eCub/Jutoh CSS problems

[thames]

Hello all...

hopefully there's someone out there who can help with this problem!

I've been investigating creating epub and mobi files for my students and stumbled across ecub and Jutoh (the latter I really like - quick and easy), but...

when changing the CSS files I can neither change the font colour or the background cover. I've investigated the generated epub file, located the style sheet and found that it does not include the color or background-color tags. With Jutoh, for example, you can, it seems, alter the CSS by picking from a palate, or by choosing 'project properties', make a 'manual' change to the CSS file for various paragraph headings - h1, h2 etc. Changes of font itself (Courier etc and italic, bold, work - but not color!.

Has anyone any experience of this and a solution?

Cheers

[Toxaris]

I am not quite sure you can. The font color can be changed, I know that headings with Calibre has another color, but background color...

I personally fail to see the advantage for it. Another background color on my reader would be terrible to read I think.

Anyway, all programs to create ePub has advantages and also disadvantages. Full control is only possible by manual labor.

[thames]

Originally Posted by Toxaris

I am not quite sure you can. The font color can be changed, I know that headings with Calibre has another color, but background color...

I personally fail to see the advantage for it. Another background color on my reader would be terrible to read I think.

Anyway, all programs to create ePub has advantages and also disadvantages. Full control is only possible by manual labor.

Thanks. I take the point about background colour - but I'm merely thinking of using something like light grey to give added emphasis as a way of breaking up the text. Visual appeal is all to students these days, sad to say...if I could show you the text books I used as a student (similar to an ebook) and what they get these days - well, it's all singing - all dancing in comparison.

I also accept the point about writing xhtml by hand - which I can do. However 1/ Jutoh (for example) gives the option (with a colour map) to change text and background - so why does it not feed through to the generated style sheet? 2/ I also need to find a fool-proof way of other Lecturers in my institution to produce epub books - asking them to learn xhtml first is a non-starter. Hence my interest in ecub/Jutoh - OpenOffice (for example) is a non-starter to create epubs as we're married to Microsoft

[kovidgoyal]

why not just use microsoft word? see http://calibre-ebook.com/user_manual...word-documents

[thames]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

why not just use microsoft word? see http://calibre-ebook.com/user_manual...word-documents

I've thought of this one - and it would be top of the list *if* it could be run portably as a Windows app. Getting Calibre onto our network will take a good year of 'compatability' testing. Like many educational institutions we're underfunded and understaffed (and with govt spending likely to fall through the floor over the next 4/5 years that'll get worse). Lord knows why we're not using FOSS instead of the Evil Empire products that cost a fortune, but mine not to reason why...

However, I'm going to play with it myself

[kovidgoyal]

a portable version of calibre is available at portableapps.com

[thames]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

a portable version of calibre is available at portableapps.com

I've tried that - a beta version. On attempting to install it appears to require MS Visual C - for which admin permissions are needed. If it gets to a proper release by this summer then we're away!

I'm tinkering with an earlier release of calibre for Ubuntu at the mo (the latest on the repository (0.4 something?) and just about to test with a xhtml export from Word...

[kovidgoyal]

dont use 0.4.x you need at least the 0.6.x series.

[thames]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

dont use 0.4.x you need at least the 0.6.x series.

Got it - having upgraded my Ubuntu.

It produces some nice coloured fonts that I use for headings (H1, H2 etc). This is useful as none of our students use a dedicated ebook reader. Instead they mainly have Blackberries an iPhones - so the smaller screens work better with the judicious application of colour. Cheers, Kovid