How to Create an EPUB File From HTML and XML
How to Create an EPUB File From HTML and XML
How to Create an EPUB File From HTML and XML
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Science, Tech, Math › Computer Science<br />
<strong>How</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Create</strong> <strong>an</strong> <strong>EPUB</strong><br />
<strong>File</strong> <strong>From</strong> <strong>HTML</strong> <strong>an</strong>d <strong>XML</strong><br />
<strong>Create</strong> <strong>an</strong> <strong>EPUB</strong><br />
steps<br />
le from <strong>HTML</strong> <strong>an</strong>d <strong>XML</strong> in a few easy<br />
SHARE FLIP EMAIL<br />
ByJennifer Kyrnin<br />
Updated on February 28, 2021<br />
What <strong>to</strong> Know<br />
Build <strong>HTML</strong> > create a MIME file > cover<br />
image > title page <strong>an</strong>d table of contents ><br />
container <strong>XML</strong> file > contents list.<br />
Test your book <strong>to</strong> check for issues.<br />
This article explains how <strong>to</strong> create <strong>an</strong> <strong>EPUB</strong> file from<br />
<strong>HTML</strong> <strong>an</strong>d <strong>XML</strong>.
Pho<strong>to</strong> © Letizia Le Fur / Getty Images<br />
<strong>How</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Create</strong> <strong>an</strong> <strong>EPUB</strong> <strong>File</strong> <strong>From</strong> <strong>HTML</strong> <strong>an</strong>d<br />
<strong>XML</strong><br />
An <strong>EPUB</strong> file is the other type of ebook file that is popular.<br />
If you are pl<strong>an</strong>ning on writing or publishing <strong>an</strong> ebook, you<br />
should save your <strong>HTML</strong> as a Mobipocket file, <strong>an</strong>d also as<br />
<strong>an</strong> <strong>EPUB</strong>. In some ways, <strong>an</strong> epub file is a lot easier <strong>to</strong> build<br />
th<strong>an</strong> a Mobi file. Since <strong>EPUB</strong> is based on <strong>XML</strong>, you simply<br />
need <strong>to</strong> create your <strong>XML</strong> files, collect them <strong>to</strong>gether, <strong>an</strong>d<br />
call it <strong>an</strong> epub.<br />
These are the steps you should take <strong>to</strong> create <strong>an</strong> epub file:
These are the steps you should take <strong>to</strong> create <strong>an</strong> epub file:<br />
1. Build your <strong>HTML</strong>. Your book is written in<br />
<strong>HTML</strong>, with CSS for styling. But, it's not just<br />
<strong>HTML</strong>, it's X<strong>HTML</strong>. So, if you don't normally write<br />
in X<strong>HTML</strong> (closing your elements, using quotes<br />
around all attributes, <strong>an</strong>d so on) you will need <strong>to</strong><br />
convert your <strong>HTML</strong> <strong>to</strong> X<strong>HTML</strong>. You c<strong>an</strong> use one or<br />
more X<strong>HTML</strong> files for your books. Most people<br />
separate the chapters in<strong>to</strong> separate X<strong>HTML</strong> files.<br />
Once you have all the X<strong>HTML</strong> files, put them in a<br />
folder all <strong>to</strong>gether.<br />
2. <strong>Create</strong> a MIME Type <strong>File</strong>. In your text edi<strong>to</strong>r,<br />
open a new document <strong>an</strong>d type:<br />
application/epub+zip<br />
Save the file as “mimetype” without <strong>an</strong>y extension.<br />
Place that file in the folder with your X<strong>HTML</strong> files.<br />
3. Add your style sheets. You should create two<br />
style sheets for your book one for the pages called<br />
page_styles.css<br />
:<br />
@page {
4.<br />
5.<br />
margin-bot<strong>to</strong>m: 5pt;<br />
margin-<strong>to</strong>p: 5pt<br />
6.<br />
}<br />
7. <strong>Create</strong> one for the book styles called<br />
stylesheet.css<br />
. You c<strong>an</strong> give them other names, you'll just need <strong>to</strong><br />
remember what they are. Save these files in the<br />
same direc<strong>to</strong>ry with your X<strong>HTML</strong> <strong>an</strong>d mimetype<br />
files.<br />
8. Add your cover image. Your cover image should<br />
be a JPG file no more th<strong>an</strong> 64KB. The smaller you<br />
c<strong>an</strong> make it the better, but keep it good looking.<br />
Small images c<strong>an</strong> be very hard <strong>to</strong> read, <strong>an</strong>d the<br />
cover is where you do your marketing of your book.<br />
9. Build your title page. You don't have <strong>to</strong> use the<br />
cover image as your title page, but most people do.<br />
To add your title page, create <strong>an</strong> X<strong>HTML</strong> file called<br />
titlepage.xhtml<br />
Here is <strong>an</strong> example of a title page using SVG for the
image. Ch<strong>an</strong>ge the highlighted part <strong>to</strong> point <strong>to</strong> your<br />
cover image:<br />
10.<br />
Cover<br />
11. Build your "Table of Contents." <strong>Create</strong> a file<br />
called<br />
<strong>to</strong>c.ncx<br />
in your text edi<strong>to</strong>r. This is <strong>an</strong> <strong>XML</strong> file, <strong>an</strong>d it<br />
should point <strong>to</strong> all your <strong>HTML</strong> files in your book.<br />
Here is a sample with two elements in the table of<br />
contents. Ch<strong>an</strong>ge the highlighted parts <strong>to</strong> your<br />
book, <strong>an</strong>d add additional<br />
navPoint<br />
elements for additional sections:<br />
12.<br />
<strong>How</strong> <strong>to</strong> Build a Website<br />
13.<br />
Hosting<br />
14.<br />
Do You Need a Domain Name?<br />
15. Add a container <strong>XML</strong> file. In your text edi<strong>to</strong>r,<br />
fil ll d
create a file called<br />
container.xml<br />
<strong>an</strong>d save it in a sub-direc<strong>to</strong>ry below your <strong>HTML</strong><br />
files. The file should read:<br />
16. <strong>Create</strong> the contents list (<br />
content.opf<br />
). This is the file that explains what your epub book<br />
is. It includes metadata about the book (like the<br />
author, publish date, <strong>an</strong>d genre). Here is a sample,<br />
you should ch<strong>an</strong>ge the parts in yellow <strong>to</strong> reflect<br />
your book:<br />
17.<br />
en<br />
18.<br />
<strong>How</strong> <strong>to</strong> Build a Website<br />
19. Jennifer Kyrnin<br />
20. 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00<br />
21. 0c159d12-f5fe-4323-8194-f5c652b89f5c<br />
22. That's all the files you need, they should all be in a<br />
direc<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>to</strong>gether (except for<br />
container.xml
, which goes in a sub-direc<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
META-INF<br />
). We like <strong>to</strong> then go <strong>to</strong> the container direc<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>an</strong>d<br />
make sure it has a name that reflects the title <strong>an</strong>d<br />
author names.<br />
23. Once you have the direc<strong>to</strong>ry of files named how you<br />
w<strong>an</strong>t it you should use a zip file archive program <strong>to</strong><br />
zip the direc<strong>to</strong>ry. My sample direc<strong>to</strong>ry ends up as a<br />
zip file named “<strong>How</strong> <strong>to</strong> Build a Website — Jennifer<br />
Kyrnin.zip”<br />
24. Finally, ch<strong>an</strong>ge the file name extension from<br />
.zip<br />
<strong>to</strong><br />
.epub<br />
. Your operating system may protest, but go ahead<br />
with it. You w<strong>an</strong>t this <strong>to</strong> have <strong>an</strong> epub extension.<br />
25. Lastly, test your book. It's hard <strong>to</strong> get the epub<br />
format correct on the first try, so you should always<br />
test your file. Open it in <strong>an</strong> epub reader like<br />
Calibre. And if it doesn't display correctly, you c<strong>an</strong><br />
use Calibre <strong>to</strong> correct problems
use Calibre <strong>to</strong> correct problems.<br />
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