34 Editable Files
Editable files are the digital files generated for an open textbook, or other open educational resource, that can be easily changed or edited. Editable files allow faculty, students, and others using your book to put into practice all permissions granted by an open-copyright licence, especially the rights to revise and remix, as described in David Wiley’s 5Rs framework [New Tab].
Which files are editable
Most files can be edited, but the task isn’t always simple. To determine whether a file is suitable for editing, one must ask these questions:
- How easy or difficult is the file to edit? Does it require more than one or two steps?
- Is additional technology required to edit the file?
- Was the file type designed with editing in mind?
Text documents are the most editable file type because changes can be made directly to the file’s native format, and the task does not require additional steps or technology.[1] Examples of text document files are OpenOffice [New Tab] (ODT) and Microsoft Word [New Tab] (DOCX).
xHTML and XML [New Tab] files are designed for interoperability, i.e. the transfer of information from one source to another. xHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) is a member of the XML family and acts as an extended and stricter version of the broadly used HTML (Hypertext Markup Language).[2] Editing these types of files is typically a two-step process whereby the second step involves transferring the file to a system that allows editing of the file. HTML files can work in certain platforms including WordPress if an HTML Import plugin [New Tab] is used.
EPUB files are designed for portability. These files can be read by most eReader devices and software. The point of these files is not to provide editing capability, but to deliver a comprehensive package that contains all elements of a book including text and images — like a zipped package — to a device for reading offline. However, Pressbooks does accept an EPUB file so that it too can be edited once added to this platform. Like the xHTML and XML files, editing using an EPUB file is a two-step process.
A PDF file (Portable Document Text) can be edited with the right software, such as Adobe Acrobat PDF Editor, but doing so is not ideal. The PDF format was designed to represent documents not create or change them.[3]
If you are working in Pressbooks, see How to Export Different File Types from a Textbook [New Tab] in the BCcampus Open Education Pressbooks Guide.
Beyond text
In addition to providing editable files for the textbook, authors should also consider offering editable files for media included in their textbook or as ancillary OER, such as images, audio clips and video files, and the transcripts that accompany these media. Some questions to ask when doing this are:
- Is the format open or proprietary?
- Is the format built for viewing or for portability between operating systems?
- How simple is the format to use?
- How well does it integrate with other techno