What do you say when asked what page you're on?

[Freeshadow]

@Ea AFAIR ADE counts 1024 chars as 1 page. A standard page would be max 1800 chars.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

@Ea AFAIR ADE counts 1024 chars as 1 page. A standard page would be max 1800 chars.

But don't forget that an ADE page is 1024 characters in the compressed file, so it won't be far off the 1800 mark in the uncompressed text.

[mike_bike_kite]

Thanks for clearing it all up for us Harry

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

@Ea AFAIR ADE counts 1024 chars as 1 page. A standard page would be max 1800 chars.

Originally Posted by HarryT

But don't forget that an ADE page is 1024 characters in the compressed file, so it won't be far off the 1800 mark in the uncompressed text.

Since this has generated quite a bit of discussion, it seems like there is a need for a standard way to indicate a location within an ebook, one that works regardless of the way the ebook is formatted. Since the formatting of ebooks can vary the number of pages so much, conventional page numbers don't fulfill this function.

Some possibilities:

- Paragraph numbers (all paragraphs, whether main or sub, are treated as individual consecutive paragraphs). The displayed paragraph number reflects the number of the paragraph at the top of the screen.

- Based on a fixed number of words (say 100 words).

- Flat page references based on marks within the ebook, ones the author puts in. Example: The author puts a page mark (say page 8) at a point in the ebook, the page counter indicates "8.0." Each page turn increments the counter by 0.1 (8.1, 8.2, 8.3, and so on) until the next page mark is encountered (which becomes "9.0").

- Small pages, where a page is considered the amount of text that will fit on a small page (say the size of a 3" x 5" card). An ereader's screen might hold two to four of these "small pages."

Your thoughts?

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I never get asked but if I have ever do, I have plenty of good answers ready now.

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

Your thoughts?

I quite like using just the percentage as it means something to everyone ie I'm 45% through the book. Knowing that I've read 2718 paragraphs (or 2718 blocks of 1028 characters) means little to me. I was quite confused as to what to enter into the "go to location" field on my kindle when it shows 2718-24 as my current location. I'd of been much happier if I could just entered 45 (%) and then page forwards a little bit to get to the exact spot (or even 45.2 at a pinch).

[Ea]

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

I quite like using just the percentage as it means something to everyone ie I'm 45% through the book. Knowing that I've read 2718 paragraphs (or 2718 blocks of 1028 characters) means little to me. I was quite confused as to what to enter into the "go to location" field on my kindle when it shows 2718-24 as my current location. I'd of been much happier if I could just entered 45 (%) and then page forwards a little bit to get to the exact spot (or even 45.2 at a pinch).

yes, would be very nice to be able to do that. The locations are far too small units for practical purposes.

[Wordcrasher]

I think the best answer is the percentage I've read. That's an objective measure not related to the format.

[Solitaire1]

I strongly agree that percentage is the best choice for the reasons mentioned previously. It's objective, independent of format and type of ereader, and easily understood. Plus, it can be set as fine as needed by adding decimal places to the percentage number, and this can be done at the ereader level rather than as part of any ebook format.

[jblitereader]

I divide my books into 3 sections. When someone asks me what page I'm on, I will say "beginning", "middle", or "end" of my book.

[Thrasher]

Originally Posted by Mickey330

If they ask, I just tell them whatever page my reader says.

[Start rant]

I just want e-readers to be more popular so people will quit bothering me with questions about the reader. What is it? Do you like it? Where'd you get it? How much? Etc.

Now, honestly, I like talking about my reader. But, to paraphrase Ratso Rizzo: "I'm reading here! I'm reading here!"

Sometimes, I'm scared to go out in public with it for fear of interruptions. Never got that much attention with paper books...

[/rant]



Marilyn

I totally agree. When I'm reading my Nook at work I only do so when I am alone. I do not need people asking me a bunch of questions about it once they see it...

[Freeshadow]

thx HarryT I didn't know that, i really tought it was a charcount

[vaughnmr]

Obviously, if someone asks me where I am in a book, they have already read the book, right? So I reply with a comment like "I'm at the part where the guy is about to..." Discussion about page numbers or locations or whatever (choose your favorite ereader) make no sense whatsoever. Like this thread.

[Grierson Huffman]

There is a need for a standardized location specifier among those who frequently must cite works.

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

Discussion about page numbers or locations or whatever (choose your favorite ereader) make no sense whatsoever. Like this thread.

Perhaps the original question might not have much meaning but discussing how you enter a given location into your ereader is definitely worthwhile. At the moment there seems to be no standards what so ever which makes the interface a bit clunky. Perhaps you're happy entering location 2846 on your Kindle 1 to get to a particular part of a book, perhaps you never use this interface, but this shouldn't stop folks from discussing how to improve it for others.

It will also become more important as users can communicate between their ereaders about a given book - this is a new feature in the current firmware.