How to Transform Wikipedia Pages into Ebooks
If you’re like me, you probably love binge-reading Wikipedia, everyone’s favorite web encyclopedia. It has an extensive database of content on almost any topic under the sun, available in various languages. When preparing for a trip, you might want to save some of these articles to read offline. But what if you could turn them into an ebook?
There is indeed a way to create an ebook directly from Wikipedia. You can organize the chapters and convert them into an ebook in EPUB or PDF format, free of charge. Alternatively, you can request Wikipedia to send you a printed version or print it out yourself.
You can also do this with Readlists and even compile a book of your tweets with Twournal.
1. Collecting Articles
First, find the Print/Export link on the left sidebar of the Wikipedia page. Click on the Create a book link.
Wikipedia will redirect you to the Book Creator. The next step is to collect the pages you want to include in your book. Click on the green Start book creator button.
Once you enable the book creator, the Book creator box will appear on every Wikipedia page you visit.
To add pages from Wikipedia, simply click on Add this page to your book on the page with the content you want to save.
After adding a page, you will see it listed under Show book (1 page).
Add all the pages you want for your book. Once you’re done, it’s time to arrange the pages to suit your needs.
Click on the Show book option to see your collected pages. You will arrive at the Manage your book section, where you can:
- See all the pages you have included in your book
- Assign a title to the book
- Rearrange the order of the pages into chapters
- Order the book as a printed version
- Download it in a format of your choice
2. Managing Your Book Content
You can change the title and subtitle of your book, choose the paper size (A4 or Letter size), and rearrange the contents. You can manually drag the pages into order or list the chapters in alphabetical order. You can also add chapters and assign pages under each chapter for better organization. If you need a table of contents, just tick the Include a table of contents option.
3. Output Your Book
There are two ways to publish your book: as a printed physical book or an ebook.
3.1 Printed on Paper
To print this as a physical book, Wikipedia offers the option to print via PediaPress.
You can still make changes to the title and subtitles at this point, and you can also preview the contents of the book via the Click to preview! link.
Once you have chosen the final look of your cover, you can select where to deliver the book, whether you want it in hardcover or color. Each preference will add some extra costs, and remember that the final cost does not include shipping.
3.2 Getting the Ebook Copy
If you are on a budget, you can choose to have the pages in ebook form. There are five formats you can generate the ebook in. Choose the format you want and follow the instructions.
For instance, if you choose PDF, the ebook will be generated in PDF format, and you will need to manually save the book to your desktop to read offline. If your selected format is ePUB, you will need a reader app or a viewer app to open it. You can also use this tip to read ePUB books on Firefox and Chrome.