Are ebooks better in a exe format or pdf format?
72I think an ebook in an exe format would scare most internet users to death. Everyone has been warned to never open a file in an exe format unless you really know who the file is from. A lot of harmful virsus can come in exe format.
If you are writing ebooks for widespread distribution, you will find it much better to put it in a PDF format. If you create the ebook in word or some other wordprocessing program, one option would be to keep the ebook in that format. However, there is a fairly good chance that a lot of your formatting, page breaks, etc. would be changed upon downloading. It would not look professionally done.
I have found that appearances make a real difference. If someone downloads an ebook and the formatting is messed up, the book just does not look professional. If you are selling the book, you want it to give the appearance of being a valuable product.
If you plan to write ebooks, either to sell the books or to use as a marketing tool, I would suggest you take the time and spend the money to find a desktop publishing software that will layout out a book so that it looks like it was professionally typeset. I would suggest InDesign, but that is rather expensive. You may also think of hiring out that function, but again depending on the lenght of the book it could get expensive. It all comes back to what your intentions are with the product.
But no matter what product you use to produce the layout, you still should convert it to a PDF format. All computers now come with the ability to open and read PDF files. Generally the user cannot screw up the page layout. Also it is possible to security protect a PDF so that the text cannot be cut and pasted.
It all depends on what you plan to do with the ebook. If you are a serious about ebooks and plan to sell and or use ebooks as part of your marketing program, I would suggest you always use PDF. It is possible to find used versions of the software on Ebay for a lot less than the new versions.
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You are absolutely correct. Sorry for being so short sighted.
Thank you for the hub. I read in my research that pdf was the best way to go but then I also read a lot about how compatible exe files are with other mediums such as pdas, etc. I will stick to my pdf files. I have adobe writer which easily takes my word to a pdf file. Publisher is also a good program to use to add some nice touches.
I won't even buy an ebook if it is in .exe format.
Not only are there tons of restrictions as far as printing etc. but thay can also be a hassle to open.
After a recent reloading of my OS, I had the darndest time opening some of those .exe ebooks.
Blech!
I won't even buy an ebook if it is in .exe format.
Not only are there tons of restrictions as far as printing etc. but thay can also be a hassle to open.
After a recent reloading of my OS, I had the darndest time opening some of those .exe ebooks.
Blech!
Evita,
You are right. But sometimes you would not know the format until you have made the purchase. I think any seller that knows anything about ebooks would know to put it in a PDF.
I agree wholeheartedly with the comments so far. The real point is that PDFs work every time. There are no issues with them.
Which is a very strong reason to use them. Thanks for your comment.
PDF are a lot safer to download but not many people realise that you can stil pick up a virus or trojan via a PDF!!
I just stumbled upon this site. http://www.generate-income.net/download-1000s-of-e
Theres loads of free ebooks to download. All of them are in PDF. Theres a few gems so its not all junk!!
I've downloaded about 8 so far using a MAC and they were all virus free!!
Please avoid both EXEs and PDFs. EXEs for all the previously stated reasons and PDFs because they do not scale well to all screen sizes. Unless format and typesetting is absolutely essential to you, please consider a dedicated ebook format or HTML.
I have downloaded some ebook in.exe format. Fortunately, it's not a virus. And it's very convenient to read ebooks in .exe format, just like reading real books in your desktop.
I've written & sold interactive learning/training materials in .exe format long time ago- MSDOS 6.0 withing Win 3.1.
Now I'm even in may advanced age looking at ebook potential. I'm fascinated to see the possibility of educational ebooks in .exe (ie interactive)format- and very grateful any info.
Pip pip!
I once reported a download because it was an ebook in .exe. At the time, I didn't know that that is one of the many formats possible for e-ink, so I thought it was a virus! Having an Android myself, I prefer epubs. PDFs are horrible on the small screen, but I have Cool Reader to not just read epubs, but the Word documents I create of the stories I write.
Rod Beglerf 4 years ago
Please also think of Mac / Linux users ! PDFs can also be read on Plam devices, and so on. Why restrict to PC ?