[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by 1eduard

Which browser is the best to read EPUB files? (my browser says that it doesn't support them!)

Use Windows/Mac?

• Adobe Digital Editions (ADE)

It's an actual EPUB-reader program...

but nothing beats testing on an actual, physical ereader. (A Kobo, Nook, [Kindle], etc.)

Why Test Using Actual Devices? The devices are a lot more strict + a lot less lenient compared to browsers.

While you're messing with different:

• margins
• fonts
• font sizes
• rotation
• [...]

you may run across bugs/issues that ADE/browsers don't show.

(For example, some older ereaders would throw away all CSS if you had the tiniest error inside. Browsers may trick you into thinking everything is perfect, ignoring just that broken line.)

Use Android/iOS? If you only have a cellphone/tablet, then you can use a standards-compliant EPUB reader:

• On Android
  
  • PocketBook Reader
    
  • Gitden Reader
    
    • This was one of my favorites, but sadly, the creator ran into health problems. Older version APKs are still floating around though.
      
• On iOS
  
  • iBooks
    
    • Although this is closer to a browser (letting many things slide compared to actual ereaders).
• Still want to use a browser? (Chrome/Firefox/Edge)
  
  • Thorium Reader
    
    • Again, while this follows much of the latest EPUB standards, it is very lenient compared to older ereaders.

Originally Posted by 1eduard

What do I need to know about HTML using Sigil?

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

Really.

Just keep your HTML+CSS very simple, building yourself up step-by-step... and you can guarantee it'll work across devices + not break.

For your typical book, all you'll really need is basic HTML:

• <h1> -> <h6> = Headings
  
  • Used for Part/Chapter Titles
• <p> = Paragraphs
• <blockquote> = Long quotes

then, for CSS, you'll need is a handful of simple CSS classes:

• First paragraphs
  
  • With no indent.
• Scenebreak
  
  • Centered Asterisks.
• Occasional Canter/Right-aligned text
• [...]

Example HTML:

Spoiler:

<h1>Chapter 1</h1>

<p class="first">This is an example first sentence.</p>

<p class="scenebreak">* * *</p>

<p class="first">And the beginning of a new scene.</p>

<p>Today, it was a dark and stormy night.</p>

Example CSS:

Spoiler:

h1, h2, h3, h4 {
	text-align: center;
	text-indent: 0;
}

p {
	margin-top: 0;
	margin-bottom: 0;
	line-height: 1.2em;
	text-align: justify;
	text-indent: 2em;
}

p.first {
	text-indent: 0;
}

p.scenebreak {
	text-align: center;
	margin-top: 1em;
	margin-bottom: 1em;
}

If you want more basic CSS/Styles info, please see my posts in:

• 2020: "eBook Formatting in Sigil"
  
  • Specifically Posts #46, 50, 52.

And like others said, MR's EPUB Library is a good place to look. Open up ebooks and see how they work.

* * *

Side Note: If you want an example EPUB, see this 2021 book published by FEE (Foundation for Economic Education):

• "Homeschooling in the Time of COVID-19" by Kerry McDonald

That HTML+CSS is pretty much what I've used across all 600+ ebooks I've worked on.

(I only do extremely minor tweaks here and there if needed.)

* * *

A lot of the other stuff is just thinking about all the different ways users may be reading your ebooks. For example:

• Don't specify black text, because some users read in Night Mode.
  
  • Black background + forced black text = bad time.
• Don't do images of tables! Use HTML <table>s!
  
  • Text-to-Speech can't read images of tables.
• Don't use images of foreign characters! Use the actual Unicode characters!