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Old 06-18-2021, 03:19 PM   #1
2scre
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Black background problem in Sigil 0.9.14

I recently downloaded 0.9.14 version of Sigil to use the BookView which is not available in later versions.

When I open an ePub file, I'm seeing black background on black text, which makes the text illegible.

I'm using iMac (Mojave).

I was suggested to rename the sigil.ini file to oldsigil.ini, which I did, but it didn't fix the problem.
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Old 06-18-2021, 03:25 PM   #2
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Sigil 0.9.14 had no inherent darkmode capabilities. The only way for BookView to have a black background in 0.9.14 is by using a custom .qss file in your Sigil preferences directory. The only way for Preview to have a black background in 0.9.14 is for the epub's own css to specify it, or by overriding the book's css with a custom user css file (also found in the Sigil preferences directory).

The colors from a newer version of Sigil might have become "stuck" if you downgraded from a newer version of Sigil, but you said you renamed the existing Sigil.ini file, so that rules out that possibility.

Last edited by DiapDealer; 06-18-2021 at 03:30 PM.
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Old 06-18-2021, 06:38 PM   #3
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I’ve seen this often when opening smashwords epubs. Their guide explicitly states for users to define the text color as black (color:black). When you change to night mode, or otherwise specify a background color in the css, this prevents the device from changing the text to a complementary color.

I could see this happening with other “automated” ePub software designed primary for print. As Diap mentioned, I doubt this is a Sigil issue. Try searching your CSS file(s) for “color”.
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Old 06-18-2021, 07:13 PM   #4
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To test, try opening a known good epub when your macOS is set to Light mode not dark. Try downloading an loading the Sigil User Guide epub or any known good epub.
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Old 06-18-2021, 08:26 PM   #5
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I wasn't aware the version of Qt we shipped with 0.9.14 even supported MacOS' light/dark modes, but apparently I'm wrong.

Any chance users could modify Sigil's .plist file to opt out of dark mode with the info provided here:https://developer.apple.com/document...your_macos_app ?
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Old 06-18-2021, 08:31 PM   #6
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It doesn't but the macOS Mojave does. So they should make sure they have their macOS set to use light mode in case the older QWebkit absorbed any colours from the OS (just to test with).

Yes there are app plist files but changing them would break the digital signature.

I just was trying to see if any epub worked at all, first.

Also, they want to make sure they had fully exited out of Sigil when they renamed the sigil.ini file otherwise it won't impact anything.

For many macOS users get confused when they close the last Window thinking the app has exited but it has not. They need to actually exit out.

Last edited by KevinH; 06-18-2021 at 08:35 PM.
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Old 06-18-2021, 08:37 PM   #7
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Understood (about digital sigs). But Sigil 0.9.14 ships with Qt5.12.3, and support for MacOS dark mode appears to have begun with Qt5.12.1. So won't 0.9.14's Qt (by default) try to honor the user dark mode setting on Mojave?
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Old 06-18-2021, 08:43 PM   #8
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But did QtWebkit? For BookView and Preview? It was the last version of Sigil to use QtWebkit. I thought only QtWebEngine was supported in Qt 5.12 officially for theme switching. That is I recommend trying with macOS set to light mode.
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Old 06-18-2021, 08:54 PM   #9
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That, I don't know. Hopefully the OP can provide some answers.
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Old 06-19-2021, 09:04 AM   #10
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I just now downloaded Sigil User Guide and opened and it had the same problem. (I changed my Mac settings from dark mode to light mode before opening it)

I went to Application Support again, and found oldsigil.ini dated June 13, and sigil.ini dated today.

When I tried renaming the sigil.ini dated today to oldsigil.ini it says "The name “oldsigil.ini” is already taken. Please choose a different name."

Last edited by 2scre; 06-19-2021 at 09:34 AM.
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Old 06-19-2021, 10:39 AM   #11
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Make sure Sigil is not running at all. Then change sigil.ini to ANY other name. For example badsigil.ini or anything else you like. But the key point it to make sure that Sigil is *not* at all running first.
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Old 06-19-2021, 11:10 AM   #12
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Okay. I use macOS with Mojave on one of my machines so I created an entirely new user on my system. Logged in as this new user, downloaded Sigil 0.9.14 for mac and installed it on my desktop and tested it.

- Sigil 0.9.14 works just fine if the Mac is set to system Light Theme *before* launching Sigil. Both Preview and BookView work as expected. No black text.

However if you set your mac to Dark Theme before starting Sigil 0.9.14 both Preview and BookView show black text on black backgroud.

Quitting completely out of Sigil, changing the mac to Light Theme and then starting up Sigil fixes things.

The OP simply needs to set their mac to Light theme *before* launching Sigil. Launching Sigil when under Dark mode and then switching to Light will not work. To do that they must exit completely out of Sigil before switching Themes using Sigil's Quit menu.

So
1. Use Sigil's Quit menu to force Sigil to stop running (exit out completely)
2. Switch your mac to Light mode
3. Then and only then start-up Sigil
4. Load your epub.

Both Preview and BookView will then work just fine as testing proves on an iMac with Mojave.

Note: starting up or restarting your mac may not help to exit from Sigil as they are set by default to reopening all apps with windows open when the shutdown or restart was done. This is horrible if any issues exist in the app. I always uncheck the reopen windows box when doing any restart or shutdown to prevent such stupid behaviour.

Last edited by KevinH; 06-19-2021 at 11:16 AM.
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Old 06-19-2021, 11:26 AM   #13
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I changed the remaining sigil.ini to some other name and now the problem is fixed. Thank you!
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Old 06-19-2021, 11:36 AM   #14
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I guess I'll have to change to light mode every time I want to start Sigil and then switch back to dark mode if I feel like it after it's launched.
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Old 06-19-2021, 12:02 PM   #15
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Sigil 0.9.14 is so old there was no support yet for mac Dark and Light modes.

If you feel comfortable in using Terminal.app and changing system defaults on macOS you might try the following command:

defaults write com.sigil-ebook.Sigil.app NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool yes

I am not sure if that will work or not, but it is worth a try.

Here is a link that may help I found via a google search:

https://www.techjunkie.com/exclude-a...-macos-mojave/

Last edited by KevinH; 06-19-2021 at 12:13 PM.
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