Post-Processing Advice
Essential Links for Beginners
- Post-Processing FAQ: A step by step walkthrough of the entire PP process and FAQ that cover a wide range of subjects. If you need a great place to start your journey as PPer, this is it.
- Getting your PP Project ready for PPV
- Beginner PP advice: Not intended to replace the PP FAQ / Guidelines, this gives a brief overview of the PPing process, with a few helpful links. It doesn't cover HTML or tool use.
- How to download and install Post-Processing Software: A step-by-step guide to help you with the installation of two of the most used PPing tools, guiguts and gutwrench.
- How do I ...? This is an excellent reference guide to quickly check how to do various tasks with the PP software. Mainly covers guiguts and gutwrench.
- 'No Dumb Questions' Threads for PPers This is where experienced PPers give quick advice to beginners on every possible problem from installing the PP tools to uploading the final file for PPV -- ask any question here!
- Projects for New PPers: this is a forum thread which recommends good books for starting PPers -- a good place to start if you're not sure what to pick as your first book.
- PP_guide_to_cover_pages: A guide on preparation of covers for books that do not include a cover image.
- PP Mentoring -- this explains how to get personal, one-to-one help from one of our experienced PP Mentors.
What happens in PPV
- PPV Check List This is the checklist PPV-ers use to verify a project meets all the required standards, but very handy to use as a checklist for PPers as well.
- Tips for PPers Trying for DU is a list of tips and information for PPers striving to gain Direct Upload access.
Tool Specific Links
- PPing Tools -- an overview of the tools available for PP, with short explanations and links to helpful documentation.
- See also How to do various tasks with the PP software.
- See also How to download and install Post-Processing Software.
Guiguts (Introduction)
These are tutorials and walkthroughs for people who use guiguts.
- Guiguts Installation Guide -- Installation guide for the most recent version of guiguts, 2.0.
- A detailed checklist of the steps in PPing a complex project using Guiguts. This breaks the process down in small steps with an estimated time for each. Ideal if you want to tackle a bigger project but don't have time to do it all in one day.
- User:Miller -- Walkthrough with general PP advice.
- Guiguts Tutorial -- Older walkthrough, with general PP advice. Dated 27 Mar. 2005.
- Another old detailed checklist dated 10 Jan. 2004.
- Regex.rc for guiguts: the guiguts regex file.
- Help installing guiguts on Mac OS X: a forum thread where Mac Users can ask for advice when installing guiguts.
Gutwrench
- GutWrench suite This is an overview of the various tools that make up Gutwrench.
Self-evaluation tools
This is obsolete as there no longer appears to be a fadedpage.org nor any tools there. All the tools below can be used online at http://www.fadedpage.org/c/index.php. For background information and instructions on how to use these tools, visit the related forum thread.
- pptxt will run several automated checks on your text file to identify common errors, such as inconsistent ellipses, html tags that were not removed etc.
- pphtm can be used for your HTML version.
- ppsp can be used in addition to your own spellchecker.
Creating HTML
- Philosophy Guide to creating HTML versions: A few Hints and Tips on creating HTML.
- Solutions to common HTML problems: Troubleshooting guide for common HTML issues.
- Accessible HTML eBooks: Advice on how to make your HTML version accessible on a variety of browsers and readers.
- Tools for Creating HTML versions: A short list of the tools available to generate HTML from text versions.
- Submit your project for preview Both for new and experienced PPers, this thread can be used to ask fellow PPers for advice on your HTML version, before you upload it for PPV/DU.
- PP examples on PG: Lists already posted ebooks that cover a range of issues, from easy fiction, to illustrations, tables etc. Great if you're looking for inspiration on how to tackle your text!
- HTML mentors -- if you're looking for specific help with HTML, you can check here for people who have volunteered to be HTML Mentors and give one-to-one guidance to new PPers.
Image Processing
- Guide to Image Processing An extensive guide to explain how to process illustrations ready for your HTML version.
- Illustrators Team offering to resize, enhance and fix ailing graphics for CPs, PMs and PPers.
Validating HTML
Files uploaded to Project Gutenberg must pass the three validators marked official.
- Validating your HTML This explains the steps required to make sure your HTML file meets the PG standards.
- HTML Validator This is the official HTML Validator. Three options: Upload from your computer, paste in text or give URL.
- CSS Validator This is the official CSS Validator. Three options: upload (HTML or CSS only via browse button), paste in text or give URL.
- Link Checker This is the official Link Checker. URL only; no upload or direct input.
- HTML Tidy: An online HTML Tidy tool, to help iron out errors in your HTML.
- PG HTML FAQ Project Gutenberg's Official Guidelines for HTML.
Best Practices and Easy Epub
- DP's HTML Best Practices This shows you how to use HTML effectively so it will display on a range of devices, including e-readers.
- Easy Epub This is an easy-to-digest version of four Best Practices, and advice on how to view your file in e-reader formats.
Scannos
- All languages: Common errors proofers find
- Dutch:List of Dutch scannos
- Latin: Latin Scannos
- Spanish: Scannos en español/Spanish scannos
- French:French scannos/scannos en français
- Fraktur: Common Fraktur OCR errors
Formats and Encoding
Unicode
- Do I Provide Latin-1? Unicode? What? Some help with a perennial puzzle.
- Unicode and You: Post-Processing in Unicode
LaTeX
- LaTeX post-processing manual: a philosophical overview and guide for post-processing LaTeX (primary documentation).
- LaTeX postprocessing guidelines: a step-by-step guide of post-processing LaTeX (slightly out-of-date).
- LaTeX Post-Processing Forum Thread: This is the 'All Questions Welcome' thread if you need advice or feedback while PPing LaTeX.
Music
- Music Guidelines: an overview of how to process music in your books, which contains useful advice for post-processors on a wide range of subjects such as how to deal with typo's, how to PP music in your text version, links to example editions and references to other sources of advice and support.
- Team Music focuses on how to process music files, and are always willing to answer your questions.
Advertisements
If advertisements appear in the book, please do not remove them. If the ads appear at the beginning of the book, however, it is acceptable to move them to the back of the book (provided you mention the change in your Transcriber's Note. There are numerous discussions on the best ways to process ads in The Official "No Dumb Questions" thread for PPers.
Post-Processing in LOTE
German
- Post-Processing German books provides an overview of issues which you might come across when PPing German books, and suggestions on how to solve them.
Regexes
- Regex is an article that summarises what regexes are, with links to more information outside the DP website.
- The Regex Cookbook contains a list of standard regexes which are frequently used as part of the PP process.
- The Regular Expression Clinic provides help in the forums for anyone who needs help in pulling together an appropriate regex for their particular project.
Miscellaneous Helpful Links
- Guide to smallcaps
- What a PP project might look like
- One Alternative Way of Post Processing on the Mac
Where and How to Get Help from Other Volunteers
- Language Skills List: Check here for help if your project has unexpected sections / phrases / words in another language you are not familiar with. Or, if you are willing to help in a particular language, please add yourself to the list.
- PP Mentors: this is a list of experienced Post-Processors who have volunteered to mentor new PPers.
- HTML mentors: this is a list of experienced HTML Post-Processors who have volunteered to mentor new PPers through generating good HTML eBooks.
- [Reading FAQ]: Instructions on how to make your file available for smoothreading, where volunteers will read your file as they would any other eBook and provide you with feedback.
- Regular Expression Clinic Regexes work like macro's and can be used to make bulk changes into a text file which would otherwise take a lot of time to change manually. Think of it as an advanced form of 'search and replace'. They are easy to use, but you may want help from our regex specialists to create the right one for the job. Ask here!
Fun links
- Post-Processing Hall of Fame
- Shameless Self-promotion - doing the PP Happy Dance! This is where you go to celebrate when your project has made it to Project Gutenberg!