ePub

=e-pub=

ePub is an open ebook standard produced by the International Digital Publishing Forum.

Accessibility guidlines
http://idpf.org/accessibility/guidelines/

1. Separate content and presentation
Visual reading is only one way of accessing content. Do not use visual-only cues such as colored text, font size or positioning as the only clue to the meaning or importance of a word or section. Do not use tables or pictures of text to control the appearance of the content. The meaning of the content should be the same both with and without any styles or formatting applied.

2. Provide complete navigation
Include a complete table of contents in the front matter and consider smaller tables of contents at the start of each section. Use and tags in the content and the  tag in the manifest file to define a logical reading order.

3. Create meaningful structure wherever possible
Create a structure by using numbered headings in a logical structure. For other tagged structures, specify their content with the epub:type attribute. For example, the tag that contains the preface of a book might look like . Specific tags are for specific content only (i.e., the tag is only for citations) and should be used according to the standard. Use the most specific tag available and do not automatically wrap or tags around everything.

4. Define the content of each tag
Include semantic information to describe the content of a tag. A section tag for the table of contents would look like  or a list of definitions in a glossary would be tagged with . Use the EPUB 3 Structural Semantics Vocabulary as defined at (http://idpf.org/epub/vocab/structure/) to identify content.

5. Use images only for pictures, not for tables or text
Any content embedded in an image is not available to visually impaired readers. Use proper and complete markup for text and tabular data, including headers and scope attributes for tables. If images of tables are unavoidable, provide a link to a separate page containing the properly marked up tabular data.

6. Use image descriptions and alt text
Every image should have a description, caption or alt text unless it is solely decorative.

7. Include page numbers
Page numbers are the way many people navigate within a book. Use the epub:type=”pagebreak” attribute to designate page numbers. Include the ISBN of the source of the page numbers in the package metadata for the book. A tag for a page number might look like 361.

8. Define the language(s)
To make sure each word will be rendered correctly, specify the default language of the content in the root html tag. Indicate any words, phrases or passages in a different language by using the xml:lang attribute: rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts.

9. Use MathML
MathML makes mathematical equations accessible to everyone by eliminating the ambiguity of a verbal description of a picture. There are many tools available to support MathML creation.

When to use ePub or PDF
Use ePub when text is the most important part of your document, for example when you create a book, a report, a paper, a thesis, or classroom reading material. More details on using ePub

Optimized for iBooks features such as changes in text size, font, and orientation (rotating your device between landscape or portrait). Support for video embedded in a document. Support for iBooks notes. Navigation using an automatically generated Table of Contents. Note that some content is not supported by the ePub file format standard and will be removed from your document when exporting to ePub: Smart-fields. Master/Background objects. Headers and footers. Floating graphics. Footnotes (converted to endnotes). Columns. Comments. Some image effects such as shadows. Images beyond the 11MB of un-encoded image data allocation per chapter. Only available for Pages word processing documents. Use PDF when layout is the most important part of your document, for example when you create a brochure, a flyer, or a manual with multiple illustrations. More details on using PDF

Preserves all content, formatting, and fonts as you intended. Documents are formatted as either portrait or landscape and do not change. PDF does not reflow when switching the orientation of your device. Users can not change fonts or font size. Available for either Pages word processing or Page Layout documents. The only way to get Pages documents with floating graphics to iBooks. No support for video. No support for iBooks notes.

Creating an ePub Document to Read in iBooks You can export any Pages word processing document to the ePub file format for reading in an ePub reader, such as the iBooks application on the iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Documents created in page layout templates can’t be exported to the ePub format.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4168?viewlocale=en_US&locale=e Pages ’09 lets you export your documents in ePub format for reading with iBooks on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

iBooks supports both ePub and PDF file formats, and you can export both from Pages.