This appendix describes the HTMLDOC .book file format.
The HTMLDOC .book file format is a simple
text format that provides the command-line options and files
that are part of the document. These files can be used from the
GUI interface or from the command-line using the
--batch option:
htmldoc filename.book htmldoc --batch filename.book
The first form will load the book and display the GUI interface, if configured. Windows users should use ghtmldoc.exe executable to show the GUI and htmldoc.exe for the batch mode:
ghtmldoc.exe filename.book htmldoc.exe --batch filename.book
Each .book file starts with a line reading:
#HTMLDOC 1.8.17
The version number (1.8.17) is optional.
Following the header is a line containing the options for the book. You can use any valid command-line option on this line:
-f htmldoc.pdf --titleimage htmldoc.png --duplex --compression=9 --jpeg=90
Long option lines can be broken using a trailing backslash (\) on the end of each continuation line:
-f htmldoc.pdf --titleimage htmldoc.png --duplex \ --compression=9 --jpeg=90
Following the options are a list of files or URLs to include in the document:
intro.html 1-install.html 2-starting.html 3-books.html 4-cmdline.html 5-cgi.html 6-htmlref.html 7-guiref.html 8-cmdref.html a-license.html b-book.html c-relnotes.html
The following is the complete book file needed to generate this documentation:
#HTMLDOC 1.8.13 -f htmldoc.pdf --titleimage htmldoc.png --duplex --compression=9 --jpeg=90 intro.html 1-install.html 2-starting.html 3-books.html 4-cmdline.html 5-cgi.html 6-htmlref.html 7-guiref.html 8-cmdref.html a-license.html b-book.html c-relnotes.html
Prior to HTMLDOC version 1.8.12, the book file format was slightly different:
#HTMLDOC version file count file(s) options
While HTMLDOC still supports reading this format, we do not recommend
using it for new books. In particular, when generating a document using the
--batch option, some options may not be applied correctly since
the files are loaded prior to setting the output options in the old format.