Using absolute units in img width tends to fail

[icearch]

Originally Posted by RbnJrg

Your issue is due to the apps you are using. Moon +, FB reader are awful; Readest is a nice app but perhaps you haven't configured it correctly and you're allowing the epub's css code to be overwritten with your personal preferences (there are some things in Readest that are not yet properly implemented). Open your epub and test your code with Cantook, Reasily, Lithium, Kobo for Android, PocketBook, Infinity Reader, BookFusion.

I submitted an issue on Readest's github, they acknowledge this to be a problem and plan to work on it.

As to apps, I care more about reading comfortably, not necessarily function supportibility. So I use Moon+ and FB. I have tried Lithium, PocketBook, Kobo, tbh, they kinna awkward to use. They might be accurate renders, but they do not necessarily be good apps.

Another thing is, you need good epub to fully utilize these apps that support more functions, but sadly, there are more junks than goodies. If the file is good, than not much difference regarding apps.

And further more, not every one have good reader device or apps. The top dog Kindle are awkward too.

So Readest is really promising, it's free, they support lots of functions, they are not awkward to use, they look neet and fancy, they are cross platform. I actually hand out Readest installation to others so they can have some nice reader apps.

But the cold hard truth is more people don't have good things. So I have to consider them.

[icearch]

I think there are two kinds of philosophies regarding digital reading.

One is to let the maker do all the thing and let reader enjoy. This route needs good files and accurate renders.

The other is let the reader decide how they want to read the book. This route needs minimum formatting and powerful, detailed, user friendly custom setting functions.

Apps and formatters tends to lean to one side, rarely can they do both, some are just fail to manage to do either.

I myslef prefers route two more, so I read what I like, and make books that can do that just fine. I really don't want my book to be overly fancy.

[KevinH]

The problem is the multitude of epub2 and epub3 e-readers that are crap and do not meet even the most basic epub requirements. Any reader that claims epub support but does not support svg is not to spec and should not be able to claim epub support.

[icearch]

To be fair, huge amount of epub files does not fit the basic standard too.

95 out of 100 times I open a epub file in Sigil, there is a warning of missing something.

Human society bulids on shit piles, and people just don't care.

[KevinH]

Sigil forces both xml headers and full doctype and for 99% of epubs it reports them missing and add them. This is done for maximum spec compliance. Most e-readers do not care. This does not in any way mean the epub itself is crap. Run epubcheck to determine that. The vast majority of epub publishers require the submitted book to pass epubcheck. So the vast majority of published epubs are fine.

The true problem is e-readers that are not spec compliant.

[icearch]

You are right, I'm not implying the readers have no problem, they have problem and a lot, otherwise I'm not scraching my hair off.

And I definitely think we should work hard to make them do better and pushing on really good apps.

But the situation right now is crap all over the place. And we need to live with that, just like medieval citizens.

As for epub files, there are far more world beyond authentic store bought epubs. As you said, vast majority of PUBLISHED epubs are fine. But there are poorly transfered ones, poorly made ones, just one xhtml without nav ones, dirty code soup ones.

People don't care that much, they use txt and pdf way more here. So they can't support a healthy feedback market to make apps change.

Speaking of this, they don't even use local files to read that much, most people just consume in the market/distribution/social apps.

And further more, people just don't read any more, they prefer tiktok.

Getting them use epub is already a hard task, it just not plausible to force them use apps they are not already using. So testing on popular crap apps is a must do.

But it's not all bad that people do not use epub at all, I can just shove Readest in their mouth ye.

[DiapDealer]

I wouldn't really consider any of the apps you mentioned to be "popular". People who use anything other than the app provided by the ecosystem they bought the epub from are fringe at best. As are people who are reading epubs not purchased from large publishers.

That's not a value judgement on my part, just an opinion based on years of observation. People who care enough to read epubs they didn't purchase from major publishers on reading apps that don't come close to honoring the epub spec either: 1) don't care about the areas where the apps fail to render properly, or 2) already know how to edit the epubs they're reading to get them to render the way they want them to.

[icearch]

AAANNNNNNNDDDD good newssssss???

I just saw another epub, they use css to set width and guess what?

All reader render it correctly, even the carppy ones.

Like wtf??

I recall similar situation, also, css works but attributes or inline style does not work.

Can somebody tell me why?

[icearch]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I wouldn't really consider any of the apps you mentioned to be "popular".

I base this on Google Play downloads.

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

People who use anything other than the app provided by the ecosystem they bought the epub from are fringe at best. As are people who are reading epubs not purchased from large publishers.

This is true, Google Play Books have 100 times more downloads than some top downloaded stand alone apps.

[JSWolf]

A number of apps for reading ePub on Android and iOS are not all that good. They don't follow the CSS well enough and some you have to set all kinds of options that override the CSS. That's the problem. So your ePub may not display as it should.

[RbnJrg]

Originally Posted by icearch

As to apps, I care more about reading comfortably, not necessarily function supportibility. So I use Moon+ and FB. I have tried Lithium, PocketBook, Kobo, tbh, they kinna awkward to use. They might be accurate renders, but they do not necessarily be good apps.

In that case, I must say you don't know how to use them properly. Cantook, Reasily, and PocketBook aren't just good e-readers; they're convenient and very easy to use. I can concede that while Lithium, BookFusion, and Infinity Reader display epub files well, they might be a bit basic (and Kobo for Android is quite basic, even though its epub3 support is great), but the other apps are very good.

Another thing is, you need good epub to fully utilize these apps that support more functions, but sadly, there are more junks than goodies. If the file is good, than not much difference regarding apps.

Well then, I must say—and please don't take this the wrong way—that you don't know much about epub. No, the application you use to open an ebook is not irrelevant. Why don't you try opening the sample chapter I'm attaching in Cantook, Reasily, or Lithium and see what you get? Then do the same in FB Reader or Moon+. There's a world of difference (and try changing the font size)! The reading experience on the e-readers I recommend is infinitely superior to what you can get on FB Reader and Moon+ (although I acknowledge that Readest, as a derivative, a fork of Foliate, can display an epub well, it is no easier to use than the readers I recommend).

And further more, not every one have good reader device or apps. The top dog Kindle are awkward too.

So Readest is really promising, it's free, they support lots of functions, they are not awkward to use, they look neet and fancy, they are cross platform. I actually hand out Readest installation to others so they can have some nice reader apps.

Cantook, Reasily, Lithium, PocketBook are also free and easier to use than Readest.

[icearch]

Good friend, I totally understand what you are saying. And here I will list some problems or features I personally don't like about some app you mentioned that I tried.

Also don't get me wrong, it's just a personal preference thing, I'm definitely not attacking you or the apps, just issues and comparison. And a lot of them might be my user error, so please bear with me.

1. lithium

- It scans my phone for library automatically, and once it found books, you need to delete them manually. Changing default library folder kinna hurts my butt that you must type in address rather than choose.

- Limited custom settings.

- Loading screen when going into new xhtml file. I use new flagship phone, no other app loading like this.

- Full screen pic with one touch, annoying when there's a lot of pics.

- The testing file Alice, The big first letter overlay with the next row of words. ( I'm not post screenshot here because I'm using basic notepad to write this, just trust me in this one.)

- Render error: the V shape of decoration line in first page of Alice have white background.

- Auto rotate and can't turn off.

2. Reasliy

- Setting in books only apply to said book, you need to change setting in main screen to let it be defult. It's for individual custom I understand, but it's hard to notice what you have to do, and changing in main screen can't get visual feed back. It's also awkward to interact with menus.

- Limited custom options.

- First letter overlay, see lithium.

- One touch fullscreen pic, you can turn it off sure but why defult?

- One touch open external links, and I can't find where to turn it off.

- Testing file Alice - the last 3~4 page can't proceed correctly, it refuse to go on, touch does nothing, swipe it will jam and bounce back. After accident auto rotate and back it become normal.

- Auto rotate and can't turn off.

3. Cantbook

- No Chinese, that's a big no no.

- Limited custom options. And line spacinf can only go to 2X, which is far from enough for testing file Alice.

- One touch open external links and can't turn off.

- Can't open pic fullscreen to check details.

- Render error: the V shape of decoration line in first page of Alice have white background.

4. PocketBook

- Poorly translated Chinese. And I can't find where to switch back to English. I assume you need to change system seeting which is dumb.

- Text setting is hard to navigate and pinpoint. It's like Kindle and I don't like it. I prefer numbers.

- Invert color of pics in darkmode. Can't find where to change.

- Can't open pic fullscreen to check details.

Again, I'm not posting this out of hatred. Just want to say, user friendly and other functions are also important for certain people, and being a bad accurate render does not mean it would necessarily give a bad reading experience, vice versa.

[icearch]

And my final decision is to resize logo to small pic, since I really do not want them to take up all the screen for whatever reason, and also prevent too large file size, also prevent raw hd logo leakage.

If someone have better ways to to this, please post freely.

[Turtle91]

All the suggestions we’ve given have been generic. You haven’t provided an example of the problem you are having. If you’d like actual help with a specific problem you might try posting the actual css you are using with an example of the error. Otherwise generic answers is all we can provide.

[RbnJrg]

Well, I'm not experiencing the problems you're mentioning. Look, here are screenshots from Reasily:




And this is the screenshot of the first page in Lithium:



But I agree with you, that when the theme is dark (you are reading in night mode), the V shape of decoration line in first page of Alice have white background (that is not fixed in the sample I uploaded).

And in Cantook, the rendering is also perfect:



It's ok if you want to employ Readest as your e-reader (as I said, is a nice e-reader although some things need to be fixed), but with FB Reader and Moon+, they are not appropriate for testing the xhtml and css code contained in your epubs. What does the Alice sample look like on FB Reader? Horrible, it hurts the eyes.

Originally Posted by icearch

Good friend, I totally understand what you are saying. And here I will list some problems or features I personally don't like about some app you mentioned that I tried.

Also don't get me wrong, it's just a personal preference thing, I'm definitely not attacking you or the apps, just issues and comparison. And a lot of them might be my user error, so please bear with me.

1. lithium

- It scans my phone for library automatically, and once it found books, you need to delete them manually. Changing default library folder kinna hurts my butt that you must type in address rather than choose.

- Limited custom settings.

- Loading screen when going into new xhtml file. I use new flagship phone, no other app loading like this.

- Full screen pic with one touch, annoying when there's a lot of pics.

- The testing file Alice, The big first letter overlay with the next row of words. ( I'm not post screenshot here because I'm using basic notepad to write this, just trust me in this one.)

- Render error: the V shape of decoration line in first page of Alice have white background.

- Auto rotate and can't turn off.

2. Reasliy

- Setting in books only apply to said book, you need to change setting in main screen to let it be defult. It's for individual custom I understand, but it's hard to notice what you have to do, and changing in main screen can't get visual feed back. It's also awkward to interact with menus.

- Limited custom options.

- First letter overlay, see lithium.

- One touch fullscreen pic, you can turn it off sure but why defult?

- One touch open external links, and I can't find where to turn it off.

- Testing file Alice - the last 3~4 page can't proceed correctly, it refuse to go on, touch does nothing, swipe it will jam and bounce back. After accident auto rotate and back it become normal.

- Auto rotate and can't turn off.

3. Cantbook

- No Chinese, that's a big no no.

- Limited custom options. And line spacinf can only go to 2X, which is far from enough for testing file Alice.

- One touch open external links and can't turn off.

- Can't open pic fullscreen to check details.

- Render error: the V shape of decoration line in first page of Alice have white background.

4. PocketBook

- Poorly translated Chinese. And I can't find where to switch back to English. I assume you need to change system seeting which is dumb.

- Text setting is hard to navigate and pinpoint. It's like Kindle and I don't like it. I prefer numbers.

- Invert color of pics in darkmode. Can't find where to change.

- Can't open pic fullscreen to check details.

Again, I'm not posting this out of hatred. Just want to say, user friendly and other functions are also important for certain people, and being a bad accurate render does not mean it would necessarily give a bad reading experience, vice versa.