Do not move from one repaired file straight to EPUB creation. Reopen every chapter as UTF-8, require zero unconvertible characters, and compare a fixed set of text checkpoints. The book is ready for export only when all chapters pass the same table.
This EPUB creation sequence is designed to prevent garbled text from entering the export through an unchecked chapter.
This is a three-chapter release decision, not a guide to guessing replacements in one manuscript. The example uses 01-opening.md, 02-turn.md, and 03-ending.md, totaling 2,600 characters. Two suspect positions are tracked, along with five read-back checkpoints per chapter.
Turn three chapter results into one decision
A chapter passes only when all three statements are true:
- it reopens as UTF-8;
- it has zero unconvertible characters;
- all five assigned checkpoints still express the intended text.
Use a table that prevents one successful chapter from standing in for the book:
| Chapter | Example starting count | Suspect position | Five checkpoints | Reopen requirement | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01-opening.md |
820 | Candidate A | opening, name, number, mark, ending | UTF-8, zero candidates, 5/5 match | Pass only if all agree |
02-turn.md |
910 | None | opening, place, dialogue, number, ending | UTF-8, zero candidates, 5/5 match | Pass only if all agree |
03-ending.md |
870 | Candidate B | opening, proper name, mark, date, ending | UTF-8, zero candidates, 5/5 match | Pass only if all agree |
| Entire source set | 2,600 | Two | 15 total | All three chapters pass | Stop if any row is incomplete |
The 820/910/870 split is a planning example that adds to 2,600; it is not a measured chapter breakdown. Its purpose is to show what a useful acceptance table looks like.
Candidate A and Candidate B also need human decisions. A writing app cannot know whether a private-use glyph represents a surname spelling, a historical form, or an accidental character. Record the approved replacement and its reason before changing the duplicate.
Separate the save check from the EPUB check
For each chapter:
- Duplicate the source and record its encoding, line ending, and character count.
- Label the two suspect locations and record the intended replacement separately.
- Change only approved candidates, then save a new file with a suffix such as
-utf8.md. Keep the original untouched. - Close and reopen the new file. Check UTF-8 detection, zero unconvertible characters, count, and all five chapter checkpoints.
- Add the chapter to the EPUB source set only after its row passes. After export, navigate to every chapter and inspect the same 15 checkpoints in the reader you plan to use.
The reopen check answers, “Did the normalized source survive as a file?” The post-export check answers, “Did the intended characters survive inside the ebook?” Passing the first does not establish the second.
Where Rune Studio fits
Rune Studio’s published Mac documentation lists UTF-8, Shift_JIS, EUC-JP, ISO-2022-JP, and UTF-16 variants among its input encodings. It also describes highlighting characters that cannot be represented in the selected encoding and suspending autosave while those characters remain.
In the available 2,600-character exercise, two conversion candidates were isolated. After approved substitutions, a separately named UTF-8 copy reopened with a 2,600-character count. The application did not choose the semantic replacements; only approved changes were used.
That observation stops before the full three-chapter decision. It does not establish five checkpoints per chapter, EPUB export, or the 15 post-export readings. Those steps still need to be performed on your duplicate. Complete recovery of already damaged data, OCR, and binary repair are also outside this method.
Export only when the table says 3/3
Encoding safety is a source-set decision. One clean chapter cannot clear the other two. Keep separate rows, require zero candidates and five matching checkpoints in each, and aggregate the result only at the end.
Start with a duplicate totaling 2,600 characters, label two suspect positions, and choose 15 checkpoints before making changes. For more detail, review the Rune Studio download and feature page before applying the process to real chapters.
