in viewer, text "sliding" off the left margin

fredex · 09-13-2023, 03:23 PM

Attachment 203744In at least one of my books (I've seen it before, in other books, and ignored it, but right now can't find any other book where it is happening) the farther I read into the book the farther the first letter of every line is sliding off the left margin, by which I mean progressively more and more of the left side of each first letter is cut off, as if the text were being pushed off the page. see attached image.

Thanks in advance, for any help you can give!

Fredex

theducks · 09-13-2023, 03:46 PM

I suspect bad code (CSS) has negative margins that are accumulating.

The first C in CSS is Cascade

fredex · 09-13-2023, 06:16 PM

I suspect you're right, but having inspected the CSS (and I'm no expert therein) I can't see it. there ARE negative margins, but ASFAICS they are being reset appropriately.

But I'll go stare at it some more,... miracles DO happen!

theducks · 09-13-2023, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredex

I suspect you're right, but having inspected the CSS (and I'm no expert therein) I can't see it. there ARE negative margins, but ASFAICS they are being reset appropriately.

But I'll go stare at it some more,... miracles DO happen!

Right click on the page, Inspector
This tool shows how things are layered in the Box Model

(also in the Editor)

fredex · 09-13-2023, 07:32 PM

OK, so I tweaked the CSS a bit, based on guesswork:

Code:

.calibre_28 {
  display: block;
 /* text-indent: -19pt;
  margin: 1em 0 0 19pt; */
  text-indent: 0;
  margin 1em 0 0 0;
}
.calibre_29 {
  display: block;
  /* text-indent: -19pt;
  margin: 0 0 0 19pt;*/
  text-indent: 0;
  margin: 0 0 0 0;
}

and it seems to have cured the problem.

Thanks for your replies!

Fred

theducks · 09-13-2023, 09:37 PM

That is a hanging indent.
The code looked normal

(calibre28 is a common first Paragraph style with a large top margin)

I don't see why that would cause issues.

fredex · 09-14-2023, 03:18 PM

while I don't know which of those classes does what, it didn't appear obviously wrong, but I didn't see any negative offsets anywhere else, so I gave it a try and voila!

Do you know if any of the CSS (or other features) involved in Calibre ebooks are documented anywhere?

Thanks!

Fred

theducks · 09-14-2023, 03:49 PM

Calibre does EPUB (see MR Wiki)
The viewer is more tolerant of errors than most EPUB devices

A negative indent was just a guess. There are so many other things that (self) publishers do trying to trick normal behavior into being JUST LIKE THE PRINT VERSION

I looked at those 2 samples, and just figured that was what would normally be done

if you wanted a Hanging indent

09-13-2023, 03:23 PM	#1
fredex Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2014 Device: none	in viewer, text "sliding" off the left margin Attachment 203744In at least one of my books (I've seen it before, in other books, and ignored it, but right now can't find any other book where it is happening) the farther I read into the book the farther the first letter of every line is sliding off the left margin, by which I mean progressively more and more of the left side of each first letter is cut off, as if the text were being pushed off the page. see attached image. Thanks in advance, for any help you can give! Fredex Attached Thumbnails

09-13-2023, 06:16 PM	#3
fredex Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2014 Device: none	in viewer, text "sliding" off the left margin I suspect you're right, but having inspected the CSS (and I'm no expert therein) I can't see it. there ARE negative margins, but ASFAICS they are being reset appropriately. But I'll go stare at it some more,... miracles DO happen!

09-13-2023, 07:32 PM	#5
fredex Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2014 Device: none	OK, so I tweaked the CSS a bit, based on guesswork: Code: .calibre_28 { display: block; /* text-indent: -19pt; margin: 1em 0 0 19pt; / text-indent: 0; margin 1em 0 0 0; } .calibre_29 { display: block; / text-indent: -19pt; margin: 0 0 0 19pt;*/ text-indent: 0; margin: 0 0 0 0; } and it seems to have cured the problem. Thanks for your replies! Fred

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09-13-2023, 03:46 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,973 Karma: 56143930 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I suspect bad code (CSS) has negative margins that are accumulating. The first C in CSS is Cascade

09-13-2023, 09:37 PM	#6
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,973 Karma: 56143930 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	That is a hanging indent. The code looked normal (calibre28 is a common first Paragraph style with a large top margin) I don't see why that would cause issues.

09-14-2023, 03:18 PM	#7
fredex Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2014 Device: none	while I don't know which of those classes does what, it didn't appear obviously wrong, but I didn't see any negative offsets anywhere else, so I gave it a try and voila! Do you know if any of the CSS (or other features) involved in Calibre ebooks are documented anywhere? Thanks! Fred

09-14-2023, 03:49 PM	#8
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,973 Karma: 56143930 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Calibre does EPUB (see MR Wiki) The viewer is more tolerant of errors than most EPUB devices A negative indent was just a guess. There are so many other things that (self) publishers do trying to trick normal behavior into being JUST LIKE THE PRINT VERSION I looked at those 2 samples, and just figured that was what would normally be done if you wanted a Hanging indent