Setting margins for ADE

Zora · 11-04-2013, 03:23 AM

I used to check my finished epubs by viewing them in Calibre for the ePub version and in the Kindle app for the mobi version (after I had made sure that they passed the online ePub Validator). Someone with more formatting experience than I have told me that Adobe Digital Editions was the ePub reader to use for checking the appearance; this was the program that all the big publishers used.

So I downloaded and installed it on my desktop and ... I'm flummoxed by the fact the pages display with no margins at all. I get a white page on a black background, with the text snugging up to the left margin. I hate the look. I cannot figure out how to adjust ADE to display with margins. I am afraid to tweak my .css file, because the books do display properly in all other apps and on all devices. Not just for my apps and devices, but on those used by the readers who bought books I had formatted. No complaints.

Is this just one of those oddities I should ignore? Or is there a way to configure my app or tweak my .css?

Tex2002ans · 11-04-2013, 04:24 AM

Post a sample of the book, and post the CSS.

There could potentially be an error in your CSS file. If there is one tiny mistake in your CSS, ADE will completely ignore everything in it, while other programs may be more forgiving.

Zora · 11-04-2013, 04:57 AM

I will not upload anything that belongs to a client, so I made a tiny epub with one chapter of Lorem ipsum

It contains the stripped-down .css I use for most projects.

Jellby · 11-04-2013, 05:51 AM

Add to CSS:

Code:

@page { margin: 2mm; }

or any other suitable amount.

Zora · 11-04-2013, 06:21 AM

@page doesn't validate in Oxygen, my XML editor (which I use for assembling epubs). What does validate is page {left-margin:2em; right-margin:2em;} ...

And it doesn't make a damn bit of difference, in Calibre or ADE.

mrmikel · 11-04-2013, 07:25 AM

Put the margins in the css thus:

p
{
text-indent: 1.5em ;
text-align: left;
margin-top:0;
margin-bottom:0;
margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 1.5em }

That should work.

Jellby · 11-04-2013, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zora

@page doesn't validate in Oxygen, my XML editor (which I use for assembling epubs).

Then Oyxgen is no good for validating ePub or CSS, because @page is part of the ePub spec, and the CSS 2.1 spec.

Quote:

What does validate is page {left-margin:2em; right-margin:2em;} ... And it doesn't make a damn bit of difference, in Calibre or ADE.

Of course, "page" without the @ means a style to be applied to an element called <page> (which is not allowed in XHTML anyway, but CSS doesn't give a damn about it).

Jellby · 11-04-2013, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmikel

Put the margins in the css thus:

p
{
text-indent: 1.5em ;
text-align: left;
margin-top:0;
margin-bottom:0;
margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 1.5em }

That should work.

But only for side margins, and you'd have to do the same with h1-h6, div, blockquote...

mrmikel · 11-04-2013, 08:51 AM

But for many of those you may want to specify something different anyway. It also means no interaction between the page command and everything else, making troubleshooting less puzzling, for me at least.

JSWolf · 11-04-2013, 08:56 AM

The problem I see is that you downloaded the WRONG version of ADE. You need to download ADE 2.0. ADE 2.0 does not allow a margin of 0 to butt up against the edge of the ADE window. You probably have ADE 1.7.2 which is an old version. Don't modify your code until after you see it in the correct (2.0) version of ADE.

Zora · 11-04-2013, 12:38 PM

Thanks JS Wolf. I downloaded ADE for the PC only a few months ago, but it appears that it dated quickly. I just now downloaded and installed the later version and all of a sudden I have margins

I do not need to modify my .css.

Zora · 11-04-2013, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

Then Oyxgen is no good for validating ePub or CSS, because @page is part of the ePub spec, and the CSS 2.1 spec.

I'll admit that the validation part is frustrating at times. The code I have for displaying the cover page works just fine everywhere, but does not validate in XHTML. I think I just need to add some tweaks; should ask in the Oxygen forums.

The reason I am using Oxygen, after trying out several other software programs, is that it gives me clean code (none of the junk that Sigil adds), it points out errors (with line numbers!), and it lets me work inside a zipped folder, without having to unzip the book to work on it and rezip it to look at the result. That saves untold time.

My current toolchain is Word or InDesign to HTML and NoteTabPro to clean up the HTML. I prepare an epub container in Oxygen, and then just cut and paste content from NoteTabPro to Oxygen. Goes from one large file to several files inside the zipped folder. The one large file is useful in applying global changes.

Toxaris · 11-04-2013, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zora

The reason I am using Oxygen, after trying out several other software programs, is that it gives me clean code (none of the junk that Sigil adds),

??? what junk?

mrmikel · 11-04-2013, 03:23 PM

Sigil adds virtually nothing that isn't required to make it valid. If you use the TOC editor, it may add a line or two to indicate that a particular heading isn't in the TOC, but that is about it. Sigil Flight Crew points out errors with line numbers also, though it may show the end of the problem instead of the beginning. With Sigil the whole book is unzipped when opened and rezipped only when saved. You can look at the result with book view even without saving, generally.

Calibre is another story entirely, adding all sorts of classes, etc.

Zora · 11-04-2013, 04:53 PM

When I used Sigil (some time ago) it added excess verbiage to the code, identifying it as coming from Sigil. I didn't like that. OK, I'm fussy, I'm OCD, I balance my petty cash and clean every day, I like the code to be as clean and minimal as possible

I probably should try it again.

11-04-2013, 03:23 AM	#1
Zora Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Honolulu Device: iPod Touch, Nexus tablet	Setting margins for ADE I used to check my finished epubs by viewing them in Calibre for the ePub version and in the Kindle app for the mobi version (after I had made sure that they passed the online ePub Validator). Someone with more formatting experience than I have told me that Adobe Digital Editions was the ePub reader to use for checking the appearance; this was the program that all the big publishers used. So I downloaded and installed it on my desktop and ... I'm flummoxed by the fact the pages display with no margins at all. I get a white page on a black background, with the text snugging up to the left margin. I hate the look. I cannot figure out how to adjust ADE to display with margins. I am afraid to tweak my .css file, because the books do display properly in all other apps and on all devices. Not just for my apps and devices, but on those used by the readers who bought books I had formatted. No complaints. Is this just one of those oddities I should ignore? Or is there a way to configure my app or tweak my .css?

11-04-2013, 05:51 AM	#4
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,549 Karma: 19500001 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	Add to CSS: Code: @page { margin: 2mm; } or any other suitable amount.

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11-04-2013, 04:24 AM	#2
Tex2002ans Wizard Posts: 2,306 Karma: 13057279 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Kobo Forma, Nook	Post a sample of the book, and post the CSS. There could potentially be an error in your CSS file. If there is one tiny mistake in your CSS, ADE will completely ignore everything in it, while other programs may be more forgiving.

11-04-2013, 06:21 AM	#5
Zora Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Honolulu Device: iPod Touch, Nexus tablet	@page doesn't validate in Oxygen, my XML editor (which I use for assembling epubs). What does validate is page {left-margin:2em; right-margin:2em;} ... And it doesn't make a damn bit of difference, in Calibre or ADE.

11-04-2013, 07:25 AM	#6
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	Put the margins in the css thus: p { text-indent: 1.5em ; text-align: left; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 1.5em } That should work.

11-04-2013, 08:51 AM	#9
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	But for many of those you may want to specify something different anyway. It also means no interaction between the page command and everything else, making troubleshooting less puzzling, for me at least.

11-04-2013, 08:56 AM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,758 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The problem I see is that you downloaded the WRONG version of ADE. You need to download ADE 2.0. ADE 2.0 does not allow a margin of 0 to butt up against the edge of the ADE window. You probably have ADE 1.7.2 which is an old version. Don't modify your code until after you see it in the correct (2.0) version of ADE.

11-04-2013, 12:38 PM	#11
Zora Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Honolulu Device: iPod Touch, Nexus tablet	Thanks JS Wolf. I downloaded ADE for the PC only a few months ago, but it appears that it dated quickly. I just now downloaded and installed the later version and all of a sudden I have margins I do not need to modify my .css.

11-04-2013, 03:23 PM	#14
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	Sigil adds virtually nothing that isn't required to make it valid. If you use the TOC editor, it may add a line or two to indicate that a particular heading isn't in the TOC, but that is about it. Sigil Flight Crew points out errors with line numbers also, though it may show the end of the problem instead of the beginning. With Sigil the whole book is unzipped when opened and rezipped only when saved. You can look at the result with book view even without saving, generally. Calibre is another story entirely, adding all sorts of classes, etc.

11-04-2013, 04:53 PM	#15
Zora Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Honolulu Device: iPod Touch, Nexus tablet	When I used Sigil (some time ago) it added excess verbiage to the code, identifying it as coming from Sigil. I didn't like that. OK, I'm fussy, I'm OCD, I balance my petty cash and clean every day, I like the code to be as clean and minimal as possible I probably should try it again.