The book creation and publishing process in Pressbooks consists of four major tasks. Depending on the type of book you are creating and the level of involvement you wish to have, the process may include a number of smaller details as well. Once you have an account, you will be given a book shell and can move through the following steps: 1. Request a Pressbooks account and book access, 2. Add content to the book, 3. Select a theme, 4. Apply a license, and 5. Publish and export.

See the sections that follow for more detailed guidance and instructions.

To request a Pressbooks account, email SAALCKPressbooksAdmins@l.uky.edu using your .edu affiliated email account. To start, you will be added as an editor to a Pressbooks sandbox book to become familiar with the platform.

If you have already written or adapted the content of your book, you can request for a new book landing page to be assigned to you. When you request a book, include the following in the email:

• If the book is an adaptation or your own unique creation
  • If you are adapting a preexisting Pressbooks book, the original book can be cloned. To get a cloned Pressbooks book, include a link to the original in your email.
• The title you would like to assign your book. You can change the actual book title at any time and as many times as you wish.
• The URL suffix you would like to assign your book. The URL cannot be changed, so choose your title wisely. The suffix will appear at the end of the www.saalck.pressbooks.pub/___________. 

It’s a good idea to make your book private while you’re still setting it up. You can turn privacy on and off from the Dashboard in the Text > Organize section.

Copy-paste Method

We recommend that you first prepare your book using word processing software and then transfer the contents to Pressbooks. Copy-pasting text is the most straightforward and reliable way to import content into your book. Always double-check the formatting after you paste so that you can catch any styling inconsistencies.

Microsoft Word Import

Alternatively, you can experiment with importing content via an uploaded Word file (Tools > Import > Microsoft Word). This requires that you go chapter-by chapter and that you prepare each file with structured styling, i.e., by applying headers. Consequently, this approach can be labor-intensive and prone to technical difficulties.

Learn More Read about how to prepare a Word file for import. 

Clone

If you are adapting a new book from a current Pressbooks book, you can clone or copy the book, or certain chapters, into your new title. All you need is the source URL. Learn more from the Clone a Book chapter of the Pressbooks Guide.

Other Methods

• Import EPUB files: If you previously created a book with another publishing platform, you can import the EPUB files into Pressbooks (Tools > Import > EPUB). After a new book is created for you, start the import.
• Clone another Pressbooks book: If you created a book on another Pressbooks site (as opposed to the SAALCK Pressbooks site), or if you find another Pressbooks book that you wish to adapt, you can clone the files as long as the book is publicly available and licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows derivatives. Learn more about cloning on the Pressbooks User Guide. 

Use the formatting toolbar to make adjustments to the text in your editing pane. Many of the formatting options are similar to those found in word processing software. Click the toolbar toggle button (first row, top right) to reveal the full set of formatting tools.

The editing window has two different tabs where you can enter your content:

• Visual: A WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) window that displays formatting changes as entered and in real time. This is the primary and best option for most users.
• Text: An HTML-based editor that uses markup language. If you are familiar with HTML, you can use this tab for troubleshooting or customizations. We do not recommend extensive use of this option because heavy customizations could have downstream effects on book themes and on export formats.

See the full list of formatting options along with their descriptions in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Use the Add Media button in your editing window to upload images as well as audio or video files. Uploaded files will be stored in a media library so that if you are using an item more than once, you do not need to upload it multiple times.

Image adjustments (cropping, shading, etc.) should be made prior to uploading. It is possible to make basic size adjustments within Pressbooks, but the tool is not meant to provide a full suite of graphics editing functions.

Any uploaded media should be:

• Optimized for accessibility 
• Either owned by you, used with permission, or uploaded under the guise of fair use 

Learn more about adding media to your book in the Pressbooks User Guide. 

Add interactive elements like quizzes or games to your book using the H5P plugin. You can see these types of elements in action in this University of Wisconsin Portuguese textbook.

To use H5P in a book, first activate the plugin:

1. Go to Dashboard > Plugins
2. Click the Activate link under H5P

Then open the H5P menu:

1. Go to Dashboard > H5P Content
2. Click Add New

Choose one of the H5P options from the dropdown menu. The first time you select an option, click the Get button. If you have previously used one of the options, the button will say Details.

Once you select an option, fill out the required fields and then click the Create button in the upper righthand corner of your window.

You will see a preview of the component you just created. You can also test the component to make sure it works.

In the upper right-hand corner of your window, copy the shortcode.

Open your text editor and paste in the copied shortcode.

Save your work and preview the page. The H5P component is now live.

Note that there is a of drawback to using interactive elements. If you are planning to make your book available in non-web-based format, the plugin content cannot be exported so you will need to insert placeholder text marking the non-exported content.

Learn more about using H5P in your book in the Pressbooks User Guide.

Themes

Pressbooks provides a set of professional ready-made theme designs to customize the look and feel of your book. You can switch to a different theme at any time and as many times as you wish. To select a theme, go to Appearance > Themes in your Dashboard. You can preview a theme before activating it.

Book Cover

To upload a cover for your book, open the Book Info section of your Dashboard and scroll down to the Cover Image section. Upload your cover image and scroll back to the top of the page to click Save. Note that the thumbnail preview of your cover image may not load the first time.

The cover image should conform to the following specifications:

• Dimensions: 2500px x 3750px
• Maximum size: 2 MB
• File format: JPEG or PNG
• Aspect ratio: 1:1.5

Your cover image will be used only on the web and eBook formats of the book. Covers for PDFs intended for print-on-demand purposes need to be prepared separately.

Learn more about themes and book covers on the Pressbooks User Guide.

You can choose to add a collaborator to your book and customize the role and permissions for each added user. Collaborator accounts can be created by anyone assigned the administrator role of your book or by emailing SAALCKPressbooksAdmins@l.uky.edu

LaTeX, a program for typesetting mathematical equations, is supported in Pressbooks. When you are working in the text editor, select the "Visual" tab and insert LaTeX inside brackets, like this:

Learn more about using LaTeX in your book in the Pressbooks User Guide.