InDesign epub code cleanup

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Looking Death's Dialogue in paperback edition of Reaper man it's very hard to tell if it's real 'small-caps' or simply a smaller font in capitals. The starts of Death's sentences uses a regular capital.

What happens on ereaders or apps that don't support Media Queries?
[Edit: the dog ate my homework text books]

I only see them in ebooks downloaded from Amazon.

You can test media queries on a Kobo using ePub as the version of RMSDK used does not support media queries.

One thing I cannot find is how to do a media query for small-caps. I don't think it can be done. I would not mind being proved wrong in this case.

So it looks like you either use the font-variant and some will not get Death correct or you use a font-size and everyone will get Death correct.

[Turtle91]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

]<p><small>S<small>O</small> I <small>HAVE</small> <small>HEARD</small>, said Death.</p>

Are you saying you need to wrap each individual word with its own <small> tag?!?! Why not just include the space in one set of tags??

 <small>HAVE HEARD</small>

The space within the tag would at least keep the spacing consistent… and reduce code bloat.

[paperwhite13]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

Are you saying you need to wrap each individual word with its own <small> tag?!?! Why not just include the space in one set of tags??.

This is the third time I'm saying that that was a bad example, please read everything This is the comment I stand by.

<p><small>SO I HAVE HEARD</small>, said Death.</p>

[Turtle91]

I actually wasn’t responding to you, but to JSWolf. I don’t try to force my opinions/techniques on others. I give advice and examples. It’s up to the reader to use it, or not.

[paperwhite13]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

I actually wasn’t responding to you, but to JSWolf. I don’t try to force my opinions/techniques on others. I give advice and examples. It’s up to the reader to use it, or not.

My apologies, I misunderstood

[paperwhite13]

But just to say this, everyone should forget about that comment (quoted by JSWolf), I did say it's bad

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So it looks like you either use the font-variant and some will not get Death correct or you use a font-size and everyone will get Death correct.

I'd hesitate to correct Death, or even challenge to a game of chess. I'm neither a good chess player or Gary Gygax.

https://xkcd.com/393/

[paperwhite13]

Originally Posted by paperwhite13

This is the third time I'm saying that that was a bad example, please read everything This is the comment I stand by.

<p><small>SO I HAVE HEARD</small>, said Death.</p>

I'd be really grateful if someone explained to me why did JSWolf say that in the quoted scenario I'm losing the caps, I'd like to understand.

[Turtle91]

Soooo just wait a minute now… in that comic EVERYONE is talking in all caps… WTH?!?!!!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

That is the same type of kluge that people have used for things like drop-caps. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few people who use it. It is NOT a recommended technique. It breaks up words so any spelling checkers, or search algorithms would not work, and it is not accessibility friendly...think what TTS programs would sound like: S...O...I...have heard...

In the example I gave above, none of that is an issue.

JSWolf is correct that a standards compliant device/app would just ignore any styling that it doesn't understand/support. So style from most basic to most complex, or older to newer, or least capable to most capable. The device/app will style to its highest level of compatibility without giving any errors. All MQs typically go on their own stylesheet in case older(er) devices that don't support MQs don't lose all the rest of the styling on the sheet.

So I have heard, said Death.

Is basic, but at least it is grammatically correct, readable, searchable, TTS able, etc. If the user doesn't LIKE that they have a basic device then it's up to them to decide if they want upgrade, or just live with it...if they even notice they didn't have the small-caps...they've never seen it on that device.

You can also adjust your coding based on the capabilities of your target devices/apps. If you are marketing on Amazon, you only need to worry about kindle capabilities, not kobo quirks... swap the css sheet to a kobo version if you are going to sell there...not that difficult.

I would hope the TTS would ignore the <small> as it's display only.

[Turtle91]

My response in #122 was asking why he kept the space outside of the <small> tags. Hopefully he will answer.

In general, the technique is used to simulate small-caps… where capital letters would still be displayed larger than the lower case letters. That is done automatically using the font-variant:small-caps on devices that support it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by paperwhite13

Sorry, I don't understand, what do you mean I've lost the actual caps? It's ironic that this time around you're pushing for writing a CSS class when a simple tag works

You have to have a full size cap where appropriate and all the other letters are smallcaps.

The problem is that <small> is too large for smallcaps. So you have to set a size for <small> to work properly (in this case).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

Are you saying you need to wrap each individual word with its own <small> tag?!?! Why not just include the space in one set of tags??

 <small>HAVE HEARD</small>

The space within the tag would at least keep the spacing consistent… and reduce code bloat.

If you use font-variant: small-caps, a space is a full size space. If you use <small>, a space will be smaller then it should be. So if you want a correct size space, you have to do it as I did it.

[paperwhite13]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You have to have a full size cap where appropriate and all the other letters are smallcaps.

The problem is that <small> is too large for smallcaps. So you have to set a size for <small> to work properly (in this case).

In my (second) example, the entire line was in small caps, just like the original I've posted, with no initial regular cap, so something missing couldn't have been lost.

I understand about <small>, but I tried it without redefining it, with the Random in Death font-size: 85%, and your own 0.8333em, and I failed to see a difference with the naked eye. I will keep it in mind and test it further, though.

[JSWolf]

Back to the topic of IDs. This is actual code from an eBook where the <a> should be removed if it's not being used.

lit<a id="page10"></a>tle world