Sigil’s Future Direction (Post 0.4.x)

[Giggleton]

At the moment I use Sigil to cut and paste sections from multiple ebooks into one ebook, cookbooks and such. more WYSIWYG would be good for me.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by crutledge

According to that line of thinking, no font would be used in Sigil and nothing could be read unless a font is speified in the file.

Having to reset the font size for each section is a PITA.

Some things should be global iaw the user's desires.

Hunh? Charlie, what are you talking about? I certainly don't reset the fontsize for each section...?? Can you clarify?

Hitch

[user_none]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

On plugin language: I vote for python
One reason that you may not have considered is that using python means that plugin authors can re-use modular code from calibre to do various tasks.

This, and my own familiarity, are exactly why Python is my first choice.

[GeneS]

My main use of Sigil is to:
1. Correct errors in spelling or OCR
2. Structure / restructure the format of the book to something that is more pleasing (to me). That usually involves adding or modifying the TOC, Chapter headings, margins, adding a cover image, etc.

Most of my work is done in the html and css files, using WYSIWYG to check my work. I do edit in WYSIWYG if the change is simple (e.g., centering or bolding a single short phrase or word.

Perhaps it's already there and I'm not aware of it, but the ability to "simply" insert a CSS file to the book when one is missing and then have Sigil do all the necessary references in the html, opf and ncx files would be very helpful. I occasionally run into a book without a css file and all of the <style> information in the individual html files.

Thanks to you and all who have made Sigil such a useful tool. It has made working with epub files so much easier. I'll add my vote for plugins. Keep up the great work.

[theducks]

@GeneS (AKA Howdy Doodey)

Except for the most basic CSS (that applies to standard HTML tags), there is a little more smarts needed once a CSS is added to the Manifest (book Browser).
Someone has to add some Class to the Tags

[Jabby]

Originally Posted by user_none

I hate settings dialogs. 90% of things in them do not matter. Do not be surprised if it "slips" to a later release.

<rant> One thing in particular I keep hearing is the ability to set a default font in book view. Sigil is not a reading app, if you want a particular font then specify it in the file. Also, the good thing about a standard default font is it is very easy to tell if the file has specified a font. </rant>

I hope the zoom enhancement doesn't fall into that category. This feature is only needed in code view and it certainly doesn't need to be a part of a preferences dialog box. All that is needed is to set all files to whatever zoom value was selected and it need be only retained for the current session.

Regards - John

P.S. My vote for a plug-in language is Python. Although I haven't done any coding in many years I would probably give Python a shot. While doing some conversions earlier today, I couldn't help but wish for the zoom enhancement and couple of plug-ins (change case and convert roman numerals).

[mediax]

Originally Posted by user_none

It's already there. Click the green check mark in the tool bar to run FlightCrew which is the integrated conformance checker.

Sorry, not the best choice of words in my original post - I was trying to express a concern that a possible extension of not enforcing validity at all times might be the removal of all validation functionality provided by Sigil.

Personally, I'm not concerned whether this is part of Sigil's core code (hence my remark about it being done by a plug-in), but it's something I would definitely like to see retained in some form.

[user_none]

Originally Posted by mediax

I was trying to express a concern that a possible extension of not enforcing validity at all times might be the removal of all validation functionality provided by Sigil.

It would not be removed. The change would be from having it run automatically to only when the user requests it.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by user_none

I hate settings dialogs. 90% of things in them do not matter. Do not be surprised if it "slips" to a later release.

<rant> One thing in particular I keep hearing is the ability to set a default font in book view. Sigil is not a reading app, if you want a particular font then specify it in the file. Also, the good thing about a standard default font is it is very easy to tell if the file has specified a font.
</rant>

I understand this reasoning however font selection can aid in proofreading. The current preview font is very difficult to use to identify errors in curly quotes for example. The code view font is difficult to see emdash unless you look very close and forget endash.

Dale

[user_none]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

The code view font is difficult to see emdash unless you look very close and forget endash.

0.4.2 displays em and en dashes as &; entities in the code view.

[crutledge]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hunh? Charlie, what are you talking about? I certainly don't reset the fontsize for each section...?? Can you clarify?

Hitch

Surely, I cannot be unclear!!

Each page (??) in Sigill is displayed in the default font in very small type. As I edit a given section I must enlarge the font using the slider control in the lower right.

I can overcome the Book View problem by defining a font and size in the CSS -> body. But this has no effect on the code view where I spend most of my time.

I have never used an editor where I could not adjust font and size. I don't really care about Book View but would like to have the ability to adjust the Code View.

[user_none]

Originally Posted by crutledge

I can overcome the Book View problem by defining a font and size in the CSS -> body. But this has no effect on the code view where I spend most of my time.

The discussion was about book view not code view. Code view is an entirely different matter. Though changing the font in code view is a very low priority. I do plan on having the zoom level saved between pages and sessions.

[GeneS]

Originally Posted by theducks

@GeneS (AKA Howdy Doodey)

Except for the most basic CSS (that applies to standard HTML tags), there is a little more smarts needed once a CSS is added to the Manifest (book Browser).
Someone has to add some Class to the Tags

Thanks for the comment. It's apparent I wasn't as clear as I thought. I really am not concerned about Class tags in the HTML. Those are fairly easy to change/add since each file usually already has its own <style> section. Adding a stylesheet to an epub where there is none is a somewhat more complicated endeavor involving unzippiing the epub, adding the stylesheet, editing the opf file to include proper references, and then rebuilding the epub. If Sigil could automate some of this process, it would be helpful.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by user_none

0.4.2 displays em and en dashes as &; entities in the code view.

That is one solution but I was only using this behavior to illustrate why choosing a particular font can aid in proof reading such as Curley quotes etc. Sorry I didn't pick the best example.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by user_none

Code view is an entirely different matter. ...~~~... I do plan on having the zoom level saved between pages and sessions.

This sounds great to me.