VBK

VBK is an eBook format specially designed for textbooks. It is called VitalBooks and if from Vital Source. Readers are available for Windows, macOS X, iOS and Android.

From their web site

What makes VitalBooks so powerful for learning? First, you get the exact, complete textbook for your course, not a substitute, not a truncated version, and not just a few ancillary web pages. When you purchase the VitalBook version of your text, you get a file that's fast, efficient, mobile, and interactive...just like you.

VitalBooks are unlike any e-book format you've seen before. The format was designed specifically for the teaching and learning environment, so VitalBooks...

• Support large complex files — Other "picture-of-a-page" formats become unmanageable at 20-30 pages, but most textbooks are hundreds of pages long. VitalBooks are designed for efficient delivery, storage, search, and use of such large files (and, even better, large groups of these large files!).
• Are portable — Many online books are tied to Web subscriptions available only from remote servers. A VitalBook is downloaded directly to the desktop. You own it, and it goes wherever your computer goes.
• Allow rapid search across textbooks — Other reader programs may be able to search through one file at a time (providing a "find next..." or a list of hits with no context), but in a VitaBook, you can search by words or phrases across thousands of books — in just seconds. Search text, figures and tables, even your notes!
• Have active learning tools — VitalBooks allow you to make and share notes and highlights right in your text, making it your own customized, dynamic version.
• Enable linkages from other resources — You can easily insert hyperlinks to specific sections of VitalBooks from learning management systems, Microsoft Word™, PowerPoint™, .pdf or .html documents.
• Carry digital rights management — Other formats deter copyright violation only by burdening the user. VitalBook files address file sharing, but don't limit the functions you want (like highlighting, etc.).
• Access your books even without your computer. The books you own are available for online use from the VitalBooks web site. Even your notes and highlights stay in sync.
• Schools can add their own content for download by their students.

Comments from users

• Copy and pasting and printing are definitely still limited.
• Third-party content can be removed or excluded from the book.

The Format

VBK is a container format that can encapsulate files and eBooks that were initially in another format. The container also provides DRM protection. There are 4 forms of VBK based on the original source.

• Vital format uses a proprietary XML format
• ePub can be inside the VBK container.
• Picture book is a collection of images (Graphics) that form the book.
• PDF format which is similar to a picture book but the contents is internally collected into a PDF format.

See below for more information

For more information

• http://www.vitalsource.com/
• MobileRead forum discuss the internal format of VBK.
• VBK converter extract an ePub from a VBK file, forum discussion
• DLL for PDF files An aid to extract a PDF file from a VBK container, forum discussion