Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
I change the indents to 1.2em if they are not already. I drop line-height as that interferes with the line-height slider on my Kobo. I also make sure the base font sizes are all the same. Like offset text being smaller. I use the default font size. I drop the margins so I can use the margin slider correctly. I fix the excess chapter space. I make offset text spacing consistent. I drop any unused CSS. I remove most <p class="someunneededclass"> into just <p>. And there is more. But if you know what you are doing, it doesn't take too long.
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I never have to change indents manually, since they are all changed during the conversion (which takes a few seconds per file).
I also change the space above and below the chapter names. 3em above and 2em below. I often have to do this manually, but I have a styling entry for the class "chapter" that does this during the conversion.
I don't use Kobo, and I don't want the lines scrunched together (too close to each other), so making sure the line-height is set to 1.2 is very important.
I also make sure the base font size is the same--and usually a little smaller for the offset texts.
I add space to the left and right margins (30px each) because I can't stand to read text that touches each side of the reader. I want my ePub files to look the way physical books look (when reading).
The conversion automatically deletes any unused CSS, so there's no need to do that manually.
I always use a class for <p>. It makes no sense to use just <p>.
In many cases, I make many various changes, so that's why I decided to automate most of it. And it has saved me tons of time. When I open a book in the editor, most everything that needs to be fixed was fixed during the conversion (which takes a few seconds for each book normally).
I make other manual changes to the cover image when the size is too big or it's not centered. I use a macro to add the class name and height and width of 100% each to the CSS file. I make other manual changes to the TOC, when needed, and I'll fix any other page that needs fixing that didn't get fixed during the conversion. The conversion fixes many of the basic things, which saves a ton of time, when you're fixing many books.
I use ADE to read ePub files, because my laptop sits on my lap, and I only have to hit one key to go to the next page. I can switch to my browser or email or anything at any time, so it's much more convenient than using a little gadget. I use my network and a batch file to copy finished ePubs to my laptop, so it's quick to open any book in ADE, with no need to hook up a little gadget to a USB port or charge the little gadget's battery or have to hold the little gadget while reading.
When I fix books, I drag them into Calibre, and when done fixing, I copy them back to the original folders on my hard drive. Fixing books is the only reason I use Calibre, since my library is all categorized on my hard drive on my desktop computer (and then certain books are copied to my laptop when I'm ready to read them).