Is there a way to edit EPUB or Mobi files such that the Quotes are in BOLD?

[lidao]

i dont know if theres a program or calibre related script where i can simply edit my epub files or mobi files (i will convert anyway) so when characters in the novel are talking: "insert talking here" it shows as "insert talking here"

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by lidao

i dont know if theres a program or calibre related script where i can simply edit my epub files or mobi files (i will convert anyway) so when characters in the novel are talking: "insert talking here" it shows as "insert talking here"

You could replace “ with <b>“ and replace ” with ”</b>.

“Insert talking here.” would become <b>“Insert Talking here.”</b>.

As for editing Mobi, forget it. It's too much of a hassle. You can use Calibre to edit DRM free KF8. If you need to know how to remove DRM, go to https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com to get the DeDRM plugin for Calibre and ask for any help you need with it.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by lidao

so when characters in the novel are talking: "insert talking here" it shows as "insert talking here"

I'm very interested to hear why you're doing this. I've been toying around with a similar concept for a few years, although I've been highlighting pieces of sentences different colors.

This is a very rough Regex to do what you want:

Search: (“[^”<]+”)
Replace: <b>\1</b>

which turns this:

<p>This is a “test and a test” and some “more.”</p>
<p>“Wow,” Alice said, “that works!”</p>

into this:

<p>This is a <b>“test and a test”</b> and some <b>“more.”</b></p>
<p><b>“Wow,”</b> Alice said, <b>“that works!”</b></p>

Note: This requires proper Smart (“Curly”) Quotes.

If your book has "Dumb Quotes", you have to run it through a punctuation smartener first.

In Calibre, it can be found under Convert Books > Convert Individually > Look & Feel > Text > Smarten punctuation.

In Sigil, you could use DiapDealer's fantastic plugin, "PunctuationSmarten".

Alternate #1: Instead of using <b> for bold, you could always use a normal span:

Search: (“[^”<]+”)
Replace: <span class="dialogue">\1</span>

with this CSS:

span.dialogue {
	font-weight: bold;
}

Alternate #2: Or, if you're working in EPUB3, you can use HTML5's <mark> to highlight words:

Search: (“[^”<]+”)
Replace: <mark class="dialogue">\1</mark>

You can change the highlighted color (default yellow) with this CSS:

mark.dialogue {
	background-color: orange;
}

Note #2: All those searches are based on clean and basic text. If there's any sort of brackets in the middle (like italics <i>), it won't work.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

I'm very interested to hear why you're doing this. I've been toying around with a similar concept for a few years, although I've been highlighting pieces of sentences different colors.

Tex, you know I love you, but, as a reader, so help me God, if I received an eBook from Amazon or wherever, and the dialogue was either in bold, or some other color, not only would I spew and return the godawful thing, but I would complain to Amazon, et al, VERY LOUDLY.

If someone is making a book for the visually impaired, or there's some compelling reason to do this, for a SINGLE reader (person), great. But for commercial consumption?

Man, to me, WORST IDEA EVER. It's right up there with these (insert derogatory term here) who think that narrative paragraphs and dialogue paragraphs should somehow be formatted differently, with dialogue block-style and narrative first-line indent. The point of formatting, in a book/eBook, for fiction, is that it allows the reader to forget they're reading, to allow them to be lost in the suspension of disbelief. Not to remind them every other goddamned line that they're reading a book. How distracting that would be, I should think!

My vote? NO.

May I ask, snookums, what you're thinking, in terms of use case?

Hitch

[exaltedwombat]

I'm quite content to see the rule about a new paragraph for every quoted speech dying out though. White space is over-rated in an eBook.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by exaltedwombat

I'm quite content to see the rule about a new paragraph for every quoted speech dying out though. White space is over-rated in an eBook.

Sorry, do you mean for the same speaker or different?

H

[JSWolf]

I'd like to see the OP try to bold the speech in a Cormac McCarthy eBook.

[exaltedwombat]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Sorry, do you mean for the same speaker or different?

H

Different. You never had to do it for the same speaker, did you?

I'm seeing a trend to group by conversation, not by person. Yes, I know it's 'wrong'. My grandfather, with his life 'in the print' is probably turning in his grave (Hi! Dad!). But I'm quite in favour.

Apparently the rule about whether the full stop goes inside or outside a closing parenthesis (when the clause in parentheses isn't the entire sentence) has changed too.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Tex, you know I love you, but, as a reader, so help me God, if I received an eBook from Amazon or wherever, and the dialogue was either in bold, or some other color, not only would I spew and return the godawful thing, but I would complain to Amazon, et al, VERY LOUDLY.

Strong agree. DO NOT use bold/marked-up dialogue in a commercially sold book.

Originally Posted by Hitch

If someone is making a book for the visually impaired, or there's some compelling reason to do this, for a SINGLE reader (person), great.

Strong agree. I would only use this for personal use only.

I probably should've put warnings or more NOTES all up in my post... but I thought it was pretty noted up already!

Originally Posted by Hitch

May I ask, snookums, what you're thinking, in terms of use case?

Which is why I asked the question in my first post.

I'd be interested in what exactly lidao is intending to use bold dialogue for.

Complete Side Note: I have my own similar use-cases, but I don't want to derail this entire topic though. My use-cases have to do with:

• separating the dialogue tag from the dialogue
• technical statistics/analysis
  
  • How much of a book is dialogue?
• color-coding to help visually proof OCR
  
  • Here's a little taste: Highlighted EPUB image + PDF image.
    
  • <blockquote>s, page breaks, and no-indents all got their own colors.
    

Anyone who's interested, PM me.

Originally Posted by exaltedwombat

Apparently the rule about whether the full stop goes inside or outside a closing parenthesis (when the clause in parentheses isn't the entire sentence) has changed too.

Can you show me some of this? I'd be very interested to read about this rule changing.

To my knowledge:

Logical Punctuation (punctuation sometimes outside) is used in British-style + technical writing.

American-style (punctuation always inside) is used across the board, with rare edge cases of punctuation outside (such as bibliographies or article titles).

Note: I wrote a little bit about this in my Post #16 "Punctuation rules of thumb?".

[exaltedwombat]

Originally Posted by Tex2002ans

Can you show me some of this? I'd be very interested to read about this rule changing.

To my knowledge:

Logical Punctuation (punctuation sometimes outside) is used in British-style + technical writing.

American-style (punctuation always inside) is used across the board, with rare edge cases of punctuation outside (such as bibliographies or article titles).

Note: I wrote a little bit about this in my Post #16 "Punctuation rules of thumb?".

Oh, it's American useage? That would explain it. Another case of you lot messing around with my language :-)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by exaltedwombat

Oh, it's American useage? That would explain it. Another case of you lot messing around with my language :-)

Actually, a bunch of your people came over to America and brought the language with them and then they decided it needed improving so they improved it. Leaving the language not nearly as good back home.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by exaltedwombat

Oh, it's American useage? That would explain it. Another case of you lot messing around with my language :-)

American usage has always been, period, comma, inside the quotes at the end of the passage, even if the period or comma is not part of the originally-quoted material. Brit usage and by extension, CAN and AUS, is outside.

Been that way for dog's years.

Hitch

[exaltedwombat]

Originally Posted by Hitch

American usage has always been, period, comma, inside the quotes at the end of the passage, even if the period or comma is not part of the originally-quoted material. Brit usage and by extension, CAN and AUS, is outside.

Been that way for dog's years.

Hitch

It's a strange, illogical change, and no 'simpler' or 'easier'. I wonder how it happened?

I'm always amused by a culture that can't tolerate the silent e in 'Theatre' but completely changes the sound of 'Kansas' by putting 'Ar' in front of it :-)
(Yes, I know the justification. But wouldn't the American way be to rationalise it over time?)

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by exaltedwombat

It's a strange, illogical change, and no 'simpler' or 'easier'. I wonder how it happened?

I'm always amused by a culture that can't tolerate the silent e in 'Theatre' but completely changes the sound of 'Kansas' by putting 'Ar' in front of it :-)
(Yes, I know the justification. But wouldn't the American way be to rationalise it over time?)

Actually, we did it just to piss off the Brits, amirite? ("Those goddamn rebels, they can't do anything right!")

Hitch

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Hitch

American usage has always been, period, comma, inside the quotes at the end of the passage, even if the period or comma is not part of the originally-quoted material. Brit usage and by extension, CAN and AUS, is outside.

Not sure about AUS but Canadian usage tends to allow using either. Just be consistent.