Import Content into Pressbooks
16 Import a Pressbooks or WordPress File
Another way to pull an existing open textbook into a Pressbooks account is by importing the Pressbooks file of the textbook. Before you begin, you will need an existing book shell to import the content into. (See Add a New Book.)
Where to find a book’s Pressbooks file
You will need to download the Pressbooks file (.xml) of the textbook that you want to import to your computer. For books in the the B.C. Open Textbook Collection, you can find these files in two different places.
- The available formats of the book are listed under the book title in the B.C. Open Textbook Collection
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Find the “Alternate Formats” link. Opening this link will reveal all alternate formats available for the book. Download the Pressbooks file here. |
- The book’s Pressbooks homepage. This is also found in the available formats listed under the title of the book in the B.C. Open Textbook Collection.
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Find the “Read Online” link. The link will direct to the Pressbooks site of the book. |
Once you access the online version of the book, its Pressbooks file can be found as follows:
- Open the “Download this book” drop-down list under the book’s cover photo
- Select the Pressbooks XML file from the drop-down list and save it to your computer
How to import a Pressbooks file into Pressbooks
| See Import from a Pressbooks XML file in the Pressbooks User Guide. |
Once the content has been imported successfully, you will be redirected to an Import page with a list of all the parts and chapters in the book.
- You will land on a page that says “Import” at the top, and on the Dashboard menu, the Tools tab will be highlighted.
- To ensure that each item ends up in the right place in the book, confirm that the correct category (Front Matter, Chapter, Part, or Back Matter) is selected for each of the rows.
- If you only want to import certain parts or chapters, select the items to be imported by clicking on their box in the far left column.
- If you want to import the entire book, select the “Title” option at the top of the list. IMPORTANT: This is recommended if you plan to use the whole book or will only be making minor revisions.
Before you begin the import process, you can chose if you want the content you are importing to appear in the webbook by selecting “Show imported content in web.” If this check box is not selected, then all parts and chapters that you are importing will appear as drafts, meaning they will not be seen in the webbook. If you do select the check box, parts and chapters will appear in the webbook and the Show in Exports option for every part and chapter will be marked as yes, which makes sure that parts and chapters are included when a book is exported.
If you do not select this check box now, you will need to check the “Show in Web” and “Show in Exports” check boxes by each part and chapter after it’s been imported.
Once you have selected the parts and chapters you want to import, scroll t