@CKmacleodwriter
I find that it takes me a while to find my way around any new piece of software I tackle, and I always appreciate it if software comes with accessible support materials. Here are some of the support materials that come with Jutoh:
Manual
Julian Smart, the creator of Jutoh has written a detailed manual titled, Creating Great Ebooks Using Jutoh. It's available as a free download in a variety of formats on his website. I prefer to access the online HTML version, and I can find answers to questions fastest if call up the manual with search terms in Google.
For example, if I key in the terms "Jutoh" and "pictures," Google will call up Chapter 11: Working With Pictures in a matter of seconds. If I'd like to read that in French, Google translate will gladly comply. I can't help but think that Smart knew what he was doing when he made the manual reachable through a Google search. Of course, if you prefer to scroll through a PDF or view it as an epub on your tablet, those options are available, too.
Video Tutorials
In addition to a manual, the Jutoh website contains two detailed video tutorials that demonstrate how to use this software. The first video, created by author India Drummond, is about twenty minutes long and will give you the fastest way in to setting up a fiction book with limited styling in Jutoh. The second video, created by ebook formatter Charles Seper, addresses metadata and many more hows and whys, and lasts for nearly an hour. I went through Seper's video twice—once to get my legs under me and again to document some of my how-do-I questions.
Dr. Julian Smart
If you've combed the available resources for an answer to a conundrum (which I did on more than a few occasions), but you've come up with nothing, don't worry. I was delighted to discover that the Doctor was indeed in. Dr. Julian Smart, that is. If you have a question that the manual and videos don't answer, you can email Julian Smart for help.
Jutoh Cheat Sheet
After viewing the videos, searching through the manual, mucking about in Jutoh, and contacting Julian Smart, I compiled a cheat sheet—a list of how-do-I questions that I can return to the next time I use Jutoh to create an ebook. While this is not a comprehensive list, I do believe that it contains some of the tasks you'll want to accomplish in Jutoh. Feel free to let me know if I've missed anything.
The items in this list are alphabetical. I'd recommend reading through the left column quickly so you know what's there, and later, when you have a question, you'll be able to find that item quickly.
You'll understand the items in the table better if you know what Jutoh looks like when you're working in it. Here's a screenshot of the various panes:
 |
| Jutoh panes |
| What do you want to do? | Go to… |
|---|---|
| Add an ISBN | Book, Project Properties, Metadata |
| Change metadata | Book, Project Properties, Metadata |
| Change paragraph style | Palette pane, Styles tab, right-click on Body Text style |
| Change the cover | Control Panel pane, Build tab, click on the cover, Edit Cover Design |
| Check spelling | Edit, Check Spelling |
| Clear formatting | Select text, Format, Text, Reset Text Formatting |
| Create a mobi | Control Panel pane, Build tab, Configuration: Select Mobipocket, Compile |
| Create a new style | Palette pane, Styles tab, right-click on a style name, New, select style type, name your new style |
| Create a table of contents (TOC) by hand | Palette pane, Styles tab, Use "TOC Entry" style for each TOC entry |
| Create a TOC automatically (apply heading styles through document first) | Book, Project Properties, Index, Run Table of Contents Wizard |
| Create an epub | Control Panel pane, Build tab, Configuration: Select Epub, Compile |
| Delete picture | Right-click on picture, Delete |
| Find hyperlink errors after conversion | Palette pane, Inspector tab, Links (watch for inserted spaces) |
| Highlight special characters, so you can remove them | View, Preference, Highlighting |
| Import file from Word to Jutoh | File, New, work through Jutoh's file set-up wizard |
| Insert hyperlink | Format, Insert, URL |
| Insert picture | Format, Insert, Picture |
| Insert special character | Format, Insert, Symbol |
| Link TOC entries to chapters in the book | Organizer pane, TOC file, select a TOC entry, Right-click, Insert, Link to Page (this method links to pages instead of headings) |
| Preserve original picture format (e.g. PNG—otherwise images are converted to JPGs) | Click on picture, check Preserve original format |
| Remove font specifications (so readers can choose the font on their e-readers) | Book, Project Properties, Configurations, Generic Font Names heading, uncheck Generate Font Names |
| Remove internal TOC from NCX | Organizer pane, right-click on TOC file, Properties, uncheck Nav Map option |
| Remove Jutoh credit (default) | Book, Project Properties, Configurations, under Options heading, uncheck Credit Jutoh |
| Remove tabs, extra spaces, etc. | Book, Document Cleanup |
| Remove unused styles | Book, Project Properties, Configurations, under HTML Formatting heading, check Optimize Style Sheet |
| Set first few words in caps | Format, Change Case |
| Set guide types for book sections | Organizer pane, right-click on file, Properties, Guide type: choose an option from the pull-down menu |
| Set your start page (where an e-reader will open your book) | Organizer pane, right-click on file, Properties, Guide type: choose "start" option |
| Show extra spaces, extra paragraph marks, etc. in colour | View, Highlighting (F10) |
| Split document into chapters | Edit, Split Document |
One final thought: the first time I converted an ebook using Jutoh, I did everything in Word—applied styles, inserted hyperlinks, and so forth — and then exported the file to Jutoh. The second time, I created a document in Word, stripped out all of the formatting, exported it to Jutoh, and then applied all of my styling in Jutoh. I found the first method more efficient, probably due to my familiarity with Word. Both methods created a nicely styled ebook.
Related Posts
From Word to Jutoh: Ebook Creation Made Easy
How to Format Your Ebook the Simple Way: A Word to Ebook Cheat Sheet
Find the Hidden Formatting That Will Mess Up Your Ebook
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