Calibre 4.21 changes <b> tags in comments to <p style="font-weight: 600">!

[VirgoGirl]

Hello!!

Since the update (I went from 3.2X to 4.21), the tags in the comments section in the metadata have been changed from <b> to <p style="font-weight: 600">, which messes up the display in my Kobo Glo book details. Is there some way to prevent it from changing it to the <p> tag?

I've manually changed it, but as soon as I add the <b> tag in the html tab, it changes it right back to the <p style="font-weight: 600"> tag when I close the screen. It's frustrating as it's changed the tags for all the books in every library I have.

thanks!

[kovidgoyal]

I cannot replicate this. First off nothing is changed unless it is edited. And editing comments, marking a word as bold surrounds it with <strong> tags, not <p> tags.

[VirgoGirl]

Hi Kovid!

This is what I type in:


then when I close the html tag, I get this:



I don't add the <p> tags, the programs adds them. I prefer <br/> tags as it adds the correct amount of display space on my Glo.

UPDATE: The same thing happens when I use the <strong> tag.

[JSWolf]

I get <b></b> changed to <strong></strong>.

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I get <b></b> changed to <strong></strong>.

I have NO idea why I get <p style="font-weight: 600"> when I use the details page. Unless it's somehow left over from the previous version, I haven't changed anything with this new install.

The previous version I had was 3.47, I just found the installation file.

[jackie_w]

I think the following is what @VirgoGirl is referring to. This is what I see when editing comments in Win10.

If I enter "The synopsis." (no quotes) in the comments box, the HTML source box looks like:

<div>
<p>The synopsis.</p></div>

If I then select the paragraph text and press the Bold tool button in Normal view the HTML source has changed to:

<div>
<p style="font-weight: 600">The synopsis.</p></div>

i.e. no <strong> tags to be seen.

The only way I can get <strong> tags is by not selecting the whole paragraph before using the Bold button, e.g.

<div>
<p><strong>The synopsis</strong>.</p></div>

It's a similar situation when using the Italic button which gives you:

<div>
<p style="font-style: italic">The synopsis.</p></div>

rather than <em> tags if you select the whole paragraph.

I don't know whether it's fixable or it's just another "this is what Qt does" quirk.

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I think the following is what @VirgoGirl is referring to. This is what I see when editing comments in Win10.

If I enter "The synopsis." (no quotes) in the comments box, the HTML source box looks like:

<div>
<p>The synopsis.</p></div>

If I then select the paragraph text and press the Bold tool button in Normal view the HTML source has changed to:

<div>
<p style="font-weight: 600">The synopsis.</p></div>

i.e. no <strong> tags to be seen.

The only way I can get <strong> tags is by not selecting the whole paragraph before using the Bold button, e.g.

<div>
<p><strong>The synopsis</strong>.</p></div>

It's a similar situation when using the Italic button which gives you:

<div>
<p style="font-style: italic">The synopsis.</p></div>

rather than <em> tags if you select the whole paragraph.

I don't know whether it's fixable or it's just another "this is what Qt does" quirk.

jackie_w, I may have to kiss you. THANK YOU!! I thought I was going nuts that no one could get what I am seeing!

I'm using Windows 10 as well.

Okay, NOW if I select each paragraph on it's own - not everything the whole details pane at once - I get the <strong tabs>. But that's going to be a pain to do on every book one by one.

[kovidgoyal]

Well if you want to make entire paragraphs bold, might be a better idea to just use the heading style. As for the problem, what is it the kobo does not like? If a paragraph is marked as bold, then setting the bold style on the paragraph, is the correct thing to do. Is it the 600 it objects to? If so I can change that to the word bold, but I am not willing to make the markup worse to support a bug on the Kobo.

[VirgoGirl]

The Glo for some reason objects to <p> tags in general in the details page.

The paragraph problem is not with your program, it's the way the Glo firmware shoves too much space between the paragraphs on the reader in the book details display. For some reason known only to Kobo, it sticks 2 or 4 blank lines between paragraphs when the <p> tags are used (it's difficult to tell on the reader how many lines), but when two <br> tags are used, only *1* blank line shows up between paragraphs. It makes no sense.

I use bold text because the font size in the details page are so freaking small that I can't read it properly unless it's bold (a few firmware updates ago they decided to make the font very small, again, for reasons known only to Kobo programmers). I've tried using <h4> tags, but that also adds too much space between lines. Instead of this (using <br><br>):

The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces, and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style.

A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates.

It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.

I get this (using <p> tags, bolded using <h4> tags):

The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces, and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style.



A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates.



It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.

<br> tags make it easier to read, as does the larger bolded text.

[kovidgoyal]

You should maybe use the KoboExtended plugin, I believe it auto-changes these to suit the kobo when the book is sent to the kobo, or maybe I am mis-remembering, davidfor can correct me in that case.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

<br> tags make it easier to read, as does the larger bolded text.

I'm a Kobo user and don't see the excess vertical spacing you're seeing in the book details synopsis if I use calibre send-to-device to transfer books to the Kobo. It is there initially if I just drag-drop the books from Windows Explorer.

I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect @davidfor may have something coded into the calibre KoboTouch driver to counteract the excess vertical space if you have calibre set up to manage metadata automatically.

If he sees this thread later today maybe he can tell you exactly what options need to be enabled to avoid you having to mess around with<br/> tags. If he doesn't see it maybe start a new thread in the Kobo forum where he is more likely to see it.

FYI, regarding font-size in the Kobo book details synopsis ... if you're a kobopatch user (or willing to become one) you can increase that font-size to something that suits you better.

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

You should maybe use the KoboExtended plugin, I believe it auto-changes these to suit the kobo when the book is sent to the kobo, or maybe I am mis-remembering, davidfor can correct me in that case.

I generally don't use extra plugins as I'm more likely to mess things up. I don't mind adding the <br><br> lines between paragraphs, generally.

Originally Posted by jackie_w

FYI, regarding font-size in the Kobo book details synopsis ... if you're a kobopatch user (or willing to become one) you can increase that font-size to something that suits you better.

I find the Glo firmware a delicate thing and therefore don't mess with it, lol!

I'm fine with what I've been doing - yes a hassle, but I'm more in control - until I started having it switch to the font-weight 600 problem.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

You should maybe use the KoboExtended plugin, I believe it auto-changes these to suit the kobo when the book is sent to the kobo, or maybe I am mis-remembering, davidfor can correct me in that case.

The KoboTouchExtended driver doesn't touch the comments in the metadata. It changes the contents of the books to the kepub, but leaves the metadata to the standard send-to-device actions.

The plugin can update the metadata on the device, but, it simply updates the database with the metadata from the library. After using any appropriate metadata plugboard.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

I generally don't use extra plugins as I'm more likely to mess things up. I don't mind adding the <br><br> lines between paragraphs, generally.

Everything mentioned here should work in the comments on the Kobo devices. If you are using paragraph tags, you will get spaces between the paragraphs. That is how it has always been.

What you might be seeing is that somewhere along the way, the comments started using any new lines between paragraphs as new lines. This meant that if there were new lines between paragraphs, the layout in calibre is different than on the device.

For example:

<div><p>First Line</p><p>Second Line</p><p>Third Line</p></div>

and:

<div>
<p>First Line</p>
<p>Second Line</p>
<p>Third Line</p></div>

In most places, these will be display in exactly the same way. The new lines between the paragraph tags are ignored. Exactly how it is displayed, will depend on the styles applied. The default seems to be 1em between the paragraphs.

In the synopsis on the Kobo devices, these will be different. The new lines in the second one will be used. And a new line in the middle of the paragraph will be interpreted as well. My understanding of the way HTML works is that this is wrong. But, the Kobo firmware has been doing this for a while.

(Note: You cannot actually produce the first one with the current version of calibre. The comments editor will automatically format it as the second version. You could produce it with version 3.x or earlier.)

If you want to prevent the gaps between lines, you need to us break tags like:

<div><p>First Line<br/>Second Line<br/>Third Line</p></div>

But, while checking this, I discovered something else. I had to retest the above as I wasn't seeing as much space between paragraphs as I was expecting. And when I looked in the books after they were sent to the device, the new lines were not there. And hence, I was only seeing the gap of about one line, rather than two lines. In my testing, I found that this was because of the metadata plugboard I use.

I have a metadata plugboard that adds the other details to the comments when the book is sent to the device. This includes the tags, when I read it, my rating and the page and word counts. If I remove the plugboard, then the second version of the comments is what I see in the book on the device. And the spaces between the paragraphs in the synopsis display it about twice what I would like. If I put the metadata plugboard back in, or simply use "{comments}" for the plugboard, the new lines are stripped and I see less space between the paragraphs. I'm pretty sure that @jackie_w is using a plugboard for the comments. That would explain the differences being seen.

@VirgoGirl: I suggest that you try the metadata plugboard and see if that helps. To do this:

1. Open the preferences and go to the "Metadata plugboards" page.
2. For "Add new plugboard", select "epub" for the format, and "KOBOTOUCH" for the device. If you are using the KoboTouchExtended driver, select that.
3. In the first field under "Source Template", enter "{comments}" (without the quotes).
4. In the "Destination field" on the same line, select "comments".
5. Press the "Save plugboard" button and then press "Apply" to save everything.

The next time you send a book to the device, the extra new lines will be stripped in the comments. Also, the driver will update the metadata on the device if you have it configured to. This uses the plugboard, so it should fix it for books on the device. Or at least you can see the differences quickly.

[VirgoGirl]

Davidfor, thank you SO much for the time and effort you took in exploring my issue! It's also nice to know I'm not doing something wrong or seeing what no one else sees. <-- more of a problem than you'd think.

Yep, a single <br> tag doesn't add a space in the Kobo details pane, double <br> tags are needed - Kobo seems to be unique in that respect. The only way around the double line <p> tag problem has been to copy the comments html text, paste into notepad, find/replace </p><p> tags with <br><br> and repaste into the comments section. I wind up with <p> tags at the start of the page, but that's not really an issue I can't live with. Previously, selecting the all the text with control-a and bolding it would only add the <b> tags, now Win 10 converts them all to <p style="font-weight: 600"> and adds the space between lines. It's a stylistic nightmare.

I'm assuming KOBOTOUCH would work for a Glo? Which I'm assuming is just a fancy Touch as mine looks like the old Touch except for the light switch.

Thank you again for all the help everyone!!