A free download from the Mac App Store, Author lets you make stunning textbooks

Jan 20, 2012 09:49 GMT  ·  By

Confirming rumors that January 19 would see the unveiling of a textbook creation platform, Apple yesterday introduced iBooks Author, a free tool for Mac users looking to create e-Books for iPad and iPhone consumption.

The tool is primarily aimed at teachers, who can create textbooks not just for their own students, but for students worldwide. Think of it as a Wikipedia created entirely by people who are authorized to give lectures. And it was Steve Jobs' vision to get here.

Available as a free download from the Mac App Store, the app goes beyond textbook creation and lets anyone with a Mac create compelling cookbooks, history books, picture books and more.

The works can be published to Apple’s iBookstore where customers can download and use the content at will.

“Authors and publishers of any size can start creating with Apple-designed templates that feature a wide variety of page layouts,” Apple said yesterday. “iBooks Author lets you add your own text and images by simply dragging and dropping, and with the Multi-Touch widgets you can easily add interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote presentations and 3D objects.”

As the company itself puts it, “All you need is an idea and a Mac.” The basic steps of creating such a book are outlined by Apple:

• Give your book a great beginning with templates that include a choice of page designs with matching fonts, colors, and textures • Easily customize your book with text and images, create new layouts, and even save a custom template • Use the Book Navigator to organize your book and add a cover and table of contents

Users can then employ beautiful text and layouts, and even Multi-Touch widgets, which can be anything from a photo gallery, chapter review, or a movie, to an entire Keynote presentation, a simple 3D object, or a custom HTML anywhere in the book.

iBooks Author requires OS X Lion 10.7.2 or later and is only available for Macs. Keynote ’09 (v5.1.1 or later) is required for Keynote widgets, and iBooks 2 is required for previewing. Additionally, users will need iTunes 10.5.3 for syncing.

Download iBooks Author for Mac OS X (Free)

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