Azardi is now in Release 2
By Paul Biba
We talked about Azardi earlier, and I’ve just gotten an email saying that Release 2 is out. Here is what Richard Pipe, CEO of Infogrid Pacific sent me:
ePub – Read, Check, Edit, Repackage with AZARDI Release 2.
Infogrid Pacific have made a major feature update release to AZARDI, the reference ePub Reader with Release 2. It remain a strict ePub reader, but AZARDI now contains a full ePub Package checker and a component editor.
That means from your desktop you can open a book, conformance check the package, edit the XHTML files, CSS, and OPF package files, save your changes and with one click, repackage the book and be reading in only seconds, all in a single desktop environment. Now that is freedom! Download AZARDI Release 2 here. For more information read the FAQ page here and the Blog post here.
The problem with any highly specified file+zip packaged format, like ePub, is that even the smallest defect or change means going back through the packaging process. Add to this that the competent tools currently available for checking (the Online epubcheck service) are a bit opaque and you don’t really know whats going on. AZARDI not only lists its specific package checks, it gives a detailed printable report that includes full file statistics. In future versions the quantity and detail of the checks will increase, especially for more advanced ePub books. AZARDI doesn’t give specific recommendations for file size and devices because devices and their capabilities will continue to change and we don’t want our validation locked into any specific platform. The detailed file reports let you decide if any resource is too large for your target reader.
We made ePub publishing/republishing as easy as it can be with eScape (ODT to ePub Packager), but only if you formatted your book using the eScape methods in the first place. For those who use manual techniques or other production systems, unzipping the file, making manual changes, and then repackaging in the right sequence is just a bit tedious. To bring a bit of fun back into optimizing your ePubs, or making those last little tweaks to the CSS, you now have the option of using AZARDI Release 2.
April 4th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Um … a link would be nice … (and maybe mention that it’s Windows only) …
April 4th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
From reading the above posting, I suspect that the missing URL was an oversight. A quick Google will give you this: http://www.infogridpacific.com/igp/AZARDI/
Notice that on that page it says a Linux version will be available soon. On the download page, I saw a link to source code for those who want it.
Having just downloaded the Windows package, I will be giving the new Azardi a test run. I am very excited about the new features.
April 5th, 2009 at 1:24 am
Sorry about the AWOL URL up, and thanks to Joseph for correcting the accidental omission. Everyone, share your impressions of Azardi. And remember: If this doesn’t do the trick for ePub creation, then other solutions will be coming along. Which they will anyway. That’s the virtue of a nonproprietary standard!
Thanks,
David