by C.K. MacLeod
Updated, December 12, 2015
Jutoh is an inexpensive ebook editor that allows you to convert Word docx files to mobi or epub formats. Below are resources and a cheat sheet to help you find your way around Jutoh.
Jutoh Resources
Manual
Julian Smart, the creator of Jutoh has written a detailed manual titled, Creating Great Ebooks Using Jutoh. It’s available as a free download in a variety of formats on his website. I prefer to access the online HTML version because I can find answers to questions fastest if call up the manual with search terms in Google.
For example, if I key in the terms “Jutoh” and “pictures,” Google will call up Chapter 11: Working With Pictures in a matter of seconds. If you prefer to scroll through a PDF or view the manual as an epub on your tablet, those options are available, too.
Video Tutorials
There are a few detailed video tutorials that demonstrate how to Jutoh:
How to Format .epub and .mobi (Kindle) Ebook Files, by India Drummond is about twenty minutes long and will give you the fastest way in to setting up a fiction book with limited styling in Jutoh.
Geoff Shaw has a short seven-video Jutoh training series that walks you through creating an ebook in Jutoh, and John Griffin shows you how to use a template in Jutoh. Templates are useful if you’ll be creating a lot of ebooks in Jutoh.
Dr. Julian Smart
If you’ve combed the available resources for an answer to a conundrum, but you’ve come up with nothing, don’t worry. I was delighted to discover that the Doctor was indeed in. Dr. Julian Smart, that is. If you have a question that the manual and videos don’t answer, you can email Julian Smart for help.
Jutoh Cheat Sheet
After viewing the videos, searching through the manual, mucking about in Jutoh, and contacting Julian Smart, I compiled a cheat sheet—a list of how-do-I questions that I can return to the next time I use Jutoh to create an ebook.
While this is not a comprehensive list, I do believe that it contains some of the tasks you’ll want to accomplish in Jutoh. Feel free to let me know if I’ve missed anything.
The items in this list are alphabetical. I’d recommend reading through the left column quickly so you know what’s there, and later, when you have a question, you’ll be able to find that item quickly.
You’ll understand the items in the table better if you know what Jutoh looks like when you’re working in it. Here’s a screenshot of the various panes:
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| Jutoh panes |
One final thought: the first time I converted an ebook using Jutoh, I did everything in Word—applied styles, inserted hyperlinks, and so forth—and then exported the file to Jutoh.
The second time, I created a document in Word, stripped out all of the formatting, exported it to Jutoh, and then applied all of my styling in Jutoh.
I found the first method more efficient, probably due to my familiarity with Word. Both methods created a nicely styled ebook.
