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jbenny · 10-22-2007, 04:43 AM

I have a few questions about Digital Editions that are related to creating epub content. Since it seems that some of those "in the know" frequent this forum, I thought I'd post here.

I am trying to do a few things with an epub, beyond the simplest text formatting, but nothing too unusual. Also, what I am doing is pure CSS, no javascript.

First, I am using drop caps in my epub. The drop caps are supposed to take up exactly two lines. They display perfectly in IE6 and Firefox 2 (also the Lector plugin). In Digital Editions, they display too high, but the blank space underneath still causes the second line of text to be pushed right.

An example of the HTML for a drop cap:
<p class="first"><span class="dropcap">I</span> ... </p>

The relevant part of the stylesheet:
p.first { text-indent: 0; }
span.dropcap { float: left; font-size: 3em; line-height: 0.5em; padding-top: 0.12em; padding-bottom: 0.1em; }

Second, I am using CSS popups to define words in-line with the text. The method I am using is documented here: http://psacake.com/web/jl.asp. Again, this works great in IE6, Firefox 2 and the Lector plugin. In Digital Editions, the word shows with the proper background color. When you mouseover, the color changes as it should (although it takes 4 seconds). However, the popup never pops up.

The last question is one of navigation within a document. If I have a hyperlink in an epub, I can click on it and Digital Editions will jump to the target page. However, I can find no "back" button, or equivalent. What I want to do here is to allow you to click on a word and jump to the glossary, which would have more extensive information than the popup. This could also be of great use for endnotes.

I realize that Digital Editions isn't a web browser, but if I am allowed to click on a link to get somewhere, the program should have a "back" button as well. Otherwise, I have to code up a way to return to where I was, which makes things very difficult. If there is a "back" feature and I missed it somehow, please tell me about it.

I know that some may think that I'm trying to do too much with an ebook, but these things I am trying to do aren't very complicated CSS, and they greatly improve the look and usability of an epub ebook. My understanding is that these types of things should be supported by the epub specification.

If it's simply a matter of Digital Editions not yet being fully compliant with the specification, that's ok, but I would like to know that, so I can look forward to a new version.

Thanks to anyone who has some useful input on all of this.

10-22-2007, 04:43 AM	#1
jbenny Addict Posts: 323 Karma: 358 Join Date: May 2007 Device: Tablet PC and Nokia N800	Adobe Digital Editions - questions I have a few questions about Digital Editions that are related to creating epub content. Since it seems that some of those "in the know" frequent this forum, I thought I'd post here. I am trying to do a few things with an epub, beyond the simplest text formatting, but nothing too unusual. Also, what I am doing is pure CSS, no javascript. First, I am using drop caps in my epub. The drop caps are supposed to take up exactly two lines. They display perfectly in IE6 and Firefox 2 (also the Lector plugin). In Digital Editions, they display too high, but the blank space underneath still causes the second line of text to be pushed right. An example of the HTML for a drop cap: <p class="first"><span class="dropcap">I</span> ... </p> The relevant part of the stylesheet: p.first { text-indent: 0; } span.dropcap { float: left; font-size: 3em; line-height: 0.5em; padding-top: 0.12em; padding-bottom: 0.1em; } Second, I am using CSS popups to define words in-line with the text. The method I am using is documented here: http://psacake.com/web/jl.asp. Again, this works great in IE6, Firefox 2 and the Lector plugin. In Digital Editions, the word shows with the proper background color. When you mouseover, the color changes as it should (although it takes 4 seconds). However, the popup never pops up. The last question is one of navigation within a document. If I have a hyperlink in an epub, I can click on it and Digital Editions will jump to the target page. However, I can find no "back" button, or equivalent. What I want to do here is to allow you to click on a word and jump to the glossary, which would have more extensive information than the popup. This could also be of great use for endnotes. I realize that Digital Editions isn't a web browser, but if I am allowed to click on a link to get somewhere, the program should have a "back" button as well. Otherwise, I have to code up a way to return to where I was, which makes things very difficult. If there is a "back" feature and I missed it somehow, please tell me about it. I know that some may think that I'm trying to do too much with an ebook, but these things I am trying to do aren't very complicated CSS, and they greatly improve the look and usability of an epub ebook. My understanding is that these types of things should be supported by the epub specification. If it's simply a matter of Digital Editions not yet being fully compliant with the specification, that's ok, but I would like to know that, so I can look forward to a new version. Thanks to anyone who has some useful input on all of this.