How to alter empty lines thickness and indents

[Arkadian]

Hi there,

I am inserting some empty lines here and there using <br> (crude? perhaps, but I know no better ). This is needed especially when dealing with lists as converting from docx (from LO) to epub they all seem to get a git too crammed. However a full line is a bit too much. Can I insert something like 1/2 or 3/4 line?

The same with indents... I have created an inline ToC within Calibre (the one created using LO got all messed up and got tired wasting time on it), but would like to reduce the indents. Is there an easy way?

TIA

[theducks]

IMHO
It is time to learn some basic HTML and CSS

Assigning a unique set of styling to these problem blocks

margin-top: .75em;
and/or
margin-bottom: .75em;
adjust those margins to 75% of the current font (scales with the viewer zoom)

text-indent: adjusts the indent

I use em values to allow scaling rather than fixed dimensions

[Arkadian]

Originally Posted by theducks

IMHO
It is time to learn some basic HTML and CSS

You are quite right... but I was hoping I wold be able to do it simply altering the existing css... It would take me some time to get the basics (I would think)

[DrChiper]

Time spend on learning is a sound investment for the future. Google can be your friend, and there are of course plenty books for studying.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Arkadian

You are quite right... but I was hoping I wold be able to do it simply altering the existing css... It would take me some time to get the basics (I would think)

Most CSS for basic e-book use is butt-simple (compared to a web page) :

class="some_name" is where the real styling work is done


Find some books in the MR Library (3 men in a boat is advanced stuff)
Look at the code for what you like

find the class name in the CSS
fiddle with a SINGLE attribute value and note what happens in the Live Preview pane.

Borrow code snippets from PD/open sources (CSS in other books my be covered by copyrights if using for other than you personal enjoyment)

HTMLdog has good tutorials (remember. Not all CSS applies to EPUB)

[Arkadian]

Not quite as easy as all that...

1) the varying thickness of empty lines is not always needed (I think there is a problem with LO in the way it deals with this kind of stuff... it has been driving me demented), so I would need a solution that I can apply on an ad hoc basis

2) I am not sure where the indents for the ToC are defined... The only thing I can adjust using the existing css is the first indent. The others seem to be preset. I know they must be set somewhere, but couldn't find where...

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Arkadian

1) the varying thickness of empty lines is not always needed (I think there is a problem with LO in the way it deals with this kind of stuff... it has been driving me demented), so I would need a solution that I can apply on an ad hoc basis

@Arkadian - are you using LO Styles & Formatting, My rules of thumb for DOCX, include NO Tabs and NO blank paragraphs and use Styles/Formatting for vertical spacing and horizontal alignment?

BR

[Arkadian]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

@Arkadian - are you using LO Styles & Formatting, My rules of thumb for DOCX, include NO Tabs and NO blank paragraphs and use Styles/Formatting for vertical spacing and horizontal alignment?

BR

Yes, indeed you are right (or at least I think so...). Over time I have changed many things trying to use "styles and formatting", but even then it doesn't always work. Even within the docx itself there are instances where I cannot get what I want in random places, as if there is some underlying style I cannot get rid of.
One example is the blasted ToC. I just canNOT get it to work and I have given up on that (but now I am using the one graciously included in calibre )
Another one is the headings... there are times when they just do what the bl°°dy like

Said that, no... lists have not been defined using S&F, but I don't want to do it now, because I am already deep in correcting the epub and wouldn't want to have to start afresh Instead I just want to get rid of this blasted ebook

[JSWolf]

My solution... don't use Word at all. Use a good text editor like Notepad++. Use text markup to denote styles and other formatting you want. Then import into Sigil and work from there. You'll have very clean code that does what you want.

But since you are into editing the ePub, what I do with a Word sourced ePub that's full of crud is to start off by getting rid of the crap in the CSS and then to clean up the styles so you don't need different styles to do the same thing. Also, go through the text and get rid of any unneeded spans and other garbage from Word. Save often and keep backups. Make the code as clean as you possibly can as that will help you should you need/want to edit anything. Going through all those msonormal type styles is a pain. And then there is the rather long list of fonts and colors and other junk that you can get. keep at it and get rid of anything that's not needed and you will win the battle.