Can't split at chosen point

dkplayaclub · 05-10-2015, 09:24 AM

I like to edit my epubs with Calibre so that chapters, or the beginning of short stories in collections, always start on their own page. It just makes reading and bookmarking all that much easier.
I came across an odd issue on one of my books last night though. In the editor i pick the split tool, but the green line that represents where the split would go does not show up in the place I want to split. What would cause this? Is there a workaround, or another way to force a split?
Also, is splitting the epub repeatedly as I have been doing not even the best way to do this? Any input would be helpful. I am pretty new to this.

kovidgoyal · 05-10-2015, 09:27 AM

That will happen if there is no block level tag like a paragraph/heading/div etc at the point you want to split. For example if your book consists of just one long paragraph of text separated by <br> tags. In such a case you will need to insert some tags manually before splitting.

dkplayaclub · 05-10-2015, 12:37 PM

Thank you for your reply, @kovidgoyal. So, is there some generic code I can insert into the html file where I want to create a split? I honestly don't know enough to make any edits like this unless it's pretty much copy/paste.

eschwartz · 05-10-2015, 02:04 PM

Read this, it might help: EPub Tutorial

You will need to fix the ebook so it uses

Code:

<p>This is what a paragraph looks like.</p>

dkplayaclub · 05-10-2015, 06:16 PM

OK. I would be lying if i said I understood any more than the very basics of this. Reading that entire article really only served to confuse me even further.
Could I maybe send the file in question to someone for editing? Then at least I could maybe compare the two to see what has changed.
Better yet, is there an editor that is more GUI based rather than code? I don't have an analytical brain and long strings of code just make my head want to explode, unless it's an easily repeatable process I can get comfortable with.

eschwartz · 05-10-2015, 06:29 PM

You could try Sigil. IIRC, Sigil includes a tool to mark split points, it might work better for use.

dkplayaclub · 05-10-2015, 07:00 PM

Wow. OK. I tried sigil and it has a "split at cursor" button, which works just great.
Kind of a shame though, as I have been able to use Calibre for just about everything up until this point.
Maybe something to look into adding in future updates?

theducks · 05-10-2015, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkplayaclub

Wow. OK. I tried sigil and it has a "split at cursor" button, which works just great.
Kind of a shame though, as I have been able to use Calibre for just about everything up until this point.
Maybe something to look into adding in future updates?

Sigil used to (ALSO) only allow file splits between (block type)tags

Working in the GUI, you could break a line, but sometimes this introduced odd effects

dkplayaclub · 05-10-2015, 08:59 PM

I could see how that could be an issue. Am I correct in my understanding that Sigil is no longer being developed?
Either way, I was able to do what I wanted. I would like to say that I only ask about it being a possible future addition to Calibre because I love Calibre so much. I would rather see it added to the software I love than to have to use another software that won't be as good overall.

eschwartz · 05-10-2015, 09:10 PM

Sigil is still being developed, but it should be noted that contributions are on an as-offered basis.
Currently @KevinH has been spending quite some time doing a considerable amount of work on Sigil. If and when he is satisfied, there is no guarantee he will stick around.

The only person guaranteed to continue focusing on Sigil is @user_none, who operates in management-only position -- he hosts Sigil, controls what features get added, and accepts other peoples' contributions, but has no time to focus on adding anything himself.

I can see this kind of capability in Sigil, it is within the purview of a WYSIWYG editor.
calibre expects users to work strictly in the code, and automated munging of the XHTML in order to split at arbitrary locations will most likely not happen.

Although... calibre's editor supports plugins, which could perform all sorts of automated hackery that won't be supported in calibre itself.

BetterRed · 05-11-2015, 01:18 AM

@dkplayaclub - what do you use to author the chapters, short stories - likely as not you can do things there that will make life easy in any and all EPUB editors.

As theducks recently wrote elsewhere - he has more than one spanner in his toolbox -- me too, and several screwdrivers, hammers, drills, saws... crow bars?!. He uses Sigil and the calibre-editor, as do I. In one instance (spell checker) he prefers the one in the calibre editor whilst I prefer the one in Sigil - a case of horses for courses.

What could be more WYSIWYG that clicking a button, then sliding a Green Bar in the Preview panel to where you want the split. Typically before a chapter of start of a short story. That's how I do splits in the calibre-editor. Is there another way?

BR

jbacelar · 05-11-2015, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

What could be more WYSIWYG that clicking a button, then sliding a Green Bar in the Preview panel to where you want the split. Typically before a chapter of start of a short story. That's how I do splits in the calibre-editor. Is there another way?

Yes.

Editing E-books — calibre User Manual. Splitting HTML files:
You can also split a single HTML file at multiple locations automatically, by right clicking inside the file in the editor and choosing Split at multiple locations. This will allow you to easily split a large file at all heading tags or all tags having a certain class and so on.

BetterRed · 05-11-2015, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbacelar

Yes.

Editing E-books — calibre User Manual. Splitting HTML files:
You can also split a single HTML file at multiple locations automatically, by right clicking inside the file in the editor and choosing Split at multiple locations. This will allow you to easily split a large file at all heading tags or all tags having a certain class and so on.

@jbacelar

Curious - was that in early versions, I learnt the Preview panel way very early. But now I do recall seeing the XPATH way and deciding "I don't need to learn that". I only do splits occasionally, for a friend with an ancient reader.

BR

theducks · 05-11-2015, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbacelar

Yes.

Editing E-books — calibre User Manual. Splitting HTML files:
You can also split a single HTML file at multiple locations automatically, by right clicking inside the file in the editor and choosing Split at multiple locations. This will allow you to easily split a large file at all heading tags or all tags having a certain class and so on.

Sometimes tools get resharpened or re-purposed (I've been known to take a flame-wrench to fit a tool into the space available

) after my last inventory

dkplayaclub · 05-11-2015, 01:18 PM

I am not by any means against using multiple pieces of software to do what I need. It's just so much more convenient to have an all-in-one solution.
Besides the occasional spelling correction, I don't usually do all that much to my epub files other that chapter splits, creating or improving the table of contents, or turning the contents page(s) from plain text to actual links.
I am not the type to deal in code. I think it's not that it's "too complicated", but rather it's just one of those "left brained/right-brained" sort of things. For my purposes, it's all about simplicity.

Great community here, BTW. I never expected so much response, but I obviously appreciate it immensely.

05-10-2015, 09:24 AM	#1
dkplayaclub Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3	Can't split at chosen point I like to edit my epubs with Calibre so that chapters, or the beginning of short stories in collections, always start on their own page. It just makes reading and bookmarking all that much easier. I came across an odd issue on one of my books last night though. In the editor i pick the split tool, but the green line that represents where the split would go does not show up in the place I want to split. What would cause this? Is there a workaround, or another way to force a split? Also, is splitting the epub repeatedly as I have been doing not even the best way to do this? Any input would be helpful. I am pretty new to this.

05-10-2015, 02:04 PM	#4
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Read this, it might help: EPub Tutorial You will need to fix the ebook so it uses Code: <p>This is what a paragraph looks like.</p> Last edited by eschwartz; 05-10-2015 at 02:07 PM.

05-10-2015, 09:10 PM	#10
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Sigil is still being developed, but it should be noted that contributions are on an as-offered basis. Currently @KevinH has been spending quite some time doing a considerable amount of work on Sigil. If and when he is satisfied, there is no guarantee he will stick around. The only person guaranteed to continue focusing on Sigil is @user_none, who operates in management-only position -- he hosts Sigil, controls what features get added, and accepts other peoples' contributions, but has no time to focus on adding anything himself. I can see this kind of capability in Sigil, it is within the purview of a WYSIWYG editor. calibre expects users to work strictly in the code, and automated munging of the XHTML in order to split at arbitrary locations will most likely not happen. Although... calibre's editor supports plugins, which could perform all sorts of automated hackery that won't be supported in calibre itself. Last edited by eschwartz; 05-10-2015 at 09:13 PM.

05-11-2015, 01:18 AM	#11
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,661 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@dkplayaclub - what do you use to author the chapters, short stories - likely as not you can do things there that will make life easy in any and all EPUB editors. As theducks recently wrote elsewhere - he has more than one spanner in his toolbox -- me too, and several screwdrivers, hammers, drills, saws... crow bars?!. He uses Sigil and the calibre-editor, as do I. In one instance (spell checker) he prefers the one in the calibre editor whilst I prefer the one in Sigil - a case of horses for courses. What could be more WYSIWYG that clicking a button, then sliding a Green Bar in the Preview panel to where you want the split. Typically before a chapter of start of a short story. That's how I do splits in the calibre-editor. Is there another way? BR Last edited by BetterRed; 05-11-2015 at 01:23 AM.

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05-10-2015, 09:27 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,252 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	That will happen if there is no block level tag like a paragraph/heading/div etc at the point you want to split. For example if your book consists of just one long paragraph of text separated by <br> tags. In such a case you will need to insert some tags manually before splitting.

05-10-2015, 12:37 PM	#3
dkplayaclub Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3	Thank you for your reply, @kovidgoyal. So, is there some generic code I can insert into the html file where I want to create a split? I honestly don't know enough to make any edits like this unless it's pretty much copy/paste.

05-10-2015, 06:16 PM	#5
dkplayaclub Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3	OK. I would be lying if i said I understood any more than the very basics of this. Reading that entire article really only served to confuse me even further. Could I maybe send the file in question to someone for editing? Then at least I could maybe compare the two to see what has changed. Better yet, is there an editor that is more GUI based rather than code? I don't have an analytical brain and long strings of code just make my head want to explode, unless it's an easily repeatable process I can get comfortable with.

05-10-2015, 06:29 PM	#6
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	You could try Sigil. IIRC, Sigil includes a tool to mark split points, it might work better for use.

05-10-2015, 07:00 PM	#7
dkplayaclub Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3	Wow. OK. I tried sigil and it has a "split at cursor" button, which works just great. Kind of a shame though, as I have been able to use Calibre for just about everything up until this point. Maybe something to look into adding in future updates?

05-10-2015, 08:59 PM	#9
dkplayaclub Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3	I could see how that could be an issue. Am I correct in my understanding that Sigil is no longer being developed? Either way, I was able to do what I wanted. I would like to say that I only ask about it being a possible future addition to Calibre because I love Calibre so much. I would rather see it added to the software I love than to have to use another software that won't be as good overall.

05-11-2015, 01:18 PM	#15
dkplayaclub Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3	I am not by any means against using multiple pieces of software to do what I need. It's just so much more convenient to have an all-in-one solution. Besides the occasional spelling correction, I don't usually do all that much to my epub files other that chapter splits, creating or improving the table of contents, or turning the contents page(s) from plain text to actual links. I am not the type to deal in code. I think it's not that it's "too complicated", but rather it's just one of those "left brained/right-brained" sort of things. For my purposes, it's all about simplicity. Great community here, BTW. I never expected so much response, but I obviously appreciate it immensely.

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