tweak font sizes

[cybmole]

what/where do i tweak in preferences so that conversion font sizes use 1.1, 1.2 and 0.9, 0.8 for larger/smaller, in place of the strange default fractions with their 5 decimal paces of precision? (1.29... 0.7794.... ).
i know that they come from fractions like 13/11 but I'd rather see simple 10% scalings.

I am happy with the default size, just want to tweak the larger/smaller variants

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by cybmole

what/where do i tweak in preferences so that conversion font sizes use 1.1, 1.2 and 0.9, 0.8 for larger/smaller, in place of the strange default fractions with their 5 decimal paces of precision? (1.29... 0.7794.... ).
i know that they come from fractions like 13/11 but I'd rather see simple 10% scalings.

I am happy with the default size, just want to tweak the larger/smaller variants

If you change your Base font size to 10 you might end up with prettier numbers for font sizes within your converted book.

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

If you change your Base font size to 10 you might end up with prettier numbers for font sizes within your converted book.

ok but will that affect how normal text appears a) in sigil book view, b) on sony e-reader ?
& base font size appears to be zero at present ??? ( default ? )

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by cybmole

ok but will that affect how normal text appears a) in sigil book view, b) on sony e-reader ?
& base font size appears to be zero at present ??? ( default ? )

The following could be way off base, but I think it is in the ballpark.

The base font size can't be 0pt. It states that the default base font size is based on the output profile you select. I don't know what that translates to.

If I recall correctly the base font size with my Sony PRS-505, a 6 inch screen, as the output profile was 12pt. 12pt = 1em, 16pt = 1.33em etc...

That said, 10pt might be smaller than you experience now but the multipliers for the fonts size should be nice even tenths 10pt = 1em, 12pt = 1.2em, 15pt = 1.5em etc... If OCD requires nice numbers then give 10pt a try, otherwise just stop looking in your CSS.

[cybmole]

QUOTE The base font size can't be 0pt. UNQUOTE

Well i go calibre - preferences - common options - 1st screen entry is base font size & it shows 0.0pts in the data box - I swear I've never messed with that.
I can add a screen grab if I'm not believed.

and if I click on "restore defaults" it stays at 0pts !

in the font key wizard it says that if base font size is 0, then output profile values will be used buy when I look at output options - epub I see nothing relevant ???

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

The following could be way off base, but I think it is in the ballpark.

The base font size can't be 0pt. It states that the default base font size is based on the output profile you select. I don't know what that translates to.

If I recall correctly the base font size with my Sony PRS-505, a 6 inch screen, as the output profile was 12pt. 12pt = 1em, 16pt = 1.33em etc...

That said, 10pt might be smaller than you experience now but the multipliers for the fonts size should be nice even tenths 10pt = 1em, 12pt = 1.2em, 15pt = 1.5em etc... If OCD requires nice numbers then give 10pt a try, otherwise just stop looking in your CSS.

that is v plausible but where is that output profile hidden - I suspect it is only visible when you rerun the welcome wizard - I've searched through all the preference screens & can't find it

[PeterT]

I'd always assumed the Wizard set Preferences | Conversion | Common Options | Page Setup - Output profile.

And from a quick experiment it would seem to be the case.

[cybmole]

you win

hiding output profile inside of page setup , which is already 3 screens deep, was a cunning move

[cybmole]

If I recall correctly the base font size with my Sony PRS-505, a 6 inch screen, as the output profile was 12pt. 12pt = 1em, 16pt = 1.33em etc..

well even though I am now at the output profile page & have selected sony , all I see is page margin settings - I don't see that 12pt value anywhere on this screen

& back on the look and feel page, how do I see/edit the default font size key settings - all I see is a blank box & the wizard wand ?

PS I though I'd once read the explanation of how those CSS em values with 5 decimal places get generated : 0.7794... 1.29 something, but despite searching forum and doing lots of fractions to decimal conversions in my head I can't set up any fraction that gives those values - iried 10/12, 11/13, 12/14 etc.... someone remind please or link to thread

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by cybmole

well even though I am now at the output profile page & have selected sony , all I see is page margin settings - I don't see that 12pt value anywhere on this screen

There is no place that tells you what the default font is for any output profile. For the Sony I came to the conclusion that it was 12pt after examining the css from many conversions. The fractions I came across were .75, .83333, 1, 1.25, 1.33 which equated to 9pt, 10pt, 12pt, 15pt, 16pt or 9/12, 10/12, 12/12, 15/12, 16/12 etc... It has been many years since I have done any mass conversions.

If you want to set the Base font go to the Look & Feel section of the Conversion preferences and set it to whatever suits your fancy. As I stated previously 10pt should give you numbers that suit your fancy.

[cybmole]

thanks. I added some half steps to my spreadsheet & I now thnk that the strange numbers which bug me most are from 9.5/12 (0.79167), and from 15.5/12 (1.29167)
i searched for actual examples in my library but I seem to have tweaked them all out of existence. Next time I have a source with those values in I will comment more . Pretty sure I have seen them in retail /library loan books so not sure if they are generated by publishers or by calibre conversions.
maybe it is when a publisher creates the master in some other format then uses adobe tools to make the epub, with the annoying extra xpgt templates?

I was hoping to automate conversion of the case where I see 1.29... in calibre base font, then 0.77... in all the body text css fontss ( result is 1.0 because they cancel out. mostly )

[cybmole]

a fresh, just purchased, example - the book is Cory Dotcrow's little brother from the latest humble bundle (drm free).
after epub to epub conversion I see in css: ( for chapter number & several other entries) font-size: 1.29167em; ( where the original download had x-large)

so how are the default calibre options generating that fraction , which is 15.5/12

surely I should be able to see both the 15.5 and the 12 somewhere in preferences

the 15.5 must be in some (invisible? ) default font size key ?

can I keep the (invisible) base font size of 12pt , but use values like 13.2, 14.4 in font key so that I get font sizes of 1.1em, 1.2em from the conversion ? i.e. is there any restriction on decimal places in font size key...

.... seem that YES I can do that, so I will probably tweak my default conversion options along those lines.

[cybmole]

back to this again - I have a source which uses "small", "large" in font sizes.

small converts to font-size: 0.77419em; large to 1.29167 ( =15.5/12)
but if 0.77419=x/12, then x = 9.29028 which makes no sense at all ???

it seems like my specified font key is being ignored, so what ( hidden) default values can create both of 0.77419 and 1.29167 from "small" and "large"

I tried setting the font key as per my previous experiments so that it should come out in even 10ths after conversion

i.e. base size 12 , eg 9.6 10.8 12 12 13.2 14.4... but can't get it to work. i wonder if in the current version of calibre there is a bug ?


also, the font rescaling wizard seems broken, whatever 2 input values you supply the answer is always will map to 0.0pts!

testing that hypothesis:
test 1- restore all conversion defaults i.e. font key is blank, base value is zero - gives the same strange fractions as above
test 2- set a key of 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 with a base of 10 - so everything should flatten... well now I see a lot of 0.833333 (=10/12) and a guest appearance from our favourite 1.29167 (=15.5/12)! that key should have set all font sizes to 1em, surely ?. So something is forcing the base font size to 12 and ignoring the set value of 10, and some other bit of code is pulling 15.5 out of thin air ?
test 3: base size 10 key 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12- gives lots of 0.83333 ? - so maybe it's noticed the 10 & is doing 10/12 ?
test 4: base size 12, key 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 - gives - wait for it - well finally I am expecting to see lots of font size 1.0em in the converted CSS but in fact I see lots of 0.77419

I give up

and to confirm once again - the source has no numeric font sizes, except for a single 0.9 in body style at all - it only has small x-small and large in the CSS.
sample follows:
body
{
line-height : 1.3em;
font-size: 0.9em
}

h1.part-number {
font-size: large;
margin-top: 15%;
margin-bottom: 1em;
text-align: center;
text-indent: 0em;
font-family: sans-serif;
}

p { display: block;
font-size: small;
margin-top: 0em;
margin-bottom: 0em;
margin-left: 0em;
margin-right: 0em;
text-indent: 20pt;
}

[jackie_w]

I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you, but do the various font-sizes in the output css become more predictable if you remove the font-size: 0.9em from the input body{} css (or change to font-size: 1em) and convert with a base size of 12pt?

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you, but do the various font-sizes in the output css become more predictable if you remove the font-size: 0.9em from the input body{} css (or change to font-size: 1em) and convert with a base size of 12pt?

They probably would but it is a tedious thing to test, so I am hoping to hear from the coder(s) and to hear whether others think the wizard is broken.

I do know that a few versions back I was able to create a custom key and see font sizes of 0.9. 1.0 1.1 etc in the converted book . I then set that up within default preferences and had not touched it since - only the calibre versions have changed.