08-30-2019, 09:51 PM | #31 | |
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Sure--maybe it doesn't work. But are you saying it never works? It doesn't suit anyone with dyslexia? Hitch |
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08-30-2019, 09:59 PM | #32 |
Wizard
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All the more reason to leave ebooks up to the user's preferences.
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08-30-2019, 10:44 PM | #33 | |
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They can charge more by claiming it makes a difference, but the consensus seemed to be the funny shapes were more about making people believe there was science behind the font, even though there isn't. Marketing gimmick allowing them to charge a lot. They likely are better than serif fonts, but the question is whether or not they are better than any other sans serif fonts, and that is where peer reviewed academic research is needed to substantiate the claims but doesn't seem to exist. |
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08-30-2019, 10:46 PM | #34 | |
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https://www.monotype.com/resources/f...caecilia-sans/ |
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08-31-2019, 01:47 AM | #35 | |||
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FWIW, I love Bookerly myself. Hitch |
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08-31-2019, 02:02 AM | #36 |
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Ah, ok; thanks.
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08-31-2019, 02:13 AM | #37 | |
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I assume Amazon's is only available through their service, meaning you can't make it available in a DRM free ePub (you as the author/publisher don't actually get to license it) |
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08-31-2019, 02:22 AM | #38 | |
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I don't know of others--but Amazon's font is free and you can download it and use it yourself, on websites, etc. It's not created BY Amazon, it was created by someone else and you can have it for the asking: https://opendyslexic.org/ Read Regular is also free. I'm not 100% sure about Sylexiad, but it seems to be freely downloadable, too. So, other than the Dyslexie font, it seems that they are all quite free. Hitch |
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08-31-2019, 03:11 AM | #39 |
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That particular font though wouldn't be seriously considered except for special purposes because it isn't readable for the majority of people.
Maybe for some people with dyslexia it is more readable, but it is not very readable for most people, so it should only be used by users who personally have a need for that font - while using a font like Intel Clear Sans helps many with dyslexia without making the text unreadable for those without dyslexia. The FAQ for that font btw notes the lack of studies, and also notes that some people with dyslexia find other fonts better (Comic Sans MS is often chosen by dyslexics, that font's FAQ notes that too). |
08-31-2019, 03:44 AM | #40 | |
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Found a study that includes OpenDyslexic :
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08-31-2019, 03:44 AM | #41 | |||
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As I said upthread--people with normal vision have a choice of fonts. Anecdotal evidence by those studying the viability of the Open Dyslexic font, amongst others--as stated in the articles about those studies--indicated that some of the Dyslexic study participants like those "for Dyslexic" fonts. Why not make it available, then, if some Dyslexics like it or even prefer it? I mean, what's the bloody harm, if some--even only a handful--of Dyslexics prefer to use it? Should Amazon just remove it? Why? If nobody's using it--what's the harm? If only 10 people are using it, why not keep it for those 10? I think you'll find that Amazon keeps a pretty close tab on their use statistics and they are very bloody ruthless about removing fonts and features that people do not use. That alone should tell you something about the use of that Open Dyslexic font. I think it's daft that some people like to read in some of the provided sans serif fonts; but that's their choice and it's good of Amazon to offer a wide variety of usable base fonts, so that people can pick what they prefer. As there is at least anecdotal evidence that some dyslexics like the Open Dyslexic font, what's the problem? Amazon certainly didn't do it to make money; they don't charge for the font, contrary to what was said upthread earlier. The font creators, by and large, didn't do it to make money; the fonts are Open Source and free. I'm sure when some dedicated researcher comes up with BETTER fonts for those afflicted with Dyslexia, Amazon and the others will be delighted to put it on their devices. Hitch |
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08-31-2019, 04:44 AM | #42 | |
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I was referencing why I chose Intel Clear Sans as my main font, it's a good readable general font that also works better than serif fonts for dyslexia - which is what brought Amazon's dyslexia font into the discussion. So the context to me was font to use in the eBook itself. Of course users should always be able to switch the fonts to whatever works best for them. I wish ePub allowed specification of main text font in the *.opf file so that readers could over-ride it with a GUI but they don't. But anyway, I was under the impression that you were suggesting that if dyslexia was my concern I should use something other than Clear Sans in my ePub archive. -=- My basic philosophy is to use fonts that match the purpose and are as friendly as possible while clearly commenting the .css file to make it easy for the end user who needs to change them to do so. e.g. Code:
/* This color emulates the classic pulps - feel free to nuke * this if it bothers you...*/ body { background-color: #EBE8D9; } /* This is the font used for most of the content. If you need to change it to make the book readable for YOUR eyes, this is where. Just removing the font-family line should result in your reader default font being used instead, or you can specify an alternate font installed on your system. */ article p { font-family: 'Clear Sans', sans-serif; widows: 2; orphans: 2; } /* Definition lists - the font used for the definition. If you * are changing the default font above, you probably should do * so here as well. */ dl dd { font-family: 'Clear Sans', sans-serif; font-style: normal; } (btw OT I don't know what widows and orphans options actually do, was just suggested I should have them - but in my limited testing the readers I usef seem to ignore them as I still had widows and orphans so I may remove them) Whatever font works best for someone, comment the CSS so that it is easy for those who want to modify it to do so. That's my philosophy. Everyone has different reading preferences. Some may want Times just because they like Times, for example. |
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08-31-2019, 12:47 PM | #43 | |
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Widows and orphans are remnants of printed books and should not be used for ebooks. Widows happen when the last line of a paragraph is forced to the next page or column while orphans are when the first line of a paragraph is on one page/column and the rest of the paragraph is on the next page/column. The widows/orphans setting says how many lines will have to be kept together -- the 2 says two lines so a minimum of two lines would be kept together. My personal preference is setting both to 1 (by definition, the value must be a positive integer so 0 is not permitted though I've seen it used all too often) to override any default values (usually 2 or 3) used by the renderer. As for remembering which are orphans and which are widows? Orphans are left alone at the beginning, widows are left alone at the end. |
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08-31-2019, 01:55 PM | #44 | |
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I would recommend leaving the body font undefined in your css...at worst specific titles and/or sections of text could have a font defined when it helps tell the story. Let the user choose their own font via the device settings...then everyone is happy. Yes, Jon, I know some dinosaur devices can't display different fonts, but those are the repercussions of their device choice... They can get a newer device if font choice is a concern to them. |
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08-31-2019, 03:09 PM | #45 | ||
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You can just push the "font" button on your reader, and... change the font. The problem with making the embedded font the body font is that some devices don't let you override the publisher's font. Which is why using embedded fonts very sparingly (Maths, signs, ornaments, headings, [...]) is be better. Those readers who can't override still get to read (the vast majority of the text) in their preferred font. Quote:
Code:
This is a longer paragraph at the end of a superduper extra longer [Flip page] page. Note: Although before JSWolf posts... he prefers widows/orphans to be set at 1 for ebooks, so that if there's space for it, the ebook always shoves a line there. Note #2: Be careful with setting background color, that potentially interferes with Night Mode on many devices (or may look atrocious on e-ink). Again, most color devices/readers have settings that can do that for you, and readers choose their own background+text color preferences. Last edited by Tex2002ans; 08-31-2019 at 03:13 PM. |
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epub, font, woff2 |
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