BookSpace Getting Started Guide

Start BookSpace

From the home screen, create a new project, open a sample, or continue from a saved file. If this is your first time, start with Quick Start to learn the workspace.

Start New Project

Start with an empty book. Choose this when you want to write directly or import a file.

Sample Quick Start

Open a sample book and see how editing works.

Open Open File

Select a saved .bksp project from your computer.

Recent Continue Work

Reopen a project you saved manually. If a saved file is available, its file name appears with the action.

Help Help

View the main workflow and keyboard shortcuts from the home screen.

Workspace

BookSpace puts the book structure on the left, the editor in the center, and properties and design tools on the right.

Document tree	View front matter, body pages, back matter, and page order. Drag pages to reorder them.
Editor	Edit the selected page title and body. After changing design settings, check the result in the editor and exported file.
Tool panel	Set page properties, design options, book information, export options, and version history.
Side toolbar	Switch right-side tools, import files, and export the project. When a page is selected, editing helpers appear. After saving, version history is available.

Create your first book

Open New Project or Quick Start.
Add a blank page from the document tree.
Enter the title and body in the editor.
Add more pages and drag them into the right order.
Set page types for the body, prologue, copyright page, or afterword.
Enter the book information needed for distribution.
Adjust fonts, alignment, spacing, and background in the design panel.
Review the body text and book information, then export as EPUB 3.

Save and open projects

BookSpace saves projects as .bksp files. Auto-save is a backup. After major edits, press Cmd/Ctrl + S to save manually.

New Project: create a new book.
Open File: open an existing .bksp file.
Recent Projects: reopen files you worked on recently.
Save: save the current project.

Structure and edit

A BookSpace page becomes one document inside the EPUB. Keep chapters, prologues, copyright pages, and afterwords on separate pages.

Manage structure

Add a page to create a new document.
Rename pages by double-clicking in the document tree or editing the title field above the editor.
Change page type to assign front matter, body, or back matter roles. The page moves to the matching section.
Drag and drop pages to reorder them, or place chapters under a part to build hierarchy.
Before using delete on a page, check that any important text has been saved.

Edit body text

Select text to use quick tools for bold, italic, strikethrough, alignment, superscript/subscript, and links.
Type / to add headings, dividers, images, lists, quotes, and note boxes.
Add images from the slash menu, by dragging files into the editor, or by pasting from the clipboard.
Add alt text for meaningful images, and adjust image width or captions when needed. Supported formats are JPEG, PNG, WebP, and GIF.
Use helpers such as footnotes, endnotes, and find-and-replace after selecting a page.
Before running replace all, review the matches and create a manual save.

Design and metadata

In the design panel, set fonts by document type, title/subtitle/body sizes, title alignment, background color, line height, letter spacing, paragraph spacing, and maximum image width. The Layout button near the top of the editor also lets you adjust common spacing and image-width settings.

Cover and logo	Add front cover, back cover, and publisher logo images. Choose images by clicking or dragging them in. Portrait images work best for covers.
Book information	Check title, author, and language before export. You can also enter subtitle, publisher, ISBN/ISSN/UUID/ASIN/DOI identifiers, links, and book description.
Design settings	After changing book information, press the save button at the bottom of the panel. Reader apps may still handle fonts, margins, and line breaks differently, so test the exported file before distribution.

Import and export

In the desktop app, import existing manuscript files and turn them into a BookSpace project. After import, review the document tree and body text. Complex source files may bring in some style or image placement differences.

Import DOCX

Import a Word manuscript and organize it into BookSpace pages.

Import EPUB

Open an existing EPUB file and continue editing its structure and body text.

Import Markdown

Use this for simple manuscript drafts that should be split into chapters.

Export EPUB 3

The first format to check for most EPUB distribution workflows.

Export DOCX

Use this when you need a document file for review or sharing.

If ebook distribution is the goal, check EPUB 3 first. Use EPUB 2 only when compatibility requires it, and use DOCX when you need a document file for review or sharing. Before export, review title, author, language, description, cover, images, and list placement. EPUB export can include fonts to keep the design closer to your settings, but embedded fonts increase file size.

Version restore

Save before and after major edits. If replace all goes wrong or the manuscript gets messy, use Version History in the right panel to return to an earlier state.

Review auto-save and manual-save history.
Refresh the list if the save points look out of date.
Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + V to open version history.
Restore to the current file to replace this project with the selected earlier state.
Restore to a new file to keep your current work and save the older version separately.

Recommended habits

Split large manuscripts into parts and chapters.
Keep copyright pages, prefaces, body chapters, and afterwords as separate pages when they have different roles.
Enter title and author information early.
Add alt text to meaningful images whenever possible.
Before export, review headings, images, dividers, and list placement in the body.
Run a manual save with Cmd/Ctrl + S immediately before export.

Suggested first-time sequence

Open Quick Start to learn the sample book structure.
Select a page in the document tree and rename it.
Type / in the body to add a heading, image, or quote.
Change fonts and background color in the design panel.
Create a new project, then import or paste your real manuscript.
Enter book information and export as EPUB 3 or DOCX.

Troubleshooting

I cannot save or open a project

The file may have moved, or BookSpace may not have permission to access the folder. Save to another folder, or use Open File to select the current .bksp file directly.

A recent file will not open

The file may no longer exist at the path saved in the recent file list. If you moved the file, use Open File and select it from the new location.

I cannot add an image

The image may be blocked by file type, file size, or resolution limits. Save it again as JPEG or PNG, or reduce very large images before inserting them.

The exported file looks different across readers

EPUB readers can handle fonts, margins, and line breaks differently. Check the body text and design settings in BookSpace, then test the exported file in the reader you plan to use.

Book information does not change

After editing book information, check that you pressed the save button at the bottom of the panel. BookSpace may not save the changes if title, author, or language is empty. For custom languages, use language-tag formats such as ko, en, ja, or zh-Hans.

I ran replace all by mistake

If the project was saved, use Version History in the right panel to restore an earlier saved version. Before restoring, save the current state as a separate file first.