iBooks Author: Export your book for iBooks or in another format

Export your book for iBooks or in another format

If you aren’t submitting your book to the iBookstore, you can still create a book file that you can distribute yourself.

You can also export your book as a PDF file, which can be viewed or printed using Preview, Adobe Reader, or any PDF reader application. Hyperlinks work in the PDF, but other interactive media (widgets), such as movies and 3D objects, might not work as expected.

You can also export only the text from your book.

Important:   If you choose to distribute your book yourself, be sure to review the guidelines in the iBooks Author software license agreement. To see the agreement, choose iBooks Author > About iBooks Author, and click License Agreement.
Note:   Image sizes can impact the book’s output and performance on different iPad models. You can improve the viewing experience on iPad models without Retina display by scaling down images in Interactive Image widgets to a width of 2048 pixels and all other images to a width of 1024 pixels.

Export in iBooks format

  1. With the book open, choose Share > Export, and click iBooks.

  2. Choose Standard Book for iBooks from the Export As pop-up menu.

    If you want, type a book version number in the Version Number field.

  3. Click Next.

  4. Type a name for the book, choose a place to save it, and click Export.

To view the book on iPad, make sure you have iBooks 3 and iOS 5 or later, and do one of the following:

  • If the book was sent in Mail, tap the file on your iPad.

  • On a computer, drag the book file (with the extension .ibooks) to the iTunes window and sync the book to your iPad. For more information, see iTunes Help.

Export as a PDF document

Do one of the following:

Create a PDF file for viewing only onscreen (not as a printout): Choose Share > Export, and click PDF. Select image quality and security options, click Next, type a name and choose a location for the file, and click Export.

Create a PDF file that will be printed: Choose File > Print, and choose Save as PDF from the PDF pop-up menu. In the Save window, type a name, choose a location for the file, and click Save.

Export as a text document

You can export your book as an editable file in TXT format.

  1. Choose Share > Export, and click Text.

  2. Click Next.

  3. Type a name, choose a location for the file, and click Export.

Important:   After you export your book file, don’t compress or “zip” the file before you share it. Compressed book files can’t be opened on iPad.
Widgets overview