Orphaned end double quotes

AlexBell · 09-06-2011, 10:33 PM

I'm working on an old book to convert it into ePub for the forum. The author ended many of his character's speaches with - ". That is, the character talks for a while but does not finish the sentence.

I've tried to handle this with last word – ”

but the last none breaking space does not attach the double quote, so the double quote can end up on a line by itself. It may only happen once or twice in an ebook, but looks awful.

Any suggestions on how to make the doublequote stick to the non breaking space, so that the whole conglomeration will move together to the next line if it won't fit on a line?

Jellby · 09-07-2011, 04:18 AM

First, in those case I would use an em-dash, instead of space-en-dash-space, even if the rest of the book uses en-dashes (a trailing dash is often different from a middle dash).

Second, I wouldn't do anything special, that linebreak is a bug/feature of the rendering engine, and I don't like adding too much markup for working around bugs. You could try wrapping everything in a <span> with "white-space: nowrap", though.

AlexBell · 09-07-2011, 07:33 AM

Thanks again for your help, Jellby. I really appreciate the support you give people.

09-06-2011, 10:33 PM	#1
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Orphaned end double quotes I'm working on an old book to convert it into ePub for the forum. The author ended many of his character's speaches with - ". That is, the character talks for a while but does not finish the sentence. I've tried to handle this with last word – ” but the last none breaking space does not attach the double quote, so the double quote can end up on a line by itself. It may only happen once or twice in an ebook, but looks awful. Any suggestions on how to make the doublequote stick to the non breaking space, so that the whole conglomeration will move together to the next line if it won't fit on a line?

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09-07-2011, 04:18 AM	#2
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,516 Karma: 18512745 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	First, in those case I would use an em-dash, instead of space-en-dash-space, even if the rest of the book uses en-dashes (a trailing dash is often different from a middle dash). Second, I wouldn't do anything special, that linebreak is a bug/feature of the rendering engine, and I don't like adding too much markup for working around bugs. You could try wrapping everything in a <span> with "white-space: nowrap", though.

09-07-2011, 07:33 AM	#3
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Thanks again for your help, Jellby. I really appreciate the support you give people.