Help: epub font de-obfuscation

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by stumped

isn't there a famous x thousand year old stone or mural somewhere that no one has ever cracked the crypto for.

Linear A (Minoans) comes to mind, but it's not alone ==>> Ten Mysterious Undeciphered Codes and Inscriptions

BR

[noteon]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

All epub reading software knows how to de-obfuscate the fonts. There's no need to do it manually.

I just thought I'd throw a monkey wrench into this observation, which is true, but...

I have a large publishing client who serves up their fixed-layout epubs so people can read them in a browser. The e-reader software itself knows how to deobfuscate fonts, but the IT department's security stuff interferes with it. So I have to deobfuscate every epub I deliver to them. (That's why I ended up reading this thread.)

As usual in ebooks, nothing is the way we all know it should be.

[JSWolf]

If the ePub is being read in a browser on a large enough screen, serve up PDF instead.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by noteon

I just thought I'd throw a monkey wrench into this observation, which is true, but...

I have a large publishing client who serves up their fixed-layout epubs so people can read them in a browser. The e-reader software itself knows how to deobfuscate fonts, but the IT department's security stuff interferes with it. So I have to deobfuscate every epub I deliver to them. (That's why I ended up reading this thread.)

As usual in ebooks, nothing is the way we all know it should be.

And what is it that the IT department does to them? The ePUBs? And what process are they using to get to the obfuscated fonts in the first place? INDD?

Hitch

[noteon]

Originally Posted by Hitch

And what is it that the IT department does to them? The ePUBs? And what process are they using to get to the obfuscated fonts in the first place? INDD?

Everything starts life as an InDesign file and ends up as an enhanced epub, with read-aloud narration and highlighting, interactive popups, etc.

The IT department, near as I can tell, has draconian security measures in place that interfere with (among many other things not related to ebooks) the ability of the e-reading platform to correctly access obfuscated fonts, so the final step of every epub workflow is de-obfuscation.

The books are also not displayed as you'd expect; the covers, for instance, are served to the user by a content management system, so it probably doesn't even matter whether the epub files have covers in them.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by noteon

Everything starts life as an InDesign file and ends up as an enhanced epub, with read-aloud narration and highlighting, interactive popups, etc.

The IT department, near as I can tell, has draconian security measures in place that interfere with (among many other things not related to ebooks) the ability of the e-reading platform to correctly access obfuscated fonts, so the final step of every epub workflow is de-obfuscation.

The books are also not displayed as you'd expect; the covers, for instance, are served to the user by a content management system, so it probably doesn't even matter whether the epub files have covers in them.

So, what do you do? Re-embed the font faces used? That must get pricey, as 99%, they're using something like Adobe Fonts or Typekit or some cloud-based font subscription service....or perhaps not, since the recipient isn't, actually, receiving the file, but reading it through a window, instead? (Reading it in a browser, I mean). ???

Adobe and Typekit, Skyfonts, etc., are all well and good, but they are endlessly problematic in eBooks, they really are. Works perfectly for print, naturally--the PDF is the PDF is the PDF--but we all KNOW that eBook authors are never "finished" and if they decide to add some word like Xplgtë after the ePUB has exited the INDD export, you're screwed. (Or use some symbol from the font, or, or or. Whatever characters or glyphs have been removed due to subsetting.)

Hitch

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by noteon

Everything starts life as an InDesign file and ends up as an enhanced epub, with read-aloud narration and highlighting, interactive popups, etc.

The IT department, near as I can tell, has draconian security measures in place that interfere with (among many other things not related to ebooks) the ability of the e-reading platform to correctly access obfuscated fonts, so the final step of every epub workflow is de-obfuscation.

The books are also not displayed as you'd expect; the covers, for instance, are served to the user by a content management system, so it probably doesn't even matter whether the epub files have covers in them.

Do you actually need these embedded fonts? If it's just to look like the pBook version, then chances are you don't need them. If you don't need the embedded fonts, just remove them from the ePub.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Do you actually need these embedded fonts? If it's just to look like the pBook version, then chances are you don't need them. If you don't need the embedded fonts, just remove them from the ePub.

You've seen the code coming out of InDesign, especially Fixed Layout (every single word wrapped in its own span and absolutely placed). That stuff breaks at the drop of a needle. Taking out something as large as a font, the entire thing explodes.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

You've seen the code coming out of InDesign, especially Fixed Layout (every single word wrapped in its own span and absolutely placed). That stuff breaks at the drop of a needle. Taking out something as large as a font, the entire thing explodes.

Can't the font(s) can be taken out before the ePub is exported?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can't the font(s) can be taken out before the ePub is exported?

Well, hell, yes, Wolfie, if you want the entire thing to look like the bloody dog's breakfast. Fixed-layout ePUBs are set to the x-y coordinates, for crying out loud, word by word. Try changing the font on that sucker! Yowza.

Hitch

[noteon]

Originally Posted by Hitch

So, what do you do? Re-embed the font faces used? That must get pricey, as 99%, they're using something like Adobe Fonts or Typekit or some cloud-based font subscription service....or perhaps not, since the recipient isn't, actually, receiving the file, but reading it through a window, instead? (Reading it in a browser, I mean). ???

Adobe and Typekit, Skyfonts, etc., are all well and good, but they are endlessly problematic in eBooks, they really are. Works perfectly for print, naturally--the PDF is the PDF is the PDF--but we all KNOW that eBook authors are never "finished" and if they decide to add some word like Xplgtë after the ePUB has exited the INDD export, you're screwed. (Or use some symbol from the font, or, or or. Whatever characters or glyphs have been removed due to subsetting.)

Hitch

Yes, remove the encryption file, pull out the obfuscated fonts, drag in the non-obfuscated ones.

Ebook authors aren't part of this workflow at all; in traditional publishing houses, once the editing phase is over and production has begun, authors aren't allowed anywhere near anything at all. There's the odd exception, but it's very rare. 90% of what I do for this client is backlist, too, so the authors aren't anywhere in the picture anymore. It's straight conversion work.

[noteon]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Do you actually need these embedded fonts? If it's just to look like the pBook version, then chances are you don't need them. If you don't need the embedded fonts, just remove them from the ePub.

Yes, it's to look like the print book, which is exactly why they are needed.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by noteon

Yes, it's to look like the print book, which is exactly why they are needed.

Well...this has turned into a text version of charades, unfortunately. I mean, something this dicey can't be troubleshot from forum posts, I'm sorry to say.

Hitch

[noteon]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Well...this has turned into a text version of charades, unfortunately. I mean, something this dicey can't be troubleshot from forum posts, I'm sorry to say.

Hitch

Nothing needs troubleshooting, though. This is just the workflow. It's ridiculous from an "epub design best practices" standpoint, but it's what has to be done to get stuff displaying correctly on the client's browser-based reading system.

If you want even more shudders of horror: It doesn't even matter whether they validate.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by noteon

Yes, it's to look like the print book, which is exactly why they are needed.

In my experience, this doesn't work. While the fonts works for a print edition, they usually don't work for an eBook.