FlowPaper July Update - What’s New

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1 July 2025

We’ve rolled out some fresh improvements to make your digital publishing experience even better!

Two-Page Lock:

Keep your brochures in a two-page view—no matter how the device is rotated. Perfect for double-page spreads!

Better Flipbook Embeds:

Embed flipbooks with a new lightbox option. Plus, the preview for small embed areas is now clearer and more helpful.

Analytics Settings Save:

Your analytics preferences are now reliably saved every time in the desktop publisher.

Accessibility Upgrades:

FlowPaper is now even more accessible, aligning with WCAG 2.1 standards.

Mouse Wheel Zoom Fixed:

The mouse wheel zoom now works smoothly in all scenarios.

FlowPaper 3.9.2 Release Notes

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16 June 2025

Is Your Online PDF Publishing Ready for the EU Accessibility Act?

If you publish PDFs online, especially for audiences in the European Union, the clock is ticking. The European Accessibility Act is set to change how digital documents—including PDFs—must be published, making accessibility a legal requirement rather than a “nice to have.”

Why Accessible PDFs Matter

For years, PDFs have been the go-to format for sharing reports, brochures, eBooks, and more. But many online PDFs remain difficult—or even impossible—for people with disabilities to use. With the EU Accessibility Act, this will no longer be acceptable. If your PDFs aren’t accessible, you could risk losing business opportunities in Europe, facing legal challenges, or simply missing out on a wider audience.

Avoiding Expensive Tagging Costs

Tagging PDFs in order to make them accessible can be a costly operation. FlowPaper's Elements template allows you to convert your PDFs into HTML5 and automatically reorders text in order to make it readable by screen readers. You can read more about how this is done in our tutorial.

Version 3.9.2 Release Notes

We will be rolling out version 3.9.2 in the next few days. Here are some of the points included in this releas.e

• Added a new setting that forces the view to remain two-pages even if the device is rotated. Perfect for brochures and catalogs where pages must be seen side by side at all times.
• Improved flipbook embedding in FlowPaper. Easily embed using a lightbox from the publishing dialogue. The preview displayed when the embed area is too small has also been enhanced.
• Analytics settings are now always saved correctly, ensuring your engagement data is never lost—even in the desktop publisher.
• Accessibility improvements have been made to further align with WCAG 2.1, making your online PDFs even more accessible.

FlowPaper 3.9.1 Release Notes

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5 June 2025

FlowPaper 3.9.1 is being rolled out this week. This version is a maintenance build that corrects a number of issues that were introduced as a consequence of changes in Chrome. It also improves accessibility and translation functionality for publications that are translated using Google Chrome.

FlowPaper 3.9.0 Release Notes

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5 March 2025

FlowPaper 3.9.0 which features an updated runtime framework with improved performance accross all major platforms (OSX, Windows) is available to download from this week.

The following issues and improvements were also made to this release:

• Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to export invisible text when this was selected via the publisher
• Fixed an issue related to printing the current page and printing causing the dialogue to appear over and over
• Removed a drop down appearing during import which was causing confusion
• Fixed an issue where RTL publications would show 2 initial pages in some cases

Take Charge of Bot Indexing with FlowPaper

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11 January 2025

These days, with all the ongoing talk around AI, managing how bots interact with your online content is a big deal. Whether you’re safeguarding private info, controlling who sees your work, or just keeping things neat, FlowPaper makes it super easy. With four simple options, you get to decide exactly what bots can do with your publications. Let’s break it down.

What’s the Deal with Bot Indexing?

Bots are everywhere. Search engine bots help people find your content, while AI bots analyze and summarize stuff. Sounds good, right? But not all bots play nice. Some might grab your content without asking, which is where FlowPaper steps in to help.

FlowPaper’s Four Easy Bot Settings

FlowPaper gives you full control over bot access with four straightforward options. Here’s the scoop:

1. Disallow All Bots

Want to keep all bots out? This is your go-to. Perfect for:

Private or confidential documents

Team-only resources

Anything you want to stay off the radar

With this setting, no bots will touch your content. It’s like a digital “Do Not Disturb” sign.

2. Search Bots Only

Let search engines like Google and Bing index your work, but keep other bots away.
Great for:

Marketing materials you want people to find

Research papers for public discovery

This way, your content stays visible to the right audience.

3. AI Bots Only

If you’re cool with AI bots but not search engines, this setting’s for you. It’s ideal for:

Data meant for AI tools

Sharing with developers or researchers

Keep it techy and focused on AI-driven use cases.

4. All Bots Welcome

Want your content out there for everyone—search engines, AI, and beyond? This setting makes your publication an open book. Best for:

Open-access content

Anything designed for maximum visibility

How to Set It Up

Getting started is a breeze:

1. Log in to your FlowPaper account at flowpaper.com/account/.
2. Look for the "Bot Permission Settings" drop down list.
3. Pick your setting: No Bots, Search Bots Only, AI Bots Only, or All Bots.
4. Save your choice, and you’re good to go!

Your settings will kick in right away, giving you peace of mind and control.

Why Bother Controlling Bots?

There are plenty of reasons to set some boundaries for bots:

Protect your stuff: Block unwanted scraping and keep your content safe.

Be searchable: Show up on search engines while keeping other bots out.

Get AI-specific: Let AI bots do their thing without involving search engines.

Keep it private: Share with humans or specific platforms only.

Wrapping Up

FlowPaper makes it super simple to decide how bots interact with your content. Whether you’re looking for total privacy or maximum exposure, these settings have you covered.

Take charge of your publications today and make bots work the way you want them to. With FlowPaper, it’s all in your hands!

Proven Methods to Track PDF Downloads and Boost Website Engagement

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3 December 2024

Why Track PDF Downloads?

PDFs often contain valuable content that can be used to:

Measure Content Performance: Understand which resources are most downloaded.

Refine Marketing Strategies: Track ROI on gated content or email campaigns.

Engage Better with Users: Tailor future content based on download trends.

However, tracking PDF downloads requires special techniques since PDFs don’t run JavaScript or integrate directly with analytics tools like webpages do.

Methods to Track PDF Downloads

1. Using Google Tag Manager (GTM)

Google Tag Manager allows you to track PDF downloads with minimal coding.

How It Works:

Set up a trigger to detect when users click on links ending in .pdf.

Create a tag to send download data to Google Analytics.

Pros and cons

So what are the benefits about this approach?

No Code Changes: No need to edit website code for every new PDF link.

Scalable: Track multiple file types (PDF, DOCX, XLSX) with slight modifications.

Integration: Works seamlessly with Google Analytics for detailed reporting.

What are some of the negatives with Google Tag Manager?

Learning Curve: Requires familiarity with GTM to set up correctly.

Limited Server-Side Coverage: Doesn’t track downloads directly accessed via external sources.

Server-Side Logging

For downloads accessed through direct links (e.g., shared in emails), server-side logging is a reliable method.

How It Works:

Enable logging for file downloads on your web server.

Analyze logs using tools like AWStats or custom scripts.

Pros and cons about this approach?

Pros:

Covers All Access Points: Tracks downloads even if users access PDFs without visiting your site.

Independent of Front-End Tools: Works without JavaScript or third-party analytics tools.

Cons:

Technical Expertise Needed: Requires server configuration knowledge.

No User Details: Limited ability to track user behaviors like session context or referral sources.

Using FlowPaper for PDF Tracking

FlowPaper is a digital publishing tool that allows you to embed and track PDFs directly within your website. By embedding PDFs as interactive elements, FlowPaper provides detailed insights into user engagement.

How It Works:

1. Upload your PDF to FlowPaper and generate an embed code.
2. Place the embed code on your website where you want the PDF to appear.
3. Use FlowPaper’s built-in analytics dashboard to track:
• Views: How often the PDF was accessed.
• Page Reads: how many times a specific page has been read.
• Page Interactions: Which pages users read and for how long.
• Heatmap: collect statistics on how much time people are spending on different parts of your pages

Pros and cons about using FlowPaper?

Pros:

Rich Engagement Data: Tracks user interactions with specific pages within the PDF.

Embedded Experience: Keeps users on your website instead of downloading the file.

Custom Branding: Offers a professional presentation with your branding.

Cons:

Requires a License: FlowPaper offers free and paid plans, with advanced analytics requiring a premium subscription.

How to best convert PDF to HTML5

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16 October 2024

Converting PDF files into HTML5 format is essential for making your documents more interactive, accessible, and mobile-friendly. Whether you're a web developer, content creator, or business owner, transforming your PDFs into HTML5 opens the door to better user experience and SEO benefits. This document outlines some of the best ways to convert your document to HTML5 with a small guide attached to each of the options.

Using an open source tool: Calibre

Calibre is an open-source e-book management tool, but it also includes PDF to HTML conversion capabilities. Although originally designed for e-books, it works well for converting PDFs into HTML5 format.

Step 1: Download and Install Calibre

If you don’t already have Calibre installed, you can download it from the Calibre website. Install it following the instructions for your operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux).

Step 2: Open Calibre and Import Your PDF

Launch Calibre after installation. To add your PDF file, click on the “Add books” button in the top left corner. Browse and select the PDF file you want to convert to HTML.

Step 3: Convert the PDF to HTML

Once the PDF is added to Calibre, select it from your library list by clicking on it. Click the “Convert books” button in the toolbar. A new window will appear with various conversion options.

Step 4: Select Output Format: HTML

In the “Convert books” window, go to the top-right corner where you’ll see the “Output format” drop-down menu. Select “ZIP” from the list of output formats. HTML is outputted as a zipped folder containing multiple files (HTML, images, etc.).

Step 5: Start the Conversion

After adjusting the settings, click the “OK” button to begin converting your document. Calibre will start processing the PDF, and you’ll see a notification when the conversion is complete.

Step 5: Retrieve the HTML Files

Once the conversion is finished, navigate to the “Jobs” area (bottom right corner) to see the progress. After the conversion, the ZIP file containing the HTML will be saved. To access the files, right-click on your converted file in the library and select “Open containing folder”. Extract the HTML files from the ZIP folder.

Pros and cons

So what are the benefits about this approach?

Can embed PDFs directly into web pages.

Offers control over rendering, allowing you to manipulate pages.

Fully client-side, so it works without any server processing.

Ideal for web developers who want more control over how the PDF content is displayed.

What are some of the negatives with using Calibre?

Complex Layouts May Not Convert Well

No Direct HTML5 Output

Limited Control Over Styling

Using a command line tool: MuPDF

MuPDF is a lightweight PDF viewer that also includes command-line tools for converting PDFs to other formats, including HTML.

Step 1: Download and Install MuPDF

Visit the MuPDF official website to download the appropriate version for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux). After downloading, install the application by following the instructions for your operating system.

Step 2: Open a Command Line Interface (CLI)

For Windows: Open Command Prompt or PowerShell.
For macOS or Linux: Open the Terminal.

Step 3: Navigate to the MuPDF Directory

Use the cd command to navigate to the folder where you installed MuPDF or where the mutool executable is located. For example:

cd /path/to/mupdf

Step 4: Run the Conversion Command

The mutool command is used to convert PDF files to HTML. The basic syntax is:

mutool convert -o output.html input.pdf

Step 5: View the HTML Output

After running the conversion, the output.html file will be generated in the current directory. Open the resulting HTML file in a web browser to check the output.

Pros and cons

So what are the benefits about using MuPDF?

Lightweight and Fast

Open-Source and Free. Worth to note though is that is using AGPL which is somewhat restrictive.

Supports High-Quality Output

What are some of the negatives with using MuPDF?

Command-Line Interface (CLI) Only

Limited Complex Layout Handling

Basic HTML Output

Using FlowPaper

Using FlowPaper to convert a PDF into HTML5 is a great way to create interactive, web-optimized documents. FlowPaper provides tools to convert PDF documents into a format that’s viewable directly in web browsers, with additional features for embedding the converted files into websites. Here’s a guide on how to use FlowPaper for PDF to HTML5 conversion:

Step 1: Sign Up or Log In to FlowPaper

Visit the download page and sign up for an account if you haven’t already. You can also download the desktop publishing software if you prefer offline work. FlowPaper offers both a free version and paid plans with additional features.

Step 2: Choose the Conversion Tool

Option 1: If you want to use the javascript component, choose the “Javascript API” option in the download dialogue.
Option 2: If you’re not a developer, open the FlowPaper Desktop Publisher.

Step 3: Upload Your PDF (if using the desktop publisher)

Once in the conversion tool, click on the “Import PDF” button. Select the PDF file from your computer that you want to convert to HTML5.

Step 4: Customize the Conversion Settings

FlowPaper offers several customization options to tailor the output to your needs. You can find the customization options on the right-hand side in the desktop publisher after importing your PDF.

Step 5: Convert the PDF to HTML5

After configuring your settings, click “Publish” and choose “Custom Domain”. FlowPaper will process the PDF and convert it into HTML5 format. This process usually takes a few seconds, depending on the size of the PDF. The resulting HTML5 files will be available in the output folder that gets created.

Pros and cons

So what are some of the benefits about using FlowPaper?

Interactive and Engaging Viewer Options

Responsive HTML5 Output

SEO-Friendly

Cloud Hosting & Analytics

What are some of the negatives with using FlowPaper?

Limited Free Features (watermarking)

Requires Internet for Online Use

Featured Video - Qantas Case study with FlowPaper

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11 October 2024

In this case study video, we’ll see how Qantas Airlines enhanced their holiday brochure is using FlowPaper. This Qantas Membeship catalog was sent out to hundreds of thousands of their travellers.

In this video, we’ll go through how Qantas

• Added page turn effects to their catalog
• How they used hotspots to highlight links and products
• Used an interactive table of contents page with internal links

Featured Video - Air New Zealand Case study with FlowPaper

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28 September 2024

In this video, we’ll have a look at a case study where Air New Zealand converted their in-flight magazine using FlowPaper. Tag along as we go through a few of the pages and how they ended up when converting the PDF into a responsive format

In this case study, we’ll go through

• Why you would want to convert a PDF into a responsive format
• A introduction into the reflowable template
• Explanations on how to handle advertisements and how to jump between sections
• Comparisons between a PDF page and its resulting, responsive page
• A review of text quality options when converting to HTML5/SVG

Video review - which flipbook maker should you use to bring your PDFs alive?

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24 September 2024

Still unsure which flipbook platform to use to bring your catalog, magazine or brochure alive when publishing online? Check out this video review of FlowPaper by Michelle Schneider

In this review, Michelle will guide you through how to:

• How does FlowPaper differ from the other digital publishers out there?
• How to customize realistic 3D skins for your publication
• Previewing your publication on mobile devices
• How to use custom styling for your publication skin
• The intro animation option and how it can be customized
• Adding interactive elements to your publication