How do I get rid of Table of Contents?

[bookman156]

For ebooks, that means making sure the book behaves the way the reader expects it to.

I understand what you're saying, but for me I want the ebook to behave the way I expect it to as its creator. I'm already flinging away numerous aesthetic decisions to an uncertain medium, but this one is sufficiently important to consider affecting.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by phillipgessert

It's less a matter of whether the default is justified, and more a matter of the default being whatever the reader expected to find. Good book design relies heavily on making things frictionless for the reader. For ebooks, that means making sure the book behaves the way the reader expects it to.

AND, which choices won't override what the USER wants it to be. I know of no device that would not allow the user to justify the text, should s/he want, if the justification is not set (alignment/justification). But I know of plenty that won't allow you to override, if the justification is set to ragged-right (align:left) or centered or....you-name-it.


If you use align:left in a Kindle ebook, it ABSOLUTELY forces me to use RR. On the very latest generation of Paperwhite. I've returned books for it before and I would continue to do so. It irks me.

I'm far from the only one. Not saying that everything has to be my way or the highway, but if you want to be egalitarian, why force your choice on the reader, when the alternative is easier, in fact?


Hitch

[bookman156]

The best way to avoid widows and orphans and retain even space is to have no paragraphs. Possible. There are books like that.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookman156

Small window is always 'my reader'. If it looks crap in what I have, then I go for something that doesn't, ie unjustified. I think on Kobo you can justify it if it comes unjustified, can't you?

On 'my reader', I see 'Alignment' is 'Not Available'. Are you saying that's because I specified it as align-left? But if I specified it as justified maybe they won't be able to change it to unjustified either. I don't know. All I can do is make what I think is the right aesthetic decision. And, as you say, few change their settings so if I supplied justified then some may hate it as much as I do because it isn't accomplished properly in the device.

Overall of course I prefer justified. Back when I did handset letterpress I would spend hours justifying lead type text by hand, and I must admit I spend just as long on H&J violations in InDesign these days.

In my view, there is nothing uglier than badly justified text.

Left justified look like a shoddily made eBook. All you have to do is put the overall justification in the body style. Then if the device/program being used to read it has the ability to change justification, then it will work.

[bookman156]

All you have to do is put the overall justification in the body style. Then if the device/program being used to read it has the ability to change justification, then it will work.

Really? Well that's the answer then. I'll test that out.

[bookman156]

Left justified look like a shoddily made eBook.

I don't think it looks shoddy unless the content is shoddy. What looks shoddy is justification that is leaving scattered lines indented on the right-hand side.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookman156

Really? Well that's the answer then. I'll test that out.

I have tested this with Kobo and it works. There's no need to specify justification other then center and right any other place but the body style.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookman156

I don't think it looks shoddy unless the content is shoddy. What looks shoddy is justification that is leaving scattered lines indented on the right-hand side.

The thing is, with left justification, some Kindles can handle KF8 but not KFX. So with left justification, you can get short lines as the entire last word gets moved to the next line. That does not look good. I know it's a tradeoff. But left will always lose in this case.

If you do left justify, it won't look all that good on KFX where you do get hyphenation.

[bookman156]

I have tested this with Kobo and it works.

I am told that even if the align left is on the p tag that it can still be overridden on the Kobo. Is that true?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookman156

I am told that even if the align left is on the p tag that it can still be overridden on the Kobo. Is that true?

I don't know. I've not tried it. The way I said about justifying in the body style will work. No need to make the mistake that a lot of publishers make and have the main alignment all over the place in the CSS.

However, on a Kobo, with ePub, if it is left justified, hyphenation won't work. So don't left justify.

[bookman156]

If you do left justify, it won't look all that good on KFX where you do get hyphenation.

You get hyphenation automatically? They're foisting a choice I don't want if that's the case. So presumably they also expect it to be justified text. I don't know enough as yet about how these devices may force hyphenation.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookman156

You get hyphenation automatically? They're foisting a choice I don't want if that's the case. So presumably they also expect it to be justified text. I don't know enough as yet about how these devices may force hyphenation.

If you do override hyphenation, you'll have a lot of pissed off readers as they expect hyphenation with KFX.

[bookman156]

If you do override hyphenation, you'll have a lot of pissed off readers as they expect hyphenation with KFX.

Well lucky for them I don't know how to do that yet, as I certainly would if I was having unjustified text. How is it done?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by bookman156

You get hyphenation automatically? They're foisting a choice I don't want if that's the case. So presumably they also expect it to be justified text. I don't know enough as yet about how these devices may force hyphenation.

You'll get hyphenation, but didn't you already say that you're not publishing on KDP? so, isn't this moot?

Hitch

[bookman156]

You'll get hyphenation, but didn't you already say that you're not publishing on KDP? so, isn't this moot?

Maybe I misunderstood. I am making EPUBs, but I also want to take account of people converting to load onto an Amazon device. Are you saying it's not relevant here?