iBooks Night Mode Overriding CSS

zephyrmays · 02-24-2013, 06:51 PM

Is there a way define a CSS stylesheet for an epub viewed on iBooks 3.0 in night mode?

I've tried all the permutations of the Night Vision Style Set Tags as defined in Appendix B found here http://idpf.org/epub/altss-tags/, but with no luck.

There are a few black backgrounds defined in the regular stylesheet that I need to set alternate colors for when the iDevice is in night mode.

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops">
	<head>
		<meta charset="utf-8" /> 
		<title>
			SECTION 1 Part B Avionics 
		</title>
		<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/formatting.css" class="day" title="Day"/>
		<link rel="alternate stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/formatting_night.css" class="night"/>

	</head>
	<body>
        ...
	</body>
</html>

Also, is there any developer reference for Apple's iBooks? I cannot find much documentation...

Regards,

Zephyr

Toxaris · 02-25-2013, 02:45 AM

As far as I know that is only supported in ePUB3, so you might want to ensure that your ePUB is ePUB3. Then again there is no garantuee it will work. The actual reader has to support it.

There is a developer reference I think, I seem to recall there are links to it in some posts around here.

dgatwood · 02-25-2013, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zephyrmays

Is there a way define a CSS stylesheet for an epub viewed on iBooks 3.0 in night mode?

I don't think so; night mode is just like any other set of reader style overrides; as a rule, you pretty much have to assume that the reader is going to override certain styles when people specify those modes, and make sure that text doesn't suddenly become invisible with judicious use of !important.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zephyrmays

I've tried all the permutations of the Night Vision Style Set Tags as defined in Appendix B found here http://idpf.org/epub/altss-tags/, but with no luck.

It might be worth filing a feature request bug over at bugreport.apple.com. It requires you to create a free developer account.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zephyrmays

There are a few black backgrounds defined in the regular stylesheet that I need to set alternate colors for when the iDevice is in night mode.

You could always do something subtle like setting the background to #101010 or something so that it looks basically like black in normal mode, but looks like a dark grey in night mode.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zephyrmays

Also, is there any developer reference for Apple's iBooks? I cannot find much documentation...

If you decide to distribute through the iBookstore, then yes. After you sign up for an iTunes Connect account (http://www.apple.com/itunes/content-.../book-faq.html), you should gain access to the iBookstore Asset Guide.

Otherwise... well, there are various copies floating around, all of which seem to be badly out of date. *sigh*

JSWolf · 02-25-2013, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zephyrmays

Is there a way define a CSS stylesheet for an epub viewed on iBooks 3.0 in night mode?

I've tried all the permutations of the Night Vision Style Set Tags as defined in Appendix B found here http://idpf.org/epub/altss-tags/, but with no luck.

This is not a bug. It's Apple doing things their way. A lot of iBooks is non-standard. Filing a bug report is going to be a waste of your time.

zephyrmays · 02-25-2013, 05:19 PM

I appreciate the feed back.

in addition to not implementing the alternate stylesheets iaw the ipdf spec, iBooks night mode also disregards

Code:

background: <color>

and

Code:

!important

statements.

I've got an email into the iBookstore team, who's referred my questions about night mode to the technical folks. Here's to hoping they have a workaround, or tell me I was just doing it wrong along with an example of how to do it correctly.

JSWolf · 02-26-2013, 08:53 AM

Night mode is already an override of whatever color is on screen anyway. So it's logical to think it will override your color choices.

Jellby · 02-26-2013, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Night mode is already an override of whatever color is on screen anyway. So it's logical to think it will override your color choices.

But if there's nothing in the book that sets the colour of the main text, then nothing is overriding anything, and night mode could be applied above or below (in priority) the book styles.

JSWolf · 02-26-2013, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

But if there's nothing in the book that sets the colour of the main text, then nothing is overriding anything, and night mode could be applied above or below (in priority) the book styles.

A lot of eBooks created from Word documents have the text set as black. So if iBooks didn't override the color choices, then you'd get black on back.

Jellby · 02-26-2013, 11:16 AM

Shame on book creators then. What I mean is that it's not necessary for a "night mode" to override anything. iBooks does? fine then, that's their choice, but it could have been done otherwise. No method is perfect, though, whatever the choice, it will fail in some cases, work in others.

zephyrmays · 02-26-2013, 11:26 AM

As a little background, my epub is completely hand coded with no extraneous coding. Every line, css rule, file has a purpose, and 100% conforms to the ePub 3.0 spec.

Jellby · 02-26-2013, 12:54 PM

You are in my team then, and you'd probably like an ebook reader that plays nicely with your book. Unfortunately, most ebook readers out there are not designed for well-coded ebooks, but for real-world (often non-compliant) ebooks.

zephyrmays · 02-26-2013, 01:18 PM

WARNING: Soapbox follows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

Unfortunately, most ebook readers out there are not designed for well-coded ebooks, but for real-world (often non-compliant) ebooks.

And that is the worst part. I understand e-readers (hardware and software) are limited by the design choices their creators make, but at least publish what those limitations are, what parts of the spec are supported, and fully disclose the proprietary features and behaviors (and how to use them!) so we as authors can target our content take full advantage of each platform.

End soapbox.

JSWolf · 02-26-2013, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zephyrmays

As a little background, my epub is completely hand coded with no extraneous coding. Every line, css rule, file has a purpose, and 100% conforms to the ePub 3.0 spec.

But, iBooks does not conform 100% to any ePub spec.

zephyrmays · 02-26-2013, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But, iBooks does not conform 100% to any ePub spec.

I understand that, but see my comment above. It would be nice to have some guidance about what is and isn't supported from the e-reader makers.

JSWolf · 02-26-2013, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zephyrmays

I understand that, but see my comment above. It would be nice to have some guidance about what is and isn't supported from the e-reader makers.

I agree. But with iBooks, what works and what doesn't work can can change from release to release. Say a bug get s fixed that you had a workaround for. That workaround might not work any longer.

02-25-2013, 05:19 PM	#5
zephyrmays Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: iPad/iPhone	I appreciate the feed back. in addition to not implementing the alternate stylesheets iaw the ipdf spec, iBooks night mode also disregards Code: background: <color> and Code: !important statements. I've got an email into the iBookstore team, who's referred my questions about night mode to the technical folks. Here's to hoping they have a workaround, or tell me I was just doing it wrong along with an example of how to do it correctly.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Odyssey Anyone using Night-Mode?	DuckieTigger	Bookeen	2	01-28-2012 12:13 PM
help with night mode	golfgirl	Kobo Tablets	5	11-04-2011 10:40 AM
Overriding CSS ".articledescription"	miwie	Recipes	6	01-18-2011 11:30 AM
Is there a night mode?	zeroh	Nook Color & Nook Tablet	5	12-04-2010 10:24 AM

02-24-2013, 06:51 PM	#1
zephyrmays Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: iPad/iPhone	iBooks Night Mode Overriding CSS Is there a way define a CSS stylesheet for an epub viewed on iBooks 3.0 in night mode? I've tried all the permutations of the Night Vision Style Set Tags as defined in Appendix B found here http://idpf.org/epub/altss-tags/, but with no luck. There are a few black backgrounds defined in the regular stylesheet that I need to set alternate colors for when the iDevice is in night mode. Code: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <title> SECTION 1 Part B Avionics </title> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/formatting.css" class="day" title="Day"/> <link rel="alternate stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/formatting_night.css" class="night"/> </head> <body> ... </body> </html> Also, is there any developer reference for Apple's iBooks? I cannot find much documentation... Regards, Zephyr

02-25-2013, 02:45 AM	#2
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	As far as I know that is only supported in ePUB3, so you might want to ensure that your ePUB is ePUB3. Then again there is no garantuee it will work. The actual reader has to support it. There is a developer reference I think, I seem to recall there are links to it in some posts around here.

02-26-2013, 08:53 AM	#6
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,931 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Night mode is already an override of whatever color is on screen anyway. So it's logical to think it will override your color choices.

02-26-2013, 11:16 AM	#9
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,516 Karma: 18512745 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	Shame on book creators then. What I mean is that it's not necessary for a "night mode" to override anything. iBooks does? fine then, that's their choice, but it could have been done otherwise. No method is perfect, though, whatever the choice, it will fail in some cases, work in others.

02-26-2013, 11:26 AM	#10
zephyrmays Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: iPad/iPhone	As a little background, my epub is completely hand coded with no extraneous coding. Every line, css rule, file has a purpose, and 100% conforms to the ePub 3.0 spec.

02-26-2013, 12:54 PM	#11
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,516 Karma: 18512745 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	You are in my team then, and you'd probably like an ebook reader that plays nicely with your book. Unfortunately, most ebook readers out there are not designed for well-coded ebooks, but for real-world (often non-compliant) ebooks.