not been until today. But then, this is hardly the first time Amazon has gotten ahead of themselves: note that the KTC Beta page already states that the KPF format can be read on all of the Kindle free reading apps, which is dramatically enforced by the included promo video. Note, though, that the page still lists the app as being in Beta.

In addition to the output format issue, your source input file for the page layout can still only be PDF, either as single or multiple page files. Individual pages can be added or deleted, but you cannot change the page layout from within the program; it is solely used to compile the source files into a Kindle-compliant output format - though now, of course, you can also embed multimedia content in those pages. And that is the big news here today, as outside of reflowable ebooks in the Kindle for iOS app, this is the first time that media files have been supported on the Kindle platform. So let's take a closer look at some of those details.

1.1 Import Format

Kindle Textbook Creator now supports the addition of the following multimedia file formats:
Video: .mp4Audio: .mp3Images: .jpeg or .pngImages can now be embedded as "figure pop-ups" to supplement whatever graphic content is already designed into the PDF source file. These and the audio/video content are displayed as icons that can be placed wherever you would like them on them page by simple drag and drop. Tapping on the icon in the published ebook will activate an internal plug-in that will play the content. Additionally, when previewing the packaged content, the interface provides you with a preview of the currently selected file in its native plug-in. But more on this in a minute.
1.2 Export Format
Even though it is not listed in the Revision Notes, a new paragraph has been added to this section that could use a bit more explanation. In essence, it says that you can update a KPF file on your KDP content page, so long as it was initiallyt created using KTC - presumably you would want to do this if you go back and add new interactive content to a title you have already published - but, if you create a new version of a title published in a different Kindle format you will have to publish it as a new title.
Unfortunately, that is all the information that the User Guide provides. However, if you go to the Help page for this topic you will find some additional (and rather critical) details, including a link to the KDP Customer Support contact page that you can use to have them link that new edition of your work to the previously published version, so that you do not lose accumulated reviews, etc. But as it states on the Help page, sales rankings for the two editions will still be calculated separately for each.
1.3.2.1 Rulers and Guide Lines 
As mentioned, there are now guide items to help you align your embedded content on the page. There is a Show/Hide check-box on the View menu that surrounds the Document Window with rulers, and if you hover your mouse over one of these you can click and drag out guide lines for horizontal and vertical alignment. A tool tip tells you the current position of your cursor. Units are in Points, which unfortunately I can see no way to change. Grab a guide line with your mouse and drag it to the ruler to remove it.
1.3.3 Properties Panel (Previously titled "Right Panel")
The newly renamed Properties Panel on the right is where you'll find the new option to add a page as a linked location in the Table of Contents, as well as all the functions for adding and editing your interactive content. A couple of screenshots give examples, which we'll look at further in the sections below. The panel content here changes depending on what is selected in the windows on the left.
1.4 Keyboard Shortcuts
Rather than listing "Delete Page" as the Action for the Delete keyboard command, the new edition of the User Guide gives it as "Delete Plug-in" instead. This means you can no longer use the keyboard shortcut to delete unwanted pages from your project by highlighting them in the Pages Panel on the left and simply hitting the delete key, but must now use the option in the Edit menu drop-down instead, or right-click on the page thumbnail on the left to bring up a context menu that contains a Delete Selected Page option. In a way this is really best, since it keeps you from deleting a page by mistake when you meant to delete a plug-in that you thought was selected instead!
2.3 Building Your Table of Contents
This new section details the fairly simple and straightforward task of adding pages to a Table of Contents. As mentioned earlier, a new check-box in the Properties Panel provides the option to "Include Page in Table of Contents" whenever a page is selected, along with a box in which you can include a Page Title label of up to 100 characters for each entry.
Bear in mind that this does not create an actual TOC page, but only produces the Kindle device menu links. These can be seen (and tested) when you preview your project by selecting a new icon at the bottom of the Inspector. Select the little device icon on the left to return to the Preview options tab.
2.7-2.11 Plug-ins
Five new sections have been added that go into all the gritty details of adding and editing the three new media types that KPF supports. I won't go into all the specifics here, since that is the purpose of the User Guide, and it's all a fairly intuitive process. Amazon has provided new options for adding media files in a couple of places: from the Edit > Insert Plugin menu drop-down (where there is also a Delete Plug-in option), or from the Insert icon in the menu bar next to the Undo/Reco icons. As mentioned earlier, you can also delete the plug-in by selecting its icon and either hitting the delete key or right-clicking to get the option from the context menu.
When you add a media file you will get a suitable file type icon which you can drag around the page to a suitable location. In Amazon's delightfully annoying editorial style, they have provided an entire new section (2.8) of nearly a page in length to state (in four numbered steps) that you can change the location of an icon at any time if you change your mind.
Once you have added a media file icon to your page (or selected one already there), the Properties Panel on the right will provide you with a number of options, as well as a bit of info about the file, including its size. An important note on this point is that the KDP file upload size is limited to 650 MB (a restriction that was recently increased substantially from its previous 50 MB limit), and should you attempt to insert a file larger than this you will receive a warning that the file exceeds the allowed size. However, you will not receive a warning should two or more files exceed this size! It will, in fact, actually package the project and produce a file that will not be accepted for upload to the KDP portal.
Below the file info is a Replace button that allows you to exchange the current file with another, and below this there are several text entry boxes for adding a title and descriptive content to your media. Again, this is all very simple and straightforward, and does not even require reading the User Guide.
3.1 Previewing Your Book
Just a slight bit of elaboration has been added here to explain the new TOC and Device icons and their respective tabs, as mentioned above.
3.3 Uploading Your Book to KDP
Another reiteration of the KPF file replacement protocol has been added here, which adds nothing new to what was said above. The hyperlink to the KDP webpage has been removed from the Properties Panel (as has all of the previous Help text found there) and moved to the Help drop-down menu instead. The remainder of this section is the same.
Conclusion
While KTC is still clearly a Beta program with few frills and even fewer customization options, this first update makes a very significant leap in terms of content. The possibilities of what can be done with interactive media in a Kindle fixed format file have improved three-fold at one fell swoop, although it would be far more useful were it also available in the far more developed, and EPUB-based, KF8 format, rather than the PDF clone stamp that it is. But most average content creators don't have the time or interest in learning HTML/CSS coding, so the PDF input is a plus for them, making it easy to create print and ebook editions from a single file - one that can now quite easily have bonus content added in its digital incarnation. The icon-driven UI leaves a lot to be desired - particularly when held against the graceful interface produced by iBooks Author. KTC is clunky and old-school in many ways, but it's simple and it's easy, and for many users simple is best.

Kindle Textbook Creator Breakdown

An astonishing new app was released by Amazon today called the Kindle Textbook Creator that creates yet another entirely new ebook format for the Kindle with these astounding "enhanced" features:
You can highlight text!You can add notes!You can add charts!You can use the dictionary!You can search Wikipedia!You can sync across devices!But wait, doesn't the old Kindle format do all that? Oh, but there's more!

You can also add "flashcards" (well, not yet, but someday...), and columns (just like PDF), and math equations (from the font embedded in the PDF), and graphs (copied as an image from the PDF) and all you have to do is load in a PDF! So, basically, the "new" .kpf (Kindle Package Format) is a .pdf file with the file extension changed. You put in a PDF, and out comes a PDF clone.

So now let's look at what the new format cannot do, or is restricted to:
The input can only be a PDFThe output file is not reflowableThere are no text or image overlaysThere is no MathML support (since ePub3 is not a valid import format)Output file cannot be read or opened directly in a Fire device or Kindle appOutput file can only be uploaded to KDP for publishingThe file created can only be sold on Amazon, per terms of serviceAt present there is no way to actually add the "flashcards" that I can find. There are, in fact, only four options available at all. Two of these exist on the Edit menu, and consist of "Insert Page(s)" and "Delete Pages". The other two options are available from the File menu or from little icons in the upper right corner: The Preview option brings up the built-in Inspector, which is a variation of Previewer, with basic set of menu options:
On the right the Device drop-down menu shows that there are currently four available preview modes: Fire HDX & HDX 8.9, iPad, and Android Tablet. Curiously, the Kindle Voyage and DX are also listed (though greyed out), even though the release notes specifically state that these "e-Textbooks" will not be available on the Kindle eInk devices.

The Package option outputs your file to the .kpf format for upload to KDP. You can also save your project as a .kcb file for later editing (make sure you do this as you cannot re-open the packaged .kpf file in KTC, and will have to start over if you did not save a project file!). Both of these files can be opened and viewed using a zip extractor and/or a text editor, but most of the content is encrypted gibberish, and what can be read is essentially useless - the "book.kcb" file contains a handful of lines with some obscure metadata and path reference elements.

Also, the file that is output from KTC is virtually the same size as the input PDF (5.64 Mb > 5.62 Mb in my test), showing again that essentially it is still more or less the same file, except that now your "PDF" can only be read on a Kindle and nowhere else (and only on some Kindles, at that).

The Inspector does not actually allow you to "preview" any of the features touted in the press release as benefits of this new format (i.e highlighting, dictionaries, etc.). In fact, the only "interactivity" in the Inspector is to change the page zoom in increments from 100% to 400% - which is essentially irrelevant. The live text layers I created in the PDF were not active in the Inspector, though I must presume they would be in the published file.

Unfortunately there is no way to know this, since after actually uploading the file to KDP you can only preview it in the online previewer - there is no download button or link to save the file for manual preview on a device or app as there is with all other Kindle formats. Therefore, I cannot speak to the quality or functionality of the final published content, as I have no intention of ever using this to produce an actual book that I would want someone to read. You are free to do so if you like, but I can see no good reason to bother with it at this point. Bear in mind that KTC is still technically in beta, although since this is a public release that more or less overrides its beta status.
There is a User's Guide available to download from the KTC page, but it tells you very little (since there is, in fact, very little to be told). The FAQ, however, is fairly lengthy this time, and includes a few important bits of information, such as:

Q10: Can I sell books I create using Kindle Textbook Creator outside of the Kindle store?

To which the answer is "no" - followed by a link to the license agreement that says so in perfect legalese.

On the positive side, Amazon learned from the Kids Book Creator debacle and added an Undo button, so that's something I suppose (there is also a "redo" button in case you change your mind again, but I recommend the "uninstall" option instead).

Image Size Limit Increased in Kindle eBooks

Although Amazon has not yet announced it publicly, there is an updated version of the Kindle Publishing Guidelines available from the link on the KF8 page that includes some very significant changes. Foremost among these is the long-awaited removal of the highly restrictive image file size allowances, and their relation to the booktype value.

To be clear, there is still technically a limit for image file size, but it has been (or will be) increased to 5MB per image, regardless of booktype. This effectively removes any restriction on image size, since virtually any image file can fit within this limit easily, even at high resolution, and adding images of even this size will increase the overall file size dramatically. 
But more on that in a minute.

First, I have highlighted and annotated the changes in my copy of the Guidelines, which you can download here. Or just get a clean version from the link above, since the first change you'll notice is the addition of a Revision History:
This is a seriously welcome addition that makes the task of finding out just what exactly has been altered from one edition to the next far easier. Still, for your benefit, I will share with you here some of the details.

2.2.2.4 KindleGen Messages

This section received some editorial clarification to distinguish between Errors and Warnings in the KindleGen message logs, and their respective results. Nothing technically has changed, but it is made much clearer that Errors result in an abort of the conversion, while KindleGen will attempt to fix issues with Warnings, but this may or may not work, or work to satisfaction (for which Amazon declaims all responsibility).

3.2.1 Cover Image Guideline #1: Marketing Cover Image Is Mandatory

The recommendation for the "marketing" cover image size (the one you upload to KDP) is now 2560 x 1600 pixels, with 350 dpi resolution "to insure image clarity on Kindle HDX devices." This is altered from the last edition from a 2500 pixel recommendation for the longest side, with a minimum of 1000 pixels, but no specs given for the short side. An additional note is given stating that you will now receive a "reminder message" during upload if this image is smaller than the recommended size. The absolute minimum is still 500 pixels on the smallest side, so the warning can be safely (though not wisely) ignored if displayed.

Incidentally, the dpi resolution is essentially irrelevant on digital displays, since it is the total number of pixels that determines what is displayed onscreen. Amazon has previously always recommended 300 ppi, but with the Fire HDX 8.9" packing in 339 ppi they apparently felt obligated to add the higher dpi value, even though it doesn't matter in the least, especially since the marketing image is only used for the book's web page.

Lastly, here is where we are presented with the first indication that image file size has been given some consideration by the powers that be behind the scenes, as it states that "the image file size should be 5MB or smaller," which is a new addition.

3.6.2 Image Guideline #2: KindleGen Performs Automatic Image Conversions

Now we get to the crux of the matter. The entire section relating the various image files size allowances for the various booktypes (i.e. 127, 256, or 800 KB for flowing, childrens, and comics, respectively) has been removed. In its place we get this:

"The maximum size of an individual image file is 5 MB. The maximum size of an epub is 650 MB."

Moreover, while the header to this section still references "Automatic Image Conversions", the portion that formerly detailed the manner in which KindleGen handles "quality factor reduction" (i.e. image compression) has been removed. Apparently this will no longer be the case.

Now, with that said, bear in mind that the current version of KindleGen is still the 2.9 build that was released last September, so we will need to wait until the (presumably impending) release of the newest iteration (2.91? 3.0?) for any of this to take place. In addition, the posted Release Notes, as well as the relevant KDP Help section, still list the older version and lower size limits (although the KDP Help has never even been updated from the original 127 KB image limit for all Kindle ebooks, so I wouldn't put much stock in it as far as accuracy is concerned).

At any rate, we will presumably see an update to the Kindle Publishing Tools quite soon, if these changes are any indication. A few other entries add additional support to this assertion, as well as offering a further update in Amazon's outlook on image size:

4.3.3 Recommendation #3: Optimizing Content for Full Screen

Here (as well as Section 5) the reference to the original Kindle Fire's 1024x600 resolution has been altered to the newer Kindle Fire HD 8.9" display's 1920x1200 pixel depth. This not only increases the recommended image size, but alters its aspect ratio from the prior 17:10 to the newer HD models' 16:10 ratio, now apparently the preferred format (and a step in the right direction, although I'm still a strong advocate of 4:3 on e-readers for the sake of two-page spreads in illustrated works).

Additionally, the previously laughable statement that in order to "support 2X magnification with high quality" in children's books, "image pixel dimensions should be at least 2048x1200" - an utterly unwieldy resolution for a 256 KB file if quality is a concern - has now been increased even further to a recommended 3820x2400! There is no way in this world or any other that an image that size will look even reasonably decent at less than 256 KB.

5.2 Asset Requirements

This is the section that gives the breakdown for "Zoom Factor" values for region magnification, which again have been increased to accommodate the HD displays:

100% - 1920 x 1200
125% - 2400 x 1500
150% - 2880 x 1800
250% - 4800 x 3000 [!!!]

Curiously, this section still states that images must be smaller than 800 KB in size, but I chalk that up to Amazon's standard sloppy editorial practices, since this sort of thing has happened before (and often) throughout the various editions over the years.

Again, these "recommended" image sizes are simply unattainable at the previous (or rather, still current) file size limits. 4800 x 3000 is simply comic in this respect. But at 5 MB I can give my readers glistening crisp and brilliant detail even when zoomed to the highest value. Overall file size, of course, will still be an issue, which brings up a point I sort of glossed over in the earlier section, and that is the mention of a 650 MB file size limit for epubs.

This could possibly mean that the heretofore consistent KDP portal limit of 50 MB for file uploads might be increased (although I doubt it). Since this is not a well documented limit, only a test will determine the truth, and I haven't done one yet. The KDP Help page referenced above still lists the 50 MB limit (which is, as far as I know, the only place it's actually given), but again, it still lists 127 KB as the image size limit too, so don't put too much faith in that.

However, we should remember that even though flowable Kindle files have had the ability to contain audio/video files of up to 600MB for some time now, the portal limit has not changed because of it.

What this really refers to is the maximum input file size for KindleGen itself, as mentioned in Section 6.13 on audio/video file size, where it explicitly states that "the total maximum audio/video file size that can be converted from EPUB via KindleGen is 650 MB." This apparently now applies to fixed layouts in general now as well, and not just audio/video content.

3.6.11 Image Guidelines #11: Use Supported SVG Tags and Elements

A few other sections should be mentioned, of which this one is entirely new. This two page entry provides a list of Supported SVG Elements, along with an example and notes on tag usage. Also included is a link to the SVG specification for reference.

3.12 External Link Guidelines

And speaking of links, this is another new section laying down some laws regarding proper hyperlink behavior. Most are standard "no offensive content" warnings, but it is also made explicit that links to other online retailers are forbidden, and that Amazon "reserves the right to remove links in its sole discretion," a significant stipulation in legal terms.

Dictionary Overview

There are no functional changes to this section, but I mention it because it contains what appear to be the very first indications that Amazon has actually acquired an editor, since all of the several alterations here are purely for the sake of phrasing. Changes, for example, from "quickly search" to "search quickly" or "the entry they want" to "the desired entry" are entirely aesthetic in nature, and bear no substantive difference. 

That said, it is made more clear that dictionary functionality is for "in-book search and lookup" and that they must be marked as such, and with the correct language tag(s) applied, for what that's worth.

11.1 Appendix A: HTML Tags... / 11.2: Appendix B: CSS Selectors...

Although these are each listed in the Revision History, I cannot see any changes made here. All the "No's" are still "No" (i.e. no audio/video support in KF8; no max-width/height attributes, etc.) and there are no additions or deletions that I can discern. If anybody spots them, let me know!

*  *  *

With the release of the HDX displays and resolutions reaching the limits of human perception, the Kindle format is long past due for a major update in this respect, and I can't express how pleased I am to see the changes to the Guidelines. I have been waiting as patiently as possible for technology to reach the point where e-readers can accurately replicate the full size print experience in pristine image quality, since it is clear that digital is the future of the reading experience, or at least a very large part of it. Unfortunately, illustrated content has been sadly left behind in this regard (aside from iBooks on the iPad, which is superior as a graphic format, if not in terms of sales and store support).

With this update Amazon's Kindle platform will once again have a chance to truly shine where visual ebooks are concerned.

Kindle Kids' Book Creator - An Analysis

Amazon today released something of a companion to their Kindle Comic Creator application that, like its predecessor, allows for relatively easy graphic layout of Kindle illustrated ebooks, this time geared toward producing children's content rather than comics. Like Kindle Comic Creator (KCC), the new Kindle Kids' Book Creator (or KBC for short) presents a very stripped down interface with a rather limited array of tools. However, this is somewhat deceptive, since users also have access (in both programs) to direct HTML/CSS editing within the application, which makes it useful both for those with some coding skills and those who only want a basic drag-and-drop style interface. For those without, however, the options for styling are somewhat slim, though they should suffice for most cases.

A companion User's Guide is available from the KKBC home page, which details in the usual sketchy technical outlines how to use the program, so I won't go through that here, but suffice it to say that the user guide isn't really necessary, since there's very little that you'll need to learn to use this thing, and most of it is fairly self-explanatory from a cursory glance at the menu bars and buttons; a half dozen random clicks will teach you all you need to know in fifteen minutes.

I ran a quick and dirty test to see how the program fared, and for the most part I was pleasantly surprised, although not without a healthy handful of caveats. Foremost of these right from the get-go is the lack of support for epub as an input source: KBC only accepts PDFs and image files, which means that if you have a nice layout to export from InDesign your only option is to make a PDF and start over from there. You can import pages with text embedded and create text pop-ups to cover them up, or import image-only pages and create both the base text and magnified text from scratch, and then move it around and size it all to fit. If you cut and paste text from another document any styles applied in the original will not transfer, since the underlying CSS will not be copied as well, but any tags you've added to the code still will be in the HTML, so you can manually add the CSS rules to the KBC file easily enough. This, of course, implies the need to delve into the underlying code, which somewhat defeats the point of using a program such as this. But that's the last we'll see of that necessity if you actually want to add some style to your work.

Unfortunately, even though you can add text as a separate layer in KBC, the "childrens" book-type that is automatically added to the output OPF renders the text inactive in the Kindle readers, so that dictionaries, highlights and word search will not work, rendering it essentially the same as text embedded in the image. This is why I discourage the use of a book-type value in fixed layout files as a general rule, but that's a choice each content creator must make for themselves. You can, however, delete the book-type entry from the OPF manually and all the text will then be active. Why Amazon has crippled this ability in children's books and comics is beyond me.
If you create the base text from scratch KBC will automatically add it to the pop-up at 150% magnification (if you add a pop-up, that is, since you don't have to), but you can "unlink" the pop-up from the base text and add any other content to the magnified region that you want. It will still be magnified at 150% of the base text, however, so if you simply want to have the base text change you'll have to learn to do some custom coding in the HTML/CSS editors to make it work (for example, if you want to produce a bi-lingual ebook, or use the pop-up like a question/answer flashcard). Unfortunately, KBC's behind-the-scenes code is a little balky, so unless you already know your way around a KF8 fixed layout file archive pretty well you'll be looking at a lot of gibberish, and even for those of us who do it's pretty messy in there. Also, to create clever tricks like using mag regions to replace one image with another isn't something that can easily by done in KBC. If you're wanting to add that kind of interactivity into your project, KBC is not the tool for you.

Other detracting factors against using KBC for anything but very simple projects are its lack of an Undo button (!), so you better be sure you want to make a change before you do, because there's no way to get it back once it is gone. You can "re-link" a base text box to a pop-up, but this deletes any other custom changes that you've made to the pop-up, replacing them with the default text, and that change cannot be undone, so whatever you had created will be lost. This is a horrendous oversight on the programmers' part, and truly unforgivable in this day and age.

Even though you import images of a given size (that you have no doubt chosen for a reason), KBC will automatically re-size them to a seemingly random dimension of its own choosing, over which you have no control. In my sample test file, for example, all my images were 1118 by 1788 in size. This was chosen as the largest size for which I could achieve the highest quality setting in Photoshop and still come in at just under the "standard resolution" image file size limits the Kindle has in place for older devices (which KBC apparently does not support - only the Fire devices are listed as supported, and available for previewing). At any rate, KBC arbitrarily assigned a landscape layout page size of 1920 wide by 1535 high for my test project, making each half page image only 959 by 1535 rather than 1118 by 1788.

Curiously, however, the auto-generated "scaled-images" folder contained both the original, unchanged images, as well as "thumbnail" versions scaled to 625x1000 pixels and compressed to down around 100 kb in size, rendering them utterly atrocious in quality. Which ones the reader will see is anyone's guess, but since KBC files are apparently not compatible with the eInk devices (even though those devices do support fixed layout KF8 files) my guess is that the larger ones will be delivered to the Fire devices and the smaller ones to Android and iOS apps for phones. But I'm only guessing there, so don't quote me.

You can add single pages in portrait or landscape orientation, or two-page spreads in landscape using either two image stitched together or one image spanned across both pages. This is very nice feature made very easy during the image import stage. However, auto-orientation is unfortunately not an option here; you must choose one or the other. I should also mention that you can add or create additional pages at any point in the process, and insert them anywhere in the page sequence, and even re-sequence pages already added simply by dragging them to a new location. You can also delete pages, but once you do they are gone for good along with any content you included in them, and again this cannot be undone.

You cannot open mobi files that were not created using KBC, even if they're KF8 format children's book-type files. So KBC can import a PDF but not it's own native KF8 format. Go figure.
Above is a snapshot of the formatting toolbar available in KBC, and as you can see the options are somewhat limited. The "Add Pop-Up" button creates a mag region with no underlying text, while the "Add Text option creates both at one go. Just add your text to the base layer text box and it is automagically magnified at 150% in the pop-up box, both of which can be moved around and re-sized to your liking. You can embed custom fonts easily enough using an Add Font menu option, with any added fonts appearing in the drop down menu here. You can also change their size and color very easily here, which is a plus. There is also the slightly unexpected line height and character spacing options to help you make your text fill up the page just right, but be aware that these apply to all text in a single given text box and no others, so if you want all the text throughout the book to look the same you'll once again need to dive into the code and create a custom CSS rule for your base text. It's also not possible, of course, to only change the character spacing for just one line without embedding that line in a separate text box, thereby breaking any pop-up windows into pieces also.

Other than that you have the basic bold, italic, underline, and four standard text alignment options to choose from, and nothing else. There is no way to wrap text around images as in iBooks Author, or even to automatically align text boxes to a standard margin without resorting to advanced CSS editing. Text boxes can be moved and re-sized easily enough by dragging on their corners or edges, but there is no ruler or grid system by which to align them. Also, unless I'm blind I'm finding no color picker to alter the background color in the magnified text boxes, so again you'll need to learn some CSS to use this tool that Amazon is hyping in their promos as being designed for those who don't know any HTML or CSS, and theoretically don't need to learn. In other words, KBC is fairly dismal as a graphic design tool, and if you're used to using Adobe products or iBA for your layout work you'll feel as if you've been drugged and had your arms chopped off while trying to produce something genuinely inventive here.

There is a Console panel available that shows the log file which Kindlegen produces during conversion, but if you're advanced enough to understand that you don't need to be using this kid's toy. Honestly, I was hoping for an adult app at some point from Amazon that can create advanced layouts and complex motion graphics, but all they've given us so far are simple widgets only good for making very basic layouts. And that's probably good enough for beginners, but it's not something professional ebook formatters will ever use.

So to summarize:

PROS:
Easy user interface for a quick and simple learning curveEasily create magnified text pop-ups from base textText layers isolated from background art (for potential live text upgrades)Editable CSS/HTML code from within the programTwo-page spreads with facing pages made super simplePDF / image input for really simple import most users can manageGenerates the necessary file structure, including OPF & NCX, which can be edited externally
CONS:
No epub or mobi file inputCannot edit mobi files not originally created with KBCVery limited layout and formatting toolsOnly basic text interactivity (pop-ups) without advanced HTML/CSS coding skillsNo support for eInk devices (exports only to "Fire-compatible" KF8 according to the guide)Auto-Orientation not available (locked to landscape or portrait)Auto-resizes images without your input (cannot select your own "original-resolution" value)No Undo!Previews only available for Kindle Fire devices currentlyDid I say No Undo?A few notes for the more advanced users:

There are a couple of new "ke-" prefixed entries in the metadata section of the OPF that are interesting:

<meta content="doublepagespread" name="ke-layout-type"/>
<meta content="start-right" name="ke-start-side"/>
<meta content="true" name="ke-hd-images"/>

The first is what allows two pages to be knit together into one page spread or a single image to be spanned across two pages, but I haven't had the chance to dive into the generated CSS to see what's being done just yet to know what all the options are, or why this is necessary when the KF8 code already has the ability to create facing pages from two images. In this case it's a two-page spread consisting of two individual images, so "doublepagespread" is the value. The value is for a two-page spread made from a single image is, not surprisingly, "singlepage".

Second up we have the "start-side" which for the first time allows a Kindle fixed layout file to have a single standing first page on the right side (or presumably left in rl-horizontal writing mode ebooks). Previously this was attempted with the page-id "layout-blank" value, which never worked correctly, and single pages always appeared centered in the viewport rather than to one side or the other.

Finally, we have an "hd-images" entity that I presume is part of the new "standard resolution" versus "high resolution" image distribution for old model versus HD devices. Here the value "true" tells me that only the HD images are going to be transferred to whatever device the file is destined for, regardless of the model. Or perhaps it means that only HD devices are supported for this file, as implied by the absence of any mention of eInk screens in the documentation. But if "false" is also a legitimate value for this entity it begs the question of just what the heck is going on here. Of course, each of these is generated automatically by KBC, so you really aren't intended to alter them outside of the settings found in the program menus, and there isn't one for this third entry. But here they are for what it's worth.

Incidentally, KBC only produces a toc.ncx rather than a nav doc with landmarks, and the OPF contains none of the EPUB3 additions that had previously been implemented in KF8.

Well, that's all I've got for now after a quick first look. I'll ponder on it more and maybe play with it a bit tomorrow. But I doubt I'll ever use it much, except for previewing my HTML/CSS code on the fly. And honestly, that's the best use I can see right now for this thing.

KDP List Price Requirements

The new pricing structure for Amazon KDP's 35% royalty option [Credit: Amazon]
Authors distributing their works through Kindle Direct Publishing should be aware that Amazon has recently altered their ebook pricing structure for the 35% royalty option to include restrictions based on file size. As you can see from the screen cap above there are now three divisions within the 35% option, requiring new minimum prices for files over 3Mb in size, with $1.99 as the new minimum list for those between 3 and 10 megs, and $2.99 as the lowest allowable price for files over 10 megabytes in size.

Until now there were no conditions set on the size of an ebook file in the 35% margin and no delivery charge associated with the file delivery, so that for a .99 cent title an author receives .35 cents, regardless of the file size. Ebooks receiving the 70% royalty have always been subjected to a .15 cents per megabyte bandwidth fee for the initial download, which is one reason the minimum price for this option has been $2.99 from the start. By comparison, at .15 cents per megabyte a .99 cent title at the 35% royalty would cost more to deliver than its profit margin affords at sizes over 2.3 megs. As a practical example, the file for The Saga of Beowulf is 2.31 Mb (640 pages in print, with a half dozen images), which deducts exactly .35 cents from my profit for each purchase.

With ebook files beginning to increase in size (often dramatically) as multimedia content is added, the logic here is obvious: Amazon is looking to a future when ebooks sold in KF8's more content-rich format will frequently contain enhanced audio-visual content, and thus require greater bandwidth to deliver - the addition of a single video, for example, can swell the file size to 50 megs or better depending on its length and compression ratio, and even shorter graphic novels will be hard pressed to come in at much less than that and keep the image quality decent. But since Whispersync delivery is free to users, the added cost must come from somewhere. Consequently, Amazon is making something of a preemptive move here as it eyes the future.

The most obvious and practical result of this new policy is that for titles with files larger than 3 Mb the .99 cent price point is now no longer an option. Amazon is essentially stating that going forward .99 cent titles are restricted to basic text-only ebooks of a reasonable length (or very short works with a handful of images). In essence, there will be no such thing as a .99 cent enhanced ebook on Amazon. For larger books, prices must be higher.

But the most interesting thing about this structure change is that while at first glance it appears to put a heavy limitation on the 35% option, in fact the 35% rate is by far the more profitable for larger files. A 10 Mb file at 70% will cost the author $1.50 in delivery fees, leaving only .59 cents on a $2.99 title after Amazon deducts their 30% share, whereas the same ebook at the 35% rate would net the author $1.05 - .46 cents more! And of course, the difference only goes up as file size increases: a 50 meg file at 70% will cost the author a whopping $7.50 for delivery alone! This effectively eliminates the 70% royalty as a possibility for enhanced ebooks, which is why Amazon has just raised the bottom line for the other option.
KDP Royalty Rate Comparison for Various File SizesAs you can see from the table I made above, in practical terms 7 Mb is the dividing line for a $2.99 list title. At that size the 70% royalty nets $1.04 after delivery fee is charged, a penny less than the same $2.99 title with the 35% margin chosen. One can always raise the price, but that has drawbacks of its own each author will have to justify for themselves. For an ebook listed at $4.99 the dividing line increases to a 12 Mb file, with the 70% royalty netting six cents less at that point than the 35% option, but sales will also likely drop by half due to the higher price, depending on your popularity as an author, so you'll have to take that into consideration as well. Of course, if you're a well known author none of this will matter to you much, as you're probably charging $15 or better for your books, and unlikely to be reading this anyway.

Kindle Fixed Layout Tutorial

The complete 12-part Kindle Fixed Layout Tutorial is now housed in a permanent location on the main Fantasy Castle Books website, along with other archival materials, including the Fixed Layout Functionality Chart and other resources.

Long since removed from this blog due to much of it having been published in the formatting manual How To Make Kindle Comics & Children's Books, the full tutorial is now once more available online for you to use.

Moreover, it has been revised and updated to include new information and changes that have occurred in the intervening years since first appearing here in January 2013.

The tutorial takes you step-by-step, from start to finish, through the creation of a completely functional Kindle fixed format ebook, with a cover and a single page made up of just one full page image, which you can use to build a book of any length or complexity by adding more pages and content layers if you choose. The first 10 sections of the online guide comprise roughly one-third of the published book, albeit in slightly shorter form with some of the more complex material removed, but only insofar as they are no necessary or required to know in order to produce a fully functional ebook.

For those who want to add more complex content, or would like to learn much more about what can be done and how to do it, you can read the remaining two-thirds of the book - along with more in depth discussions of the content posted on the web tutorials, in the published guidebook, available from the link below.


GET THE COMPLETE TUTORIAL!
The definitive guide to the Kindle fixed layout format, this fully revised and expanded tutorial will take you line-by-line through two working templates, including both the content and support files, as well as all layout and functionality features, explaining in painstaking detail what each element is for, and what your options are in every instance. Also included in the ebook is a code to download both Templates for FREE!
$7.99 Kindle .mobi format & Universal .epub file+ PDF Edition!

Device Display Resolution

UPDATE: This chart is now housed permanently on the Fantasy Castle Books website, under the Tutorials tab, where there is an index of all ebook formatting resources. You can click the Tutorials menu tab above to reach the permanent location of the chart, where it will be updated regularly.

Kindle Fixed Layout Functionality Chart

Along with the full 12-part Kindle fixed layout tutorial, the Kindle Fixed Layout Functionality Chart is now found housed in a permanent location on the main website. Please click the Tutorials menu button above to reach the index of all ebook formatting resources in the archive. This includes the Device Display Resolution Chart and the two Metadata Attributes Charts as well, along with the 7-part iBooks tutorial.

The Fixed Layout Functionality Chart was first published here in January of 2013, and has since become one of the most visited pages on this blog. But unfortunately, the blogging platform is not well suited to archiving reference materials, as any given content tends to get lost in time. Adding static pages with menu links was only a partial solution, since navigating blog archives leaves much to be desired.

So with the intent of rectifying that in mind, I have transferred all of the "permanent" content from this blog to a new home on my publishing website, where I have other archives stored as well.

How to Create Fixed-Layout iBooks

UPDATE: The complete 8-part series of tutorials for creating fixed layout iBooks is now housed permanently on the Fantasy Castle Books website. Click the Tutorials link in the menu bar above to reach the index. Both the iBooks and Kindle fixed layouts tutorials have been slightly revised and updated, and all the links have been corrected.

The free iBooks template is also now available once more for your use. I have not updated it at all with the newer ePub3 contents, but the details are included in the iBooks 3.0 update post, which is now appended as Part 8 of the tutorial. All parts are linked, both from the Index and with Back / Next links at the bottom of each page. I also made the cool new "iBooks for iPad" logo seen above, just for fun.

As a final note, please do not send messages asking me to fix whatever problem you're having with your project. If it's not explained clearly enough in the tutorials then I probably can't help you in an email.

Kindle Publishing Guidelines 2014.3

The latest update to the Kindle Publishing Guidelines is out, with a lengthy change log that includes a few important changes. While consisting primarily of editorial revisions to specify which Kindle device a given formatting recommendation applies to, there are two specific changes to Kindle content production that are significant, these being sections 4.3.7 and 4.3.9 as given in the Revision Notes shown above.

4.3.7 Recommendation #7: Do Not Include an HTML Front Cover

The first of these reverses a long-standing error in Amazon's Kindle production policy. Until now this section heading read Include an HTML Front Cover, while it now emphatically says not to (as I have long advocated). Including one has always resulted in two cover images appearing, causing reader confusion due to the apparent unresponsiveness of the first page turn. Moreover, there has never been a good reason to include an HTML cover page, since all Kindle devices and apps render the jpeg cover image correctly, as well as using it for the bookshelf image.

As the Kindle Publishing Guidelines itself now states:

While Amazon previously recommended an HTML front cover page for fixed-format books, this is no longer necessary. 

Kindle books should only have one visible JPEG cover. This cover should be a high-resolution JPEG image that has the same level of quality as the subsequent pages. Any instances of HTML cover pages should be deleted to avoid a repetition of the cover image.

Presumably the HTML cover page was originally included in order for the Guide to point to the cover as the first page the reader sees, if this was so desired (since it could not point directly to an image at that point, as it now can). But since the implementation has been inconsistent, opening to the jpeg image in many cases, as well as the reader being able to swipe back to the cover image anyway, this has caused confusion and frustration for many readers.

The recommendation to include a high resolution cover image is now all the more important, since it will be rendered as a full page image on first opening.

4.3.9 Recommendation #9: Do Not Include Start Reading Location

This is an entirely new addition which addresses an ongoing issue with the first page to which a Kindle ebook opens on first reading. This has been erratic and seemingly random, since the same ebook would open to different pages on different Kindle iterations, depending on a number of confusing factors (including, among other things, the appearance or absence of a "toc" entry in the Guide, as detailed on pages 74-5 of my Kindle formatting manual).

While Amazon has repaired several of these errant instances, some have continued to persist (such as the perplexing inability of the "Go to Beginning" entry to open at Page 1). This issue is now eliminated with the newest Guideline recommendation:

In Kindle fixed-format books, the OPF file should not include the start reading location (”Go to Beginning”) guide item. Amazon now sets this guide item to the JPEG cover for Kindle fixed-format books.

All fixed layout Kindle ebooks will now open to the cover image (which should now only be a jpeg image), rather than to the title page, the table of contents, the first page after the table of contents, or any other random location in the publication. This provides for a consistent user experience across devices and platforms, as should have been the case all along.

Note that Section 3.5.1 on "Recommended Guide Items" still lists the "Go To Beginning" entry as a valid item. This is likely an editorial oversight, but since the removal of the start reading Guide item is only a recommendation, the entry is technically still valid, though not advised.

Note also that you can still include a "bodymatter" element for the start reading location in the Landmarks section of a nav doc, though this will not affect the page to which the book first opens, but only create a linked menu entry to the chosen page.

2.2.2.3 Using KindleGen

Among the other changes made in this edition is the inclusion of Dutch as an optional language in KindleGen (using the locale option nl during conversion).

3.6.3 Image Guideline #3: Use Color Images

Removed the line describing the difference between eInk and color tablet devices, and added a statement that photographs must be in the jpeg format. Specifically, the line removed stated that:

The Kindle e Ink devices currently have a black and white screen, but color is available on the Kindle Fire, Kindle for iPhone, and Kindle for PC.

This is curious, since the removal of the reference to a greyscale display hints at the coming of a color eInk screen. Although this has long been awaited, to date there is no evidence that a reflective color display is forthcoming, and we have already missed this year's pre-holiday release window, so presumably it won't appear for at least another year.

The appended statement that photos must be formatted as jpegs is followed by further image clarifications in the next section.

3.6.5 Image Guideline #5: Use GIF or PNG for Line-Art and Text

This entry has been extensively revised to make it adamantly clear that line-art and text images should not be formatted as jpegs, which blur sharp edges when adding compression, but should instead be embedded as either gifs or png files, which preserve crisp edges - and even enhance them, in the case of gifs, by reducing color values and grayscale contrast (as the added line "including black-and-white drawings" makes clear).

One line has been removed here that bears comment:

The automatic conversions applied by KindleGen are best avoided.

This statement was always inaccurate in this context, since all supported image formats are converted to jpegs during the KindleGen conversion, and therefore cannot be avoided. What was meant instead was that the cleanest possible image should be input in order for KindleGen to apply the best conversion possible. If an already compressed jpeg is embedded, its quality will only get further reduced by the additional compression applied by KindleGen when converting to the low Mobi 7 image standards.

This requirement is emphatically repeatedly in this section several times, culminating in the conclusion that

Amazon insists on GIF or PNG file formats for line-art.

Finally, a lengthy section has been added to the description of the MINIMUM size requirements for lines of text contained in images (which is 6 pixels for a lowercase "a"), including the addition of a new example image:
The added text states that the image should be taller than the 6 pixel text itself, such that

the image should be at least 45 pixels in height so that it displays proportional to surrounding text content.

This assumes, of course, that the surrounding text content has not been modified by the user's font size and line height settings, but the intention is clear: make your text images big enough that they can be clearly seen, and leave some margin space around them so they preserve the line height and don't encroach upon surrounding text.

6 Audio and Video Guidelines

Several additions have been included to reiterate the fact that, no, audio and video is not supported on eInk devices, and KDP does not accept Kindle Editions with audio/video content included. Still.

This is simply a shortcoming of the slow refresh rates of eInk screens (and one of the primary reasons reflective color displays have not been adopted), although why audio is forbidden is beyond me. Probably for the same reason Amazon stopped bothering to include speakers, or even a headphone jack, on the eInk devices. Or perhaps because of it.

9 Kindle Best Practices

Here again some lines have been removed, and the terms "e Ink" and "tablet" inserted to more clearly differentiate between the two. There is also a revision of the formats supported for viewing on devices and in Previewer, via the removal of two lines.

The Kindle Fire device view displays the content in Kindle Format 8.

This applies to Previewer, and was probably removed due to the fact that it is no longer relevant, since virtually all Kindle devices now support KF8, and Previewer displays content as such.

You can test Mobi 7 content on a Kindle e Ink device and on Kindle applications for PC/Mac/Android.

This line was made more or less redundant by the fact that Mobi 7 content is now only sent to the oldest of the old Kindle devices, and is very likely soon to be eliminated. Moreover, there is no way to actually chose which version of the converted file is being tested, since the device reads whichever one it has support for. Again, virtually all Kindle devices now read KF8, so the distinction is no longer relevant.

The subsequent line that stated KF8 could only be tested on the Kindle Fire has also been appended to include the eInk devices, but interestingly not the apps. This implies that you can no longer use (or rely on using) the desktop and mobile apps for testing files, which is sound advice, since they are the least consistent in rendering content correctly, or supporting features. Best Practice is, and has always been, to test on an actual Kindle device, followed by Previewer, and only as a last resort to use a desktop or mobile app (although the Android app is better than the other apps by far, as far as feature support goes).

All in all, these updates pave the way for future moves away from the outdated Mobi 7 format and into feature-rich KF8 support across the board (more or less), and address some outstanding issues with the format itself in order to make the reading experience more consistent.

Next they need to fix the issue of region magnification not functioning correctly when auto-orientation is on, make two-page layouts consistent across devices, and of course, include support for audio and video in Kindle files (unlikely in the short term with so many mute eInk devices out). I'd also like to see Java support for motion graphics and interactivity as well, but that's asking far too much, I'm sure.