Force text alignment

[HHJT]

Hello,

When I change the bodytext from justify to left-aligned on my Kobo Glo, everything that is center- or right-aligned becomes left-aligned too (accept for headers). Is there a way to force the alignment of those paragraphs without changing them all manually in html by adding style="text-align:center;"?

[Turtle91]

You will need to do some work in your CSS file. How much work depends on how well the epub was set up originally.

Look for something similar to:

p {text-align:justify}

and change it to:

p {text-align:left}


Hopefully, it is a clean document and you will only need to change it the one time...


BTW, what you want to do is exactly why it is beneficial to have a clean CSS sheet, with clean HTML tags. One minor change can fix the whole document!

FWIW here is an example of what I'm talking about:

Spoiler:

There is (almost) never a need for using inline styles as you mentioned...using CSS keeps your document clean and easy to read. Use classes only when there is some special formatting that needs to be added to the standard formatting. eg. the basic <p> paragraph is left aligned with an indent of 1.2 character widths. If I want special formatting for a <p> then I would give it a class name like "first" or "ctr".

Later on if I wanted to change ALL the basic paragraphs to justified, then I only need to change it on one line and it doesn't effect any other paragraph.

Here is a quick example:

CSS:
h2     {text-indent:0; text-align:center; font-weight:bold}
p      {text-indent:1.2em; text-align:left; font-size:1em; line-height:1em}
p.rt   {text-indent:0; text-align:right}
p.ctr  {text-indent:0; text-align:center}
p.brk  {text-indent:0; margin-top:2em}

p.first              {text-indent:0; clear:both}
p.first:first-letter {font-family:serif; font-size:2em; font-weight:bold; 
                      float:left; margin:-.1em .1em -.1em .1em}
p.first:first-line   {font-variant:small-caps; font-size:1.15em}


HTML:
<h2>Chapter 1</h2>
<p class="first">First paragraph in chapter...has large initial letter and the first line in the display is in small caps.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p class="brk">Paragraph with space before indicating a scene break...no indent.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p class="ctr">Paragraph aligned center.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p class="rt">Paragraph aligned right.</p>
<h2>Chapter 2</h2>
<p class="first">First paragraph in chapter...has large initial letter and the first line in the display is in small caps.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p class="brk">Paragraph with space before indicating a scene break...no indent.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>
<p>Normal paragraph...standard formatting.</p>

caution: the :first-letter and :first-line selectors may not be supported by older, inferior, devices. They are only presented here as an example.

[HHJT]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

Hopefully, it is a clean document and you will only need to change it the one time...

It looks exactly as you describe. I do all my changes in CSS. That's why I asked if there is a way to do them not manually in html.

What if I want the bodytext to be justified because I have other parapgraphs that are left-aligned. I want there to be a clear distinction between those and the bodytext. If whomever should read it, chooses to change the alignment of the bodytext at his/her own accord, that's ok! But I don't want the center- and right- aligned paragraphs to become left-aligned as well.

[JSWolf]

Actually, there is a much easier way to sort the alignment.

In the CSS, delete all occurrences of text-align: left and text-align: justify. Next, put the justify you want in the body CSS style and if one doesn't exist, add one.

body {
text-align: justify;
}

or

body {
text-align: left;
}

That will make it how you want. And if you change your mind, it's very easy to just change the alignment in CSS.

[HHJT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That will make it how you want. And if you change your mind, it's very easy to just change the alignment in CSS.

I did what you said, but when I change the justified bodytext to left-align on my Kobo Glo, everything (apart from the headers) right- or center-aligned (according to CSS) still becomes left-aligned as well. I don't want that to happen.

So, is there a way to force the alignment of those paragraphs (the paragraphs that are NOT justified) without changing them all manually in html by adding style="text-align:center;"?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HHJT

I did what you said, but when I change the justified bodytext to left-align on my Kobo Glo, everything (apart from the headers) right- or center-aligned (according to CSS) still becomes left-aligned as well. I don't want that to happen.

So, is there a way to force the alignment of those paragraphs (the paragraphs that are NOT justified) without changing them all manually in html by adding style="text-align:center;"?

What you do is load the eBook into the editor and change the alignment in the body style to left if that's what you want. Then save it and copy that over the one already on the Kobo and you are good to go.

[JSWolf]

What firmware are you running? I'm running 4.7.10413 and I just tested the justification with ePub and kepub and centered paragraphs did not become left or full justified. I don;t know what your problem is other than maybe an older firmware where this is a bug. It's not a bug in the latest firmware.

[HHJT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What firmware are you running? I'm running 4.7.10413 and I just tested the justification with ePub and kepub and centered paragraphs did not become left or full justified. I don;t know what your problem is other than maybe an older firmware where this is a bug. It's not a bug in the latest firmware.

I've got the latest firmware. I also tried downgrading my Kobo Glo to factory settings and re-installed the last firmware. Nothing changes.

I always use Calibre to upload my ebooks. Maybe that was part of the problem?
So I tried ADE: everything stays in place… but the bodytext stays justified as well. I can't left-align. And I can't change the line-height.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by HHJT

I've got the latest firmware. I also tried downgrading my Kobo Glo to factory settings and re-installed the last firmware. Nothing changes.

As this is something that hasn't changed in the firmware, doing that would not have helped.

I always use Calibre to upload my ebooks. Maybe that was part of the problem?
So I tried ADE: everything stays in place… but the bodytext stays justified as well. I can't left-align. And I can't change the line-height.

Read the posts above. The justification option only affects the text that uses the defaults, or what is set in the body tag. If a paragraph or other style sets the justification, it will not be overridden. And it doesn't matter how the epub was put on the device.

For epubs, it doesn't matter how the book got on the device. They will be the same whether it is ADE, calibre or a manual sideload. If you are seeing differences, it is because the books are different, not the method of sideloading.

The rules are different for kepubs. I don't sideload these enough to really know what the rules are. Plus, I always removed the justification styles from my books except for the styles that need them. And when I read a purchased kepub, I have to accept what is in the book for the styles.

[JSWolf]

I do the same as davidfor and remove all justification except center and justify (in the body). I prefer the CSS to be simple. I also remove all that excess CSS that most publishers put in. I've removed hundreds of useless CSS entries in one go.

[jackie_w]

@HHJT,

Would I be right in thinking that these books with the alignment problems are kepubs rather than standard epubs?

If so, you might like to consider using the Kobo Patcher, specifically the patch named `Un-Force user text-align in div,p tags in KePubs`.

When applying the various slider/button changes for font-size, alignment, line spacing etc in the Aa menu, Kobos make use of an internal CSS override sheet in the firmware. Different overrides are used for kepub and standard epub. The kepub one is quite heavy-handed with some of it's overrides, particularly for text-align. It uses

div, p { text-align: %1 !important; }

whereas the standard epub override uses

body { text-align: %1 !important; }

where %1 is the button you selected in the Kobo's Aa menu. This would explain why your centered paragraphs are being changed to left-aligned when you press 'Left' in the Aa menu.

The patch I mentioned earlier changes the kepub override CSS for text-align to match the epub one.

[Notjohn]

I specify text-align:justify in most of my paragraph styles, though Hitch warns me that this is forbidden by Amazon. Only thus can I be sure of having justified text on the Amazon Look Inside sample. I've never had a problem with this, so I am mystified why one's paragraph styles couldn't similarly call for text-align:left.

(I don't use a body style because that would violate the letter of Amazon's rules.)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Notjohn

I specify text-align:justify in most of my paragraph styles, though Hitch warns me that this is forbidden by Amazon. Only thus can I be sure of having justified text on the Amazon Look Inside sample. I've never had a problem with this, so I am mystified why one's paragraph styles couldn't similarly call for text-align:left.

(I don't use a body style because that would violate the letter of Amazon's rules.)

I use text-align: justify in the body style and only right or center as needed in any other styles. I delete all the left and justify because they are not needed and the eBook then works better with justification settings.

Why would using a body style violate Amazon's rules?

[sjfan]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I use text-align: justify in the body style and only right or center as needed in any other styles. I delete all the left and justify because they are not needed and the eBook then works better with justification settings.

Why would using a body style violate Amazon's rules?

It’s not a body style that violates the rules, it’s specifying text-align on the body style.

The idea is exactly what you say in your first paragraph: if you leave text-align unset on the body style, e-readers can decide whether to justify or left-align the default text. Specifying one way or the other takes that control out of the user’s hands or forces them to use override hacks (which might be overly aggressive).

Of course, specifying it on “most paragraph styles” also breaks e-reader settings; it’s best to only specify in limited sections that may differ from the surrounding text. Obviously centering headers and the like is fine. And if you have an epistolary book like Dracula you might specify left-justified for the letters and full-justified for the newspaper excerpts for effect, so long as you leave the main body text unspecified.

Specifying a set line-spacing, font family, or font size is also forbidden for similar reasons:

• "Normal" text must not have a forced alignment (left aligned or justified). "Normal" text must not have a forced line-height attribute, either.
• "Normal" text must use the default font family. The font face="…" tag is ignored on the Kindle platform but even so, make sure it is not used on "normal" text. The same applies to the CSSfont-family style.
• "Normal" text must use the default font size. The font size="…" tag or its equivalent in CSS should not be used in "normal" text. "Normal" text should not be bold or italicized. Selected parts can of course use such styling. This guideline only prohibits book that would be entirely bold, for example.
• "Normal" text should not have an imposed font color or background color.

https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200673220

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by sjfan

It’s not a body style that violates the rules, it’s specifying text-align on the body style.

The idea is exactly what you say in your first paragraph: if you leave text-align unset on the body style, e-readers can decide whether to justify or left-align the default text. Specifying one way or the other takes that control out of the user’s hands or forces them to use override hacks (which might be overly aggressive).

Of course, specifying it on “most paragraph styles” also breaks e-reader settings; it’s best to only specify in limited sections that may differ from the surrounding text. Obviously centering headers and the like is fine. And if you have an epistolary book like Dracula you might specify left-justified for the letters and full-justified for the newspaper excerpts for effect, so long as you leave the main body text unspecified.

Specifying a set line-spacing, font family, or font size is also forbidden for similar reasons:


https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200673220

Thank you. I've explained this before, and I've also explained that putting the alignment on the paragraph style is a specious workaround, because it also will then override any (possibly future) user options and choices on alignments.

Blithely ignoring the strictures, and saying "well, I haven't been punished so far" doesn't mean it shan't happen in the future. {shrug}.

All it will take is ONE reader with the bit between their teeth, and the KQNs shall show up. We've had it happen with a client that was adamant about ragged-right. They were so pissed-off about it that they removed the offending book from sale.

Hitch