Forum: Author Hangout

When I used Calibre to create my ebook, it created a folder with 4 files in it:
1. .epub (I guess the novel itself)
2. .jpg (I guess the cover)
3. .opf (?? maybe the table of contents and such)
4. .zip (??)

I sent an HTML version that I created to be used with a browser to a friend who will be reading it on an iBook. She said she was able to open it, but my guess is it's not really an ebook in that format so she won't have the advantage of a table of contents and remembering where you last read.

iBooks use epub. That's what I created with Calibre. So I'd like to send it to her to download on her iBook.

What do I send? Do I send the folder? Can you even send a folder? If I send only the .epub file will it have everything except the cover? The .opf file must be used for something. Do I send all 4 files (or the first 3)?

Any guidance will be appreciated.

The only things you care about are the epub and the cover jpg, which you already possess. The other files are used in creating the files in Calibre. If I'm not mistaken, you can turn off the creation of these documents in your Calibre settings.

Calibre will also convert books produced in epub into a variety of other formats, but epubs have become the most widely accepted, as most ereaders/phones/tablets now accept them.

You send only the epub. The cover is included in the finished file, so you only need that when posting to other sites.