When making an LRF edition that has headers and/or footers, would the poster please post a second copy that does not have any headers/footers? They don't really look nice and just take up page space. Thank you!

When making an LRF edition that has headers and/or footers, would the poster please post a second copy that does not have any headers/footers? They don't really look nice TO ME and just take up page space IN MY OPINION. Thank you!

there, fixed that for ya. ;)

Speaking purely personally, Jon, the answer is no, I won't. I create books in a manner that I personally feel looks good. You're welcome to disagree with that, but I'm certainly not going to post versions of my books to match everyone's separate tastes!

At least regarding the wasted space i do agree with JSWolf. Maybe it does look indeed nicer but headers on each page are almost useless. For a book with some hundred pages the wasted space results in more pagebreaks and just reduces battery power without being useful.

At least regarding the wasted space i do agree with JSWolf. Maybe it does look indeed nicer but headers on each page are almost useless. For a book with some hundred pages the wasted space results in more pagebreaks and just reduces battery power without being useful.
Well said.

If a book has say 300 pages with headers and footers you will lose about 20 pages. This means 20 more page turns.

Speaking purely personally, Jon, the answer is no, I won't. I create books in a manner that I personally feel looks good. You're welcome to disagree with that, but I'm certainly not going to post versions of my books to match everyone's separate tastes!
But, in this case, you are creating LRF format eBooks for others since you won't be reading them since you no longer have a reader that handles LRF. So why not create them for the people who will actually be reading them?

I do footers but not headers. Personally, I think that's a good compromise. Footers are very useful in telling you where you are in the book. Headers I do agree with you are just space used for no useful gain.

Well, Jon, we part ways once again on style of ebooks :). I like having headers and/or footers. I tend to read 4 to 6 books at a time and I like the reminders the headers and/or footers provide. It isn't critical, but nice.

As for the "wasted" space, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I prefer ebooks with more space between elements. I find them easier to read, especially as I (and my eyes) get older. A few extra pixels doesn't hurt. :)

That perfectly illustrates the point I was trying to make, Richard; that we all have different tastes when it comes to book layout, and that it would be completely impractical to try to please everyone. All that we, as book "creators", can do, is produce books which we personally like the appearance of.

That perfectly illustrates the point I was trying to make, Richard; that we all have different tastes when it comes to book layout, and that it would be completely impractical to try to please everyone. All that we, as book "creators", can do, is produce books which we personally like the appearance of.

Well put, Harry. If you weren't my friend already, I'd put you on my friend list for that alone.

I've been working on a book to upload as a Mobi file.
I could use Book Designer to make an LRF version, but I've no real idea what the end result will look like on the device.
Would it be better to upload a source file to the 'Other Formats' section so people could make their own version, according to their own preferences?

I've been working on a book to upload as a Mobi file.
I could use Book Designer to make an LRF version, but I've no real idea what the end result will look like on the device.


Download Sony's "eBook Library" software. It has a damn-near perfect "emulation" of a Sony Reader in it, which allows you to see exactly what your book will look like on a "real" Reader.

If you use the LRF settings that I use in my BD tutorial, you won't go too far wrong, but you really do need to "preview" the book in the eBook Library software to make sure that all the chapter headings are right, and so on.

Sparrow, you could also use Calibre and that has its own LRF viewer built in.

I too make books that I like. I like both a header and a footer. Like rhadin I may have 5 or 6 books open at any one time. The extra page turns are a small price for the increased functionality.

I'm in the camp of not liking either headers or footers. Why not have an appendix? Though I'm trying to remember the last time I read a fiction novel that had footer information.

However, I'm apparently also in the minority of people that like my margins to be at 1px.

I'm in the camp of not liking either headers or footers. Why not have an appendix?

In what way does an appendix replace headers and footers? Are you perhaps confusing "footers" with "footnotes"?

Harry, it's trivial to create an LRF that has no headers/footers for those that dislike them. And it's trivial to create an LRF that has headers/footers. So why not just create both versions?

Because of how easy it is, I am going to be creating two versions. One the way I like it and one the way a lot of others like. That will make it a better reading experience as people will then have a choice of formats for what is a best fit.

All that we, as book "creators", can do, is produce books which we personally like the appearance of.

Harry, that is exactly what book designers do every day and why some pbooks are "user-friendly" and others are not. A good design enhances the reading experience. In a way, this is one of the failings of ebooks -- the benefits of good design are lost. But that will change as ebooks mature.

I read everything in landscape format in order to get bigger fonts. However, instead of each page turn click turning the page, each click turns a half page. So it ends up being double the number of clicks.

For me, I would prefer no headers or margins. That half page can't spare the half inch for the headers. But, whenever I turn it back to portrait format, I think the header makes it look more like a pbook and is pretty. I can easily ignore the header, because although the text font may be larger, the header stays tiny.

What would be really great would be if the bottom half of the page didn't waste space by dragging along the last line or two from the top half of the page.

Well, Jon, we part ways once again on style of ebooks :). I like having headers and/or footers. I tend to read 4 to 6 books at a time and I like the reminders the headers and/or footers provide. It isn't critical, but nice.

As for the "wasted" space, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I prefer ebooks with more space between elements. I find them easier to read, especially as I (and my eyes) get older. A few extra pixels doesn't hurt. :)

i completely agree with this on all points.

and as i've said before, given the battery life of e-ink, i really don't see why a few extra page turns per book should be anything to worry about.

When i create an ebook i don't care much about "beauty". I can look at my wife if i want see "beauty". The reading experience seems to be much more important: formatting, base font size, using the avalaible space so good as possible, fixing errors in the text, and so on.
I don't get it...wasting space for showing the book title on each page because a reader might want to know which ebook is open on the reader? All devices i'm aware of are able to show a "currently reading"-hint. If one thinks it's a good idea to read four or five books at a time then using bookmarks might be a good idea too. Well, i know that design is always a difficult thingy. Different people, different point of views.

Another idea: We could at least release an additional edition of each ebook formatted for people with visual impairments. Big base font sizes, no headers and no footers. Just well formatted text using as much space as possible. This would be a good thing.

What would be really great would be if the bottom half of the page didn't waste space by dragging along the last line or two from the top half of the page.

It doesn't "waste space". The Reader "paginates" books into fixed pages, and in landscape mode displays the page in two halves - first the top half, and then the bottom half. Due to the aspect ratio of the screen, however, it actually displays MORE than half a page on the screen, so there is an "overlap" between the top and bottom halves. What would you prefer should be done with that overlap region?