Suggestion for Improving the "Insert Special Character" Feature - Page 5

KevinH · Yesterday, 08:47 AM

Great! I will start trying to clean up the code, add version attribute, and integrate it into Sigil itself.

And yes in cvrt.py when label="" I should not have bothered to include that attribute to save space. Good point.

Nice work!

KevinH · Yesterday, 04:02 PM

Okay, I have done a bit of code cleanup and reintegrated the new SelectCharacter code and new FlowLayoutCode into Sigil. Tested it and it seems to work just fine. Pushed it to master in my personal repo along with all the other changes we have made so far.

https://github.com/kevinhendricks/Sigil.git

So please if you build your own give it a go and if okay, we can then start tweaking it for further improvements.

Once it looks good, I will push it to Sigil-Ebook Sigil master.

Thanks!

BeckyEbook · Yesterday, 05:50 PM

I built Sigil and… it just works!

Click image for larger version

Name: sigil-chars-xml-works.png
Views: 14
Size: 54.9 KB
ID: 226100

I saw in the commit that if a version isn’t specified, we assume it’s version 1.0.0.
I think the new plugin will add the version when saving, even if it loads a file without one.

And honestly – I don’t see any bugs. It just works, maintaining backward compatibility, though with that one small difference I pointed out in my comment: now, even with the default character layout, subsequent lines fill the entire width of the window.

Click image for larger version

Name: sigil-chars-fit-to-window.png
Views: 12
Size: 54.7 KB
ID: 226099

Of course, I recommend that other testers conduct additional testing.

KevinH · Yesterday, 06:21 PM

Glad to hear it! Yes please add the version="1.0.0" string to the parent tag in your plugin if possible.

I will commit it tomorrow to Sigil-Ebook master for others to begin playing with.

Thanks for your idea and code! Very nicely done!

DiapDealer · Yesterday, 07:58 PM

Good stuff you two!

DNSB · Yesterday, 08:31 PM

Anyone running Windows and interested in testing this compile can download Sigil-2.8.5-Windows-x64-Setup.exe.

The SHA-256 for this compile of Sigil-2.8.5-Windows-x64-Setup.exe is:
4ABD326D9857A2AC83F1557EB715EA66358F6C810123B54A50 CC10D6370450B0

I've also included the sample special_characters.xml which goes into sigil's preferences directory (C:\Users\<usernames>\AppData\Local\sigil-ebook\sigil is the default).

icearch · Yesterday, 10:04 PM

Sorting them is certainly a very uesful feature.

But what's these chinese characters doing in punctuation?

BeckyEbook · Today, 12:53 AM

This is just a text file that showed that grouping works.

The whole idea is that – if you want – you define the groups and the characters that will be in them.
If you are happy with the default characters, simply do nothing.

philja · Today, 05:34 AM

I've just tried DNSB's test compile on my Windows 11 box. I re-organised the sample special_characters.xml file and added a new section with the characters I'm interested in.

It works well - as did the original, of course.

It's all very well having an editable file, but the potential difficulty rests, as always, with the reader interface having fonts with the glyphs required to display the characters.

KevinH · Today, 08:10 AM

Yes, just like any other character used in any ebook, if your current font does not support it, you must embed a font that does or use a different character. Nothing has changed in that regard.

But the default insert special character list is just the chars that make-up the set of html named entities so support for all of those should be good in most decent fonts.

AFWIW, the epub 3.4 spec does include a new change to allow remote fonts now. So using an external url in a font stylesheet font face is now allowed as long as it is properly listed in the manifest and the correct manifest property is set on the xhtml files that use it.

Yesterday, 08:47 AM	#61
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 10,076 Karma: 7518950 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Great! I will start trying to clean up the code, add version attribute, and integrate it into Sigil itself. And yes in cvrt.py when label="" I should not have bothered to include that attribute to save space. Good point. Nice work! Last edited by KevinH; Yesterday at 01:02 PM.

Yesterday, 05:50 PM	#63
BeckyEbook Wizard Posts: 1,051 Karma: 3883259 Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Poland Device: Various	I built Sigil and… it just works! I saw in the commit that if a version isn’t specified, we assume it’s version 1.0.0. I think the new plugin will add the version when saving, even if it loads a file without one. And honestly – I don’t see any bugs. It just works, maintaining backward compatibility, though with that one small difference I pointed out in my comment: now, even with the default character layout, subsequent lines fill the entire width of the window. Of course, I recommend that other testers conduct additional testing.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
PageEdit 2.1.0 - Insert Special Character not working	BetterRed	Sigil	0	05-17-2024 10:01 PM
Add title="" to h* based on existing TOC -- suggestion for new feature (or plugin?)	Mister L	Sigil	82	09-11-2020 09:09 AM
"insert special character" in editor	rjwse@aol.com	Editor	5	08-27-2019 08:31 PM
Insert special character: some niggles	Phssthpok	Editor	2	11-19-2016 12:55 PM
Feature Request: configurable space setting for "Insert blank line" in "Look & Feel"	therealjoeblow	Calibre	15	07-25-2011 03:14 PM

Yesterday, 04:02 PM	#62
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 10,076 Karma: 7518950 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Okay, I have done a bit of code cleanup and reintegrated the new SelectCharacter code and new FlowLayoutCode into Sigil. Tested it and it seems to work just fine. Pushed it to master in my personal repo along with all the other changes we have made so far. https://github.com/kevinhendricks/Sigil.git So please if you build your own give it a go and if okay, we can then start tweaking it for further improvements. Once it looks good, I will push it to Sigil-Ebook Sigil master. Thanks!

Yesterday, 06:21 PM	#64
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 10,076 Karma: 7518950 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Glad to hear it! Yes please add the version="1.0.0" string to the parent tag in your plugin if possible. I will commit it tomorrow to Sigil-Ebook master for others to begin playing with. Thanks for your idea and code! Very nicely done!

Yesterday, 07:58 PM	#65
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 29,775 Karma: 212614993 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Good stuff you two!

Yesterday, 10:04 PM	#67
icearch Addict Posts: 222 Karma: 2000 Join Date: Nov 2025 Device: none	Sorting them is certainly a very uesful feature. But what's these chinese characters doing in punctuation?

Today, 12:53 AM	#68
BeckyEbook Wizard Posts: 1,051 Karma: 3883259 Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Poland Device: Various	This is just a text file that showed that grouping works. The whole idea is that – if you want – you define the groups and the characters that will be in them. If you are happy with the default characters, simply do nothing.

Today, 05:34 AM	#69
philja Evangelist Posts: 435 Karma: 100100 Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Europe EEC Device: Kindle Fire HD6 & HD8	I've just tried DNSB's test compile on my Windows 11 box. I re-organised the sample special_characters.xml file and added a new section with the characters I'm interested in. It works well - as did the original, of course. It's all very well having an editable file, but the potential difficulty rests, as always, with the reader interface having fonts with the glyphs required to display the characters.

Today, 08:10 AM	#70
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 10,076 Karma: 7518950 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Yes, just like any other character used in any ebook, if your current font does not support it, you must embed a font that does or use a different character. Nothing has changed in that regard. But the default insert special character list is just the chars that make-up the set of html named entities so support for all of those should be good in most decent fonts. AFWIW, the epub 3.4 spec does include a new change to allow remote fonts now. So using an external url in a font stylesheet font face is now allowed as long as it is properly listed in the manifest and the correct manifest property is set on the xhtml files that use it.