Justified or Left Aligned? - Page 2

davidfor · 08-27-2013, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

My preference is ragged right with the first paragraph in a block flush left and the remaining paragraphs indented. Part of my editing changes when I get a non-DRMed epub.

That pretty much describes my preference and editing.

booklover6 · 08-27-2013, 08:47 PM

I can't stand the ragged edge. I want justified, with indents. I have been converting everything to that before I put it on my devices. If I find one I forgot to fix, I delete it from the device. I won't read it that way.

ectoplasm · 08-27-2013, 09:24 PM

I noticed an interesting pattern in the justified comments. All of the remarks I would consider "emotional" were voicing a preference for justified, and disdain for left-aligned:

ragged right edge to be just visually disturbing for me
jagged edges are horrible
left-aligned text is an aesthetic nightmare for me
I can't stand the ragged edge

I didn't notice any such comments in the left-aligned group. Disclaimer: I prefer left-aligned

In any case, the ability to choose fonts, line spacing, indents, and paragraph spacing, etc., are a great thing about ereaders.

rhy7s · 08-27-2013, 09:42 PM

I prefer justified vs flush left, with or without indent. With a ragged right edge I end up hunting for my next line, it seems my eyes get used to traversing the full width of the page and it makes it tiring to hunt for the starting position when line ending position varies. This applies to me running at somewhere around about 72 characters per line, if I had to use large fonts I'd probably prefer a ragged edge as character spacing gets a bit distracting when there aren't many to work with.

speakingtohe · 08-27-2013, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhy7s

I prefer justified vs flush left, with or without indent. With a ragged right edge I end up hunting for my next line, it seems my eyes get used to traversing the full width of the page and it makes it tiring to hunt for the starting position when line ending position varies. This applies to me running at somewhere around about 72 characters per line, if I had to use large fonts I'd probably prefer a ragged edge as character spacing gets a bit distracting when there aren't many to work with.

That is kind of interesting. I prefer ragged right but on the Aura I have a margin set as it seems I prefer shorter lines. Maybe that is why

On the mini or 350 I am fine with 68-72 characters and ragged right.

Helen

RobertJSawyer · 08-27-2013, 10:41 PM

Justified text looks horrible on short line lengths, and ridiculous at large type sizes on short lines. The reason I use Kobo over Kindle or Nook is that only Kobo offers the option of turning off full justification.

As I discuss with screen shots here, good justification is an art -- and most ereaders don't do it well: http://sfwriter.com/blog/?p=2262

meeera · 08-28-2013, 12:26 AM

Left aligned because I find it easier to read quickly and accurately. Justified text is like allcaps to me - one big block, no topography to hook onto.

Indent, and an optional slight extra spacing (not a whole line!) between paragraphs.

Merischino · 08-28-2013, 12:50 AM

I prefer left aligned no indent assuming proper spacing betwixt paragraphs together with a tight-ish leading (line spacing).

I will state it this way on purpose so as to disprove a prior poster's point re emotion (while agreeing, secretly):

I abhor justified text and indentation.

I'm not so much emotional about it as have had it trained out of me.... I was trained young on typewriters and as a high school student worked for a typesetter (is there such a profession anymore?) Without going into details my preferences are probably more a function of my training and of industry standards prevalent in a print-only world.

The good news is twofold: first, you can set your preferences in your eBook reader and never think about them again, or if you're really picky, tools, gadgets, techniques, and teams of like-minded people are out there so you can "fix" pretty much anything that needs fixing.

FizzyWater · 08-28-2013, 01:20 AM

Left aligned, no indent - as long as there is spacing between the paragraphs. If the ebook doesn't have extra space between the paragraphs, then left aligned, with indent.

DNSB · 08-28-2013, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anak

Justified text. At the start of a chapter, and after a blank line: no indent. Other text: indented text.

P.S. No one who likes centered text?

I read one dead tree book that was formatted with centered text. I had to take breaks between chapters. It didn't help that the author was fond of long sentences and paragraphs -- no sentence needs to cover 3 pages and no paragraph needs to be an entire 21 page chapter IMNSHO.

Regards,
David

DNSB · 08-28-2013, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booklover6

I can't stand the ragged edge. I want justified, with indents. I have been converting everything to that before I put it on my devices. If I find one I forgot to fix, I delete it from the device. I won't read it that way.

The true joy of ebooks -- every person their own typesetter.

I will read a DRMed ebook that is not formatted to my preferences rather than not read the book at all.

Regards,
David

DNSB · 08-28-2013, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ectoplasm

I noticed an interesting pattern in the justified comments. All of the remarks I would consider "emotional" were voicing a preference for justified, and disdain for left-aligned:

ragged right edge to be just visually disturbing for me
jagged edges are horrible
left-aligned text is an aesthetic nightmare for me
I can't stand the ragged edge

I didn't notice any such comments in the left-aligned group. Disclaimer: I prefer left-aligned

In any case, the ability to choose fonts, line spacing, indents, and paragraph spacing, etc., are a great thing about ereaders.

Is it not obvious? The left aligned group are using the left side of their brain while the justified group are using the right side of their brain. To quote one author, "a person who is "left-brained" is often said to be more logical, analytical and objective, while a person who is "right-brained" is said to be more intuitive, thoughtful and subjective." Hmmm... where did I leave those asbestos overalls?

Regards,
David

daldred · 08-28-2013, 11:15 AM

It's generally accepted that for reading on a screen, justified text is slower to read; hence the recommendation for websites is that left-justified text should always be used. It's also preferable for people with dyslexia, whose word recognition can be disrupted by the variations in spacing needed to make justified text. (See this RNIB page for details).

However, whilst I'd agree with the view on normal, light-emitting screens, I find personally that on an e-ink screen there is no drawback to justified text; despite having slightly odd eyesight, I'm not aware of any more difficulty reading on e-ink than on paper, whether the text is justified or not. A ragged margin is mildly distracting, so I prefer justified text on paper and e-ink screens.

The BNIB identifies the refresh rate of luminous screens as a factor; if they are right, then the absence of refresh on an e-ink screen would explain the difference here. Personally I suspect it also has something to do with light being emitted from, as opposed to reflected by, the screen, and as a result a greater contrast for the eye to handle between the extent and the surrounding environment.

rhy7s · 08-28-2013, 04:00 PM

It would be good if people who liked left aligned/flush left/ragged right used something along the lines of those terms instead of 'left justified' or similar when stating their preference. I see it often in other discussions that bring the issue up. Justified means that text is aligned to both sides, the 'left" in left justified or justify left referring to the last line of a paragraph e.g. http://help.adobe.com/

winsomnia · 08-29-2013, 11:46 AM

I don't have any problems with a ragged right page of typography. It's not distracting to me at all. But I do find that my reading slows down with the (very distracting) unnecessarily large spaces between words sometimes found on a fully justified page of text.

I also believe that the ragged right edge allows me an anchor to the text, where I don't lose my place that often. On a fully justified page I tend to lose my place more often.

View Poll Results: Pick your preference!
Justified with no indent.	9	10.00%
Justified with indent.	49	54.44%
Left align with no indent.	12	13.33%
Left align with indent.	20	22.22%
Voters: 90. You may not vote on this poll

08-28-2013, 12:50 AM	#23
Merischino Groupie Posts: 199 Karma: 436584 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: the beautiful Pacific Northwest Device: Kindle Oasis, Pixel 2, Kindle Fire HD 8	I prefer left aligned no indent assuming proper spacing betwixt paragraphs together with a tight-ish leading (line spacing). I will state it this way on purpose so as to disprove a prior poster's point re emotion (while agreeing, secretly): I abhor justified text and indentation. I'm not so much emotional about it as have had it trained out of me.... I was trained young on typewriters and as a high school student worked for a typesetter (is there such a profession anymore?) Without going into details my preferences are probably more a function of my training and of industry standards prevalent in a print-only world. The good news is twofold: first, you can set your preferences in your eBook reader and never think about them again, or if you're really picky, tools, gadgets, techniques, and teams of like-minded people are out there so you can "fix" pretty much anything that needs fixing. Last edited by Merischino; 08-28-2013 at 12:56 AM. Reason: typos

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08-27-2013, 08:47 PM	#17
booklover6 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,545 Karma: 14008730 Join Date: May 2008 Location: PA (USA) Device: Kobo Clara, 2E, Libre 1, PW4, PW5, 2022 Kindle, Kobo Libre Colour	I can't stand the ragged edge. I want justified, with indents. I have been converting everything to that before I put it on my devices. If I find one I forgot to fix, I delete it from the device. I won't read it that way.

08-27-2013, 09:24 PM	#18
ectoplasm Addict Posts: 255 Karma: 1151364 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Aura HD and H2O	I noticed an interesting pattern in the justified comments. All of the remarks I would consider "emotional" were voicing a preference for justified, and disdain for left-aligned: ragged right edge to be just visually disturbing for me jagged edges are horrible left-aligned text is an aesthetic nightmare for me I can't stand the ragged edge I didn't notice any such comments in the left-aligned group. Disclaimer: I prefer left-aligned In any case, the ability to choose fonts, line spacing, indents, and paragraph spacing, etc., are a great thing about ereaders.

08-27-2013, 09:42 PM	#19
rhy7s Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2013 Device: Kobo Touch / Sony PRS-T1 / Sony PRS-T2	I prefer justified vs flush left, with or without indent. With a ragged right edge I end up hunting for my next line, it seems my eyes get used to traversing the full width of the page and it makes it tiring to hunt for the starting position when line ending position varies. This applies to me running at somewhere around about 72 characters per line, if I had to use large fonts I'd probably prefer a ragged edge as character spacing gets a bit distracting when there aren't many to work with.

08-27-2013, 10:41 PM	#21
RobertJSawyer Guru Posts: 735 Karma: 3911762 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite	Justified text looks horrible on short line lengths, and ridiculous at large type sizes on short lines. The reason I use Kobo over Kindle or Nook is that only Kobo offers the option of turning off full justification. As I discuss with screen shots here, good justification is an art -- and most ereaders don't do it well: http://sfwriter.com/blog/?p=2262

08-28-2013, 12:26 AM	#22
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,808 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Left aligned because I find it easier to read quickly and accurately. Justified text is like allcaps to me - one big block, no topography to hook onto. Indent, and an optional slight extra spacing (not a whole line!) between paragraphs.

08-28-2013, 01:20 AM	#24
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Left aligned, no indent - as long as there is spacing between the paragraphs. If the ebook doesn't have extra space between the paragraphs, then left aligned, with indent.

08-28-2013, 11:15 AM	#28
daldred Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 11514 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Elonex eb511	It's generally accepted that for reading on a screen, justified text is slower to read; hence the recommendation for websites is that left-justified text should always be used. It's also preferable for people with dyslexia, whose word recognition can be disrupted by the variations in spacing needed to make justified text. (See this RNIB page for details). However, whilst I'd agree with the view on normal, light-emitting screens, I find personally that on an e-ink screen there is no drawback to justified text; despite having slightly odd eyesight, I'm not aware of any more difficulty reading on e-ink than on paper, whether the text is justified or not. A ragged margin is mildly distracting, so I prefer justified text on paper and e-ink screens. The BNIB identifies the refresh rate of luminous screens as a factor; if they are right, then the absence of refresh on an e-ink screen would explain the difference here. Personally I suspect it also has something to do with light being emitted from, as opposed to reflected by, the screen, and as a result a greater contrast for the eye to handle between the extent and the surrounding environment.

08-28-2013, 04:00 PM	#29
rhy7s Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2013 Device: Kobo Touch / Sony PRS-T1 / Sony PRS-T2	It would be good if people who liked left aligned/flush left/ragged right used something along the lines of those terms instead of 'left justified' or similar when stating their preference. I see it often in other discussions that bring the issue up. Justified means that text is aligned to both sides, the 'left" in left justified or justify left referring to the last line of a paragraph e.g. http://help.adobe.com/

08-29-2013, 11:46 AM	#30
winsomnia Groupie Posts: 164 Karma: 190082 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: BC, Canada Device: kobo Touch, kobo Aura	I don't have any problems with a ragged right page of typography. It's not distracting to me at all. But I do find that my reading slows down with the (very distracting) unnecessarily large spaces between words sometimes found on a fully justified page of text. I also believe that the ragged right edge allows me an anchor to the text, where I don't lose my place that often. On a fully justified page I tend to lose my place more often.

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