creating ebooks - Palm (pdb)
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Creating Palm ebooks (.pdb)
  • Palm ebooks of the "pdb" file type can require more work than most of the ebook reader formats.

  • This is because even though most of the ebook reader formats are based on a form of markup language, the free Palm DropBook program requires non-automatic formatting to be done by editing the document file.

  • Although by no means an overwhelming task, it does take a bit of thought and effort. Did I mention patience? You may need a little of that too. It is much easier to make a mistake making pdb's so don't be surprised if you end up doing one or more edits.

  • However, the simplest ebooks do not require any editing - and that is what I will cover here.

Available Now!

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...well written and engaging ...real and believable characters... I recommend this book without reservation.

Ed Morris, Magazine Editor

(Palm Studio Link) But first...
  • I recently noticed that Palm now offers an ebook publishing product called Palm ebook Studio.

  • From the brief research I have done, it appears that this product provides a much easier method to creating ebooks for the Palm Reader.

  • However, because it is not available in a free version (even for non-commercial use) I will not cover its use here. All of the ebook creating methods on this site are those that can be done without purchasing ANYTHING.
The Free DropBook utility
  • First, you will need to download the DropBook program. It comes as a zip file, so after you download it you will need to unzip it.

  • This is a standalone program so there is nothing to install. Once the program is unzipped, clicking on the DropBook.exe file will launch the program.

  • As I mentioned earlier, I will not be using any of the advanced formatting commands. At times you may need to do this, such as if you have multiple chapters and want each chapter to start on a new page.

  • You will also need to add formatting commands if you want any special formatting effects not supported in a standard TEXT (txt) file - such as italics, bold and underline.

  • For the complete command reference you can visit here:
    Palm PML Reference
(Palm DropBook Link)
Making your Palm ebook
  • To prepare your document for creating a Palm ebook, you first need to save it as a simple text file (txt).

  • Next, click on the DropBook.exe file to start the DropBook program.

  • Click the Make Book... button. This will allow you to browse to where your text file is (select txt instead of pml).

  • Once you have selected the text file you will be given the opportunity to enter the ebook's title (required), author, and publisher information.

  • Click "ok" and BINGO, you have a Palm ebook!
Notes
  • Covers: I haven't added any covers into my Palm books for the simple fact that there are a lot of non-color Palms out there and all of my covers are full-color. I may experiment with this later and will post more if I learn anything of interst.

  • One final word: I do like to add one formatting command to all of my ebooks. This is the \x chapter command. This is done simply by placing the title in between \x and \x - example \xMy First Palm Ebook\x.

    This will make the chapter name appear on the top of every page of the ebook. Of course, if you have multiple chapters, then you really NEED to use this - once for each chapter.



All information on this sub-domain site (http://ebooks.tschurter.com) is available "as is." No assurance is made as to the validity and accuracy of this information other than that I have tried to be valid and accurate to the best of my ability. Information may have changed since the date of writing or unintentional errors may be present. Please use at your discretion. T. Schurter