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I am trying to use Calibre to convert a PDF file to Epub format with a fixed layout, but I am not able to convert it. Can somebody tell me the steps to convert in a fixed layout in Calibre?

K7AAY
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mohan rathour
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1 Answers1

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TL;DR

What you're asking for is a contradiction, so it cannot be done.

The long version:

a PDF is a Portable Document Format whereas an ePub is an Electronic Publishing format.

Although both are standards for publishing documents and have a number of characteristics in common, they have different target hardware: printers and displays respectively. Whereas it's easy to have a fixed format in a PDF so it prints the same across a wide variety of printers, the opposite is true for an ePub:

The ePub format has been designed to flow naturally on a variety of hardware: from small-screen phones to high-res eBooks and the user chooses their own format:

  • Font size
  • Orientation

as the screen size is fixed by the hardware. So the ePub format does not allow you to have a fixed format as it's a flexible, reflowable, highly interactive XML format...

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Fabby
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  • The EPUB format specifically DOES support fixed layout. School text books, or magazines, being good examples where a fixed layout is critical. The overall gist of your answer is accurate, EPUB format is best suited for reflowable content. But it is wrong to say that "it cannot be done" and "does not allow you to have a fixed format". – Ryan Jun 07 '19 at 05:02