New Computer Setup
Steps for setting up a new machine
Apps in our Ebook Development Process
A Better Finder Rename
This app allows you to quickly rename a batch of files, in a variety of ways. It’s very helpful if you need to alter the filenames in a /text directory of an epub. **Download **from Self Service (in your Applications directory).
Adobe (InDesign, Photoshop, & Reader)
Adobe InDesign is a common publishing software suite, and Photoshop has many capabilities for making quality images for our ebooks. Download from Self Service (in your Applications directory).
BBEdit
BBEdit is a source code editor that is particular good for use with regular expressions (regexes). Download (v.11.6.6)
EPUB-Checker
This app checks epubs according to EPUB 3 specs, and alerts you to issues. You drag an EPUB directory to the app to run it. Download here
ePub Zip/Unzip 2.0.1
This app converts unzips an epub into html file directory or, you guessed it, zips up an html epub directory into an epub file. Download here. Move the app to your screen’s dock, and then just drag epub folders or files onto it. Converted files should be in your Download folder.
Harvest
We use harvest for tracking time on projects. Download from the Apple App Store.
Homebrew
Homebrew is a package manager for OS that can be helpful when updating developer tools/programs in the command line. It’s worth mentioning that it’s often best to install & update Node apart from Homebrew. Run the following in the command line to install:
/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)" |
LFS (Large File Storage)
LFS allows Git directories to push/pull large files (and works automatically in the background when used). To install (with Homebrew):
brew install git-lfs |
then
git lfs install |
That should be it, but check here for further documentation: https://git-lfs.github.com/
MacOS
Macs have a lot of great features, check out: shortcuts and set up options.
Node.js
Node.js is a JavaScript run-time environment. Essentially, Node.js allows for JavaScript to be used elsewhere besides the browser. In epub development, that means JS scripts can read and edit local epub directories. Node works best when downloaded directly from the Node site (download the LTS version): https://nodejs.org/en/
PageStaker (for use with InDesign)
Preview
Preview is Mac’s onboard image viewer. Check here for some tips on using it.
Script Editor
(Apple scripts) Script Editor comes with MacOS (Applications > Utilities), and is used to edit Applescripts. Applescripts are slowly being deprecated from our development team, but some are still in use (and are very helpful).
Self Service
Self Service allows you to download some apps common to the Lifeway organization. It should be listed under the Applications folder of your machine.
Slack
For team communication, jibber jabber, and gifs. Our channel is [ bhdirect-ebooks.slack.com ] Download at: https://slack.com/downloads/osx
VMWare Fusion
VMWare allows Windows to be run on a Mac as a virtual machine (without rebooting). It’s necessary for our purposes to review titles in Wordsearch. You’ll need to schedule a session with a Lifeway tech to help install this on your machine.
VSCode
VSCode is a powerful, free source code editor by Windows. Download: https://code.visualstudio.com/download
ZSH & Oh-My-Zsh
ZSH is short for ‘Z Shell’, which is a Unix shell and provides a number of convenient features when using the command line.
To install ZSH (With Homebrew installed) :
ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.zshhubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)" |
then
brew doctor |
and finally
brew install zsh |
To install Oh-My-Zsh:
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/master/tools/install.sh)" |