Libra 2 ignoring widows/orphans

Phssthpok · 02-27-2023, 09:52 AM

My nice new Libra 2 displays pages of quite widely varying length on any book I read. I have put "widows:1; orphans:1;" in the CSS for <body> in one of the books to see if this fixes it, but it doesn't. All my books are EPUBs.

The device seems to be using 3 as the value for both -- a 4-line para gets shifted in its entirety onto the next page, for example. The effect is quite jarring; I always feel like I'm at the end of a chapter when I read one of the short pages (21 lines rather than the normal 24 at the font size I'm using) and then I turn the page to discover that there's more...

Is there anything else I can do to stop this happening?

JSWolf · 02-27-2023, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phssthpok

My nice new Libra 2 displays pages of quite widely varying length on any book I read. I have put "widows:1; orphans:1;" in the CSS for <body> in one of the books to see if this fixes it, but it doesn't. All my books are EPUBs.

The device seems to be using 3 as the value for both -- a 4-line para gets shifted in its entirety onto the next page, for example. The effect is quite jarring; I always feel like I'm at the end of a chapter when I read one of the short pages (21 lines rather than the normal 24 at the font size I'm using) and then I turn the page to discover that there's more...

Is there anything else I can do to stop this happening?

This is the CSS code I use. It works because I make sure there are no other widows and orphans in the CSS code. Also, some eBooks have multiple CSS and I make sure there's none there as well.

Code:

body {
  widows: 1;
  orphans: 1;
  margin-top: 0;
  margin-right: 0;
  margin-bottom: 0;
  margin-left: 0;
  text-align: justify;
}

Sirtel · 02-27-2023, 10:45 AM

There is an option in Kobo eReader.conf (.kobo/kobo) on a Kobo that will ignore widows/orphans with epubs. This can be overridden in the CSS. But if you remove all widows and orphans from CSS or set them to 1, this should work.

Code:

[Reading]
readingAdobeOrphans=1
readingAdobeWidows=1

You can edit the conf file with Notepad.

Phssthpok · 02-27-2023, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is the CSS code I use. It works because I make sure there are no other widows and orphans in the CSS code. Also, some eBooks have multiple CSS and I make sure there's none there as well.

Code:

body {
  widows: 1;
  orphans: 1;
  margin-top: 0;
  margin-right: 0;
  margin-bottom: 0;
  margin-left: 0;
  text-align: justify;
}

I have checked, double-checked and triple-checked. There are no other widows/orphans definitions anywhere. Something else must be going on.

Phssthpok · 02-27-2023, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

There is an option in Kobo eReader.conf (.kobo/kobo) on a Kobo that will ignore widows/orphans with epubs. This can be overridden in the CSS. But if you remove all widows and orphans from CSS or set them to 1, this should work.

Code:

[Reading]
readingAdobeOrphans=1
readingAdobeWidows=1

You can edit the conf file with Notepad.

And at a stroke, the problem is solved. You are indeed a grand sorcerer, sir.

Incidentally, is there any documentation anywhere for all these mysterious config options? I'm intrigued as to what other possible values there might be in settings like e.g. "LastLibraryViewType_author=viewBy5List()". The widows/orphans options are not listed in https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kob...ration_Options, for example

Sirtel · 02-27-2023, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phssthpok

Incidentally, is there any documentation anywhere for all these mysterious config options? I'm intrigued as to what other possible values there might be in settings like e.g. "LastLibraryViewType_author=viewBy5List()".

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kob...ration_Options

Phssthpok · 02-27-2023, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kob...ration_Options

Yes, but I don't see the widows/orphans settings you gave me anywhere there... Where did you discover those?

Sirtel · 02-27-2023, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phssthpok

Yes, but I don't see the widows/orphans settings you gave me anywhere there... Where did you discover those?

I had the same problem as you a while back (after an update) and someone here posted this solution.

I think there's also a patch for it, but I've never used it. I do use a heap of other patches, though. They've improved the reading experience a lot for me. Take a look at them. You can do many things with patching.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=350805

JSWolf · 02-27-2023, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

There is an option in Kobo eReader.conf (.kobo/kobo) on a Kobo that will ignore widows/orphans with epubs. This can be overridden in the CSS. But if you remove all widows and orphans from CSS or set them to 1, this should work.

Code:

[Reading]
readingAdobeOrphans=1
readingAdobeWidows=1

You can edit the conf file with Notepad.

Notepad++ as it keeps the correct line endings.

Sirtel · 02-27-2023, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Notepad++ as it keeps the correct line endings.

I've never had an issue with the ordinary Notepad.

JSWolf · 02-27-2023, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I've never had an issue with the ordinary Notepad.

I've not used Notepad in years. Notepad++ is just so much better and it respects Linux line endings.

Phssthpok · 02-27-2023, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've not used Notepad in years. Notepad++ is just so much better and it respects Linux line endings.

I use both Textpad and Notepad++. Each has a few features the other is missing.

JSWolf · 02-27-2023, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phssthpok

I use both Textpad and Notepad++. Each has a few features the other is missing.

Yes, either will work.

DrChiper · 02-28-2023, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

There is an option in Kobo eReader.conf (.kobo/kobo) on a Kobo that will ignore widows/orphans with epubs. This can be overridden in the CSS. But if you remove all widows and orphans from CSS or set them to 1, this should work.

Code:

[Reading]
readingAdobeOrphans=1
readingAdobeWidows=1

Thats a great find

I had recently the same issue, but solved it in the CSS itself, so it also works on other devices:

Code:

body {
  font-family: serif;
  margin: 0 1%;
  orphans: 1;
  widows: 1;
}
p, div {
  font-size: 1em;
  text-align: justify;
  orphans: 1;
  widows: 1;
}

JSWolf · 02-28-2023, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrChiper

Thats a great find

I had recently the same issue, but solved it in the CSS itself, so it also works on other devices:

Code:

body {
  font-family: serif;
  margin: 0 1%;
  orphans: 1;
  widows: 1;
}
p, div {
  font-size: 1em;
  text-align: justify;
  orphans: 1;
  widows: 1;
}

You don't need widows and orphans any other place in the CSS but body. Also, you don't need a font size of 1em. 1em is the default font size. And you don't need justify except in body. And don't use % for a margin as it changes based on the screen/window size.

02-27-2023, 09:52 AM	#1
Phssthpok Age improves with wine. Posts: 576 Karma: 95229 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kindle Oasis, Kobo Libra II	Libra 2 ignoring widows/orphans My nice new Libra 2 displays pages of quite widely varying length on any book I read. I have put "widows:1; orphans:1;" in the CSS for <body> in one of the books to see if this fixes it, but it doesn't. All my books are EPUBs. The device seems to be using 3 as the value for both -- a 4-line para gets shifted in its entirety onto the next page, for example. The effect is quite jarring; I always feel like I'm at the end of a chapter when I read one of the short pages (21 lines rather than the normal 24 at the font size I'm using) and then I turn the page to discover that there's more... Is there anything else I can do to stop this happening? Last edited by Phssthpok; 02-27-2023 at 09:55 AM.

02-27-2023, 10:45 AM	#3
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,466 Karma: 239219453 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	There is an option in Kobo eReader.conf (.kobo/kobo) on a Kobo that will ignore widows/orphans with epubs. This can be overridden in the CSS. But if you remove all widows and orphans from CSS or set them to 1, this should work. Code: [Reading] readingAdobeOrphans=1 readingAdobeWidows=1 You can edit the conf file with Notepad.

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