Monthly Archives: November 2022

FAQ: Conversations and Written Notes

FAQ: Text Conversations and Written Notes

We’re thrilled with the response to Vellum 3.4, which introduced new features for Text Conversations and Written Notes. With all of the excitement, we’ve also received some questions. Here are answers to the most common ones:

Q & A

Questions & Answers

In ebooks, will Text Conversations and Written Notes resize as a reader changes font size?
Yes. The sizing is based on a reader’s font size and will change with their preferences.

Will the text within notes and conversations be accessible to screen reading systems?
Yes! All of the text is still included in your ebook. The appearance is just altered using styling and fonts.

Will using a Text Conversation or Written Note increase delivery costs?
Not at all. No images are used to create these, so you won’t see any increase in Amazon delivery costs. 

Will Text Conversation bubbles appear on all ebook readers?
In purchased ebooks, yes. As usual, formatting is limited in ebooks sideloaded into Kindle for iPhone.

Will Text Conversation bubbles work in dark mode?
Yes! The text and bubble colors will change to adapt to dark mode and other color schemes. You can see how this works in Vellum’s Preview.

Will Written Note fonts still be visible when readers change their preferred font?
In purchased ebooks, yes. In Kindle ebooks that are sideloaded, there are some limitations.

Vellum 3.4

Vellum 3.4

Vellum 3.4 is now available! Here’s what you’ll find in this newest release:

Text message bubbles shown within a book on an ebook reader

Text Messages

Writing a story set in the digital world? Use a Text Conversation to format texts between characters. Configure sent and received messages, and choose from six different style options for how they appear in your book.

Written Notes

You can go analog, too! With a Written Note, you can include a letter, note, or any other dispatch from a character. Set up the different parts of a letter and select from handwritten typefaces or options that match the primary font.

Export to Word

You use Import Word File to bring your manuscript into Vellum. Now you can go the other way, too! The Export Content command — found in the File menu — takes text you’ve written in Vellum and creates a Word file you can send to your editor.

Also in Vellum 3.4

  • In Body Style, you can disable hyphenation for Capitalized Words
  • You can also disable hyphenation for a specific word in your book
  • In situations when you can’t provide a Kindle-specific file, you can safely use Generic EPUB with Send to Kindle
  • You can now use SVG vector images in print (macOS Ventura only)

Vellum 3.4 is a free update. This version requires macOS Catalina or newer, and is compatible with macOS Ventura.

To get Vellum 3.4, use Check for Updates. Or download Vellum from vellum.pub.