Errors in ePub Created in Sigil

[FlooseMan Dave]

This error is difficult to track down. An article in HTML format is loaded into Sigil and saved as an ePub. When I open it in Adobe Advanced Editions, all it shows is the first page. When I try to scroll to the next page, regardless of what I do, it goes to the last page which is blank for some reason. When I load it into Aldiko running on my Android powered device, the links do not work and you cannot scroll from page to page. There is definitely something wrong with this document.

In a world of Garbage In-Garbage Out, this error must have something to do with what is in the HTML formatting that is causing this. I previously converted a different document from HTML to ePub and got excellent results. I was even able to successfully divide the file into chapters. So the issue has something to do with what is in this document that is causing this error. If any one has any suggestions on how to track this one down, I'd like to hear them.

Thanks!

Unfortunately my access to the US military's AWACs system is on the fritz right now so I can't see what you see. Perhaps I'll try a seance later to get some ectoplasmic entity to look over your shoulder.

If all these options fail could you just post the epub as an attachment to a further note about the problem?

[Valloric]

shall1028's sarcasm aside, we need to see your document to be able to help you.

My humour is only to prod people into thinking about information other people will need that isn't being presented.

For example in speech I find many people tend to use pronouns with no referent. So, when asked "What do you think about it?" with no previous mention of what it is I might reply: "I think tuna smoothies won't be a best seller" or "Queen Elizabeth would look awfully silly riding a surfboard".

It's sort of like Pinky and the Brain's: Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering gags.

Sorry to "FlooseMan Dave" if come across as too crass. It was not my intention but, it seems, my nature. I vow to make up for it by attempting my best to evaluate his little epub mystery.

[FlooseMan Dave]

Originally Posted by shall1028

My humour is only to prod people into thinking about information other people will need that isn't being presented.

For example in speech I find many people tend to use pronouns with no referent. So, when asked "What do you think about it?" with no previous mention of what it is I might reply: "I think tuna smoothies won't be a best seller" or "Queen Elizabeth would look awfully silly riding a surfboard".

It's sort of like Pinky and the Brain's: Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering gags.

Sorry to "FlooseMan Dave" if come across as too crass. It was not my intention but, it seems, my nature. I vow to make up for it by attempting my best to evaluate his little epub mystery.

Actually, your response was quite entertaining while at the same time leaving a nudge that being able to see the issue is a lot easier to respond to than a narrative that is, well, less than thorough. In that I have been in the IT industry 30 years myself, I should know better. Thanks for the response. I loved it!

Now, on to the error at hand. The original article was written by a friend of mine in 1996 and in years since it has been translated into several different languages. The English version went thru Sigil without difficulty. The Spanish version is where I am having issues. Because there is a copyright associated with the article, I have sent an email to the author requesting permission to post his article here so the community can take a look at the technical issue. Since the article is not part of any revenue stream, I do not think there will be a conflict with the copyright in posting the article here, but out of courtesy I thought it appropriate to request his permission before I go any further. It is, btw, in HTML.

I haven't yet come to a full stop in being able to fix this, but I wanted a more experienced set of eyes (ahem, yes I have to post it here <lol>) to take a look. Stay tuned. I'll return with a response as soon as I get it.

[FlooseMan Dave]

This English version of this HTML article I was able to convert to ePub just fine:

Dynamic Sex: Unlocking the Secret to Love

http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNs...et_to_Love.htm.

Still searching for the secret of love? Missing the deep satisfaction you both want? To enjoy love and sex to the fullest, consider the total person – physical, psychological and spiritual. (Magazine article.)

But the Spanish version – from the Spanish section of the same company’s website – won't convert properly:

http://www.ministeriosprobe.org/docs/sexo_dinamico.html
Sexo Dinámico: Más Allá de las Técnicas y la Experiencia. (“Dynamic Sex: Beyond Technique and Experience,” Spanish) “Una vida amorosa satisfactoria. ¿Cómo puedo conseguirla? ¿Cómo puedo obtener lo máximo del sexo?” El verdadero éxito en la vida sexual se logra basándola en el amor, el compromiso y la comunicación… y involucrando las tres dimensiones de la personal total: física, mental y espiritual.

When I open the converted document in Adobe Digital Editions, all I see is the first page of the article and nothing else. I page down and it goes to the very end and all I see is a blank screen. Not good. Any feedback is gratefully accepted. HTML is not a valid file extension, so I copied the file into a .txt file. I hope this doesn't cause more issues than there are already.

Feedback is appreciated.

Thanks.

[FlooseMan Dave]

Forgot to mention <sorry> - there were a lot of special characters in this article and I had to correct the codes with a lot of manual changes, which is where my previous post came from on this issue.

The Spanish HTML: Blech! Tables!

My immediate thoughts are that Sigil is good at providing the basic wrapper for content so... starting with a blank project let Sigil create the <head>, etc. code. Then copy and paste from the text file you posted here just the lines that start with:

<H1 align=center>Sexo din&aacute;mico: <BR>m&aacute;s all&aacute; de las t&eacute;cnicas y la experiencia</H1>

and end with:

<B>Por favor indique a qu&eacute; art&iacute;culo se est&aacute; refiriendo.</B></p>

the added </p> is to keep that last paragraph happy; although Sigil is bright enough to put it in for you.

The H1 and H2 "align=center" bits worry me. That's what CSS is for. I don't usually use named A tags so couldn't say for sure whether: <A name=ref4> needs quotes around the ref4, etc.

[FlooseMan Dave]

1028, I did not know that Sigil supplies the wrapper if you don't. First chance I get, I'm going to try your suggestion and see what I get. I'll provide feedback here.

Yeah, Spanish was a challenge in that I had to manually find and correct all the special characters. I have other non-Latin translations that are probably going to be even more 'interesting' once I get past this one.

Thanks for the input.

[FlooseMan Dave]

1028 - I took a shot at lettin Sigil wrap around the article. When I saved it to ePub and attempted to open in Digital Editions, I got nothing but the first page and the only showing link did not work.

Now, the English version of this article worked just fine. I think I'm going to try to compare the differences between the two and maybe drop the meat of the Spanish version of the article into the English version - replace the English guts with Spanish guts (that sounds graphic!) and try that.

Stand by ... and thanks again for the support.

[capidamonte]

I saved the .txt file to .html. Opened in Sigil.

In code view, I deleted the six lines that referred to the table. Saved as ePub. Works fine, but there are some errors in the TOC and NCX -- should be easily fixable.

Tables for layout: bad!

[FlooseMan Dave]

Cap! That was it ... I removed all the table references, saved it as ePub then double clicked the file. It came right up in Digital Editions and it worked like a champ. I clicked every link and every one was working to perfection. The email link at the very end was working as well.

Bravo! Thank you for helping me get past this roadblock in my learning curve. I will keep this thing about tables in mind for future efforts. WooHoo!



P.S. Love the mask!

[capidamonte]

You're welcome, of course.

(The mask is El Capitano, in jingju colors...)