How to achieve "uniformity" in the format of Kindle books?

Tomifonication · 09-25-2021, 03:02 PM

The saga continues!

Hi all,

I currently own both a Kobo Forma and a Kindle Oasis 3, as I try to determine the best eReader for me. I'm having some frustrations with the Oasis 3 however in how it displays text; in particular, paragraphs seem "free floating" and pages have gaps. I've verified this is present in all books downloaded in KFX; the issue is not present with KEPUBs on the Forma. The Forma displays text (image below) in a consistent, book-like manner.

I previously attempted to convert an AZW3 to KFX utilizing the recommended '{orphans: 1 !important; widows: 1 !important}' tweak, however this doesn't seem to have done much and widows and orphans are still present.

Images attached to illustrate my point; is there a known solution for this? I'm happy to convert via Calibre, but looking for direction of what causes this and how to resolve.

Kindle image
Kobo image

Sirtel · 09-25-2021, 03:19 PM

I sideload my books to my Oasis in the azw3 format and don't have this issue.

Edit: I remove line-spacing values from the css of a general pararaph and also any font size different than 1em (not from headings, footnotes and such, only from ordinary paragraphs). Possibly that has something to do with the gap issue.

Quoth · 09-25-2021, 04:03 PM

Though KFX may have some slight kerning improvements etc, the main reason for it is DRM. Amazon uses the same source for KF8 and KFX. It's less documented.
So use KF8 / azw3.
You can download in KF8 to by selecting PC and USB transfer.

jhowell · 09-25-2021, 04:30 PM

Elimination of widows/orphans in books converted to KFX is working for me.

Assuming that wasn't the end of a chapter, your image from the Oasis does look like the default widow/orphan handling for KFX is being performed. If so then your attempt to eliminate it using the extra CSS method is not working. Make sure that you have entered the extra CSS correctly.

If you examine a conversion log to KFX you should see the following listed under "Conversion options changed from defaults":

Code:

  extra_css: 'body {orphans: 1 !important; widows: 1 !important}'

If that is the case and the book still isn't working then you could try doing the same conversion for a public domain book and posting the resulting KFX file here so that I can examine it.

09-25-2021, 03:02 PM	#1
Tomifonication Luddite Posts: 60 Karma: 90670 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Vancouver, CA Device: Kindle Paperwhite 5	How to achieve "uniformity" in the format of Kindle books? The saga continues! Hi all, I currently own both a Kobo Forma and a Kindle Oasis 3, as I try to determine the best eReader for me. I'm having some frustrations with the Oasis 3 however in how it displays text; in particular, paragraphs seem "free floating" and pages have gaps. I've verified this is present in all books downloaded in KFX; the issue is not present with KEPUBs on the Forma. The Forma displays text (image below) in a consistent, book-like manner. I previously attempted to convert an AZW3 to KFX utilizing the recommended '{orphans: 1 !important; widows: 1 !important}' tweak, however this doesn't seem to have done much and widows and orphans are still present. Images attached to illustrate my point; is there a known solution for this? I'm happy to convert via Calibre, but looking for direction of what causes this and how to resolve. Kindle image Kobo image Last edited by Tomifonication; 09-25-2021 at 03:05 PM.

09-25-2021, 03:19 PM	#2
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,455 Karma: 239219453 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	I sideload my books to my Oasis in the azw3 format and don't have this issue. Edit: I remove line-spacing values from the css of a general pararaph and also any font size different than 1em (not from headings, footnotes and such, only from ordinary paragraphs). Possibly that has something to do with the gap issue. Last edited by Sirtel; 09-25-2021 at 03:23 PM.

09-25-2021, 04:30 PM	#4
jhowell Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,067 Karma: 91577715 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Charlottesville, VA Device: Kindles	Elimination of widows/orphans in books converted to KFX is working for me. Assuming that wasn't the end of a chapter, your image from the Oasis does look like the default widow/orphan handling for KFX is being performed. If so then your attempt to eliminate it using the extra CSS method is not working. Make sure that you have entered the extra CSS correctly. If you examine a conversion log to KFX you should see the following listed under "Conversion options changed from defaults": Code: extra_css: 'body {orphans: 1 !important; widows: 1 !important}' If that is the case and the book still isn't working then you could try doing the same conversion for a public domain book and posting the resulting KFX file here so that I can examine it.

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09-25-2021, 04:03 PM	#3
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,002 Karma: 105092227 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Though KFX may have some slight kerning improvements etc, the main reason for it is DRM. Amazon uses the same source for KF8 and KFX. It's less documented. So use KF8 / azw3. You can download in KF8 to by selecting PC and USB transfer.

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