Choosing an e-Book Compiler

W?at i? an eBook compiler? Yo?'ve written and rev?sed ?our ebook, ?ired ?n artist who has produced outstanding graphics, and no? you're ready to actually put together you? ebook. What you
need t? mak? an eboo? is software called an eb?ok Compiler.

There are many different compiler? to chose from, but first, you need t? know exactly what an ebook Compiler does. Here is the simple explanation:

An ebook comp?ler i? ? soft?are p?ogram that conv?rts either text pages o? HTML t?xt int? ? single executable f?le or an ebook.

If you o? someone yo? hired has created a f?le with grap?ics in HTML, you will need an HTML ?book Compiler. This type of compiler requir?s a wo?king knowledge of the HTML tag lang?age. Yo? can ?lso use software to do this for you, suc? a? Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.

How do you cho?se an eBook Compiler?

There are a large number of ebook Compilers available on the market, all with glo?ing sales copy and tekkie language. It can get ve?y confus?ng and overwhelming ve?y fast without some simple guid?lines to h?lp you figure out ?hich comp?ler is right for you.

Choosing an ebook Compiler depends on ? number of factors:

1. H?w did you create your pages? Did you use HTML or PDF format? There are man? more compilers available for HTML, but you can find some very good compilers that will covert your PDF files int? an ebook.

2. Consider how easy the program i? to u?e and the thoroughness of the software's instruction man?al. It i? ?bsolutely necessary that the compiler you bu? have
an instructional manual, documentation, o? online "?izards." If ?t doesn't, your chances of figuring out how to correctly use t?e program a?e comprom?sed, and the time required doing ?o i? going to be sign?ficant. Many manufactu?ers of comp?lers offer a free trial
version so y?u ?an play around wit? it and see if it suits your needs. Download the trial version and ?scertain that ?t a?tually doe? what it claims to do.

3. Security feat?res. If ?ou ?lan to sell y?ur eb?ok, check out th? se?urity features of th? com?iler software ?arefully. Security features should include: ?revention of th? reader from m?difying text, acce?s onl? t? t?e pages yo? assign or ?y entering ? passw?rd, d?fferent ways of generating passw?rds suc? as secur? pass?ords, user-friendly, and open
passwords.

4. Supported scripting. Find out ?hat script? the software supports. Scripting ?llows yo? to create ?pecial effects, customize menus, and c?eate and modify other user int?ractivity. Choos? a compiler that pe?mits yo? to include graphics, search window?, hyperlinks, form?, surveys, etc.

5. Pric?ng. This i? a factor that i? not ?lways easy t? ga?ge. The highest priced compilers a?e not automatically your best choice. Ch?ose yo?r compile? b?sed ?n t?e nec?ssary requirements for your Ebook. That means you need to kno? exactly how y?u plan to
use your Eb?ok and what functions you require.

Let's look at some of these factors in mo?e deta?l. First of all, mak? ?ure you h?ve the co?rect browser to run the compiler. The majority of HTML c?mpilers use Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape. Check out the vers?on that the compiler supports. Compilers that
require ? browser will not run on a computer that does not ha?e the required browser installed. However, there are ebook HTML compilers that don't require yo? to have an? browser installed on your comp?ter. These compil?rs run on an? Windows system.

If you choose a compiler that r?quires a browser, check to ascertain that the b?owser ?s installed cor?ectly and that ?t is properly ?onfigured to th? specifications of the compiler. Che?k to see if ?ertain functions are turn?d off o? on, and ma?e ?ny adjustments according to the c?mpiler instructions.

Security ?s ?n essential element of any compiler, regardless of w?ether y?u plan to sell or give away your ebook. One of the ?ain reasons for ?sing a compiler is to prevent t?e reader f?om modifying t?e contents. A secure co?piler all?ws access only to the
pages yo? ?ant the use? to access unless they enter a correct password.

To f?nd out how ?ecure an ?book HTML compiler is, open an ebook on it. Wh?le ?t is open, che?k th? tem?orary directory of your computer. Th?s can us?ally be accessed by typ?ng in C:\Windows\temp. If y?u ?ee a bunch ?f fil?s when your e?ook is open or running, it
means that your computer is decompressing the s?cure data f?om your eboo? bef?re showing t?e ebook to the ?iewer. This meth?d is not secure! It means that anyone with t?e knowledge of how to ?ccess these temporary files can ste?l the secure dat? and then
they can fiddle with your ebook to their evil heart's desire. Re?ember, ?ne of th? main p?rposes of buying and using an HTML comp?ler i? to protect your property.

Next, l?t's discuss passwords. When trying to choose an ebook Compiler, check out the type of password? that th? compiler supports. Almost all compilers offer some kind of p?ssword protection t?at ?nsures that the us?r can only access th? contents they have purchased f?om you. Howe?er, t?e ?est compilers offer varied ?ays to generate different type? of pass?ords. Choose a compiler that gives you the options ?f secure, user-friendly, and open password generation.

Another important factor when it comes to pa?swords is how th? com?iler generates them. A compiler that has int?rnal password protection generation built ?nto the software is more secure t?an compilers that link to live Internet password control systems.

Find out if the compiler generates passwords online. If it h?s this option, it allows you to choose any payment processing system y?u ?ant or to do th? payment processing yourself.

Next, loo? into the size of ?book the comp?ler support?. The best compil?rs can creat? e?ooks up to 2 GB in ?ize without decompre?sing the HTML pages o? images to y?ur hard disk. Usually, eb?oks that are 2 GB in size can easil? su?port 6 GB of compressed data.
The catch here is that only text files will generally be compressible.

You do not want a compiler t?at decom?resses this a?ount of data when the u?er attempts to o?en your ebook. T?is would ?ean that anyon? who purchases your
ebook ?ill have to wa?t for all the data to decompress befor? they can access your eboo? r?ght after downloading ?t. So look fo? ?ompilers that only decom?ress temporarily files that are NOT HTML to the local hardisk. Non-HTML files include Fl?sh, Word, and Acrobat f?les. This type of compil?r is more secure and certainly faster.

Make sure t?e comp?ler y?u choose is compatible with your system software. Ch?ck out what version of Windows it r?quires, and make ?ure you have that version before buying your compiler.

Support issues are extremely important. Ch?ose a compiler that includes an installation program. T?is pr?gram allows y?ur us?r t? ?hoose a numb?r of different ?laces on their computer to install t?e ?book, to place a shortcut on their desktop, and to add the ebook, if they choose, to th? Start Programs menu.

You als? want excellent and accessible vendor support. Make sure you c?n acc?ss quick technical support! At th?ee o'?lock in the morning, th?s factor ?ill ?e VERY important. Als?, chec? to see th? ter?s of free t?chnical support offered. Unlimited te?hnical support
is obviously th? best option.

Check to see if the company th?t puts out th? compiler software offers a service l?vel agreement. This agreement ?s to assure you of their quality re?ponse to your qu?stions o? problems.

A good thing to consider is ho? long t?e compil?r has been on the market. Usuall?, the version nu?ber will give you an idea. The longe? t?e program i? on the market, the higher the version number, the more ?ugs have been worked out.

When choosing an eb?ok comp?ler, do not be swayed by incredible promises and dazzling sales copy. Do y?ur home?ork f?rst, and th?n consider ?ll the above issues and fact?rs before cho?sing an ebook ?ompiler.

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