Titlepage/Cover AND Text Justification

totallis · 12-02-2014, 08:27 AM

Hi guys. I'll try and keep this as brief as possible.
I have a number of books I manage through Calibre in epub format.
I understand there is a difference between cover image embedded into the epub itself, and the cover image specified in metadata.

Many of my books, although I have successfully embedded the correct cover image into the epub, nevertheless display different images (often of the second or third page of the book) as their cover or book preview (in the menu).
Worth noting also, is that when I open these books on the Ereader itself.. they always OPEN ON THAT VERY PAGE, not the cover I have specified. Wheras, in the epubs that seem to have a working cover... the book opens right on that very cover page as correct.

If I look into the code of the file, I can see the 'false cover' page is headed up as 'title page'. Any correlation?

SECOND ISSUE.
How do I strip justification from an EPUB entirley? Even when converting in calibre and I tell it to CHANGE the justification, it makes no difference on the outcome.

Hope you can help!

GeoffR · 12-02-2014, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by totallis

Hi guys. I'll try and keep this as brief as possible.
I have a number of books I manage through Calibre in epub format.
I understand there is a difference between cover image embedded into the epub itself, and the cover image specified in metadata.

Many of my books, although I have successfully embedded the correct cover image into the epub, nevertheless display different images (often of the second or third page of the book) as their cover or book preview (in the menu).
Worth noting also, is that when I open these books on the Ereader itself.. they always OPEN ON THAT VERY PAGE, not the cover I have specified. Wheras, in the epubs that seem to have a working cover... the book opens right on that very cover page as correct.

If I look into the code of the file, I can see the 'false cover' page is headed up as 'title page'. Any correlation?

The book will open at whatever page is first in the toc.ncx file. You might need to add the cover page to the toc.ncx if the publisher has chosen to start the book somewhere else.

Edit: I should also warn you that if you make changes to the toc.ncx, you should delete the original book from the device before resending the altered book, otherwise the database will still contain the TOC from the old book and strange things can happen when you open the book.

(Since you are using Calibre, you might want to send the covers directly to the device instead of letting the device generate the cover page from the first page of the book. You can do that by customising the KoboTouch device plugin and ticking the "Upload covers for books" box. The advantage is that you won't get the white border caused by the book margins, and the cover and thumbnail images will generally be higher quality. You can also replace covers for books already on the device without re-sending the book by using the KoboUtilities plugin, but note that you might need to turn the device off and on again before the new covers will show up.)

Quote:

SECOND ISSUE.
How do I strip justification from an EPUB entirley? Even when converting in calibre and I tell it to CHANGE the justification, it makes no difference on the outcome.

For most books you can edit the book in Calibre and just delete all text-align: justify; lines from the CSS stylesheet. This will cause the book to be left-justified by default, but also allow the device's justification button to change it to full justification if you want.

totallis · 12-02-2014, 10:30 AM

Thank you Wizard GeoffR.
I'll try that out now! I'll report back.

totallis · 12-02-2014, 10:51 AM

So wait, can I just check.
The book will open to whatever is specified in the toc.ncx

What if I don't have one of those files? o_0

totallis · 12-02-2014, 11:50 AM

Okay a quick update. Having properly used the Kobo plugin, I have now fixed the Cover Page issue. Thanks for that information.

However, on the second issue... I have gone through a couple of my books removing any lines of "text-align". There were about 8 or 9... is that normal?

In any case, having put the newly converted version with those changes onto the Kobo.. it had made no difference :/ Any ideas? I cant switch the justification

totallis · 12-02-2014, 12:02 PM

Okay. I worked this one out.
After I took out all of the text-align entries.. I converted it again to EPUB and even though I told the conversion to keep the alignment to 'original' it still changed it all back to justify/centre. So this time, i took out all of the alignment references AFTER converting... Seems the best way of doing it at the moment.

Is there a file somewhere that I'm not aware of which is determining all of these settings outside of the code that I can see and edit?

davidfor · 12-02-2014, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by totallis

Okay. I worked this one out.
After I took out all of the text-align entries.. I converted it again to EPUB and even though I told the conversion to keep the alignment to 'original' it still changed it all back to justify/centre. So this time, i took out all of the alignment references AFTER converting... Seems the best way of doing it at the moment.

Is there a file somewhere that I'm not aware of which is determining all of these settings outside of the code that I can see and edit?

You are probably hitting one of the things people miss when you do a second conversion. The first conversion to the same type copies the format to an "ORIGINAL_xxxx" file. All future conversions use that file as the source. So, when you first did an EPUB-to-EPUB conversion, an the ORIGINAL_EPUB was created. All later conversions use this as the source file. And any edits you make in the epub after the conversion are lost when you do another conversion.

JSWolf · 12-02-2014, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by totallis

Okay a quick update. Having properly used the Kobo plugin, I have now fixed the Cover Page issue. Thanks for that information.

However, on the second issue... I have gone through a couple of my books removing any lines of "text-align". There were about 8 or 9... is that normal?

In any case, having put the newly converted version with those changes onto the Kobo.. it had made no difference :/ Any ideas? I cant switch the justification

You want to be careful. You do want "text-align: center" and "text-align: right". You can remove "text-align: justify" and "text-align: left".

totallis · 12-03-2014, 07:47 AM

Thanks for both of your replied. Very informative. I had no idea it was re-converting the ORIGINAL epub. So that makes sense why it was happening.

Regarding what JSWolf said, I'm not entirley clear on what you mean.. but I deleted ALL references to "align" and it seems to have done the trick.

BY THE WAY, another question if you please... you guys seem to be kobo experts...

On some book Kobo is able to detect chapter breaks and give me a count down on how many pages left until chapter finished... OTHER BOOKS.. only count to the whole end of the book.

I've tried editing the table of contents in calibre, by collapsing ALL of the chapter headings.. but it appears this has done nothing to help. Any hints guys? I find this tool quite useful to use.. and I miss not having it.

davidfor · 12-03-2014, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by totallis

Thanks for both of your replied. Very informative. I had no idea it was re-converting the ORIGINAL epub. So that makes sense why it was happening.

Regarding what JSWolf said, I'm not entirley clear on what you mean.. but I deleted ALL references to "align" and it seems to have done the trick.

In some places the alignment is important. Generally, if justify is used, then it is because the book creator likes that as a style. But using center or right is probably used to show something. For example, a letter included in the text might have the date at the top right aligned.

Quote:

BY THE WAY, another question if you please... you guys seem to be kobo experts...

On some book Kobo is able to detect chapter breaks and give me a count down on how many pages left until chapter finished... OTHER BOOKS.. only count to the whole end of the book.

I've tried editing the table of contents in calibre, by collapsing ALL of the chapter headings.. but it appears this has done nothing to help. Any hints guys? I find this tool quite useful to use.. and I miss not having it.

That's a kepub vs epub thing. Kobo has two different reader applications. Kepubs are read with one and allow per-chapter page numbering with an option to have per book numbering. epubs are read with the other and only have per book numbering. If you have purchased a book from Kobo and downloaded it directly, it is a kepub. If you want to use kepubs for sideloaded books, use calibre and the extended driver to sideload them. This will do the conversion to kepub as it is sent to the device.

totallis · 12-03-2014, 03:30 PM

Wonderful. I'll try this out for the Kepubs. Thanks so much for your tips.

Just lastly, on the PAGE SETUP output settings under conversion on calibre... is it worth putting it to 'Kobo Reader' or shall I go with Default Output Profile?

It seems to change the output resolution etc, but I'm not certain to what extent it makes a difference or matters generally? Sorry for my english.

davidfor · 12-03-2014, 07:56 PM

The main thing the output profile sets is the maximum size for images. Anything larger than the sitting in the profile will be resized to this. I recommend using the "Tablet" profile as this does not resize the images and it lets the device do it when you are reading. And it means you don't need to redo the conversion if you get a higher resolution device.

JSWolf · 12-03-2014, 07:59 PM

Only remove justification if it is left or justify. Otherwise you will change the justification of content that is supposed to be either centered or right justified.

totallis · 12-04-2014, 01:47 PM

Thank you both for your advice. Very helpful.
So output profile only affects resolution/sizes of images? And not text itself?
I wanted to aim for best quality text possible!

12-02-2014, 08:27 AM	#1
totallis Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	Titlepage/Cover AND Text Justification Hi guys. I'll try and keep this as brief as possible. I have a number of books I manage through Calibre in epub format. I understand there is a difference between cover image embedded into the epub itself, and the cover image specified in metadata. Many of my books, although I have successfully embedded the correct cover image into the epub, nevertheless display different images (often of the second or third page of the book) as their cover or book preview (in the menu). Worth noting also, is that when I open these books on the Ereader itself.. they always OPEN ON THAT VERY PAGE, not the cover I have specified. Wheras, in the epubs that seem to have a working cover... the book opens right on that very cover page as correct. If I look into the code of the file, I can see the 'false cover' page is headed up as 'title page'. Any correlation? SECOND ISSUE. How do I strip justification from an EPUB entirley? Even when converting in calibre and I tell it to CHANGE the justification, it makes no difference on the outcome. Hope you can help!

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12-02-2014, 10:30 AM	#3
totallis Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	Thank you Wizard GeoffR. I'll try that out now! I'll report back.

12-02-2014, 10:51 AM	#4
totallis Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	So wait, can I just check. The book will open to whatever is specified in the toc.ncx What if I don't have one of those files? o_0

12-02-2014, 11:50 AM	#5
totallis Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	Okay a quick update. Having properly used the Kobo plugin, I have now fixed the Cover Page issue. Thanks for that information. However, on the second issue... I have gone through a couple of my books removing any lines of "text-align". There were about 8 or 9... is that normal? In any case, having put the newly converted version with those changes onto the Kobo.. it had made no difference :/ Any ideas? I cant switch the justification

12-02-2014, 12:02 PM	#6
totallis Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	Okay. I worked this one out. After I took out all of the text-align entries.. I converted it again to EPUB and even though I told the conversion to keep the alignment to 'original' it still changed it all back to justify/centre. So this time, i took out all of the alignment references AFTER converting... Seems the best way of doing it at the moment. Is there a file somewhere that I'm not aware of which is determining all of these settings outside of the code that I can see and edit?

12-03-2014, 07:47 AM	#9
totallis Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	Thanks for both of your replied. Very informative. I had no idea it was re-converting the ORIGINAL epub. So that makes sense why it was happening. Regarding what JSWolf said, I'm not entirley clear on what you mean.. but I deleted ALL references to "align" and it seems to have done the trick. BY THE WAY, another question if you please... you guys seem to be kobo experts... On some book Kobo is able to detect chapter breaks and give me a count down on how many pages left until chapter finished... OTHER BOOKS.. only count to the whole end of the book. I've tried editing the table of contents in calibre, by collapsing ALL of the chapter headings.. but it appears this has done nothing to help. Any hints guys? I find this tool quite useful to use.. and I miss not having it.

12-03-2014, 03:30 PM	#11
totallis Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	Wonderful. I'll try this out for the Kepubs. Thanks so much for your tips. Just lastly, on the PAGE SETUP output settings under conversion on calibre... is it worth putting it to 'Kobo Reader' or shall I go with Default Output Profile? It seems to change the output resolution etc, but I'm not certain to what extent it makes a difference or matters generally? Sorry for my english.

12-03-2014, 07:56 PM	#12
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	The main thing the output profile sets is the maximum size for images. Anything larger than the sitting in the profile will be resized to this. I recommend using the "Tablet" profile as this does not resize the images and it lets the device do it when you are reading. And it means you don't need to redo the conversion if you get a higher resolution device.

12-03-2014, 07:59 PM	#13
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,998 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Only remove justification if it is left or justify. Otherwise you will change the justification of content that is supposed to be either centered or right justified.

12-04-2014, 01:47 PM	#14
totallis Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura	Thank you both for your advice. Very helpful. So output profile only affects resolution/sizes of images? And not text itself? I wanted to aim for best quality text possible!

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