Kindle Line Spacing

Edemen · 10-31-2021, 07:10 AM

Hello.
What annoys me about Kindles is that there is no fixed line spacing, for example in one book it is 22 lines, in another 25 lines and 24 lines (this seems correct, because first I converted the said book to RTF and then to AZW3, which resulted in the removal of CSS responsible for line spacing). PW5 settings are Bookerly, font size 2, line spacing the largest.
Can you do something about it in Calibre without resorting to brutal conversion to RTF?
I send books using Calibre over the cable, sometimes you also have to restart the reader to make the Page in book menu active, is it also a mistake or something wrong?

cvkemp · 10-31-2021, 09:45 AM

I never notice such things, I just read what is there and enjoy the books I read. And more than likely wouldn’t notice anyway due to the large text I have to have.

Sirtel · 10-31-2021, 10:44 AM

I remove the line-spacing values in the Calibre editor. It can also be done with AZW3 to AZW3 conversion, by setting the line-height to 0 in the conversion dialog (or to any other value you want, of course).

Edit: this specifies only the minimum line-height. I guess you still need to edit the values in the editor then.

hobnail · 10-31-2021, 01:33 PM

What Sirtel said. The Kindle obeys the line spacing that's specified in the book's CSS, combined with what you set in the Kindle's settings, and book's CSS is set it to what the author or editor/formater likes. So the easiest way to normalize the line spacing is to use calibre and "convert" the book from its current format to its current format whereupon calibre will fix/change things as per your settings (using what Sirtel said) in the convert settings.

hobnail · 10-31-2021, 01:40 PM

Before you can convert the book you'll also need to remove its DRM if it was purchased. Use Apprentice Alf's DeDRM plugin for that; use google to find its download and installation instructions page. No help for it is allowed here.

Edemen · 11-01-2021, 05:07 AM

It works. Thanx !

LDB · 11-01-2021, 11:37 AM

I just read so I'm unaware on all this. So, are the number of lines per page between one book and another affected by the margins setting? Spacing setting? Alignment setting? Font choice? Font size? And if all those things are set identically between two books but the number of lines per page is different is that perhaps due to something the author did behind the text? And finally my biggest curiosity, what difference does it make if book A shows 25 lines per page and book B shows 24? I just read pages and turn them when I finish them and never think about how many lines per page.

Sirtel · 11-01-2021, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDB

I just read so I'm unaware on all this. So, are the number of lines per page between one book and another affected by the margins setting? Spacing setting? Alignment setting? Font choice? Font size? And if all those things are set identically between two books but the number of lines per page is different is that perhaps due to something the author did behind the text? And finally my biggest curiosity, what difference does it make if book A shows 25 lines per page and book B shows 24? I just read pages and turn them when I finish them and never think about how many lines per page.

Line-height, font choice and font size all have their piece to say in this. If those things are identical, there's nothing else the author or the publisher can do "behind the text". By identical line-height I mean it must be the same in the css, not only in the reader settings.

The difference between 24 and 25 lines is negligible, but depending on the css it can be bigger, and then it becomes annoying. Less text on the page, and I'm not a fan of ultra-narrow line spacing like some Kobo users.

Of course it's not annoying to everyone. People are different and all that.

Flaviocc · 09-14-2023, 02:30 PM

Bump an old thread....

In some books I have X lines on page 1, Y lines on page 2, Z lines on page 3 (just an example).

It's possible to linearize the text to have the same numbers of lines in the page on the same ebook?

Tks.

Sirtel · 09-14-2023, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flaviocc

Bump an old thread....

In some books I have X lines on page 1, Y lines on page 2, Z lines on page 3 (just an example).

It's possible to linearize the text to have the same numbers of lines in the page on the same ebook?

Tks.

We'd need to see the code in the book, or at least the screenshots of those pages on your Kindle. I don't see this in any of my ebooks (which have all been manually edited).

Aleron Ives · 09-14-2023, 03:56 PM

Your book probably has padding between paragraphs. The more new paragraphs begin on a single page, the fewer lines will fit on the screen, due to the space wasted by the paragraph padding.

DNSB · 09-14-2023, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flaviocc

In some books I have X lines on page 1, Y lines on page 2, Z lines on page 3 (just an example).

It's possible to linearize the text to have the same numbers of lines in the page on the same ebook?

It will depend on not just the lines of text but the other elements on the page. Are there blank spaces between the paragraphs? Differences in line spacing within a paragraph? Scene breaks whether graphics or text? Widows and orphans settings? And for the first page in a chapter, does the chapter heading take up extra space? Very often they use a larger font size and spacing to make them stand out.

Then we have the renderer based issues. You will notice the minimum left/right margins are different between Kobo, Kindle. PocketBook, etc. Or the Android ePub renderers, many of which seem to have been created by developers who are allergic to being able to follow the ePub specification

BTW, I checked a few physical books and the number of lines per page was not consistent when special elements were present on the page.

Flaviocc · 09-15-2023, 12:11 PM

Tks guys, the problem was bad book formatting.

I applied the option in Calibre to fix the tables and everything is ok now.

Another book the problem was I forgot to erase the space between paragraphs.

@DNSB where it's possible to configure Widows and orphans?

Tks.

JSWolf · 09-15-2023, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edemen

Hello.
What annoys me about Kindles is that there is no fixed line spacing, for example in one book it is 22 lines, in another 25 lines and 24 lines (this seems correct, because first I converted the said book to RTF and then to AZW3, which resulted in the removal of CSS responsible for line spacing). PW5 settings are Bookerly, font size 2, line spacing the largest.
Can you do something about it in Calibre without resorting to brutal conversion to RTF?
I send books using Calibre over the cable, sometimes you also have to restart the reader to make the Page in book menu active, is it also a mistake or something wrong?

I know this is an old message, but I'm going to make a correction.

KFX has fixed line spacing that cannot be changed.

jhowell · 09-15-2023, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I know this is an old message, but I'm going to make a correction.

KFX has fixed line spacing that cannot be changed.

I can’t tell whether you you are mentioning this as a good thing or a bad thing but I agree that one of the goals of Amazon’s Enhanced Typesetting as implemented in KFX format is to normalize things like line spacing to take it out of the hands of the publisher and give more control to the reader.

10-31-2021, 07:10 AM	#1
Edemen Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jan 2018 Device: Kobo Clara BW, PW5, Pocketbook HD3	Kindle Line Spacing Hello. What annoys me about Kindles is that there is no fixed line spacing, for example in one book it is 22 lines, in another 25 lines and 24 lines (this seems correct, because first I converted the said book to RTF and then to AZW3, which resulted in the removal of CSS responsible for line spacing). PW5 settings are Bookerly, font size 2, line spacing the largest. Can you do something about it in Calibre without resorting to brutal conversion to RTF? I send books using Calibre over the cable, sometimes you also have to restart the reader to make the Page in book menu active, is it also a mistake or something wrong?

10-31-2021, 10:44 AM	#3
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,099 Karma: 237627567 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	I remove the line-spacing values in the Calibre editor. It can also be done with AZW3 to AZW3 conversion, by setting the line-height to 0 in the conversion dialog (or to any other value you want, of course). Edit: this specifies only the minimum line-height. I guess you still need to edit the values in the editor then. Last edited by Sirtel; 10-31-2021 at 01:30 PM.

10-31-2021, 01:33 PM	#4
hobnail Running with scissors Posts: 1,581 Karma: 14328510 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	What Sirtel said. The Kindle obeys the line spacing that's specified in the book's CSS, combined with what you set in the Kindle's settings, and book's CSS is set it to what the author or editor/formater likes. So the easiest way to normalize the line spacing is to use calibre and "convert" the book from its current format to its current format whereupon calibre will fix/change things as per your settings (using what Sirtel said) in the convert settings. Last edited by hobnail; 10-31-2021 at 01:35 PM.

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10-31-2021, 09:45 AM	#2
cvkemp Loving life Posts: 1,430 Karma: 7991496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Device: PaperWhite 6 SE, Fire HD8	I never notice such things, I just read what is there and enjoy the books I read. And more than likely wouldn’t notice anyway due to the large text I have to have.

10-31-2021, 01:40 PM	#5
hobnail Running with scissors Posts: 1,581 Karma: 14328510 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	Before you can convert the book you'll also need to remove its DRM if it was purchased. Use Apprentice Alf's DeDRM plugin for that; use google to find its download and installation instructions page. No help for it is allowed here.

11-01-2021, 05:07 AM	#6
Edemen Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jan 2018 Device: Kobo Clara BW, PW5, Pocketbook HD3	It works. Thanx !

11-01-2021, 11:37 AM	#7
LDB Baker Street Irregular Posts: 460 Karma: 9920853 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Houston suburb Device: Oasis 3, PaperWhite 5, Aura One, Glowlight Plus, Scribe, Sage	I just read so I'm unaware on all this. So, are the number of lines per page between one book and another affected by the margins setting? Spacing setting? Alignment setting? Font choice? Font size? And if all those things are set identically between two books but the number of lines per page is different is that perhaps due to something the author did behind the text? And finally my biggest curiosity, what difference does it make if book A shows 25 lines per page and book B shows 24? I just read pages and turn them when I finish them and never think about how many lines per page.

09-14-2023, 02:30 PM	#9
Flaviocc Zealot Posts: 134 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2019 Location: Brazil Device: Kindle PPW5 / Kobo Aura One	Bump an old thread.... In some books I have X lines on page 1, Y lines on page 2, Z lines on page 3 (just an example). It's possible to linearize the text to have the same numbers of lines in the page on the same ebook? Tks.

09-14-2023, 03:56 PM	#11
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,646 Karma: 16302664 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	Your book probably has padding between paragraphs. The more new paragraphs begin on a single page, the fewer lines will fit on the screen, due to the space wasted by the paragraph padding.

09-15-2023, 12:11 PM	#13
Flaviocc Zealot Posts: 134 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2019 Location: Brazil Device: Kindle PPW5 / Kobo Aura One	Tks guys, the problem was bad book formatting. I applied the option in Calibre to fix the tables and everything is ok now. Another book the problem was I forgot to erase the space between paragraphs. @DNSB where it's possible to configure Widows and orphans? Tks.