Steve's Film School

[Ron]

Is this big enough, guys?

Test E-Book, download here

Needs some details worked out (cover image, for one), just need some feedback that it conforms to most computers - font, pitch, etc...

[Steve Grisetti]

Definitely big enough -- and looks great too!

The pictures don't enlarge when you click on them though. Will that change in the final?

[Ron]

The pictures don't enlarge when you click on them though

Read the cover, Steve

And no, it won't be the same effect (images). This is different software entirely.

These E-Books stretch to the user's resolution as opposed to a fixed size.

[Bob]

Ron,

Definitely big enough. My native resolution is wide screen 1680x1050 and the open double spread fits centered with a small margin all around. That makes the text somewhat large but that's good. Because I'm older and have trouble focusing on small type, I have the display properties set to extra large fonts. One thing I noticed right away was that the table of contents was using tiny font sizes making it difficult for me to read. The other pages are fine.

Unlike Steve I read the cover and knew to right click on the image to zoom it. That works fine, but is there a way to float the image instead of having a full page? You might want to add a note as to how to return back to the page you were reading -- space and esc both worked fine. But, for the most part, it wasn't necessary to zoom most of the images.

The biggest problem with the cover is the image quality. Looks like you took a low resolution image and resized it up.

The navigation interface is different, but that's ok. A few moments of playing and I had it figured out. I like how moving the cursor to the left or right edge lets me choose the page to turn to. Not sure I'll want to use the "manual page turn" feature though.

I don't print these kind of books, but some do. How does the new software handle that?

All in all, it looks good. Much more usable for me than the original version.

[Ron]

Thanks, Bob. Like I said, we're at the mercy of the software for features (and limitations). And I know that some are used to the other format, but I guess we'll have to 'rob Peter to pay Patty' here.

To leave the zoom of an image, just click your mouse again What we'll try to do is make them so you don't really have to zoom the images from now on. I can also link the image to another page in the book - even a full-spread centerfold page may work for some of the crucial screen shots.

Didn't even notice the small type at the TOC, I can rectify that.

And yes, the cover image resolution needs to be increased to accommodate [most] all display resolutions.

And the manual page turn would come in handy if you had say, 200 pages with Chapters and bookmarks, etc.

This software was created for images, not text, but I can manipulate it enough to make it look like an E-Book. The only minor problem is the text doesn't flow. Not a big deal though.

And I think the printing feature works well (if enabled; currently disabled). If enough people tell me that they print these, I can surely enable it.

Thanks again for the feedback. Helps a lot!

[Steve Grisetti]

I guess I didn't realize there'd be reading involved.

Thanks, Ron!

[Bob]

Just noticed you could position the cursor over a page and press space to enlarge it (press space again to return to normal size). Works for every page (including the cover) except for that darned table of contents page with the tiny type. I'd probably use that rather than zoom just the image. I saw the context menu when I right clicked on the page and you can zoom the page from there also.

Clicking with the mouse didn't always work to leave the zoom. That worked the first time I tried it, but later, no matter how I clicked with the mouse it wouldn't work. That's why I tried esc and space.

By manual page turn, I was referring to when you move the cursor to the lower corner it turns into an icon of a hand holding a page. When that appears, you can click the mouse and manually drag the cursor across the book to turn the page.

I'm glad you can fix the TOC.

Looking good!