ePub and top margin specification

[tompe]

I tested three Wodehouse books here done by Jellby (The Man Upstairs, Uneasy Money and The Man with Two Left Feet). All of them was missing a @page specification which lead to no top margin on my Gen3 and the top line being shadowed. To fix this I added in the css file:

  @page { margin-top: 2ex; margin-bottom: 1ex }

That at least solved the problem with the top margin and no new problem occurred with the bottom margin.

So it would be very good if all ePub uploaded here contained a @page specification. Maybe that could be added in the instructions? The exact values to use could be debated but it should be at least one line. Maybe 1ex is enough but I think 2ex looks better.

It seem that the PRS-900 also have problems with shadows (see another thread at MR).

[netseeker]

I want to second that suggestion, each eBook should have at least little margins. Even without shadows by the surrounding screen frame, it's a common problem that characters are hard to read if spaced too closely to the edges of the display.

Margins shouldn't be too big by default and the user should be able to overwrite the css style easily if necessary. Using @page seems to be the correct solution.

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by tompe

So it would be very good if all ePub uploaded here contained a @page specification. Maybe that could be added in the instructions? The exact values to use could be debated but it should be at least one line. Maybe 1ex is enough but I think 2ex looks better.

I agree that there should be some margin, but I'm not sure it should be specified in the book. I hope in some near future the readers will let the user set the margins to his liking, and then hardcoded margins will be a problem.

The Cybooks already set default left and right margins (which can't be changed), the absence of top margin can be considered as a bug in the reader, and I see the @page margins you suggest as a workaround for this bug. I am reluctant to include a workaround for a specific reader (which can be detrimental in the future) in all uploads, just as I was reluctant to include "text-align: justify" in my books, and the new firmware has confirmed I was "right"

EDIT: Anyway, if you are going to add default @page margins, I'd suggest adding side margins too... and I wouldn't have margins in font-dependent units, I'd better have absolute units (mm, pt).

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Jellby

I agree that there should be some margin, but I'm not sure it should be specified in the book. I hope in some near future the readers will let the user set the margins to his liking, and then hardcoded margins will be a problem.

And pigs will fly...

I do not agree. User specified margins should override the ones specified in the file. And if that do not happens we can just wait for the fix. Until then it is best to be prepared for this and specify margins so the files works properly on all readers.

The Cybooks already set default left and right margins (which can't be changed), the absence of top margin can be considered as a bug in the reader, and I see the @page margins you suggest as a workaround for this bug.

I wonder if this is true since the left and right margins can vary a lot between documents if it is not specified in a @page.

EDIT: Anyway, if you are going to add default @page margins, I'd suggest adding side margins too... and I wouldn't have margins in font-dependent units, I'd better have absolute units (mm, pt).

I thought about that. I wanted to have the distance to be around two lines of the body font because the visual appearance will be better (looking less cramped using large fonts). But maybe ex and em is not working at all.

[JSWolf]

I prefer no margins. It's not an issue with my 505. But then again, give that ePub is easy to edit, it's not much of an issue.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I prefer no margins. It's not an issue with my 505. But then again, give that ePub is easy to edit, it's not much of an issue.

It would be much easier to edit with a script if there always was a @page specification...

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by tompe

I do not agree. User specified margins should override the ones specified in the file. And if that do not happens we can just wait for the fix. Until then it is best to be prepared for this and specify margins so the files works properly on all readers.

Yes, like justification...