IBooks Author Watch

I am sure you used to be able to place an iBook author on a notification list. So that when that author published a new book in the iBooks store you were notified by email. Yet I can not find how to do this anymore.
Cheers

iBooks Author Essential Training is now available from lynda.com. Check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/IBA-EssT I'm the Author for it, the title went live this summer. Hope you find it helpful.
chris

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Adding a youtube video in iBook Author

I am trying to add a youtube video to my template in iBook Author. What is the easest way? Thanks

I don't have a way at the moment to upload. I tried and had a few others try while watching the video and still the same result. When you go to preview the button is present and does launch a blank lightbox without content(youtube video). The youtube video that was drug into the light box displays all the time unless you select the light box trigger and then the light box pops up over the video. I think what is happening is that the video is not inside the container. I have tried several times selecting the container, button as in video and inserting the <iframe embed code but still have the same result.

IBooks Author table of contents does recognize paragraph styles

The video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2p08-NmqfQ
shows that using iBooks Author I should be able to have text that is formatted with specific Paragraph Styles show automatically in the Table of Contents. But for me that does not work. My version of ibooksAuthor is version 2.1.1 ( the latest) , under OS 10.9.1 (the latest) on an iMac.
The video shows the Inspector for TOC as a separate window and shows explicitly, under Sections, the items Copyright, Dedication, Foreword, Section and Section Text. It also has two Paragraph styles listed, Heading 1 and Heading 2.
This set of TOC entries is available for me with templates from Landscape with Portrait but NOT with templates of Portrait. The templates available for Portrait do not list, in the TOC Inspector, Heading 1 or Heading 2.
Furthermore, the Portrait templates do NOT allow me to add any Paragraph style to the list (the control for adding Paragraph Styles to the list is grayed out), although the Landscape templates DO allow me to add any Paragraph style.
However, when, with a Landscape template (e.g. Basic) I format text as one of the paragraph styles Header 1, Header 2, Chapter, Section, it does NOT automatically show up in the TOC, though if I add a new section it does automatically show up. The TOC only lists Chapter and Section if these have been added from the menu bar.
When I use a Portrait template (e.g. Basic or any other) and format text as one of the Paragraph Styles Chapter or Section that text does not show up in the TOC. And the control for adding Paragraph Styles to the list is grayed out: I cannot add Header 1 or Header 2. The TOC only lists Chapter and Section if these have been added from the menu bar.
No matter what template I use, if I assign a paragraph style to some text, it does not show up in the TOC. And with Portrait templates, which is what I want to use, I cannot adde any paragraph styles to the TOC Inspector in Portrait templates.

The iBA Help has info on: table of contents
Which includes:
Each book comes with a table of contents that is updated automatically. You can view the table of contents at any time by selecting Table of Contents in the sidebar. The table of contents includes a default set of items, but you can change which items appear. A table of contents can include:
Chapter and section titles: All chapter and section titles are included in the table of contents by default. If you remove a section from the table of contents, all other sections that use the same layout are removed as well.
Text that uses specified paragraph styles: By default, the table of contents includes all paragraphs in the book that use the Heading 1 and Heading 2 style, but you can include whichever styles you like. Paragraph styles appear in the table of contents only in portrait orientation. See Format text using styles.
The way the table of contents looks depends on the current page orientation. In landscape orientation (shown below), each chapter has its own contents page, with navigation buttons at the bottom. In portrait orientation, the entire book’s table of contents is visible as an expandable list.
Add or remove items in the table of contents
If the Document inspector isn’t open, click Inspector in the toolbar and click the Document Inspector button.
Click the TOC button.
Do either or both of the following:
To add an item: Click the Add pop-up menu , choose Add Paragraph Style, and choose an option from the submenu.
To remove an item: Select the item you want to remove and click the Delete button .

Does anyone know where I can see a list of animated objects - iBooks Author

Does anyone know where I can see a list of 3D files / animation /animated objects to put into my own iBooks Author publications?
I have been told you can get these as free downloads - if not can anyone help me or point me in the right direction as to how I create my own?
Any software that I need etc... Want to jazz up my content a little - seen so many adverts showing this content but until now I have been unable to access any of it?
Thanks guys
Tim

Here is nice tutorial abot 3D models and Google Model library http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rsNA04el2U&feature=related

How to convert garage band mp3 to mp4a for iBooks Author

I wanted to share a quick and easy tip for converting mp3 audio fiiles done in Garage Band for a book in iBooks Author. SImply click on the mp3 podcast and drag it into Quick Time Player and when the audio file comes up in Quick Time, export the file. The export will convert the audio podcast into the mp4a format required by iBooks Author. This file can be dragged into the media box provided by the Widget. Simple, easy. I am getting ready to publish a book of 70 podcasts.

Jeanette... I believe you are talking about an M4A file (also know as AAC). MP4 files files are what Apple used to use in the iTUnes Store and are DRM (digital rights management). Being that iBooks Author only accepts M4A, it is what's you want to use.
If you have iTunes, you can use it to convert an MP3 to an M4A very easily. here is a YouTube tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7nZRjg7zMw

Is there a page curl transition for iBooks Author?

Does anyone know why there isn't a page curl transition for books created in iBooks Author? There should also be a flipboard transition available as well.

It seems the Apple Pages app exports to the ePub format. This is what some may be looking for.
If one wishes to proof on Touch or iPhone, or if one wants the page curl effect, look into Pages and iTunes. Here is the link I found.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT8XeNQCsP4
To be clear, this is a step back from what iBooks Author provides overall. But, in my case, it's what the kids wanted.

IBooks Author / iTunes Producer Import Error

Looking for some help....
I have now attempted 9 different imports of my iBook Textbook created with iBooks Author - all ended in Import Error.   I have scoured the forums and took some community members' advice to:
Change all my video formats to iPhone / iPod 3gs .m4v instead of iPad .m4v (even though the documentation says that iPad .m4v should work)
Made sure there is a preview version of the iBook
Made sure all the Metadata is filled out
The ITMSP package validates successfully in Producer and gives me a green check mark on upload. After watching the package status it goes from Uploading > Uploaded > Internal Processing > to Import Error ever single time.   This is beyond frustrating since there is no error log for me to review to have ANY idea what the error is. Please advise!
This is going on over a week now of struggling with this and an entire week of work waisted.   I was told it will take about 10 days for the book to be reviewed to get placed in iTunes - BUT I CAN'T EVEN GET IT SUBMITTED!
Please help!

I struggled with the same issue for a couple of days earlier this week. My issue was definately related to vido, but not necessarily the format of the videos. It was related to 2 things:
1. We had adjusted the Poster frame from the default to a selectable frame.
2. We had adjusted the start/stop of the video
I deleted the videos that had either of these settings changed and added them back into the book without any adjustments and the Import worked. Unfortuantely, this took me 2 straight days of work to figure out since the error message doesn't tell you anything.
Good luck.

How can I share iBooks authored by me using iBook Author on 2 different iPads synced to two different computors? Both iPads have different iTunes accounts.

I am in the process of authoring an eBook using iBook Author. The project is a work in progress and I want to share the draft with other collegues. We each have our own iPads synced with other computers and we have different iTunes acounts. I attempted to preview the book on the new iPad, but the iPad did not come up in the available device window.
Am I missing something or is there a way around this?

How to use multiple iPods, iPads, or iPhones with one computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1495

Can I move an ibook author file from one device to another?

I have ibook Author on my Macbook and my Mac Mini. If I start a project on my Macbook, is it possible to transfer the incomplete file to my Mini (where all my pictures and charts are stored) later to complete it?
~~ Chikana

Just like any other file, save your book where you can find it - it will have the suffix .iba
Move that file, however you like, to your other computer and continue there.

How do I add a widget to give a review or star rating for a book at the end of a book in iBooks Author?

How do I add a widget to give a review or star rating for a book at the end of a book in iBooks Author? You know, how you buy books on iBooks and when you're finished reading it, there's a place where you can give a rating or review right there on the very last page?

Just supply a link that says 'Review This Book' - use http://itunes.apple.com/linkmaker/ to generate one.

How do I update an iBook created in iBooks Author without losing old notes?

I have been creating an iBook using iBooks Author. I export it as an iBook that I can open in iBooks on my computer and on my iPad.
The challenge I am running into is that I highlight sections and make notes and want to keep those even as I add new content to the iBook. Is there a way to update an iBook on my computer and have it update the one in iBooks without losing everything I created before?
Thanks.

AFAIK, the update process that allows note/bookmark retention is currently only thru the store.

How do I add paragraph indentation to a style in iBooks Author?

I have a book with a lot of quoted verse in it, which needs to be indented. In order to make the verse distinctive to the eye, it's both slightly tighter set than the rest of the text, and left-indented.
I can set up the tighter settings and save them as a style, but there seems to be no way to indicate indentation in iBooks Author.
Currently I go in and use list indentation in each instance of the verse, which isn't the right way to go.
What am I missing?
Thanks!

Try using the Inspector/Text/Tabs...see if it supplies the control you need.

How to create Protein or Chemical structures in .pdb or .mol format for use with iBooks Author. Please help.

Dear Community,
There are a large variety of software packages used by Chemists and Biologists to view and manipulate Protein and Chemical structures in 3D. They typically have formats such as .pdb, or .mol. I have looked around and none of the software packages that I currently use allow me to export to the COLLADA (.dae) format.
Does anyone have any idea where to begin to allow me to do this. I would like to try and put in some of the 3D objects into the iBook Author program.
Thank you. Chase

I believe that Apple should have provided an easily way to get Pymol images into iBooks Author as VRML has been the de facto standard. After a number of days, I have a method which works, but this much effort should not be necessary. Anyway here it is.
1) Set the viewport in Pymol to 512,384 to do this in the command window type
viewport 512,384
Note, I'm not totally sure you need to do this.
2) Draw you image in Pymol and output the image in VRML format, to do that
File -> Save Image As -> VRML 2 ...
I'll assume that you have given the file the name "pymol_output", you actual get pymol_output.wrl
3) In a terminal window go to the folder where the above file is located and issue the following command. This removes some stuff that messes up the lightening
sed '9,15d' pymol_output.wrl > bender_in.wrl
4) Next you need blender. You can download it from
http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/
5) Open Blender. In the upper right corner in the Scene section
right click on Lamp and delete it
right click on Cube and delete it
right click on Camera and delete it
Save this file so you don't have to do this every time. I called mine empty_blender_file.blend
6) Either open empty_blender_file.blend or continue from #5 and read in the file from #3
File -> import->X3D Extensible 3D (.x3d/.wrl)
this reads in the file
7) Write out the file in collada .dae format
File->export->collada (.dae)
Done. This file will read into iBooks Author and have somewhat uniform lighting. By the way, .dae files can be opened an checked in Preview. Its easier than going back and forth into the iPad, since you can rotate the image in Preview.
Hope this helps, let me know if it works for you and if you have any suggestions.
Finally someone needs to write a one step VRML and X3D to collada converter that will work with PyMol and Chimera etc.
Have fun!

Adding animation to iBook Author

I hope someone can help me.
I am creating a children's picture book in iBook Author. I want to add animation which I created in Hype 2.5.1 and converted it into a widget. I can add the widget OK and the animation works but the background is white so my page layout does not show.
1. Is there anyway to make the background transparent?
2. Do I have to create the entire page in Hype and import the whole thing into iBooks Author as a widget?
3. Is there a way I can add the animation as an animated .gif.
This animation part is new to me and I am having difficulty sorting it out. I know it can be done because I've purchased some other books to see how other people are handling it and their animation works without the white background. I just don't know how to do it.
Please - any suggestions???

Widgets are displayed in their own view so transparency is not possible (to the best of my experiential knowledge). I suspect what you thought was transparency was a screenshot of that page used as the widget's background image. (Painful to update, sure, but it works!) Alternatively, a "page" could be simulated by the HTML widget. A recent title I was reading skinned the widget to look like the book so the widget's simulation felt like it was inline.
Many folks have successfully used Hype to create HTML widgets for iBooks Author titles, so I don't see why you couldn't use Hype for what you need.
Finally, recommended image types are JPEG and PNG. I don't know why GIF wouldn't work, but a simple experiment would tell you whether it would work for you.

In ibooks author how to make an existing page start a new section

I have imported a Pages document into ibook authors (version 2.1.1 in OS 10.9.1) using the Classic Text Template. The original Pages document was basically a book, with title and table of contents and forward and several sections. Now everything is one huge unit. During the import I can choose a layout, but only a chapter or a section. Then all of the document is regarded as having that layout -- every page is regarded as having the section layout, for example, though only the first page has the smaller text area and the large text as a header. I can see all the layout possibilities in the Layouts sidebar, and they include section and forward and 1 column. When I hover the cursor over a particular page the book sidebar I see the little triangle that has been mentioned, and it offers options for changing layout, but it does not allow me to make that page a new section or a forward. I can only make the page 2 column or put a sidebar on it. I cannot see how I can import the book and be able to create chapters and sections with ibooks author. I can insert a new section layout, or a new page, but I do not see how to to change a page, after it is imported and is considered to be the text of a chapter or section, into the start of a new chapter or section. I do not find anything in the inspector or on the menubar or in the help center that makes this change. The "add a chapter title" does not change the layout to make the text box smaller, as it should for a layout. Is it actually possible to convert a Pages book into an ibook authors book, or must I create the blank chapters and sections in ibook authors and then cut and paste each section from Pages?

The advice given for iBA, is to preplan your book. Modify an exsiting template as your layout suits you, to present a quality book to your readers.
iBooks Author is really more "app" than a book maker like inDesign or even Pages, - and users should really get to know how to use it before starting out on a serious project.
The insert options are clear - you can insert a Chapter from MS Word or Pages in iBA a "chapter" is a distinct "standalone" part of a book which can include sections and pages as required. Sections can be moved up or down within their chapter or can be copied from one chapter to another. The pages in any chapter are static and the only way to change content location is copy and paste.
From your post, its seems you decided to create you book using Pages and in one chapter expecting iBA to reformat it.
I would suggest a solution is to count your chapters and add that number into an iBA new book, then copy your Pages chapters. I would guess that the whole process would take less than 30 minutes.
Apple recieves feedback and suggestions for improvements, however the last update made very few changes to the application and none of those seen in many posts - such as being able to move pages. This indicates that Apple at least, are satisfied that the version is functional enough for how Apple see books being made for its store. 12 months ago this forum was taking hundreds of posts per day asking advice, its now a trickle- which I take to be in indicator that as a group, iBA users have taught themselves how to use the application and its many options and third party add on's. iBA is more suited to the interactive side of publications as Apple intended, creating a mainly text only "novel" seems to be considered by Apple as the easy part!

IBooks Author Watch

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